李芯恩 Cynthia Lee
Cynthia Lee_JTCA Israel Study Tour Review
Joining the Israel-Taiwan Innovation Program is like admiring a spectacular firework in the summer. Every moment during the trip is so vivid that I can never forget it. It’s hard to put into words how I’m grateful for the opportunity and everyone involved in the program. I want to give you massive thanks for the dedication and arrangement. In order to express my gratitude, I want to share some of the stories that inspired and changed my life in Israel.
I remember the first day in Israel, just after we get off the airplane, Ben took us to a tranquil park in Haffa. He told us to close our eyes, breathe in, breath out, feel the moment, and taste it. Most importantly, be grateful and be here now. At that moment, the cool breeze brushed over my cheeks. I felt the warmth of sunshine, enjoying my hair floating with the wind, hearing the melodies from the bird on the Olive tree above us. I opened my eyes, looked into the sky, and whispered to myself: “You’re in Israel now. It’s unbelievable yet so grateful, right? I had the feeling that you will love the trip.” Looking back, what I told myself on the first day is totally correct. Furthermore, what I experienced during these two weeks are actually out of my expectations.
I identified myself as an introverted person. I am usually skeptical to talk to others, not to mention strangers on the street. Surprisingly, one of the most precious lessons I learned in Israel is to talk and ask questions. Every day, we heard different people saying “Don’t be afraid to ask questions.” in the speech. When my schoolmates expressed curiosity and tried to figure out the answer, I could tell how happy were the speakers from the smile on their faces. Moreover, there is one time when Ben chatted with us on the bus, he said he is an active learner, always on the way to learning new things. However, he doesn’t just learn things from books, most of the valuable information he learned is from the talk with people, whether is people on the transportation, or the people at the beach.
Those words impressed me deeply, I decided I’m not going to be a passive learner here, I wanted to find the answers to the questions that I really cared about. And that’s the beginning of my two profound stories during the trip. The first story occurred on the street in Jerusalem. One night, my friends and I met a street musician named Cam who plays piano excellently. We had a great talk with him. He shared his life in Israel and even talked about his romance stories which are so cute and innocent. What’s more, he suggested that he could play a Chinese pop song for us. We sang cheerfully and loudly on the street, which led many friendly people to flock around us and enjoy the music together. Nights in Jerusalem were pretty cold, but that very night, I felt so warm from the bottom of my heart, knowing that this could be unforgettable.
The other story came after our tour of the old city of Jerusalem and the visit to the Western Wall. Before Ben took us to the Western Wall, I have been visited it three times on different nights with my friends. I was astonished and amazed every time, especially by the strong energy there and the mourning of prayers. The believers’ faith really touched me and I couldn’t help wondering why could Israel keep that faith. After paying a visit to the Holocaust Museum and learning about the history of the Western Wall, I just realized there are so many heart-breaking and hurtful stories that happen throughout the history of Isreal. How could they still believe in God? Luckily, I had a chance to chat with an Israeli girl. That was a hot noon in the old city of Jerusalem and we were eating lunch together. Here comes her answer: “We can stay faith in God because history taught us no matter what bad things happen, we will overcome again and again. We have the confidence that there is always hope, the ever-lasting, forever, and eternal hope in Lord. “
The answer blew my mind instantly. “Where there is a challenge, there is also opportunity.” is the quote that impressed me the most during the trip. I was amazed by the mindset of Israeli but I had no clue where did that courage, energy, and confidence come
from. I got my answer during that chat with the girl in the old city of Jerusalem. It comes from history, thousands of stories that Israeli experienced through time, no matter if it is Jacob’s story of wresting with God, Masada’s story of shocking deaths, or the story of Israelis’ reunion in the promised land. All of the stories, every single of them, made Israel become the unique, innovative, and strong Israel now.
In conclusion, in my point of view, the JTCA Israel Study Tour is not just a program in that we learn innovation, technology, and leadership. Moreover, it’s also not a shallow sightseeing group for tourists. It’s about real experience, deep inspiration, and self-reflection. Every corporate we visited, every site of historical meaning that we’ve been to, every unique Israeli culture we participated in, and every single person I encounter were the greatest treasure that I found in Israel.
