Day 1 in Tel Aviv

So I'm absolutely fried - our flight out of Heathrow was delayed for three hours yesterday, and then I was seated next to a baby who kept trying to jam her fingers into my hummus, and then one of the guys on our trip was detained at the airport and we didn't get to the hotel until almost 3am. (On the upside, the hotel had a mind-blowing breakfast buffet that I raided with every residual drop of Viking blood in my body.) Today, we got a debrief about the sociology of contemporary Israel, went to a lecture and lunch with some students in Tel Aviv, saw the Hall of Independence where Ben Gurion declared independence in 1948, visited a hospital that does cardiovascular work for underprivileged kids, and then heard a lecture about defense and security over many, many courses of dinner. We were pretty much dead at that point, but we went down to play on the beach and grab a drink anyway. Tel Aviv is gorgeous (and warm!), but they're hustling us off to see the rest of the country tomorrow. (I've already lined my messenger bag with plastic to stockpile pastries at breakfast in preparation, so that should soften the blow.)