(This Isn't) The End

This is absolutely surreal. I can't believe it. I'm sitting in Ben Gurion International Airport right now getting ready to board my flight to Boston via Toronto. After exactly three months (I left California on May 28th), I am returning home.

But what even is home? For the first seventeen years of my life, home was California, Anaheim Hills, my family, my pets. Then, two years ago, Harvard became my home as well; Boston garnered my affection, and I missed my friends to death whenever I went back to California. That's when I first began to understand home is not a building and it is not a city--home is in the hearts and arms of the people you love. And that is why I know that Israel has become my third home.

I've left pieces of my heart scattered around this country. In Haifa and the breathtaking Carmel Mountains. In Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. But most of all, I have left my heart with the Morrises, and the Starks, and the Wiels, and all the other families and friends I've met and grown to love in Raanana. I am so blessed to have had an experience that makes saying goodbye to a land and a people so hard.

But hey, this isn't all sappy and sad and cute, because hello, international travel is involved, which gets messy. Luckily, I had a wonderful day yesterday with the family in my last few hours in Israel. We ate dinner, watched TV, laughed at YouTube videos, stalked Jeni's Laker Girl days online, and had some emotional, heartwarming moments, including the reading of a beautiful and touching poem that Esther wrote for me.

I woke up this morning to say final goodbyes to Sarah, who brought me mini hallah bread to celebrate Shabbat on the plane (literally the cutest), Goody and Eric, who took care of me and fed me while the Morrises were gone, and the whole family. It was tearful for sure.

My mom and Jeni drove me to Ben Gurion with only like three wrong turns, which is pretty solid. I stepped into the airport this morning with four bags (yes, four, don't judge) and tried to roll/push/drag all of these bags through security. Of course, I broke my toe yesterday (not exaggerating) and I'm super sad, because duh I'm leaving, so I'm limping and crying as I roll up with my baggage, both literal and emotional. I walk up to the main guy and he starts interrogating me. Not questioning--interrogating. 

So I'm telling him my name, my destination, yada yada, and then he either starts getting very curious or very suspicious because the questions get a little pointed.

"Who did you stay with?"

*cue sobs*

Me: "The Morrises."

Him: "What are their names? Do they have kids?"

*gasping for air*

Me: "Ronnie, Esther, Michal, Ariella, Nava, Atara, Akiva, and Orit."

Okay at this point, if I can rattle off eight Jewish names without blinking, you'd think they'd let me through. But noooo of course not.

Him: "What were you doing here? "

Me: "Research at IDC Herzliya."

Him: "What was the research on?"

Me in my head: "Ohhhhh I've got him now!!!!!" 

Me out loud: "Counterterrorism."

Mhm that's right, what now

But he doesn't look like he's buying it. He literally looks at me like this--

So then you guys--oh my god I'm about to crack up writing this--he's like "So did you know Hebrew before you came? Do you know any now?"

I swear to God, I got all proud. I was like--

and I kinda scoffed, "well I mean I'm not fluent or anything--" and I was literally about to start giving him my vocabulary when he moved onto another question. What was I thinking?!!!!?? I literally know how to say yes, no, and hallah; did I think I was going to convince him I was Israeli!!!?? (Even though I clearly am.)

But what was weird and kinda laughable was this guard's confusion at my reason for being here. He realized I didn't know Hebrew and wasn't Jewish, and he could not understand why I'd come. And I just kinda wanted to be like, dude!! Israel is freaking LEGIT, of course I'd come here!!

But I didn't want to get on his bad side even more so I kept quiet. 

So then he's literally talking to all these people all over carrying my passport with him, and I'm just standing there. He finally comes back and says, "all right Aubrey, follow me."

I literally almost broke down again--extra screening?! Really?!!!

So I corral my four bags, and try to follow him (he was walking so fast), and guess what--HE BROUGHT ME TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE. LITERALLY HELPED ME BYPASS EVERYONE. I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. I COULDN'T BREATHE. 

He looked at me like--

And said, "have a safe flight" then handed me off to the security counter.

And I was like, 

You're probably like, "why the heck did you get priority?" and I wish I could reply,

But in reality, Jeni knew someone in Israeli TSA (literally Jeni just hooks me the eff up) and he promised to try and help me.

Of course, I didn't bypass everything they still had to check all of my carry-ons (oh welp, there's my underwear) and check everything for bomb residue (even my Bible--seriously), but I got through and got coffee and was able to try and hold back my tears in peace. I'm scared because what if I cry and they think I'm guilty about something and question me more. So I'm like 

No no no, I'm fine, I'm fine

As I wait for my flight, this is a great time to say thank you. Thank you to the Morrises, for treating me like a daughter and a sister. Thank you to every individual who has made this an eye-opening, fascinating, once-in-a-lifetime summer. And thank you to every person who has read this blog, or thought of me, or prayed for me while I've been abroad. And don't be too sad--I'm studying abroad next spring in India, Brazil, and South Africa, so Aubrey's Wanderlust will be back and ready next January!! Until then, I'll update with any mini trips I take this semester and I'll give you the lowdown on the Stoddard Costa Rica Trip in a few months. Thank you so much, everyone, for all of your love and support.

