A Year Like None Other

My year on OTZMA was a formative and life changing experience unlike anything else I've ever known. I spent 10 months as a volunteer living and learning in the country that I had only ever read about in Sunday school. Suddenly all that I had heard and learned as a child came alive. I was living in the desert and learning Hebrew; I was teaching English in the North next to the Lebanese border; I was grocery shopping in the Jerusalem shuk each day after working at my internship. I made Israeli friends and learned the language that they spoke. This was not a tourist experience; it was a REAL experience.

OTZMA is wonderful for many reasons, but for me, the main reason was the opportunity to live in the periphery. I came to Israel for 10 months and experienced more of the country than most Israeli's have ever experienced. It's unique and special. Even more than living in the periphery is the engaging education program which OTZMA offers. We hiked, visited historical sites, learned about current issues in Israeli society, and heard all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I highly recommend this program to anyone who is considering a year in Israel after college.