Drama and Entrances, Disappointment and Exhaustion

They ferociously slammed on drums. They waved giant flags. They screamed until their lungs had nothing left to emit. The crowd at Ben Gurion Airport was greeting us, hundreds of eager and earnest Year Coursers, as we entered the Holy Land. At least, we thought they were cheering for us.

I thought the whole experience was a bit over the top, but heck, everyone says it is supposed to be the best year of your life, so perhaps the dramatic and grand entrance was just part of the Year Course shtick. Oh mercy me, how I improperly flattered myself. As it turns out, the joy on children's faces, the anticipatory, beautiful, young Israeli women could not distinguish between me and the Russian tour group I incidentally followed through the airport. The cheers, the jubilation, the overwhelming welcome was, in fact, for Omri Casspi, the first Israeli ever to play in the NBA. He strolled in just moments after us, and all of the sudden, I was a member of the crowd, star-struck like a confused teen at a Lady Gaga concert. 

Alas, after the hubbub died down, I eventually found my way to the Year Course bus, waiting outside in the scorching Tel Aviv heat. Exhausted from a lengthy plane ride which required us to wait two hours inside the beautiful walls of Boeing 747 on the ground of JFK Airport before taking off, I quickly passed out when I took a seat on the bus, as did my partner-in-crime for the year, pitching sensation and ultimate American boy Sam Forman.

After an hour ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we arrived at our apartment on Derech Chevron, a main street in Jerusalem. We live off campus, about a five minute walk from the main campus, where nearly 70 of the 103 kids on our section of Year Course reside. We were given our keys to our apartment, and dragged our heavy duffles up a few steps and into our new apartment, our new home, our new future.