An all expenses paid trip to Israel and Washington D.C. was offered to a group of Cardozo students this past September, yet no one took COSA Barbra Klein’s offer. No one except Louanne Atwell. A junior at Cardozo and a Leadership student for the past three years, Atwell was ecstatic at the opportunity to travel with a group of students to another country for two weeks.  

   The organization sponsoring the trip was the American- Israeli Friendship League. In their “Youth Ambassador Student Exchange” (YASE) program, a group of Israeli students traveled to the United States to stay with a host family for a short period of time. American students from all over the country met with the Israeli students in Washington DC for a series of workshops, discussions and trips.

   After nearly a week in Washington DC, the American and Israeli students traveled back to New York City for a series of workshops and trips, including one to the United Nations. There were forty-four students from the United States who were participating in this program including nine from the New York Metropolitan Area, Eight from Lehman High School, and one from Cardozo. The rest of the students were selected from all over the country. Next up for the students was the highlight of the trip, a two week adventure to Israel.

    After landing in Tel-Aviv, Atwell was taken to her host city of Rishon LetZion. The name of the city is derived from a biblical verse: “First to Zion are they, and I shall give herald to Jerusalem” (Book of Isaiah 41:27). There she met her host family who thankfully for Atwell, spoke English. Her sixteen-year-old host sister welcomed her as one of her friends immediately. One of the many experiences Atwell was set to partake in was attending a day of school in Israel. However, to the delight of all the Israeli children, schools had been on strike for the entire month. Because the school system claims this isn’t the children’s fault, these missed days of class will not have to be made up.

   The likely reason more students were not interested in this trip was because of its destination. Since the outbreak of violence between the Israelis and Palestinians, many people consider Israel unsafe, although many people feel differently, including Atwell, “I felt totally safe all the time. There was never a moment where I felt unsafe. We even went to a bowling alley really late one night, and everything was fine.”

   Highlights of the trip include a trip to the Dead Sea and Mount Masada. However the best part of the trip was the food, which Atwell deemed “amazing.” She recommends this trip to anyone who wants to have an amazing time for an inexpensive cost. “All the arrangements were free. The only things we had to pay for were if we wanted to take the bus, or eat lunch.”

   This trip has given Atwell a new outlook on life. “It was such an awesome experience. It put things into perspective for me. All teenage stuff that we are dealing with isn’t what’s really important in life. It made me appreciate everything I have.”