Saturday, the 5th of Feb.
That was the first thought I had when my alarm went off at 5am. It’s not so much getting up at 5am as going to bed at 1:45am then getting up at 5am that does it to me. Anyways, I stumbled downstairs to wait for the shuttle only to be greeted by a very chipper British lady who was probably in her late fifties. She was also taking the shuttle and while we waited, she wanted to know everything about me. Where I was from, where I was going, what I would be doing there etc. It was actually great because I love meeting new people, it just threw me off a bit at 5:30 am.
I’ll say this for the Brits, they really do security right. I checked my bags, including having to go to two different British Airways desks, cleared security, took a serious of trams and escalators and was at my gate in 32 minutes. Not bad considering the TSA would have just starting warming up the porno-machine in 32 minutes.
A little bit of despair/frustration set in when I realized that after the agony of the flight to London an almost equally long flight to Tel Aviv faced me now. However, I wound up seating next to Conrad, well actually there was one seat between us which was perfect. Conrad is a really cool English chap who works in London for a US software and logistics firm. He goes to Israel about 15 times a year for business so he had loads of useful info. Plus, he’s flown so many times that he knew exactly when we were crossing the Alps. Being the thoughtful fellow that he is, he interrupted my movie (Due Date, which is hilarious) to open the shade so I could see them. They are breathtaking, even at 30,000 feet you are overwhelmed by the grander and majesty of those mountains. With all due respect to my brother, I can’t wait to go skiing there.
Upon arrival in Tel Aviv I was a little nervous because while the law school here “recommends” that you have a student visa upon entry, it’s not actually required and all the material they sent me said I could come in without one. That is until about 5 days before I left when they sent me an email saying they recommended I have one. The fact that I did not have one, coupled with Israel’s notoriously difficult immigration/security made me slightly tense. However, I needn’t have worried. When it was my turn I walked up to the booth and the guard asked me the purpose of my visit. I responded that I was there to study.
“Study what?”
“International law.”
“Where?”
“Buchmann Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University.”
“Ah cool. [big smile] I’m a law student myself at [a law school I can’t remember but fully intend to look-up]. Do you have a visa?”
“No, the law school said I could get one when I got here.”
“Alright. Get the visa when you get a chance. Welcome to Israel.”
End of discussion. I really could get used to this whole “being a lawyer makes people actually want to help you” thing. It’s new to me.
After immigration I sailed through customs, caught a taxi and checked into a hotel. Providentially the taxi cab ride took me by my apartment building so I got to check it out briefly. Once I checked into the hotel I walked up to check out the area around the apartment building and then called it a night. I just couldn’t believe that the hotel that the airport info-desk lady booked for me happened to be within easy walking distance of my apartment. What a blessing!
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the two “reunions” I had in the airport. The first person I saw after deplaning was a guy wearing an E&Y backpack in the airport. We struck up a conversation and discovered we’d worked on some of the same clients. Thousands of miles apart but the same team. The second reunion was of course an Auburn Family Reunion™. After clearing customs I was trying to decide what to do, I could either call my prospective landlord who had offered to put me up for the night or check into a hotel. I finally decided on the hotel but while I was thinking I hear a big “war eagle” and I get a big hug from this lady who’s frantically tugging at her husband and pointing at my shirt. We exchange “war eagles” and go on our way.
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