UCLA alumnus Ramses Bulatao ('17) writes about studying in Israel and learning to love the country's culture and most importantly, its people.

Just over a year ago, I decided that I wanted to go to Israel to continue studying. I would never have thought that that decision would change my life forever.

When I made that decision, I was a graduating senior at UCLA. Like many of my peers, I was uncertain about what I wanted to do with my life after school: get a job, continue with school, take a gap year, or travel the world. I wanted to try my luck and go for the second option: continue with my education.

Keeping that in mind, I decided to apply for a study abroad, as well as a master’s program in Israel. Why Israel? Well, it was not foreign to me at all, because I had spent my winter break in December of 2016 in the country. I loved it, and I was pretty certain it would be a great opportunity to get to know the country even better.

So I did both: study abroad as a part of my undergraduate studies and a Master in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. I am truly grateful to have been awarded a Mudie-Glaser scholarship by the UCLA Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies.

With that scholarship, I was able to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for a month-long summer program. During my time there, I took two courses: The Body in Jewish Thought and The History of Arab-Israeli Conflict. In the first class, I had the unique opportunity of being instructed by one of the most wonderful and knowledgeable scholars at the university: Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore.

During the course, Dr. Shore taught us about Judaism and how it addresses the human body. And I studied the foundational literature of Judaism aside from the Bible and important figures in the religion such as Maimonides, Ba’al Shem Tov, and Rabbi Lubavich.

On the other hand, I also had the opportunity to learn about the evolution of the conflict between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab World through my class History of Arab-Israeli Conflict, taught by Dr. Menachem Merhavi.

In this class, we dug deeper into how present-day Israel was born and its history since the establishment of the country. We put into historical context current events: the BDS movement, how the world sees Israel today, etc. We also toured some of the important sites in Jerusalem, especially those related to the Six-Day War.

But just as important as my experiences in the classroom were my experiences outside the walls of the Hebrew University: these experiences brought me even closer to the people of diverse backgrounds, religions, and upbringings. It gave me a glimpse of what it was like to live in a society where such different people often brush shoulders, knowing that they are in a very fragile situation.

I had the opportunity to feel how the people of Jerusalem feel, how they think that even if war could break out anytime soon, we have to live our lives. I met people who are tired of wars, who only wanted peace and absolute harmony.

They are human like me and I was fortunate to have shared that experience with them, together with other international students from different parts of the globe. I had the opportunity to live with a Korean, Chinese-American, and Brazilian-Danish-Canadian student in a suite. We remain in touch and hopefully one day, we will meet again to catch up.

Soon after I finished my program in Jerusalem, I went to Tel Aviv to embark on a new adventure: doing my master’s at Tel Aviv University. This experience was so different from my time in Jerusalem. Tel Aviv has a rather different vibe and atmosphere. Traces of conservativeness are minimal, unlike in Jerusalem.

Since beginning my master’s, I have lived with and gotten to know what I consider my second family in Israel. My master’s program is an intensive one and I have been surrounded by the same people throughout the year. And it has been with my colleagues that I have found the warmth of home.

Tel Aviv is where I found myself to be pushy and firm in my correspondence with people — I learned chutspah. Some Israelis taught me that if they smell courtesy on you, other Israelis will eat you alive. In this city, I learned how to have a heart of a stone when you are out in public, but to be warm and caring about the people you love.

Tel Aviv is always on the go, like my life in the program where I attended classes and also taught them. The city might be unique in its own way and it maybe it isn’t for everyone, but I have lived its life, breathed its air, and loved its people. Tel Aviv will always be home – despite the high cost of living.

They say that in order to improve your language skills, you should practice the language with native speakers. Fortunately for me, my Hebrew became metsuyenet (excellent). There is nothing like the feeling of being acculturated and speaking a different language at the same time. I really feel now that as I pack my bags and get ready to leave, I have become well-rounded culturally and linguistically.

My journey in Israel is a rather unique one, and I will never be grateful enough to the people I had the opportunity to know and who cared for me throughout my entire stay in the country. Additionally, I will always be more than grateful to the institutions who help non-Jewish students feel that they belong in Israel and deserve to experience the country, despite the laws that cause members of certain minority groups in Israel to feel they don't belong in the country.

Ramses Bulatao is an alumnus of UCLA and Tel Aviv University. He completed his BA in Linguistics in 2017. In the same year, he flew to Israel to pursue a summer program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, after which he began his MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at Tel Aviv University. He plans to change the world through learning and teaching foreign languages.