March 31st- Touchdown

The Ben Gurion airport was dead. It was Friday evening (Shabbat) and not one store
was open and I think we may have been the last flight of the night. Customs was simple,
except for the fact that they thought I was an Israeli citizen and informed me the at it was
time for me to join the army. Mom, do not worry! I cleared things up and let them know
that I was not Israeli and that the American passport that the customs agent was holding
would tell her otherwise. All things checked out and I proceeded to baggage claim, picked
up my bag, and walked to the greeting area. As I walked around I heard a man’s voice yell
out Frisco and all of Israel knew that I had arrived. Jeremy had come with his roommate
Miri to pick me up and welcome me to his new home.
It was 8 in the evening and dark out, but it was still beautiful. We drove into Tel-Aviv
and the city was dead. All shops were closed except for a few bodegas (corner stores) and
the streets were empty. When we got to Jeremy and Miri’s apartment (in the center of Tel-
Aviv, between Dizengoff center and Dizengoff square), Jeremy’s girlfriend, Yafit, was
preparing dinner and it smelled fabulous. Their apartment was fantastic, three bedroom
and felt like home. Their third roommates name is Limor and we all sat down to dinner; a
wide variety of Israeli cuisine and it all tasted great.
After dinner we moved to the living room and just relaxed. Jeremy sparked up the
nargila (hookah) and some of his friends from school came by to hang out. The radio
station they all listen to plays the craziest variety of music, from current American pop and
hip-hop to 80s music with a couple Hebrew songs mixed in. Eventually it got late and we
were all wiped out and headed for bed. All in all, I do not even feel like I am in another
country. Everyone made me feel so welcome, it was like being at home.