I’ve never been to Israel before. Or anywhere else in the Middle East. Or the eastern hemisphere.

As I made my arrival to Alexander Muss campus, the bus ride was mostly quiet. Meeting the Madricha for the first time, just learning their first names. The small talk about the plane ride, how we were ready for dinner. Little did I know that the Machrachim and the students on this trip would become people who mean so much me all in such short time.

Alexander Muss has been more than I ever thought it would be and I have only been here for two weeks. The first day we got to Alexander Muss, I felt beyond welcomed and I knew this trip was going to be something special. The campus is beautiful and very lively. When students aren’t on trips or in class, many kids will be outside enjoying the beautiful weather Israel has to offer. Alexander Muss is so different from school at home and I think thats what makes learning so fun here.

The 11 hour flight felt as if it were 11 days. I was so anxious to arrive in Israel that I could barely sleep even when I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I didn’t really feel the impact of Israel until a few hours into the flight and the Orthodox Jews had woken up to pray and one of them asked if I wanted to pray with them. I said, “Yes of course!” This was just the beginning.

I am so grateful to be here, and to be travelling my favorite country with such wonderful new people. I already feel at home on campus, and in my dorm. It is so exciting to wake up in my favorite country every day, and I can’t wait for the next two months.

I have now been in Israel for just over a week but I already feel so comfortable and settled in. I love all of the people on my trip and we have already become so close.

It’s one thing to learn about history it’s another to experience the history your learning about in person. After first tiyul and getting to know my roommates I have had the best time. Exploring everything is so incredible and being away from home is so amazing. My favorite thing to do is to go into town with all my friends and get falafel and I’m a picky eater so for me to be trying so many new foods and liking it is a big deal.

We learned about a hero. He went to Alexander Muss, he studied the same things that I’m studying now, he sat in the same classroom as me. He had the same teacher who told him the same story about Ezekial the prophet and Galut Bavel, the exile to Babylon.

It has now been over a week since I arrived at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, but it feels a lot longer. In such a short time, I feel at home here, and have made so many friends. The first couple days, I got to know my roommates, teachers, and Hod Hasharon.

Going from a land of cheesesteaks and hoagies to a land of falafel and Moshiko’s smoothies, I thought that I would have a harder time adjusting, but on our first Shabbat when I walked in the warm air to the dining hall, I was comforted by the sweet aromas of chicken soup, sweet potatoes, and couscous.

I’m walking through the streets of Jerusalem and come across an old man; he’s homeless and begging for money. I’m back on a family vacation to New York, where another old man shakes a can, hoping someone has enough kindness in their heart to give him something. In both instances, I look away. That’s what I was taught to do. And then I leave.

This week was jam packed, with tiyulim to Jerusalem and the Negev.

When I was still in America and was accepted into AMHSI, I started to think about goals I could set for myself to accomplish while I was away. I worried my goals were set too high and I wouldn’t reach them, or they were too low and I would underestimate my self. I struggled with setting reasonable goals for myself. I struggled with school goals, personal goals, and physical goals, as I got myself adjusted to the campus life here, I started to rethink my goals.

Coming into Alexander Muss High School I had a lot of thoughts of what everything was going to be like. I go to Camp Louise during the summers, so a lot of my camp friends have been on this program before. Each of them would tell me about how Muss not only changed their lives, but made them more independent. I was so excited to experience everything they told me about when I arrived.

For some, making the decision to come to Israel was hard. How would they deal with missing school? Would they feel comfortable living in a place with a culture that is foreign to them? What would it be like to be so far away from home? Although these questions nipped at the back of my mind, when choosing whether I would come to Israel or not, I knew immediately what my answer would be.

Coming to Israel and completely immersing myself into a new culture and environment is something very scary, yet at the same time extremely special. I wanted to take on this challenge and leave my friends and family back in America for two months for many reasons.

I can’t believe I’m already writing another blog, this week has gone by so fast! In just the short time that I have been here I can already feel myself becoming more independent, and I know by the end of these two months I will grow into a much more mature and responsible person.

Coming to Israel has made me want to accomplish many goals in my life. I have always wanted to become a better Jew, become closer to the land of Israel, and find out who I truly am. Being a fellow will surely help me accomplish these goals in my life. Coming to Israel was truly a life changing decision and will be a once in a lifetime experience. Some challenges that I have faced was the school work. Sometimes it is a lot of work that I need to do in a short amount of time, but I always find a way to get it done.

Wow I cannot believe it’s been three weeks already everything’s gone by so fast. We went to Jerusalem for the third time and I fell even more love with the city. Going for Shabbat and seeing everything shut down was so insane and surreal especially at the western wall with hundreds of people coming to pray. It was a beautiful experience. As I look back on this past week I cannot believe that I hiked Masada, swam in the Dead Sea, and went celebrate Shabbat at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Americans and Israelis have different cultural norms. In America we tend to think bigger is better.