Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It begins!

And the trip begins! So happy to finally be in Israel. I left Toronto monday night and arrived in Paris tueday morning. It took me forever to figure out where the train was to leave the aiport. Once I found the train, it took me about an hour to get to my station just outside the marais (the jewish district). I had a very me moment when I got out of the train station on rue du rivoli and realized I knew exactly where I was because I remember the stores that were around me. in essence, H&M was my landmark and from there I knew exacty where to go. I went for lunch at a shwarma place on rue du rosier and just wandered around the streets. As I was walking I saw sign for the holocaust museum and decided to check it out. Turns out it was free, and I really enjoyed my time there. After that, I remembered there was a starbucks near by and went to just sit and relax and surf the web. After a while it was time to go back to the airport tocatch my flight to Israel. I landed in Tel Aviv around midnight and got into jerusalem around 2 am. At that point I pretty much crashed since I barely slept on the airplane. The next few days are my chance to get anything I forgot at home, and to reaquaint myself with the city, since my orientaation starts on tuesday!

Stay tuned for more updates :)


Monday, August 23, 2010

All the world's a stage

I am leaving for Israel later today and I am reminded of a quote by Shakespeare from As You like It "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances".
If this statement would be true, what would my life be? A comedy? A drama? A tragedy? In real life, I think we exist in a little bit of them all. We have our laughs and we have our tears. The people we meet in life have such a great impact on who we are in life. I have been truly blessed with an amazing set of friends (new and old) and family who have all played a helping hand in making me, well, me.

This past week has been so gratifying. Spending time with my amazing friends has made me see the quality in the friendships that I have made so far. Our friendships go beyond our mutual love for shopping, enjoying life, or even the intense debates we sometimes get into. These friendships are for life, and whether life is giving me ups or downs, these are the people I want to share those moments with. My hope is that on this adventure I will make even more new and amazing lasting friendships.

I am not only taking an emotional journey, but a physical one as well. As most of you know, travelling is a huge passion of mine. At times it seems as if I am in a game of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Never knowing which location will be next. Over the past year there have been some long and some short trips, but in short they have been plentifull. LA, New Orleans, Miami, Key West, New York, and buffalo and niagara are all places I have been in the past year that have produced some incredible experiences. I cannot wait to share with you all the new experiences that occur, and stay tuned for where in the world I am. Next stop Paris for the day before finally arriving in Israel!