Fabulous

Milia and I  headed to the airport on Thursday so excited for our trip to London! Milia was already in Tel Aviv and I was coming from Jerusalem. I arrived with plenty of time and made myself comfortable in the first class lounge. Milia managed to make it into the airport 4 minutes before the gate closed. It was quite stressful but we were both relieved to have made it on the plane. Our flight was uneventful with plenty of leg room and great food. We arrived in London and met Milia's Aunt Wendy before heading to her home in London. 

We were met at the door with a huge dinner before we crashed for the evening. The next day Milia's cousin David took us to the Tate for a special exhibit. We walked around London doing touristy things. Friday night of course we had a Shabbat dinner! My first Shabbat outside of Israel and it comforting to know wherever you go in the world Jewish families still do the same things for Shabbat. Saturday a family friend drove Milia and I around to see more touristy things but we ended up just shoe shopping in Chelsea. Sunday we went to the park and paddle boated on the river before the party. The only explantation for the weekend was fabulous!  

Monday we unfortunately had to leave our perfect weekend to head back to Israel. After pouting about leaving I realized I was going back to Israel! I have had such an exciting 7 months that I forget how lucky I am sometimes. Once I walked into the airport I knew something was wrong when they separated Milia and I and the questions started. I was being integrated like usual when you fly El AL. But this time it was different they took everything down to my passport before I was escorted with two guards to the gate. I was held and searched forever. The best part was Milia yelling at all the security people. I some home managed to keep it together knowing Milia was on the other side yelling at anyone and everyone who had something to do with El Al. That is a true friend, someone who will yell at the most intimidating Israeli man I have ever seen. It was anything but a pleasant experience but I made it home with no suitcase.

We finally arrived back in Israel at 5:30am. Tuesday was the first day of the Israeli Presidential Conference and so I rushed home to shower and change before heading to my office. The Conference was so much fun. I worked in the press room a lot the first two days working on gathering all the media that was going out about the conference. I heard Henry Kissinger and Tony Blair speak the first night. I met Peter Beinhart at one of the Bloggers sections that I helped with. He wrote a book called the Crisis of Zionism which is a major point of controversy. I helped with the Blogger section with President Shimon Peres. It was a question answer section where he answered questions about Iran, Jonathan Pollard, and what he wanted for his birthday. I wrote my first press release from the session! President Peres is very old and although he has it together you can tell he is very tired. I also sat in on panels about the Global Economic Crisis and the Arab Spring. I even got to meet Dr. Ruth who had the entire room laughing! As the three days were coming to an end, we met in the VIP room with President Peres where he thanked us for all our work. I was able to snap a perfect picture of us together. I learned a ton from the whole experience and had so much fun. Everyone I work with is so nice to me and they are just fun people. I am so glad that I was able to work with President's Conference and able to meet all the people I work with. 

Friday night I was invited to Shabbat dinner at Ruthie's, a girl I work with. Her family and a few friends all came to dinner. We laughed a lot and it was so nice to be around a family that is a lot like mine. Saturday Milia, Dena, Noah and I headed to Tel Aviv for the day. We sat on the beach all day! The Mediterranean Sea was finally not cold because it was so hot outside! We all ended up getting sunburnt before heading back to Jerusalem when the buses started to run again. 

I have moved into a new apartment with a girl I work with named Rachel. It is a major step up from my apartment in the heart of East Jerusalem. It is in a great part of town which I love exploring. All the cute shops and cafes have so much character. Rachel has shown be the ropes of the area and some of her favorite spots. 

I can not believe in 14 days I will be on a plane headed back to America. As much as I miss my family I am going to miss Israel. These last 7 months have been some of the best experiences of my life. Everything from the people I have met to the places I have visited it all has been amazing. I am sure going to miss getting free things in the market because of my blond hair! 

xoxo, 

Katy Ann