Seeing the Sights

                I’m done with Ulpan! A few hours ago I turned in the three-hour exam, and now I’m officially finished with the preparatory Hebrew course and ready to start the new semester. I know my grasp of Hebrew grammar and vocabulary has improved immensely, but I look forward to continuing to improve it, along with other things. However, more about that next week; this week held more than enough excitement to fill up this page.

                On Friday a couple friends and I went to the Old City. Besides finding very cheap produce, we finally got to see some of the sights. For transportation reasons, we visited everything in reverse order: we started at the Garden Tomb, which might not have a good claim to legitimacy, but is a beautiful prayer garden in any case. Then we went down to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to house the actual sites of the crucifixion and burial (and thus the resurrection). Unlike other buildings, it hasn’t shrunk since I visited it several years ago; it’s as majestic as ever.

                After this, we went down the Via Dolorosa backwards, which was quite confusing since 1) the signs all pointed the wrong direction and 2) we were all Protestants and had to keep looking up which station of the cross we were passing. Finally, we finished at the Garden of Gethsemane. In stark contrast to the last time I was there, this time it was only us, a priest, and a nun in the room. After that it was about time to head home, but I’m sure I’ll be visiting those churches again.

                On Saturday the same three of us went to visit the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Getting there required three different buses, and when we arrived we were told that we couldn’t go into the Muslim section because it was too close to noon prayers, and that we couldn’t go into the Jewish section because it was Shabbat. We decided they needed to build a Christian version, and then wandered around the shuk while we waited. I was very happy to find $1 falafel at an outdoor kiosk that was every bit as good as the $7 falafel near our dorms.

                Finally, we visited the Muslim sections of the tombs, but since we were all in jeans, we ended up having to wear these gigantic hoods that made us look like a mix between hobbits and aliens. We took plenty of pictures. I also got the chance to use my Arabic reading signs, which was nice, since I’ll be starting up classes again in a few days.

                On Sunday we started our last week of classes and finished up what we needed to learn before the exam. After class there was a tour of the Knesset. We didn’t see anything actually happening, but everyone took pictures, and the tour guide was interesting and gave us a lot of information about Israeli politics and government.

                By Tuesday we’d covered and reviewed most everything, and in the afternoon all the classes got together and put on a sort of talent show. Everyone sang but our class, who sent up several people (I didn’t volunteer) to do a skit, which was probably not understood by 70% of the room, but which we thought was very funny. After that we watched a TV show episode and then headed home.

                And now? Now it’s over, and I’m sitting in my room looking out the window and planning for the weekend. Most of my plans will depend on the weather. Jerusalem is somewhere in the middle when it comes to snow – it isn’t a once-a-decade phenomenon, like it is in Texas, but it’s rare enough that even a little bit shuts everything down. We’ll see if it snows; either way, I’m glad I’m not wading through snowbanks in Boston. I hope everyone has a good Ash Wednesday and Chinese New Year, and next week I’ll be writing about my actual classes this semester!

Routine and Philosophizing

           I'm sorry I keep posting so late – I’m still adjusting to having school Sunday through Thursday. Although, for being school, language study is pretty relaxing: you only have one class to worry about, and that class is mostly about conversation. After five hours, with breaks in between, you’re done for the day; it makes for a lot of free time that I would be having at Harvard – although with Harvard cancelling school an unprecedented number of days for winter storms, things might even out.

           In any case, this is the second-to-last week of Ulpan, the intensive Hebrew prep course. After this I’ll be going into normal classes, but we can talk about that when it happens. In the meantime, class is going pretty well; I did much better on my last test, which made me much less stressed. It wasn’t so much the grade that worried me; it was that I knew the material, and I didn’t know what had happened and how to fix it. As it turned out, though, the problem was mainly due to a misunderstanding about the instructions, so things are now back on track.

