This past winter break, I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to participate on a community service trip in Israel, offered through the UMass Hillel. Having gone on Birthright Israel two years ago, an educational organization that sponsors a free ten-day trip to Israel for Jewish youth between the ages 18-26, I was hoping to be able to get back to my homeland and do a little more in depth learning about the land and the inhabitants there. Birthright provided me with an amazing experience, showing me all of the tourist attractions and many historical sites, but I still wanted to learn more.
The service learning program I was able to take part in included working in a Druze village, a minority community in Israel. The main project given to my group was to help create a community garden in one of the local vocational high schools. While both my group and I had thought we would be working by ourselves on the project, we were shocked when the local Druze youth came to the garden each day to spend their entire winter vacation working with us. Most of the locals had never met Americans before, so they were all very excited to meet us and wanted nothing more than to be of assistance.
Looking back on my experience in Maghar, Israel I am so lucky to have been able to participate in this cultural exchange. By being able to spend time with the Druze youth and talk with a couple of them during our daily learning sessions, I learned so much about their community and what it is like to be a minority living in a Jewish state. Being Jewish myself, I found it incredibly interesting to hear about being a minority in Israel, the one place where I feel that I am finally a majority. This experience was really eye-opening for me.
From staying with a host family to my interactions with the Druze youth, I was in awe of how quickly and easily I was able to connect and form such incredible relationships with those of a different culture, religion, and nationality.
If you are looking for something new and exciting to do this coming spring or summer break, I strongly suggest looking into alternative break trips. Whether it is a trip to New York to help with Hurricane Sandy relief, a trip to the Philippines to help with the aftermath of the recent typhoon, or even a trip to another country just to get a feel for another culture, you will learn so much about the world (also, volunteer trips often provide generous subsidies for your airfare). While the world might seem like a big place, your experience will help you see how similar even the most different of people really are.
Open your eyes and see the world in a new way!