Au Revoir Washington!

With a collection of diverse feelings I embark upon this exciting and much anticipated adventure. Today is the day it all begins.

"It" is my five month adventure in Israel.

From Washington I am flying to Paris and then from Paris to Tel Aviv. I arrive in Tel Aviv around noon on October 24.

So, I know what everyone is thinking - PARIS!!?? I wish. My time in Paris is just a one and a half hour layover at the airport :( Paris and I will have to get acquainted another time around. To what I am most looking forward on the journey to Israel is the food!

If you have ever flown on an international flight then you know how hit or miss the meals can be. I have read wonderful things about the meals on Air France flights and hope to also be driven by my tastebuds to write wonderful things. Maybe I'll even get to sample a vegan croissant! A girl can dream, right? I hope the person who sits next to me is going to be ready for all of my foodie photos!

Though this post is on the lighter side it is not without some bittersweet sadness that I leave my home behind. 

In honor of my motherland Maryland, here is a list of the things I feel I will miss most (people excluded because obviously I will miss the people in my life the most):

1. The dewey smell of rain and how it always seems to remind me of the Land Before Time movies. Anyone following me on this one? Tree Stars?
2. Holiday music playing on the radio nonstop around Christmas time. Good thing I have Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You on my iPhone!
3. Halloween! I can't imagine growing up and not going trick-or-treating! What else are you supposed to do on the night of October 31? Certainly not homework.
4. Thanksgiving - but mainly just pumpkin-flavored everything! I wonder if Israel grows pumpkins?
5. Large piles of crunchy brown leaves to jump into! That's the best part of Fall!
6. Ice skating outside! Not that I actually do this regularly, but it's nice to have as an option :)
7. Valentine's Day and hearts. Hopefully I'll still be able to send Glen Coco his annual Valentine!  Mean Girls reference anyone?
8. The way the snow looks on the trees in the Winter. It looks like a scene straight out of The Nutcracker.
9. Christmas lights! Does Israel do Hanukkah lights? This probably is not a thing. Ironic because Hanukkah is supposed to be the festival of lights... it seems like American Christian households are winning on this one!
10. Target! Who wouldn't miss this place? They have everything anyone could possibly need. Where else can you get a Dora the Explorer DVD, a few oranges and a bookshelf all in the same place? Walmart is not a valid answer because its stores are always very inconveniently located.

It is hard to believe the next time I post to this blog will be from another country! I feel like I am about to go on an undercover assignment. Stay with me throughout the next few months for some groundbreaking coverage ;) 

Until next time, !להתראות (Lehitraot! - This means goodbye/ see you later in Hebrew.)