My Last Day!!! Also the Boarder AGAIN

My last day has come and boy how not ready I am to leave. So I woke up bright and early to start the task of packing up my life. I can official say I have lived out of my duffel bag for eight months and I am still don't have a handle on how to pack it. Four hours later and one TV Series down I was pack and head off for my last day in Jerusalem.

For my last day I guess the city decide to hold a large protest for me. But really there was a huge protest by the Orthodox Jews community about a new draft law. It was estimated roughly 300,000 people came to city to protest. It was crazy to see this protest because it was not at all people carrying signs or yelling but all 300,000 people praying! They shut down the entire city to allow all of them to gather and pray for four hours. It truly was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I can't believe that there is such a large group of people who can gather together and have the same view on an issue. After my limited time in the city before they shut it down I saw them getting set up and the police getting ready. Afterward I head home to watch the protest online.

Then my friends got home from work early and we had a little party waiting for the taxi to pick me up.

So if you have not gotten the theme from this blog but sectericy in Israel is a little nuts. I understand that they live closers to threats then we do in American but it is crazy how much secitery they have. I knew with the way I had been informed to leave and that boarder control all ready had most of my information for being undocumented, it was going to be a pain to get though the airport.

When flying here in America we normal print out boarding pass at home or at the ticket counter when we check our bags. No big deal then we go though airport secericty and show up at the airport roughly two hours before your flight. This is not the order in which things are done in Israel or the time frame. After a weeklong debate about how early I need to show up at the airport we choose four hours before my flight. This was a compromise between my Jewish and Arab friends time frame of the airport.

When I got to the airport the first step is the wait in line to have your passport and luggage check by Israeli soldiers. This step is completed before you are even allowed to print off your ticket. I waited in line with the hopes that they would not notices the Arab stamps in my passport or ask to many question about my Arab friends. Well after an hour in line I was caught with the stamps (I was not hiding them I mean they are in my passport. Just hoping they where to dumb to notice them). The passport checker saw my stamps and that I have been in Israel for six months.

So I was pulled aside and the question started:

• Why were you here?
• What did you do here?
• Who did you meet?
• Did you meet any Arab’s?
• What are there names?
• What did you do with them?
• When was the last time you saw them?
• Did they ask you to carry anything?
• Did you get any gift while here?
• What where those gifts?
• Where are they packed?
• Who gave you those gifts?

• I see here you traveled to Arab nations…. What did you do there?
• Why were you in Israel? (They like to ask the same question in different ways to catch you in a lie)
• Where did you live?
• You lived in an Arab village?
• Yes with two Jewish people
• Jewish people live in an Arab village?
• Yes. Would you like to call them?

So this went on for roughly 30 minutes or so then they give my passport and bags a sticker with a barcode. This barcode is then loaded with the information about what kind of threat I am and that I know/love Arabs. Also that I a high risks person so let the invasion begin!!!!

After I receive these barcodes my bags are scanned and X-rayed. Surprisingly they decide that they had to search my bags because the x-ray was not good enough. I was expecting this but truly hoped it would not happen. When they search your bags they unpack it completely and look at everything. I mean everything!!!!!! So my life was slowly unpacked swabbed, scanned, and looked at for roughly two hours before I was given the go ahead to repack. I really had to repack everything in front of everyone. After you complete this the officer then walks you to the ticket counter to watch you luggage go straight to the airline. They only upside to this is you don’t have to wait in line to get your ticket. So it take roughly three hours just to get my ticket printed off. It truly the craziest thing ever and I have not even been though security yet!

Luckily the officer trust you enough once your luggage is gone to walk to security by yourself. I am not sure why but after everything else, I would think they would want to force me to be escorted to the next officer, but o well. I made it to the security line were once again they scan your barcode and place you in a line according to your barcode. So with what I can only guess the words ARAB LOVER popping up when the scan my barcode, I was placed in the line for those kind of people. Invasion of privacy started all over again. Everything that was in my carry on was taken out swabbed and scanned and I mean everything!!!!! Sadly I had to wear my diva cup that day but it would had made my life to see the man have to open up my diva cup bag!!! But since I was an Arab lover all my stuff was search when I was not with it so I would have missed his face looking at it. I received the joy of being stripped search. Everything that was not skin tight was taken off scanned and swabbed. I was then felt up and my lady parts were scanned for metal objects. After another hour I was allowed though the gates and able to board my plane.

It might seem like the craziest thing ever and why would after all of that would I still be sad that I am leaving but I truly am sad to have left. I think that Israel is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people. The country is amazing to see how modern day and religion can live together. It may not live in peace with each other and for sure not at peace with other religions but they are making it work. They may have completely invaded my personal space but I cant wait to go though all again to go back. I also swear that I will never complain about America airport security ever again.

Sadly after roughly 20 hours of flying I made it back to LA were my mother and sister live.