My last day in Israel (this trip)
Hillary and I had scheduled to meet up for lunch today at her school (IDC, the Inter-Disciplinary Center, in Herzliyah) at around 1:20pm since it was her first day at school, but she wanted to see me and hang with me during the day one last time (and vice versa). So last night she wrote me directions on a piece of paper (how I've been getting to new places around here) and headed out this morning.
Last night, we ended up chatting and hanging out together while she waited for her laundry to finish, and then I passed out. I didn't sleep very well last night; had weird dreams and kept waking up. Perhaps I was upset that I had to leave tonight. Anyway, this morning when I woke up again, I rolled up a t-shirt and put it over my eyes so I could sleep a little longer (my whole room is all windows) and it worked. I ended up sleeping until 11:45am (good thing too, because I won't be sleeping tonight). That gave me one hour to shower and get ready before I left to walk to the IDC.
I followed Hillary's directions and they were perfect up until the end. The day was perfect also - gorgeous, sunny, and in the 80s. The walk was beautiful; I passed by schools, kids, roundabouts, and people walking the other direction.
The last turn is where I screwed up since the IDC is a little confusing to get to if you've never been there before. Hil told me to hang a left on the last street, and I did, but what I really had to do was go straight, cross a large dirt parking lot and then hang a left (a little weird). Fortunately I didn't go too far down the street (maybe a half mile) before realizing I somehow missed a turn (Hil called me and I walked back and she met me at around 1:30pm).
We went on campus (gorgeous - I got let in with my passport; security rocks) and they were having a bazarre (sp?) today. Cool stuff but I didn't want any of it. Hil and I went to the cafeteria where you can choose from all sorts of food, and we got salads and tuna sandwiches. YUM. I love Israeli food.
We sat outside and sat on our own (even though our friends/her classmates were sitting a couple tables away) so we could bond with each other one last time. We chatted some more, and this one girl came up to us with Rob (classmate). Apparently she had exceptionally bad luck with her apartment and roommates (Hil is going to try and find her a new apartment). I gave her some legal advice and we finished eating.
Hillary had to get some administrative stuff done, so she walked me out around 2:45pm. I walked the whole way back and then hung a right on HaRav Kook Street to go to the mall to buy some Hanes sweatpants (Israeli cut) for my trip. The sun was still out and it was still warm - so gorgeous. I was really bumming that I had to leave tonight (though if they need a volunteer to bump, I will be the first one!).
I noticed there was an Arcaffe on the second floor of the mall so I'm hoping that Hillary gets back in time for us to stop at the mall for a cappuchino on the way to the train station... I bought my Hanes sweatpants and wandered around a bit more before heading back to the apartment around 4:30pm (the sun goes down really early over here so it was already getting cooler).
When I got back here, I spent the next little bit packing up my stuff and bumming some more. I'm now waiting for Hillary to get back from the IDC. Then, we head over to the train station so I can catch my 9:50pm train to Mercaz, and then from there I'll catch the 10:45pm train to the Ben Gurion airport. I MISS ISRAEL AND HILLARY ALREADY!!!! :(
I'll be missing Game 2 of the World Series because I'll be on the plane at that time, but I'll be cheering on the Detroit Tigers from 37,000 miles in the air (with my Detroit Tigers hat on). I'm not worried that they lost Game 1 because our boys seem to need a kick in the pants every once in a while. And anyway, this just means that we'll win the World Series at HOME this time! GO TIGERS!! :D