GETTING THERE | Masa Israel

Despite a myriad of poor reviews, I decided to take the chance and fly WOW Air from SFO to TLV. I purchased the “Plus” package, which included 1 personal item of up to 22 lbs, 1 carry-on of up to 26 lbs, and 1 checked bag of up to 44 lbs. All this for $350 one way. Not bad! I flew from San Francisco to Reykjavik and then Reykjavik to Tel Aviv with a total travel time of about 20 hours. The reviews I read told horror stories of last minute canceled flights, but both of the legs left on time and arrived early.

 

 

I even got the chance to visit Keflavik, a small town outside of Reykjavik International Airport, during my layover.

 

 

 

 

I arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at 4am, feeling exhausted (I don’t sleep well on airplanes).

 

 

 

The public transportation in Tel Aviv is amazing! From the airport, I hopped on the Nahariyya train to Tel Aviv Universitiy station. 

 

 

The station is right across the street from Broshim dorms, where I’m staying, but there are 88 uphill steps from the train to campus. Everyone I talked to recommended that I take a bus, but I stubbornly refused. About halfway up the stairs, lugging my 2 bags and large suitcase, a kind Israeli offered to help me with my suitcase. He effortlessly heaved it on his shoulders and carried it the rest of the way. He asked, “What are you studying?” I said, “Conflict resolution.” He replied without hesitation: “You will learn very quickly that there is no solution but to fight them [Palestinians]. They want us all dead.” Welcome to Israel, I thought. 

 

Read more in Miranda’s blog A Year In Israel