A Recipe for an EXCELlent Summer — By Samantha Felgoise, Excel 2018
I had the most delicious, rugelach-sweet, and tahini-filled summer, and here is my recipe for excellence.
When I applied for Birthright Excel, I was hoping to spend the summer in Israel with an incredible internship opportunity, but I had no idea what was in store. Yes, my internship at the company ironSource and living in the booming city of Tel Aviv were integral factors in my experience, but the adventures I went on, food I tried, renowned speakers I heard from, knowledge I learned, and, most importantly, the intelligent and awesome people I spent time with, are what made my summer so truly remarkable. I could easily write a novel about the exciting, intense, and nonstop 10 weeks that I spent in Israel, but instead I decided to chop it into the pieces that blended so harmoniously well together to produce my unforgettable summer.
The Birthright Excel experience is the tastiest, most refreshing, and most satisfying summer you can bite into.
My Main Ingredients:
54 North Americans
54 Israelis
10 weeks
Israel
Excel Summit
Exploration/Adventure
An Awesome Internship
Gordon Beach
A mini Guitar
Tahini
Instructions:
1. First, Combine 54 North Americans and 54 Israelis together
No need to mix, they’ll do that naturally! Since the first day ice-breakers, adjective plus name introductions, and Dead Sea floating on the South trip, we became one big happy Excel family.
I got to experience Israel on a whole different level than I would have with merely Trip Advisor as my guide. I had locals to show me the best sushi and authentic Israeli restaurants (Thanks Lihi Bitton), host Shabbat dinners, explore the Afeka caves and a watermelon patch (shout out to Alon Malin!) with me, cook poyke at sunset, and hang out with to learn more about true Israeli life.
Shabbat Dinners were my favorite with various dinners with Israeli Peers and Americans. My good Israeli friends Adee, Aviv and Oran were incredible hosts by welcoming us into their homes and providing authentic home cooked Shabbat dinners. The sense of community and family that grew throughout the summer is unbeatable as we naturally came together to form incredibly strong bonds.
2. Add 1 Adee (or *insert Israeli Peer’s Name Here*)
When I heard that Excel paired us individually with someone who is supposed to be our Israeli identical, I was nervous and doubted the system and must admit I didn’t think it was possible.
But enter Adee, aka my PEERson/Israeli me, who was the cherry on top of my summer. Adee and I took Israel by storm and did everything together, from car dance parties and sing alongs, quoting Mean Girls, hanging out in her friend’s backyard, dancing like Israelis, Shabbat dinners, eating hummus, and sleepovers. She welcomed me into her family, or my Israeli family, as well as I did her into mine. Adee promised something I hadn’t anticipated, a lifelong relationship with someone a looong flight away.
3. Mix in an awesome internship
As a marketing intern at incredibly cool and avant-garde company ironSource, I was opened to a world of experiences. From writing newsletters, to microcopy, to naming an ironSource mascot (iRON!), to making tahini in the kitchen, ironSource offered me exciting days with constant projects to take on. Surrounded by about 600 employees at the company’s headquarters in the beautiful glass building in Sarona, I interacted with a lot of coworkers through projects and interviews as well as a variety of dogs that roamed around the office. My mentor Melissa and co-marketers Raquel and Lauren were excellent guides in the industry and so great to work with. One of the most special moments through this internship was on one of the last days of my internship at ironSource; I knocked on the company’s CEO, Tomer Bar Zeev, door to thank him for welcoming me to the company’s team. Instead of a quick hello, he waved to the couch and we began to talk. He asked a bit about me as I did him, and I appreciated his life advice, “Surround yourself with great people.” Excel provided me the opportunity to do so.
4. Add ample time for exploration
Whether I was exploring Tel Aviv’s food scene, nonstop nightlife, or various destinations, I was constantly eager to explore. A few times, I ran and biked to Jaffa or different areas to do a bit of exploration. I visited the Blind Museum and had an incredible experience dining through a blind dinner in Jaffa. I cooked Shabbat dinner for a group with some friends, and took a bus to Jerusalem after work a few times. Opportunities are truly endless.
5. Melt in a few melodies
My first purchase in Israel was a travel guitar — and amongst all of the items I bought this summer, this is by far my favorite. In the park next to our cozy home of Bnei Dan or on trips, I’d carry MiniG with me and play and sing with accompaniment by the soaring and happy voices of my fellow Fellows.
6. Blend some Gordon Beach sand
I definitely couldn’t complain while having a beach in what was basically my backyard. Weekends became somewhat synonymous with beaching and were filled with swimming in the clear and turquoise water, learning how to “Matkot” like an Israeli, eating some “avatiach” (watermelon, my favorite food) or soaking up the sun. Sometimes I’d even go meet up with some friends on the beach after work and we’d watch the sky fill with color as the sun set over the water.
7. Taste your creation
My true “foodie” came out this summer as I conquered my list of restaurants to try. Already going in with a love for hummus, my appreciation and taste for Israeli cuisine heightened as I’d often indulge in its delicious chickpea taste and douse most meals in tahini. I also veered away from traditional Israeli food through Indian styled curry and exotic sushi rolls. I also never forgot about dessert. I’d say second to Tel Aviv’s popping nightlife is its ice cream and frozen yogurt scene. From Anita, to Otello, Tamara (knocked out that punch card), and arte, my sweet tooth was in heaven.
8. Drizzle Tahini on top, then garnish with endless laughter and unforgettable memories, and your summer is ready to serve!
These pictures honestly speak for themselves…
9. Dessert: Attend the annual Excel Summit and see your lifelong friends.
After the summer of a lifetime, I craved more. More Israeli experiences, more Israeli food, and especially more time with my fellow Excelers. Lucky for me, Excel experiences aren’t over when the summer is, but continue annually through the Summit. This year, I counted down the weeks until the EXCELERATE convention where I could see my friends again and make new ones. The opportunity to continue to learn and grow from renowned speakers such as Randi Zuckerberg, as well as past Excelers who are doing incredible things, such as Alexis Block and her hugging robot, was truly unparalleled. While this weekend offered me the chance to hang out with my summer bffs, it also introduced me to past Excelers with whom I could relate from similar Israeli experiences.
10. Keep leftovers, Excel will never go stale.
Samantha Felgoise is a 2018 Birthright Israel Excel Fellow. She studies at University of Pennsylvania (c/o 2020) and interned in PR and Marketing at ironSource with Excel.
