It is traditional, our core teacher, Benjy said to us, for Israelis to visit Masada four times in their lives. Once as children with their families, once with their school, once with their army platoon, and one final time with their own children. Through each generation, the ancient fortress is perhaps even more fundamental to Israeli culture as the kotel.

Almost 3 weeks into my trip, and I could not be any happier. I am absolutely in love with my core class here. The kids are great, my teacher Yossi is so cool, and we learn without even realizing it.

As my AMHSI experience continues, I couldn’t be happier. The past week has been extremely busy with a tiyul to Jerusalem, hiking Masada and the Dead Sea, as well as an open Shabbat weekend. The tiyul last week started with a visit to the Israel Museum. At the museum we saw an exact replica of Jerusalem when Herod was ruling over it. It was really cool to be able to see all of the little buildings and compare it to the real buildings that we see today.

This trip so far has had a ton of great experiences. My goal for the rest of this trip is to have more.

Since we are here for just two months to discover Israel completely, I have set some goals for myself to achieve so I can have the full Israel experience!

Learning about something and then it being right in front of you means way more than a textbook, it creates a living memory that grows and ages like you and all the people you shared it with.

Leaving my home wasn’t easy. It takes courage to leave everything you’re comfortable with and used to, and replace it with a country you’ve never been to.

One of the biggest difference between America and Israel is the way the sun shines.

Well, another week has passed and it has been a tiresome one. I’ve learned a lot about Israel. I also celebrated Yom Kippur in Jerusalem. We started off going on the bus with the kids from AHA. That was fun! The bus had USB adapters in the ceiling, so everyone would charge their phones and they would hang from the ceiling. I thought it looked really funny. We arrived at the hostel, a really nice hostel. We go to our rooms and have a couple hours to get settled and get ready for services. I chose to go to the Jerusalem Great Synagogue.

I landed at the NYC airport tired, nervous, excited, and late very late.

My stay here and Israel is coming to a close two more days and I’ll be back home in Arizona I had a great time the past six weeks here in Israel and they will be explained through I will remember for the rest of my life.

You know how you never know something is missing until you find it?

It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later

As my summer here in Israel comes to a conclusion, I am filled with remorse. I really don’t want to leave this amazing place, the people are fantastic. And I’ve made friends who will last a lifetime. And have had so many new experiences, one of the coolest was simply just hanging out with those new friends.

Throughout the six weeks here at HSI, we have gone a plentiful amount of tiyyulim; just about everyday, except for weekends. On our adventures, we constantly find ourselves surrounded by nature. Nature is a beautiful thing and one that I believe most people take for granted.

5 and a half weeks have gone by, and it feels like we just got here yesterday. Each week has flown by faster than the speed of light, and while I’m excited to go home and see my family and friends, I can’t imagine leaving all of my new friends and campus in just 4 days. Our last Shabbat is tonight, and it is so weird to think that already 5 Shabbats have gone by in the blink of an eye. I’m so excited to sleep in my own bed, but the thought of leaving this incredible program with the amazing teachers and friends make me sad beyond comparison.

As my trip in Israel is very quickly coming to it’s end, I’ve been thinking about everything that’s happened here. Most of it was very different from what I expected. Before I got here, I thought the class was going to be boring and I thought I wouldn’t make many friends but as time went on I found out I was wrong.

After our the middle do our week, we took a day tiyul to the north of Israel.

I have not been Jewish for very long, only for about 3 years now. I started to actually learn what calling myself “Jewish” meant when I moved in with Second Cousin Billie and her wife Anisa. I had always called myself Jewish, even tho I never knew what it meant.

This Yom Kippur was truly like no other, and I can say that with no doubt in my mind. In Alabama or anywhere in America, for most if not all Jewish holidays pass with little statewide/nationwide recognition and with no tradition to it outside of family/friend traditions. In Israel, especially in Jerusalem, it is the exact opposite. Here, whether you are Jewish or not, your city recognizes Yom Kippur. Israel “shuts down” for around 25 hours during this holiday. You will see little to no cars driven (I saw 2), every store is closed, and everyone is off work. It is nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before.