My visit to Jerusalem started up a long, windy hill to the top of Jerusalem. Along the way I saw so many sights and all the stucco homes with such historical significance. It was such a beautiful drive on the road to Jerusalem. There were many tourists but not as many as most weekends. It was a Tuesday afternoon and the weather was sunny and bright. As my new friends from Objet, Amit & Lynn and I traveled into the downtown area, I saw many orthodox Jewish people, travelers, and a very sacred energy could be felt in the air. There were many shops and street vendors. We arrived at the bottom of the entrance to the old Holy City. When I entered I walked through the tunnel where all the street vendors with many different souvenirs were laid out for display. I tried not to stop and look too long because I was getting requests to buy from many different shop owners. I quickly learned that this was a barter system and if you wanted something you needed to state what you were willing to pay and work from that point. There were no prices listed on any of the items and if you asked how much something cost you were up for an animated shopping experience. I kept my eyes on getting through to see the entrance to the city. When I arrived, I saw the Holy Sepulchre church right in front of me. It was a beautiful old church and there were many people from all over the world viewing the details and historical structure. Rather than talk about it too much, I found info through Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre that describes the church and history and if you click on the photos there is another link to more details.

Day 1 at Objet Geometries in Rehovot, Israel. I started the day with a warm welcome from the friendly staff at the Sheraton Moriah and went downstairs for an incredible complimentary breakfast. At the time I was not too hungry but I was pleasantly delighted by all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheeses, breads, juice, coffee & teas. It was definitely the biggest and best complimentary breakfast I had ever seen at a hotel. I wanted to stay and dine while looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea but my nerves on the first day of training would not let me relax. I quickly poured a to go cup off coffee and a fresh berry pastry and I was out the door to start my day. I was greeted by Menachem who is the VP of Marketing's father and he had graciously offered to drive me to and from Objet as I was not familiar with the area and I did not want to take a different taxi each day. The ride into the office was very eventful. There was the typical hustle and bustle of commuters in Tel Aviv. All the signs were in Arabic, Hebrew and English and there were so many new sights and sounds to take in. The radio was playing traditional Hebrew music and I was trying so hard to understand the language. One the way into Science Park which is right past the famous Weizmann Institute I saw many orange trees in the distance. The area is known for it's brilliant science professionals as well as the sweet smell of fresh oranges. I could see the Objet sign at the light to the entrance and it caught my attention that Objet is on all 3 floors while HP was on the bottom floor. A noticeably vivid sign. As I entered the office I met Aviv and Efrat who were so helpful in coordinating my trip. I was then introduced to Lynn Kolevsohn who is the Corporate Marketing Communications Manager. As soon as I met Lynn I knew it was going to be a great match. She was so interested in how my flight and travels had been and how I was feeling. The jet lag hadn't really set in too bad but it was soon on its way. The 7 hour time difference was definitely playing tricks on me. As soon as I settled in I was off to a full day of training. I met everyone that was involved with marketing, some folks in accounting and executive management. I was thrilled to meet with Amit Shvartz the VP of Marketing and to learn so much about the company and the direction of Objet. In addition, I briefly met Adina Shorr, the CEO and she was so exciting to meet. I think it's great that we have a woman who's CEO. The day was filled with all types of training that included all my marketing communications responsibilities for the US. I was also trained from our Product Marketing team about the types of materials and competitive analysis of the material in the RP industry. The week went along very well and I was beginning to really understand how the company works and what the goals and objectives are. On Tuesday, I was asked if I had a chance to see the area. I hadn't really had a chance to sight see so I was invited to take a trip to Jerusalem for a half day. I'll talk about my travels to Jerusalem on another post but it was such a peaceful experience. By the end of the week I had gained a really strong grasp on the Objet Technology, machines, material and marketing initiatives. I was building up all this excitement to take my new found skills back to the US office. I had such a great time meeting everyone and having a chance to speak with them one on one. I had some of the best hummus and tabbouleh I have ever had and I definitely want to go back and just take a vacation there.

