Waiting in our terminal at SFO at 7am on Sunday to board the plane for the first leg of our journey, Jhos, one of our group leaders from JCCSF, posed this question to us: "How are you feeling right now?"
As simple as this question was, there were many answers that popped into my head at all at once - excited, anxious, curious, energized, grateful, optimistic, overwhelmed. More than anything, embarking on this journey, I am determined to truly experience this adventure, to learn, to feel, and to share this experience when I return home.
We arrived at JFK and a small group of us decided to add some extra adventure to our 7 hour layover in New York. We Ubered to Brooklyn, driving through the neighborhood of Williamsburg, a very concentrated area of Hasidim, allowing us to see the traditional hats, wigs, and conservative black and white dress that we had previously discussed in one of our pre-trip meetings - a preview of some of what we would see at the orthodox kibbutz, where we are staying the first 2 nights in Israel.
We walked down to the water's edge, just in time for a sunset view of the Brooklyn Bridge, and a beautiful dusk view of the Manhattan skyline. We enjoyed some New York thin crust pizza at Oregano (yum!) and headed back to the airport for our 10 hour flight to Tel Aviv.
We landed in Tel Aviv, boarded our bus, heading to the northern part of the country, to Kibbutz Lavi, just outside of Tiberias, where we will stay for the next couple of nights. The kibbutz was founded in 1949 by the British branch of Bnei Akiva, a religious Zionist youth movement, on land that had previously been the site of the Arab village of Lubya. This kibbutz community now has more than 800 residents, and specializes in carpentry - making furniture for synagogues - in addition to some agriculture and running the hotel in which we are staying.
As I settle in after our group dinner in the Kibbutz dining hall, reviewing the day & anticipating what is to come over the next 10 days, all of those same feelings from Sunday morning are still there - with excitement and curiosity at the forefront - ready for what tomorrow brings.
Bring on the adventure!