the world is yours

[skylrlne]

the last hoorah..for NOW

unfortunately, i was so busy with island hopping & wine-tasting in greece, boating and exploring in croatia, & meeting life-changing people, that i wasn't able to have my hands glued to my keyboard and reporting every cool experience that happened. i'll leave those stories to tell in person because i don't know if it will do any justice telling them without my over-exaggerated hand movements and expressions. what i do know, is i am approaching my last day in croatia before heading off to london for 4 days, and then home on sunday. that is SO weird to say. after 8 months of traveling, i'm able to say that i've traveled to 29 cities within 7 countries, lived AND worked in israel as a first responder in an ambulance for half of year, all at the age of 19-20.  i have to admit, it feels damn good to be able to have a goal to travel, aim for it, and actually go through with my plans. i wouldn't have been able to do it without the obvious support of my family and friends. the experiences i've been through, the lessons i've learned, the people i've met, the perspectives that i have seen and accepted, have all been worth it. traveling has changed me; i will never look at the world the same after traveling.  i've always been pretty confident with who i am and my sense of self. but after these 8 months, one and a half being by myself, i TRULY found myself. i was tested under stressful situations, language barriers, and poorly given directions, but always found a way through it. not caring about finding wifi, completely getting lost, and throwing away any expectation is what made it so fun. in life, i truly opened my eyes to so many new opportunities and will be bringing back everything i have learned back home with me. this is not the end, but i am finally ready to be back home and settle down again. i repeat, this is not the end, but for now...the last hoorah begins :')   "Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving."

[skylrlne]

arrived in turkey yesterday & i can easily say that after walking through the streets of istanbul and exploring all day, istanbul is hands down my favorite place that i've traveled to thus far. the streets are flowing with kind people that have a sense of free spirit. every single turkish person that sarah and i met today had an unforgettable conversation with us and although some may not know English, they really do try to be polite. we arrived at 2pm, met some new friends in our hostel, grabbed lunch and ate real Turkish food. I had chicken kabobs with some sort of couscous and had tried "turnip juice" and get this.."yogurt juice". unfortunately, they both weren't my cup of tea but hey, at least we tried. afterwards we went to the galata tower; the oldest tower in the world still opened for visitors. went to the top of the observation deck and it was a panoramic view of Istanbul and the water. amazing. we got treated like queens after during our Turkish baths that really made me question whether or not I am truly living THE life...kidding. but really. I've never felt so at ease and relaxed, even liberated, in my life. for those who don't know what a Turkish bath entails, it begins by you stripping your clothes until you are only in a towel. you then go to a common room with hot marble stone that you can lay on. keep in mind it is one large sauna. we were laying there for 40 minutes and then one of the women call you in. she was this bigger turkish woman that seemed so tough on the outside but ended up to be the sweetest thing. she had her shirt off and told me to take mine off. I figured I guess I didn't have much to lose. she began by scrubbing ALL of my dead skin off. then she splashed water on me and eventually blew up a pillow case full of bubbles and ran it against my skin. the contrast between the rough, dry skin annihilator and the silky soft bubbles felt amazing. after, we showered & got dinner on istiklal street, istanbul's little Times Square. it was so fun because there are tons of small cobble-stoned alley ways and just as you think you are the only one, there is already a bunch of packed seats at a bar with live music. Sarah and I happened to bump into one of our hostel mates who happened to be Turkish, Devrim. He brought us to his favorite old club and it was a Bar playing live Turkish music and had a dance floor. sarah, devrim, and i were all just dancing in the most carefree way and it was such a fun time. remarkable day 1. day 2 is going to be even better :)

[skylrlne]

