Day 17 | Israel Photos

Leaving the Philippines was one of the most difficult things I had to do in 2016. I had quit my job to travel and the excitement of chasing my dream had kept me from being afraid of what would happen when I was done traveling. Until I was sitting in the Manila airport by myself. I lost it. I started openly weeping in the terminal and strangers even tried to comfort me. Thank god for Filipino kindness. I couldn’t believe that my incredible adventure was coming to an end and I really, really didn’t want to go home.

After a few weeks back in Seattle, in which the sun shined maybe one day, I was ready to run. Luckily, I had been chosen for a free trip to Israel, thanks to my Jewish heritage. I left Seattle bound for New York to meet up with my Birthright group and head to Israel.

The trip was… interesting. I had never been on an organized tour before, and I wasn’t a huge fan of being told what to do and when to do it. Plus, the trip had been sold to me as a “culinary tour” which I was super stoked about. Too bad the majority of our meals were served to us in our 2 star hotels.

The best part of the trip was the group. I met some amazing people who I will stay friends with forever. Plus, I got to experience the homeland with them and that made the whole experience that much more surreal. Exploring Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial Museum was a very powerful experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.