Christian Polman '05, MBA '11, a second-year student at the Johnson School who went on Johnson's inaugural Israel Trek March 20-29, was inspired to write this piece.

I love to travel. I have been to almost every continent and have visited over 35 countries, but never have I been to the region we hear about so much in the news -- the Middle East. As a second-year MBA student at Johnson, the opportunity to visit Israel during spring break was one I couldn't pass up. The trip was about more than just travel -- it was the chance to experience the energy of a startup culture, explore the history of a hotbed region and meet people that my friends on Birthright and Hillel trips had told me about.

The Johnson School's inaugural Israel Trek was led by Ori Heffetz, professor of economics at Johnson. Currently on sabbatical at the Bank of Israel, he spearheaded the academic and educational aspect of the trip. A team of five devoted Johnson second-year students were also responsible for shaping this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

To the 30 Johnson School students who attended Johnson's first academic trek to Israel, the country was a fascinating amalgamation of history, politics, culture, biodiversity and, yes, even business.

Within hours of landing, our trip began with a Q-and-A session with Israeli President Shimon Peres, who spoke to us about the past and the future at the famous King David Hotel in Jerusalem. When Adnane Meziane '11 asked him how he envisioned Israel's economy taking shape, he said, "I see Israel with an economy as old as the 10 Commandments but as modern as nanotechnology." Israel doesn't have a choice but to pursue science and technology, he said: "We are not superior people but have superior technology, and we are prepared to share it with the world."

Israel is a country full of sharp contradictions; the lush heights of Jerusalem stand in stark contrast to the nearby bone-dry Negev desert. Old narrow streets of Jerusalem have little in common with modern glitzy night life of Tel Aviv. Optimism in the business community differs greatly from political disarray that weighs on the minds of Israel's many people.

For MBAs, there's no better place to sense Israel's optimism than by visiting some of Israel's most prominent startups. Johnson alumnus Amit Nisenbaum '03 introduced us to Better Place, a startup working to establish countrywide infrastructure to support electric vehicles in Israel and elsewhere. Soon, new owners of the all-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. will be able to charge their cars at home, at work, at select public locations and will be able to drive across the country using battery switching stations, all part of a comprehensive solution that Better Place hopes one day will make combustion engines futile.

We also met with Tel Aviv University business students, who hosted a Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship panel to showcase Israel's startup spirit. Keynote speaker Ed Mlavsky, founding partner and chairman emeritus of Gemini Israel Funds, discussed how Israel has transformed itself into an entrepreneurial powerhouse.

Other business visits on our trip included an Intel plant, where we toured a microchip production facility, and Teva Pharmaceuticals, who showed us how drugs are produced using state-of-the-art technology. We also stopped at Unilever, where the manager of Israel provided insights into Israeli minds and culture, and plastics firm Keter entertained us at their stunning seaside corporate facility, home to their university-partnered D-Vision and E-Vision innovation teams.

In addition, we experienced Israel's culture and history; we floated in the Dead Sea, hiked to the top of Masada, touched the Western Wall and met with Cornellians living in Israel.

Israel will remain fascinating to those of us fortunate enough to experience its many contrasts. In a matter of hours, we could zip from Tel Aviv's hot startups and night clubs to a remote Bedouin camp in the Negev desert. In one instance we were driving in the most sophisticated electric cars ever designed, in the next we were riding camels into the sunset, reflecting on how so much diversity and complexity could be jammed into such a small country. We were exposed to innumerable experiences that no classroom could ever afford, and we can only hope that other students have the good fortune to discover Israel as we did.