Mar haba

Mar haba. Today was Arabic lesson number two in Bethlehem and it went much better than the first one! We showed up to the first lesson half an hour late - all of us - because of the bus system and the time it actually takes for one to travel 7.5 km (about 5 miles). It took an hour and a half. This is partially because we walked for twenty minutes to get to the bus and partially because the bus we took went the long way to Bethlehem. The other bus we could have taken stops at the checkpoint which is a twenty minute walk to the school. This time we left earlier and made it right on time. Mish mushkela - no problem. Our professor is a tiny Palestinian woman named Salwa who must be especially precious to God's heart. She's a fire cracker and finds us as funny as we find her language. Our first lesson was rather overwhelming and contained so much information it left me wondering if there was any possible way to take one class in two semesters. My brain completely shut down. This lesson was much better as we spent part of it repeating and then weaving in new words and phrases. We also learned to write our names in Arabic so that we can put them on homework assignments. I may not be a fluent Arabic speaker by December but I can at least write my own name!

The ride back was interesting as this was our first time going through the checkpoint by bus. Two soldiers got on, the first with a gun in a very ready-to-fire position and the other followed behing and checked passports. Bethlehem is part of Palestinian territory so anyone can get there from Jerusalem but you must have the proper paperwork to leave. Israel has built a wall around a large portion of the city to keep people from crossing illegally. However, the wall leaves many people feeling like they live in a cage and are cut off from family and friends in other parts of the country. Bethlehem is notably poorer than many of the places I've seen in Jerusalem.

Tomorrow is my first archaeology class, which I am very excited about. Then starts the weekend! Tonight is the beginning of the weekend for many Israelis and it is obvious by the sounds of the city from my window - there was some kind of party - I'm told it was a bar mitzvah, though it sounded and looked more like a fiesta - down below the school and it included some rather creative dancing. Once it ended another party started somewhere else in the valley with opera music and very dressed up crowds. Last night the stadium just below us held a televised gathering for Israeli Survivor. There is definitely a night life in this city!

Last night several new friends decided to head out to find snack food in the city. We had seen a grocery store not too far away and headed out. It was closed but we walked to the other side of the New City and found a smaller one that carried a little of everything. For about 45 NIS (a little over $10) I found popcorn, coca cola, fresh mango juice for breakfast (our school only offers water, all other drinks must be purchased elsewhere) vanilla cookies and something that looked like divinity candy. It was chalky and tasted like peanut flavored corn starch: it wasn't divinity. Another student later informed us that we were eating halva, a sesame paste candy. Ah. That explained it. The first bite was terrible, by the end of the piece it tasted somewhat good. I recommend the one with the walnut picture on it - the one with the vanially bean picture never got anything more than "okay".

Fresh picked pomegranate from the garden!

 

Wall around Bethlehem

 

Bethlehem.

 

Road between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. MONSTROUS hills.

 

Chill time with Rhonda after dinner.

 

 

Look what I found! Ben & Jerry's.

 

Halva...

 

...I'm not sure about it.

Chapter 2

I got to see a wedding today! From very far away. Across the Hinnom Valley where my school is located, there is a garden and a well lit plaza. Just as the sun was setting I began hearing classical music and could see a tent had been set up in the garden and there was a couple standing under it. After a bit, there were lots of flashes of light as people took pictures and posed with the couple and someone began dancing. It was a beautiful little slice of life to peak in on.

Sunset over the New City in Western Jerusalem

 

 

My classes didn't start till 1 PM today so I had time to walk into the New City in search of school supplies with some friends. I had decided that US notebooks are nice but unnecessary weight for packing, so I was completely in need of some kind of paper to write on. Go figure, while every store seems to sell pens, markers, and pencils and we found a mall that has Northface and GAP, there was no paper to be found. We finally spotted some as we passed a bookstore. I now have unbound filler paper that has been glued together because there were no binders for sale to put it in. But, hey, it's paper. I realized afterwards I could have just taken my laptop to class and taken notes on it!

The bookstore was selling a Hebrew copy of "Oh the Places You'll Go." I thought it extremely fitting to take a photo.

Today was the first day of classes: Intro to the Modern Middle East and Physical Settings. My Middle East professor is an Israeli scholar, and a very well educated man. So educated that he doesn't plan what he's going to say - I'm pretty sure the entire lecture was just whatever was crossing his mind at the time. Very useful information, somewhat cohesive, I have nothing to complain about. But I'm pretty sure some of it was in Hebrew. The other class, Physical Settings, is going to be a great class. It's also going to be a lot of work. It's the one class that JUC requires we take and doesn't give us the option to audit. The professor is from Oklahoma and had a lot to say about how that environment shaped the way she thought and saw the world. She moved on to explain how geographical settings shape people and their culture. To understand the worldview, you must first understand the land. Then you must understand the history.

Tomorrow begins Arabic classes! That is the only class I will have, so I will have the chance to catch up on some of this homework. Bethlehem, here I come.



