After having completed my master’s thesis in March of last year, and dealing with a lot of stress, I was really excited about taking a trip. I decided to travel to Mexico- this would be my first vacation not just as a backpacker but travelling alone. Mexico had always been on my bucket list and what I would do after this holiday I didn’t know then...perhaps I was hoping to get some inspiration from someone else.
And then, during my last week in Tulum. on Mexico’s Yucutan peninsula, I met a guy from Tel Aviv.
The second he told me where he was from I knew this was it - this is where I would go next,
It was so clear to me - I’d wanted to go there before I met this person but now I was being given a push.
Back in Germany, I started looking for ways to travel in Israel on a tight budget so I decided to volunteer on a farm in the Carmel mountains close to Haifa. The day I arrived in Israel, I felt a sense of excitement that I can’t describe.
I made my way to the farm and spent two wonderful weeks there.
I was able to get to know many locals, making friends with people from a nearby kibbutz, enjoying the natural surroundings in my time off.
As well as this, . I immediately fell in love with the people, who are so welcoming and caring.
I left the farm quite broken-hearted and continued my trip in Egypt, which was a rather spontaneous idea. I returned to the Israeli desert where I went hiking on my own, then travelled onto Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv for me was a perfect city - the sea, beach, markets and street life. As I was exploring, , I was already thinking “this could be my new home”.
Back in Germany, I was confused about what to do next. I’d applied for a few jobs but all I wanted to do was return to Israel. I booked another flight, back in November 2019, and arrived without a plan, save for the idea that I wanted to get a job in high-tech. I was prepared to take an unpaid internship because I didn’t have a working visa and, as it turned out, I found a placement in a start-up in Tel Aviv in my second week.
Three months later my tourist visa expired and then I knew that,, on returning to Germany, I was going to apply for a working holiday visa and, at the Israeli consulate in Munich, I was lucky enough to have my wish fulfilled. Now I’m back in Tel Aviv and being in this city is a dream come true for me. I live within walking distance of the beach, the people are friendly and I feel a real joy in the way people live.
Life is all about giving your dreams a chance, so listen to your feelings and start looking for happiness. I still have ten months here and I feel a lot of excitement at what is to come. I seem to have found my happy place and I hope you’ll find yours too.