On Friday, August 7, I traveled across the world to Israel to spend a week immersing myself in Israeli culture while gaining insight to the current political, social, and strategic challenges of the region. With a group of 14 other student government leaders from across the United States, hosted by a group of Israeli college students, I journeyed throughout Israel to learn leadership through a variety of experiences as a participant of Project InSiGht. Throughout this post, I will outline some of my top educational experiences I had in the country while outlining some of my takeaways. (See "My Israel Top 7" to read about my best overall moments and favorite elements of my trip.) As student leaders and future business, political, and social leaders, I believe it is important for us to take advantage of as many opportunities as we can where we are able to learn something new about the world and ourselves. The week was filled with varying perspectives, including hearing from officials who were vital in the implementation of the wall between areas of the West Bank and Israel in Jerusalem, speaking with a woman living in the Gaza strip, getting a lecture from the chairman of a committee within the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), and hearing from an Arab-Israeli (meaning a Muslim living in Israel) boy who is condemned for his Zionist (meaning he believes in the establishment of a Jewish state) beliefs. Each of these perspectives, along with all of the other perspectives we heard from, as well as speaking with the Israeli students, I was able to gain such a unique insight that I am incredibly grateful to have been able to experience. Beersheba (Be'er Sheva) The trip began with a quick drive from the airport to Beersheba to meet with the Israeli students of Ben Gurion University who created the program. We met up at one of the student's houses and began some brief introductions. I stayed in the flat of Yossi, who was 23 and lived with his fiancée. He studies electrical engineering and works at a high-tech company, an emerging market within Israel. One of the prominent features of Israelis is that they are extremely hospitable. When they offer you a drink, you cannot say, "No, thank you." When they are offering you a drink, you are going to be getting a drink...