One of the most unique things about Alexander Muss High School in Israel are the Tiyulim. After spending many classes learning about an event in history, we get to visit the exact place where that event took place.

This week’s blog is about my “living classroom.” As we learn about events in Jewish history, starting from 2000 BCE up until 1967, we get to travel to the sites all over Israel to have a lesson about it.

Here, Israel acts as my classroom. The grass is my chair, the rocks are my desk and the mountains are my white-board.

Bedouin tents, hiking Masada, walking through the streets of Jerusalem, giving care packages to people in Sderot, and then the people inviting us into their homes and giving us such kind hospitality. Israel is a place of love, but also a place of contrast, and a place of pride. The country is beautiful, and has so many unique experiences that can occur while here. It is amazing how a country surrounded by enemies can be so open to people, and so kind to visitors who come here.

Since I arrived in Israel, there have been hundreds of memorable and inspiring moments. My friends and I have been making so many memories here in Israel that I would not have made if I never came on this trip. This trip has helped me experience so many new things and gave me so many new experiences. Being an Impact Fellow has helped show me what events are important and which events are not.

So many of the crazy moments we have had here could have only happened in Israel.

Israel is a very small country, which means that every bit of land has a unique importance.

Being a high school student living in Israel is very different. You learn to respect all types of different aspects of Judaism and you have many different experiences when traveling. Our topic for this blog is about explaining a moment that would only happen in Israel. This is very easy to write for me, because Israel is different from America in so many ways. I learn something new every day and I am always creating new memories.

Being in Israel for over a month now, there are a lot of moments that have stood out to me and left an impact. Only in Israel would I be able to get so close to the Western Wall that I feel like I am closest to God as possible. Only in Israel can I study Jewish history and literally be where the history happened. But one moment that stuck out to me was one near the Gaza Strip.

Living in Israel for two months not only means that I get to study in a different country and meet a lot of new people, it also means I get to have a lot of experiences that would never happen elsewhere, or just wouldn’t be the same.

It’s hard to pick just one moment that fully describes my time here. Every day is a new experience that I will never forget. However, if I had to chose one moment that I feel touched me the most, it would have to be when we climbed Masada.

I chose to study abroad because I wanted to try something new with school. I have always gone to the same public school program. I went to an elementary school, middle school, and high school at Abington. I also thought that coming to Israel was an awesome decision also. I have always wanted to travel on my own and also to Israel. This program gave me this opportunity. When my friend told me about this program, I was excited because it was what I had always wanted. Some of my goals that I wanted to achieve while on this program were to become more independent, responsible, and mature.

Traveling has always been something that peaked my interest. That’s why every opportunity I’ve had to travel I’ve taken. But that’s just me.

As a finish up my last few days at AMHSI, I enjoy looking back at the very beginning of my journey. The reason I came to Muss, what my goals and expectations were, and my journey since then.

Looking back on my time here in Israel, I can confidently say I made the right choice to study abroad.

Why am I doing this? That is the question I was asked the most when I was preparing to come here. Why am I studying abroad for two months by myself in a country on a different continent? Why would anyone leave halfway through the school year to go to school somewhere else and then return to the school that you had just left. Why do this?

I chose to study abroad for many reasons, a lot of which I didn’t even fully realize until I got here. I have always looked for adventure in my life.

The decision to study abroad is one that is not that easily made. Before I applied, when I first thought of leaving my family and friends for two months, I was very hesitant.

When looking at what college I want to attend, I always made sure the college had a good study abroad program. I have always wanted to study abroad in college and it has been a dream of mine for a very long time.

After going through the entire AMHSI program, I realized there are some things I wish I had known before I came.