As the school year starts off, most sophomores have one thing on their minds: Israel. Even though the students are only going to be heading off to the Holy Land in the spring, both delegation programs are now in full swing, as the Israelis have already said their farewells to this city of angels.

The de Toledo sophomores only know sophomore year as a time to be with their buddies. They eat their breakfast together, sing songs in the car together, and try to swipe their student IDs at those front gates together.

While the EIEP Israelis’ time in Los Angeles has ended, these international friendships are just beginning.

“We are super close and we love being with each other. She loves my family and they love her. She is like a sister that I don’t fight with” said Dani Zane.

The ongoing Whatsapp conversations with their buddies and notifications from their Countdown apps have caused the excitement of these sophomores to increase more and more each day.

The SIEP delegates from de Toledo are divided into two groups, each one partnering with a different school in Tel Aviv. The schools are Ironi Tet and Lady Davis. de Toledo has been partnering with Ironi Tet for many years, but this is de Toledo’s first year partnering up with Lady Davis.

“It was really exciting when I was finally about to talk to my Israeli! I became even more excited about SIEP then, because I realized that she would be coming to stay with me so soon,” said Lauren Pomerantz.

Before the SIEP Israelis even arrived, the de Toledo students were busy trying to figure out just how they can manage to show them all there is to this wonderful city in their short amount of time here. Whether this means going to the Village or Disneyland, these Israelis have long, adventure-filled days awaiting them.

Gaby Dayun said, “I’m excited to actually meet them, tour them around LA, and to show them the lifestyle here.”

During both the EIEP and SIEP delegations, de Toledo students not only build friendships with their buddies, but with their fellow de Toledo peers on this delegation too.

“The Americans in my SIEP group are really nice, fun people. I really want to get to know some of them even better,” said Lauren Pomerantz.

The relationships that form among the Americans on these delegations are truly one of a kind. These friendships allow for sophomores to both get closer with their current circle of friends and to branch out. With these new and closer friendships come memories like no other.