The Best Decision Ever!

It was purely by chance that I found aardvark Israel at an expo in South Africa, but it is something that I will always be grateful for as the aardvark Israel program changed my life, literally forever. I had the most amazing time and I am now currently living in Israel after making Aliyah and going to the IDF – all thanks to Aardvark.

I woke up everyday and went to an internship that I loved. I worked at an architectural firm where I did web design, content writing, building design and worked on floor plans. My office was down the street from my very modern and homey apartment in the center of Florentine which meant that I could run home and have a quick lunch with my roommates before we headed off to classes together. My middle eastern politics class was the class I looked forward to on most days. It was just so interesting, and Mr. Goldstein kept me extremely intrigued. If I wasn’t busy in the evenings with the awesome night programs with our madrichim (such as going to see Eurovision live) I was chilling at home or exploring the arty city of Tel Aviv. My weekends were calm and uninterrupted, but I always knew that should something go wrong or I just need to chat that there was a madrich close by that I could count on. I was able to meet people from all over the world and learn so much about so many different cultures because Aardvark had such a mixed group of students.

Aardvark allowed me to explore Israel and explore myself within a structured but free environment. We travelled all over the country, from north to south, Aardvark made sure that we were exposed to every aspect of Israel. My favorite trip was the one to Ethiopia – I mean who goes to Ethiopia?? Well we did and it was absolutely incredible! I was given insight into the privilege of living in Israel as we interacted with the Jews in Gondar and even attended a Shacrit service with them! I then also had an awesome week travelling in America before I embarked on a journey to work on Summer Camp in Pennsylvania as part of the Plus Program. Every trip I went on, whether within Israel or overseas, was meticulously planned and executed so that every student could gain the most from the experience.

If anyone were to ask me if I would do it again, my answer would be 100% yes and I would not change a thing. Six months later just about to start the IDF I still pop into the office to see my Madrich Idan and Shay-El because I know that they were not only my support system whilst I was on the program but they have become my family and will be one of my support systems as I live out the rest of my life in Israel (a decision I have made based purely on the experience that Aardvark Israel gave me).

For anyone who does not recommend this program was clearly wrong for it from the start. One must be open minded and ready for a change in their life as you live in what I believe (but I am biased) to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world and to be on one of the best gap year programs that is out there in the world.