Boker Tov!

Well, not quite boker tov. But good morning and hello to those of you I left behind in America, just about two weeks ago. Before I begin, I'd like to introduce myself a little bit, and explain what exactly is going on here. My name is Miles, I'm 18 years old, and for the last two weeks and for the next nine months, I'll be living in the land of Israel, currently in Jerusalem, and moving to a kibbutz in central Israel soon after 2010 rolls around. Before I left I promised a few people, mostly relatives, that I would keep in touch with them somehow, though I made no promises as to how. Now that I'm here, I realized that the extreme time difference between Israel and America presents a serious barrier to informal communication (translation: nobody from home is ever on Facebook). A few other participants on the program I'm on (called Nativ, more on that in a later post) started blogs about their experiences abroad, and so I figured I would join in too.

I must admit I also have a secondary motivation for starting this blog, and indeed for even being in Israel in the first place. I am an aspiring amateur photographer, and so living in a foreign (though not so foreign, in a sense) country is a fantastic opportunity for me to practice and improve my photography, and a blog is a perfect way to share some of my work. This will also be a place for me to share anything else creative I produce this year.

Anyway, I'm going to keep this first post quick, and write another one with more information about my first two weeks as an (temporary) expatriate later today.