Young Judaea Year Course - Program In Israel - Margy Stoner - "The Typical Questions"

I smile each time I have the opportunity to try to put it into words. Nestled between four Arab nations, the tiny state of Israel is like a flower blossoming from a crack in a concrete driveway. It is a modern nation that, as tour guides explain to bar mitzvah students, packs of teenagers, families, retirees and everyone in between, "It's where the old meets the new."

I try to explain that each year on Passover, we say the words, "Next year in Jerusalem!"as Jews across the globe have been saying for the past 2,000 years.

But after trying to articulate these initial sentiments of the Jewish connection to the Holy Land, I discuss the scientific, technological and medical contributions Israel has made to the world. I relate how in 1948, Jews from every kind of background and profession cultivated the land, and as David Ben-Gurion dreamed, came together to "make the desert bloom."

By this time, I'm pretty worked up and many people are, consequently, sick of listening. They quickly change the subject: "So what exactly will you be doing there?"

I don't really know when my decision to participate in Young Judaea's Year Course came about; I remember sitting in the office chair at my receptionist job the summer before my senior year and making the decision to take a year off before college and go to Israel.

I had no idea what I would be doing, where I would be or how my parents would react, and at the time, none of that mattered--I would be going home. And as much as I had always dreamed of toting off to the other side of the world alone and "living dollar to dollar with nothing but a backpack and good pair of shoes," as I had always preached, I've since been urged to make more steadfast plans.  

I'll begin my year abroad in Jerusalem, studying Hebrew and taking classes on Israel and Judaism. After three months, I'll be moving to an apartment in a low-income neighborhood outside Tel Aviv and volunteering in the community. I have yet to determine my last three months of the program.

And then the next, probably most daunting question asked: "Are you scared?"

My first response is always "No." But when I really ponder this question for what it is, I don't feel quite as forthcoming. No, I'm not afraid to walk the streets of Tel Aviv, hop on a bus or grab a slice of pizza. It's not the thought of dying a tragic death that scares me. I suppose it's the broad, haunting realization that being a Jew in this world can often be lonely, especially when growing up in Indiana.

My generation is so blessed to have the state of Israel, the tiny sliver of land that didn't come to us without a price. The fact that there's so much hate and violence in the world and that my homeland is too often the focus of this hatred is what really scares me.

But I refuse to wrap my future in fear. I know that even though my year won't be the typical college life of dorm rooms, late classes and all-nighters, I have a different experience to look forward to.

I'm 18 years old, venturing to my favorite place in the world to experience life on my own for the first time, and I plan on relishing every moment of it.

Margy is an 18-year-old from Indianapolis, Ind. She enjoys writing, hiking, traveling, Israel, reptiles, spicy food and the guitar-campfire combination. She plans on attending Indiana University in 2008.