Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Land of Soy Milk (I'm lactose-intolerant) and Honey

So I have landed here and it is great to be in Israel again! The stream of emotions that I have experienced over the past 24 hours have been wide-ranging and as a result I am exhausted. When I got to the airport, my bags weighed a grand total of 110 lbs together. The limit? 110 lbs. Finishing packing was stressful enough but then having to worry about whether I took enough clothing and supplies to last me for the next 4 years while staying under 110 lbs was enough to make my hair turn gray. So, to the teachers who I gave gray hair to over the past few years, we're even. I sat next to a nice guy on the plane who was about 30. He was going to Israel with an organization similar to birthright. We chatted for a while but ultimately I passed out in my aisle seat with a book still in my lap...traveling always wears me out. Much to my dismay, about 6 hours after I fell soundly asleep a group of orthodox males (about my age) started praying...RIGHT next to me! The whole swaying and mumbling and all that jazz. I figured it would have been rude to ask them to take their prayers elsewhere as I was trying to rest so I merely ignored them and scanned the plane to get an idea of who was traveling with me. Mostly Israelis, Yuppie Americans on birthright, the religious, or the in-betweens.

Just a bit about the content of my blog. I do not intend to censor myself in the language that I use so I advise that if you are sensitive toward harsh or graphic language...careful? At the same time, however, I recognize that some things are better left kept to ourselves so I will try to find a happy medium that will appease both parties (the prudes and the ludes). It's great to be back and more blogs to come!

3 comments:

Andy Frankel said...

glad to see you made it over there safely, have a blast and be nice to the orthos over there. look forward to reading more of your blogs and mazel tov on the marriage.

Burning Bush Adventures said...

Hint: lactose intolerance is often transient, meaning it comes and go. Therefore, you may still find yourself enjoying ice cream one day!

R. Cohen

Ellen Green said...

I'm very glad you're safe and sound, but sad that you're lactose-intolerant.

I will be even happier once you give me a complete mailing address for you. :)

I look forward to the entries in your blog. Have fun!