Departing for JFK and Israel
Jun. 13th, 2004 05:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
av8rmike(This and all subsequent entries copied from my hand-written journal)
The day so far: Was up until 1 AM packing and realizing my suitcase wasn't big enough for all the stuff the organizers "suggested" we bring. After talking it over with Douglass and a few others who had gone on this trip in the past, I determined which things I could safely leave behind, like dress shoes. I woke up at 8:00, packed the last few things and headed out for my 11:00 train. If I'd planned things out better I could have called Lúthien and gotten her to drive me to the station, so we could see each other for the last time in almost a month. But, of course, I didn't think to ask last night.
So, it's been three separate trains: One from Baltimore to Penn Station, then an A train to JFK, then the AirTrain from the subway to Terminal 4, arriving at about 3 for a 7:30 flight. The counter wasn't even open yet, and the Birthright organizers hadn't arrived. I met Katie and her brother Justin, from Buffalo, and Michelle from Kansas City, and we sat in the food court area waiting for some other people to show up. When the El Al counter finally opened, there were hundreds of people of all kinds, but all quite clearly Jewish. While in line, I met Vera, a med student from Boston, and Marisa from San Diego. There was a security interview first, before the even took the bags. They asked all kinds of strange and personal questions, all about what I was doing in Israel, what kind of Jewish upbringing I'd had, if I had any family there, etc. Then came the baggage screening, the check-in, and now waiting to board the flight.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful, just long, about 9 1/2 hours. I met a bunch of the other people sitting around me, but I appeared to be the only one from this area. It was the first time I'd been on a 747-400, and this one was packed full. The food was pretty good, but not very representative of "true" Israeli food. I only got a little bit of sleep, but I'm usually pretty good at keeping myself awake when I need to.
The day so far: Was up until 1 AM packing and realizing my suitcase wasn't big enough for all the stuff the organizers "suggested" we bring. After talking it over with Douglass and a few others who had gone on this trip in the past, I determined which things I could safely leave behind, like dress shoes. I woke up at 8:00, packed the last few things and headed out for my 11:00 train. If I'd planned things out better I could have called Lúthien and gotten her to drive me to the station, so we could see each other for the last time in almost a month. But, of course, I didn't think to ask last night.
So, it's been three separate trains: One from Baltimore to Penn Station, then an A train to JFK, then the AirTrain from the subway to Terminal 4, arriving at about 3 for a 7:30 flight. The counter wasn't even open yet, and the Birthright organizers hadn't arrived. I met Katie and her brother Justin, from Buffalo, and Michelle from Kansas City, and we sat in the food court area waiting for some other people to show up. When the El Al counter finally opened, there were hundreds of people of all kinds, but all quite clearly Jewish. While in line, I met Vera, a med student from Boston, and Marisa from San Diego. There was a security interview first, before the even took the bags. They asked all kinds of strange and personal questions, all about what I was doing in Israel, what kind of Jewish upbringing I'd had, if I had any family there, etc. Then came the baggage screening, the check-in, and now waiting to board the flight.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful, just long, about 9 1/2 hours. I met a bunch of the other people sitting around me, but I appeared to be the only one from this area. It was the first time I'd been on a 747-400, and this one was packed full. The food was pretty good, but not very representative of "true" Israeli food. I only got a little bit of sleep, but I'm usually pretty good at keeping myself awake when I need to.
