Educational Immersion Trip to Israel and Palestine

I. Goal of the Trip

I am going to Israel and Palestine for a two-week immersion and educational experience to better understand the social implications involved in global conflicts and how foreign policy and assistance has either succeeded or failed in addressing this issue. By extending beyond our American borders, we plan to observe, engage in conversation, and better define what issues are occurring and how to better resolve them, even if it is simply through promoting awareness. I feel that the more information we can gather about a problem, the more we can be proactive in solving it. Increase in dialogue and engagement with different cultures and people are important to broadening our understanding and encouraging greater support of fellow human beings in crisis.

II. Why I chose to be a part of this trip

After being exposed to so many cultural and international experiences by living along the U.S.-Mexico border, travelling and living in Italy for 4 months, and visiting Muslim cultures in Africa and Turkey, I found that I knew little and engaged in little interaction with other cultures. By being an American, I feel as if my country narrowed down my perception of what the world should be and is. But after travelling outside of it, I realized that the world offers an expansive wealth of information and experiences that could broaden my own. I became interested in Middle East conflict and conflict resolution after delving into the Muslim culture as well as learning about America's role in the Middle East in relation to current events. After hearing about this once in a lifetime course, I had to jump on the opportunity because I felt that I wanted to pursue this type of material on conflict resolution after I graduate from my university. In addition to committing to this class and the trip, I decided to commit to writing a research paper after I visit Israel and Palestine that would cover the origins of social conflict among different cultures and how those groups formulate their own opinions and judgments about themselves and their enemy.

III. Financial Assistance

In order to participate in this trip, I must raise a certain amount of money to fund my flight there and my curriculum for once we arrive there. I am responsible for raising about $2,000 to fund this experience. Because of my own financial limitations as a full-time student without a career and the high expense of this trip, I am looking for any donations that can be provided to assist and allow me to participate in such a worthy educational experience. The contribution made to supporting my experience will be greatly appreciated and will help young minds like myself be exposed to the most pertinent issues occurring worldwide today and bring about desire to change these issues into something positive.