Slowly, But Surely

The move to Israel is still a far way off, but certain preparations have to be made already. In one aspect, it is an obvious understanding that the army is a physical challenge unlike any other. In another, the level of Hebrew I currently possess is definitely below the amount I will inevitably need. These are two of many issues we've discussed and started to deal with in the last few months. While many solutions will only be found once the move has been made (let's face it, we won't be speaking fluent Hebrew in Florida), there are steps we have taken and will take in the next few months to make sure we are as ready as we can be.

As a “prospective” lone soldier, you hear a lot about the different units in the army and, more specifically, what it takes to get into them. While most of the brigades we would be interested in require a certain combat profile (another story for a post in the distant future) some are only accessible through physical tryouts. Additionally, wherever you end up, the life of a combat soldier is very physical. Needless to say, two years into college, I'm not exactly at professional triathlete fitness levels, and I've needed to start improving. So far, it's going better than expected. My running times have improved tremendously since starting to work on this, even if there's still much to do. Although it's true that so many of our challenges will have more to do with mental strength, overall physical fitness does provide a certain confidence that I will be able to hold my own. Maybe improving physically helps with the mental strength in the long run! It definitely is a boost and a motivation every time I'm a little less tired at the end of a work out or I'm able to run that small distance more.

On the language front, things will be picking up soon. I've spoken to a professor at school who is happy and eager to teach us privately and he won't find any more motivated students than the two of us. This is somewhat ironic, considering when I previously took his intermediate Hebrew class, I was hardly the ideal student. I'm not sure he remembers that (maybe he doesn't care), but regardless, the guy's a saint for helping us and for being as enthusiastic as he has been in getting started. The same generosity he's displayed is fortunately something I've been privileged to see in a lot of people who have heard our story and our plans. We have been in touch with all sorts of people in the past months, each kinder than the next. We have been offered every type of assistance and we're lucky and thankful to have the support we apparently do.

I realize we haven't talked about our reasons or the details of our plans. These will follow in the future! A year away, we are focused and excited to start the actual process and continue with our preparations.

- Darren