Bet Arel Is Awesome

 Leaving from JFK went smoothly, except that I forgot all my dress clothes in my closet, and had to double back to get them. As soon as we got on the plane, a nice Chabad man offered to put t'fillin on the fifteen or so Year Course boys. Many agreed. Looks like we were in the Israel spirit already. The meals were fine, but instead of serving Sabra hummus (which is a half Israeli company), El Al went with Sunny and Joe's brand, which was started by two brothers form brooklyn. It wasn't incredible, but it was certainly better than Sabra, which to me is  an American chickpea and corn syrup paste. Fun fact: the word sabra means a native born Israeli.

 We finally reached Ben Gorion airport, where we were then shipped off to our assigned locations for the first semester: Jerusalem, Arad, and Bat Yam. Carrying my skateboard, guitar, and two giant bags into the campus was difficult, but the task was well worth it. The first thing I noticed when I put my bags down, was how beautiful our campus Beit Arel really is. It is a small friendly campus in the city of Baka, which is a fifteen minute bus ride from Ben Yehuda street and the old city of Jerusalem. It has a nice lawn area, flowers, and several beautiful buildings that make up a semi circle.

  At first I was a little disappointed that I didn't get roomed with my Newton/Needham friends, but chose an incredible room with only two other guys that has a balcony overlooking all of campus. I have more room in my Jerusalem apartment then at home. Living with fifteen others guys is awesome, and our apartment is huge. We have two fridges, and one plate for each person. It's so fun I have to go and help cook our dinner now!

 Alex

Leaving JFK for the journey of a lifetime! I believe this may be one of the last pictures of my Grandma Bonma, who passed away on Tuesday the 9th of september. She was a big traveler, and really wanted me to have an amazing time on this trip! If she could, she probably would have gotten on the plane herself :)

The view form my balcony.