Pictures

Dome of the Rock

 

Shaaban let Riane and me try on Bedouin dresses

 

Gate from the Armenian quarter into the Jewish quarter of the Old City. The Gates are made of right hand turns to make it difficult to enter and force possible attackers to slow down and turn a corner against their sword arm.

 

Dome inside the Church of the Sepulchre. There were a LOT of tourists so I will take more pictures another day. The lower dome that you see in relief is the shelter that was built to protect the tomb Jesus was buried in. The tomb was located by Constantine's mother, Helena, who was sent to locate all the holy sites - and amazingly found every one of them on her list. Too bad modern archaeologists don't have the same luck in their endeavors! The larger church housing the shelter is quite old and is maintained by a number of denominations. It was built in the Eastern tradition which focuses less on the cross and death and more on the resurrection and the reclaiming of life. The entrance to the church is very bright and well lit with multiple chandaliers and lamps but as you progress through the halls and sanctuary back to the tomb it becomes increasingly darker till the only light is that which comes in through this dome.

A New Chapter

So, in case you were wondering, I have arrived in Jerusalem. I somewhat expected this to be surreal and take some time sinking in but I find that I am rolling along with it pretty well. The flights weren't terribly long and provided many interesting people to talk to. The girl sitting next to me on the last flight has been a student in Tel Aviv for the past three years so she was able to give me several suggestions which I think helped me get a picture of what to expect when I got off the plane.

I was able to connect with nine other Jerusalem University College (JUC) students before I even left the airport so we all got a sherut (taxi-van) together and were able to get to the school very quickly. Usually the sherut driver will wait till every seat is filled before they will leave so it was very fortunate that we had exactly the right number of people!

The school is very old - maybe I'll put up the history of it in another post - and has several interesting finds around. For example, it was used as an outpost for the Israeli army during the 40's and 50's and has several bullet holes in the gate to prove it. Also, there is a first century tomb on campus which has been converted into someone's apartment. No, they do not sleep on the ledge where the body was laid out but it is there for any house guests to see. There is a Christian cemetary behind the school which we hold the keys to. One of the people buried there is a famous archaeologist, another is the author of the hymn, 'It is Well With My Soul'. The school is located on Mt. Zion (the new one, not the one of the original City of David which is much further East) next to the Zion Gate just outside the Old City walls. My room - I wish I could post a video of how to get to it, I got lost several times trying to find it - is at the top of a long flight of winding stairs (46 steps: I guess it's really not that bad) to the roof. We have a BEAUTIFUL view of Western Jerusalem and the sunset.

The first day I was here we took it pretty easy, unpacked, ate dinner (the food is unbelievably good), and got to know each other. The second day: we had orientation meetings, registration for classes, a tour of the New City (Western Jerusalem, outside the walls), and a scavenger hunt in the Old City. I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt because it made us get out of our comfort zone, go find stuff on our own, figure out how to overcome the language barrier and still have a good time. The school recommended we do all of our money exchange with Shaaban, a shop keeper in the Old City who is a long time friend of the school and who takes very good care of its students. While we waited to exchange money (which was at about the best rate we will probably find - four shekals to each dollar), he poured us glasses of juice and soda and gave us advice on how to buy things in the market and what to watch out for. His number one suggestion: don't buy anything right away. We should wait to see more of the city and get a feeling for the shops. Apparently many of the things sold in Jerusalem shops are made in India and China but because the tags are printed in Hebrew the shopkeepers will tell us they are made in Israel. Also, we will find a better deal if we are willing to shop around a little.

Today I went to church at an international Anglican church. I expected it to have some of the same traditions as the Catholic church but was surprised by the mostly contemporary worship music and fiery preaching (the minister is from Northern Ireland). After service and lunch we had our first class tour (all 50 of us!) into the Old City. We walked through the Armenian, Jewish and Christian quarters and saw the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock from afar and finished off by walking through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Most of the big sites I will go back to later with friends. As Prof. Alexander pointed out, we live here so we can go back when there aren't as many tourists. Finished the tour by stopping at a little fruit stand and buying fresh squeezed pomegranate juice - for about $2.50 the boy sliced four or five pomegranates and popped them into the press - SO GOOD!

I've been here for two days now and already have a bucket list half a page long. I haven't taken a lot of photographs and the ones that I have aren't great but I will try to post them as I take them. Classes start tomorrow! I've got Arabic (which I will be taking with several other students at Bethlehem Bible College), Physical Settings (our touring class - we are learning to connect the land as it was and now is, archaeology, the holy sites, and the Biblical text), Introduction to the Modern Middle East, Palestinian Politics and Society, and Archaeology. The best part about our Archaeology class: we get to do a dig ON CAMPUS. Apparently a sewage line was put in over the summer and in the process they stumbled across what appears to be a first century door arch and what could be the room it connects to. We will begin two squares and be supervised by a professional archaeologist. Don't expect pictures though - we may take them, but may not put them online until the supervising archaeologist has published all of the findings. I cannot wait to get started!