Safe and sound in Tel Aviv at last! I got off the plane only this morning. I honestly didn’t sleep much during the trip, so right now, I’m pretty exhausted!

I did not get to write a pre-departure entry, so here I am to talk about my expectations (before the flight) and some of what I’ve experienced so far! My trip was booked on El Al Airlines with a huge group of about 100 students from schools all over. From what I understand, El Al is the world’s best airline. They use very different security tactics for their passengers. I was asked a lot of “different” questions by El Al. They were about my reasons for studying abroad in Israel, my current living situation at home, etc. They repeated a lot, I guess to make sure my story was straight. However, my flight experience didn’t stop at their first checkpoint, no siree! I was given the full, entire flight experience. No stone left unturned! For whatever reason (I was later told it was done randomly), I had to go through an even more thorough security check. (I read about this online a few weeks before – apparently, a passenger’s luggage is tagged from 1-5, by order of… suspicious-ness, I guess O_O.) I was given a whopping number 5. So absolutely *everything *in my two bags was checked, and I was taken to a room to be scanned myself. When they finished, I was personally escorted to an available seat in the waiting area, and come boarding time, almost to the plane itself. It was awkward because no one else had a cool “body guard” like me (haha), but he was very nice and answered a lot of the questions I had about the plane and about Israel. He even offered his discount when I bought myself a juice! I think it all turned out for the best in the end.

It’s a little hard to explain how I feel right now (besides sleepy). The day before the flight, I felt my first sudden pang of homesickness… but it passed, and now I feel really good here! Since the moment I stepped into the plane, and even more so when we landed at the Ben Gurion airport, I felt like I’ve been doing this all my life. I honestly feel so comfortable here, like I went back ho me instead of just left it. So, it seems Israel and I are off to a great start!

I’m feeling really tired now, so I leave you with some pretty pictures of the BEAUTIFUL weather we had today in Tel Aviv!

P.S. In the next few days, I’ll write all about ULPAN, my dorm, the university, and everything. Stay tuned! 😛

Location: Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel