Walk-a-thon

Today is our last morning here and we decided to make the best of it. After a big breakfast (we had to pay for our lunch today, and us cheapies didn't want to), we had a concluding worship and communion service. I read a scripture and I had helped K get the rocks ready for her part, but it was really her idea. She wrote one name from our group on each rock and piled up the rocks like a wall. We had to each pick one rock, not the one with our own name, tearing down the wall piece by piece. We are supposed to pray for that person for the next week. I have Mary, which is good for me, b/c Mary is one of the people I didn't get to know very well on the trip. We all hugged after the service, passing the peace to one another. I was surprised that some people had tears in their eyes. I know, I know, I'm not a very sensitive or emotional person, so it shouldn't come as a shock that I didn't cry. But I will miss this. Very much.



Today has been one of my favorite days so far, mainly b/c we had much of the day free to do what we wanted. K, B, Eugene, YoHan and I walked around the wall to the Jaffa Gate (faces West towards Jaffa) where we could get up on the ramparts on the top of the wall to walk around. While we were walking, YoHa had me stop at each gate we passed and show the gate and speak it's name while he filmed it. Who needs Iyad! I'm the tour guide! Haha! Walking on top of the walls was a lot of fun! We took our time, took some pictures, we even got to stand on the roof over the Damascus Gate at one point! Sometimes we were really up high, sometimes not too high. Some of the staircases were scary and I bumped my head at one point, but the views were spectacular and the breeze felt amazing. Plus we just talked and joked and had a good old time! We walked all the way from the Jaffa Gate to the Lion Gate on the East side of the Old City. Then we walked back through the marketplace to the hotel. I've decided after all that I did enjoy the marketplace and I am going to miss it. I love the bustle and the people. And I love the idea of bargaining for the price and not spending a lot of money on things. I love the huge carts that try to fit through the tiny streets crowded with people, watching the guys with the carts help each other out when going down a slope, one slowing it down from the front, another standing on a tire brake on the back. I'll miss it all. And I have a new appreciation for crowds!

At the hotel, K and I had an improvised lunch. I had a couple pieces of pita break with jelly and honey I had taken from the breakfast buffet earlier. Then K, B, Eugene and I went out again. We walked to the Garden Tomb b/c Brandie wanted a magnet from the gift shop there, but it was closed, so we walked through the Old City marketplace, one last time... Brandie got a big bag of Christmas chocolate for only 10 shequels!! Yum!

On the way back to the hotel, B and I went into Zedekiah's cave, which is a cave used way back in the day as a stone quarry for all the various building projects around Jerusalem. There wasn't too much to see, but it was cool and dark and a little bit creepy, but that could be b/c B happened to mention "The Descent" and I have have an active imagination. We saw a cat fight, literally. In one huge cave part, the room was absolutely silent. B and I smiled at each other b/c there was nothing to hear. At all. Silence.

Then B and I went back to the hotel and picked K and Eugene back up and then we went back to the Garden Tomb so that B could get that magnet. Now we're sitting in the hotel, waiting to leave, and we just saw a funeral procession of Orthodox Jews walk by. I'm signing off b/c we should be leaving soon! I'll be back in the states b/f you know it...after a 14 hour flight........

Laughter is the Best Medicine, Much Better than Snotty Desserts

Katrina and I had some free time to hang out b/f our final meeting last night, so we finished our bottle of wine and watched the Russian music channel. (Ask us to show you the dance from the remake of Numa that we see at least twice a day!) The guests at our meeting were Debbie Weisman, who was our host at the synagogue on Friday night, and Daniel Rossing, our guide through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. They ae both fairly liberal Jews who are Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestine, or as Debbie put it, Pro-People, which is really where I am at this point. They are both Zionists, so they believe Jews need the state of Israel to survive creatively, but they also believe that a two state solution is the only way to find some kind of peace in this situation. As Daniel pointed out with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, there is no permanant solution for the situation there, nor for the larger situation of Israel and the West Bank. There is only constant negotiation and cautious balance to keep the parties involved satisfied.

Now, while listening to some of our group members ask questions last night, I have to wonder if Trisha is ever disappointed that we didn't come further in our thinking. When I say "ask questions" I am being generous. What I meant to say is when members of our group rambled on for a few minutes before stumbling into some sort of a question. Sometimes the statements were so misinformed, even after all our information, and offensive and prejudiced. After all we've seen and heard, I could not believe some of the statments/questions coming out last night! First of all, people should never talk for the whole group, b/c we do not agree. Likewise, talking to Debbie and Daniel like they stand for all Jewish Israelis doesn't work. Didn't we read about the differences in the Jewish religion? And that's not even getting into politics! I find it funny that even though, as Christians, we have sooooo many different denominations b/c we can't agree, and even within denominations we can't agree, yet people assume that other religions, such as Judaism, have no divisions. But that's just me...

Out final dinner at the Tulip Inn at the Golden Walls Hotel was just ok foodwise. One of the waiters joked around with us b/c at every meal since we've been here, K and I always ask him if the soup has meat, this dish has meat, etc. He started telling us "no meat" without us even asking! I picked up my dessert, which was clearly a pudding like dessert, he tells me "no meat!" Thanks! K, B, Eugene, Asamoah, Maryann, Elizabeth, Pat and I sat together. YoHan tried to sit with us, but Elizabeth came over to talk with Pat about Bruce and our table was set. The company was excellent! Bruce had a heart attack a few days ago and has been in the hospital. He's doing fine, but he most likely won't be flying home with us today. K & B & I are always jokesters, so we made Pat laugh several times during the dinner. A particularly memorable moment was when I mentioned that I couldn't finish my dessert b/c the consistency was starting to remind me of snot right when Elizabeth was eating. She put down her fork and was done! Hahaha! Let's face it, there are no holds when it comes to our dinner conversations, which is probably why a lot of people never really want to sit with us, which is fine. We like doing our own thing. Pat said she had a good time sitting with us, so I'm glad we could help take her mind off all the stress for a couple minutes. Mission accomplished.

After dinner, K and I got stuff from our room and went downstairs to hang out with people for the last time. The English movie channel had just started "Failure to Launch" so we sat to watch it. I moved chairs so that I could sit with my feet up, and YoHan tried to race me for it and take it from me, yet when B came over, he offered to get her seat for her. See how it goes? Haha! It was like we were in a movie theatre, all sitting in a row: K, Eugene, me, YoHan, B, with Maryann sitting opposite us. K and I shared a bottle of wine for our big finale! We had a good time. Now we're pretty much packed to go! We have breakfast and a closing worship, which a few of us are participating in, and then free time until 2! I think some of us are going to try to walk up on top of the walls of the Old City and I need to spend my remaining shequels. Maybe I'll get chocolate!!!!!

Ding Ding! Here comes God on a bicycle!

This morning K and I joined a group of early risers to head to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at 7:15 to see some of the different services going on. Our host was Daniel Rossing, an Orthodox Jew who used to be in charge of the government department that deals with religious disputes. He is intimitely familiar with the delicate balance at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and had lots of stories to share which can seem silly, but just point out how fragile the status quo is here.

The first service we visited was the Ethiopian Christian service, which was located in a smaller chapel on the periphery of the building. We had an excellent view here b/c they had a viewing section that went along the side of the chapel. K, Cory and I were right up front where the priests were sitting. I found it interesting that while this is a church with African origins, hence all the worshippers and priests were black, yet all the pictures of Jesus and his followers were white! I would just assume that people tend to depict Jesus and other Biblical characters in a way which represents their community, hence the reason why most of us have grown up with a white Jesus, though that's not accurate. But here they didn't represent their community. The ceremony was mostly sung, with one man canting the most. When we first got there, only about 5 men were there and a few women in the back. (Most of the churches we had seperate sections for men and women.) After a few minutes though, a few men came out of the front section where they had been singing behind a curtain. We only caught the tail end of the service b/c they started at 4am! That's dedication!

The second service we went to was the Coptic service. They have a small shrine at the back of the tomb in the main part of the building, so the men participants stand in lines in front of the shrine and the women sat off the the side. We couldn't see too much b/c it was a small space and most of the action was happening inside the shrine, which we couldn't see.

We then watched the Armenian Orthodox men process in from the outside courtyard and then visited the Greek Orthodox monastic service. At first they didn't want to let us in, but Daniel talked to another man and he let us in. This was the biggest space, but most of it was unused. The women sat around the walls, all in black, while the priests, etc. ran the service up front. This service was in Greek and for the priests and nuns. A lot of the action took place up front in an inner chamber where we couldn't see much.

