The Joys of Living In Space

Our first day of the trip concluded with a visit to a graveyard just outside a small farming community named Nahalal, located in the north of Israel near Nazareth. As we wandered about the area, our tour guide Jamie had us gather around a particular grave that overlooked a view of the town below. Although it was a far cry from the magnificent vistas in the Golan Heights and the Negev Desert we would encounter later in our trip, it possessed a quiet, rural appeal made all the more effective by the fact that we were the only ones there and the sun had just begun to set behind us. We learned that the grave we were asked to view belonged to Ilan Ramon, and as the group began to encircle it and quiet down, Jamie told us his story.

Different Ways To Make A Journey

I can't sleep on airplanes. I don't know what it is. Something in the combination of excitement about my destination, uncomfortable seats, and my still-present, wide-eyed wonderment at the fact that a giant metal structure carrying hundreds of people is able to soar through the air largely without incident prevents me from achieving slumber. To make matters worse, our plane embarked on its 9+ hour journey at 2:30 pm. As we flew east into darkness, I couldn't help but feel like a bird whose cage was slowly being covered by a blanket in hopes that he would sleep. As they turned off the cabin lights a mere two hours into our flight, I decided that I would not be so easily duped as my avian counterparts. Besides, we were going to Israel! How could one sleep at a time like this? Luckily I had some recorded episodes of Israeli Cash Cab playing on the monitor in front of me and my trusty iPod to keep me company.