I am SO excited to be able to go to Israel with Alexander Muss High School in Israel/Jewish National Fund.

It is crazy to comprehend that in one week I will be leaving my friends and family and heading off to a foreign country.  Not to mention that I’m doing all of this in the middle of a global pandemic! Some have said that I am lucky to leave the US and all the craziness of the pandemic and politics around it. On the other hand, I’m going to Israel that has its own craziness with politics and COVID concerns. Some question my choice.  All of the responses I have gotten in regard to my semester abroad have impacted my decision to go.

With COVID and staying healthy on my mind, I am nervous to travel and face all of the outside exposure. I am also nervous to face a completely new experience. Even though we have a schedule, nothing is set in stone and we will have to face everything day by day. I will also have to make friends that I can call my “family” and that can support me with all of these concerns and facing new experiences. 

With all these factors I am scared to face, you might wonder why I am still going. I am going so I can step out of my everyday routine, so I can learn about the history of my people, so I can travel, and so I can make lifelong friends. Even if my experience will be different than others before me, I am SO excited to be able to go to Israel with Alexander Muss High School in Israel/Jewish National Fund.

I am so lucky to be chosen as an Impact Fellow where I will gain leadership skills and where I will learn how to stick up to the wonderful country that is Israel.