Mouth-watering falafel, cute but dangerous stray cats, indescribable iced coffee, and picturesque cobblestone alleyways: this is Israel.

I recently was able to travel to Israel on my Birthright. For those who are not familiar with Birthright, it is a program that takes young adults of Jewish descent on a free ten day trip to Israel in order to connect with our "Motherland."

Now I know what you are thinking, but no this is not a scam. This unmatched organization has provided all-expenses paid trips to Israel for almost twenty years, and my experience definitely showed me why this seemingly impossible business venture is so successful.

It would be impossible to recap my entire trip to Israel, but I just want to briefly overview my experience. My first day involved visiting the Golan Heights and overlooking the contentious borders of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The next day consisted of exploring the heart-wrenchingly cute town of Tzfat where I fell in love with a rabies-ridden cat I sadly could not take home.

The next week and a half involved visiting ancient ruins, floating in the remarkable Dead Sea, riding poor overworked yet evil camels, roaming through the ancient alleyways of Jerusalem and exploring the extremely hip and progressive city of Tel Aviv. Oh, and there was a minor dent in my trip when my entire bus of forty-one people almost got sent home for reasons I will not divulge here.

Anyways, I want to explicitly state that Israel is a beautiful country with such a rich culture and history. Although I could go on and on about my experience and how gorgeous this country and its people are, I want to use this platform to share how this experience completely opened up my thinking and perspective.

I think we are all guilty of living in our own little bubble where we feel safe and comfortable. Like creatures of habit we eat at the same restaurants over and over again, watch the same news channels that we have for years and hang out with friends who usually have the same thoughts and ideas about the world. I know that for many people, living in America feels very secure. Although many people struggle immensely in the United States, it cannot be disputed the fact that we are fortunate enough not to live in a country stricken by war.

However, my trip to Israel taught me that so many people live a very different reality. As I stood at the top of the Golan Heights, I could see Damascus, the capital of Syria, out in the distance. It really hit me that the images we see plastered all over the news represent real places with real people experiencing real trauma and pain.

I was standing only eighty kilometers away from a place that has recently been touched by the devastating effects of war. I was hit with these same feelings as I overlooked into Gaza from the town of Sderot. I could clearly make out the extremely tiny and overcrowded territory of the Gaza Strip, a place so many people love to demonize. All the places I have heard so much about were now right in front of me and at the time, I was not really too sure what to think.

After taking the time to process my trip to Israel, I have really begun to ponder the idea of perspectives. While we all love to hate Trump, I learned that many Israelis love to love Trump and from their perspective, I (kind of) understood why.

I was lucky enough to travel with a group of Israeli soldiers my own age while on this trip and while having a conversation with one of them, they told me that Obama was too sympathetic to Palestinians whose culture and religion is innately violent. Now, while I find this statement overtly discriminatory, offensive and flat-out false, I did not argue too much because although this statement I am sure would be reversed the opposite way by others, these people live a very different reality than me. I have no side; I am not pro this or pro that.

However, I have been privileged enough to live in the safety of my own home for years without ever having to think about missiles, border wars or whether religion could hinder the relationships I establish with others.

Israel.

Even this name alone evokes polarizing thoughts and emotions. However, one thing that cannot be disputed is the beauty of this country, culture, and citizens. My trip here really opened up my eyes to the fact that people in this world must deal with issues I have never even thought possible in my safe little bubble of Southern California.

I consider myself explicitly and unapologetically liberal so to hear that many Israelis love Donald Trump definitely took me aback, but I was able to look at this from their perspective, as people who must look after the future of their home. My progressive-self was also stunned at some of the very harsh, opinionated ideas about various other religions and ethnic groups. Once again, I realized it is all about perspective, and I hope that I was able to give the Israelis I came in contact with a different outlook, as well.

I feel exceptionally lucky to have been provided the opportunity to travel to Israel. This trip reaffirmed my belief that traveling is truly the best way to gain knowledge. No classroom, professor or university is capable of giving you the awareness and wisdom that traveling allows. You really begin to understand that behind all the political jargon and propaganda, we are all just people who each have different experiences that form our varying outlooks.

So, thank you Israel for providing me with crispy, incomparable falafel, soft, delicious pita bread and a different, very tangible outlook on the world we all share.

Again, Toda raba, and I hope to see you very soon.