One of the greatest things about being an American Jew visiting Israel is the amount of crazy connections you can make with others despite being halfway across the world. As my group walked down the streets of Emek Refaim last night, we searched for families to interview, hoping to gain insight into their lives and journeys to Israel. I spotted a family, and casually followed them down the street for a little while, attempting to hear bits of their conversations. After discovering they were speaking English I ran up to them and they immediately agreed to the interview. The Roberts family hails from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and is visiting Israel for their first time this week. They asked about our program and the mom, Julie was very excited to hear we traveled from Cleveland, because she was born there as well.
“Where in Cleveland?” she asked. “I’m from Shaker Heights.”
Who would have thought in a random drugstore on the opposite side of the world, I would run into a woman who went to the same high school as I do. I couldn’t stop smiling. Jewish geography is one of my all time favorite activities.
As the conversation progressed, I found out that the older brother, Jackson recently celebrated his Bar-Mitzvah and that Bridget, the younger sister, takes on the same role in her family as I do- the funny annoying child. She told me a joke, and no one else besides us two laughed. It was a bonding moment in our interview, and one that I really loved.
We ran into them twice today, and I sat them with them for part of lunch. From just that 6.5 minute interview, we forged a connection and I felt comfortable enough going up to their family and talking to their dad, Alex, about the itinerary for the rest of their trip. Friendliness can go a long way, and I can’t wait to run into them again and learn more about their family. Hopefully someday, Jackson and Bridget will return to Israel on programs like ICnext, and remember me and my friends as those crazy kids that helped make their trip to Israel just a little more fun.