That Time I Went to Europe..

11 days and 4 cities in 4 different countries...I couldn't believe that spring break was finally here. Before I even came abroad for my semester at TAU I knew that spring break would be in Europe - it would be my Euro trip. No parents, my first vacation alone with just friends. 

AMSTERDAM: The first stop, Amsterdam. Here we were, 6 American tourists with a map in hand and an agenda in the other. The highlights were the Van Gogh museum, the I Amsterdam letters, the red light district, cheese museum and Anne Frank house. Some fun, others more intense and moving...for me the Anne Frank house was the most memorable. We were actually having a tour of the house where she was hidden, pages of her diary and the actual book case which enclosed her room were both preserved. It was amazing to see these things, and extremely moving. It makes me value my family and friends. I feel so lucky to have so many supports in my life.

PARIS: And onto the next stop...Paris! After taking 7 years of French from elementary-middle school (side note...I remembered more than I thought) I was anxious and excited to actually be in the city of Paris, France! I would have never thought that this dream of going would actually turn into a reality. We jumped right into exploring the city...The Louvre, The Church of Notre Dame, The Love Lock Bridge (mom, dad, max - we're on there!!) the Mussee de Armies, Champs Élysées, Arc de Triomphe and of course, the one you've all been waiting for, Le Tour Eiffel! I cannot believe I can say that I've seen all these places in real life! I even tried escargot...hey, when in Paris, do as the Parisians do. On my last night in France, my friends and I went to a Chabad Passover Seder. It was an adventure to say the least, the Seder was in French, Hebrew and a drop of English. Instead of parsley/celery we bit into an onion dipped in salt water (just for your reference it wasn't that tasty), but I feel much more cultured to have done a Seder in another country. You know what they say, "wherever you go, there's always someone Jewish." I find that amazing. Au revoir Paris.

LONDON: Just touched down in Londontown. Out of all the places in Europe, London was the one I was looking most forward to. Quite possibly because I was meeting up with familiar faces of one of my best camp friends and cousin and quite possibly because London has so much to offer and I have been waiting to see it all! I had my first underground adventure on the tube and it made me nostalgic of my subway rides back in Philadelphia, a cup of delicious roasted Stabucks coffee, a stop to the Parent Trap house, a tour of only the most expensive, most incredible department store in London, Harrods. A quick hello to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's cathedral...you know the monuments. Two of my favorite places in London - Borough Market which was filled with delicious, various ethnic food stands and Camden Lock market...a mix of the Shuk in Tel Aviv and South Street in Philadelphia. I am sad to say bye to the prettiest city I've seen so far and am already planning a trip back..maybe as a graduation present? (hint, hint Mom and Dad).

BERLIN: The last leg of my Eurotrip has led me to Berlin. If we're going to be honest here, Germany was never a place that I had the biggest desire to visit, it wasn't even on my original spring break list. But I was convinced by my camp friend it was a place we had to visit. So here I was in Berlin. Since I've been traveling it's made me realize how much of an impact Israel has made on me, and here sitting in front of me on the train to our hotel, are two Israelis speaking Hebrew and one woman diagonal from me eating Matzah. These were my first interactions with people since my flight. In Berlin, Germany nonetheless. Life does crazy things to you.
The next two days in Berlin were filled with traveling - a view of the city from the top of the Reichstag government building, a walking tour of the city, of which included the Bradenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the national memorial for the Jews in the Holocaust, the East Side Gallery at the Berlin Wall and a Pub crawl at night. And the touring didn't stop, I've learned since this Eurotrip that it's okay to be perpetually exhausted because when you have a limited amount of time to travel - exploring the city comes first, sleep comes second. On my last day in Berlin, I and my other friends traveling together had the opportunity to have a guided tour of the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Orianenburg, Germany. Having never been to Poland, or seen a concentration camp, this was my first time seeing the remnants of the Holocaust head-on. And what an experience it was, both amazing, moving, sad and scary. This camp, specifically was a prototype camp, used as a demonstration/starter camp for others to come. Sachsenhausen was preserved by the German government; this helped to preserve the memories so that outsiders could witness the camp in its true form. I feel very happy that I was able to see it, but it was definitely a difficult place to walk through.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Europe. For my favorite place, London is ranked as number one, but I feel privileged that I was able to see four distinct places.
However, while traveling I've realized that I made the right decision to study abroad in Israel. Yes, I've had ups and downs and the transition/adjustment to Israel was not necessarily easy, but I was aching to get back to Israel. I've started to really become comfortable in Israel because of the extended amount of time I've spent in one place. When I landed in Tel Aviv today, it just felt right. Only in Israel would one see: חג פסח שמח, Happy Passover on the billboards in the airport and I loved it. Plus, I found it so interesting that in every place I traveled to, I met Israeli's! It helped me remember how important being Jewish is to me, the reasons why I chose to be a Jewish Studies major, why I chose Israel as my study abroad destination, why I care so much about being Jewish. What I've discovered since being abroad, is my independent love for Judaism. It's not just a religion I link myself to, it's part of my identity.

