I made it to Israel safe and sound. This was my first flight overseas and being in an airplane for 10 hours an interesting experience. My imagination tends to wander off the deep end pretty often (just ask Elise), and I have been planning this trip for quite a while so I had anticipated some pretty unrealistic scenarios. In one scenario I found out that I secretly have altitude sickness (is that a real thing? I have no idea) and it only kicks in after being on an airplane or in high altitudes for longer than 3 hours. Since my previous flying experience consists of flights that have been under this crucial time marker I have been unaware of this for 28 years. Nevermind the fact that I went skydiving with no problem whatsoever. I think I tend to let the 'what if's' have a little too much freedom in my mind. In another scenario I arrive in Israel and when I step off the airplane my body has some kind of freak reaction to the foreign environment and I start gasping for air and grabbing my throat while my eyes bug out. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall. If you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about. This thought, of course, was inspired by something I read in the preface to 'War of the Worlds.' It was discussing how the alien invasion was an analogy for the invasion of Africa by technologically advanced Europeans and their lack of immunity to certain indigenous bacteria or something. That makes sense. Right? That's not to say that all of my crazy imaginative scenarios are all negative. For instance there was one where Israel was sort of like the Island on 'LOST' and it had these cool healing powers/abilities and it could also randomly make people see the future. Alas, I made it safe and my eyes did not melt out of my head, nor was I given insight into the future.

I met a nice young Israeli couple on the flight and they helped me and another student travelling to Jerusalem University College (JUC) find our way to the shuttle that goes to the Old City of Jerusalem. The ride from the airport in Tel Aviv to the Old City was full of winding hills and a beautiful mixture of ancient and modern scenery. Almost every taxi I saw was a Mercedes Benz. It was kind of weird to think about it at first. The driver said he could only take us as far as the Jaffa gate and that we would have to walk about two minutes down this old beaten path wrapping around the Old City wall in order to get to JUC. It looked pretty sketchy and I've never been in a foreign country before, but I'm pretty sure that tourists get suckered into all sorts of crazy shenanigans and I didn't want to be one of those people so I was a little hesitant to grab my bags and just go.  Luckily, there was another JUC student just coming back from a walk who was willing to ask if we were incoming students. 

            A few days have passed now and I have settled in.  The dorms are nice and spacious.  I have been on a couple of field studies and on some down time I’ve been able to wander around the Old City enough to know how to get around a bit.  I’ve already gotten to know one of the local shopkeepers.  His name is Sheban and he has the best prices and knows the best deals in all of the Old City.  I’ve only just begun to explore the New City, but it is shocking how extreme the contrast is.  There are shopping malls and drug stores and ATMs all within a short five minute walk from the Old City!  The professors here are excellent and I have a feeling that this is going to be a pretty amazing semester.  I really underestimated the jetlag and it has been pretty tough getting used to the time change, but the adjustment is slowly coming along.  Speaking of which, it’s time to catch some shut eye.