ARRIVAL NEWS יחךלيلتيبات

The travel was being exhausting, but everything was going well. I was in the plane from Prag to Telaviv sitting near to a old Jewish couple emigrated in Canada that were returning to Israel for some reason. Shortly after the "free" meal served by the Check hostesses, we were flying over Telaviv. It was around 5 am and the view was just amazing…Lights everywhere in a city that spreads itself along the sea.
But soon the plane landed and the "nightmare" started. I got out of the plane and like all the other passengers I started walking towards the Baggage Claim area. But first I had to go through the Passport Control. I saw a free cabin with a strong lady sitting inside. I walked towards it, gave my passport and Visa so that that she could put a stamp on it and let me through. But noooooooo, it was not that easy! With the most inquisitive and suspicious look I ever seen in somebody (here I realized why that cabin was empty), she started staring at my passport, then me, then my passport again and then started shooting questions at me like if she was a heavy machine gun:
What do you want to do in Israel?
What are your plans?
What do you do in life?
Why don’t you have a hotel reservation?
Why do you come to Israel?
Do you have a VISA card?
How much money you have with you?
Why do you come alone?
How will you manage?
What did you do in Dubai and why did you go there?
I have to admit that this lady made me so nervous, that I could feel cold sweat in my hands and my heartbeat going up. My story to her was more or less the following: "I am a from Portugal and currently I am a PhD student in Germany that comes here as a Tourist and I intend to visit Telaviv, Nazareth, Jerusalem and Haifa if I have time. I don’t have a hotel booked and I intend to get a cab to Telaviv and then look for something since this time is not a good time to arrive in a hotel (5am). I don’t have money with me because I have credit and debit cards, and to my knowledge I can get money from the ATM's here with them, so there is no purpose in carrying lots of money with me. I come alone because in Europe it is a common way for young people to travel. I went to Dubai because I flew with emirates airlines to India and I took the chance to make a stopover there and visit the place."
But I guess this story was not good enough for her and she called some security guy and started talking in Hebrew to him. I didn’t understand but I guess I could take the meaning out of it and it seemed to me that the guy was telling her that it is ok and to let me go. She insisted and he took me to some other office… I started to get worried, but I told to myself not get nervous and to calm down. So I took a book from Oscar Wilde and started reading while I was waiting for somebody to come after my 2nd passport check. I was lucky I guess because the story in the book was indeed funny and when a man came to me with my passport in hands and started making me the same questions the inquisitive lady made me before I was steel cold and calm. I told him the same story and finally he gave me the passport and a 3 months visa and I could go through. I did go through the inquisitive lady again to show her that I had my visa. She was pissed I could see it. I was then going to get my backpack when another girl checked my passport and visa and started making me the same questions and added some more personal questions:
If you are a student how come do you have the money to come here?
And the time?
You really can afford to be here?
I told her the same (old by now) story about the European tourist and she let me go through. In the end I asked her which was the belt number of the place where I could get my luggage and she was actually quite nice and helpful. I went there and I never thought that seeing my orange big backpack again could make me so happy.
I am not aterrorist... have no bad intentions...I'm just a tourist...so why so much worries?
Finally I was out of this mess and I went towards the exit. There was a man standing and looking at all the passengers with a piece of paper with "Life for Relief and Development: LUIS SARAIVA" written on it. I thought it could be my taxi driver and I made him a sign with my hand. He nudged and for me that was the sign. We shaked hands and introduced myself. His name is Mahmoud. He is an Arab from Nazareth and we got along quite well. So we went all along the coast and then turned into the inner part of Israel in direction of Nazareth. In the middle of the journey we had a strong, hot coffee in a gas station and discussed gasoline prices and salary/cost-of-living differences between Europe and Israel. Once in Nazareth (a beautiful millenary city built on a top of a hill) he left me in my new house: a ground zero apartment with a big bedroom, a big living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. There was a very nice couple waiting for me who gave me the house key and provided me the first "car city tour". During the tour he left his wife in her job (she works as a teacher in a kindergarten) and then we proceeded all the way up to the top of the hill and finally he dropped me at my place so that I could get some sleep before meeting Mr. Iyad Suleiman (the Regional Coordinator of the Nazareth LIFE Office) that same day at 15:00.
I slept like an angel for 7 hours almost and woke up around 14:00, had a shower, prepared a tea and started writing my diary when the bell rang. It was Iyad! Finally I met him in person. We got into his car and we got directly to LIFE office in the city center. There he introduced me to Haytham and Sondos (the two other people working there) and we talked a bit about the To Do list for the coming days and week. Afterwards I didn’t do much… just met the building cafeteria people, made a car tour through the old part of the city where Iyad showed me some key places (monuments, internet café and Alreda, the café to meet other volunteers) and then he dropped me near the office. I walked home alone and went back to the city to buy some fruit and pay a visit to the net café. I tried to find Alreda, but as it was more far than what I thought, I quitted and went home. Did some Capoeira in the living room and went to bed. Had to wake up early the next morning.
What a day!

Love you all and don't worry

ps - my keyboard can write in arabic and hebrew. isnt that cool:
ק צקדצם כןסק
ث ةثسةخ بهءث

ps2 - to all the gramattic lovers i appologize because these keyboards give me a hard time and i dont have so much time to write so I will use written slang. hope you understand.

kisses and hughs