WUJS v. Stagerim: informational competition, death match

Having looked at both WUJS and Stagerim, I decided to go with the Stagerim for several reasons.

FLEXIBILITY and LOCATION: STAGERIM
When you apply to Stagerim, they ask you for your top three choices of placement; I chose Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem since they are very close to my relatives and the new friends I made on the Taglit trip. The internship in Stagerim is 20 hours a week, so basically you can either get a part time job or explore Israel or both because you dictate your hours, not the program. The internship takes 4 hours out of your day, and the rest if up to you. If you like structure and definition in your life, you may go with WUJS.

FLEXIBILITY and LOCATION: WUJS
The WUJS program is located in the historic city of Arad. In my humble opinion, Arad is a great city to visit a couple of times a month, splash around in the Ein Gedi Reserve and go back to Tel Aviv (the New York of Israel), Jerusalem or Haifa (complete with bars, beaches, and ice cream). Arad is mostly devoid of decent night life, but packed with history and nature. You have to figure out where you want to be at this point for 6 months -- enjoying the nightlife, making friends, meeting a ton of new young people, or exploring the historical Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Arad, the Mount Massada, and the neighboring areas like Beer Sheva which is quite cool. The bus ride to Jerusalem only costs $20, but it takes 2 hours. So, it will become a drag to have to ride for 4 hours round trip just to have fun in Jerusalem or even more time to have fun in Tel Aviv, which has a better nightlife. You may not even have the time to do that.

THE COST and TIME: STAGERIM
Stagerim is fee free. There is a $50 application fee and the cost of a ticket, place to live, and food. You can live in the absorption/aliyah (immigrant) center for $30 a month (which is not too fun but cheap) or you can find a place of your own for more money. I have seen apartments in Tel Aviv for $300 a month, some for $1000 a month, one bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, etc.
The comprehensive health insurance that will cover doctors visits and medication costs for the grand total of a whopping (sarcasm) $95 for 6 months of stay in Israel (sign me up please, that is $15 a month, people!!!).
The internship involves the area of your interest which the local Stagerim representative will thoroughly assess during your interview. So, it is completely tailored to what you want to do. Great? You bet! You can choose a legal field, an artsy field, a creative field, or be more specific and actually tell them what organization you want to work for. Then, you definitely know the location and the budget.
Obviously, this program is more flexible in cost depending on the location which you can choose depending on your budget. The internship is 20 hours a week. The rest of your week you can get a part time job to supplement your income or just explore this wonderful country and see it in all its glory. There are jobs like tutoring English for 70 shekels an hour or giving English classes at a high school (not aware of the pay).
The internship itself pays $75 a month, which is still something because Israel is not that expensive of a place to live. Of course, another added cost is that you need to learn Hebrew so you can handle documents (if you are in an office environment) or speak to the people at your place of work. If you know Hebrew, that expense is $0. If you know a little Hebrew like me and would like to get up a level or two, the local rep will let you know how you can do that for very little money (I believe $12 per very intense 2 hour class). Or, after you find out the date of your internship, you can show up a couple of months earlier and use the cheap Ulpans in Israel. That may be more effective because you will also be surrounded by Hebrew speakers.
The best part: you CAN subsidize your Stagerim. Yes, it is eligible, although the cost is not determined. For subsidizing your "cost of living", visit to your local temples and beg for money. They have funds set aside for beggars like us and may give you $100-$500 here and there. It adds up. This is also eligible for a MASA scholarship. Also, Google a Jewish Federation in Your Town, Your State, USA that will also provide you with some money for your journey. My friend Dave said that if they turn you down, keep asking them again because in Jewish Speak, no means maybe, maybe means yes. They WILL turn you down the first time. Nobody wants to subsidize a brazen kid who is going overseas to have a ton of fun. But they will... mark my words. Meet Rabbi Nobody....
In other words, I chose this program, it is more flexible because I made a ton of friends in Israel that I want to have time to see and go out with. Plus, this program may not cost me as much if the local temples are willing to take pity on a poor student like me.

