Oliver and I awoke around 10AM. We had only four hours of sleep in us, but surprisingly, I wasn’t that groggy. (I can’t speak for Oliver, but he seemed to be okay, too.)
I did my usual morning routine: taking a shower, getting dressed, shaving, eating, and brushing my teeth. That was where the day’s usual activities ended, however. We were scheduled to check out of Lunz at noon. Oliver and I finished packing everything but the flags.
When the time came, we held an impromptu ceremony: “Bottom right corner!” Oliver said. “Bottom right corner,” I responded, as we each removed the tape holding the corner of our flag. “Bottom left corner!” Oliver said. “Bottom left corner,” I acknowledged. “Upper right corner!” The flags drooped. “Upper left corner!” Our country’s flags fell, but we caught them. We looked at each other, and started folding them. Oliver said a few words, something along the lines of “We lay these flags to rest, but know that in our hearts, Lunz still lives on.” I replied with “The UN isn’t a place. It’s a state of mind!” We both laughed, and tucked our flags into our bags.
While the others finished some laundry and packing, I cleared the dish rack and organized the Tupperware, pots, and pans. Around noon, Leah arrived to check us out. Yas had agreed to take the left over food to her parents’ place in Herzliya, but she bit off a little more than she could chew: There was still a lot left that she couldn’t fit in her bags. Fortunately, Leah eagerly volunteered to take the rest! I was pleased that we weren’t going to have to throw any of it out.
While Leah packed up the remaining food, Zach wrote a note on the couch, a little reminder that we were here:
We hung out in the living room, luggage surrounding us, while Leah finished packing the food and taking care of a phone call. None of us really wanted to leave. It was around 1PM when Leah got off the phone and noticed us all sitting in the living room. “You’re all still here…” she said in her usual half-joking manner.
We laughed, and finally gathered our bags as Yas ordered a cab to take her to her parents’ place in Herzliya. She was staying in Israel for at least six months, maybe longer, and was going to live in Herzliya until she found her own place. As she gathered her bags, someone mentioned that she came to Lunz with only two bags, but was leaving with six! We joked about it, then helped carry her bags down to the cab. I started to say goodbye to her, but she said she would be back around 4PM. My flight wasn’t until 11PM, so we figured we would probably see each other one more time. Still, I gave her a big hug, just in case.
After she left, the rest of us hauled our bags downstairs. Rebecca was going to go stay at her sister’s place until she got her own apartment–she was staying in Israel, as well–and Daniel was going to his family’s place in Ramat Gan for a while before heading back to the U.S. That meant the two of them were going to turn left out of Lunz. The rest of us were going right. Tears in my eyes, I hugged each of them, and we said goodbye.
Zach, Oliver, Leah, and I took a right onto Rothschild. Oliver was going to stay in a hotel until his flight on the 8th, and he quickly flagged down a cab. We made plans to get dinner that night, so we just waved and said “See you later.”
Zach, Leah, and I then walked down to the ATM near Habima. Leah and I needed some cash, and Zach was staying for a few days at a place in that direction. He was going to travel to Berlin for a week, then return to the U.S. Once we made our withdrawals, I turned to Zach, we shared a quick hug, and he was off.
Leah had to take off right after to go sign out another apartment. I warmly thanked her one last time for all of her efforts.
That left me at Habima. I took a deep breath. I had about 10 hours until my flight. Fortunately, a couple of days ago, Mason generously allowed me to stay at Levinsky for the afternoon, so I caught a cab and headed over there.
Levinsky was originally going be allowed to stay in their place for another few days. After everything they had to deal with in that apartment—bedbugs, walls that leaked when it rained, an inadequate kitchen, and other maladies—Destination Israel wasn’t planning on renewing the lease, so there was no need to kick them out on the 5th in preparation for the next group. However, one of the staff at Destination Israel still wanted to use it again–we did have a lot of parties there, after all–so a couple of days ago, he and Leah made a deal: If the Levinsky folks said they liked living there, then they would renew. She had been on the receiving end of their miseries for five months, so she knew this was a slam dunk.
What she didn’t anticipate, however, was the nostalgia factor.
She gathered a few of the Levinsky folks on either the 3rd or the 4th (I’m not quite sure which) and asked their opinions on the place. They were in full-blown rose-colored glasses mode, so despite the problems, they said they would live there again! Leah was not pleased.
As a result, yesterday afternoon Destination Israel decided that they needed to have Levinsky moved out on the 5th–today–so that they could clean and paint the place for the next group. That left Mason, Andrew, Garrett, and Brittney–the last folks still at Levinsky–with one day to pack everything. (One last encounter with Israeli planning! Oh boy!)
