Just a little over a year ago, I arrived in Israel to embark on what I thought would be a six month journey. After the first few months I knew that it was not enough- I needed more time; which is how I ended up living in Israel for a year. Unfortunately, I am leaving a bit prematurely in the midst of war, but I am grateful to have witnessed this side of Israel, seeing how people come together and support each other as well the soldiers in times of desperate need. Israel is truly a giant family, and with the loss of any single soldier or civilian the entire country goes into mourning- an unbelievable and beautiful concept that I never felt in the United States. To all of the people I met along the way, from the taxi driver, to the dried fruit shuk man, from my madrichim, to the smoothie guy, from my museum tour guide, to all of my beautiful friends, every single person touched my life and challenged my perspective on the world in the most special way. The fact that the smallest roles in daily life here made such an impact on me shows how genuine, and real the people here are, each with a unique story and outlook. I never couldve imagined how much I could grow in just one year, but living in Israel did this and even more. Thank you Israel and everyone I met for teaching me the most valuable life lessons, showing me how to truly live in the moment, igniting my passion for zionism and life, telling me that yiyeh beseder, and many many more. Israel is vibrant, spiritual, magical, complex, diverse, united, breathtaking and innovative. There are truly no words that I can conjure to describe what Israel means to me. What I can say is that this is not goodbye because I will be back. As I board my flight back to New Jersey I cant help but cry and feel like a part of me is missing. My time abroad BEYOND exceeded my expectations and has been the most incredible year. SO- yalla lehitraot haverim and am yisrael chai
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 14:36:20 +0000