Thursday, October 3, 2013

My TRY Experience


Written by Sarah Cline (Tzafon)


My name is Sarah Cline, I'm 15 years old, in 10th grade and I have found myself having the time of my life in Israel. Two summers ago, Moshe Golde (one of my amazing teachers) 
came to my summer camp, Camp Ramah in Canada, and told me about a program called Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (Ramah High School in Jerusalem). I fell in love with the idea of coming to Israel for four months not only to study, but also to learn Hebrew and travel around the country. The TRY program includes all of my everyday classes from Penfield High School, plus Hebrew and ICC. ICC stands for Israel Core Course. With ICC, we go on field trips every Tuesday and Thursday to sites in Israel. We learn in a chronological order, starting from the Tanach all the way to modern times.
I have already gone to so many places while learning as much as possible. We went to the Kotel, the Old City, Ein Gedi, Masada, Eilat, Safed, the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, Kibbutzim and Be’er Sheva. We walked through tunnels, went on archeological digs, cooked and ate in a Bedouin tent, hiked sea to sea, rappelled in the Golan, canoed on the Jordan River. I experienced Purim, Pesach, Yom Ha’Shoah, Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Shabbat in Israel. Experiencing an entire country stopping to honor and remember those who have fallen is two minutes I will never forget. Those are only a few select examples. This morning I was in an army base in Sde Boker for Gadna. We were there for five days in an army training experience that is built for teenagers. We learned discipline, IDF values, training, field skills, and how to shoot a gun! It was a new, fun experience that I know most other kids will never get the chance to try. I feel like TRY is meant for teens to gain experiences. Sure, there's still school and everyday chores and activities, but TRY lets kids be more independent. We live in dorms, which is a great community experience. TRY gives teens unforgettable moments that let them grow as an individual.

Sarah is currently a junior from Tzafon who will be a member on USYs delegation to the AIPAC High School summit this November.