This coming week will mark our one-third of the way done anniversary. We are going on a 4-day hike this week starting at the Mediterranean Sea and ending at the Kineret. I’m excited to do this because I’m hoping I will become closer with everyone I have not talked to that much yet. I’m also not excited because I will not be able to shower for those 4 days.

Israel has very special moments but the only one that really feels like won’t happen in America is the yeshiva during Simchat Torah.

Almost hitting the two month mark; crazy to think that we are already here. I cannot even think about going back to Seattle and leaving Hod Hasharon. I truly cannot think about leaving all of my favorite people and all of my favorite food. My biggest tip on attending HSI is to come with low expectations but big dreams.

This week brings us to our halfway mark, we have been here for a little more than two months and we have a little less than two months less. Last blog post I was preparing for Yam Le Yam a four-day hike from sea to sea. It was our longest two and it was really cool because of how proud we were when we finished that Friday afternoon.

Officially been in Israel for 9 weeks, what a journey it has been so far! Over these two months, I have traveled to various Israeli cities and landmarks with the same kids and same teachers.

My favorite Tiyul was our Yam Le Yam trip, which is 4 days of hiking across the country. As we concluded our 4-day journey together all I could think was “I can do anything!” That was the thought running through my mind as I charged into the Kinneret with my amazing, strong, accomplished and new friends.

Although we have gone on many Tiyuls over the past two months I personally have found that the hike from Yam le Yam was the most personally amazing and very meaningful moment I’ve had on this program.

I have just come back from a tiyul called Yam le Yam where we hike from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee or the Kinneret in Hebrew. It was an absolutely amazing experience and would recommend anyone to go try it.

I will never forget sitting in class, hearing my teacher tell me that we would never learn about the Holocaust because it did not affect anyone besides me. I remember running home to my mom, sobbing, because I did not matter.

Prior to coming to Poland, I thought I knew a lot about the Holocaust. After coming to Poland I realized I was very wrong. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know what the Holocaust was.

This week we will mark 6 weeks left in our journey abroad. This makes me sad because I’m not super excited to go home, I just miss my family and friends a lot. About a week ago we arrived back from our seven day trip in Poland. It was truly life changing and an experience I have never done before and one that most people not lucky enough to be blessed with.

Growing up in an Israeli household, I was taught about the Holocaust extensively ever since I was young. Whether it be from my parents, from Hebrew school, or from my grandparents, I heard amazing stories about families and their experiences, in some cases, surviving the Shoah and, in others, how they lost their lives. So of course, I knew the basics: Six million Jews were killed, most of it happened in Poland, the Germans were in control of it, and that very few survived. However because of our modern day society, I was very desensitized to the entire thing. I didn’t see how it affected me and why it mattered anymore if it happened seventy years ago.

As a Jew going to Poland, it is not really a vacation but more of a lesson on how Jews were dehumanized and the level of Antisemitism that people can have when they are influenced by hate and fear.

I’m going to keep it real with everybody, Poland was not easy. In fact it was probably one of the hardest experiences of my life. The fun parts of the trip were very enjoyable, but the sad parts were extremely difficult to cope with. So these are my thoughts on Poland.

23 days to close the semester, and what am I left with? I have not only grown as a person but also as a Jew. When I come home, there are many things I want to implement into my everyday life.

I feel super sad while writing this and realizing we have less than a month left. We have been here for so long and we have done so much and I’m not fully ready to go home to my normal 7 hour school day.

When I get home I know exactly what I want to do and I know exactly what impact I want to make.

Muss has made a huge impact on my life, I want as many people as possible to know what that impact feels like and how significant this experience is to how I now view life.

But what I really want to bring back home after my semester is over is that now that I identity myself much more strongly as a Jew, I can share with my non-Jewish friends and family and even my Jewish friends and family about my experiences here in Israel and more importantly my Jewish journey I went through here.

As a secular Jew who never took religion very seriously, living in Israel for four months has really changed me. I never thought anywhere, even Israel would change my views on Judaism so drastically.