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Leaving Haifa

By Adar

My last day in Haifa felt like the shortest day I’ve ever had, though in reality it was one of the longest. I was up at six, going over my notes for my last written final in Hebrew class, which I took at 8 and finished at 10. I then had my last goodbyes to the staff at the international office. I did my laundry, helped my friend buy a bus ticket (the website was in Hebrew) and ordered a sherut, or shared cab, for us for the evening. I then locked myself away from 11:30 to 4, working on an essay that I really wanted to finish. In Israel, or at least at the University of Haifa, papers are due after the semester has already ended. On the one hand, it means you have a little bit more time to do them, but on the other it means you can’t really start a break until you finish, up to a month and a half later. So within those four and a half hours I managed to crank out about eight pages worth of text in addition to the two I already had, and sent it in. I’ve still got two more papers to write to look forward to.

At four I began packing my room. As it turns out, I have significantly more things to be packed at the end of the semester than I brought with me in the beginning. I dug through all of my things, frantically creating huge bags of trash and recycling and stuffing all of my things into my suitcase, travel backpack, little duffel, and day backpack. Relatively, I have much less luggage than most people, but carrying it all down the stairs and across the dorms felt like a feat. I was packing until literally the last minute, because the second I got up to the parking lot with all of my stuff and returned my keys, the sherut driver pulled up.

It’s still a little difficult for me to realize that my semester abroad is finished. That next semester I’ll be back in Foggy Bottom instead of the sunny Middle East. I think spending time here has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. First off, I’d recommend spending a semester or year abroad to absolutely everybody, because I think that it completely opens up the bubble you’re in on an American college campus. The challenges people face in another country, especially ones in a non-western region, are inherently different than those we’re used to. Immersing myself in a different culture, language, and community has been one adventure after another. This semester I’ve gotten the chance to travel, see, explore so much more than I thought possible. I know that it sounds cheesy. But honestly, spending time in a different country more than just a short vacation really changes you. I think I’ve become much more open minded and more adventurous because of going abroad. I’ve gotten used to going out and seeking things that push the boundaries of what I’m used to.

I won’t say that it’s hard to believe we’re leaving. I knew it was coming. I think what’s harder to believe is that we were here in the first place. That I got to spend four months living in a country that has so much to offer; that’s so different from what I’m used to. Where I don’t understand half of the conversations going on around me because they’re in a different language. Where everything from the political system to the social issues to the temperaments of drivers to the way people go shopping to what kind of soap people use is different. And yet, living in Haifa for a third of a year has been strangely familiar. I’m comfortable here, or I got comfortable here fairly quickly. Perhaps it’s my Jewish background, or my familiarity with Hebrew (which definitely helped). But I think what’s more than that is the specific environment I was put in.

The international school at the University of Haifa somehow attracted some of the most dynamic, diverse, open-minded and kindhearted people I’ve met to its program. The friends I made at school are my second family. People that I’ve met here are so genuinely excited to go out, explore, see the country, learn from others, and challenge themselves that I had very little choice in whether or not I was going to have a worthwhile experience here. I was, full stop. I think that anyone can have an interesting experience here, especially if they’re studying history, politics, or religion. At the international school, people came from all over to study all sorts of things, and I think it’s safe to say all of us got something different out of our time.

During this semester, I’ve gotten very well acquainted with all sorts of communities I knew little about before. I got to experience the warmth and friendliness of Mediterraneans, the tenacity and self-reliance of Israelis, and the dynamics of the Middle East in general. On breaks I am lucky enough to have travelled to Turkey, Bulgaria and Jordan. I swam in the Dead Sea, rode a camel, hiked mountains, toured historical places, sat through services in a mosque, a cathedral, and a synagogue. I volunteered every week at a holocaust survivor’s community center in Haifa and got to hear some incredible life stories. I ate borekas until I was sick and learned how to make falafel by hand. My Heblish has gotten col-cach metzuyenet. I completely wore all of my shoes down to their soles and got sunburned more times than I care to admit.
An incredibly meaningful part of this semester for me personally was the fact that I spent much more time with my grandmother than I ever had before. I took the train to her apartment in Tel Aviv every week or two, and really got to know her for myself. I’ve learned so much from her, and solidified a relationship that’s just ours – one I’ll keep with me for a long time
When you study abroad, you have a limited amount of time. You have a plane ticket back to the states just after the program ends. I think the time stamp affects how you decide to experience your semester. It means you fill your weeks with things that you might not do if you thought you could put it off – day trips to different cities, four hour dinners, long walks through the national park, live music at the port, all-you-can-eat hummus in Horev center. It also means you have to say goodbye.
So what am I leaving behind? A little rug I got in Dalia, I don’t have room for it in my suitcase. But I’d like to think that instead of leaving this incredible semester behind, I’m actually taking it with me. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how, but I know that the past four months have changed me.
Goodbye Haifa, and with love,
Adar