Sunday March 23rd, 2007 - My trip to Israel.....started out at a small B & B in Mezkeret Batia called Hapina Shel Michal http://www.hapina-shel-michal.co.il. It was a cozy little place with a European flair and Tuscan villa energy. By the time I had landed in Tel Aviv (Tel; Small Mountains and Aviv; Spring) at 8:15AM which was 2:15AM Eastern US time, I was feeling a bit weary. I tried to take in all the local sights but as soon as I started reading Americana I was out. I woke up at 4:30PM and turned the TV on to see the excited soccer fans screaming during the pregame activities before England Vs. Israel was about to kickoff. Apparently all the hotels in Tel Aviv were sold out due to the fact that there were thousands of fans from both sides who had booked all the rooms. So I got cozy at the B&B and watched TV in Hebrew and English and had a great homemade breakfast and was off to my first day of work on Sunday. I had to get used to the fact that the work week in Israel is from Sunday to Thursday. I had my morning coffee and I was up in running in no time. After my second day at Objet, I was able to get a room at the Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv, right on the Mediterranean Sea. I was psyched. Upon arrival I cuddled up on the down comforter and ordered room service and fell asleep to the lull of the city and the splashing of the Sea crashing on the rocks.

Started the new job at Objet Geometries http://www.2objet.com/ on March 12th in the new office in Billerica, MA right off the Middlesex Turnpike. Nice office park with plenty of woods and that mother nature feel. It's great to walk around to escape the fluorescent lights. I have a nice office with a window view to shine some light on the day and to keep my plant Lucy shining.

With the beginning of my new job and the excitement of the chance to visit the corporate office in Israel for training, I was thrilled at the opportunity. Having only traveled to Canada and Mexico, I had never really been to an another country for International business travel. And now with the requirement of a Passport to everywhere except Bermuda I think, the whole US was in the whirlwind of getting a passport, including me. But fortunately because my trip was scheduled for March 16th and I would be leaving the country within 14 days I was able to get a passport in Boston with a turnaround time of 24 hours, instead of the grueling 6-8 weeks. Hallelujah I had my Passport, my renewed drivers license and my bags packed for Israel.

Wow Wild New England Weather.... On the day I was supposed to leave for Israel I managed to make it to beautiful Newark Liberty Airport at 2:30 but just as I arrived the weather turned for the worse. We started to get a heavy Nor'easter and pellets of hail were hitting the jumbo 777 that I was supposed to board. Crowds of people were anxiously awaiting the status of their flights. It was 3:00 PM and I was due to board in 15 min for a 3:50 flight. As the snow started to come down more heavily, I waited to hear the Continental lady inform us if we could get on the plane. We heard over the crackling loud speaking that our flight was delayed and that we were on a hour by hour status., which meant that I had to wait there because the flight was not officially cancelled and if I left it would be considered a no show and really where did I have to go? So I waited patiently while the airport became more crowded and the smell of stress filled the air. I read many celeb affairs mags from the latest status on Nicole Richie to Tom & Katie and the whirlwinds of Brangelina and Brittany to the Paris Lohan debacles. I tried to escape into the celeb life while I waited for an update. The weather was getting worse outside and I knew if I didn't get on my flight soon there was a chance it would be cancelled. At 6:30PM the Continental lady got on the loud speaker to announce that after my 3 1/2 hours of waiting and countless hours for others that Newark Airport was officially closed and all flights were cancelled. There were approximately 175-200 domestic and International flights that were cancelled that day and approximately 20,000 people stranded and looking for a place to stay to ride out the storm. The details of the Nor'easter debacle are too ridiculous to elaborate but the situation led to hours in lines waiting for status of baggage, to exorbitant lines for hotel vouches, to a mass piling outside for taxis and a slew of hotels in the state of New Jersey that were completely sold out. Not only that, once you left the terminal to check for your bags, make a call etc. the terminal was closed. Once you left you could not go back in which left on the baggage claim area and the floor with all the security gates. There were not chairs or carpet to sit on and the only source of food was at the infamous Hudson News stand. It was abysmal at best. Needless to say I was able to find a hotel with the help of my superhero Mom who was able to find a room at the Comfort Inn Suites in Woodbridge, NJ only 25 min from the airport. I ran to the next taxi and jumped in. I didn't care that I didn't have my luggage after waiting in line for four hours nor did I care what the taxi would cost I just wanted to lay down on a warm bed and take a hot shower. I was able to do so and I fell asleep so fast and hard and awoke to a new sunny day.