In between high school and college I lived in Har Nof, Jerusalem. My seminary was called Bnos Avigail (which translates to Daughters of Abigail) and was open from September to June. As much as I would have loved to stay shana bet (year two), I knew I had to get back to the States so I would not lose my scholarship. When I deferred my submission by a year, Macaulay informed me that my application would be placed in the pool of general applicants and I would have to be accepted a second time. I took this risk once (thank G-d it paid off) but I didn’t think it would work a second time around. Har Nof (which means Mountain View) is a hilly suburb within the busy city of Jerusalem, one of the largest, most populous cities in Israel; my school was located on the Neve Campus, which has at least eight other girls’ programs for Jews of all backgrounds. My seminary provided dorms for the girls which took getting used to for us Americans and Canadians used to quiet, spacious, well air-conditioned living quarters. The price of seminary included housing, food, and tuition so when my family agreed to send me they considered the housing affordable.

 This is a picture of the Western Wall, an icon of Jerusalem, taken on a trip to Israel this past winter break.