Dear Self,

Your time in Israel has come to an end and what an adventure it was! All of the planning and organizing really paid off, as your first trip ever to the Middle East went great. I learned so much about the country, living on my own in a foreign place, and the joys that can come out of traveling alone. Something I would have wanted to know before I began my international experience is to not be afraid to not converse with people who randomly approach me when I am visiting historical sites, because even though I might think they are asking for help/asking for directions, most of the time they approach me in the first place because I am by myself. It is better to be safe than worry about hurting their feelings, as their are plenty of locals all around me they can always ask. The highlights of your trip were definitely living right near the beach, Jerusalem, Nazareth, and all of the amazing food I was able to eat. I would not change my mindset for any of the places I visited in Israel, as I feel like I had a very open mind going into all of them and learned a lot. For future travels, a goal I would set for myself would be learn at least the basics of the language of the place I will be visiting if I plan on staying for more than a couple weeks. Another goal would be to keep track of my budget a little better.