Everything works out in the end

I just spoke with Liran, my Shlichat Aliyah this evening and she clarified all of the issues I had, informed me that the assistant I had been working with has left the Jewish Agency but that she did complete everything correctly in regards to my file and the like. Can't say that I've been more relieved in a long time. I've been getting myself too worked up in this process! I've been feeling like people don't listen to me and things aren't getting done when in reality I'm right on track. Liran advises I hold off a little while on the Visa application I think until next month which is fine with me because I have not time to go to philly right now as I'm in the midst of a rediculous amount of school work and will be preparing for finals shortly. Thank you Yael and Cori for the quick and helpful responses and If anyone missed memorial day and independence day in Israel check out yael's blog at olehgirl.com for some great videos and commentary.
In continuance of the theme of this post, I'm beginning to reflect on the last 4 years of my life and I can't believe how fast the time goes. The path I thought I was embarking on as I entered college life is not the one I've taken. I certainly didn't take the fastest, most direct, or least resistant path, I blazed new trails, tried and failed, and sometimes when I least expected it succeeded. There were great laughs, lots of tears, time with friends, and time of lonliness but I've made it, the path was never clear I never imagined it would lead to such great friendships, and so many unique opportunities. In my preparations to become an Oleh Chadash, to settle amongst my people and tie myself to the land nation that has been our collective hope for generations I realize that the older and wiser people in my life who have always told me things happen for a reason and that everything will work out for the best are right. I will graduate from University a better person, I will move to Israel and I will strive to improve my new home with all I have learned along the way and it will all work out in the end.

Frustrated (again)

So by now I've been through the majority of the pre-aliyah process. I've experienced the lack of a sense of urgency or interest on the part of the Jewish Agency which eventually I pushed through. I've dealt with the slow and frustrating proof of Judaism issues (non-issue became an issue). Waited for responses to questions and inquiries which all amounted to a lot of frustration but never the less I've been able to have my tik (file) approved. Now I'm ready to apply for my Aliyah Visa and I still need to send in my application for Ulpan. Unfortunately when I called JA in Philly, the assistant is out for personal reason and I tried to other people I was referred to with no response. I have questions about both applications which I can't seem to find a human being to answer. I'm a little tired of voicemail, e-mail, and recordings but I'm still sooooo excited about my upcoming Aliyah especially as we celebrate our independence.
On another note, the weather here in central pennsylvania has been absolutely beautiful and I have just about no motivation to do any more work for school despite the fact this should probably be my most demanding 2 weeks this semester. I guess I'll push through as I only have a couple of classes to take this summer and then GRADUATION!
I'm trying to decide if I should by an unlocked GSM phone here and then get a sim card in Israel or if I should wait and buy a phone from Orange,Cellcom etc.

Condolences/ Progress

First I'd like to extend condolences to the families and friends of all those who were lost in the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. I would like to recognize Prof. Liviu Librescu (Liev ben Isadore), a holocaust survivor, husband, father, teacher, and hero. Prof. Librescu put his students life before his own, this is not only an act of bravery but one of love, compassion, and selflessness. The Talmud says that to save one life is as if you have saved the world, Prof. Librescu saved more than one life and most certainly sacrificed himself for others, a noble and heroic act.

Over the last month and a half, I have made a lot of progress towards aliyah.
In March, I met with Shalichat Aliyah in Philadelphia and successfully opened my Tik Aliyah. I went through an unnecessarily long proof of Judaism process which has been all settled now. Shout out to Rav Schertz! Once my file was opened I went forward with selecting an Ulpan and I will be studying @ Kibbutz Ein Hashofet in the Ulpan for Student Olim Chadashim (Student immigrants) . Things have been slow as there's not much to do when you are waiting for your file to be approved and I received word last week that it was. The most exciting news to report is that I booked my one-way ticket to Israel today!!!! It's really happening although I had wanted to leave in early September with Nefesh, family obligations which include the high holidays have led me to reconsider and I'm booked on the Sept. 29 flight out of Newark.
More news to come soon as I apply for my Visa in the coming weeks.

New Beginnings- an introduction

So first I should introduce myself. For those of you who don't know I'm a senior at Penn State University and I'll be graduating in August. I will be making aliyah (emigrating to Israel) in late September and through this blog I will try to document the process, articulate my feelings, and share my experiences.
Now that the formalities are out of the way I'll bring you up to speed.
My fifth trip to Israel was a 2 week adventure in early January of this year. I traveled with a group of young adults to volunteer my time and to experience something of the North of Israel in the wake of this summer's war. I spent much of the trip in Tzfat, cleaning and refurbishing bomb shelters and exploring the beautiful mountains, trails and scenery of the Northern Galil and the Golan. Along the way the thoughts of Aliyah began to trickle into my mind and eventually penetrated my heart. On previous trips I had fantasized about moving to Israel but it was never a serious option. This time it was different, I understood that Aliyah was not some far off dream and that Israel was not just an occasional spiritual playground, it was and is a special place where I could really begin a new and meaningful path in my life. With that I decided I was coming to Israel to live after college. Often people ask me why I want to move to Israel in utter disbelief and I often have trouble articulating it. What I can say is that I think of generations of family before me, living a meager existence in the cold, poor, villages of Galicia and Russia who prayed to g-d daily to return to Eretz Tzion. These poor people many of whom perished in the pogroms, the czars army and the Shoah never new of the Jewish State, never set foot on the shores of Eretz Yisrael, never walked in the path of our forefathers, never saw thousands of Jews gathered in prayer in Yerushalayim and never imagined that one day their descendant, Ethan Henshell, Yisrael ben Shmuel would do all of those things. Today I have the privilege to settle in the land of my people, to help build our nation and to ensure that we continue to be a light unto nations and for that I am grateful to my ancestors who toiled in exile and prayed for the gift I have been given.