This is surreal. Exactly a week from today everyone’s bags will be packed, the dorms will be empty, and we’ll be on our way to the airport. Every blog post since the day we came here, I’ve marveled at how much time there was left, how much more I had to experience. Now, it’s all coming to an end. It’s more prevalent now than ever- it’s finals week, the last Shabbat, and then our ceremonial ending day. I’m trying to take it all in, the classes, my friends, nights where we just sit in the moadon listening to music and watching people dance horrendously.

In my second blog post, I talked about the goals I wanted to reach while I was here. The first was becoming as fluent in Hebrew as possible. While I don’t think that I am nearly close to becoming fluent, my Hebrew has improved since coming here.

Hebrew class, combined with staying with Israelis over open weekends and ordering food, has let me practice both understanding and speaking Hebrew. When I get home I plan to continue to speaking Hebrew, probably with my dad, and also learn it through an app like Duolingo. I think that Hebrew is a really pretty and interesting language, and the fact that it surrounds me has been one of the things that I’ve loved the most about being in Israel. However, English is very much of the culture here. It’s kind of weird just how much it’s incorporated into daily life. People have shirts in English, so many signs are in English, and so many people know how to speak English, way less than there are people in America who speak Hebrew.

The second goal I set for myself was to make a lot of new friends. I’m proud to say that I have actually reached my goal on this one. Coming into it I was really nervous about being able to make friends and bond. But the people here have become my second family. I’ve met some of the most funny, kind, and real people here than anywhere else. Not a day goes by where I don’t crack up, and these are some of the smartest and most confident people that I know. It’s been amazing to hear different people’s opinions on pressing topics, and I was surprised to hear how similar my own views are to theirs. I don’t know how I’m going to leave these people, especially with the knowledge that I probably won’t see some of them ever again. It’s going to be strange to not constantly be surrounded by 40 other kids and to have some actual peace and quiet.

The last goal that I set for myself was to experience everything that I could. I think I accomplished my goal. I tried my best to step out of my comfort zone and to do things that scared me and that I wouldn’t normally do. If the opportunity arose to do a harder hike, or to go to a discussion with the teachers, etc., I took it. I’m so grateful that I came on this program and that I’ve had so many amazing opportunities, to have met so many wonderful people and to have experienced and learned all that I did. This is truly an experience that will stay with me forever and I’m so glad that I came here.