My years in high school helped shaped who I am. But some of what I did not get to learn in high school I learned during my year abroad in Israel. Living independently in a foreign country comes with challenges. My life as I knew it was flipped on its head soon after my plane landed at Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. Simple things were suddenly great difficulties. Paying at the register of a supermarket was a major ordeal. Questions such as “Paper or plastic?” and “Do you have any smaller bills?” caused me to break a sweat as I processed what was being said and answered in broken Hebrew. The streets were unfamiliar. My favorite foods were nowhere to be found. High school taught me about the outside world from a classroom. But my gap year gave me the opportunity to see things firsthand. The things I struggled with at first soon became second nature. I learned to enjoy new foods, improved my spoken Hebrew, and became comfortable taking buses and cabs. I saw how different cultures and religions can coexist and somehow make it work, for the most part. I witnessed both conflict and tolerance. Life in Israel is a complicated affair. I look forward to the many new experiences waiting for me at Baruch, both inside and outside the classroom. I am prepared to meet challenges, and look forward to the rewards of success. I am excited for the transition into this next stage of my life.
4 thoughts on “Journal #1”
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I think that your experience in Israel is very interesting. Going to a different country on the other side of the world, without being fluent in the language is a very daunting experience- especially staying there for a year. Your ability to overcome the challenges you faced in your gap year is very impressive.
Your trip to Israel sounds like a wonderful experience. It’s amazing to hear about your experiences there and how you’ve grown and adapted in the one year abroad. I’ve always wanted to travel abroad but the idea of going to an unknown place and encountering obstacles like a language barrier seems terrifying. I would love to hear more about what you’ve learned abroad and how life was like there.
That’s so cool to hear that you lived by yourself in a completely different country! Your ability to overcome such a daunting experience is amazing. I can definitely relate to the language barrier as my spanish is terrible. Speaking to anyone who knows fluent spanish makes me nervous, i’m worried they won’t understand me.
Its really cool that you were able to take that year in Israel and learn so much about your heritage. I’ll bet that youre really good at speaking the language now. I wish that I could go to a country of my ancestors, I’m sure that you made some excellent memories there!