End of a Journey

I've been home about five or six days now and let me tell you, I've missed a few things from my everyday American life. My room, my bed, my friends and teachers - but there's definitely something missing. Being home isn't like Tzuba - I can't hop over a balcony or two to hangout with some of my closest friends right next door. I can't do my homework in the Belmont lobby overlooking the Judean Hills (instead I overlook my neighbors' backyard). I can't share the same inside jokes or have the same conversations like the ones I had the privilege of sharing with eighty one other teens from across the country. I no longer live in the Jewish homeland that for years I used to adore from afar.
My heart is in the East,
And I am in the utmost West.
It has been a spectacular four months of growth, understanding, jokes, and connections. I've made some stupid mistakes that I've done my best to learn from but I've also made memories from places, people, and experiences I would have never had the opportunity to make if it hadn't been for EIE. I have recognized who I am as a person and as a Jew and I could not be more thankful for the friends - no, the family that I have made and that has helped me along this journey. I just hope I could've helped them in return. I want to express my dearest thanks to all the teachers who kept me on track with mh studies and opened my eyes to new things, both related and unrelated to Judaism alike. Your knowledge is unmeasurable and your teaching abilities really kept me interested for all four months. To all of the staff - I know eighty two teens are not easy to handle (hell, I know I can't even handle myself sometimes). But you all did everything in your power to make sure we were having fun and staying safe. You truly made the spring semester unforgettable and I know each and every one of us chanichim are indebted to you greatly.
People change over time. It's a given fact. Whether it be in a matter of seconds or a few decades - well that depends on their place and their surrounding people. I changed in Israel - I became a new person molded by my Jewish faith and my supportive peers. I lived the culture of Israel and felt the pride of a nation coursing through my veins.  Four months later, I find myself as a "new Jew" (to use some Jewish History context), shaped by my Israel experience and my journey in the Jewish homeland. I personally believe that a similar change has happened in all eighty two of us and will continue to happen to those yet to come on this EIE adventure.
עלו וראיתם את הארץ מה הוא ואת העם הישב עליה
Go up and see the land and the people who dwell upon it.
Go - I dare you - and you will come back as a person stronger, smarter, and happier than before.
VIVA AVIV 2011 - Long live the spring that changed our lives.