Jim's trip to India and Israel

I left on Wednesday, March 4 and traveled from South Bend to Chicago and then was on a United 777 from Chicago to Frankfurt, through the night over the far north of Canada. The pilot said we were taking this more northerly route because he wanted to miss some bad weather in eastern Canada. So, we went up almost to Hudson Bay and over northern Labrador and then over Greenland, Iceland and then over northern Scotland and down over Belgium and into Frankfurt.

As you know one of the things I enjoy is listening to ATC, so I was listening to it as we descended over Scotland and into Frankfurt. Interestingly, the pilot had clearance to land on runway 21R in Frankfurt. Planes were also landing on the parallel runway 21L and as were on our final approach the pilot suddenly asked the ATC to confirm that he was landing on 21R. That was a little scary. I guess we would have had time to make a quick switch to the other runway, but since it was early morning (6 am) and we had such a long 8 hour flight, I could only think that the pilot might have been confused at the last minute. Good to find out though, before you landed in front of another plane.

My colleague and fellow dean (Denis Fortin) and I stayed in Frankfurt the rest of the day and then about 3pm began our long 8 hours flight to Mumbai. We arrived at 1:30 am and got luggage and walked out of the airport to find our driver who took us through the night on a 3 hour drive to Poona (Pune). This is the most interesting part of the journey because we have to go from basically sea level up to 5 thousand feet to a plain called the Deccan Plateau. The trick is getting up the mountain along a very steep and winding road. At night it was scary. The 3 lane highway was filled with trucks of all description occupying all 3 lanes – many without any taillights whatsoever. The driver was a real cowboy as he manipulated the van in and around and by all of the big transport trucks. I thought that this would be the last ride that I would ever take because I really thought we would be impaled on the back of a truck we were passing. That half hour trip up the steep mountain road I’m sure took a few days off my life.

So, when we arrived in Pune (population 6 million) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pune at the college (Spicer College) we had been awake for almost 48 hours and so went directly to bed. Although we had appointments on Friday afternoon and evening, we didn’t get to sleep long. The next 5 days we tried to adjust to the new time (10 and a half hour difference from EST), tried to adjust to curry for every meal (some which was very good) and tried to adjust to the heat (It was about a 100 F). Also, we spent a great deal of time doing the accreditation work that we had gone there for. Three of us got to see how our MA programs were taught under our name. So, we wanted to make sure the quality was as good as our degree in the US. All too quickly the time to say good-bye came and we left the campus on Wednesday afternoon for the 3 hour drive back to the International airport in Mumbai. The trip back in daylight was much more enjoyable than in the middle of the night. Although going down the mountain we saw a reminder of the treacherous curves with one transport truck (probably having lost its brakes) totally smashed up against a huge rock cliff. In Mumbai our driver took us downtown to the site of the recent terrorist massacre (300 died). I had been there before two years ago and it looked the same. Reconstruction is on-going but it would certainly be an eerie thought to think of all those killed in that building.

The plane leftMumbai for Frankfurt at 3:25 am so another night without sleep. I find it impossible to sleep on a plane and so when I got to Frankfurt at 6 am I was tired. But I had to wait until 6 that night for the El Al flight to Tel Aviv. So, I sat around the terminal and made a short visit into Frankfurt to pass the time. Then, I prepared to go to Israel. It was interesting that a sniffer dog went through all the check-in desks at the El AL counter and the place was ringed with German Police with machine guns. Before we could even get to the check in counters we were “interrogated” by young Israel undercover police to make sure that we were not carrying bombs, etc. Then we were thoroughly wanded at the gate before we got onto the plane and of course went through all kinds of x-ray machines. It was the strictest search that I had ever been through - although I have to admit that the search process as I left India was also a strict process.

The El Al plane left Frankfurt on Thursday night at 8 and we arrived into Tel Aviv at 1:30 am. I got through customs and went in search of the shirut – the shared taxi to take me into Jerusalem where I was staying at a B&B just behind the central bus station. I arrived there at 3 am and was up at 8 to the sound of all the other people there being fed breakfast. I got to meet a most interesting group of people from all over the world Australia, Germany, Switzerland, USA – even met two sisters (not nuns) from St. John, New Brunswick, Canada.. On Friday morning I walked down to the old walled city (about 40 minutes) and took part in a free 3 hour walking tour of the 4 quarters of the old city (Arab, Jewish, Christian and Armenian). Then I walked back to the B&B and along the way bought some fruit and bread at several markets – just as everything was closing down for Shabbat. That evening a couple of people (an older Jewish lady from Switzerland and a Jewish lawyer from Australia – whose parents had left Eastern Europe just before the Holocaust, began in the 1930’s) invited me to go to a progressive synagogue service with them. I readily agreed and so we walked down again near to the old city and spent from 5:00 – 6:30 in a prayer and praise service with a Kanter (song leader) and a lady rabbi. Quite uplifting.

The next morning I was up early (6 am) and had arranged for a tour up to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee. The day was cold and rainy in Jerusalem but once we got over the Galilean hills into the West Bank area it was beautiful. The trip to Nazareth took 2 hours along a modern road. We stayed for a couple of hours there and then went back down to the Sea of Galilee. Such a beautiful and peaceful place. I wished I had taken a boat out on that placid place, but we didn’t have time. On Sunday, I took a bus down again to the old city and wandered the markets and shops and took pictures of the Western (Wailing Wall). On Monday I took a city bus to Masada and the Dead Sea at En Gedi. I actually did swim in the lowest place on Earth. It was a strange sensation with all the salt in the water. It almost felt “oily” and I certainly needed a long shower to take off all the salt. But it was a great experience which I will never, ever forget.

The country’s bus system in Israel is great and I got back to Jerusalem as the sun was setting. I was up at 5 am and took the sherut (shared taxi) back to the airport and then on to Frankfurt. It was certainly a beautiful experience going to Jerusalem which I want to do again. Every turn in the road led to an historic site. And I felt safe everywhere. It was a little unnerving at first to see all these 18-21 year old kids (girls and guys – all army conscripts) carrying automatic weapons. On the way to Masada and the Dead Sea, I got to sit with a 22 year old guy from LA who was Jewish and joined up to defend Israel. We had a great conversation about his experiences in the Army. He was a sniper in a Combat division and really wanted to see duty in a hot spot – especially down near Gaza. But what struck me was his strong desire to protect his homeland - Israel. He didn’t have to join the military being a US citizen but he felt this strong obligation and felt that his Jewish parents had taught him to do what was right.

The trip back home from Israel was long. I had to stay overnight in Frankfurt and then flew on a United Airlines flight from there to Chicago. The scheduled flight from Chicago to South Bend was canceled and so I had to take a 3 hour bus ride. All part of the usual flights to SBend which get cancelled at the drop of a hat. So, I’ve been home a couple of weeks now and I think I’m finally over the jet lag. Experts say that it takes about the same amount of time as you were removed you’re your home time to adjust. So, about 10 ½ hours = 10 days.