Friday, July 31, 2009
Whitnerisms
Current travel time: 22 hours
Peace and Strength
Written: 4974 mi from NYC. 2pm ISRAELI TIME 34005 ft above eastern europe
When I said that I went to the Western Wall and prayed for what was foremost in my mind I meant it. I prayed for peace for my grandfather and strength for my grandmother the rest of the family to deal with what lay ahead. The moment of peace came yesterday at 2:30am EST and now comes the search for strength. It was not a surprise, but that doesn't make it less difficult to deal with. I am currently on a Boeing 777 flying from Israel to Jacksonville to attend my grandfather's funeral. The entire situation brings up many different emotions ... I am glad that he is no longer suffering and is at peace ... but I am deeply affected by the profound sense of loss. I am glad to be seeing the rest of my family, but sincerely wish it were for a happier occasion ... and that my grandfather would be there as well. The sense of loss is still too strong and personal to write about. Perhaps there will be a time when it will help to remember all of the wonderful and happy memories, but I can't do that yet.
Instead, I shall think and write about the flight. I was offered an upgrade to first class for 200 NIS ($50) and I JUMPED on it. Best decision ever. But I must backtrack to the start of the journey: 4:15am. After staying up past 11pm to finish packing and bring things over to Simcha and Tami's house (they are being AMAZINGLY kind and holding onto my two suitcases and bringing them to Jerusalem for me next week. This means that I have one night on campus with no sheets ... but I can survive that. Maybe I'll steal a blanket from the flight ...). I get up with the rest of camp to go to the dig site, but I jump in the car with Cline and Assaf who give me a ride to the train station. I get there at 5:15 and buy the train ticket to Ben-Gurian Airport which leaves at 6am (every other train from Nahariyya goes to the airport, other mean you need to transfer trains in Tel Aviv = BAD). After some confusion at the train station, I get on the CORRECT platform and board the train and take my seat. I dozed through much of the ride (which is a beautiful journey down the Med coast) and arrived at the airport. It was hard to find where I needed to go for Departures ... but I finally figured it out and made my way up to the 3rd level and got in line for security. Israeli security is INTENSE. It is much harder to get OUT of the country than it was to get in. You go through 5 check points. These check points are not "Hey, do you have your passport and boarding pass?" NO. They are full scans and xrays with LOTS of questioning. "What were you doing in Israel? Where were you staying? Do you know people who are here? What are their names? Where do they live? Are you a member of a congregation in the United States? What is the purpose of your travel today?" The xray machines for your bags make the ones in the US look like a JOKE. The images are sent to ANOTHER check point, where they go through each and every one of your bags, mainly looking for shoes and electronics. Now, I've been on a dig in an AVOCADO GROVE for three weeks which means that my backpack and shoes and some of my clothes are COVERED in fertilizer residue. Plus, I'm 23, which means that I horde electronic devices and the power cords that go with them. So ... I booked my flight yesterday, I'm traveling alone, I'm not checking a bag, I have a lot of electronics and cables, and I'm covered in fertilizer residue. You see where this is going, don't you? After turning on and fiddling with each and EVERY one of my electronic devices (laptop, ipod, israeli cell phone, us cell phone, Storm, chargers, adapters, cables -- the Storm was the most amusing to me ... they had never seen one before so an electronics specialist had to come over and play with it. He had never used one before so I had to show him how it worked, and he liked it and asked me questions about it that I SWEAR were personal interest, not security threat assessment) I was cleared by the second checkpoint and went on to check in. So I got to go to a special line with a carpet and checked in, got my pass to the first class lounge, and went on my merry way. I then went on to Passport Control and Security (I THOUGHT that was what I had just gone through for 45 minutes with the scanning and the electronics ... but apparently not). I go through passport control with no real trouble and get to security. APPARENTLY my friends at checkpoint 2 had marked my passport for additional scrutiny (DAMN YOU, AVOCADO GROVE!) So I get to go to a special line and get SUPER SCREENED. Again, they took out each and every one of my electronic appliances and screened them for residues. Scratches on them were questioned. When the man asked me if I was Jewish (um, I'm wearing a Magen David and a Hamsa with Chai on it ...) he got this funny look on his face and went to talk to his supervisor. Still have no idea what that was about because he came back and said I was ok to go after opening and closing EVERYTHING. Again.FINALLY I am through security and at the concourse.
Let me tell you about first class:
At the lounge they serve free meals, snacks, beer and soda. There is a full bar there. The chairs are plush and comfortable and they all have power cords. They will personally tell you when you need to go to your gate. You get to board the plane first and there are no grouchy flight attendants. You get free alcohol (but since I'm on a plane for TWELVE HOURS before my connection to J'ville I opted for water and soda) before and during your flight. You get a MENU to choose your inflight meal. I got the NY Strip Steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus and carrots. There is an appetizer course, and a salad course before your meal. You get a hot moist towel before the flight. You get a hot desert (apple cobbler with ice cream and all the toppings!) served to you on REAL plates and bowls. You chairs fully recline and have a foot rest. They have two chairs in the space that Coach has 3 so the seat are roomy with no fighting over arm rests (because everyone has two!). Best flying experience EVER. I am going to go back to reading by my personalized lamp! Ahhh, the good life :) Feels good after roughing it for three weeks ....\
Monday, July 27, 2009
Kabri Humor
Friday, July 24, 2009
I was purchased for 20 shekels. Or, why cab drivers are insane.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Tale of Irving the Iron Age Man
In the battle of Creme Brulee ... Israel 1, World 0
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Click your heels, Dorothy
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The most epic roadtrip EVER.
Friday, July 17, 2009
The Making and Unmaking of Mr. Mediterranean
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Lucy and Ethel go to Haifa
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
It's all about the small victories in life ...
Bummer
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
two days down ...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Plane Ride
Ok, the plane will NOT be remembered as a high note in the trip. After a tearful farewell at the airport the plane we took from Dulles to Newark was roughly the size of a tin can with twin prop engines. Definately not ideal for two people who aren't big fans of planes (in case you didn't know, Cristen is with me for the first three weeks while I'm on the Dig). We get to Newark and we were actually fans of the airport. We had a GREAT (albeit hazy) view of NYC from the restaurant and had a good time chatting and gossiping (fahdling??) We clear the extra security at the gate and that's when the fun began. We checked in again at the gate and asked if there were any seats available with computer plugs and were informed that the entire plane had plugs so we asked if there were two isle seats next to each other. SOMEHOW that became ME IN THE MIDDLE SEAT which was NOT fun at ALL. There was this family in front of us with little kids who just kept the seat backs all the way down all the time (including during boarding) so Cristen and I politely asked the flight attendant if there were any seats available with computer plugs. She said yes, there were, but they weren't next to each other. When we went to check them out they were the front seats of the section which means .... MORE LEG ROOM! We jumped at the opportunity and moved up. Cristen lucked out and sat between two very nice people who helped her get her stuff settled (hard to do mid flight). I, on the other hand, got placed between two surly middle aged men who did NOT want me there. They both plugged their computers in and left the computers closed and refused to let me plug my computer in (when I was using it!). They ALSO insisted on using both armrests and there was NO WAY I was going to win that battle. So I was stuck in a tiny chair between two big guys that didn't want me there with no way to get to my stuff (because cranky pants would trip me if I tried to get out of the seat). For 7 hours. Awesome.