Stories and Pathways

  Before I came to Israel, I was completely panicking about the language barrier I knew I was going to face. I had been abroad before, to places like Budapest and Tokyo where I truly did struggle not knowing the language. So, I downloaded the DuoLingo app and started learning basic Hebrew. However when I got to Israel I saw most people speaking English to me, and abandoned my Hebrew education. However, this is not the situation for all Israeli's. Many people do speak some conversational English, but lots of communities don't. It is common for people in lower socio-economic backgrounds to struggle with English proficiency, which is why programs like the ENP Bridges program that give English learning opportunities to students are so important. But let’s look at the stats. 85% of Israelis speak some English, 50% of the internet is in English, and 96% of articles are written in English. Speaking English is crucial to success, and Israel is no exception. English is taught in a m...

Many people don’t know this, but coffee actually originated in Ethiopia, around the 9th century. The legend behind how coffee began is a tale as old as time. The story goes that a farmer boy one day saw his goats behaving strangely, dancing and bleating in a very unusual way. He observed them more, and saw that they were eating strange cherries, which seemed to make them energetic. After trying the coffee cherries for himself, he found similar patterns in himself. He was energetic and hyper, and immediately ran home to tell his wife about his findings. He then brought it to a monastery, where the monks did not appreciate the discovery. They claimed it was the work of the devil, and threw it into a fire nearby. However, we all know the aroma of coffee beans is unlike any other, and smelling the scent of the coffee cherries roasting in the fire was powerful enough to make the monk think twice. The story goes that the coffee cherries were taken out of the fire, smashed to put out the em...

  The Most Amazing Day Today all 7 of the ENP interns had the most amazing experience, and got to go to Beer Sheva to visit one of the after school programs, and meet some of the girls who attend them!  When the girls first got into the classroom, it was clear that not only were they excited to have us here, but that they were also very shy. So the first thing we did was give a round of introductions, and play some icebreaker games. We played a numbers game, and then charades. Silly, fun games that got everyone excited to hang out with each other.  From there we all hung out as if we had been friends for years. We talked about hobbies, interests, dogs, families, friends, favorite music and tv shows, and so much more. When we asked the girls about what they want to be when they grow up, they listed off careers such as biologist, doctor, singer, fashion designer (one of the girls is even making her own clothes already!), and so much more. Hearing about these girls' passio...