Aliyah

So on Sunday, August 29th 2010 I had my meeting with Misrad Hapnim. I made aliyah. I almost didnt make it.
Come on you guys should have an idea of me about now. Of course some form of adventure happened. :P
Well when you have your meeting with Misrad Hapnim you need to bring the following:
1. birth certificate
2. passport (very important. they need it and end up taking it from you)
3. Proof of Judaism Letter(and if you want the proof. the proof isn't needed if you have the letter)
4. Any other documents that they tell you to bring.
My meeting was scheduled for 1215. I got there early. 1144 am to be exact. I was so excited but at the same time I had no idea what to expect.
I got there and there was a whole bunch of chairs set up. There was a food table and a table that you had to sign in on. There were so many different kinds of people. There were 2 hassidic boys and 2 club type guys( you know the men with the tight flashy dress shirts and the nice jean pants who smoke kinda like guidos... guidos seems like a better description) an orthodox family and also an elderly couple who felt like they were in their 20s/30s.
In the folder, Nefesh B'Nefesh has a few pages of information. They have a worker come look it over with you and explain everything in depth with you also what applies to you and what doesn't. It also tells you what is needed for the Misrad Hapnim meeting. Nefesh B'Nefesh calls you a week ahead of time and tells you as well.
So I got there at 1144 am as previously mentioned above sat down with Ellie. Ellie is an awesome woman. She's the girl with all the IDF knowledge. She went through everything with me. At the end she asked me if I had any questions. I did... "Is it necessary that I need my passport?"... yup. I did it. That's what I forgot. My passport. Woops? hehe... So yeah turns out you cant make aliyah without it. We came up with the conclusion that i have until 2pm to go get my passport, return back to NBN Headquarters and make Aliyah. If I do not make it back before 2(which is when the meeting is over) I have to wait till next month. So I ran out of there at 1159. Got a taxi to Jerusalem Central Bus Station then the first bus to Tel Aviv. The ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem or Jerusalem to Tel Aviv is approximately one hour. It can take more time depending on the traffic(I once had a bus ride take 2 hours almost 3). I made it back at 1259. That is called amazing time. I then with no other choice got a taxi to the Beit Hahayal(Soldier House aka where I live) got my passport and then took the taxi back to the NBN Headquarters in Jerusalem. I made it with 5 minutes left. I got there at 155pm. I then found out that other people were late so they extended it to 3pm so by default I still had time.
So in the actual meeting with Misrad Hapnim they just have you sign some papers and take your passport. That's it. Then they tell you they will call you in a week. It takes 10 minutes maximum. So now that's all folks on my aliyah adventure. :)