Junior Deena Feldmann, right, will be spending second semester in Israel. Her sister Molly Feldmann, left, who graduated last year, also spent the second semester of her junior year in Israel when she attended LHS.
Traveling abroad is an adventure, but what is it like going to another hemisphere of the globe for an entire semester by yourself? Junior Deena Feldmann will be packing her bags for Israel for second semester of the 2015-2016 academic year.
“I’ve never been to Israel before so this is a really cool opportunity,” Feldmann said. “The program sounds interesting and my sister gave me a good review of her trip.”
Feldmann’s sister Molly Feldmann, who graduated last year, also spent a semester in Israel her junior year and described the trip as three days in class followed by three day long field trips, touring the country.
“The best part of the trip is not having to sit in the classroom the whole time,” Molly said. “As we learned about historical events and battles, we got to go and visit the actual sites of these battles.”
Feldmann will be attending the Alexander Muss American High School in Israel, with two campuses located in Tel Aviv and Beersheva, Israel. The school program is funded by the Jewish National Fund and the four-month semester trip costs about $15,000.
“I think Deena will have a really good time,” Molly said. “I know I did.”
Feldmann is not too worried about being alone in Israel as she doesn’t get homesick often and will be surrounded by other American students.
“It’s going to be a very different experience,” Feldmann said. “I’m going to miss my friends and Londonderry, but I’m very excited.”
While Feldmann is scared to meet people that she doesn’t connect with, she is still looking forward to exploring the country.
“We’re going to learn about Israel while we’re traveling,” Feldmann said. “We’ll see the Western Wall and the Dead Sea as we are learning about it and that’s the coolest aspect of the trip.”
Feldmann will still take core curriculum classes in addition to classes based upon Israeli history and culture.
“I think traveling abroad in high school helps you experience independence since you are without parents and familiar people,” Feldmann said. “It prepares you for college to study abroad now.”
