"It's not going to be easy, Shara. This will be the hardest thing you've ever done." Fabulous! I was looking forward to the challenge of picking up my life from the comfort of all that is familiar and moving it to a new country with a language and culture that is almost completely unknown to me.

I have been in Israel for one week now and I can't help but think back to the last eight months of my life. I took 40 University of Arizona students to Israel for their first time on the Hillel birthright israel trip in January. I extended my trip an extra week in order to visit friends and begin researching the possibility of moving my life abroad.

I embraced every moment with the students, watching their wide-eyed reactions to a place I had grown to love over the course of several years. It was my fourth time in Israel and I was more than just a tourist on this trip; I was an educator. I was the one who had already climbed Masada three times, who had wept at the Kotel upon first sight, who already knew the importance of hydration and good sleep. It's a unique situation to watch people experience something that was formerly so emotional for you. This is not to say that going to the Kotel is no longer cathartic for me ... it's just different now that I know what to expect.

After seeing everyone off at Ben Gurion airport in January, I had my first exposure to life in Israel without a group. A friend picked me up and we spent the week running to appointments I had set up so that I could learn about employment and absorption. I wanted to be able to make an informed decision.

I returned to my job at Hillel in Tucson and realized that I was ready for the challenge ahead. Since graduating from university in 1999, I've worked in the Jewish community as a volunteer and a professional. I always felt that this connection to the community reinforced my connection to Israel, which is weird to think about now that I'm here. How can one possibly have a connection to a land in which they've only spent a few weeks here and there? Israel will do that to you.

My impending aliyah became a project. I figured that if things came together, then it was meant to be. If things fell apart, then maybe it was not the right path for me. Clearly things have worked out; but it definitely didn't come without a struggle.

Now that I'm here, I can see that I will continue to struggle. The bureaucracy is unbelievable and I find myself wondering why things don't work the same way they do in the United States. Why won't my ATM give me the option of using English? Why isn't there such a thing as a debit card? Why do I have to wait for the government to call me so that I can submit my bank information and start to receive my aliyah benefits?

I keep telling myself that it has only been a week. Rather than listing the things I have not done, I should think about everything I have done! In a mere seven days I have managed to open a bank account, purchase a cell phone, take a trip to Jerusalem, enjoy a full day on the beach, spend time with old friends, visit the infamous Max Brenner's chocolate shop, acquire an Israeli ID card, buy textbooks and arrange for transportation from the absorption center where I live in Ra'anana (north of Tel Aviv), to Bar Ilan University, where I'm enrolled in the international MBA program.

I need to stop thinking that I have to do everything today. I will still be in Israel tomorrow! There's no longer a need to rush to get everything done now.

My journey has just begun. This is more than just an opportunity to live in Israel; it is also the opportunity to start fresh in a new place. I will be learning a new language, working toward a new degree and meeting new people. I am looking forward to the road ahead and acknowledge with gratitude Nefesh B'Nefesh (an organization that helps North Americans make aliyah) and my friends and family in the States who cheered me on, kept me on my path and helped my reach my destination. This will, without a doubt, be the hardest thing I've ever done. I accept the challenge and look forward to the day when I feel like I've truly arrived.

Shara Grifenhagen is a former program director at the UA Hillel Foundation.