Hello all and welcome to my blog!  After four years of rigorous study at Hobart College, I am pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies.  Approximately ten days from today, I will embark on a new journey, this time to Jerusalem, Israel.  As a Religious Studies major, I have studied cultures and religions through historical, ethical, political and theological perspectives.  Along with my liberal arts studies in social sciences, the humanities and science, I have acquired basic knowledge in a range of disciplines which has trained me to think from multiple vantage points.  With that being said, I look forward to the incredible experiences this summer holds.

Now, nearly two years after attending Birthright and extending my trip to explore and experience the beautiful countryside Israel has to offer, I will be interning directly within Jerusalem.  I will be working for the JCC within the fields of tourism and hospitality, while including aspects of the sports world.  From my current knowledge on the organization, this work includes planning logistics for the Maccabi games, which are sort of youth-Jewish Olympics (ages 13-16).

For those of you who are unaware with Birthright, it is a trip which sends young Jews (ages 18-26) to Israel to traverse the landscape and take in the Israeli culture and way of life.  Even though Israel is a very small country, there are a range of climates that are found.  In the very north, there is the Sea of Galilee:

While at the bottom of the country is Eilat.

In between these areas are cities, including Haifa, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem, among many others.  I hope to travel as much as possible, while making the most out of my internship.

It’s been about three weeks since graduation, which continues to boggle my mind about how the time passed that quickly.  I hope that my experiences in Israel won’t fly by as quickly!