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Our Monday began at IBM’s research facility in Haifa. Their office employs thousands in a large building overlooking the city and coast of Haifa. In their conference room several employees spoke about tech in Israel and within the company. They started with a map of all of their locations. I found out that the Haifa location was the largest outside the U.S. I was a bit puzzled. “Why does IBM need so many research centers? Why is the Haifa center so large?” It turns out that there are a lot of smart people in Israel. A staggering amount.

The presenters went on to say that Israel has the most amount of start-ups per capita. I had heard of Waze and other Israeli companies, but it was shocking to learn that start-ups were so prevalent, especially since the country has existed for such a relatively short amount of time. I concluded something must be putting Israel ahead. I listed out some possibilities: Israeli culture, military service, education, motivation. It is hard to say the source of Israel’s success after living in Haifa for a week. Perhaps I would find out if I lived there longer. I have always thought of life in Israel. Recently I learned that I could have a fulfilling and successful career there as well.

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