Scrambling, Destination Israel figured out that they could put them in the nearby Florentine area, where Karen, Starr, Fjo, Natti, and others had lived, since those guys were all checking out today as well, and their apartments didn’t need as much prep time for next group as Levinsky did.
Thus, when I arrived, Garrett, Mason, Andrew, and Brittney were scrambling to pack. I helped out as much as I could, taking a few nostalgic photos along the way.
About a half hour after we finished packing, Sonya and Carmel showed up to move everyone to their new digs and sign them out of Levinsky. We took multiple trips back and forth from Levinsky to Florentine, taking all of their belongings, as well as mine, down the elevator, down the street, then up two flights of stairs to Florentine.
On my last round of hauling luggage from Levinsky, I stopped to take one final look around. I never thought I’d be sad to see this place empty. It’s dirty, it’s sloppy, it’s unfinished, and it leaks like a sieve. But it was our HQ, our home base. We had so many great times here: potlucks, pregames, parties. It was a symbol of our time together. Seeing it empty was tremendously saddening. It really hit home that it was over.
I took one final look at the Levinsky deck, gathered the remaining luggage, and left.
As soon as we finally had all of our belongings moved into Florentine, it was time for Natti and Fjo had to leave. Natti was making aliyah and was going to live in one of the settlements in the West Bank. Fjo was going to go back to Holland for a week, then was moving to London to be with his girlfriend. I helped Fjo and Natti carry their bags out to the waiting cabs, and with a hug, we said our goodbyes.
With a sigh, I went back up to Florentine. Mason and Andrew were tight on space, so my stuff ended up being put in the room that Brittney and Garrett were sharing. That was fine, though.
We finally had some time to relax, and I had built up a sweat repeatedly carrying hundreds of pounds of stuff up two flights of stairs. I really didn’t want to be that smelly guy on the plane. Thankfully, Garrett and Brittney were kind enough to let me take a quick shower.
Aftewards, I hung out with them for a bit before Oliver texted me. He had wanted to get something to eat around 3PM, but the move from Levinsky took a lot longer than anticipated, so he ended up eating on his own. I hadn’t eaten yet, though, and we still wanted to get together one last time, so we decided to meet at the Arcaffe on Rothschild. (Arcaffe is a chain that serves sandwiches and drinks, kind of like Aroma.)
On my way there, I passed the ‘Discount’ building, in front of which were a few familiar flags. (See right.) I instantly thought of my time with Oliver and Karen at the Max Brenner Chocolate Bar after our night in Herzliya, and sent the picture to them. Karen knew about this place! Apparently, the 30th floor houses the Brazilian embassy.
I arrived at Arcaffe and found Oliver waiting for me at a table. I ordered a sandwich, and he got a drink. We decided to invite Yas as well, but she said over the phone that she had a couple of interviews and housing appointments set up, and probably couldn’t make it. She’s let us know, though.
Oliver and I spent the next hour chatting about our plans. While Oliver didn’t know where he was going to spend his senior year of college, here or in Melbourne, he knew he wanted his senior thesis to revolve around building something on the molecular level, like a machine made out of DNA! We nerded out, discussing the finer points of his idea. A team in the U.S. recently did something similar, and Oliver was looking to build on their work. The prospect of making molecular-scale machines is pretty exciting, and Oliver lit up while talking about it. He is going to make a fine engineer.
As we finished our food and drinks, I gave Yas one last call. She was at Max Brenner, just down the street from us, waiting for a potential employer to show up to interview her. Unfortunately, that person was supposed to show up any minute, so Yas had to decline meeting me one last time. Still, we had a good hug outside of Lunz, so we said our goodbyes over the phone. I told her how she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, and wished her well.
Oliver and I said our goodbyes soon after. It was brief, as he spotted his bus coming down the road. But we shared a hug, wished each other well, and agreed to keep in touch.
As I walked back to Florentine, it finally hit me that I would probably never see Oliver, or any of my roommates, again. Tears immediately welled up in my eyes. I texted Oliver, telling him how I just realized that the fatigue from our late night had definitely affected me, because only after he took off did it really hit me that this was goodbye, and that I was now “all waterworks.” He said he knew how I felt, and was glad we didn’t both cry in Arcaffe!
I know we’ll keep in touch, though. I’m excited to hear where he decides to spend his final year of college, in Israel or in Melbourne, and I want to know how his senior project goes, and where he ends up afterwards! He was interested in knowing where I ended up, too. I’m sure we’ll hear from each other again.
