I am not going to lie, the school at HSI is VERY different. At some points, I have class from 8 in the morning to 6:15 at night with no breaks throughout the day. Although, some days I only have class from 8 to 12. With my regular classes, I am not using Israel as my “living classroom” but this concept lies mainly in my Jewish History class. Each day, I see my Jewish Studies teacher, Aubrey, for 2 hours each day. One of the main differences at Alexander Muss is that we get to know all of our teachers on a personal level. In the past four weeks, we have discussed our beliefs in God and what they truly mean to us and how they define us. Besides that point, using Israel as my classroom has already been a life changing experience. I have seen the world from an entirely different point of view. It is one thing to sit in class and read your history book, but when you physically are at the place you are reading about, you imagine it differently. For example, last week we were learning about the prophet Elijah, who is from the book of kings. This story takes place in the leadership of Achav. Achav leads over the Israelites and Elijah challenges 450 prophets to make a sacrifice of fire at Mt. Carmel. When there is no fire but rather water, Elijah announces that the drought has ended. Sitting in class with a cup of coffee and taking notes gets you through your class and well through the day, but being on Mt. Carmel and envisioning what had actually gone down was life changing. At AMHSI, we get to experience life in a way that no other American school has to offer. In Israel, I get to be treated as the adult I am becoming. Of course, we have consequences just like any other school, but we are held to a higher standard. I am currently writing this blog while sitting on the bus to go to Arad. Arad is where my Jewish History teacher lives. We are spending the Shabbat at the hostel and celebrating with him. This is exactly what I mean! At any other American school, we would NEVER get to know our teachers this well. At school, I sometimes never learn the teachers first name let alone go to their house and discuss our beliefs in God. Muss is truly an experience that you can’t get anywhere else. I have already made lifelong friends here and have learned so much about who I am as a Jew. It has been amazing getting to know my roommates these past 4 weeks, and I cannot wait to see what these next three months have in store for me.