Putting Down Roots, itty bitty little roots

My program with Professor Eric Aronoff was epitomized by a quote from one of our guides, “My job isn’t to make you guys experts in sustainability in the next three days. My job is to open those doors, and it’s up to all of you to step through the door when you choose to.” This fit the program so well because we were never in one place long enough to get the full experience from it, instead we got a little sample of the entire country. With Professor Yael Aronoff, we’re in Jerusalem for almost the entirety of our six-week program. On this program, I feel like I’m starting to put down roots. Tiny, tiny roots, to be sure, but putting them down nonetheless. I’m only in Jerusalem for six weeks, and Israel for two months, so it’s not as though I’m becoming a local, but I’m starting to get a true feel for Israeli culture and just the ebb and flow of life in this country. I’m learning how to become blunt like an Israeli, and learn a new set of social cues and manners. These are my baby roots. I leave Jerusalem in just about four weeks, and while those roots may be slightly larger, they’ll still be babies. But, they’re there, and they’ll still be there the next time I come back. That is another thing those tiny roots have ensured, I will be back. I don’t know when, or for what, but I know I will be. For such a small area, Israeli and Palestine have far too much to experience to be able to fit it in in two short months. It’s possible, but you would lose so much by not living in one place for an extended period of time and experiencing the culture. Maybe I’ll be back for grad school, who knows. That’s part of what makes it so exciting.