Globetrotting: Israel, Part I

I’m going to the Holy Land. I’M GOING TO THE HOLY LAND!!! It’s still a bit surreal to me. I know I’m technically going for work, but this is one trip where my priority is the weekend and getting out of Tel Aviv to see Jerusalem….and Bethlehem….and the Dead Sea….and Masada.

So I’ve been doing some research to prepare myself for this trip. Again, I’m a bit ignorant when it comes to details about Israel. Here is what I do know/think:

- Hebrew is the national language and the work that I will be reviewing will be in Hebrew, so we will be using translators to help us;

- The Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict forever. I sort of understand the depth of what the entire conflict is about, but sort of don’t. I think I know just enough to keep me out of trouble, but actually hope to learn a lot more about what’s going on over there during my visit;

- My hotel is on the Mediterranean Sea (which I fully expect to have bright, turquoise, clear water) and the weather is meant to be highs around 80F and lows in the mid 60s…and SUNNY. How perfect is that?;

- I have heard that getting through airport security over there is a bit of a nightmare, so I will mentally prepare myself for long lines and pray for patience;

- History, history, and more history. It’s times like this that I kind of wish I lived in a country that had more history. The U.S. is so young compared to so many other parts of the world. I mean, where I’m going…..it’s in the Bible! Utterly unreal and amazing;

- I have printed out information about Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the Dead Sea, and Tel Aviv, to read on the plane so that I am armed with more knowledge than the average Joe.

Other than that, I don’t really know what to expect from Israel.

(P.S. As I finish this blog post, I am sitting in Tel Aviv after about a day and a half. So forgive me for making this so short. I didn’t want to ruin my Part I blog post with actual impressions. We’ll save that for Part II.)

I’ll just say for now, that Lonely Planet just voted Tel Aviv as the 3rd best city in the world :-)