We went to see the Syrian Orthodox next. They have a tiny chapel that we saw on Tuesday which looked like it had been burned. They brought in many wall hangings and carpets to cover up the burn marks and bare walls. And we actually got to sit down at this service! The place was so small that we took up half the chairs! The most interesting part we got to see was a young boy helping whom I assume was the main priest put on his garments. There were so many pieces! It was cool to see how much goes into getting dressed for the service! Nothing like Presbyterians and putting on a robe and a stole!

We then headed up a couple flights of stairs to see the Armenian Orthodox service. This was my favorite b/c they men here sing beautifully! When they all sing together, it sounds fantastic! I wish we had been allowed to stay there longer, b/c I definitely enjoyed it!

Our last service was the Greek Orthodox service for the laity, which is held in Arabic. This was held in a smaller side chapel, but things seemed to be similar to the monastic version, except there wasn't any extra open space.

I felt a little intrusive being at all the services, but mainly b/c so many people in our group took pictures throughout the services, even with flashes. Daniel said that, with the exception of the Roman Catholics, the groups are used to people coming in and out and visiting, but I still think we could have been more respectful. My camera has been dead for days and I didn't bring my charger (oops), so I didn't have that problem, but still, I wouldn't have pulled it out. Observing is one thing, but pictures... I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the different services, and while I still am skeptical of the authenticity of the places the church is commemorating, and while I still find the opulence distasteful, I have an appreciation of the different religious traditions which worship there. I wouldn't mind coming again on a Sunday to visit the services, but I don't really have any desire just to see the church again!

After all those services (the only one we didn't see was the Roman Catholic, although B did go to one later), Daniel talked to us about some of the issues he's had to deal with. For example, both the Syrians and the Armenians believe they have the right to the Chapel of Nicodemus where the Syrians worship. B/c they both claim rights to it, neither one can repair the chapel b/c repairing would mean having ownership of the place. So apparently when the one lightbulb in the room burns out, he and the leaders of the two churches play an elaborate game so that the bulb never technically "burns out." I can explain that better if you're confused. There are other examples and stories which he told us, but you get the idea and I can share them with you (soon!) if you're interested.

We were then taken onto the roof of the church, which most people don't get to do, and Daniel explained the surrounding areas and how many European countries (France, Italy, England, Germany) and the United States all built areas in the city, and some really hoped to take over the city for their own country. But none of those plans ever panned out. While we were waiting to get on the roof, we heard a bell dinging, and K said, "Listen! Here comes God on a bicycle!!!!" Awesome!

We then went to the Notre Dame hotel for a discussion with Daniel and lunch. We got other tidbits of information during the talk, but once again, I had trouble staying awake. I guess I need more stimulation, or maybe I should have taken notes at all these talks to keep me awake! Oh well! Lunch was ok, but dessert was amazing! Iyad made sure that I got chocolate ice cream and it was heavenly! It was so good, that when Asamoah didn't finish his, B and I did! Plus Diana gave us some leftover cake, so overall, we were quite satisfied!

After lunch we only had one stop, and that was the Rockefellar Museum which holds lots of antiquities found from various archaeological sites around Israel. I enjoyed the Egyptian remains from when Egypt controlled Cana and the bones of pre-homo sapiens that were displayed. But then again, if I had stayed with Anthropology, I would have done physical anthropology, so I like the bones. We walked back to the hotel and K & I decided we should go get stones for a little ceremony tomorrow. We need 28 and I grabbed 3 while walking to the Notre Dame, so we only needed 25 more. We were thinking it was going ot be hard to find b/c there aren't any parks near out hotel and free space for grass and stones are hard to come by around here, but wouldn't you know, right across the street was a space of dirt with lots of stones! It was fenced off, so K and I just bent down and picked them up from the side of the sidewalk as we walked. It only took about 2 minutes...score! Then a man stopped us, I think he was British, and asked for directions to a hostel. I didn't know the hostel, but his guide said that is was by the Jaffa Gate, so I gave him direction to the Jaffa Gate. My memorizing the order of the gates finally came in handy! Woot! I was so excited that I could give direction after only being here for 5 days! Go me! Those of you who know me, know that I am directionally disfunctional, so this was really quite an amazing feat! Anways, K and I decided just to hang out until our meeting, so we're watching the Russian music channel, of course! K joked that she could almost speak Russian now b/c we have it on whenever we're in the room! We finished out bottle of wine from last night and now K is napping and I'm about to relax for awhile. Ahhhh...we feel like we should be out enjoying the city, but we're tired, and we're going to be out and about tomorrow. Our shopping is pretty much done, although I still have 40 shequels to spend, so we might either walk on top of the walls or possibly go under the city. We'll see!

Shhh, Holy place, shhhh

Ok, so I must apologize for my brief hiatus from my blog the past few days. There was a lot of drama over the computer, and quite frankly, I didn't need or want the stress. I'm trying to make this as much of a vacation as possible dammit! The other reason why I haven't blogged much is b/c we get an awesome music channel here in Jerusalem. It's a Russian channel and I swear, they play the strangest videos...or maybe that's how all foreign music vidoes look! Anyways, I don't really have the time to fill you in on everything that's happened the past few days, especially since we have to be out the door, fully fed at 7:15 tomorrow to see some different worship services at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre tomorrow. So here we go!

Wednesday was spent at a few sites outside the city b/c Trisha thought we needed something more relaxing after our heavy walking day on Tuesday. I was just happy to see Taleb again. He is a funny funny guy; now all the time when we try to get on the bus by the back door, he'll open it a crack and then close it, and then open it a bit, and close it. We've taken to actually jumping on board when we get the chance!

Our first stop was a talk with Father Michael at Tantur, which I believe is a Christian group that is working on Christian Jewish relations, and also hosts peace groups, both Israeli and Palestinian. He had a lot of good things to say, for sure, but afterwards, I overheard some people say how they were glad to talk with him b/c he is the first unbiased person we've talked to. I think that is absolutely untrue. He is a 3rd party, certainly, but he has his own agenda and his own biases, just like everyone does. That may sound cynical, but I've come to realize, especially here, that everyone wants to convince you of their own viewpoints/agendas/causes. That's just the way it is. So the danger is that people listen to him, thinking him impartial and so take his word as truth. I feel that we, with all the conversations we have had with so many different people, have the opportunity, as well as the obligation, to take everything we have learned and form our own opinions about the situation here, opnions which will continue to change and develop as we learn more and hear more and continue to study and dialogue.

Our second stop of the day was a biblical nature preserve. At first, I thought we were only going to drive through the place, but then we got off the bus and walked around for a couple hours outside. It was windy but beautiful. Ahhhhh... The preserve has different biblical landscapes from different times and they use it to teach you about what the Bible really means when it refers to landscapes or farming. The place was fascinating. At the first couple of stops, the woman simply talked to us, which I'll admit, I didn't always listen to it all, but at the 3rd station, Katrina and Trisha and I pantomimed dancing to crush grapes. The group sang and we danced round and round, crushing the grapes. YoHan filmed it, so I can't wait to see the video! Haha! We also ate lunch there, which was Biblical type food, so there was no hummus and no chocolate! We're really starting to get desperate. We haven't had chocolate in soooooo long! It's actually painful!

After lunch, K and I went to the restroom (for the 6th time that day. Something was seriously wrong with us!) and while we were sitting there, she asked, "What's next?" menaing, what are we doing next. I answered with "wiping" and we both busted a gut! She didn't even realize where we were when she asked the question. Hahaha! We were both punchy by that point, and feeling stuffed, so we decided to walk for a bit while people shopped at the gift shop. We saw a sign for Abraham's tent (in Hebrew-ohel!) and went to go look at it. On the way I saw a hose and said, "Look a biblical hose." K responded with, "Just like they had in Jesus' time!" Then we saw the tent and there was a large log inside. "Look, a big log."
"Just like they had in Jesus' time!"
Finally, we saw a building that reminded me of a wigwam. "Look a wigwam!"
"Just like they had in Jesus' time!" By this point, we were absolutely rolling! Maybe you had to be there, but damn, sometimes she and I just get going and we can't stop giggling. It's fantastic!

