Vicki Korchagin (junior-economics) was eating lunch with her friends earlier this month at a café in Israel when she noticed her waiter disappear into the kitchen.

"When he came out he was in uniform, and he had a duffel bag with him," she said, explaining that her waiter had been called to fight in the war.

Korchagin is in Tel Aviv, about an hour away from the conflict zone at the border of Israel and Lebanon, on an internship with Bank Hapoalim, the largest bank in Israel.

She arrived in Israel in mid-June, just before the conflict began to escalate.

"It's just surprising to me that the conflict is going on maybe an hour, hour and a half from where I am, but to me it doesn't feel like anything is happening," she said.

Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has repeatedly stated that Hezbollah has rockets capable of reaching Tel Aviv.

Korchagin said while she's concerned about the possibility that Hezbollah could attack Tel Aviv, it isn't enough to scare her or her fellow interns into leaving.

"No one has left out of the nine people on the internship; everyone has stayed," she said.

Back in the United States, her mother, Polina Korchagin, is looking forward to her daughter's return in two weeks.

She said she worries every day about the possibility of rocket attacks or suicide bombers.

"We are really worrying about it," she said. "I'm not taking the threat lightly."

Vicki Korchagin said while she thinks her mother may be overreacting, she does feel a bit guilty for upsetting her.

"You know how moms are," she said. "If I were in her position, I would also be very worried."

One of her friends in the states Jim Coder (junior-aerospace engineering) said he keeps in touch with Korchagin online.

"Of course I'm worried about a friend of mine," he said. "She said she was safe, though. I believe her."

Korchagin said the news media in the United States doesn't give a completely accurate picture of what's happening in Israel.

"You don't really see people in Tel Aviv just sitting in cafés or going to the mall," she said. "I think that kind of alters people's perceptions."

Korchagin has set up a blog and an online photo album to keep in touch with her family and friends back home.

In one entry, she discusses the measures her bank took after it was forced to close most of its branches in the north when Hezbollah started bombing the area.

To help service its northern customers, Bank Hapoalim equipped 12 buses to work as mobile branches.

"People need a lot of cash right now," Korchagin said.

She said the conflict has brought on a renewed sense of patriotism in Israel, with companies handing out bumper stickers and posting billboards with the slogan "we will win."

"There are a lot of Israeli flags everywhere," she said. "People really do feel it's the time to be patriotic."

In her online photo album, she posted the caption "People I hate" next to a picture of demonstrators in Israel protesting the war.

Anti-war rallies of varying sizes have been taking place across Israel, Korchagin said.

"I get very angry about it -- I feel like it's the time to support the Israeli troops and the Israeli military," she said.