3:16 am here in israel & i just finished packing/unpacking some last minute things before i head to the airport.. as i'm packing up my things, i have so many mixed feelings. obviously for one, i'm sad. i'm going to miss every single one of my friends. we are all headed our separate ways and i don't think it really hit anyone today saying goodbye. i noticed a lot of "I'll see you soon"s and i'm hoping that we can follow through. on the contrary, i'm happy because i feel that my time was not wasted with the people i met here. i did not take advantage of any of my friendships or the time we had for that matter; i spent my time well with my friends and it feels great to not regret it. i truly feel that some of these people are friends that will last for a lifetime. i'm also pretty sad because my experience here has been nothing short of challenging, inspiring, & eye-opening. as most may know, these past 2 weeks have been pretty hectic in israel. 3 israeli children were kidnapped and killed by Hamas terrorist group members which caused israel to fight back. eventually it all escalated and rockets have been raining down in the skies of southern israel. as of last night, 7 rockets have been shot over tel aviv, the city I have been living in for the past 5 months. it opened my eyes to the panic that one siren can cause within a split second. it opened my eyes to the short amount of time that the citizens of southern israel, and now most of israel, have to deal with on a daily basis. but it also opened my eyes to the calmness, and sense of togetherness that Israelis have in this type of situation. I'm going to take this experience, as well as my new certification of a first responder in israel and all of the crazy stories that I saw, with me back home. on another note, i'm very excited. my time has come for yet another adventure. I'm off to turkey in an hour for 3 days, then Greece for 10 days, Croatia for 8, and London for 4 days. My trip is only getting better and I feel so shaped by this experience, all of my travels. I am a changed person. I will only continue to grow, see the world in a different light, and appreciate everything that life has to offer. this is my time. my time to travel, my time to see, and my time to discover.......me. talk soon, sky

[kushandwisdom]

[kushandwizdom]

Everything Love

[skylrlne]

career israel, you've taught me well...

[skylrlne]

as some may know, things are getting a liiiiiitttttllle fired up here in israel and it's quite an experience to see it first hand. i just experienced my first rocket siren while living in tel aviv and i don't think i've felt that much panic in my whole life. it's one thing to watch the videos about the siren but to hear them was an experience i will never forget.  this whole situation helps me to realize not only how lucky we are in the states, but how naive we are to situations such as this. this exact experience happens a lot to the people in southern israel and i could never imagine to live life every day on alert. israelis love israel though; they fight strongly and passionately for their land & it's truly inspiring. on a brighter note, i will be leaving for turkey on thursday and i can't wait to start this last big adventure before i head home. it's been the time of my life. 

[skylrlne]

t i m e . . .. . . . . . .

2 weeks left. yeah. 2 weeks left. said goodbye to three people in two days and i don't think it's hitting until now. it's very bittersweet; we are all slowly spilling back into reality. i'm registering for fall classes soon, i've started my cardio/pylo workouts for soccer training, and i applied to a couple internships back home. through all of these responsibilities it's almost hard to appreciate where i am in time now, but i'm trying.  as of "now", i'm currently planning my trip after israel and it's so fun! but planning now is taking me away from being here now. time is a weird thing; we wait, we plan, we take a moment, we have an experience, we meet people at a time in our lives. and so it all comes back to this, (as it always does): i came here at this point in my life because i was ready. i was ready to explore, to improve, and to let myself grow alongside people that initially have the same mindset and time as me. we met for a reason and i will have each and every one of these people in my mind as i go on with my life. no matter how little we talked, or if we had only one good conversation. we all had one thing in common, and that was time. & without that, we wouldn't have met. cheers, sky

[skylrlne]

such a fun afternoon with amazing company. celebrating Samson and jake's birthday!! happy birthday guys, so happy I was able to celebrate

[skylrlne]

amazing video. take your life out of auto-pilot and LIVE

[skylrlne]

sea to sea

added another item to the list of my more crazy things that i've done... i hiked from one coast of israel to the other; called the yam l'yam (sea to sea). it took my 5 friends, nate, maxie, toni, avishai, sammy and i about 3 and a half days. i am so proud of the positivity and motivation that every single one of them provided.  as for the actually hike, it was AMAZING. all different types of terrain; from hiking next to creeks in a valley, to literally holding onto the side of a mountain for dear life. we met so many cool people along the way and hearing their story/where they're from/why they are doing this hike was refreshing. it was very challenging in the heat, but i would recommend it to anyone. so proudly checking off another item; hike across israel....check.