On our way back to Jerusalem, we stopped off at a Crusaders' Chapel in Abu Gosh. The acoustics there were pretty good as well, so we sang "Salaam Alaykum" and then Cory sang "Ave Maria." She has a gorgeous voice! We went underneath the chapel to see another cistern, another hole in the ground. On the way out, YoHan was filming us, and K said, "YoHan! Just like they had in Jesus' time!" We completely lost it! We were laughing so hard, that we didn't notice a dog running by and it scared the shit out of us and we screamed. Brandie played with the dog for a bit, but when it got tired, it took a drink from a small pool of water. "Look, a doggie cistern. Just like they had in Jesus' time!" Freakin hilarious!

Our last stop on Wednesday was another church, this one was the one of the traditional birthplaces of John the Baptist. If you've been reading my blog, then you know how I feel about churches and you also know my skepticism, so it should come as no shock that I don't have much to say about that church, except that for some reason I always get "Oh What a Circus" from Evita in my head when I'm in churches/crypts. Apparently I always want to morn Eva Peron...who knows...

Random note...I miss color. I crave color. All the buildings in Jerusalem have to be built in Jerusalem sanstone or something like that. It's tan/sand colored. I want color. I need color.

Wednesday night, Trisha and K and I went out for a drink. Trisha took us on a walking tour around part of the city. She showed us where she stayed when she studies here for a semester. We ended up at the YMCA for a drink. Random, I know, but it had a restaurant with a bar, so we went in. Afterwards, we walked through the King David Hotel, where the rich stay, and saw some of the signatures from famous people on the floor. We also saw incredible chocolate desserts and I was quite jealous. We didn't get back until 11:20, we slept well that night! We did a lot of walking!

So now for Thursday...after breakfast (with chocolate croissants), Taleb drove us to the Dung Gate so we could enter the al-Haram es-Sharif, known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount. We had to go through security, including metal detectors, and apparently if you brought a Bible, they would confiscate it. No worries here! I didn't bring a Bible to Israel! While on the Haram, men and women were not allowed to touch each other. Eugene was giving Brandie a little backrub, but he got a look and stopped soon after. YoHan poked me a couple times later on and I had to remind him, no touching! We met Mustafa, a friend of Trisha's, who talked to us about Islam. One of the most interesting points I remember is that Muslims do not find the buildings themselves holy, so they are all for renovating. The place is holy. I appreciated that b/c I do base my faith AT ALL on the buildings. Then again, I don't base it on places either, but on people and interactions. The most inspiring parts of this trip, for me, have been some of the people we've talked to, not the places. Not at all. Anyways, we couldn't go in the Dome or the al-Aqsa Mosque. Ever since the 2nd Intifada, only Muslims are allowed to enter and they have you recite the 1st chapter of the Koran in Arabic to prove you are Muslim. That's only for security. You can be Muslim and not speak Arabic, but you won't get in the Dome!

The tranquility of the Haram was contrasted greatly with the Western Wall! Mondays and Thursdays are the busiest b/c family come to celebrate Bar Mitzvas on those days. There were people everywhere! We had to go through another security point and then men and women split up to go to our respective spaces on the wall, the women's side smaller, of course. It took awhile and some smooth moving to get up to the wall. I said a collective prayer for the ones from Cory and put them in. Then I prayed two of mine and put them in. My last prayer I waited until I could actually get close and touch the wall and pray for a minute b/f finding a good spot to shove in the prayer so it might have a hope of staying. I felt guilty praying long, especially as a visitor, and so I didn't stay long. I was actually disappointed in our visit there b/c it was so busy that I couldn't enjoy it, nor feel particularly spiritual.

We then went to the Yad Vashem Museum (hand and name for you Hebrew scholars out there) which commemorates the Shoah (Holocuast). I have a lot of thoughts on this, but I won't share them now b/c this is already a really long post. Ask me later. We also went to the Israel Museum, first to see a large model of the city of Jerusalem around the year 66 BCE. Then we went ot see some of the Dead Sea scrolls and I was in heaven!!!!!! They had a couple put so you could actually look closely at them and try to read them. I found words I knew, but the writing was very different in style. I could have stayed there for much longer, just looking at the scrolls. There were other things in that part of the museam, but I didn't waste time on those. Oh, it was incredible...

We met with Gershom Gorenberg that night. He is an author of a book we read on the Temple Mount and endtime prophecies, as well as a journalist. I'm not intersted in millenialism, as us Christians call it, and I am skeptical as to how much these thoughts play into the psyche of Jews and Muslims, so I didn't enjoy that talk as much as others.

Friday, holy day for Muslims. First thing I noticed this morning was the massive amounts of soldiers around the Old City. They send them in by the bus-full to keep people out of the city. Only Muslims 45 and older are allowed to enter the Old City to go to al-Aqsa Mosque to pray, although women of all age are, b/c apparently women can't be bombers. I guess. We took a bus tour of the seperation barrier with a representative from Ir Amim (city of peoples) named Eldad. He had some good things to say, but he pissed me off to no end. He is a Jew, and his language sounded like he felt superiority over the Palestinians. I was offended by his tone on behalf of myself, and on behalf of Taleb, our Arab Israeli driver, and Iyad, our Palestinian tour guide. I wonder to myself how they can stand to sit there and hear such biased and offensive language! I found out later that Ir Amim usually gives tours to Israelis, so then I thought I understood him using that language, b/c most Israelis would agree. However, if their goal is to change people's minds and effect change by influencing voters, then shouldn't their language reflect such a change? I was also struck that while Eldad does want peace, possibly a two-state solution, he has no problem with the wall. WHAT?!?!?! Hello, the wall and travel restrictions have turned West Bank Palestinain towns such as Bethlehem into open-air prisons, similar to the ghettos during WWII. How is that ok? I was amazed by that!

B/c of the security, we had to walk part of the way back to the hotel. A soldier didn't want to let Iyad through the barrier to get closer to the Old City to take us to our hotel. Iyad indicated that he was our tour guide and he even produced his documentation, but the soldier still didn't want to let him through. Finally, a female looking on waved Iyad through and the rest of us followed, w/o a hitch of course. That just illustrated first hand how Palestinians have to deal with how a soldier might be feeling that day to dictate whether they can come and go. Unbelieveble.

That afternoon K, Cory and I went to a protest about a 20 minute walk away from the hotel. The protest was the Women in Black, a group of 15 women who have protested the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank every single Friday for over 21 years. We got there late, but found Gila, a woman who knows Trisha, and we grabbed our signs and joined in. We got some nice insults yelled at us, including "Fuck you assholes" and "Whores, I hope you all die. Amen." What a great prayer! Other people would flick us off while driving by or come up to us and try to argue with us. One guy on a motorcycle came up and flicked us off, spat at us, and drove off. We did get a couple thumbs up and peace signs, but those were definitely the minority. I could say more about the experience and about the people I met there, but let me just say that I am extremely greatful that I went on this trip. W/o these past two weeks of education and talks by a variety of people, I don't know if I would have joined the protest. I am not anti-Israeli, nor am I anti-Palestinain. I have met wonderful people from both sides and I know that the situation is more complicated than black and white.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and I got everyone finished, hallelujah! I'm done shopping! The Old City market was crowded, as always, but I felt much more comfortable walking around in a smaller group. I felt less like prey and more like a normal shopper. Oh and I saw a whole shark hung up for sale at a meat market. Gag me. That evening we went to a Shabbat service at an Orthodox synangogue, not ultra-Orthodox, but still somewhat conservative. I can talk more about that later, but one funny thing...K and I saw an old man zip up his fly during one of the silent prayers...hahahaha!!! It was a great service, but much harder to follow along than the one I went to in Louisville, mainly b/c it was completely in Hebrew. I need to brush up!

Dinner was served by candlelight. K and I double-dated with B and Maryann. So romantic. K and I even played a little footsie...hahahaha! The meal was ok, except for the dessert, wich was AMAZING...Ice Cream!!! It tasted so fantastic! Our table asked for seconds, which we received, but it still simply teased me and made me want more...

Finally, today, Saturday, Shabbat Shalom! Today was the first time that K and I did not get up with the alarm at 5:40! We actually slept in until almost 7! Damn! Breakfast was a disppointment, no chocolate croissants! Boo! We walked to the Garden Tomb after breakfast, which is the Protestant tomb of Jesus found in the 1800s. It looks like an English garden (which put the song "Octopus's Garden" in my head) and is appropriately run by the English. Ok, obviously I didn't buy it at all. It seems to me that they had the story and they had the place, so they manipulate both so that they fit. I see a lot of that around Israel! But I'm a skeptic.

