Monday, July 17, 2006

Where Have I Been?

I suppose I should begin at the beginning. Or at least at the start of the questions. All of a sudden I feel like there is so much that I want to share, to tell, to put down so that I can see it and know that it all really happened.

I started going through some old pictures today. Pictures I want to scan in and use for my sagas. I can be so very nostalgic sometimes. My belly flutters, my eyes sting a little, my heart is tight and I feel anxious.

Jen asked if I had ever been out of the country and when. Does Canada count? If so, then I have been there many times. I grew up in western New York so when I travel there from here in Michigan, I often drive through Canada.

But I have been further away from America than that. I actually lived in Israel for three and a half months. When I was going to college, I happened to be flipping through the coursebook and noticed that they do a study abroad program in which you can trasfer credits from whatever classes you take. "Wouldn't it be amazing to study in Israel?" I thought to myself.

So I did. I saved up, I got financial aid, I chose my classes, I got a roommate, vaccinations, my passport, and flight tickets and off I went.

I lived in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. It was the most amazing time of my life. The first few weeks I felt as though I was just on this amazing adventure and I loved the city and the culture and everything about being there, but also missed the US and my boyfriend. I thought that it was a great place to be and to visit, but I would never consider living in Israel an option. After about a month of being there, I wondered how I would ever be able to leave.



You can see the school in the bottom left just above the dirt ball field. It wasn't a big campus, but it was beautiful, it was home.

8 comments:

Jean said...

That looks like a picture out of a brochure. And I'm guessing more beautiful being there than pictures can express...

anne said...

That one is actually a postcard. It's the only good arial shot of the school.

And yes, unbelievably beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Now that's leaving home.

There's no other feeling in the world like it....traveling on your own.

Carbon said...

That is awesome that you took the opportunity to go do that. I wished I had done something like that when I was in school. A time when you are free of most major adult responsibilites. Too late now :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, how very cool!

Your Mother said...

I'm Jealous

Jen said...

I am so jealous of you. One regret from college is not studying abroad. I backpacked through Europe though, so I was able to see a lot of the places I always saw on Tv or in movies. Isreal looks beautiful. Thanks for answering my question so in depth. You are the cutest.

Meadow said...

That is so awesome. I've never lived abroad but I would like to someday. Maybe London.