Arielle Grossmann
4/12/11
Narrative essay
Ms. Novick
Israel: My Out-Of-The-Country-Home
Night is always dark, but it is not always cold, not always scary, and sometimes it's the best happiest time. That's how that night was for me, a blessing, and a home. My grade was with the Ironei Gimmel kids at Kibbutz Nachsholim. It was late Friday night and we all were roaming around, talking, chilling, hanging, bonding, causing drama—you name it. I had been hanging out with Michelle, Michal, Balah, and Nofar, three Israeli girls, as well as talking to Lior, one of the funniest guys ever, when I realized I didn't have shoes on and my feet were killing me. So I started to head back to my room to get flip-flops on, but my horrible sense of direction kicked in and I got lost.
As I was finding my way back past the similar buildings I was questioning why I didn't feel scared or weird or nervous about getting lost in a strange place at night. I stopped short because I was struck with a huge realization. I had an epiphany: the reason I didn't feel scared or weird or nervous about getting lost was because I felt like I was home. It wasn't only the feeling of security I had that made it feel so homey, it was the sense that I wasn't a stranger here. I was one of the people one might pass on the streets and think they looked familiar (a sense I got a lot in Israel). Literally, home means a place where one lives permanently, but to me home means a place where I am comfortable to open up and be myself. Israel was that place for me-- with the place and the people, I was home. That realization had to be one—not the only—but one of the highlights of my trip.
Looking back at it, I felt the kind of happiness that can bring you to tears; although, I never cried. The realization was so important to me because it put words to a feeling that had been sticking with me the whole trip. I realized how special my identity was. Not many can say that they have a whole country because of their identity. I am part of a group whose identities imagined, shaped, built, and maintained Israel, and that is why Israel is my home.
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Lori Novick
Chair, Language Arts Department
South Area Solomon Schechter Day School
781-769-5555
LNovick@sassds.org
http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/LNovick/
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