Our guide pissed me off. I'm sorry, but unless you're absolutely stupid, why do you say things which are insulting to women if the group you're talking to is mostly female? Why do you say it at all? First we said that the women who found the tomb were chatty, b/c women chat about silly stuff, while men talk about important issues. Bullshit! Then he said that the women had probably wished that they brought a strong man with them to open the tomb. Excuse me? They obviously haven't met us beatly women who load the luggage on the bus while the men stand by and watch. Trisha gave me a look during the second comment, that if looks could kill, I don't know if there'd be another human man left in the world.

The tomb itself was small and disappointing, story of most of the sites here, at least the disappointing part. We went to a couple of churches after that, but to be perfectly honest, I wasn't moved or even interested in any of them, so since it's already midnight here and my alarm goes off at 5:40, I'm going to hurry this up!

After lunch we went back to the Western Wall, and this time it was much less busy. The metal detectors and conveyer belts were turned off for the Sabbath, butour bags had to still be searched by hand. I enjoyed the wall much more today. I got right up there to the wall and, touching it with both hands, proceeded to pray my prayers from Thursday again. I also noticed that while all the other prayers were gone, the last one I put up was still shoved in there, so at least it's last a couple days so far!

K & B & I went shopping and walking b/c our evening meeting tonight. We helped B find what she needed to find and then walked around for awhile.

Dinner was an event! They had a DJ, so K and I danced b/f the meal and then again after the soup course. B/f they opened the buffet line, the staff paraded through with the main dishes (meat. ewww). The food was extremely disappointing, especially considering all the fanfare. And let's not even talk about the dessert...tear... However, at 8 a dancer came in. She really wasn't doing much more than popping her hip, but she started pulling up people to dance, so when she pulled me up, I popped my hip with the best of them. Then the DJ started teaching K and I a dance, and pretty soon half the people in the dining room (another group was there as well) were holding hands and dancing around in a big circle. I was so tired when we finally finished! Then the DJ put on "My Heart Will Go On," but most people were gone by that point. I swept Katrina into a slow dance and sang along. Then the DJ handed us a microphone, so we belted out the song! YoHan and Eugene filmed most of the dancing, but unfortunately, everyone was gone for the singing, so it was not recorded for posterity. Oh well...

K and I were pumped up after the dancing, so we got a bottle of wine to split and hung out watching the Russian music channel...now she's asleep, you have a general idea of my past few days, and I need to try and get some sleep. More later...tomorrow is our last scheduled day and then we're leaving on MONDAY!!!!!!

Oh, and the title of the blog, well, you have to hear YoHan say it, b/c it's hilarious! Basically, we've gotten sushed one too many times, so now we shush each other all the time! Basically, YoHan uses it whenever I'm being too loud or he wants me to stop singing for one minute. It's a running joke with us now though, so I just ignore him....shhh...

We Come From Obama

Ok, so this is going to be a shorter blog b/c I don't have much power left on my computer and quite frankly, I don't want to say much. So today we made our way to Jerusalem. We were supposed to start at the top of the Mount of Olives, walk down into the Kidron Valley, and walk up to the Lion's Gate and Enter Jerusalem at the Via Dolorosa. That's the ideal way to enter according to Trisha. Unfortunately, we took too long and one of the churches we were stopping at in Jerusalem were closing, so we had to ride the bus from the Kidron Valley to the Lion's Gate. Less than ideal.

We stopped off at a couple of churches on our way down the Mount of Olives. The first one was called Pater Noster and have "Our Father" written in over 100 different languages. The second one wasn't memorable at all. Then we happened upon a Sister from a Russian Orthodox Church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. We weren't supposed to go there, but she offered, so a few of us went. The church wasn't the awe-inspiring part; the Sister was. She spoke with such passion and vulnerability and her faith was so strong, that I was moved almost to tears. K and B and I agreed that we were moved here more than any other place yet on the trip due to her passion and faith, not the church. We then visited the Garden of Gethsemane and another church b/f driving to the gate.

In Jerusalem, we first stopped off at a French church dedicated to Anne, the mother of Mary. It was a Crusaders church, fairly well preserved, and the acoustics were fantastic, so we sang three songs so we could her the reverberations. Then we walked many of the station of the cross along the Via Dolorosa. Once again, nothing really stands out. We had lunch at a pretty nice restaurant and us veggies had hummus and falafel. Awesome! But my dream of having chocolate once we got to Jerusalem was dashed...oranges again! Then we walked to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which has the last 5 stations of the cross. The building is shared by 3 major churches (Roman Catholic, Armenian, and Greek Orthodox) and three minors, which I don't know all of them. We went into the tomb of Jesus first, which was apparently built over the original site. I, of course, was quite skeptical, but even Trisha apparently believes that the original tomb once stood there. We also saw part of the rock where Jesus was crucified and could put our hands through a hole to touch the rock. I was the only one who declined. First off, I think it's creepy and envision my hand being taken off. Secondly, I'm skeptical about the whole thing. Trisha could tell and told me that she was skeptical when she first came, but now she loves it. The only part I enjoyed was down a passageway leading to where Helen apparently found the remains of J's cross (yeah right!) there were hundreds of crosses etched into the walls from pilgrims in years past. To me, that's cool.

After the church, we walked to our hotel. The Old City was not what I expected. There are buildings on either side of the narrow raods, like in Bethlehem. You feel so enclosed and you can't see anything. We walked through the marketplace streets and there were so many people! At one point, I had to hold onto YoHan's bookbag and K held onto mine and we choo-chooed out so that we didn't get lost. I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not that madness. The hotel is an improvement and the bathroom is much better, so I guess we can stand it here for six nights. Dinner had no hummus though, and was almost completely American-type food. Boo! It was Connie's birthday, so we had cake (chocolate!) which is good b/c there was no chocolate for dessert. K commented that she didn't realize how much she missed chocolate until we didn't have any! B actually went out and bought some; she even took orders. So I had a Snickers, but I'm thinking that I should have just gotten a bar of chocolate. I miss it so!!!

After dinner we watched the inauguaration of Obama. It was wierd having all of us take over the lobby, running people out with the volume of the TV. Many people clapped and almost all of us stood and sang along with the National Anthem. In Jerusalem. Weird.

Internet was a pain in the ass to get on last night! I was so frustrated! Tensions are running high and we don't really want to be around some people. Hopefully we can avoid them as much as possible and make the best of our trip.

At dinner, YoHan perfectly summed up how some of us have been feeling all trip. K and B and I were discussing the days events and how we didn't really enjoy any of the sites besides the Russian church with the sister and that was b/c of her passion. We all have come to realize, some more than others, that buildings don't always inspire us. We asked YoHan for his opinion b/c he was sitting with us, and he said something like: Jesus is not in the buildings; Jesus is in me, in my heart. They try to make Jesus be in the places, but he's not; he's in me.

So there you have it. The reason why I am more inspired by one Sister's faith then all the sites we've visited combined summed up in one statement. Thanks YoHan!

Dinner and a Show, on the House!

I don't have too much to add from my earlier post, except that Katrina and I were in rare form at dinner tonight. Somehow, I'm not quite sure how, she and I decided to sing throughout most of the meal, giving those people at our table their own private little dinner and a show. Diana said we should charge admission! Haha! Here's a sample of some of the songs we sang, either in whole or part (How sad that this was only a couple hours ago and neither one of us can remember all the song):

Can You Feel the Love Tonight
A Whole New World
Jesus Christ Superstar
Any Dream Will Do
Getting to Know You
Defying Gravity
It Sucks to Be Me (which was the grand finale)

Overall it was a good time and I think that we entertained the table. Go us! On a down note, my new Palestinian friend Amir promised to get me chocolate and even told me that he had chocolate for me for dessert, but I think he's already left for the night and I didn't get any chocolate. Oh well. Tomorrow we're in Jerusalem and hopefully there'll be chocolate. If not, I may have to break down and buy some soon!!!!

I Got a Herod Bobble-Head at Herod Place!

Katrina and I woke up at the smae time again and had some quiet time to ourselves to blog and read, which is always quite nice. Breakfast was passable, but there wasn't any hummus. The breakfast log that is made with sesame seeds and honey is really growing on me. Yum!