           Today was a particularly tense day in class. We were discussing current events. I’m not sure why the teacher decided to discuss Ukraine in a class that’s approximately a third European, a third American, and a third Russian, but it did make for lively discussion. The program also includes other activities to get us out of the classroom: yesterday we had a lecture on the architecture of Jerusalem and its influences (in Hebrew) and today we spend the better part of an hour learning songs (in Hebrew).

           Outside of class, things are also looking up. I’ve fallen into a sort of routine: every morning I get up around seven, have a cup of tea, and look over class material or philosophize on one subject or another. After class I have lunch and head over to the gym, since after four visits, I finally have my membership. At one point, a friend and I attempted to attend one of the karate classes, but we couldn’t find the building, and when we asked at the gym, they told us we’d have to ask there. Go figure.

           There was a slight disruption in my routine due to a fire earlier in the week. A building a couple of stores down from my normal grocery store burned down, and the grocery store shut down indefinitely because of smoke damage. I’ll have to switch off between going all the way downtown to the market, which is cheaper, or just buying my fruits and vegetables at the supermarket here for convenience’s sake. This week I opted for the grocery store.

           This evening in particular, though , a group of us went down the street from the campus to get hamburgers, which were actually very good and not terribly expensive. (This particular restaurant also had cheeseburgers; I just don’t like them, even in the States.) There are several restaurants around to frequent if I feel the need to leave the coziness of my own room.

           This weekend, I didn’t feel the need to leave my room at all. I went out for groceries, but other than that I slept late, read my Bible (still looking for a church), and did a lot of philosophizing about life. It was the first real Sabbath I’ve had since I’ve been here, and I desperately needed one. By the end of last week I had sunk into quite the lethargy (which means for me, doing what I have to get done, but having difficulty bringing myself to do it or anything else). However, by halfway through Friday I was full of energy.

           I’ll leave you with one fun note about the buildings here. We have a ton of stray cats around, but they are the best-fed stray cats I’ve ever seen in my life. In addition, they know how to use the elevators; they dash in whenever the door opens and just sit there and wait, and if you let them, they’ll run into your apartment and only come out for food. They’ve got quite the system worked out. However, it doesn’t always work for them; one was quite put out with me earlier when he hitched a ride only to be dropped off back on the bottom floor.

Old City Strawberries

            It feels like it’s been a lot longer than a week since my last post. Maybe it’s because I’ve done so much since then, or maybe it’s because all the events are so spread out that the days seem to last forever. In any case, it’s good to talk to y’all again.

            A few friends and I went to the Old City on Saturday – don’t worry; I have pictures! Living in Jerusalem is interesting; in one sense, this is Jerusalem, the Holy City people have been fighting for years to have control of. In another sense, this is Jerusalem, a large city just like any other, with ordinary people going about their lives. The Old City is a place where Jesus, David, and countless other figures walked. It’s also where you can buy really ripe strawberries for $3.50 a kilo.

            We did buy strawberries, along with a few other supplies, from the Shuk, the outdoor market. This involved using both my Arabic and my Hebrew, which was nice. We also did the Ramparts Walk, which was interesting, and went to the Roman Plaza, which was also holding a contemporary art exhibition. This turned out to be a series of dimly-lit tunnels, one of which contained a small stereo system and a few statues. However, it was still interesting.

            While we were in the Old City, I had shawarma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawarma) and mint tea for lunch, which was pretty good. I’ve also had falafel. They tasted better in Jordan, but it’s possible that I was just hungrier; I’m eating a lot more American-style food here, since I’m fixing my own meals. To that end, as I need more and more supplies for my stay, I’m slowly learning to be more self-sufficient, to put down roots and buy what I need on-location instead of trying to pack everything I need from home every time I leave. It helps when American products are available in many stores.

            There’s also been a lot of free food lately, since that’s the preferred method for attracting college students. For instance, I just returned from a discussion group about Israel that provided bagels and toppings, and earlier today I went to a party for Israel’s version of Arbor Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_BiShvat ), which included sweets and drinks. Two nights ago, I had free lasagna at a lecture by the Colonel formerly in charge of the Israeli Security Fence, who was a very good presenter. And at all of these events, I was told about other events, also with free food, that will take place in the future. There’s no shortage of things to do.

