Well, SHALOM there! Aliyah, Part I...

Hey everyone! The word on the street is true - I, Erica, have arrived in the Holy Land and am here to stay!!

What's for lunch?? (Translation from EricaSpeak: What's up??)

This move is MAYJAH. I have wanted to make aliyah my whole life and contemplated it two other times within the past five years. This year, I finally felt sufficiently mature (was that a snicker I heard??) and ready to take on such a big life change. When people ask me what the decision-making process is like, I tell them it's like getting married - close your eyes, plunge off that diving board and hope like hell you will land on your feet, all the while knowing you will be fine eventually but still fearing you will smash into a million, billion pieces.

No matter, 2009 was the year and I proceeded to tell 200 of my closest friends. I was therefore accountable and there was no turning back!

I signed up for the December 29 Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) charter flight to Israel and sublet my apartment to a dear and hilarious man for the duration of my lease. I then moved out of Manhattan (horrors!) and it was back to the land of my birth, the borough of Queens, where I spent the month of December. I enjoyed reliving my childhood days in the Homestead of Parental Love, with its packed fridge, in-house treadmill, generous cable package and comfy couches. Hanging with my brother on a daily basis again was fun, and we bickered and horsed around like old times.

The packing/preparing frenzy was hellish, with my ever-loving mom taking me on endless, warehouse-style shopping trips to Costco, BJ's and the like, to pick out every possible item I might not be able to get in Israel. This includes pumpkin pie spice, which I have never used in my life, but thought I would like to have around since you never know.

I prepared myself emotionally by watching tons of Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) videos and sobbing poetically during each viewing, imagining myself saying goodbye and coming back to the longed-for Homeland. But nothing could prepare me for the reality.

The actual aliyah was the longest day and a half of my life. The night before, my close friends and sister came over for a final farewell (not to be confused with my 3 other goodbye parties). We reminisced and laughed uproariously, munching on Sari's homeade red velvet cupcakes (unbelievable), while my parents packed my junk downstairs.

Yes, my parents are awesome and that was somewhat babyish of me, but I was freaking out and they stepped in. In any case, I stayed up until 3am finishing up (so don't judge me), got three hours of sleep and it was time to head to the airport with my parents.

It was one of the coldest days of the year and not a fun time to shlep the insane amount of luggage I insisted on bringing. We finally literally lugged it in and thanks to the grace of NBN and El-Al, I had no problem checking in my FOUR items - 2 dinosaur-sized duffle bags, 1 obese suitcase and a somewhat more petite soft trunk.

My aunt joined us for the lovely little NBN ceremony and the accompanying sheet cake and then it was time to say goodbye. That was truly the hardest part as I will miss my family and friends dearly. I really wish my move to the remote Middle East wasn't so far from the US and A, but it can't be helped. Thank G-d for Skype and the ease of travel these days.

Once I was on the plane, I was okay. I settled myself into my aisle seat, happily observed that there was only one screaming baby in the vicinity and braced myself for a cramped ride. Imagine my surprise when one of the NBN PR guys pulled me to the side and asked if I would like to upgrade to a business class seat.

Of course, I modestly declined, since it wouldn't be fair to the other passengers, also humble olim chadashim (new immigrants).

HA, as if! I grabbed my things so fast I practically spun the guy around and quickly ensconced myself in the amazingly cushy expanse of the seat, a quasi-bed with 3 settings for sitting up, relaxing and reclining. It took me a while to master the controls and the other fun features (such as the overhead reading light - such a good idea) but I finally caught on and the flight was a breeze. I don't know how I will ever go back to steerage (er....economy class) again.

One of the famous Galena brothers, Isaac, was actually on the flight as part of the press and took pictures and video for his website, BangItOut. He snapped a photo of me in my business class gondola, and I look like I'm laying in a hospital bed. (I'm thrilled with the speed it was posted on Facebook, har har.)

How did I secure this seat, you ask? Well, after much hemming and hawing, I agreed to do a wee bit of press for NBN, which was working in conjunction with Channel 2, the main television channel in Israel. I let them document me in various stages of pre-aliyah, so they returned the favor. More about the press and when/where to catch me on TV at a later date.

Having indulged in a final Starbucks lite frappacino prior to the flight, I was unable to sleep, but I enjoyed a movie in which Johnny Depp played the misunderstood and excitingly dangerous John Dillinger, a bank- robbing hooligan. It took me a while to figure out how to get the English version of the movie instead of the Spanish one (both with Hebrew subtitles) but I persevered and was duly rewarded. What can I say, I was operating on 3 hours of sleep.

My business class stature puffed me up to new heights of importance, and I searched for flight attendants to shower me with champagne and tomatoe juice. They did provide me with a nice array of mixed nuts and the standard glatt kosher meals, but sadly vamoosed for most of the flight. I attempted to access the first class goodies but was brutally rebuffed.

I finally got over this great disappointment since we LANDED!!!

And then....

I will leave you in suspense until my next posting, whereupon I will enumerate about Part II of my aliyah and the adventures that have followed. Thank you for reading and please come again soon. A round of water for everyone on the house!