Imagine spending four months camping, hiking, and travelling in a foreign country while studying the language and culture. For juniors Talia Wolkowitz, Danielle Serota, and Michelle Bennett, such an experience will become a reality as they spend the duration of second semester in Israel.
“I’m most excited to meet new people from all over the country and bond through such a unique experience together as we are immersed in Israeli culture,” Serota said.
As well as meeting individuals with common interests from all around North America, and experiencing a different way of life, the program has other benefits.
“I’ve been interested in the program for a long time, and it combines a lot of my favorite things like Judiasm, adventure, Israeli culture, and unique learning opportunities,” Bennett said. “All in all, it just seemed like a really rewarding experience that I’m excited to have.”
The program contains about 80 American students, as well as one Canadian, who will live on a Kibbutz outside of Jerusalem from Jan. 26 to May 30.
“A Kibbutz used to be like a communal living place with farms or factories, but now its more like a big neighborhood and each kibbutz usually has a specialty,” Wolkowitz said. “The one we are staying on has a vineyard.”
While staying on the Kibbutz, the students will live in dorms and attend an American school, where they will take regular classes, as well as several specialized courses such as Jewish History and Hebrew.
“Part of the Jewish History class is going around the country to physically see a lot of the history we are learning about,” Bennett said. “There are also a few longer trips we take, including a few days camping and hiking in the desert, a few days doing the same in the northern part of the country, a few days ‘training’ at an army base, and a week in Poland.”
Wolkowitz is excited to make new friends and see more of Israel, especially because she believes the experience will help prepare her college, learn in a smaller environment, and spend time with relatives she rarely sees.
For Serota, this trip will be her second in the last year. She spent the summer in Israel with another group of students.
“My previous trip was the best five weeks of my life and made me fall in love with Israel even more,” Serota said. “It made me feel the need to go back and so I decided to do the semester program.