Introduction

My plane touched down at Ben-Gurion Airport from Toronto exactly two weeks ago.  I'm not sure whether that's supposed to be a long time or not.  But, the truth is, once I got over what felt to be insurmountable jet lag (yes, jet lag is a very real thing), celebrated New Years Eve (or Sylvester as they call it here) in Tel Aviv with new friends at the hostel I was staying at, went on a few painfully long runs that allowed me to see the area from a different vantage point than if you're limited to short distances, moved into my apartment in Herzliya (a city just North of Tel Aviv) and figured out how to not only get to the train station but also get on the correct train without checking my phone, I started to settle in.  

For those of you who don't know, I'm here for about two and a half months this winter, eight weeks of which I'll be spending working on a project in supply chain process improvement for a medical device company called EarlySense, which is located on the edge of Tel Aviv.  Basically, that means that I'm getting school credit to work at one of the many companies in Israel that rose from startup level to actually producing and marketing several products all over the world.  As one of the employees says, the company is still a "teenager", but it's grown immensely since its founding in 2004 to encompass a hundred employees.  

I know I'm a little late to the uptake (a lot can happen in two weeks!) but I needed a little time to soak everything in before I started on this blog.  I will aim to update twice a week and here, you will find my ramblings about life in Israel-- what it's like to thrive in a nation where people are constantly approaching you asking for directions and other questions in Hebrew and you're only equipped with a handful of words (guess that means I don't stick out as an American tourist to everybody; I'd call that progress), the experience of being able to run along the beach in a T-shirt and shorts in January (hey, I'm from Buffalo; this weather may be cold to the Israeli's but it's an anomaly to me!) and ultimately, where my travels take me as I delve into all Israel has to offer, from history to natural beauty to culture and religion to food (all the food).  

Thanks for reading, let me know if you have any questions and let the adventures begin!