THC:

While most students study abroad somewhere far from home, Yeshiva University senior Sarah Rindner is spending a semester in an environment more spiritually than geographically foreign. While she�ll return to Yeshiva�a modern orthodox Jewish university in New York City�to receive her diploma, she�s wrapping up her college career in Cambridge. Rindner says she came to Harvard because the Yeshiva Jewish community �was claustrophobic. I know it�s my last semester, and I wanted to make some positive memories.� The �Harvard bubble� is nothing new to Rindner, who says she grew up in a similarly self-contained community. �The Orthodox community was my entire world,� she says. �I never realized what a small part of the world it actually is.� Rindner admits that there are differences between the Harvard and Yeshiva Jewish communities. �Here women are much more involved,� she says. �There�s also more dialogue with other faiths.� And while the Harvard Jewish community may be smaller than what she�s used to, Harvard itself is a whole lot bigger. �There are 600 students at [Yeshiva] in total,� Rindner says. �There are classes here that size!� The disparities between her old world and Harvard sometimes prove difficult. �I�m used to eating Kosher food, and keeping the Sabbath,� she says. �It�s difficult when my [Harvard] friends don�t.� Overall, however, Rindner does not regret spending her last semester as a visiting student. �Religiously, I feel like I am evaluating myself,� she says. �Harvard is a positive environment for self-reflection. I definitely feel like I�m growing.