Shabbat shalom

Wow what a week; I had my first full week of classes, I found out I received another scholarship from OU to stay and study for the summer, I finally ate a pizza (thanks to some friends—we celebrated my getting the scholarship), I thought our Hebrew quiz was today, but apparently I misinterpreted and realized it was yesterday when she started handing them out (I didn’t study and still got a B…whew!) and now I’ve got the sniffles (I knew yesterday when I sneezed three times, something was wrong). I’m ready for rest.

Yes, I was able to order "pepperoni" (I think it was really salami cut in circles), because this pizza came from an Arab pizza place, meaning not kosher=you can mix meat with cheese

 I have to say that I really like all of my classes, but I do have one that stands out as my favorite. Yes I am taking Hebrew again; it’s three days a week, 3 ½ hours on Mondays, 1 ½ hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays; I am also taking a Hebrew “intensive” class, which meets once a week for an extra 1 ½ hours to improve speaking skills (I need all the help I can get). As far as “normal” classes are concerned, I am taking a class on belief and ritual in Islam—so far we are discussing the history of Islam, including what the culture was like during that time (7^th century AD); another class I am taking is selected topics in nature conservation in Israel, which may not sound interesting but it really is. I like the setup of the class—the first 1 ½ hours is a lecture and the last 1 ½ hours we create a presentation with our “zoog” (partner in Hebrew) about the lecture; the object is to make the lecture more interesting (the professor insists he is boring) by finding Youtube videos, cartoon pictures, etc. to create a fun yet educational presentation. I find I learn more this way and I love hands on work. Oh, I should also mention that all the assignments and the term paper are group efforts….really cool. We will also be taking two field trips, one to the Biblical Zoo here in Jerusalem, and the other to the Sea of Galilee and the Hula Valley, which will be toward the end of the semester. I love field trips. The last class I am taking, which is my favorite, is the cultural history of Jerusalem. I LOVE learning history, I love random facts, and I love Jerusalem; this class satisfies all three. Unfortunately it only meets once a week. Today we took a field trip to the City of David and visited the Jerusalem Walls National Park.

 

They really made use of the symbol of  David's harp in the park; here they incorporated it into their benches

 

We walked underground through an ancient water system mentioned in the bible (if you happen to go here I recommend wearing shoes with some kind of traction on the bottom, and if you go underground prepare to get your feet a little wet and DO hold onto the railings); what did we see? We saw what could be the remains of King David’s palace, ruins from the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C., the Gihon Spring, Warren’s Shaft, Rock cut pool, a tower that protected the pool, and we walked through Channel 2, which was closed off by King Hezekiah—hence today it is not filled with water but dry so you can walk through (it is VERY narrow). If you would like scripture references to these places (some, not all) they are: 2 Samuel 5:4-9, 1 Chronicles 11:4-8, Isaiah 22:9-11, 2 Kings 20:20, and 2 Chronicles 32:20.

 

Making our way down the steep stairs

Low ceilings for part of the tour

Closeup of area destroyed by Babylonians (2 Kings 25:9)

Wider view of area destroyed by Babylonians

Part of area that could be part of King David's palace

Within the black box I drew are tombs; these are everywhere in this residential area on the south side of the Mt. of Olives; people just built homes on and around them

My favorite quote from today was when we realized we were missing part of our class because they got caught in “traffic” (apparently today was field trip day for all the schools in the area, there were so many kids); once our professor found them, we heard her yell through the chaos “Push! Be Israeli!”

I admit when I first arrived here I was a bit taken aback by the abrasiveness of Israelis who have no problem pushing you out of the way or cutting in front of you in line. Here if you snooze, you lose. I haven’t gotten yelled at in Hebrew by any Israelis yet, unlike some of my friends, so I must be doing something right. I’m not fond of pushing my way through anywhere, but I have grown accustomed to doing what needs to be done to get where I need to be. My favorite memory of this so far was being on the wrong side of a tightly packed lightrail ride; I was needing to get off at the stop for the shuk (market) but was pressed up against the glass doors on the opposite side, surrounded by some guys who obviously hadn’t showered in a while. When my stop came, I pushed through the masses all the while yelling “slicha!” (excuse me) and it was like parting the Red Sea. Speaking of the shuk, I went there the other day. I love the shuk. I get samples of everything (almost) before buying it: granola, nuts, strawberries, etc. This last trip while paying for some oranges, a guy walked up behind the cashier and gave me free coffee. I think it’s still in my throat. Nevertheless, it had good flavor. I saw something there I have never seen before; instead of writing about it, I will show you. My friend who was with me was so appalled she walked away and left me standing there with my mouth hanging open. Ready?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I have no idea what kind of fish this is, but I think it could be related to the one Jonah camped out in for a few days. Yikes. Every day here really is an adventure.

 

Shabbat shalom and lila tov,

 

Stacey