So for my career workshop I decided to go to the Bloomberg Terminal Course/Workshop that’s offered at the trading floor (which by the way I had no clue even existed until a really good friend of mine told me to go there with him one day). I think it’s a really useful course since a lot of companies use the Bloomberg Terminal, and the online course (which uses modules and is kind of similar to the SPARC course in a sense) teaches you a lot of useful economics stuff which can not only help you get ahead of the game before you take either macro or micro economics, but also is just useful information to know in general. Anyways at the workshop I was introduced to the bloomberg terminal and I was able to set up an account in order to start the online course on my own. They explained to me some basic stuff but after that I was mostly motivated to do as much as I could on my own. I’m currently still in the middle of the online course but I find it really interesting and have only gotten I think one question wrong out of all the quizzes I’ve taken so I think the course does a really good job at teaching you what it quizzes you on. I really look forward to seeing where this gets me and can’t recommend this enough to everyone else, it’s a very easy opportunity to take advantage of at Baruch and most schools I know of don’t have their own trading floor (which again, I have to say is literally so awesome and I feel like I make progress in life everytime I walk into that room). Definitely think this was an enriching experience and hope that my writing about this will help others down the road!

So since I missed like two classes of FYS due to being in Israel I’m just going to write a bit about my time in Israel over the course of about 8 days. When we first got to Israel it was right before the start of the Jewish holiday Sukkot, we immediately got settled into our hotel which we have gone to for the past 7 years (without missing a year) for this exact same holiday. After we got settled my extended family who live in Israel came to join us for a big dinner in order to celebrate the first night of the holiday. The next day we decided to just relax in the area around our hotel (Herzliya) due to us just going through about 20 hours of travel. We walked around the pier, went into the mall and bought some groceries, then we walked around the beach-side area. Overall it was a pretty relaxing day, we had some good food as well which was always nice. The next day we decided we would travel to Jerusalem and spend 2 days there, so we drove about 3(?) hours and checked into our temporary (even more temporary than the first) hotel. Afterwards we went to the old city and walked around, of course I recognize it pretty well at this point since I go to Israel every year, but still I always enjoy seeing the old city- especially the Western Wall (sometimes called the Crying Wall or the Kotel). After this we had dinner and slept through the night (as normal people do). The next day was the first time I ever actually split up from my dad in Israel, he went to visit his long-time friend while I visited my friends from High-School and this one organization (not gonna get into details it’s complicated). It was really awesome seeing them, especially since they were experiencing something totally different from me and from what they said, they were having a really good time there so I am happy for them. We spent basically the whole day just hanging out and walking around parts of Jerusalem I’d never even seen before. After this I met back up with my dad and we drove back up to Herzliya. Once back in Herzliya we mostly had a routine, we would hang out with my cousins, usually around Tel-Aviv, for most of the day. Being in Israel was a really awesome experience and I’m glad I was able to go again, it’s always been a special place to me and I look forward to the next time I go there. If anyone ever has a doubt in their mind about going there- go! It’s one of the most amazing places in the world in my opinion and definitely worth seeing with your own eyes at least once.

Alright so this is my second Enrichment Workshop. This time around I decided to do the Academic aspect. Above or below (wherever the picture ends up) is me at the most amazing place (no sarcasm) aka the Metropolitan Museum. Wow I had a great time here (again, no sarcasm) looking at many upon many paintings that just resonated with my soul. I saw things ranging from the war of the planets and allegories (is that the name??) to the toilette of venus, and even the girl who dropped a basket of eggs. Now throughout my entire experience at the museum, I think the most interesting part was finding certain paintings throughout the museum. I had a lot of fun running around and asking people who looked like they were from the movies to direct me in the right direction, and then use a map to find the room. I really liked the layout of the rooms, I felt like I was walking through a maze of beautiful creations. I feel like I should be extremely grateful that these wonderful creations were bestowed upon us, and that I was able to witness them with such ease. Did I mention that I got into the Metropolitan Museum for any price I wanted? Yes I did, I got in for 5 cents. Epic. Moving on I had to find my way out, this was a struggle, not only because I was lost but also due to the fact that I just wanted to stay there forever. Definitely. Finally once I got out I went to sit by the fountain and just reminisce on my experience during my visit to the most amazing place on earth. It was a very enlightening experience, however I think it was so enlightening that once was enough. Two Words.

Out of the three enrichment workshops I chose to do the Student Life topic first, and out of the options for that I chose to write about a club I enjoy, Hillel. My first interaction with Hillel was during convocation day at the club fair, I noticed people wearing yamakas (the little circle some jewish men wear on their head) carrying around signs about the Hillel. Originally I was nervous about approaching them as I have been surrounded by the jewish community my whole life, and I was planning  on slowly moving away from that lifestyle. My mind was changed when I decided to just take a chance and talk to them, they were really kind and welcoming and I am totally satisfied with my decision to approach them. The next day I walked into the clubroom and was welcomed wholeheartedly by everyone there, someone even took me out to grab lunch! It’s an amazing environment and community, and they even have kosher food! I can just hang around in their clubroom, or if I need to get printing done I can do that there. I’m able to have a great conversation with anyone in hillel and everyone is always open to listen. They have great events daily (apart from the free kosher food), such as Wednesday’s “Kickin’ it with Karen” where you can fix up your resume or talk about any business-related issues you’re having. If I’m ever feeling lownly or down I know I have a home away from home here are Hillel Baruch, and I know that they’ll make my day better. I’m incredibly grateful that there is a jewish community within the college and look forward to many more great memories with Hillel! To end it off I’d just like to say that it’s not just a club, it’s a family!!

I’d say I’ve had a pretty good week. I definitely gave thought to the studying abroad program we spoke about in our last session. I already wanted to study abroad at least once, but I would love to do it with friends. To me the location doesn’t really matter as long as I’m surrounded by people I enjoy being with. I’ve already been to many places around the world (slight flex I know), but if I had to pick a spot it would be Tokyo, Japan. I just find Japan to be extremely interesting and I love their culture. The experience there is so different compared to any other country I’ve been to, not to mention the fact that any sushi there (even cheap sushi) tastes like high-end sushi from New York! To be honest I don’t really know anything about the Honor’s society though, it was a very brief speech and I am still kinda confused about it. Looking forward to our next class (and my trip to a museum that will follow it)!!