CURRENT MISSION

Musical diplomacy

ABOUT ME

I am very enthusiastic (when I'm at my best). This often makes me try to do everything at once, so I'm very busy. :-D But I try to make time for the important things in life, which include, but are not limited to, music, friends, family, having crazy/awesome experiences, a little bit of time to recharge, and more music. :-) I try to be kind and welcoming to all, and I love being able to be helpful to someone who needs a friend. My best moments are when I can bring out the best in others.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that everybody has potential. One's journey in life is figuring out how to maximize that potential, and, in doing so, serve others as well as oneself. If you are true to yourself, the rest will follow.

Interests

I am a musician. Music (specifically, singing) is my life. Music is the way I connect to people most strongly, and I am grateful to say that I spend most of my time making music or doing things related to making music (logistics make up an unfortunately large percentage of this time, but what can you do). I am in Jerusalem because I also believe strongly in efforts to bring Israelis and Palestinians together to replace prejudice with harmony. To do this quite literally, I have started an organization called the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a choir and dialogue program for Israeli and Palestinian high school students, based at the Jerusalem International YMCA. Check us out at www.jerusalemyouthchorus.org! (that's really how I spend my time).

• singing
• beauty
• make up
• dancing
• cooking
• music
• skydiving
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing privilege I have had (and probably will ever have) is the year I spent singing with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, of which three months were spent touring the world. We went to over 20 countries. That whole tour takes the cake, but my favorite moment from this tour was in New Zealand, easily the most beautiful place I've ever been. I spent an afternoon roaming grass-green sheep-dotted hills under a clear blue sky surrounded by the white-capped ocean and became so overwhelmed by the beauty of it all that I just started laughing from pure joy.

We also went skydiving in New Zealand. That was pretty awesome too.

The other "this world is incomprehensibly beautiful" moment I have had was at a mountaintop monastery in the middle of the Syrian desert. The nearest town was 20 miles away, and at night, the sky was studded with more stars than I have ever seen (plus the milky way for a bonus). The infinity of the universe was never clearer for me than that night - it made everything we do here on earth seem so small.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach singing, hand-drumming, music theory, English, and probably more things that haven't crossed my mind.

I would like to learn how to cook! (well) ;-) I would like to learn how to dance! I would like to improve my Arabic.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Russian Federation, Senegal, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, United States