As the sun set, I arrived back in Florentine and hung out with Andrew, Garrett, Brittney, and Mason. We were all pretty beat from the move, and from staying up so late the previous night, so it was very low key. We just enjoyed each other’s company.
While we relaxed, we kept in contact with everyone via our phones. Jess’ flight had been delayed that morning, so he ended up chilling at Ben Gurion Airport for a few hours. Morgan shared her new digs via Snapchat. It’s a very nice place close to Motskin (but without mold)! She, Starr, and Yael were hanging out there. Zach was chilling with the Sarahs and Tanya in their new digs. The Sarahs were going to have to go back to the U.S. for a bit, but were coming back to Israel to live together with Tanya in a place they leased a few days prior. Adina helped Amy move into a place in Ramat Gan, and was going to travel to Europe for a week with Deborah before heading back to L.A.
While checking Snapchat I also saw a video Garrett made earlier of him walking through the now-empty Levinsky. Emotions welled up in me. “Aw, jeez, Garrett!!” I said to him while I laughed and cried at the same time.
Karen texted me, as well. She knew I was leaving today, and was curious how it was going. I told her how everyone had to leave their apartments today, and that Levinsky was staying in her old building in Florentine. I also sent her a picture:
After an hour or so of melancholy relaxation, it was time for me to leave.
Hanging out with Levinsky all day kind of felt like a long goodbye. Just like with Oliver, my fatigue made me feel a little numb to the whole thing, so there were no tears. (Lord knows there would have been, otherwise!!) I still knew it was goodbye, though. I hugged everyone, wishing them well: Garrett. Brittney. Andrew. Mason’s friend, Ethan. Mason went to take a nap, but after getting the okay from his roommates that it would be fine to wake him, I walked over to his room, and said goodbye to him as well. I walked back to Brittney and Garrett’s room one last time, got my luggage, and walked out the door. Turning around to close the door behind me, Garrett and I warmly shared one final goodbye.
I caught a cab to the nearby train station which would take me to the airport. After paying the cab driver and buying my train ticket, I was amused to see I had exactly one of every shekel coin in my wallet: 1, 2, 5, and 10. It was good luck! I was hoping to have a little Israeli money on me as a memento.
As I took the train to the airport, I reflected on my time here. When I set off on this trip, I didn’t have any expectations for my social life, good or bad. I knew I would be living with other people, and that there were about 40 people on the trip. But my expectations were all about my work. After all, I came here to advance my career. While I think I succeeded in that, I had no idea just how important the social aspect of this journey would be. These people, they were so much more to me than fellow participants. I had grown closer to them than most people I’ve known in my life. We laughed together, cried together, traveled together, ate together.
We lived as a family.
We were a family.
We are a family.
I walked into Ben Gurion Airport, and immediately recalled when I first arrived here with Jess and Sarah. I saw the ATM where we first withdrew Israel’s multicolored “monopoly money”, as I called it. I remembered taking the train with Jess into Tel Aviv, and looking up what stops we needed using my new laptop.
It’s funny, thinking back to my first impression of those two–the only first impressions I can recall–and how our relationship grew. Sarah is a kind woman with a wonderfully dry sense of humor. Jess is a man of few words, with a laid back attitude and a great sense of humor. I had no idea who they were when I was last in this airport. I’m honored to have had the opportunity to find out.
I made my way through the usual rigmaroles of the airport. Though unlike in some places, the security personnel here serve a vital function, protecting this tiny country from the very real threats it faces. As a result, they take their jobs very seriously, as they should. With a full understanding of why they have to do what they do, they briefly interrogated me, and I warmly answered their questions. I even struck up a small conversation with one of them.
About half way through the layers of security, I spoke a little Hebrew with one employee, asking if I was in the right spot. He gave me a response in Hebrew—which I didn’t understand, of course—and after I said my usual line in Hebrew of “Sorry, I don’t speak a lot of Hebrew,” he said one of my favorite things an Israeli has ever said to me: “Ah, sorry. You looked like you did.”
Midwest white boy status: defeated.
As my plane took off, I was glued to the window. We were flying over Tel Aviv at night—a gorgeous site. I could see the Azrieli Towers, Rothschild, Habima, the Discount building, Gordon Beach, the overlook in Yafo. And I quietly started crying. Sobbing. A woman sitting behind me asked if I was alright, and how my time was in Israel. Failing to hold back tears, I simply said “…Words fail…It was wonderful.”
It’s not the places that made me cry. It’s the people I left behind.
Aaron In Israel 