We, as Jews, have a vast and complicated history, with many leaders and important events. As an American Jew, however, it is often difficult to imagine how life was like for the Jewish people over the course of our past. Coming to Israel on this trip to really live here and learn about the culture, I did not really know exactly what to expect. So far I am in love with the town of Hod Hasharon, and pleased by the people on my trip and by our dorms. However, up until today, besides going into town in the Hod to get a bite of falafel or a smoothie from Moshiko, our group hadn’t been on a real Tiyul yet. Today, we finally got out of the campus and our classroom came alive!

In Core class, for the past few days, we have gone through the entire book of Genesis and much of the book of Exodus in this short time. When we finally got up to the event in the Torah when Moses, Joshua, and the Israelites looked out to see the land of milk and honey in which they would soon reside earlier today, we hopped on the bus to see this exact spot where this breathtaking event occurred. We drove about a half an hour and up a big hill. When we got to the top of the hill and finally got off of the bus, my group learned that this ancient city of Tel Gezer was, in fact, strategically placed on this hill, exactly in between the coast and the Judean hills, in an area called the Shfeila, where it was easy to grow food, find water, defend themselves as a civilization, and communicate through the various roads surrounding the hill. As we walked around the top of the hill, we not only got to see the different resources that were used by the “layers” of civilizations that lived on this site like the aquifers, the gates, and the bunkers, but we also got to look out at the amazing view all around us that was seen by the Israelites as they themselves looked out into the land of Canaan searching for a place to settle. I was amazed by everything we had seen so far! It was so cool to finally understand and have come to life for me what life for the ancient Israelites was like. We got to dig and search for pieces of pottery, too, trying to find handles, fingerprints, or pieces of writing on the little rocks and pottery pieces. This made history come even more alive for me! It was so interesting to get to understand that many of the stories we have read about in the Torah so far, are probably true, as we have started to see so much evidence of many of the events, beginning with our trip today to Tel Gezer. I found it fascinating to experience a trip like this, and I can’t wait to see and learn more about how the history of the Jewish people really occurred.

In addition to our first trip, life on campus has been amazing. It is so cool making so many new friends from all across America, and making connections with everyone I meet on campus. I also love how independent I have learned to become in only a few short days, and how I have learned to get my work done on time when I am living with so many other students. It is awesome to be able to walk both on and off campus and feel safe and welcome. I love learning in a hands-on outdoor environment as well, and really using the land of Israel as our classroom. Additionally, being away from home hasn’t really bothered me too much. I have gotten to talk to my parents a few times and I think it is a valuable experience to learn and live away from home, even before you go away to college. I cannot wait to see what comes ahead in my experience here, and I love it so far!