Una Semana

Hello, Faithful Readership!

Well, we're here, at one week until liftoff. Interestingly, this last week is not going to be spent at home in Phoenix, but rather in the seaside towns of Los Angeles and San Francisco! You see, I'm going on a farewell road trip with my church group, a group of 8 men with whom I have bonded over the past four years. It's going to be a great trip, and as much as I look forward to the new experiences, I'm sure I will be overcome with sadness with the fact that this tight-knit group of people will not ever be as tight as we have been.

It's both exciting and depressing to be going through this stage of life right now. This past week, for example, I had to say goodbye to everyone who isn't going on the road trip, since I'll only have a day to prepare for Europe upon my return. There were many painful moments, and I can only hope and pray that my future holds as much joy and friendship as the last four years have.

Anyways, for those of you who haven't seen me, I had a mohawk for the past week, which was an adventure in itself. I got so many interesting looks from the public as I walked around. In fact, I was tempted to leave it on to prove to people that a hairstyle doesn't define a person, but alas I needed to be a little bit more low-profile for Europe, so I completed the buzzing of my hair, and it's... interesting, to say the least. I seem to always have had long hair, but now I'm Euro-tastic looking, ready to take on that awesome continent.

As for preparations for Europe, I have reserved hostels in about 1/3 of the cities I am going to, uploaded no less than 55 hours of books on tape, bought last-minute supplies, and prepared my room for a 6 month hibernation until winter break. Everything seems to be going swimmingly, although I misplaced my ISIC card, but they're sending a new one to me, and I was a little late about ordering some Amazon stuff, but it'll come next week and I can grab it before I head out.

Israel has proven an interesting adventure from the start! I've finally come to a semi-final itinerary for the Middle East stretch of my trip, and it is missing something that I was hoping for- Jordan. Apparently, in order to get to Amman, the capital, from Jerusalem, it takes about 6 hours due to overwhelming border security. I emailed a fellow travel blogger, and he suggested that it would not be worth it for a single-night stay in the country. Thus, I am spending my 9 days entirely in Israel. No complaints here, though- I'm happy to do it. Also, the blogger said that if I wanted a more Arab feel, I could just go around the West Bank. So, without further ado, my Israel itinerary:

July 13- Fly into Tel Aviv
July 14- Jerusalem
July 15- Jerusalem
July 16- Jerusalem/Bethlehem
July 17- Jerusalem/Dead Sea/Jericho
July 18- Sea of Galilee/Capernaum
July 19- Nazareth
July 20- Haifa
July 21- Tel Aviv
July 22- Depart Tel Aviv for Vienna

If you have any further suggestions, especially for Israel, please comment or email me at thefroeb@gmail.com.

So, there it is! I plan on bringing all my Euro stuff to San Fran with me as a test of all my gadgets and clothing, so I'll probably post from an internet cafe there to let you all know what's going down. As always, I appreciate comments and any suggestions.

You Stay Classy, Reader!