Final Checklist

           Only a week-and-a-half until finals, and then I’m headed home! It’s been a great semester; it’s not quite over yet, but I’m already starting to miss it. I’m whittling down my checklist of things to do before I leave.

            Quite a few things got checked off my list this week, although I stayed on campus for most of the weekend. Friday was Nakba day, the Palestinian commemoration of the war of 1948, and Sunday was Jerusalem Day, the celebration of the Israeli taking of Jerusalem in 1967, which is still quite the controversial issue. We heard news of riots, tear gassing, and the like, but nothing affected me directly; I was working happily away in my dorm room.

            However, while we didn’t get Sunday off for the national holiday, Monday was a “student day,” since apparently there aren’t enough holidays around here, so friends and I went to the Old City to do a little shopping and check a few things off my to-do list. First up was a trip to the Prayer Center to pick up the Bluetooth I accidentally left there when my parents were visiting. Since I had friends with me, we were able to get a quick tour and spend some time in the prayer room before leaving.

            Next we found the Church of the Redeemer and climbed to the top of their bell tower, which offered an excellent view of Jerusalem. It was a beautiful day, and we could see all the way to Jordan in places. There was also an archeological park under the church which we toured – we’re always up for more ancient ruins. After taking a ton of pictures there, we found a small café in which to eat lunch. I hadn’t had shawarma in a while, and although it was great, there was so much of it that I skipped my next dinner and breakfast. Finally, we grabbed some groceries before heading out. I am really going to miss the fresh fruit prices here.

            It was Tuesday before I felt the school week had actually started, although we did have a Hebrew aural exam today. Aural exams always make me nervous – they’re just listening comprehension, so you don’t have to study for them, but if you don’t know a few of the key words, you’re in trouble. It was much easier than I’d expected, though, so life is good. Also, my International Law class finished our curriculum today, so we don’t have class next week.

            I know that it’s really hard to keep little kids focused on schoolwork right before the summer. The same thing applies to undergraduates. None of my classes have full attendance anymore, and everyone has a hard time doing work. The holidays make it harder – resting is now our normal state. We have another holiday on Sunday, by the way: it’s Shavuot/Pentacost. Yes, we have a holiday on the last week of school. It’s not supposed to make sense; this country is crazy.

            I’m not ready to say it’s a good craziness, but I have grown to love it here. I enjoyed studying abroad in Jordan, but it was nice to have the familiarity and structure of a college environment while still being able to go out and explore – and between actually knowing the foreign language and being in a much more feminist country, exploring also became a whole lot easier. After a hectic year-and-a-half at Harvard, it’s been lovely to sit back and just enjoy life, and work on all the small projects that usually only get done over Christmas break.

            For once, though, despite the relaxed pace, I actually feel like I’ve learned a great deal. My non-language classes have given me a great deal of insight into the situation here, and my languages show marked progress. Over this semester, I’ve had time to increase my knowledge, and also to ponder the big questions in life, like the meaning of peace, and how many tour busses can fit in a traffic circle without getting stuck.

            I’ll be posting two more times this semester – next week and finals week – and then I’ll be offline, but tune back in to hear about by summer study abroad in England. It’s hard to believe that in a month-and-a-half, I’ll be studying abroad in still another country, but first it’s time to stop and savor my last moments here, and then get excited about returning home. Until next week, then!

 Pictures:
Here's one of the views from the bell tower:

 Hebrew University, also from the bell tower:

All those stories about people hanging out on their roofs? Yeah, they still do it.

There are no bad pictures of the Dome of the Rock.

The staircase was very narrow and very windy - at one point, the three of us had to squeeze into a window alcove to let people by.

 This is the Church of the Redeemer itself:

 My camera wouldn't take very good pictures of the ruins because of the lighting (they're located beneath the church, underground).

 The church courtyard was also very pretty.

 It's a German church, so I got to practice all three of the languages I'm learning!

 The cafe where we ate - so much food!

 Grocery-shopping... ish...