athens airport

So I’m sitting in the Athens airport, mind racing with excitement! I found out that there’s free internet here, so I thought I’d write an entry about how freaking pumped I am! AHHH! I have been sitting in the lobby of our hotel for most of the day reading our Israel book and waiting to leave (we got kicked out of our rooms at noon checkout). Those hours were some of the longest of my life! As the clock ticked towards our 7:15pm hotel departure, the excitement in the lobby began to build and build. An extreme sense of euphoria hit us as we lugged out bags to the bus waiting down the street and drove to the Athens airport. That bus ride was probably the most lively journey we’ve had yet, nobody could stay in their seats due to pure excitement! 

This airport is almost completely empty! It’s crazy! Growing up with LAX, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an airport this deserted at any time of the night (it’s only 9:00!) Security was smooth and now we’ve taken over the entire gate and are giddy with excitement. Then everybody found out about the internet and entered into their own little worlds on laptops and iPhones (guilty as charged). 

I’m trying to put into words right now how I feel about this day finally arriving. I’ve been waiting for this day for almost a year, since our first informational meeting at the Kihlstrom’s house (the professor husband and wife with us). Israel was the selling point for me to come on this trip. For years my mom has told me that Israel was by far the best and most spiritually moving part of her Euro Semester with Westmont in ’79. I am so ready to see what God has planned for me this month in the Holy Land. I know I He is going to show me some amazing but challenging sights. We received our tentative schedule for the month today and I can’t believe this is about to happen! The last two mornings we have had lectures on the Israeli-Palestine conflict, and I can’t wait to learn so much more about it, there! This might be what I’m doing for the rest of my life. My plan right now is to learn Arabic, and hopefully come back here soon to learn it more on sight. This next month is going to be some what of a testing ground for that plan! 

Well, I assume we’re going to be boarding soon! We arrive in Tel Aviv around 1am, then go through crazy Israeli customs (God only knows how long that’s going to take). After that it’s an hour drive from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We didn’t book any hotel rooms for tonight since we’re getting in so late/early, so we’re going to play it by year when we get there. We’re hoping we can crash at Jerusalem University College (JUC), our home base for the month. It’s going to be a long night, but so worth it!