Blog - Aardvark Israel Gap Year Program

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Israel’s Blossoming Tourism Industry

August 22, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

One of the amazing things about Israel is that it attracts a huge amount of incredibly diverse tourists. People from across the world come to see Israel’s historical sites and learn more about the country’s rich history. In 2016 close to 3 million tourists came to visit Israel and tourism ...

Washington DC 2017

August 21, 2017 International

Dear Parents and Students, Did you know that in Washington DC there is a street named for every letter of the alphabet with the exception of “J Street”? (There’s a joke in there for those who are familiar with American Jewish lobbying organizations, but I won’t go there…) In any ...

The Benefits of Doing an Internship Abroad

July 8, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

Internships can be brilliant things, they offer an insight in to the world of work, give you some experience in areas that you may be interested in and can generally help you to make some decisions about your future while gaining some valuable experience. As a result for many people ...

From the Desert to the Snow in Israel

July 5, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

When thinking about your gap year in Israel part of you is probably visualising hot sunny days on the beach, hiking in the desert, bathing in Israel’s many natural springs and so on. However, you should also consider the fact that very often it will snow in Israel and when ...

Israel and the Olympic Games

July 4, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

While Israel is known for excelling at many things, sports isn’t really one of them. The country has had some success in basketball but it is certainly not known as a sporting powerhouse. However, over the years the country has managed to rack up a modestly impressive number of Olympic ...

Life on a Kibbutz

July 3, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

The kibbutz movement is one of the things that made Israel so unique in its younger days and, while the movement has changed quite a lot in the last few decades, it is still a huge draw for people from all over the world and fairly unique within the world. ...

Israelis Who Made it Big in Hollywood

July 2, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

Recently the new Wonder Woman film was released with the leading role played by Israeli actress Gal Gadot. A huge amount of attention was given to the fact that Gal is an Israeli, but she is by no means the first person to have grown up in Israel and then ...

New York 2017

June 17, 2017 International

Day 1 Dear Parents, Shalom from New York City!!! After arriving at JFK airport, we began our day in the United States with a Breakfast of Champions at Dunkin Donuts. In Israel we think that we have the market cornered on sufganiyuot, but let me tell you, we may be ...

The Last Weekly Update

May 30, 2017 Weekly Updates

Shalom Parents, I hope you are all excited to see your children again. We, the Tel Aviv staff, have had a bittersweet 3 days… It is so exciting to see the change and progress every single one of the students made during the semester! But right now the office is ...

Weekly Updates – Jerusalem: The Last Letter

May 30, 2017 Weekly Updates

Shalom Parents! Today the Aardvark program officially came to an end. It was bittersweet for all of us. It has been a wonderful year, but it is sad to see the students leave.While a small number of our students are still strolling the streets of Jerusalem, most of our participants ...

Weekly Updates – Tel Aviv May 25, 2017

May 27, 2017 Weekly Updates

Shalom Parents, I cannot believe that there is less than a week left of the program. I feel like I met the students just yesterday. They were a little confused, very excited, and full of question: “Why am I not alone in a bedroom?” “Where do I do my laundry?” ...

The Advantages of a Gap Year in Tel Aviv

May 24, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

If you are planning on taking a gap year in Israel you will be faced with the choice between spending your time in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. On Aardvark you will broadly have very similar options in each city, a wide range of study programs, gap year internships, interesting and ...

The Uniqueness of a Gap Year in Jerusalem

May 23, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

When choosing your gap year program you will be faced with the choice between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In both cities you will have the same range of options, you can take different study programs, sign up for different internships, and experience a unique part of Israeli society. However, the ...

Enjoying Your Gap Year On a Budget

May 23, 2017 The Uniqueness of Israel

The vast majority of people who go on a gap year program will be on a fairly limited budget and those who choose to spend their gap year in Israel will very quickly realise that it not a particularly cheap country. Whether you are in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv it ...

Weekly Updates – Jerusalem May 19, 2017

May 19, 2017 Weekly Updates

This week on Aardvark was as busy as ever with lots of activities taking place. The week was a unique combination of Jewish tradition and a last big effort before our final week. On Sunday the schedule was relatively normal and the students went to their internships in the morning. After ...

Weekly Updates – Tel Aviv May 18, 2017

May 18, 2017 Weekly Updates

Shalom Parents! On Sunday the students went all the way to Jerusalem to experience Lag B’omer in the best way possible. Jerusalem is well known for its great atmosphere during the holiday. As you approach the city you can start to smell the bonfires. At first, the students were shocked to see ...

Student of the Week – Shai Abrahams

May 15, 2017 Student of the Week

Hi, My name is Shai Abrahams and I am from Johannesburg South Africa. I had never really thought about a gap-year program after school, although I knew that I wasn’t just ready for university yet so when Simon came to speak at my school, my interest peaked immediately. At first ...

Weekly Updates – Jerusalem May 15, 2017

May 15, 2017 Weekly Updates

Dear Parents,We hope this email find you well.While Natali is having fun leading our international trip to Holland, I’m more than happy to send you the weekly update: On Sunday we followed our normal schedule. In the morning the students went to their internships and had the apartment meetings in ...

Netherlands 2017

May 14, 2017 International

Day 1 Dear Parents, We have all safely arrived in the wonderful city of Amsterdam!We reached our hotel, which is very well located close to public transportation and cool sites, and it is extremely comfortable. Once everyone was ready, we headed out to begin exploring. We went to the Rijksmuseum. ...

Weekly Updates – Jerusalem May 11, 2017

May 11, 2017 Weekly Updates

Shalom Parents, Summer is slowly but surely arriving. Each day the sun sets a few minutes later. The madrichim are starting to work with each student to summarize their experiences from the past few months and trying to plan how they can make the most of the last few weeks ...