Aardvark: Gap Year Program in Israel

I'm Sem from Amsterdam.
I had an amazing time at Aardvark! The program has opened a lot of doors for me and taught me so much. I have met so many amazing people from all around the world and lived in one of the most vibrant city I've been 'Tel Aviv'. I really recommend this program to high school graduates who have no idea what to do after high school. You will definitely know yourself better after this year. Just like me.

I LOVED my year in Israel with Aardvark. thanks to them, I got set up with an incredible internship opportunity with The jerusalem Post, the second largest english speaking newspaper in Israel, and I got to write for them and actually have stories published. The people who do aardvark are all fun, adventurous, and I've made a few really special friendships. There's enough freedom that we get to go on some crazy trips that we planned ourselves, like staying in a beduin tent, snorkeling in eilat, and going to music festivals, and enough structure that we have monthly trips as a group to go on fun hikes and meet different communities in israel and really learn about our surroundings. the locations of the apartments are amazing- i loooooved tel aviv especially. I can't say enough about how great aardvark is- it really gives you a community and amazing opportunities. this year was totally unforgettable.

Aardvark Israel Gap Year was by far the most transformative experience of my adolescence. I had a very interesting experience with planning for a gap year, because of my age. I made the decision to graduate high school early, and move to Israel. However, I needed a program that would allow me to participate from January through the summer. I searched and searched until I found Aardvark Israel. Upon finding the 'one semester' option with Aardvark, I reached out to two friends who had previously been students with Aardvark, received glowing reviews, and decided it was the right option for me.

I arrived in Israel shortly after my 18th birthday, and moved into my amazing apartment in south Tel Aviv. I could not have asked for a better location to live. From the apartment location, you could walk for 10 minutes, and reach the beach, the market, Jaffa, many restaurants, or the central bus station of Tel Aviv that would allow access to the entire country.

Aardvark is the perfect amount of supervision and supervised activities, mixed with a great amount of group touring, and free time. Daily activities included: volunteering/internships/add on tracks in the morning and early afternoon, ulpan and other classes in the mid afternoon, and optional group activities (spray painting workshops, karaoke nights, group shabbat dinners, yoga lessons, etc.) in the evenings. On Tuesdays, and one weekend per month, the staff of Aardvark coordinated a group day trip or overnight trip. Some of these included: a tour of the central bus station, 'Dialogue in the Dark' (a museum about being blind in Israel), sight seeing in Caesarea, camping trips, the list goes on and on. Tiyul Tuesday was for sure a highlight of my time in Israel, and the weekend overnights were something very exciting to look forward to!

My experience was enhanced with Aardvark's Entrepreneurship Track. This add on focused on the start-up culture of Tel Aviv. Two times per week, the students of this track would meet to experience something within the start up community. We visited the Israel Coca-Cola Factory, Facebook's Middle East Headquarters, Venture Capitalist firms, Start-up accelerators, Google's 'outside of America Headquarters', and many more. This was one of the highlights of my Aardvark experience. Experiencing Tel Aviv in a way so different from any other group made this more exciting and something that everyone in the group enjoyed.

Going in to my 'gap year' I was expecting to go to Israel with no structure, run around, and do my own thing, but Aardvark Israel Gap Year is not that. It is so much more! Aardvark was properly structured and positively impacted by wonderful, nurturing and helpful staff. From the counselors, to the rabbis, to the office staff, to the directors, every person who works for Aardvark wants nothing besides the absolute best for their students and participants. These were the people who helped us plan weekend excursions to go hiking on the Israel Trail, who taught many to cook their first meals, who acted as our parents when we needed help, were sick, or needed to see a doctor. The staff of Aardvark were the people who were happy to come to work each day, and this made the most of the participant's experiences. Great staff makes a great gap year, and that is just what the Aardvark Staff did.

My gap year helped me mature, helped me grow as a person, and helped me decide what to do with my future.

My heart belongs in Israel, and this is all because of my experiences on Aardvark. My decision to move to Israel and attend university at IDC was made because of the opportunities Aardvark allowed me.

Aardvark Israel Gap Year was by far the best gap year that I could have asked for.

If you're reading this and considering Aardvark, good for you. Around two years ago, I was in your place too, perusing gap year programs and deciding which was the one for me. The thing about gap year programs, similarly to colleges, is that not everyone functions well in all of them. Aardvark is a more independent program, and if that's not necessarily what you're looking for in a program, than maybe it's not right for you. But oh, what an amazing program Aardvark was for me!!

Aardvark stands above other gap year programs because it has this freedom. What you put into it is what you get out of it.

For example, the internships and volunteering. There were kids straight out of high school writing printed articles in the Jerusalem Post and volunteering at the Knesset, people working at record companies with real musicians and art galleries with real artists. There were kids working the stands in Shuk Machane Yehuda, interacting with Israelis as their job every morning. I, for example, worked as an intern at the World Zionist Organization and was able to meet presidents and other world leaders as part of my job. Bakeries and woodshops and hummus restaurants and graphic design and start up companies and grassroots political organizations; you name it, Aardvark can connect you with an internship.

The classes and teachers were super beneficial. Although definitely not as rigorous as a traditional American college course, the teachers were kind and cared about us as individuals, and the classes were more discussions regarding the topics. They were primarily Israel and Judaism related, and surprisingly (compared to other gap year programs) nonpolitical, leaving room for discussion about the conflict and about religion on every end of the spectrum. Again, if you're the type to not take initiative in class, you won't necissarily be forced to work hard, but the opportunity is there.

Once a week, Aardvark takes a local trip. These can be anything from a walking neighborhood tour to wine tasting to a hike or a day long trip to a nearby city. They were fun and varied in time and length, offering some free time or a full day of programming. The variation was welcome and exciting.