This isn't the end.

Shalom, and go in peace,

Aubrey Noelle

The North, Jesus' Footsteps, and Don't Go to Rimonim Hotel

Oh my god. How am I going to even summarize the past two days? The past 48 hours have been an absolute whirlwind--probably the craziest days since I've been here in Israel!

So we woke up later in the morning on Tuesday to get some much-needed rest and head up north for my favorite city--HAIFA!!! I tried to describe the beauty to my mom and Jeni, and they were slightly skeptical of my descriptions. I mean, "really pretty gardens" doesn't quite encompass the stunning view of--

and--

Jeni and my mom fell in love with Haifa and the Baha'i Gardens just like I did! The peace, beauty, and warmth of the gardens and the religion enamored us and we fell in love. It was the perfect start to our day.

Me!

The archives at the Baha'i Gardens. Unbelievably enough, this is actually the seventh story of the building--the rest is underground!!!

We drove on to Nazareth, worming our ways through the tiny streets with angry honking Israelis. My poor mother was navigating these headache-worthy streets, and the speeders zipping around us had us like--

Finally, though, we found a mini parking garage and made friends with the owner--he was a sweet guy. Then, we headed to lunch at a little falafel place up the street. My mother and I had falafel, while Jeni ate a delicious steak hummus dish. But of course, no excursion is complete without Jeni getting ripped off, and her dish was four times the price of my own dish. When we told the Morrises the price, they were like--

However, our frustration at the driving and the prices melted away as we entered the Church of the Annunciation, where Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would soon be pregnant with Jesus.

Me and Mary

My mom and me in the church with Mass taking place in the background!

From Nazareth, we drove to Tiberias, a city on the Sea of Galilee, where we planned on staying in our hotel. Oh my god. From the moment we drove up to the hotel, we got wrapped up in controversy. The guard asked if we liked Obama, and we were like--

Very subtly, because while I knew the right answer was--

My mom and Jeni were a little less enlightened and kind of reacted like--

The guard started laughing and waving his hands shouting "No, no, no Obama!!!!!" And we just giggled a little nervously until he let us through.

But that was just the beginning.

We then walked into the lobby with all of our bags and immediately the cocky checking-in guy was like, "Um why did you say you have only two people when you clearly have three? You only purchased a double room. You need a triple."

We attempted to explain that I was intending to sleep on the pullout bed that came in the room but he was all sassy like--

"I hate you"

And was just completely rude. Jeni got super fired up and insisted that we talk to his manager. So we walk into this side room, and the manager was clearly prepped by his minion. He called us liars, insulted us and our country (like who the eff could insult America, come on), and forced us to pay an extra ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR ME TO SLEEP ON A BED THAT WAS ALREADY IN THE ROOM. Literally unbelievable. What it came down to was, I ordered a double bed room with a pull-out couch based on the number of beds, while this hotel accepts reservations based on the number of people. It was an easy problem to solve, but we have never experienced ruder customer service people--EVER. Hence, don't say at this freaking hotel (we promised we'd give them a bad review, so here ya go, Rimonim).

We were literally escorted to our room by our security guard, because we scream danger (well Jeni had steam coming out of her ears at this point, so maybe they thought she was a fire hazard), and we finally get into our dingy little triple/double. The pull-out bed has no mattress, and our room is of course right next to a freaking amusement park that plays crazy club music until 11. Like of course. 

We escaped from the hotel, because we were probs being watched, and we ordered a yummy dinner up the street. We got to sleep super early, because we needed a ton of rest and we had to wake up early enough to stuff ourselves full of $100 worth of free buffet breakfast to make up for my expenses.

Well, we stormed downstairs right as the buffet was opening--and oh my goodness, it was the most delicious spread we'd ever seen. Rugalach, so many fruits, fresh fish, different hunks of cheese, overflowing baskets of bread... I couldn't believe my eyes.

So we stuffed our faces, and then we drove on to Capernaum, the town where Jesus evangelized right on the Sea of Galilee.

The sign

The church

The sea

The Peter statue

I absolutely loved Capernaum this time around, because it was much earlier in the day, which meant cooler air and less people. It was peaceful, humbling, and spiritual.

We then drove on the Safed (pronounced sfaht), a mystical Jewish city that has existed for over a thousand years. It had an art colony, galleries, and ancient synaogues. You guys--it was absolutely stunning. Even ties with Haifa!!! It's a lot of pictures, but definitely look through them!!

So stunning. WOW. We even went to this incredible Yemenite restaurant and made friends with the cook/owner. Loooove. It was a specialty!

It was our favorite place! From Safed, we drove over three hours to get to Jerusalem and visit the Israel Museum. It was actually pretty amazing and fun. We saw the Dead Sea scrolls, an ancient skull, and lots of historical items relating to ancient civilizations. We spent as much time there as we could--which honestly wasn't long; we were exhausted--then we drove back home to Raanana for dinner. We had a yummy French dinner and some ice cream. Then, we drove home to reunite with the family!