Now a comment about the peddlers on the street. I swear, they just look for a bus and then flock and wait for you to come out of the place your visiting or the restaurant you're eating at. It's so annoying! And they don't stop when you say no; they keep asking and asking! I know that's how they make their money, but I get so irritated that I want to scream at them!

This morning we visited the various facilities which are run by the Christmas Lutheran Church, including the International Center, the college, the school, and the health and wellness center. We got talked to a lot, which seems to be a theme here in Bethlehem. I get so tired at these lectures! They're intersting and I value all of their programs, but I cannot for the life of me stay awake! Katrina suggested that she needs a combination of touring and lecturing as we tour and I agree. That's better than just sitting for a long time listening to someone talk to us. I once again felt quite uncomfortable at the school. The principal took us around and showed us classes in session and people stood around and took pictures. I couldn't bring myself to do so, like I couldn't in the refugee camp, b/c I felt like we were intruding on their lives. I hate how we objectify them. I can't do it.

After those various stops, we went to lunch. It was actually quite good, Brandie claims it was her favorite so far, and they even had some vegetarian food. Dessert, however, was once again fruit, which makes me wonder is chocolate is hard to come by around here. Let me say that myself and some other people are really starting to crave it now!!! But I'm too cheap to buy any. I find it odd that in America, poor people have easy access to chocolate and all kinds of other crap, but not to fresh food, while here the opposite is true. Fresh fruits and vegetables seem to be in abundance on the streets!

At lunch, the table diagnosed me with either ADD or ADHD, b/c every time someone says something, it puts a song in my head. I don't really care if I am or not, b/c it hasn't ever affected my day to day life, nor my studies, and it usually amuses people. K gives me a hard time, but I think she's joking. I hope! I love how I barely knew her or Brandie, or even Yohan and Eugene, and now I feel very comfortable around them. We're having a great time and definitely doing some bonding. For instance, us three girls decided to use the restroom at the lunch place, so of course we went together, and talked while we were on the toilet. (I know, it's a female thing!) I guess there was a lull in the conversation b/f I said, "Katrina, guess what's next?" I meant that next is a bus ride, during which K could nap, which she had been missing, but she responded with, "Flushing?" and apparently Brandie said, "Wiping?" Hahahaha!

The bus ride took us to Herod Land, otherwise known as Herodion or Herodium. (Both spellings are right Brandie!) I really wanted a Herod bobble-head at Herod Land, but they didn't have any. I think that we need to make some! We had to hike up the hill to see the ruins of the fortress/palace there, but it was worth it just for the climb. It was great to have some exercise after eating! Yay! The ruins were similar to what we've been seeing, but there were a couple of Israeli soldiers at the site, apparently just checking it out. They came and walked by us a couple of times. The one was kind of creepy b/c he just stood there as we walked by, not smiling. We also went down in this tunnel to get to a tomb, which could possibly be Herod's tomb. It was only discovered a year ago, so this was actually the first time Iyad, our new tour guide, had even seen it. I went last in the tunnel b/c I get slightly claustraphobic when in a tight space with a ton of people, so if I'm last I can hang back at times and let some space grow b/t me and everyone else. Unfortunately, that gave Brandie time to scare the shit out of me near the end, jumping out from behind an outcropping. I shrieked. Thanks Brandie!

Some of us were hoping that we were then done for the day and we'd get back to the hotel early, but no, we took a vote and people voted to go see Shepherd's Hill and some gift shop. The hill had a cave and a church on it, nothing too exciting for me. I didn't even want to go in the store, but Taleb wasn't on the bus yet, so K and I toured briefly and then waited to get on the bus. What irritates me is that we've had all these shopping breaks when this was not supposed to be a shopping trip, and people take FOREVER during these breaks. I mentioned that to Trisha, and luckily, she agreed and said that this was our last shopping break. Let's hope so!!!

Iyad has yet to impress me. He knows his stuff, sure, but he makes comments which oftentimes comes off as rude. Or like today, on our way to Shepherd's Hill, he made a joke that the shepherds who first heard the news of Jesus' birth must have been women b/c that's the only way the news would spread. Really? B/c all us women are such gossips? Unbelieveable. On the other hand, I think I've made a friend here at the hotel in Amir. He said that he got chocolate for dessert for me tonight, so we'll see if that pans out! Hehehe! I'll probably blog later with the rest of the evenings activities, but for now, Jerusalem tomorrow!!!!! Woot!

Kiddies

Funny conversation I forgot to share yesterday. After dinner, and unnamed person and I stopped by my room b/f going downstairs b/c we needed to use the restroom. I told her that I needed to drop off the kiddies at the pool, so she could go first b/c she only needed to pee. Then she came out of the bathroom and said, "My kiddies heard about your kiddies and wanted to go to the pool too!" Hahaha! If you don't get the joke, you're lame and I don't want to talk to you!

I'm your CaseMate!

I actually slept well last night, so I'm again very grateful that I can sleep almost anywhere. Even though we had a late morning call, Katrina and I woke up at the same time and so got to spend some time blogging and emailing until breakfast at 8am. Interestingly enough, there was no hummus at dinner last night, but there was at breakfast this morning. The meal was ok, but it's just neat that they're cooking especially for us!

After breakfast, Katrina, Cory and I went walking around Bethlehem. What a change from walking around in Israel! First off, we felt much less comfortable walking around the streets. K and Cory said that they felt like they were being leered at by the men as we walked by. I didn't really feel that, but I definitely was more nervous walking the streets. I didn't like being last in line, especially with my big-ass bookbag hanging off my back, but maybe that's my paranoia. When we first left the hotel, a boy tried to get us to buy gum from him by shedding a few tears, but you know me, heart of stone. I gained a new appreciation for sidewalks. For the most part they were non-existent, so pedestrians, cars, and peddlers all had to share the narrow street. And those vehicles don't care about pedestrians at all! They will run you over if you don't move when they honk! On either side of the streets are 2-3 story buildings, so you really feel closed in while walking. Shop owners continually called to us, wanting us to buy something. Cabs were literally honking to hail us down! We got a little turned around and considered asking a group of policemen for directions, but they didn't look too friendly, so we decided to figure it out on our own. I also encountered a new dilemma in my head, which I wasn't too sure how to solve. When I'm walking, I tend to look people in the eye, but I found myself wondering if I should look men in the eye here. I did, of course, and I smiled, but no one ever returned my smile. Perhaps I offended people?

After a short meeting, we walked to Christmas Lutheran Church, Mitri Raheb's church. If I was surprised by the largeness of Bethlehem, I was surprised by the smallness of the church. The sanctuary was actually quite small. It was built by Germans, so all the stained glass windows were in German, and only writing in the roof was in Arabic. There was another American group there from Minneapolis and a group from Germany; we took up so much of the space I wondered how many people normally come. The service was ok, but they tried to do a lot of tri-linguality, and quite frankly, I was more interested in experiencing an authentic Palestinian worship service, not one special for us visitors. We chatted with people after the service and had some Turkish coffee, which I actually enjoyed, and then headed upstairs for lunch.

We got to the dining room for lunch and the usual plates of appetizers came out with the pita bread. The hummus came out last, so I was actually nervous that there wouldn't be any! But there was and it was yummy! We ate just a little, b/c as you know, hummus is the appetizer, not the meal, but then no more food came. We waited awhile and then filled up on the appetizers. Finally, the main course came out, but it was all meat. By that time, everyone was so full that they could hardly eat! The meal took about an hour; they were really slow serving. The possibility of dessert being good, at least more than fruit, was great, but we were rushed to get to the Church of the Nativity, so we didn't stay. Boo! I am craving chocolate and Phish Food like you wouldn't believe!!!!!!!

We had to hurry to the Church of the Nativity b/c today is the Armenian Orthodox Christmas. The complex is shared by three major churches: the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenian Orthodox. They each have there own assigned space and share the same sacred space with a strict schedule. The Catholics have their own church, but the other two share the same one. Under their church is the shrine marking the traditional site of the birth of Jesus. Under the Catholic church are two: one dedicated to the angel coming to Joseph and one to Jerome, the place where he translated the Bible into Latin. The Catholic church was nothing special; the Greek/Armenian was gaudy. B/c it was the Armenian Christmas though, we got to witness the entrance and procession of their Patriarch. They all had on their various robes, all men, and they chanted as they walked. Their singing was amazing. It was quite an event to experience!

