I spent seven weeks of this summer in Israel with my life-long friend Ariel from Boston. Although we did do some of the usual touristy activities–spending a weekend in Tel Aviv, going to Jerusalem, going to Masada and floating in the 
Dead Sea–we spent most of our time right outside Haifa at a youth village called Yemin Orde. The kids at this boarding school and orphanage were mostly from Ethiopia, but the school also had kids from Brazil, Russia and Eastern Europe, and even China. I loved interacting with the kids as an English tutor, which gave me the opportunity to hear their amazing stories. I also helped run a week-long summer camp for the children of illegal immigrants in Israel, which was really fun and exhausting. Overall, this summer was amazing, and I hope to go back to Israel someday.
