When we first arrived in Israel, my excitement was quickly erased when I dug through my carry-on bag at least 10 times, searching for my wallet to convert my dollars into shekels, just to discover my wallet was nowhere to be found. With a few tears shed while standing in Ben Gurion airport, I thought “what a bad way to start the trip.” However, I quickly recovered from this loss as we made our way to Beit Shean and spent 2 nights in kibbutz Reshafim. There I got to experience an entirely different lifestyle- one that most Americans would not be able to wrap their head around. After a few days in the kibbutz, our cohort made our way to Jerusalem, where I have some of my fondest memories, sharing a room in the hostel with all the girls in our group. Although messy and chaotic, the connections I made with them all are the ones I am most grateful for. We also went to the Old City and prayed at the Kotel which was really meaningful. I feel most connected to Hashem in this place. Before leaving Jerusalem, we had the best silent disco! This was so hilarious because we got so many weird looks as we sang and danced our hearts out. The silent disco was one of my favorite memories because everyone was always laughing and bonding with one another, especially with the future shinshinim and teenshinim. Finally, we went to Tel Aviv which is probably one of my favorite places, primarily because of the beautiful beaches and skies. That being said, I had such a great time at the beach on our last day and also enjoyed time in the shuk with my friends (especially the pasta!!). The fun experiences we had here are very unique to Israel, but also some of the more emotional experiences are worth noting as they are unique to Israel. For example, our visit to hostage square was very special to me because you cannot find that place anywhere else, particularly with families of hostages or people who experienced October 7 firsthand. Seeing the long Shabbat table meant for the hostages was very emotional, especially the highchairs forAriel and Kfir Bibas. Something about being in Israel and being with the Israeli people has made everything feel so real for me, and not just a crisis I could view through my instagram feed. I am so grateful I could go on this trip as I truly believe something clicked inside of me, and my pride for Israel and Judaism expanded significantly. In all, despite such a dramatic start to the trip, I could not be more happy with how the trip turned out and am looking forward to continuing in icnext Year 2.