[skylrlne]

time is f l y i ng

i was having such a wonderful day on the beach here in tel aviv yesterday with a bunch of my friends when all of a sudden someone decides to hit us with a "i can't believe we only have a month and a half left." ....what? a month and a half?  it was then that i realized the hour glass had been put on the table, and everyone was watching the sand fall to the bottom. yes, of course it sounds like a long time, but it's coming up quick and i'm not sure i'm ready to say goodbye. 

i like to say that i met everyone on this program for a reason; i did. we all took the time out of our lives to leave what most would say was their "comfort zone", come to a different country, intern within a field of our interest and discover ourselves along the way. we all decided that it was our time; at different ages, at different life stages, at different states of confusion with the course of where our lives will be going in only a couple of years. we've created so many memories, friendships, and lessons that we will take back home with us and i like the feel of that. i like the idea that although we will all be in separate parts of the world, we will have these lessons/relationships/memories that will tie us together.  truly taking advantage of these next 7 or so weeks..

[skylrlne]

flights booked!

flights are booked for after israel !! after my internship in july, i will be going to istanbul for 3 days, the greek islands for 10 days, and croatia for 8 days!!! ....but don't worry guys, then i'll be back ;)

[skylrlne]

last night was a very, VERY memorable night for me. i was honored to attend a strictly invite-only ceremony that commemorates the few holocaust survivors we have left. the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and president of israel, Shimon Peres, spoke at this ceremony as 6 holocaust survivors. words cannot explain the feeling hearing not only of their speeches about how israel will continue to stand for peace and rise above, but that we will never forget our past. it gave me chills to see all of the soldiers around us (keep in mine ages 18-23) tearing up and reminding themselves why they fight for such an amazing country; for such amazing people. last night made me realize that i am proud to be jewish. we stand for something and the holocaust should never be erased from our memory. the youngest known holocaust survivor right now is 75. my kids will never be able to hear a holocaust survivor speak their story and that hurts a little, but at the same time, i can only be grateful that i had the opportunity to hear from 6, in israel, in jerusalem, and more respectively, Yad Vashem (the holocaust museum). Never forget...I know i won't.

[skylrlne]

Sienna/Montepulciano

[skylrlne]

Cortona, Italy

[skylrlne]

Venice ❤️🇮🇹

[skylrlne]

had an amazing time with my family here in israel for 10 days! I did many things that I have never even done in israel and it was so much fun to explore with them. I missed them so much and it was a much needed realization that family will never let you down. family pushes through when you need pushing through. I love you guys and am so excited for our next trip. off to Italy with the fam :)

[skylrlne]

so many things to be excited about!! first off, i have turned 20 in a different country (that was a first), AND nowwwww my family is currently on a flight to come visit me here in israel for 10 days!! after the 10 days of exploring and venturing off with the ones i love the most, we are going to ITALY! so excited to see my family. i've been pretty home sick lately, so they are coming just in time. i haven't seen my family since i was waving goodbye to them as i went up the escalator to my gate. it was such a bittersweet moment and I cannot wait to be able to tell them or in my case, act out, the stories that i have accumulated throughout my travels. i cannot wait for the moment that i see them and hug them so hard.  i have grown such an appreciation for family since traveling. of course i have always loved my family, ALWAYS.. but when i'm traveling on the other side of the world, i begin to realize that my parents are letting me travel. they are letting me be who i want to be; letting me find myself on my own; and are giving me the freedom to expand my mind and become culturally aware of the world outside of the one i was living in. my sister and my parents are my #1 supporters in life and i wouldn't be able to do this without them. family over all. xo, sky