Some of the best experiences I have had while studying abroad at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem were the ones that I did not expect. One time, I hopped on the 68 bus from the central bus station to get to school, but it was going the other way and I ended up at the other end of the city headed to the other Hebrew University of Jerusalem Campus. It was certainly a memorable experience riding through places in the city I never knew existed while I made my way back to the right campus.
Since things with the bus didn’t work out so well, I decided to try walking. After going to the Israel Museum with some friends on Saturday, we decided to walk to dinner instead of taking a taxi. There is still much debate among us over whether we got lost or “took the long route” to get the restaurant, but we discovered a whole new part of Jerusalem on the way. We found a huge park, and I finally realized where everyone in Jerusalem went on Shabbat.
There was a mix of secular Jews, Orthodox Jews, and even some Arab-Israelis sitting on the grass, playing sports, and eating food. In these two instances, I really did not expect to gain any meaningful experience in the beginning, but I came away with a better idea of the transport system and geography of Jerusalem.
