Experiencing Israel: Two Semesters, Two Programs, Countless Memories

Lea Thomas Sofia Jalenak

For my secondsemester of sophomoreyear, I participatedina study abroadprograminIsrael calledTichonRamahYerushalayim (TRY) Unfortunately, webeganwith twomonthsof virtual school becausetheIsraeli borderswere closedduetoCOVID Eventually, wemadeit toIsrael andbegantwo weeksof quarantine(bidudin Hebrew) Thankfully, weall tested negativeandbeganour twomonths inIsrael Wespent Sundays, Mondays, half-daysonTuesdays, Wednesdaysand half-dayson Fridaysparticipatinginschool The other half of Tuesdaysand all of Thursdayswespent touringIsrael

FromwalkingaroundtheOld City of Jerusalemtohikingto waterfallstoswimminginthe beachesof Tel Aviv andtheDead

Seatoattendingbasketball games andgoingonrunslikealocal, we discoveredcentral Israel Hikingby foot or throughwater andseeing ancient ruins, wetourednorthern Israel AcrosssouthernIsrael and the desert (Negev inHebrew), werode camels, snorkeledaroundcoral reefs, jumpeddown sanddunesandvisited anoff-grid village After spending timeinthebombshelter, welearned about theongoingconflictsandthe different perspectivesandcultures withintheMiddleEast Asagroup of 41teensfrom all acrossNorth America, wemadeupfor lost timein quarantineand truly left with countless, amazingexperiences

For my secondsemester of junior year, I attendedasemester abroad program that wasapart of my reform union(Unionof Reform Judaism), called Heller High I hadknownabout thisprogramsinceI wasalittlegirl as they would cometomy camp to promoteit, but eachyear, I dismissed it until thesummer of 2021 WhileI havegonetoSMSmy wholelife, participatinginthisco-ed environment inadifferent country wasabigstepout of my comfort zone Welived onakibbutz, asmall neighborhood withall theessential amenitiessuchasadoctor and grocery store, just outsideJerusalem Weslept inahotel onthekibbutz withthree-to-four roommates We walked toclassroomssevenminutes away four tofivedaysaweek from8 am-7 pm Wespent our dayseither intheclassrooms, participatingand leadinginservices, or exploringand connecting Israel toour education

Our JewishHistory andHebrew classesenrichedusinthecultureand gaveusthetoolstounderstandthe trips(tiyulsinHebrew) that wewent on Wespent many meaningful holidaysinthecountry, suchas Passover, Yom Ha?atzmaut andYom Hashoah Wegot tounderstandhow they arecelebrated andthe importanceof them inIsrael My favoritememory wouldhavetobe hiking30milesfromtheSeaof GalileetotheMediterraneanSea Throughrain, cow poopanda blazingheat, I walkedand discoverednew friendshipsandparts of myself that areimportant tomy character today