After meeting Taleb and the bus, we changed at the hotel and then went to the Daheisha refugee camp. When I hear the term refugee camp, I automatically think about tents on the outskirts of town. In reality though, this camp has been around since 1947 and they got rid of the tents and started putting up permanent buildings in the 1950s. And while it was originally on the outskirts of Bethlehem, the town has grown and it is now in the town. After the Oslo accords things have improved for the refugees in that they are free to move around throughout Bethlehem and aren't confined just to their camp. Some people in our group were wondering why they stay there instead of moving, but the fact is, many of them still hope to return to their homes which they lost in 1947. Many still have the keys to their houses, even though some of their houses don't even stand anymore. 

I had a major problem with our group there. In my opinion, this is how people live, this is their life. I felt like we were intruding on their world, gawking at them. I wanted to take pictures, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I felt like I would be exploiting them. I wonder how many of us on this trip, myself included, will care much about them after being back in the States for a few days... Will I care? I hope so, but since I can't promise that, I didn't want to take pictures if their only purpose was so that I could so them to my friends and family with a "oh poor them." 

Anyways, dinner was fantastic. Amir, the waiter/front deskman/local comedian was especially nice and said he made the soup especially for us veggies! Haha! I asked him to get me chocolate, but he didn't yet. I'll keep bugging him and maybe he will. We had a great time at dinner; I could hardly contain my laughter. I think I may have disturbed some of the other diners! Luckily the only people nearby who seemed bothered were Yohan and Eugene! They don't count! Hahaha! Now a bunch of us are hanging out in the lobby, listening to music and blogging. Good times in Bethlehem. Ok, Yohan is reading over my shoulder, so I'm guessing he wants his computer back soon, but he has been very generous letting my commandeer it for awhile! 'Til tomorrow!

Part 2-Bethlehem

Ok, it's a new day, I'm slightly refreshened from sleeping, and I have time to kill b/f breakfast, so I guess I'll finish blogging on yesterday's activities. Our first stop in Bethlehem was the International Center to meet Mitri Raheb, the author of "Bethlehem Beseiged," one of the books we had to read. We got to talk with him for a little over an hour. I truly appreciate and admire all the work he is doing for the Palestinian people in Bethlehem, but as with any time we speak to someone so invested in one side of the issue, we get only a one sided answer, a more simplistic view. Don't get me wrong, we've witnessed a lot of the unfairness the Palestinians have to endure, both in Israel proper and especially here in the West Bank, but in my experience, I always find that things are not that one-sided.

I'm always slightly disappointed when people I see a great human rights activists and advocators of equality use such non-inclusive language. I guess I just always expect more from them since they are so interested in people being treated the same. When I hear people like Mitri Raheb or MLK Jr speaking, or read what they wrote, I hold them to a higher standard b/c in my mind, if you're for equal rights, how can you alienate a portion of the population. Now I know that people have their own social, cultural, etc. frameworks which influence their thinking, and I am sure that while I an conscious of inclusive language, there is some other issue that ignore. I realize this, I just want those people I admire to realize that as well.

Ok, now it's time to talk about why some of us, myself included, were Debbie Downers last night. After meeting with Mitri, we walked to our hotel. The lobby looked fine, nothink like the swanky place we stayed in the night b/f, but not horrible. But then we went to our rooms. Now, if we had come here from the kibbutz, I'm not sure if we would have had much of a problem with the room. But the bathroom was tiny and the shower a little box (not very appetizing). There were two tiny beds and a tiny tv. Overall, it was extremely sparse and I felt like maybe I was staying in a convent for the night. I think the biggest problem is the stark contrast from our last hotel. It's hard to go from a gorgeous hotel with huge soft beds to Sister Mary Clarence's room. Plus we weren't sure of the cleanliness of some things. Katrina and I had to ask for more towel b/c ours were on the floor in the bathroom and we didn't trust it. Brandie had to switch her blanket for another one b/c it smelled like dog. One pair actually switched rooms for some reason.

At dinner we were all in bad moods, so K, B, Maryann and I sat at our own table so our negativeness wouldn't effect others. The first course of the meal was soup, but it took K and I five minutes to find out from someone if it used chicked stock or not. We really did hate being such pains, but we also didn't want to get sick. The soup was completely vegetarian and actually quite good, but apparently they had no idea that four veggies were going to be staying there. The main dish was chicken, so they asked if an omlette was ok. Omlettes seem to be the go to emergency dish for vegetarians. There was some other food that was ok, but dessert was a banana. Now I like fruit, but not as a dessert. I was in withdrawal from not having chocolate at dessert! Luckily Maryann saved me later with a chocolate chip granole bar. Yum!

After dinner I braved the shower, which actually wasn't terrible. I may still skip it tonight so that I only had to use it that once, but we'll see. The shower actually did cheer me up for awhile, and I was actually ok with our situation. But then I went to sit downstairs with other people, and Brandie was frustrated b/c her calling card doesn't work in the West Bank, only Israel, and she really wanted to talk to her parents, which was perfectly understandable. Maryann's husband was late calling, K and I were less than enthusiastic about the room, so it wasn't an overly cheery night.

Now, you may say that I sound like a spoiled American, and you're right, I do. But, in my defense, we went from an extremely nice (I can't emphasize enough how nice this place was) to this hotel. The quick changes in niceness is hard to take. Also, when going on this trip, we signed up knowing we were staying at hotels, not that this isn't one, but my point is if we went prepared to stay in hostels, then we would be ready for that type of lodging. If we went prepared to camp...you get the idea.

I am also torn though, b/c we are the only people in the hotel. I asked K where people stayed in Bethlehem, and we're thinking that they don't. Maybe most people visit during the day and then stay the night in Jerusalem, which isn't that far away. Maybe. So I'm glad we're here giving them some needed business. And also, the people that work here are quite nice. One sat down for a little while and talked with Elizabeth and got towels for K and I. So I am trying really hard to get over being a Debbie Downer and become Suzy Sunshine. At least we have a bed to sleep in and a toilet to pee in.

Katrina and I woke up at the same time today, even though we have nothing until 8am. We're emailing and blogging and reading until breakfast. Then we're planning on going for a walk with Brandie and Cory until we have to meet for church at 9:45. We're going to Christmas Lutheran Church, which is Mitri Raheb's church, but we're not hearing him preach, which I am a little bummed about. There is a guest preacher from Germany, I believe, which is pretty cool! I'm glad we're going b/c I need some rejuvination in my life!

Debbie Downer, Positive Pansy, and Suzy Sunshine

Can I just say that I'm looking forward to getting back home, if only b/c then I won't feel obligated to blog every night. I mean, don't get me wrong, I enjoy blogging, but after a day like today, when I'm so tired and just spent, I don't feel in the mood to blog. But I will b/c at least a couple people I know care about what I'm up to. So you'd all better enjoy this.

Katrina and I have actually worked into a nice morning routine. The alarm goes off at 5:40, Katrina gets up right away to shower and I spend some time waking up. By the time I'm awake, she's out of the bathroom and I can do my shit. Then we're ready by 6:30 when we can either walk, or get on the internet like today. Breakfast was the most American beakfast we've had yet. I had scrambled eggs and pancakes w/syrup and pita and hummus. Ok, so the hummus & pita isn't American, though Katrina is trying to bring it over, but there just weren't as many local cuisine options. Oh well. At breakfast, Maryann asked Yohan for a backrub, and he actually complied. So Katrina and I asked for one on the bus and we each got a mini backrub, complete with a Korean backrub, which consisted of little pinches. As Yohan would say, "So good, feel nice, yes?"

We started off behind schedule today, 30 minutes behind schedule for a couple of reasons. We got to Masada and watched a really cheezy movie on the story behind it. It took me a little while to realize that the man wasn't speaking English and it was a voiceover. We had to ride a cable car up, which wasn't too fun. At the top there was a slow-down and then a lurch, and I almost thought that they were going to drop us down to the bottom like on a roller coaster!

I enjoyed Masada immensely. From the top, you could see all around the entire area. We got some great pictures. Next time I come to Israel, whenever that may be, I want to get to Masada early and hike up to see the sunrise there. Apparently it only takes an hour. We just walked around the top for awhile and Claudia told us the history of the place. B & K and I started talking about whether or not we would kill ourselves or become slaves, and I was the only one that said I would kill myself. In fact, I volunteered to kill the entire group b/f killing myself, so I guess I could understand why they chose death over slavery. We didn't leave on time b/c Trisha missed the cable car all the rest of us were on, so we had to wait or her at the bottom. Luck was against us today.