THE COST: WUJS
WUJS costs are as follows: $100 for the application fee plus $6500 fee for the WUJS program, plus $200 for the activity fee, plus food expenses because they only cover one meal a day. They have three programs of varying costs. One is for Art-related endeavors, one is for political change and peace, and the third one is general and lasts and costs a little less than its 6-month siblings. So, this is about $7000 give or take.
The $6500 fee covers the cost of the Ulpan and other studies that you will be taking for the first 2-3 months of the program, the room you will share with another person in the aliyah/absorption center ($30 a month as noted in the Stagerim costs), one meal a day, the internship that you will do for the remaining 3-4 months, and the health insurance. Also, the WUJS is completely responsible for you and your well-being. During intensive Ulpan months, the study of Ulpan and Jewish religion and culture is from 8am through 4p with a free lunch break, and on top of that you are supposed to volunteer several days a week which means you may not be able to get a part-time job because this will take up most of your time.
The fee and the activity fee also cover your security. This is very important for those who are afraid of the neighbors that flank Israel and start trouble. This is, of course, imperative. When you take trips to explore Israel with your WUJS group, you are protected just like on the Taglit trip. Plus, those trips are organized and fun and you go with people who do the same thing as you -- the WUJS.
Now, when the time comes for the internship, you must interview for it and when you get the job, I think you have to relocate based on your location of this internship. I do not know whether you will have to pay for 3 months of rent if the internship you will find is not in Arad. It is highly likely your internship will be outside of Arad because Arad does not have much around it. So, depending on the WUJS policy, you may have to pay rent on top of that hefty fee. I heard that you are given a small stipend for the internship just like in Stagerim.
The MASA scholarship automatically covers $3000 of your WUJS program. So, this is huge cool points for the WUJS program -- you only really need to come up with $4000 or so for the remainder. Also, local Jewish Federations, local temples and organizations, your campus Hillel, etc. Money is available everywhere, grab it. Write an inspired essay, write Robert Kraft (Boston girl I am), put your soul into this and you will get what you want.

OVERALL: STAGERIM

Stagerim is for the people who are more independent and the reps stress that during the interview. If you would like to do your own thorough exploration of Israel and set up everything yourself, then this is for you. You have to calculate and determine the cost of the rent, food, and fun. When you apply for Stagerim, a month or two later the rep will let you know your time and location of your internship (2-5 months depending on what you choose). Then you have a more complete understanding of your budget cost-wise. So, then you can start looking for an apartment and writing letters to temples and federations to subsidize this trip. It all depends on you, nobody is responsible for your well-being and your security. You will get a list of safety regulations that you are asked to follow in order to stay safe in Israel.

OVERALL: WUJS

WUJS is for the people who want to learn about Israel through organized trips and intense studies in Ulpan and classes on culture and religion. I believe it is a little more religious and a little more studious than Stagerim. It is more structured and pre-determined, which is good if you do not want to plan anything yourself and want to come into the ready-to-wear (so to speak) environment. It is also safer since WUJS is responsible for you for the duration of the program. If you choose to stay behind, which you can do, they cease being responsible for you after the program is over. WUJS is perfect for you if you are really new to Israel, do not have friends or relatives there that are willing to help you find a place to live, a place to study Hebrew, or find a job.

In conclusion, I chose Stagerim because I want to have the time to explore Israel on my own, I want to work in the summer to save money for my trip and spend the summer researching possible subsidies for the trip and really hitting the temples with my inspirational essays, promises of publishing my experiences with them, etc. I think I can do this on my own. Wish me luck, but more importantly, support me.. I should get a paypal link for all this free info I am providing and let you guys give me a couple of bucks here and there. After all, I am going over there to change the world.

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the Israeli embassy option

Well, kids, WUJS may not be my first option. This Wednesday I have an interview for an internship through the Israeli Embassy in Boston (126 High St). The internship is tailored to my interests, my resume, my major in college, everything. It does not cost money, and they pay you $75 a month, it is 2-5 months duration. Of course, it's nothing, but at least you don't pay for the internship (at least that's what I think). The internship is 20 hours a week and as the coordinator put it -- "You will not be the coffee-getter, trust me." Finally, making a difference. I cannot wait, two more days until I find out what I am going to do.

Signing off

Gen

Updates on my general well-being and happiness

I decided to use this time and research the WUJS programs. I finally figured out what I can do in order to combine my degree and my passion. This program allows me to learn Hebrew and become part of Israeli life, volunteer, and mingle, not to mention fraternize with the fine Israeli guys. After learning Hebrew, I would go out looking for internships that help foster the peace process in the Middle East. I should be working with attorneys and various political organizations for social change. This is exactly what I would like to do since I am graduating this semester with a Bachelors in Political Science with concentration in International and Comparative Law. I am quite excited, already applied. The program cost is about $7000 with all the fees plus $200 a month for entertainment/travel expenses. There will be quite a lot of fun weekend trips, but mostly it is time for me to get to know Israel on my own.

The program dates are October thru April. During these dates, I will write down my experiences in a diary-like fashion on this blog, so if you would like to follow along, be my guest. The slow months leading up to it, I will tell you about the way I will try to get grants for this trip since that is a lot of money. I have been writing letters to various Jewish organizations in the area asking them to sponsor me. They can share my experiences with anyone who is interested in Israel and its splendor. I will tell you all about this letter writing campaign I have -- so maybe one day you can do the same

Love always

Gen