This past month, living in Israel, has been an amazing and eye-opening experience. The best experience, in fact, that I have ever had. Israel and America could not be more different, and I am in love with this foreign and distinct culture, people, and food. My past trip to Israel had been one of a tourist, feeling like I was watching everything that was happening from the outside, now I feel like I’m truly experiencing Israel, living among Am Yisrael. Living in Israel has made me more independent, opened up my eyes to the contrast between America and Israel.

On our tiyulim, in accordance with Israeli law, we travel with various medics who also act as security guards for the safety and protection of our group. On our last trip, we were lucky enough to meet our medic, Liat, and got to hear her story. Liat explained how she lived in Miami her whole life but never quite felt like she belonged in America. When she graduated from high school, she decided to participate in a gap year program and later decided to make aliyah and join the IDF. She had no family or friends in Israel, but she decided to come regardless. Even though she was from America and not require to enlist in the army, she followed Israeli law in which once you turn eighteen you have to join the IDF. In America, eighteen and seventeen year olds are usually focused on getting into the best college they can or trying to get higher ACT/SAT scores. In Israel, kids our age are signing up for the IDF, which I highly respect because every Israeli supports their country and this time allows them to mature before college, something that is evident in the Israeli people.

Israel’s unique majority of Jews is very inspiring to me. My favorite part about Israel is the fact that everything closes on Friday and Saturday for Shabbat. This gives families a chance to spend time with each other every week. I am lucky to have a camp counselor that lives in Israel. I got to spend Shabbat with her family and it was different than anything I have ever experienced. In America, everyone is so busy. In Israel, everyone stops their busy lives to come together, something that I wish America did. America doesn’t seem to sanctify time together as Israelis do. An example of this is Thanksgiving, an American holiday which is supposed to be based upon families coming together to give thanks for their blessings. Instead, American shops open and family dinners are cut short so that shoppers can get the best deals- another example of a difference between Israeli and American cultures: materialism. America never stops moving and that is something I value here in Israel.

I have also witnessed the difference in food here. When you are driving on any highway in America, you pass fast food, upon fast food, on fast food chains: McDonalds, Chick-Fil A, and Wendy’s, etc., serving gigantic sodas, burgers and fries. When you drive in Israel, however, you see authentic Israeli culture such as men in falafel stands making fresh falafels right in front of your eyes.

One of the other biggest difference between America and Israel would be that Israel is only the size of New Jersey. Everything is so close in israel, not like America where you need to fly to get to coast to coast. The closeness of Israel feels like a warm hug, unifying the people and making me feel like I’m home.  This time here makes me feel connected to my Jewish identity in a way I never have felt before. It fills me with a sense of belonging and makes me never want to leave my homeland.