Shalom friends and family!

After a week of orientation in Cleveland Ohio I am on my way to Israel! I really like the other interns that are going over too. I can tell already that we are going to have fun and are going to be really close at the end of 9 months. During orientation we took some Hebrew language classes as well as a Cross Cultural Communications class with a super smart professor. For the CCC class I have 2 written assignments that are due at the end of the time in Israel. I am to keep a journal of things that I notice are different about the Israeli culture. He gave us several things to keep a look out for and then write a paper of what we find out. This assignment makes me happy because I now have extra motivation to keep a journal of the things that I do and see. That is one of the mistakes I wish I hadn’t made in Japan in 2004: not keeping a journal of what was different.

We had some mechanical problems with our flight leaving Cleveland. We were late for all our connecting flights. Because of the mess up in our schedule after we got to Washington D.C. and the airline put us up in a 4 1/2 star hotel, $15 dinner voucher, AND $200 flight voucher for the next time we fly with them! We were a day off schedule and still in the same clothes but it was a great deal.

Getting into the airport in Frankfurt, Germany was interesting...it smelled foreign. Israel smelled much better though. On the way to the Kibbutz we stopped and had an amazing dinner (pictures are up of it and the traveling) and we drove through the Valley of Armageddon! It is really beautiful here.

I have some pictures up and I will write more very very soon.

Love Netia ("Heather" in Hebrew translated)