On December 25th, as the bus pulled up to our apartment in Tel-Aviv to take us to the airport, I sat there sobbing with my friends, unsure of when we would reunite. Getting on the plane to leave Israel was heartbreaking. From the minute I got home, I was counting down the days until our hopeful return. Now, two weeks later, I am beyond grateful to be back and happy as ever. The second I stepped off the plane in Israel, I felt back at home. As I eagerly went through customs and corona tests, I could not wait to be in a new city and to see my roommates. Even though we will be in quarantine for a few days, which is never easy, we are making the best of it. We’ve been able to see some of our friends who stayed in Israel, from afar of course, and it feels like we never left. Quarantine does have its benefits. It gives me time to reset, settle into my new apartment in Jerusalem, and catch up with my roommates after two weeks. We are all so lucky to be a part of such a special community that makes being away from each other so hard.

As my mom would say “There’s something in the water in Israel” that makes leaving the country so difficult. After spending some time back in Las Vegas, seeing my family, eating lots of home cooked meals, and sleeping in my bed, I can definitely say that there is a part of me that was still stuck in Israel. Every time I talked about returning to Aardvark Israel, I kept saying “when I go home.” My friends back in Vegas could not wait to hear all my stories and see pictures from my life in Israel from Tel-Aviv to Akko, Kibbutz Ketura to Haifa. They all kept saying “ you look so happy,” and thanks to Aardvark I can truly say I am. The reality is that I now consider Israel my home.

Now that we have moved from Florentin to Jerusalem, we are about to embark on another chapter of our Aardvark experience. The energy here is so serene and we can not wait to jump in. We have about eight days left behind our Ussishkin apartment door. My roommates and I are definitely making the most of quarantine. We have been enjoying our time cooking, watching Disney Plus, and working on our jetlag. I cannot wait to explore Jerusalem and create more memories with the people around me. I look forward to getting fresh groceries from the Shuk, going to the Kotel, and traveling around the rest of Israel. Though it was great to spend time with my family back in Las Vegas during winter break, I couldn’t be happier to be back in Israel.
-Noa Agatstein