Independence – Before I came to Israel, I didn’t realize how dependent I was on everyone else around me. While I can get around in a few places, I always needed someone else to lead me. I was scared to come here because I thought I’d be sort of dropped …
Before I came on Aardvark, I never really had to think too much about my own money. While I have worked over the years, I am fortunate that my parents have usually always supplied money when I needed it and most days I either ate dinner with them or I …
As someone who came to Israel from a very small town in Pennsylvania, I did not have much experience with true Holocaust remembrance, which I know is sad, but I did have a good education on it from my family along with Hebrew school. I knew coming to Israel that …
One of the first adjustments I made to Israel was the differences in shopping. Specifically grocery shopping. I was so used to my entire life going to one specific grocery store and one other store, where we could just buy everything we needed in one place. For example, in America, …
As I am writing this, currently it’s April 22, and we have just about a month left on Aardvark. It’s a crazy thought that soon enough I’ll be on a plane to go home, and I’ll be saying goodbye to all the friends that have become a family to me …
My name is Jaime Esquenazi and I’m from Miami, Florida. I chose to go on a gap year because the pandemic started before college and I decided that I should take a year to meet new people and have new experiences in Israel rather than go to school online. I …
My name is Jesse Morgan Mills. I chose to come on a gap year because I felt that I needed a change of pace. I heard about Aardvark Israel from Sophie Harris, a family friend, and thought the internship part of the program sounded perfect. I came into the program …
A huge number of archaeological digs are going on in Israel at any given time and they often turn up amazing finds. However, sometimes, truly astonishing finds are made purely by accident, such as the Dead Sea scrolls that were found by Bedouin shepherds in the 1940s. Far more recently, …
Perhaps one of the most amazing things about spending time in Israel is the ability to visit locations where significant events happened in the bible. While on your gap year you are sure to go on many hikes and many of which will have biblical roots and routes. For example, …
I decided to take a gap year in lieu of the 4th year of high school because I wanted the chance, to see the world and have new experiences before starting college. I chose to come on Aardvark Israel because of the unique internship opportunities and the international representation among …
AMS Cookies is an incredible experience with an amazing vibe and lots of different variety of work including rolling the cookies, working at the till, making boxes, and the marketing part of the work trying to boost their social media. I really enjoy working there and I look forward to …
Shalom Parents and Students! This has become a habit, so here is our Israeli weather report! This week was pretty cloudy in Israel. No rain, but cloudy weather indeed, with some sunshine here and there, and higher temperatures on some days. Scroll down to see what our students have been …
“My name is Grant Titlebaum and I am from a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio called Solon. I chose to go on a gap year to mature and better myself. Also, back home is kind of a bubble for me. All my family and friends live around me. I work close …
I chose to go on a gap year because I wanted to volunteer with MADA (Israeli Emergency Services). I did lots of research to find the correct programme for me as I didn’t want to just come to Israel for 5 weeks for MADA, I also wanted to explore Israel …
Shalom Parents and Students! Ok, it’s officially here – Summer! This week has been extremely hot, not that we are bothered by it after all the rain we had just a few weeks ago! So every day with sunshine is welcome. How did our students spend the first days of …
I chose to go on a gap year because after spending two years in lockdown, I realised I wasn’t ready yet to begin university. I needed more time to experience more, develop and understand myself. Aardvark was a natural choice, a program where you get back everything that you put …
My name is Yoav Konstantino and I’m from California. For my internship, I write code at a small startup in Tel Aviv called Its July. It’s a platform that provides traveling families with inside information, recommendations, and opportunities for unique experiences. I picked this internship because I knew I’d get …
My name is Lauren Cayle and I’m from Milwaukee, Wisconsin but I now to go school in Washington, DC. I did my gap year with Aardvark Israel last school year, 2020-2021. I chose Aardvark because I didn’t want to do online classes in college and I wanted a year to …
Shalom Parents and Students! Spring (or more to say, summer, because here in Israel it just goes straight to hot) has finally arrived in Israel! How did our students spend the first days of Spring, you ask? Scroll down to read all about it. >> Jerusalem students in Gan Sacher …