Yes, the staff on Aardvark are young and were a bit inexperienced. Honestly, I had a bit of trouble with one of my staff members during the semester. However, all of the staff members had the best intentions and wanted to help. Especially the administration of Aardvark, who are all based in the offices and are as accessible as the staff - they're helpful, fun, and want to make you have the best experience possible. If there is a problem with a staff member, there are people and resources to listen

Aardvark has a lot of freedom compared to other programs. My friends and I took advantage of this by planning lots of weekend trips: renting Airbnb tents in the middle of the desert just a camel ride away from the Mitzpe Ramon crater, camping in the Sataf forest and watching the sun rise over Jerusalem, setting up a tent village with almost 30 people and communally living for the weekend on the shores of the Kinneret, and so much more. We attended galleries and concerts and museums, went to the beach in our free time and bar hopped and went nightclubbing, but as all young people with a legal drinking age do, and amongst taking classes and attending internships.

Aardvark balances its programming side with the freedom it also allows students, but that's exactly what makes it as incredible and beautiful as it is. We lived freely and fully. Other programs had so many restrictions, more hectic programming and scheduling, but if that's what you want in a program, Aardvark might not be for you. Although there are awesome activities nearly every day and internships every weekday morning and classes and Hebrew lessons throughout the week, Aardvark respects its students enough to allow them to make their own decisions in what they'd like to do with their free time, which really separates it from other programs. On Aardvark, I felt like I was really in charge of myself with a really strong support system and base schedule from the program.

If you want to experience Jerusalem and Tel Aviv not as a foreigner, but as a member of society, grocery shopping and doing your laundry on your own, Aardvark is the perfect program to give you a diving off point for an incredible year. I could not recommend this program enough - it just takes a little initiative.

The pictures below are:
1. Me sitting at my kitchen table in our Aardvark apartment in Tel Aviv
2. My roommates & I in front of our poster wall (all from the streets of TLV) posing in Aardvark shirts before an event
3. My friend and I skipping gleefully at a music festival we attended one weekend during Aardvark

In my junior year of high school I spent two months on Alexander Muss High School in Israel. It was one of the best experiences of my life. We learned jewish history, from creation to present day, and travelled around Israel learning about the country and experiencing the culture. The classes and the field trips were amazing, and the two months were so inspiring that when it was over I immediately knew I wanted to go back to Israel for my gap year.

One of my biggest regrets was choosing to spend my gap year on Aardvark. This is a great program for anyone interested in partying the year away without any structure or adult supervision. Honestly it hardly felt like a program at all. Every aspect of the program from the internships to the field trips were unorganized and poorly planned. It constantly felt like everything was thrown together at the last minute. Most of the trips were boring, and no where near as engaging and educational as the ones I experienced on AMHSI. I could have easily done the same things on my own for a much cheaper price. The staff and madrichim were young and did not know how to control a group of students so close in age to them. My madricha was no more than 2 years older than me, unsupportive, and extremely unhelpful. When I would ask her a question or for directions she would reply "Ask Google". The program had no real structure, and it was obvious.

There were few students who had good experiences with their internships and volunteer work. I personally felt like I was not gaining any useful work experience, and ultimately felt I was wasting my time. Most students quickly realized you could skip, and even quit your internship without getting caught by the madrichim, and took advantage of this.

The classes were uninspiring, and although they were accredited by AJU, I did not feel like I learned much. Now, after attending a full year of university, I know for a fact the classes were not adequate.

There was only one staff member who I felt was supportive, and invested in my experience. She was the only staff member who acknowledged my complaints and concerns, and tried to work with me to improve my experience. She cared about the program, and worked hard to improve it for the sake of the students. Sadly this was not recognized and she no longer works for Aardvark. Me and many of my fellow students felt like Aardvark was a business, rather than a program invested in our experience.

Overall I feel like my experience on Aardvark distanced me even further from my judaism, and left me feeling resentful toward Israel. I look back on my gap year with regret and disappointment.

The reviews below are good, but keep in mind that it is only a small fraction of Aardvark alumni that have taken the time to write a response. I know for a fact that many of the other students in my year were also extremely unhappy with the program.

The apartments are not well maintained and in a poor part of Tel Aviv. They suffer from serious damp, lack of proper furniture and very poor quality bedding. It can only be described as rough living for a prince's ransom.

The counsellors are just out of the army and only slightly older than the kids on the programme. They do not have the experience, or training, to deal with many of the issues which can arise when a child is living away from home for the first time.

The programme does not offer much. Four mornings per week are spent on internships and then some very basic teaching three afternoons per week. There are trips, but these are mostly local. There is a lot of fallow time, which may be fun but hardly good value.

Don't expect any refunds should you find the programme to be ultimately inadequate. Should you proceed you will need to understand this is at your risk.

Still in the program. About to finish first half in Tel Aviv, then going on to Jerusalem. This is a very rich program in diversity and experience. I love the internship, the trips, the support, the team.

Aardvark was, without a doubt, the greatest thing that could have ever happened to me. Was the program perfect? No. No program is without its faults, but the resources and opportunities that Aardvark provides its students are tools that can be used and applied throughout the rest of their lives.

I learned so much both about myself and my Jewish identity while on this program. I grew spiritually and mentally and I am a full believer that I am better off now, having waited a year before attending college, than I would have been had I gone straight through without taking a gap year.

You get the chance to explore the country and develop a greater understanding of the Jewish state. I never considered myself a Zionist before, but Israel now plays a very important part in both my life and my belief system. Who knows exactly what the future holds in store, but my opinions and love towards Israel have changed irrevocably.

I've made life long friends and miss the country and the Aardvark staff terribly. I know that my academic journey must continue, but I am forever indebted to Aardvark for helping to guide and shape me into the person I am today.