First Days!

Took me a while to update because we’ve been so busy, but I’m having an amazing time so far. The program began on Wednesday where I met 90+ new people from over 10 countries. I’m still finding some I’ve never seen and it’s the third day.

About 70% of the participants will be interning in Tel Aviv while the rest will be in Jerusalem. We are split into 2 groups with leaders Itzik and Sharon. All of the Jerusalem interns plus a bunch of Tel Avivs are in Itzik’s group with me which is good because I get to spend a lot of time with them before we split up.

We stayed in a Jerusalem “hostel” the first two nights... More like a nice hotel with bunks. It housed other groups visiting from all over the world. The food is much better than I was expecting. Breakfast options always include Nutella with toast, Israeli salad (cucumbers and tomatoes in a vinegar dressing), and tuna. Every lunch and dinner has had challah, hummus, rice, potatoes, and Israeli salad. And PS Weekends are Friday-Saturday due to Shabbat.

On Thursday, Feb 4th, a Bostonian who has lived in Israel for 25 years spoke about the history and current standing of the State of Israel. I learned that the country is extremely fiscally conservative – they have the 3rd largest income gap between the upper and lower classes. Jerusalem is the poorest city here because many Orthodox Jews study the Torah all day every day while their wives stay at home and neither have an income.

Later we went over regulations and security… obviously important. The program requires that we have a cell phone on at all times so they can text any safety information which is received instantly from The Situation Room (a company in contact with Mossad).

The day ended with a trip to the mall, dinner at the hostel, and a seminar discussing Israeli films. Unlike Hollywood, Israeli films are funded by the government and are often more serious and political. Most criticize Israel openly, which I found to be surprising.