JFK-->TLV

Yallah, I've arrived! After 2 levels of security (1 for everyone, 1 for my flight only), I boarded the Delta plane and seated myself between a secular Israeli girl and an orthodox American woman with her baby boy (yes, I touched the baby, but it's ok, she let me hold him!) I did manage to sleep through most of the flight, which made the 10 hours go a bit faster than expected.

In Ben Gurion Airport, I had the familiar feeling of returning to a comfortable place seeing signs welcoming me to Israel and Back Home. I not so quickly passed through passport control and found my way to the "Tikkun Olam" sign.

Feeling a bit jet-lagged and disoriented, some of the other participants and myself have decided to stay in the apartment for the rest of the day and catch up on some sleep. After lugging our bags up a flight of stairs, we were pleasantly surprised to see the fridge stocked with Israeli essentials: pita, hummus, milk, and water. If only there were halva...

Tel Aviv-Yafo middle-left, Eilat bottom point

We'll be boarding a bus tomorrow morning to go down South near Eilat to Kibbutz Kotora (http://www.keren-kolot-israel.co.il/) where we will have orientation for about a week. As for now, we're just hanging out waiting for more people to walk into the apartment, feeling like we're on the "Real World."