It's been an amazing two days. I have loved hanging out with my mom and Jeni, and I have one more day to enjoy Israel. One more day!!! It's actually pretty hard to believe. 

Now, it's almost one in the morning and I feel like I'm falling asleep sitting up. Aghhhh. Good night dearies--one more day!!

<3,

Aubrey

The Best of Visitors

So... My special visitors have arrived....

MY MOM AND JENI ARE HERE!!!!!! She and Jeni (my mom's friend that actually put me in touch with the Morris family) flew across the Atlantic Ocean to spend my last week in Israel with me. I could not be more excited!!

They arrived yesterday for Shabbat, and I led them through all of the religious rituals. I'm a Jewish genius now.

*flips hair* "it's no big"

Orit immediately warmed herself up to jeni and my mother and wasted no time asking Jeni for some of her candy (classic Orit). We napped for a few hours, then spent half the night chatting and laughing with Esther and Nava. It was a wonderful night.

We woke up early to head into Tel Aviv for the day. I do have to say, it is very different travelling Israel with job-holding, salary-earning adults as opposed to poor college student peers. Like we rented a car and I don't have to deal with public transportation anymore. AT. ALL.

And we booked private tour guides for MONEY.

And we ordered BREAKFAST like for real instead of just COFFEE.

And we are staying in a hotel in a few nights!!! Not a hostel. Not an airport Starbucks. A hotel.

I can barely breathe.

We spent the day walking around the city together, which reminded my mom and Jeni of Downtown LA for many reasons--not least of all the lace.

We then headed over to Old Jaffa for a more "ancient" feeling city. Tel Aviv feels like it could be in any country anywhere in the world (that speaks Hebrew, that is), so I wanted my mom and Jeni to get a feel for the unique personality and beauty of Israel on the first day. And boy, did they!

Look at that blue ocean!

My excitement spilling over!

We looked over the Mediterranean Sea and Tel Aviv, prayed in St. Peter's Church, and explored numerous little art galleries, jewelry shops, and one-of-a-kind designer stores. We definitely got in the Israeli mood.

It's exciting to have two people here whom I love so much and share an Orange County, California background with me. I find that they have similar perspectives and observations to my own, and it's been so enjoyable for me to explain my own experiences to them knowing that they'll understand what I mean. Talking with them about the history of Israel and the cities we've explored also opens my own eyes to the fascinating information I've learned and retained since my arrival. I'm spouting dates and facts like--

Go me, man.

From Jaffa, we drove about an hour and a half (due to traffic) to the city of Caesarea, an old Roman port that has the most fantastic view of the Mediterranean at sunset and unbelievable ruins.

How *wow* is that!?

We had a delicious dinner on the shore, then drove home in utter exhaustion. We are crawling into bed as tired as can be, because we have a packed day tomorrow--maybe my busiest since I've come to Israel!! Couldn't be more thrilled to spend my final week in Israel with two of the most amazing women in the world!

With so much joy,

Aubs (and Jeni and Sabrina!)

The First of the Lasts

Just finished up my last Shabbat dinner in Israel, and yesterday was my last day of my internship--can you believe it?

Before beginning my last day, though, the Stark family (holla, at you Sarah, ily) and Atara were arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, and, in addition to it being my last day, it was Sarah's birthday!! The Morris family woke up super early to decorate the Stark household and cook a delicious breakfast. I set my alarm for 6 AM... Then sat for an hour and a half due to the delayed plane. I basically fell asleep sitting up--

waiting like

After a lovely surprise (and an amazing gift of some trashy magazines from Sarah), I went in for my final day of Institute for Counter-Terrorism research on Thursday, slightly nostalgic. I put on a sad face, exhibiting my nostalgia and reluctance to leave....

But the sadness was a front.

To be honest, I was just so excited to wrap up this amazing experience, check off my accomplishment, and kick back to relax with the family (and two very special visitors arriving tomorrow!!!).

They're the best, you guys. I have so much fun with them. I honestly don't know what I'm gonna do without them once I leave.

I woke up this morning to a quiet house.

I honestly thought they might have abandoned me. I felt like Sid the sloth.

But it turns out everyone was just really jetlagged and sleeping in. So I wasn't left alone, thank God.

I spent the day preparing Shabbat food with Esther, watching Orit dance and perform for us, and preparing flower bouquets. Shabbat dinner was delicious and lovely; I even told some really hilarious jokes that people almost giggled at. I'm kinda almost part of the fam (:

Tomorrow is my last Israeli Shabbat, which about kills me inside. No more fresh hallah, which tbh is the best bread in the world.

No more Hebrew prayers--I mean, do I understand the words? Of course not, but I basically know the rhythms now.

No more benching and candles. SO SAD. 

But I'll probs end up going back to Harvard Hillel and celebrating Shabbat with everyone and I'll end up being a better Jew than all of them. I'll be like, "um excuse me did you wash? Then why are you speaking before we break hallah. Ignorant. Ugh."

The traditions have become so comfortable and homey to me, as has Israel. I plan on spending this last Shabbat really reflecting on the amazing times I've had in this beautiful country and the fulfilling relationships I've formed.

Shabbat Shalom, dear friends,

Aubrey