Being in Israel for a little over a month now has been an incredible experience. I have made so many friends, and gone to very cool and fun places. But, I have also learned in one of the coolest ways I think there is. Every week we have one or two tiyulim, in English that means trips. Whether we are going on a hike or visiting a fallen kingdom, they all relate to what we are learning in our Jewish Studies Class. It is so cool and very inspiring to be able to go out into Israel and sort of see where history happened. For example, we climbed down Mt. Gilboa which was the same mountain that an army climbed down to go fight in a battle in the valley below. Not only is seeing history amazing but having a class on the side of a mountain in the shade of an olive tree is something I would never do at home. At home classes are in normal classrooms, and we go to the same classroom for each class every day. That is not the case for AMHSI. Although some days in the week I will have my Jewish Studies Class in a classroom, other days class will be out in Israel. Whether it be in an ancient classroom on Masada with a view of the Dead Sea below or on an overlook from King David’s castle over Jerusalem we have classes in some amazing places that you would never think to be learning in. Learning like this is so amazing and inspiring. Over the past month or so we have been visiting some awesome places. Just last week we went to the famous Dead Sea and Masada in one day! We woke up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go hike Masada to make it up to the top in time to see a beautiful sunrise. We then stayed on the top of Masada exploring the ancient civilizations of King Herod and the Zealot Jews for a couple of hours to then take a scenic gondola ride down. Next stop was the Dead Sea. We had some lunch, put on our bathing suits and then floated and hung out for an hour or two. But, going to two of the most famous tourist attraction in Israel was not enough for one Tiyul. The day before we had a brief visit to the Western Wall or Kotel in Jerusalem and then a spent the day at the famous Israel Museum with an amazing and intricate model of ancient Jerusalem under king Herod’s rule. I am having the time of my life here making new friends, visiting awesome sites and ultimately exploring Israel as my classroom.