Keeping Connected: Watching the Elections from Israel
Jordan Pelavin, of Temple Solel in Bowie, Maryland, is spending the semester on NFTY's Eisendrath Israel Exchange Program in Israel. She shares her thoughts about watching the election results from Kibbutz Tzuba outside of Jerusalem.
I am no one's idea of a morning person. Yet here I am, at a bit after 3:00 a.m. typing away on my laptop, eyes fixed to the TV. I couldn't make myself wake up for the World Series, but here I am, watching the polls close in the 2008 presidential elections.
I'm watching the states come in one by one, filling McCain and Obama's columns. I'm watching Fox news not because I like it, but because over here in Israel, it's all I have. I have AOL news, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, and NBC all open on my laptop. I'm Instant Messaging with my family and political friends back home in DC, and playing around with the electoral map, figuring out scenarios.
One of my roommates woke up with me, and she's nervous too. We both like Obama, as do most of the kids on EIE with us. A few other students are awake in their rooms, feeling the same as we are. I feel strangely detached since I am halfway around the world, But I am trying as hard as I can to remain connected back home.
Fox is calling states left and right; both metaphorically and on the political map. They called Ohio, saying it was swinging left, only to take it back. Please Fox News; stop toying with my emotions. Now Obama's won it for real. I screeched, very loudly, quite possibly scaring my roommate. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, on the edge of my seat; and its 4:30 am!
Obama has 200 electoral votes, McCain has only 90. We are slowly closing in on a winner, and surprisingly, I haven't fallen back asleep. To think- I used to think it was difficult to watch the election results coming in at 10pm! As I sit here waiting for more polls to close, I'm reflecting on the primary season. I was a huge Hillary fan, and I still feel a sort of disappointment that she's not the one sweeping the country tonight. But I know what a historic election this is, and I feel proud of my country as I watch it.
More states are continuously coming in, I feel the momentum growing, but I don't want to be too cocky. Virginia has finally decided to fall in Obama's column. This is it. They have called it. Congratulations President Obama! This is one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life. Every generation has moments they remember, and that they tell their grandkids about. This is our moment. I'm really proud of the United States this morning. This is a new era in American politics. And I for one am ready for a change.
Fox is calling states left and right; both metaphorically and on the political map. They called Ohio, saying it was swinging left, only to take it back. Please Fox News; stop toying with my emotions. Now Obama's won it for real. I screeched, very loudly, quite possibly scaring my roommate. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, on the edge of my seat; and its 4:30 am!
Obama has 200 electoral votes, McCain has only 90. We are slowly closing in on a winner, and surprisingly, I haven't fallen back asleep. To think- I used to think it was difficult to watch the election results coming in at 10pm! As I sit here waiting for more polls to close, I'm reflecting on the primary season. I was a huge Hillary fan, and I still feel a sort of disappointment that she's not the one sweeping the country tonight. But I know what a historic election this is, and I feel proud of my country as I watch it.
More states are continuously coming in, I feel the momentum growing, but I don't want to be too cocky. Virginia has finally decided to fall in Obama's column. This is it. They have called it. Congratulations President Obama! This is one of those moments I will remember for the rest of my life. Every generation has moments they remember, and that they tell their grandkids about. This is our moment. I'm really proud of the United States this morning. This is a new era in American politics. And I for one am ready for a change.