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.