Kindly edited by Lauren Zink and Emily Settle. Republished in the October 2010 OTZMA Newsletter and the Masa Israel blog.

Somehow a month has already passed us by. In that time, we’ve been taught about our history and our faith, helped each other overcome our fears, “rode” camels, floated in the Dead Sea, practiced yoga, attended a rally, hiked to a waterfall, moved into merkaz klita (absorption center) Beit Canada, began studying Hebrew together, watched the sun rise over the Old City in Jerusalem, welcomed in the new year, ate massive amounts of food with our new host families, celebrated a couple birthdays (Jason Winkler and Shauna Gamsey), and witnessed the serenity of Jerusalem on Yom Kippur. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve become a family. Continue reading »