Brandon Twp.- Jessica Laviolette returned home July 29 after a four-week stay in Israel that she calls ‘the trip from hell.?
The 2006 Brandon High School graduate, in the Middle East country since July 2, had been wanting to leave since mid-July, when Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two others, Israel responded by bombing southern Lebanon, and attacks on both sides escalated. Because flights leaving Tel Aviv were full, she would have to wait until her scheduled flight to leave. Or so she thought.
‘My flight information was wrong, so I had to wait another day,? says Laviolette, who originally planned to leave Israel late on July 27. ‘I was just happy to land in New York… I felt like I could have walked from New York to Ortonville and everything would be okay. I was so happy to be back in America.?
Laviolette, 18, was in Israel as a result of being named the top high school senior in the Science and Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit in March. She was among 15 Americans and 70 participants in the the International Summer Science Institute (ISSI) at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot.
During her trip, Laviolette communicated via e-mail with The Citizen, relaying experiences from her disastrous trip (‘No exodus yet from Israel for local woman,? The Citizen, July 24, 2006). Things would not improve.
A weekend trip to Ein Gedi, a field school in the desert where the students were taught ecology, ended for Laviolette after less than a day when she took a bad fall while hiking. She was one of six people injured on the excursion and because there was no first aid equipment, her knee became infected. Another girl on the trip broke her ankle. Laviolette pooled her money with the girl and others to get a taxi back to Rehovot.
‘They told us not to get a bus, because that’s what (the terrorists) blow up all the time,? she said. ‘I never saw a doctor.?
In Rehovot, fireworks are set off nightly to raise the spirits of the citizens, but it had the opposite effect on Laviolette and other students shortly before they left.
‘We had forgotten and we all dropped to the ground,? she said. ‘We thought it was gunfire. It scared us.?
Laviolette got out of the country only a day before Hezbollah attempted to bomb Tel Aviv.
‘I am thrilled to be back in America,? she says now, smiling. ‘The happiest moment of my life was when I finally saw my family. There were a lot of tears and hugs. America really is the greatest country in the world.?
Laviolette is in no hurry to travel again. Someday, maybe in 10 years, she would like to travel to Italy. But she will never return to the Middle East.
‘It was a good learning experience,? she says. ‘Learning about their culture and seeing the country firsthand made it worth it, but I would never do it again.?