Israel and Palestine Trip

Shalom and Salaam

Wow! We have finally arrived (safely, all heads accounted for) in Israel. The journey was 14 hours in-flight from Portland to Tel Aviv via Frankfurt. We crossed 9 time zones, which wreaked havoc on our biological clocks, and quite a few of us couldn’t sleep at all. After all, who could pass up Lufthansa hospitality?

A few other students and I were briefly questioned immediately after landing about our reasons for visiting Israel, and I gave a floundering response that somehow satisfied the officer. As a group, we then received a few glares and passport stamps from immigration agents – since an Israeli stamp invalidates your passport for much of the Arab world, many students opted to not have their passport stamped. Of course the immigration agents don’t like this.

A few photos are attached of the group’s progress thus far: Several trip members on our first flight out of Portland, Tuesday’s sunrise over Europe on the first leg of our journey, students disembarking from the Airbus 340 in Frankfurt, one of our first glimpses of Israel as our plane banks to land in Tel Aviv, Tuesday’s sunset from the window of our bus to Jaffa, and the view from our hostel window in Jaffa.

We’re staying here at the Ma’agan Michael in Jaffa (the town Jonah set sail from) for the night and tomorrow we depart early for somewhere to the north, along the coast. Aaron’s keeping the trip itinerary fairly mysterious, which just makes me curious! Well, I’m off for a short walk around town and then some sleep after a 30-hour day.

Lots to talk about, lots more to come!

Evan Miles