Never let disorganization hinder your experiences

In addressing the ratings I gave many of the categories on the previous page, I am going to be quite negative, as those specific areas need a lot of improvement. I would, however, like to say that I had a fantastic experience during my time in Netanya as an Israel Teaching Fellow. The program staff was friendly and nice, I made AMAZING friends, and lived like a local. Our proximity to the beach was mind-blowing and some of our seminars really made an impact. I know that the program is young and it has SO much potential.
I felt that the housing was an interesting choice to say the least. Our group was placed to live one floor above some kind of mental institution (not joking or exaggerating). It never posed much of a major problem but was, as I said, an interesting choice...
Our apartments constantly had problems with electricity, water heating, and overall maintenance and upkeep. The maintenance staff was sloppy, inattentive, and showed many levels of incompetency. Our program staff seemed to do little to rectify this throughout the 10 months we were in Netanya.
The social scene in the city was great, but the social scene set among the 30 of us Americans on the trip was lacking. Our program staff did little to acquaint everyone and made it quite obvious who their favorite fellows were. This type of favoritism, among other variables created a hostile environment. The low level of professionalism exhibited by our program staff contributed to some members of our group feeling like social outcasts. I do not believe I ever felt this way but I heard a lot of complaints and witnessed various scenarios which made me feel sympathy toward these select members.