This past Wednesday marked a month since our arrival in Israel. It’s been a crazy month; lots of new friends, memories, and trips. I’m pretty well adjusted to life here.

This week has been packed. On Tuesday we went to Jerusalem and learned about the Maccabees and the miracle of Chanukah. We went to the southern wall of the second temple, and sat on the stairs leading up to the doors where people left the Beit HaMikdash and mourners entered. It was nice being there and it reminded me of my family; we sat on those steps on our last trip to Israel. After the wall we drove to Ein Gedi and stayed in a hostel.

On Wednesday morning we all woke up at four in the morning to prepare to hike Masada. The hike was hard, but definitely worth it. Finally getting up the mountain and seeing the sunrise was unreal. It was beautiful and gave everyone a sense of accomplishment. We stayed on top of Masada learning for about five hours. In our lesson, we learned about how the Jews who survived the destruction of the second temple fled to Masada and started up their own community again. It’s crazy how the Jewish people can survive anything, no matter what’s thrown at us. Being able to learn outside of a classroom is really something special. To not just be staring at pictures on a screen, but to be standing on the same ground, in the same bath house or battleground that our ancestors were on thousands of years ago, is really mind blowing.

Classes here at Muss are much different than back at home. Here my math class has two people, back home there’s about thirty. The way the classes are set up really allow for a relationship to be built between students and teachers. One thing that’s been a little hard to get used to is calling teachers by their first names, or having their personal phone numbers to ask questions whenever you need. You can tell that the teachers here really care and want their student to succeed.  

I’m excited for all the tiyulim to come. Today we’re going on an overnight trip and experiencing Simchat Torah in Jerusalem. Overnight tiyulim are my favorite; they give you a chance to bond with people that you may not have really talked to before and to eat some good food. It’s crazy that we still have three months here, and I know that it will keep getting better as time goes on.