לַיְלָה טוֹב Laila Tov

The day I arrived in Tel Aviv felt like night. I disembarked the plane with the usual shock and disorientation at the weather, time, and surroundings that is a natural part of travel. Flowing with the crowd I reclaimed my luggage (after what felt like 3 hours at the baggage claim) and headed for the exit. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to see the person that was picking me up, but as soon as I saw the crowd with their signs and the hugs of returning families and friends I felt like it didn't matter. I could have been lost in the airport and unable to get to Tel Aviv or where I needed to go, and it didn't matter because I was so elated to be in this new and exciting place. Luckily it didn't come to that and I spotted the trademark purple and white of NYU being held by a young guy with wildly curly hair and a slightly dazed look. The sign said "welcome שָׁלוֹם أهلا" in the three languages of the country.

The man with the sign turned out to be our RA Asaf who introduced himself as such with an avuncular bubbly manner that I would later come to realize characterizes Asaf. He led me over to some chairs taking my luggage in hand to my protests and introduced me to the two people sitting there. One I knew, Jeff, a friend from NYU, and another Becka, who looked vaguely familiar and we would later realize we took Hebrew together. We chatted pleasantly about our flights and experiences while Asaf returned to his post to wait for the next two arrivals, Annie and Jennifer.

It was only when we had all gathered and made it through the pleasantries and were out the door in the hot Israeli heat waiting in line for a taxi that I truly felt alone. Listening to Hebrew so swift I could only pick out a word or two at most, and unable to even tell a taxi driver where to go I felt the beginings of fear which I carefully stamped out during our cab ride to Tel Aviv.

Getting to my room and settled into this new living space went by in a blur of new names, faces and sights. I divested myself of my baggage glad to be rid of its weight and readied myself for the challenge of meeting new people. To my surprise and continuing joy the 17 people I have been blessed to have this experience with are some of the nicest, and most honestly friendly people anyone could hope to meet.

Our first night in Tel Aviv we walked the streets of our neighborhood taking in the heavy perfume of its night heat, and the smell of trees interspersed in every open plot. Feral cats by uncountable numbers slinked along our path on their own far more important missions. We made out way to a small bar a few blocks down at the intersection of Yehuda Maccabi and Ibn Gvirol and sweated together over bears and speech as we got to know each other and the country around us. Later this bar would become a favorite for shared smoothies in the quick afternoon break between classes, but at that moment all I knew was that I was sharing a wonderful place with truly wonderful people.

And so at the end of the night as we payed our bills and walked off into the dark I spoke my first Hebrew to our Israeli waitress, לַיְלָה טוֹב Laila Tov Good Night.