First night

I have to start here by saying that for weeks leading up to this trip, I was in this state of denial. It had been in the planning stages for a long time, the information about the trip came to us late, the tickets came the week before we left. It was easy to think it wasn't happening. And really, even on my El Al flight, it was kind of easy for me to forget the destination. I think I was afraid. What do I know? All I know is what I see or hear in the news. I was nervous about safety and nervous about travel and I was without my husband for a big trip for the first time since we've been together. I was uncomfortable at best.

Luckily for me, I was traveling with Nicole.

I love this woman. She is the other half of my brain and my soul. I NEEDED her next to me. And she was. And we both got to experience the pain of having the person in front of you recline SO FAR into your lap that you could look down and say hello. For 10 straight hours. Thank goodness there was an iPod to occupy us. We discoed to Donna Summer, lit our imaginary lighters to Journey and Kansas and had a great time.

Throughout the flight, the men in black walked the aisles and gathered periodically towards the back of the plane to pray. As unusual as this was in my experience, it was oddly normal and completely expected as I had been told it would happen. It was pretty cool and kind of prepped my brain for what was to come.

Upon landing (which was beautiful), I didn't feel any different. So as far as I was concerned, I still wasn't really in Israel...but I was. D-E-N-I-A-L. Freak that I am.

We were met immediately by a nice man who ushered us all through customs and then gathered our luggage for us and took us to the bus where we met Reuven, our tour guide for the week. Now mind you, once out of the airport and into the night air, I STILL didn't believe it. After all, it's an airport. You can't see anything but airport-y type things.

We boarded our bus (our second home for the trip) and headed for Jerusalem. Reuven stood at the front of the bus and faced us all and told us about what we were seeing along the way. This man is a virtual FOUNTAIN of knowledge. I don't know how he remembers all that he does. He is VERY good at his job. So, ok, NOW I'm starting to believe. All the signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Wacky, eh?

The bus headed towards Jerusalem, about a half hour from the airport. The road to Jerusalem is in a valley - hills on either side. Along the side of the road are the carcasses of bombed out jeeps and trucks which the Israeli's used on their quest to free Jerusalem from its captors. The enemy would stand on the hill top and shoot at our convoys, blowing up these cars and trucks. But we persevered and made it. The cars and trucks have been removed, cleaned up, and painted with a rust resisting paint so that they can stay out there as a constant reminder of our fight for freedom.

Jerusalem, in both the old and new city, is covered in stone. EVERY SINGLE BUILDING is covered in "Jerusalem stone". So there is a consistant look to the city itself. New and old alike, the stone is immediately recognizable, and covers everything. It's simply amazing and really beautiful. Fancy buildings, old apartments, store fronts, government buildings....absolutely everything is covered in this stone. Of course, in the old city, the buildings are MADE with this stone. In the new city, the stone is like a shell on the outsides of the buildings.

OK, I need to fast forward a bit. We met the rest of our group at an overlook that had a view of the old city at night. We made a toast, said a Shechecheyanu, and walked down to the hotel. It felt so good to walk a bit, see everyone, and get a little fresh air.

Once at the hotel, we had an immediate WORKSHOP (brutal) and then a late dinner. We got into our rooms at around 10:30 or almost 11PM. I think I had been up for almost 48 hours at this point. We unpacked, tried to unwind, and got ready for our next day to begin in a mere 6 hours.