As the first week winded down to a close, so did our Birthright trip. That first week's level of happiness with everyone was going to be hard to beat as the bar was set so high. At this point, I knew generally what my next step was, but I never made a concrete plan. I knew my next step would be to separate with the group and start my life here in Israel on my own. To be honest, I was more anxious than I was nervous or scared and that was for good reason.
Oh, I forgot to mention a gorgeous detail. On this trip I met a young lady. How did we meet? Glad you asked. She was sitting one seat behind me on the flight over. At some point my neighbor (also a birthrighter) stood up, without hesitation, she jumped over the seat into the vacant one next to me. As a Squaaa, we had been talking almost the whole flight but I never directly talked with her. This took me by surprise! Why would she jump over? I never asked her why but I didn't need to. I knew it was for a very specific reason. The rest of the flight washed out into a haze of sleep, bad food and deep thought about what is to come. At one point I noticed her trying to sleep. "If you want to use my shoulder, its here" I said with a million thoughts racing through my head. Usually I wouldn't say this out loud, I would just think it, but I sure am glad I said It out loud. At first she refused, and then a few minutes later, her head was on my shoulder and I could see a little smile on her face. This is how I met Maria.
Maria never left my side. From day one she cast a reassuring demeanor over me that I would soon come to love. We grew closer and closer throughout the adventures to the point where we had to keep reminding ourselves that less than a week before, we were complete strangers. It helped a lot to be able to share such touching and rooted moments along the trip with someone that cared just as much as I did. This may be my grandparents speaking through me, but Maria never failed to surprise me with the Jewish Mamaleh deep inside her that Ive only heard my grandparents talk about. Naturally, emotions emerged and separation became a scary thought. On one of the trips through the country, the idea of extending her trip came up, and at that point there was no way she was going back with the rest of the group.
We were greeted at the airport by a close family friend who I would be staying with for the next two years. We stuffed the small car with our suitcases and ourselves and quickly made it to Ashdod. After sleeping a mere 2 hours every night for the whole week before, we stepped into the house, saw a bed and somehow fell asleep mid flight down.
If I missed this point before, Birthright was my way of getting to Israel with the intention of staying. Why two years? The next blog will cover that.
Gud Shabos
1/15/2016