Two days till Israel

In two days we'll be on our way to Israel. These things have a way of sneaking up, don't they? I don't feel particularly well prepared. I mean, I pretty much know what I'll be bringing, and we're booked with a tour group so I don't have to worry about planning. But how do I prepare mentally? I guess that's what the eight-hour layover in Newark and 13-hour plane ride will be good for ... groan ...

I've been thinking about this for both trips, though. I can read all the books I want about a place, look at a million pictures -- but I can't fully prepare myself for something I've never experienced. And that's the whole point, right? To go out and experience different places and cultures, to see another world? So I'm really really excited, but in a weird way, I'm not sure what I'm excited for. If that makes sense.

I remember the first time I went abroad. It was to Italy for my senior trip in high school. It blew my mind. I'd traveled a lot with my family, around the U.S. We'd visited spots along the Oregon Trail and seen the Grand Canyon. And I think this country is beautiful and has many very cool things to see. But the U.S. is so new compared (to? with? where's my AP Stylebook?) Italy. I stood in the Forum on the Ides of March. It was SO COOL. It was like I was walking into a fairy tale. Those stories I had read (in history books) were real! Julius Caesar wuz here!

The thing is that I had studied European history (though it was NOT my subject) and I even took Italian that year. But nothing had fully prepared me for what I saw and did when I was there. It was exhilerating.

So here we are, getting ready for a trip to Israel, a place I've been reading about all my life. I can't wait to find out what it's like to actually be there.