GRIP, Internships Abroad Week One!

NoCamels.Com - Herzliya, Israel

On the first day, I tackled Israel’s infamous bus system to get to work. Because I am living in Tel Aviv, traveling to Herzliya requires transferring buses. Using an Israeli transportation app that my Airbnb host recommended called “Moovit,” I successfully navigated my way to work. Upon arrival, my boss gave me a tour of the college and an overview of the position. Interestingly, the interns work in a room that’s part of a museum about radios and communication! Currently, I am the only intern but two more interns from Penn will be arriving in a few weeks.I officially survived my first week of interning! I’m a reporting intern for NoCamels.com, a journalism organization that writes about technology, entrepreneurship, and start-ups in Israel. With Israel’s nickname being the “Start-Up Nation,” there’s no shortage of stories to cover. As the only intern thus far, I’ve been creating daily summaries of relevant stories on the web, making “pitches,” researching and drafting stories and interviewing CEOs.  I also had the opportunity to attend a day-long conference about the future of innovation and meet the entrepreneurs in person! While I’ve never had much exposure to the tech field, I quickly became enthralled. The entrepreneurs were fantastic speakers (thankfully in English) and surprisingly approachable. The internship is located at IDC Herzliya, a relatively small college campus with 40% international students. In other words, most of the students speak better English than I do.

I found my housing on Airbnb. I’m staying in Sarona, a small section of Tel Aviv that is packed with young families. I live in the same apartment as my host, ‘Elad, though I, of course, have my own room. Funnily enough, given my internship, he’s a young tech entrepreneur! He has been very helpful since I’ve arrived by helping me determine a bus route and recommending good local places to eat and explore like Sarona Market.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve experienced thus far is the language barrier. While nearly everyone speaks English, menus are often completely in Hebrew. Therefore, I’ve been drawn to menus with pictures or places with a build-your-own-meal style (similar to Subway or Chipotle) rather than asking what the menu says. I hope to pick up enough Hebrew to eliminate this issue. I recently downloaded an app to accelerate my learning beyond “yes,” “no,” “sorry,” “English,” and “thank you.’

On the weekend (Friday and Saturday in Israel), I began my exploration of Tel Aviv. On Friday, I walked to Rothschild Boulevard, Dizengoff Street (and Dizengoff Center, a massive mall), and Carmel Market. Rothschild is a beautiful road lined with historic houses, eateries, and general residences. There’s a middle section for pedestrians and bikers complete with endless benches, greenery, ponds, and Bocce courts. My favorite part is a cart filled with books for people to borrow and read on the benches and return when finished. Needless to say, it’s a very vibrant area. Dizengoff Street, and Dizengoff Center is known for its shopping. When I first arrived, I went to Azrieli mall, which I found to be fairly overwhelming due to the number of stores. Dizengoff Center blew Azrieli out of the water. The stores are endless and it’s so extensive that there are two buildings with crossovers! Next, I walked to Carmel Market, Tel Aviv’s largest market (‘shuk’, similar to the Arabic ‘sooq’). The vendors sell everything from produce to clothing to trinkets. Finally, on Saturday, I went to the beach! The water was clear, the sand was soft, and the weather was a breezy 90 degrees. Pretty ideal all around. I even managed to avoid a sunburn.

I’m greatly looking forward to when the other Penn interns arrive so that we can all explore Israel together.