I’ve always been good at reading people. I didn’t realize just how accurate this skill of mine was until I decided to embark on a journey in Israel with Masa’s Career Israel, a five-month career development program.
Before arriving in Israel, all the fellows were added to a Facebook group so we could meet each other and start planning our adventures. One day, as I was browsing the group members, I saw David’s picture. That’s when my special skill kicked in. I just knew the second I saw David’s face in that little section on his profile that there was going to be something special between us.
While my prediction was on point, I might not have been the most graceful upon our first in-person meeting. When we arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the program, David immediately greeted me with “Hey! You friended me on Facebook!” I responded by running away out of pure mortification.
All was forgotten by that evening, though, when the entire group was split into smaller groups to get to know one another better, and David and I were placed in the same one — a perfect opportunity for me to redeem myself. My love at first sight feelings for David only increased as I sat next to him that night, especially when he got up to share his fun fact: he had a 20-pound cat. And so did I!
After that evening, we were inseparable. In fact, during the program, we booked a flight for me to visit David’s home state of California for 10 days. While I did go on that trip, I also never left.
Although we live happily in California now — with our two-year-old son Jax — Israel is ultimately the foundation of our relationship. It’s where we met, fell in love and made our first inside jokes and stories. We hold Israel extremely close to our hearts and have incorporated our Jewish roots into our everyday lives. Without our Masa experience, I would’ve never met David (or found his Facebook profile in the first place!). Love at first sight may seem farfetched, but the way mine and David’s story worked out, how could I not believe in it?
Kailey Klein is a Masa alum of Career Israel.
