Israel

Know Before You Go: Israel

Sunrise from Masada. Image by Colleen Hagerty. In my original “Know Before You Go” post, I mentioned my personal experience having to make a difficult decision about whether or not…

Trick or Treating in the Holy Land

The first time I celebrated Halloween abroad was in college when I spent a semester in India. Unsure what to do with ourselves but resolute in our determination to acknowledge…

Israeli Food: A Primer

Last week marked my one year anniversary of living in Israel. Prior to moving here, I had never even visited the country, so was not entirely sure what to expect….

Reflections on Home

Home is a funny thing. For the first 18 years of my life, home was the one bedroom apartment I shared with my mother, father, and sister in Manhattan. And…

Alone in the Desert with Camels

As a fiercely independent woman, it felt odd when my husband and I packed up and moved to Be’er Sheva, Israel so he could attend medical school. I had always…

A Different Kind of Siren

I’ve become accustomed to the sound of rocket sirens, the blaring noise that wakes you up in the middle of the night, prying you from the depths of REM sleep,…

These Boots Were Made for Walking

When I recently packed my bags to move to Israel, my hiking boots were one of the only pairs of shoes to make the cut. When I pulled them out…