We next went to Qumran, which started out with another hokey movie, a movie which Eugene felt the need to take photos of and Yohan videotaped. Those two are strange... We then took a tour of the area, which I must say, didn't do much for me. I like archaeology and all, but you can only look at holes in the ground for so long and stay excited. Seeing the actual cave where some scrolls were found was interesting, but that's about all. Lunch was also at Qumran, which was, let's just say, less than stellar. Dessert was an apple. Seriously. Thank goodness Yohan had given me Oreos earlier! Yum! Then we extra time to shop around. The two places we've had extra time to shop have been two places I have had no interest in spending time at. Oh well, I guess that's the way it goes.

Qumran wasn't all a bust though; two interesting conversations took place: B/f lunch somehow Arnold Schwatzennagger (I know that's spelled wrong) came up in the conversation. I mentioned how I'm glad he couldn't ever b/c President, although he wouldn't be the 1st actor to be one. K thought I said doctor, not actor, and I said that it sounds like he would be a doctor along the lines of Dr. Kavorkian. "I'll be back," I said. K finished with, "But you won't be!" Haha! Then after dinner I was discussing the excellent pee I had for free and that brought up that if you peed in the Dead Sea, what would happen? Would it float on top? Which is denser, the Dead Sea or your pee? Think on that.

Ahhhhh, the Dead Sea. How fun to be in there! You walk in a few steps and then it's almost impossible to stay on your feet. My stomach actually hurt from floating though b/c I was trying to stay in a sitting position and not get my hair wet. I also floated on my stomach some and doggie paddled. My one complaint is that we didn't have enough time there. I would have much preferred to have skipped shopping and had more time. And the shower/changing room...yeah, not so private and quite dirty. I saw some full moon in there!

After the Dead Sea we went to Bethlehem to meet with Mitri Raheb. But I'm getting a little tired of blogging right now, so I think I'll finish the day later. I need a break. Blah.

Joshua Drank a Bottle in Jericho

Ahhh, each morning I drag more and more getting up! This morning we didn't go for a walk, but Katrina and I enjoyed the view from the balcony b/f our meeting and lunch. Breakfast was fantastic and I am happy to report that the second step from the top claimed no more victims today! Yay! We didn't want to leave the hotel just b/c the view was so fantastic. Our first stop after breakfast was backtracking a little bit. We went to the Church of the Beatitudes, the site traditionally associated with the Sermon on the Mount. The church really didn't do too much for me. The place was over-crowded with tourists, more than any other site. I've realized that I am not usually inspired by churches, but rather by outside places where I can meditate and enjoy the view. Unfortunately, though there were passable gardens outside of the church, the place was so freakin busy that I couldn't enjoy it! So overall the place was lost on me.

I did gain an even greater appreciation for Talib's driving. These switchbacks are crazy and I would never want to drive a huge bus on those roads! What a man! I can't sing his praises enough! 

Another thing I learned about myself at the church is that I don't pray like other people do. When we entered the church, many from our group sat down or kneeled to pray, but I simply looked around and left. I felt no need, or want to pray. For me, prayer is not a conversation with with God so much as being silent with myself and meditating. I guess for me prayer is a  telepathic connection with God; when I'm still with myself, I feel that God knows what lies heaviest on my heart and will listen. But that's just me...

After the church, we drove back south through Tiberias on our way to the West Bank. Now I must admit that I have been quite excited about going to the West Bank for awhile now. I almost wonder if I am more interested in this trip as a political trip than a religious trip b/c the current political conditions are both fascinating and relevant. Not that I'm not enjoying the religious sites, but I am looking forward to talking with people and getting different views about these issues. 

Before we entered the West Bank, we stopped off at Bet She'an, the ruins of a Roman decopolis, the only one within the borders of Israel. The city was later turned into a Byzantine city, but it was destroyed in the huge earthquake in 747. Only a small part of the city has been excavated. Some local Arab Israeli neighborhoods were destroyed so that more excavation could be done, but the other neighborhoods are Jewish, so they cannot be destroyed. This really struck me and illustrates the unfairness of Israel's treatment of Palestinians both in Israel and the West Bank. As Tova said, the Israelis have an obligation to the other people living in this land, an obligation which they are failing in right now in many ways. 

The first stop at the city was the amphitheater where Eugene, Brandie and I performed on the stage for the rest of the group. We sang our "Wheels on the Bus" song. How surreal to stand there on that old building singing such a silly song to the crowd? Amazing! Then another group heard us singing and asked for an encore, so we all sang Hava Nasira as a group. That was our first public performance. It was a little rough, but we'll only improve. Then we saw some bath houses and public restrooms (sexy) and the Cardo. Yohan, Brandie, Katrina and I posed for a picture crossing the Cardo like the Beatles on the cover of Abbey Road. Nice! Also, at the top of the Tel was a prop from Jesus Christ Superstar...the tree Judas hung himself from. How creepy that the one prop left was that one! But I got plenty pictures of it.

The Jordan River has hardly any music in it at some points! Crazy! As we were driving, I could look across to Jordan. There were a couple fences and a span of land mines and then across the Jordan was Jordan. Entering the West Bank wasn't as hard as I thought. We went right through the checkpoint, probably b/c we're American tourists and the fact that it's in zone C, which is completely under Israel's control. Claudia did say that sometimes she has to hide in the bus, b/c as an Arab Israeli, she isn't allowed to go everywhere in the West Bank, even as a tour guide. The land is much drier here, probably b/c there is less irrigation. We saw a Israeli settlement not long after entering the West Bank. It was surrounded by a fence and a huge roll of barbed wire. Most of the Palestinian settlements we saw were run down and littered, quite a change from what we've seen so far! 

We had to pass through another Israeli checkpoint and a Palestinian checkpoint in order to reach Jericho, which is a zone A, completely under Palestinian control. We stopped off for lunch at a restaurant and had time to shop afterwards. Lunch was ok, falafel for the first time! :-) I didn't find anything to buy though, but we did see a camel. Brandie and Katrina each took a camel ride, and I was not in the mood to take a ride, but the attendant forced me, so I did. The ride was bumpy, and I felt like I was about to fall off when the camel stood up and sat down. The camel's name was Sammy and he's from California. Go figure! 

After lunch, we walked up to the old city of Jericho, which is dated back to 8000 BCE, making it one of the oldest and the lowest city on the earth! The remains of the walls are from 2000 BCE . There was a Palestinian policeman there w/o a gun. I thought that was strange. I've gotten so used to seeing guns everywhere. A cat named Monica, after Monica Lewinsky, fell in love with Yohan. I think she found a new Bill!

On our way to the next site, we had to stop so a herd of goats could go by. Half the bus stood up at the windows to see, and I could just tell the herders were thinking, "Stupid tourists!" We visited the Palace of Hi-Sham, a caliph from the 7-8 centuries CE. There were more ruins here, another bathhouse, but a guest room off of the bathhouse had a beautiful mosaic tile. I was pretty cashed by that point, so I wasn't paying too much attention. Oh well.

Our hotel in Jericho is an oasis of greenery and beauty in the town. The hotel is NICE! When we all got up to our rooms, we thought the power was turned off b/c we couldn't get the lights in our rooms to turn on. Katrina and I just open our blinds (no great view), but Brandie was afraid to go in by herself b/c she thought she saw a cat. (There are SOOO many stray cats over here!) So I went in with her, and or course, Katrina, that little devil, scared the shit our of us and I screamed. There was no cat. The lights only turn on when you put your room card in a slot inside the room. Then when you leave, you have to take the card with you, so you can't leave the lights on. Pretty cool, huh? I guess electricity must be very expensive here b/c the lights are dim in the halls as well, but they've adapted!

Katrina and I played table tennis b/f dinner tonight. We are amazing and should be in the Olympics! We hit off of everything: the table, the floor, the wall, ourselves...great! At one point, Katrina slipped and fell and landed on her bum and her sunglasses fell from her head to directly on her nose. It was so perfect, I wish I had my camera right then. It was a good time. Then we had dinner (hummus and amazing spinach soup) and now we're drinking beer and having a blogging party. At one point we had 5 computers and 7 people sitting around a table talking and blogging. Fun times.

So a comment on the title. Katrina was singing the song "Joshua fought the battle in Jericho" or whatever that song was. I started singing as well, but Katrina thought I said "bottle" instead of "battle." That made me think of "Joshua drank a bottle in Jericho" which I proceeded to sing all day long. Lovely. Night All.

