It’s finally here. This Sunday, five days from now, I will embark on the greatest adventure I have experienced thus far. It’s crazy, really, seeing my ridiculously large suitcases sitting by the front door and bidding farewell to my classmates on only the second of school. The whole process of leaving is bittersweet. On one hand, I am going to miss my friends and family more than anything. On the other hand, they know, as well as I, that the opportunity to study at Alexander Muss High School in Israel is not one to allow to escape from your grasp. Using this blog, they, and you, can accompany me on this journey.

To begin I would like to introduce myself and give some background information. My name is Sofia Arlen and I am a sophomore at MAST Academy in Miami, Florida. I play volleyball and I debate at school, and I take my studies very seriously. I plan to pursue the social sciences, particularly economics and history, which is partly why I found this opportunity to study abroad so appealing. Quite frankly, I’m not very religious. My family and I limit our attendance to synagogue almost explicitly to high holidays, however I do want to strengthen my connection to Judaism. My way of expressing my Jewishness is through my love of learning and study. Alexander Muss High School in Israel provides exactly what someone like me interested in, while also allowing me to establish a connection to Judaism through Israel itself. Through the Israel Studies Curriculum, not only will we, as the students of AMHSI, be taught the history of our people, but we will get to see what we learn before our own eyes. That is truly remarkable. I cannot fathom a better way to learn than to experience the material by visiting the places that were previously only known to us as images in a textbook.

So yes, it will be hard to leave behind my loved ones, my school, my bed (especially), and my comfortable home life. All the same, people do not learn and grow from being comfortable. It is the new experiences that shape us and give us the resources we need to succeed for ourselves and for others. It is these experiences that introduce us to people from all over the world, expanding our horizons, and establishing cultural tolerance and familiarity. For these reasons, AMSHI is unique, and I am proud to soon be a part of it.