First impressions

After years of interest, months of preparation, and twenty-four hours of travel, I showed up --- and the Middle East welcomed me today!

In Atlanta, Sara walked with me into the airport. And before even getting to the ticket counter, I ran into a friend that grew up in Atlanta, went to the same college as I did, and was on the same flight from Atlanta to Toronto to Tel Aviv.  Certainly a sign that my people are with me along the way.

Then in the security line, emergency lights and sirens went off! Oddly enough the TSA people at the metal detectors and all did not stop what they were doing. A strange experience being that the sirens, to the untrained eye/ear should have been alarming. But I followed their lead and walked to the gate without interruption. I guess that's a sign that will mean different things at different times... that my surroundings are complicated.

Going from Atlanta to Tel Aviv meant leaving cold behind for colder. Some of the folks on the plane had been stranded because of the snowstorm for days. I was lucky to have my travel go smoothly. And even luckier to visit with college a friend at the Toronto airport hotel bar! We threw snowballs :-) And she wished me good luck by saying "its going to be great." This is the very same remark Sara has been making (in speech and writing) the last few days!

Flight to Tel Aviv went smoothly, though the security once I arrived had lots of questions (predictably). I don't yet have a return flight. And there are other pieces that showed up as concerning for the border police. So after 45 minutes or an hour, I was allowed the 90-day visitor visa and breathed a sigh of relief. Ultimate Peace's regional director met me at the terminal and we embraced happily.

I'll describe some of our conversations and meetings, plus this weekend's events, in the next post. Thanks everyone for the love. This adventure is going to be great.