To Israel, With Love

As I sit here in my little twin bed, in my dorm room here in Israel, I cannot believe that this coming week is marking the 2nd week in April. January and February were two of the loooooongest months, then with the blink of an eye March flew by, and here we are in April. April? Crazy. And what's even crazier is that this Wednesday is the start of my Eurotrip spring break, a vacay from my vacation abroad that's taken me about 2 months to plan, and it's here...like, sorry, what?
However, this following blog post is different. It might not be funny, or witty like my past ones, and to those of you who think I'm funny, stick with me on this post because it's important and Ima bout to get realllzzzz deep....but for real.
So here I am, a international student studying abroad in the country of Israel, that many would deem "unsafe". But I can honestly say, I've never once, and this is my third time being here, felt unsafe, ever. I was here this summer, in Netivot, when in the middle of the night a bomb was sent to the Zikim beach in Israel, I was there about 4 hours before. I was here in 2009 when there were many bomb threats in Jerusalem, but nonetheless I decided to study abroad in Tel Aviv in college after my semester abroad in Jerusalem in High School. I wanted to see Israel in a different light. Since I've been here at TAU for almost 4 and a half months, I've had multiple experiences, and every single one has been different. Today, I had the honor of being a "tour guide" for my camp friend who was visiting, which meant the following: a DAN bus to the מרכז רכבת (the central bus station), a walk around the parking lot until we found bus 480 and then an hour bus ride to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Now, I've been to Jerusalem already twice since I've been here, but I've never guided someone else, בעצמי (by myself), which was an experience. But that's just a side point to update all you avid readers on my life.
Anyway back to my story, before I came to Israel, I'd been told multiple times, especially by those close to me, "do NOT take the bus in Israel". Because maybe one day while I'd be on the bus, there would be a bus bomb, or I would lose something, or be in danger - which in my friends and family's defense, could happen at any time. But in Israel, riding the bus is just what you do. Every time I've been on the bus going somewhere - Jerusalem, Eilat, Arad, etc, I always see Israeli soldiers. Immediately, I feel comfortable and my mind is put at ease. I find it inspiring to see both young adult men and women, either my age, older or even younger (the draft into the army starts at 18), wearing their uniform with bright smiles on their faces, talking to other soldiers in their unit or friends from home riding the buses with them. These young adults or even teenagers don't know any better but also they genuinely want to serve their country. I find this an effort of courage and bravery, and I find it remarkable. For men, they in a sense give up 3 or more years of their life, for women, 2 or more. To them, it's an honor to serve in various units - whether it's combat or intelligence, to me, it's purely amazing. If we're going to be completely honest with each other, which means me being honest with you, I could never in a million years imagine joining the army, it's a huge commitment that I will never be ready for. But to those soldiers fighting for the country of Israel, thank you for being there, thank you for fighting and most of all, thank you for keeping me safe as a visitor to this country. אין לי ארץ אחרת, there is no other land like this.