Tenara Gets Descriptive

My grandparents bought me a Kindle for my birthday, and it is currently by my side (just purchased Darkly Dreaming Dexter!).  I'm listening to the acoustic version of Say You Don't Want It by One Night Only.  There are a crap-load of bags on my bed from Easton, including Bath and Body Works, Target, Hot Topic, and Lids - all with things either for me or for the host families I am staying with in Israel.  By my elbow are four bottles of the Chinese herbs I'll be bringing with me by strict instruction from my acupuncturist (I know, I'm a hippy).  There are two large suitcases - empty - standing in the middle of my room.  My camera and webcam are perched haphazardly on my desk, and I had to say goodbye to a couple people today until May.  

Now that the show is over, reality is actually sinking in.  I think I subconsciously scheduled my first Walkabout so that I could not face the fact that I am leaving for nine weeks until I had to.  Now I kind of have to.  My mom said I should pack some warmer weather stuff for May tonight, but it's 10:30, and I really doubt that'll happen.  Is it a good idea to stuff my ears with my fingers and say "lalalalalalalala" until I'm on the plane?

In regards to the show - everything went marvelously.  We had a practically full house the first night and a completely full house the second night.  The second night, Eileen, Holly, Andy, Fred, and Melissa came.  I was so happy.  There were a couple glitches in terms of lines, but improv was great.  Keihin ripped apart the audience doing a Beevis and Butthead impression.  It was a Four Square scene with Amber, and during the second round (the first round she wasn't even able to say anything) she said "Can you believe I've never even seen our show before?"

After the show, the cast (minus Keihin and Daryon, because they're lame) went to the Blue Danube for a very late dinner.  A couple other people came.  We were there until midnight.  I was so sleepy for the majority of the time, and then when I got home I realized I was sinking into a post-show depression.  Fortunately I knew that Damien and Amber were also suffering from this terrible affliction, as they were online at 2:30 in the morning with me, posting things on Facebook about the show.

Today I had coffee with Maria and Leslie Reece.  It was a sad coffee because I realized how much I'm going to miss everyone.  I had to say goodbye to Myca yesterday too.  On Tuesday I'm dropping by the theater to give Rich and Britt their card and say goodbye to the interns (WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA), and probably stop by school and cry or something.

I am leaving on Wednesday afternoon at four.  I'll be in Newark around five, and then my flight to Israel doesn't leave until after ten.  I'll get into Tel Aviv at 4:35 pm Israel time.  That's seven hours ahead of my life.  It's interesting to think that the Israelis are in tomorrow already.  

My two biggest concerns as of right now is getting too homesick to enjoy myself and getting over jet lag in a rapid fashion.  I hate jet lag.  It impairs my senses and my ability to have fun, it makes me nauseas, and I can't sleep when I need to.  Even when I do get at least seven hours of sleep, my internal clock is still telling me that I'm dumb and should be sleeping at four in the afternoon.  Also, I can't seem to eat.  The easiest way for me to get over jet lag is if I repair my internal food clock, so having meals at the appropriate time of the day sometimes can speed up the process.

What I am totally excited about is seeing all of my wonderful friends.  I am staying for the first weekend with my family friends Udi Avital and his partner Alon.  Then they are driving me to my host family's house, my mom's cousin Micha, his wife Sybil, and his three daughters; Elinor, Romi, and Ta'ir.  Elinor just came back from a two-year period going to an international school in India, and now she's working at Amnesty International.  She's 19.  Romi is a year younger than me, and Ta'ir is 14.  Apparently, Micha told my mother that the girls are already placing bets to see who I'll bond with the most.  I must say, that's putting a lot of pressure on me.

At the end of the first full week in Israel, I'll be taking a bus from Tel Aviv to Moda'in where the Kagan family lives.  They're good friends of my family from Columbus.  They were here because Avi Kagan was the Israeli representative for the Columbus Jewish community, and our families grew very close.  I'll spend the weekend with them and then take a bus back to Tel Aviv for the work week to start on Sunday.  In Israel, it's only half of Friday and all of Saturday that they have off.  A day and a half?  Insanity!