Erin Gold
Some travelers say that the first time they get off a plane, they’re overcome with a strange sensation of being nowhere near home. It hits them like a brick. It hit me as I stepped off the airplane in Israel and realized that I was going to be there for five months.
I graduated from a small university in a small town in Canada and was afraid of what would happen once I finished. Would I become like my semi-employed friends, unable to find a job in their field?
I’ve also had to ask; how is it that student debt grows and the job market wanes, yet so many of us recent graduates manage to travel? The answer came when I applied to an intern abroad program.
According to Ofer Teva, who works at Oranim, a Jewish organization that offers internship programs in Israel, the troublesome economy is actually more of a reason than a hindrance for young adults to go abroad. When it’s difficult for graduates to find work in specialized fields, he says internship programs “gives them an international experience […] and an opportunity to do what they want.”
On a quick Google search, you’ll find lots of programs. Many of them charge tuition, but they’ll usually offer a place to stay, help finding placements, and help with the visa. It’s like getting a foreign experience handed to you on a silver platter.
Platters can have a cold surface. Upon arrival in Israel, It was 17°C in January, and people wore coats and scarves. Regarding my t-shirt, someone told me that I looked fresh off the boat.
In past travels to Europe, I found that when people asked “are you American?” I would say “no, Canadian” and they would smile. They loved Canadians. In Israel, I got a different response; “It’s so cold! How do you live?!”
Never mind the facts that I couldn’t read the language, and though I was told people could haggle prices in the market, I wasn’t prepared for the way salespeople yelled when you asked for a discount.
Luckily, Israelis can be very open, welcoming people. When they yell or come off as harsh, it’s just a different tone of voice. Nobody actually gets mad that you ask for a discount, you have to yell back. Also, enough people speak English in Tel Aviv to make travelers comfortable until they start learning Hebrew.
What helped a lot was that I was living in a building, sharing small rooms with other participants in my same program. Meeting people from other countries is a big part of the experience. Ofer says that participants in these programs used to consist mostly of Americans, but now Oranim gets people from all over the world.
An incredible series of cultural surprises followed that, strangely, I wouldn’t trade in for anything. Social dynamics in my program, at work, and in everyday life were different in Israel. From the differences, I learned so much.
Image of Tel Aviv at Night © Dmitry Pistrov/iStockphoto
