Shalom from Israel

Shalom from Israel!! As many of you may or may not know, I will be doing my STAR experience abroad this summer. Right now I am in Israel doing community service in a small town in the Negev desert called Netivot.  I am here for 10 days before leaving for Greece next Saturday to start my actual research. While I have been in Israel, I have been doing a lot of manual labor such as building a community garden, painting, cooking, etc. mixed in with starting to read articles and gather information for my research project. It’s been really interesting living here, especially since I am living with an orthodox host family, and I’m not even really supposed to be on the computer today… whoops! As for Greece though, and some background information for those of you who don’t know, I will be spending 4 weeks on the island of Crete doing research and finishing the rest of my research back home in the USA. I will be doing both qualitative and quantitative research on the recently discovered oil and gas deposits found in the Mediterranean and how this has impacted the countries in that region (specifically Greece, Israel, Cyprus and Turkey) environmentally, politically and economically.  While in Greece, I will be meeting with different representatives and officials of the island to hear what they have to say and to gather information and statistics. Having first-hand contact with people will greatly help me in writing a final research paper and presentation. I can’t wait to go to Greece as not only will it provide me with a lot of interesting information, I will also get to learn about a new culture that is completely different from my own. Wishing you all a fabulous first week of research on Monday and see you in August!!