It is quite a journey to get from northwest Ohio to Israel. It starts with a flight from Detroit to New York City, a change of terminals and then another 10 hours on a plane before arriving in the Middle East.

The group of 11 Catholic journalists all met in New York and were on the same flight to Tel Aviv. The Ministry of Tourism escorted us through customs and helped us find our baggage claim area. Besides myself, our group includes freelancers, writers and communications directors from all over the U.S., including Colorado, New Mexico, Indiana, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and California. Everything went through without a hitch.

Once we were squared away at the airport, we were immediately off to dinner in Tel Aviv at a restaurant named Meatos. The food was plentiful and very delicious. A representative of the Israel Tourism Ministry greeted us at the restaurant and talked with us about the goals of the trip: to improve Israel’s economy by promoting tourism, to help promote a positive image (not political) of Israel and to promote Israel as a worthwhile tourism destination. Tourism is a growing industry in this Middle Eastern city, with a reported 3.4 million people visiting the country last year.

With the duration of the flight and seven-hour time change, we arrived at our hotel and were all checked in after 10 p.m. We are staying at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv tonight and are leaving first thing in the morning.

It’s difficult for me to even grasp the idea that I’m in a foreign country, yet, because it has been so much sitting on planes, in airports and in a bus. And the short driving tour we did around Tel Aviv between the airport, restaurant and hotel made me feel like I was in a smaller, less populated New York City. The architecture is interesting and I noticed that the city is much cleaner than many urban areas in the States.

Tomorrow’s report is sure to be full of photos and stories as we are set to visit Jaffa, Caesarea, Haifa, Mount Carmel and Nazareth.