Bon Voyage

 Well, she made it to Israel. After umpteen bumps along the way including:

 

·      Missing the original emails inviting her to apply for the fellowship;

·      Not submitting her documents to her school in time to get her visa over Thanksgiving;

·      Being advised by her university not to go abroad;

·      Being told by her university that abroad classes held remotely won’t count for credit;

·      COVID spikes;

·      Israel closes its borders;

·      Program doesn’t have a clear path forward due to COVID uncertainty;

·      Israeli Consulate in NYC cancels her visa appointment (COVID’s fault);

·      Israeli Consulate in Washington, DC won’t make visa appointments for NJ residents;

·      Israeli Consulate opens up, but earliest visa appointment is a week after her flight takes off;

·      1^st Covid test taken too early;

·      Plus a myriad other things that my brain has blocked out because there’s only so much I can endure before I completely shut down.

 

But we got her to the airport, through the scary Israeli security who made her recite the Ve’ahaftah in the middle of the airport (hee hee). Her baggage made it onto—and off—the plane. At least, I assume so since I didn’t get a call or text about it (her bedding and towels didn’t make it, and I did get a text about that, but I think she’s dealing with it). And she is now in her apartment quarantining with the rest of the fellows. 

 

I feel twelve pounds lighter and miraculously, I don’t have a headache for the first time in about a month. Who’d a thunk?

So now I can concentrate on other things, like my upcoming book, which is available for preorder.