Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Jerusalem, here I am!!

After two days of flying, I'm finally here in Jerusalem!! Things have gone great! First we flew to the JFK airport in NY. Then we had a 4 hour lay over til 9 pm. During all this, the 18 of us all together got to know each other pretty well! Then we flew to Tel Aviv and didn't get in til 3 pm the time here. Man all of us are so tired! We were all falling asleep in our lectures that we had tonight... Anyways, when we landed, it still hadn't hit me. My mind just kept on thinking "I'm just going on Vaca, no big deal!" Anyways, once we landed in Tel Aviv, then came the customs part... So This guy in my group, Gage, was just a person ahead of me. When talking with the customs guy, he got flagged and they made him wait on the side. When I got up, the guy asked me where I came from (being all attitudy with me) and then asked me what I was doing. When he understood I was doing the same thing as Gage, he sent me over with him. Then they told us to go with some lady and then wait to talk with someone. Both of us sat outside an office all nervous of what was going to happen! There's no freakin way they can't let us through! Plus EVERYONE else in our group made it through! Anywho, after waiting for about 10 minutes, they finally said we were actually ok and gave us our passports back and sent us on our way.

Our drive to the center is when it started to hit me that I was actually here. It was beautiful! It has rolling hills with beautiful homes and buildings. In some ways it actually reminds me of home, just how it is more deserty here. As we pulled up to the center, being the first group to arrive, all the workers and service couples were there waiting to greet us. I'll be honest, I got me a lil choked up. It was so amazing to see how excited these people were excited to greet us to our new home when they didn't even know us! They all are so friendly and extremely inviting. As you walk in, there is a huge arch and a huge window overlooking old Jerusalem. It is quite the view! It was breath taking as the sun was setting. Once inside, they gave us a grand tour of the center, and let me tell you, it is a gorgeous building!! After seeing the entire center, we had dinner and a couple short lectures. Tomorrow we go on a walk throughout Jerusalem!

Just being here today, I feel so extremely lucky to be here. I keep on thinking over and over, man I am one lucky girl to get to be here in this amazing country and with this group. I can tell we are going to have some real good times together. Well, the real adventure starts tomorrow! So far though, I completely am loving it here.

4 comments:

  1. Anna,
    Reading your post brought back so many memories! I am so excited to hear about all of your adventures. I know that it will take me back and help me remember my own experiences. I sure love you! Soak up everything you can and write it all down to help you remember later!
    Love,
    Ruth

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sounds so pretty. I know you will be busy, but post as often as you can. I want to hear all about your adventures. love you, esther

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anna, I'm so excited for you. You are going to have such an amazing time. I can't wait to hear more (and see pictures!). Love you and miss you already!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dad and I are so thrilled for you. What a great adventure you are on and a fun chapter in your life. Live life to the fullest while you are there and keep that upbeat attitude.
    We love you forever and ever.

    ReplyDelete