Trip Unlocks a New World for Thompson

 (Zachary Harrison)

By: Keith Mills

Blake Thompson has just begun his final summer football training camp as the starting quarterback of the Cardinal Gibbons Crusaders. He also played in the Mid-Atlantic High School Baseball Showcase two weeks ago and next week will participate in the Major League Scout Fall Showcase as a member of the Oriolelanders, one of the most prestigious amateur baseball teams in the country. In addition to that, he has been attracting a great deal of interest from college recruiters for football and baseball.

But it was a trip Thompson took to Israel last month as part of the Elijah Cummings Youth Program to Israel that he says has changed his life. He visited Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, lived with host families and met hundreds of students. He camped out, hiked mountains and came to understand a country and a people that he knew little about when the trip began.

The two-year leadership program focuses on diversity, public speaking, conflict management and community service. Thompson was one of two dozen Baltimore students to make the trip to Israel, and throughout his senior year he will share his experiences with PressBox.

Thompson spoke to PressBox’s “High School Then & Now” two weeks after he returned from Israel and just a few days before he began summer football camp for new Cardinal Gibbons coach Scott Ripley.

Keith Mills: You’ve had some time to reflect on your trip to Israel. What are you taking away from it?

Blake Thompson: I think as a person I’ve grown to be more patient, more understanding of people’s differences. I got to experience a whole different culture. Not many people can go to a different country and observe firsthand how they live. You can see and read things in books and the Internet, but you can’t live with them, do what they do. And I’ve matured. I’ve heard that I’ve grown to be more mature since I’ve been back. I can only grow because of the experience.

KM: How long did it take you to become acclimated to the culture?

BT: When I came back, I first told my father that the connector, the worldwide human connector, is humor. All we did over there was laugh. We couldn’t understand each other at times but we laughed, and that got us through the tough moments. Over there they are an upbeat group of people. They laugh through the good times, they laugh through the hard times. In America, everyone’s all uptight. You have depression and all that but over there they are just happy people, a happy culture.

KM: Why do you think that is?

BT: Maybe it’s the pressure of being an American and trying to make something of yourself. But there, every kid after high school has to join the army, and they look forward to that. They look forward to fighting for their country. In America, you’re not going to find that on a large basis. You won’t find a lot of kids who want to join the army here and fight for their country. But in Israel, no matter where they're from -- they could be from Ethiopia, from Sudan, they’re from Kazakhstan, Ukraine -- they want to fight for Israel.

KM: Were they respectful of your African-American heritage and everything that stands for?

BT: They were very curious, curious about what we do here in America. What “big” America is all about. They wanted to see pictures. They wanted to hear stories, and we would tell them something, and they would just dig deeper. They’d just ask more questions. They were real interested. And they really didn’t see African-Americans. They didn’t see Asian-Americans, they didn’t see Hispanic-Americans, they saw Americans. All they saw was that red, white and blue flag. They are the nicest people I’ve ever met.

KM: Do you really feel you have changed?

BT: Not immediately. I always write little things down when I have ideas, because I know I won’t remember all of them. And I remember when I first got back I went to a masseuse to get my back all worked out for the start of football season. And he’s Indian, Hindu. I’ve been to him a couple of times before, and I never really talked to him. But when I got back I had conversation with the man. I asked him about his religion. I asked him why he came to America and where he came from. I just felt so interested in his culture and what he’s been through. And it was really interesting to hear him talk about things. And I wrote down what he said and how it wasn’t really what I would have anticipated him saying.

KM: I know you were a little hesitant about going because you’d be missing a lot of offseason conditioning. Any regrets now?

BT: Not at all. Not one bit. I wanted to play football. That’s all I wanted to do. People told me this would be a great experience. It will open doors that you would never have. So I went, and it was the best summer of my life. It was the best 3 1/2 weeks of my life. Going to a different country and meeting new people, understanding what they’ve been through, eating new foods, going to beautiful sites like the botanical garden. It’s amazing. I wouldn’t trade it in for the world.

Issue 3.33: August 14, 2008