Climb Every Fungus!

A new day, a new blog! This morning started out lovely, although I think the shortness of my sleep time is starting to get to me. I wasn't as eager to get up at 5:40 am as I normally am. But get up I did b/c I had a hot date...Brandie, Katrina and I went walking at 6:30. We took the road into town and found a street that took us to a cool overlook of the Sea of Galilee. The sun was just coming up, so we just spent a few minutes watching the sunrise and chatting. Katrina then realized that we only had 10 minutes to get back, so we ended us being 5 minutes or so late for our meeting. Whoops... Breakfast was fine, chocolate pudding again. Then I had my conversation with Trisha about the blog, decided to make a new one, and satisfied, got on the bus to start the day.

And what a day it was! Let me just say that this was my favorite overall day today. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!!! :-D The morning was spent at Safed, a town on the side of a hill on the north side of the Sea of Galilee. There were so many hairpin turns leading up to the town that, well, I gained even more appreciation of Talib's driving skills. The man can manuever a bus like no other! We had such a tight turn coming out of Safed that we all clapped when he made it. The hills leading to Safed are so covered with rocks, it actually looks like fungus growing on the hillside! I started singing "Climb Every Fungus" (guess the tune.) Then Eugene, Yohan, Brandie and I started singing Mama Mia. It's funny, there's a row empty b/t everyone else and us in the back...it's like no one wants to get near our weirdness! Haha!

Our tour at Safed, which took the whole morning, the longest we spent at any one sight yet, overtook the Baha'i shrine as my favorite stop so far. our tour guide, Tova, was an Orthodox Jew, originally from Canada, who came to Israel over 20 years ago, straight out of high school. She talked about Judaism in general and Kabbalism for a bit, and my brain did a dance just listening to her! She was so interesting and stimulating! Just like the information at the Baha'i shrine, she inspired me to want to do much more studying on the topic.

The topmost part of the city was a Crusader citadel that we unfortunately didn't get to see. We saw some of the Jewish nieghborhoods in the old city. The higher neighborhoods were Sephardic Jews dated back to the 16th and 17th centuries; the lower are Ashkenazic dated even earlier. We went to three different synagogues along the way. I enjoyed seeing the similarities and differences b/t each of the synagogues and comparing that to my experience at the Reform Jewish synagogue in Louisville. We also visited a candle shop where they make their own candles by hand. Katrina and I passed by the hookas though b/c Claudia promised to help us buy them in Jericho and teach us how to use them! In Safed, for one of the first times this trip, I felt like I was getting an authentic Israeli experience. Sure, we were still a large group of Americans getting led around on tours, but we weren't surrounded by other tourists. We were surrounded by the Jewish people who still live and work and worship in these neighborhoods. We met another tour group, this of Israeli students who could not go to school b/c their school is in a possible target range. (Interesting note: All Israeli school trips are required to take a guard with them. Funny, the guns don't even phase me anymore. We've seen them quite a bit in the past few days.)

A couple of interesting things that Tova said...she was talking about the debate among Orthodox Jews as to if women can be a part of the daily prayers, etc., and someone asked her opinion on the subject. She claimed that she is a feminist, but she also wants a strong community where prayers are said several times a day. If the men are not obligated to say the prayers, like in other froms of Judaism, then the prayers don't usually get said as often. So even though she has a deep desire to read the Torah in public and be a part of the prayers, she has a greater longing for a strong community. I enjoyed her explination b/c lots of times I feel like people expect all feminists to think and act the same way. She participates in a system where there is not equality b/t men and women, but she puts her faith above her feminist ideals. It's all about what's most important and sticking to that. I appreciated that.

I asked Tova a couple of political questions, curious about her answers, but guessing what they might be. I first asked her what she thought about the Temple Mount. She said that as an Orthodox Jew, she believes that the Tmeple Mount is the holiest place on Earth and that it is only holy to the Jewish people. She does think that the Third Temple will be built at some point, but she places that on God and has faith that God will take care of that at some point. In the current geopolotical climate she does not think that people should take that duty on themselves. I also asked about the boundaries of Israel; should the West Bank and Gaza be part of Israel. Again, she identified herself on the right politically. She feels that Israel won this land in defensive wars and so has the right to this land. However, she also acknowledges that Israeli has an obligation to the people that live in this land to treat them well. She doesn't feel that the Palestinians have a right to their own nation, but that they should have rights in Israel. We've read so much about these different viewpoints and we've heard them on TV, but it was different hearing it from someone who lives in Israel who has a major stake in these events. That's not to say that we all don't have a stake in it, Jews, Muslims, Christians, etc, but I enjoyed getting to ask her that while roaming the streets of Safed.

Overall, Safed was amazing, and I needed it! My spirits were lifted and I felt rejuvinated. Now I know again why I came here! Lunch, on the other hand, well, not so much. Haha! The conversation was actually quite nice. We had some discussion of the morning and then, of course, bust into giggles. The main dish was fish from the Galilee, and I thought, hey I like fish and it'll be fresh, so yeah, let's try it. Yeah, I must have missed when they said the fish came whole, as in with the head! I waved mine away; I couldn't do it. I know I should have tried it, but I honestly thought I was going to puke just looking at it. I may need to take a break from fish now. We'll see. So I joined Katrina and Cory and the ranks of hummus eaters!

The first stop after lunch was two churches which both commemorate the multiplying of the fishes to feed the masses. both were made in the 20th century. The first was a Fransiscan church. There wasn't anything too special about it, but there was a random open door standing against the side wall. Claudia said that it's the door to heaven. I appreciated it theologically b/c the door stood wide open...take that as you will... The second church was a Benedictine church. Again, the church was nothing special, but it had a beach leading to the Sea of Galilee and one of the seven springs was accessable as well. Eugene, Brandie and I climbed some rocks to take a closer look at the spring. That was fun to have time to scramble around and work up a sweat. Yeah!

On our way to the next stop, we began to create a song for the trip based off of "The Wheels on the Bus." Yohan filmed us singing part of it; you'll really have to see it at some point. It's not finished yet, so I won't share it, but let me tell you, it's a good one. The next site was the archaeological site of Capernaum where we saw what is traditionally accepted as Peter's house and the synagogue. The synagogue was actually destroyed at one point, so the actualy structure is after the time of Jesus. Over Peter's house is a modern church built on stylistic stilts. Strange.

After Capernaum we visited a modern Greek Orthodox church. And I thought the Church of the Annunciation was over the top! This was SOOO gaudy! Visually it did nothing for me; I don't feel the need to have every single inch of wall covered with something. I did, however, enjoy the chanting and the insence. Makes you feel like you're really there. Outside, the grounds were so beautiful and peaceful! I could go there just to sit and relax and meditate. An interesting fact about that church is that is couldn't be built until after 1967 b/c it was part of the no-man's land b/t Israel and Syria. But once Israel controls the Golan Heights, the Greeks who apparently originally lived in that area were allowed to build a church. I'm wondering that if the Golan Heights ever go back to Syria, what happens to that church? but the likelihood of that happening voluntarily is slim. If I've learned anything so far this trip, I've learned that water is life. Whoever controls the Golan Heights controls large amounts of water, and considering the massive irrigation program in Israel, they need it!

Dinner tonight was beyond words. Not the food, the food was passable, although they actually has ice cream, REAL ice cream for dessert! A bunch of us had been craving it, so lets just say we had our fill. Katrina was in rare form and we couldn't help laughing the entire time. We made up some new verses to our song, some which can't make the final cut, but damn, they're fantastic! And let's just say that Katrina and I thought about playing "hide the butter" tonight, but we're just too tired for all that fun. And let me just throw this out there, if you play "hide the butter" and "eat the fish" what game are you playing exactly?

Ok, one amazing conversation and then I'm done for the night. After our b/f dinner meeting, Brandie asked if dinner was at 8. I told her no, it's now at 7, and that if it was at 8, I'd have to naw off part of my arm. So then I wondered, is it worse to eat part of yourself or part of another person? Which is more cannibalistic? Katrina then piped in with the fact that if she happens to die by accidentally falling into a deep-fryer, she wants people to eat her at her funeral. I mean, why waste good meat? I responded with, "If you fell into a vat of batter and then into the deep fryer, that would be even better!" So I leave you with this, if you eat a vegetarian, can you then be considered a vegetarian? I'm out!