This is not my first time in Israel. I was first exposed to this special country after my freshman year of college. I went on Birthright with my best friend since the fifth grade, Amanda. Birthright is a trip where people who are Jewish are able to sign up for a ten-day tour of Israel. Everything on the tour is paid for, even the ten-hour-long flight. After these ten days, Amanda and I decided to stay another ten days on our own, and those four weeks spent in Israel were magical. I completely fell in love. However, I did not predict that someday I would be living here for a year!
When I first decided to do this program, I was really nervous about moving across the world and knowing no one. I had no family or friends in Israel or anywhere close to this country, so it felt like I was just moving there blind. However, I have been here for over four months now, and I have a whole new family in Israel.
I live with 12 Americans in my apartment building and six in my apartment. This seems like a lot of people in one space, but it is so great to have a support system of people that understand the transition we are all going through as we move across the world and assimilate to this new culture.
