I had been to Israel before on a teen program and thought that I had a pretty good grasp on what the country had to offer. I traveled to all the popular tourist spots - the Western Wall, the Dead Sea, Masada, the beach in Tel Aviv - and ate Shwarma daily. However, after living here on my own for over a month now I have learned so much more about the people and the culture of Israel. I have been in contact with many different cultural groups that I had never known about before - and I now think the Jewish Yemenite food is much better than any Falafel.
My overall favorite aspect of Israeli culture is how welcoming the people are on Shabbat. Every weekend I am invited over to someone's house - I am greeted with open arms and served delicious food. It is very nice how hospitable Israelis are to people they have never met before... I don't think this exists in America.
Israel's business culture has also surprised me. I have always known that Israel was on the forefront of technological innovations, but it is very refreshing to be a part of the start-up scene myself. There is a lot of talent in Israel now, and it will be exciting to see where these young entrepreneurs end up in the next ten years.
I guess I am most surprised about the Palestinian-Israeli relations up close. I have learned about their problems in the class room, but it is much more intense to see the tension up close. Many of the shabbat dinner conversations end up with a heated debate on the politics behind the dilemma.
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