I've been feeling a bit guilty lately. Why? Because I don't think I'm giving myself enough credit. If I can't be my own personal cheerleader then who in the world can? So right now I'm going to talk a little bit about how I've achieved one of my biggest Aliyah goals within my first year of being here. I am so excited to announce that I am the new Marketing and Communications Manager for Masa Israel Journey. Guys, this is really kind of my dream job. I am working for a huge pi

So this is it. This is finally it. Tomorrow I will take myself, my things, all that I've experienced and learned this summer, and put it on a plane back to the good ole' USA. A part of me feels like this day would never come, and the other part of me is in disbelief the day is already here. Although I am not exactly sure how I feel about leaving, I do know there are some major things I will truly miss. 1) The People To every Israeli, those who hosted me, took me places, helpe

"הנני נשבע(ת) ומתחייב(ת) בהן צדקי לשמור אמונים למדינת ישראל לחוקיה ולשלטונותיה המוסמכים, לקבל על עצמי ללא תנאי וללא סייג עול משמעתו של צבא הגנה לישראל, לציית לכל הפקודות וההוראות הניתנות על ידי המפקדים המוסמכים ולהקדיש את כל כוחותיי ואף להקריב את חיי להגנת המולדת ולחירות ישראל." "I swear and commit to maintain allegiance to the State of Israel, its laws, and its authorities, to accept upon myself unconditionally the discipline of the Israel Defense Forces, to obey all the o

For the last 3 weeks I've been subletting a lovely little apartment in Tel Aviv. Having a "home base" has really given me a different experience of Israel. I really got a good deal on this apartment in an amazing location (huge thanks to Amos). I live on Bialik, which is right near Shuk HaCarmel (the Carmel outdoor market), a short walk to tons of cafes, restaurants, shops, Dizengoff Center, and the beach. I'm surrounded by beautiful bauhaus buildings, famous Israeli poet's h

If you follow me on Instagram and/or Twitter then you know that I post a lot of photos of my breakfast in Israel. In America, I'm not the biggest fan of breakfast foods, even at breakfast time. I'm most definitely not a breakfast-for-dinner kind of girl. Israel has changed me! American breakfast is usually carbs and sugars, like pancakes, french toast, or potatoes. And we then supplement it with eggs. In America you can also put an egg on anything and it somehow becomes break

Now that my travel plans are officially settled I'd like to make an ANNOUNCEMENT THAT I WILL BE RETURNING TO AMERICA 2 WEEKS EARLIER THAN I PLANNED. Yes, you read that correctly. Now, pick your jaw up off the ground while I explain a bit. It is no secret that I've faced challenges and struggles throughout this trip. First with the luggage, then navigating myself through a foreign land with a foreign language. I have friends here (very amazing and loving ones) but I am, for al

Yesterday Amos and I resurrected some of our road-tripping memories from last summer and took a mini road trip in to Caesarea (קיסריה). Yet another place in Israel where the ancient and modern collide, Caesarea is a coastal city along the Mediteranean which houses ruins of Caesarea Maritima. The port town was built up around 25-13 BCE by Herod the Great and was dedicated to Augustus Caesar. Today the modern city of Caesarea is known to be one of the most expenses areas to liv

Shabbat Shalom everyone! I hope you all are having a better shabbat than I am. As exciting and great as my adventure in Israel is, this shabbat I am really missing America. On one hand it sucks. No one likes to feel lonely or far away from the people and things they love. On the other hand, I've never been far enough away for long enough to truly feel like this. I've been homesick and nostalgic for California when I'm trapped in Oregon, and I've even felt pangs of longing for

5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy. –Psalms 137 Quite awhile ago Kelsey and I spent a really wonderful day exploring the Old City in Jerusalem. Our hostel was just a brief walk away from the Jaffa Gate, so it was easy to get there. On Birthright you are always rushing around so much and both of us were eager to return and tru

About a week ago I spent a few days exploring Haifa by myself. Haifa is a coastal city located towards the northern region of Israel. It is probably most known for it's port and for being the world center to the Baha'i faith. Of course I went there to see the beautiful Baha'i Gardens. I honestly had no idea what the Baha'i faith was or why their faith center was in Israel, but I learned all of this on the great tour I took! The Baha'i faith is a monotheistic religion of Persi