One more post before I go to EGYPT!!!!!!!!!

Well…this week has been very busy and very exciting……..hmm….recap….

Monday was pretty cool. We had a group field trip to a monastery…YES. That building on the side of the cliff! I hiked there! Women had to wear headscarves and I almost died, I don’t know how they do it! It was 96 degrees and humid! Anyways, the monastery, built into this rock is on the Mount of Temptations (which is where Satan tempted Christ to turn a rock into bread during his fast) It was really cool, and really far up, and really tiring. Everyone got back and slept.

I finally made it to the Dome of the Rock! Not in it of course, only Muslims can go inside but just being on the Temple Mount was awe-inspiring. Up close the Dome is very striking and incredible……..since it’s basically in every picture of Jerusalem, how could it not be? There’s a huge security check to get on the grounds (which was the location where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac (Mt. Moriah) and traditionally in Islam, where Muhammad ascended to heaven. It’s the oldest existing Islamic building in the world, and one of the holiest next to Mecca and Medina. For Jews, the Temple Mount is where their temple was before it was destroyed…so basically that spot is one of the most contentious places in Israel and the reason that Jews or Muslims won’t give up Jerusalem for their “two-state” solution.

I also made it to the Western Wall, which traditionally is the wall of the temple that was destroyed…even though archaeologically it’s not the actual wall…oh well… Can anybody say, Shalom!? We went on friday night and IT.WAS.INCREDIBLE.....it was an experience i will never forget. Thousands of Jewish people of all different sects, ultra-orthodox (Haredi, the ones with the 18th century looking garb) and reform jews, secular jews, anyways....all gathering to pray, sing and dance to welcome the Sabbath. When we went i had previously wrote out a prayer to stick in the wall. (the dress code incidentally was essentially jewish. a long black skirt, black shirt covering elbows....we fit in pretty well.) i made it to the wall despite how many people there were. and i tried to put it in...and it fell...but it fell and landed in a short Jewish woman’s hair, who was praying into her torah.....so i awkwardly was trying to get it out of her hair without disturbing her and without laughing to put it back on the wall.....i was successful...but it was kinda funny. The men and women are separated by a little partition and the guy’s side was a lot more boisterous and exciting than the women’s….lots of singing and dancing…from what I could tell peaking over the wall.

On my free day a group of us decided to taxi to Tel Aviv and it was so beautiful! Granted, it’s a resort city since it’s a beach on the Mediterranean Sea but the city itself had really cool architecture. (don’t worry liz, I took pictures) anyways, so I swam in the Mediterranean and toured through Jaffa (where Jonah’s story took place) and hung out on the beach. It was amazing.

ah, Tel Aviv....

We went to an overlook of the Judean wilderness and it’s completely unbelievable what a wasteland it is. I can’t even imagine being lost for 40 years in there.We saw the oldest existing man-made structure in the world (10,000yrs old) in a tel in Jericho (which is the lowest city in the world…something like -800feet?) SO COOL. Then we went around places in Jericho which is a Palestinian neighborhood so we were stopped at every checkpoint because of our Israeli license plate…..

All of this is in between classes, so I never really feel relaxed. There’s so much to do all the time and it’s tiring but that’s good because it makes you so tired that you sleep through the “call to prayer”…….excellent.

I leave for Egypt in 2 days…Thursday. We had a little meeting where they told us that we’d probably get food poisoning since all the water for the fruit and vegetables and tap water is from the Nile which is where the sewage feeds into….and where they put dead animals…etc etc etc. it was so gross. But the itinerary for Egypt looks really really cool. And it’s supposed to be 113 degrees when I’m there….so…..that’ll be fun right? YES! :)