The bell rang and the students at my high school sped off campus to begin their summer vacation. The seniors cheered, and the juniors were so excited they had finished their hardest school year. But I wasn’t spending my summer like most other teenagers in Dallas. I was going somewhere meaningful and holy where I had something in common with everything else. We were all Jewish. I woke up on June 14 at 5:30 a.m to the sound of my mom’s excitement. At the airport, we said our goodbyes and were off to the Promised Land, Israel. I would be joining 30 other teens from across the U.S where we would be spending our days learning about the past of Israel, but one day in particular stood out from the rest of the trip. I jumped off the bus into a small village where the buildings were old, the village poor and the people looked tired and hungry. We had arrived at the Israel Ethiopian Immigration Center.
At first, I was a little taken back. I have grown up with religious grandparents, so the modest attire and hebrew language was nothing new, but what was unusual was that these parents and children had dark skin. We split up into small groups and we were each told to sit at a table. I took a seat next to Adina, a four-year old Ethiopian girl who has been born and raised in Israel. For hours, we sang songs, played games, and made arts and craft projects. That afternoon I helped Adina use a glue stick and cut with scissors, but she helped me see a part of Israel I wasn’t expecting. Looking around at this village, these children, and the environment they lived in reminded me to feel thankful for everything I had back home in Texas. It made me feel like a better person, and friend with a more grateful identity.
i made a comment yesterday and went back to elaborate on it and it wasn't there, so just to be safe, i want to comment again, restating what i said before and looking deeper.
ReplyDeletei was really excited reading your blog because both of us wrote about how Israel changed our lives and how our trips made us who we are today. Our trips were differently directed, but it sounds like yours was an amazing experience. I really liked how you started off with the imagery of the bell ringing, the kids speeding off, and the seniors cheering. reading your first few sentences gave me a sense of excitement and i felt like i knew the feeling myself. The only thing that i would suggest for next time would be to make it a little longer, i would have loved to hear/read more about your trip and the experience you had in Israel.
Haylee! It's so exciting to see that you went to Israel! We both had similar stories by going far away places and seeing the bigger picture on things. I can see that it has inspired you to be a better person and I can imagine it made you open your eyes a bit, just like it did for me! Im happy for you!
ReplyDeleteI would have made it longer but I thought it was supposed to be 1-2 paragraphs and I felt I squeezed a lot into those two paragraphs! On the other hand, Thank you both for the kind comments!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your story Haylee! I really want to go on birthright as well but I havent gotten the chance, i really would like to talk to you about it and your experiences there! Your piece was great i really enjoyed it. Your introduction really got me interested in what you had to say and the way you explained the village made me feel like i was right there with you.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your story because ever since I realized how important Roman Catholicism is to both sides of my family I've been thinking about visiting the Vatican. It's really exciting that you were able to Israel and have so much fun. It sounds like it was a very fulfilling experience and I hope to have that same experience one day. Very nice essay by the way it was very informative.
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