Getting off the plane - Thank You Nefesh B'Nefesh!

I gotta hand it to Nefesh B'Nefesh(NBN). The organization was founded in 2002 with the mission to help people make aliyah as easy as possible, and that is what they did for us. They actually pay for people's flights who are making aliyah, along with so many other helpful things which you can check out on their website: http://www.nbn.org.il/nefesh-bnefesh-history-milestones/ A neat thing about flying on a NBN flight, everyone on the plane is making aliyah along with you so there is a huge sense of camaraderie and comfort in being with people who are all going through something similar. As the plane was landing the pilot made an announcement saying after we land we will be entering Israel as Israeli citizens for the first time.

When we finally got off the long 10-11 hr flight from New York, we started our walk down the stairs from the plane. We saw the NBN crew and reporters filming everyone and taking pictures. It's probably the closest thing we will ever experience of what it must feel like to be a celebrity. After everyone got off the plan we all had to get on a bus to go to another location which is where they hold a big welcoming ceremony for new Olim. It is such an amazing thing to experience. Once you get off the bus, there are loads of people singing and cheering for everyone who made aliyah and holding up signs. There is a band playing music, people dancing, and usually The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu makes a speech but that day there was a warning for how hot it was so they didn't have the usual speeches. I  I was actually relieved because I heard that the speeches were long and all I wanted to do after not sleeping for 24 hrs and being on a plane, was go to our place we were renting and collapse! Words cannot do the experience justice. Check out the video to see for yourself:



When the ceremony ended we were taken to the airport and the process of paperwork began. I was dreading it because there were so many people who had to get processed and most had kids so we had to figure out how we were going to entertain them for who knows how long and we were all tired and hungry. Fortunately NBN was awesome and had a little play area for the kids and had another room set up where they could watch a movie. They also gave the kids this big welcome bag full of toys and candy. They had a food and drink spread of sandwiches, chips, cookies, coffee and water. This made the whole process so much easier to get through, and we didn't even have to wait that long. After about an hr there we got through the paperwork part which was all organized and ready for us, and we were finally taken to our transportation (which was also set up by NBN), we saw all our bags, as well as our cats all ready for us (the kids were so happy to see the cats). Now it was time to head to our final destination, Beit Shemesh here we come!