            Class is going fairly well. Every day I end up with more interesting vocabulary – ‘sense of direction,’ ‘controversial topic,’ ‘phenomena,’ and etc. We have discussions on everything from beached whales to homeschooling to ISIS. In addition, we’ve had a tour of campus and a singing workshop – we actually sang one of the songs I learned at Middlebury, but this time I could understand what it meant!

            There are things that I hope will improve over the next few weeks. I’m still unfamiliar with the teachers’ testing format, which docked a few points off my last grade. I’m still trying to figure out what to do for church, so I’ll let you know what happens with that. And I’ve now gone to the gym three times, and I still haven’t received my membership; every time it’s something else, and it’s a perfectly logical reason, but I’d like to have that done and over with already. The last time I went, the lady behind the desk (it’s the same person every time) started muttering to herself in Hebrew that I keep showing up, and I thought about telling her I shared her frustration, but thought better of it.

            There have been some down days lately, but my parents are only a phone call away, I have my books, and the supermarket has Ben & Jerry’s if I really need chocolate. I’ve found friends; last weekend we watched Kingdom of Heaven, about the Crusades, and had strawberries and hot fudge sauce. And I’m in Jerusalem, after all: as one of my classmates said this morning, every day in Israel is a blessing. I’m studying what I love, I’m living in the Holy Land, and I’m doing fine. And strawberries are $3.50 a kilo.

Deserts and Dry Goods

                Well, I’ve successfully completed my first week in Jerusalem.  It’s been, and still is, a little hectic, but I think it’s going well. My Hebrew is better than I suspected it was when I only used it a couple hours a day, and it’s definitely improving. On the one hand, I feel like I haven’t been gone that long, things are going so fast. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve been here a really long time because so much has happened.

                I did take the trip to the Judean desert I wrote about last week. We met Bedouins, slept on mattresses on the ground, rode camels, took pictures of the desert…

                “Wait,” you say. “I’ve already read this blog post.”

                Well, yes and no. This time was a little different from Wadi Rum. For one thing, it was a lot shorter; it was less than twenty-four hours. For another, the Bedouin camp was a little different. In Wadi Rum there were a few tents for the tourists at the bottom of the hill and a larger tent for the Bedouin at the top. Here, we were in a village constructed entirely for tourists, and we slept inside a large communal tent instead of under the stars, which was kind of disappointing. However, we did have good food, awesome tea, and a bonfire – although the wood burned really quickly and kept setting small fires in our extra wood supply.

                The next morning we rode camels, but this time we actually went somewhere; we didn’t just hop on, take pictures, and hop off, which was nice. The camels had double saddles, which were pretty uncomfortable, but we rode them for quite a while. Afterwards we hiked (strolled, really) back to camp, with a guide who told us about geography and fauna and demonstrated starting a fire with flint and iron. He also went back and found the few people who managed to get lost on the way back. I wasn’t one of them, but it was understandable; with so many hills, you could be twenty yards away from someone and not see them.

                The trip also proved a good opportunity to meet people. It was the first week; most people still didn’t know much of anyone, and we were all looking for friends. After we returned, we had enough time to shower and nap before it was Friday evening and time for Shabbat (Sabbath) dinner. There were a couple of songs, and I realized just how much I’ve learned since Middlebury: I could actually understand the words now, even without having anything to read.

                Shabbat itself was nice. I spent most of it continuing projects I began over break and didn’t have time to finish, so it wasn’t all relaxation, but it was nice to stop and breathe. Shabbat in Israel is kind of like Ramadan in Amman; a lot of things shut down. Offices and stores are closed, so there’s no way to run errands, even if you wanted to. It’s an enforced day of rest, which is really nice. It was a fairly hectic week, and I needed some time to just sit back and think over everything that had happened. Apparently there’s a word for that in German – bedenkzeit, ‘thinking time’. It’s my favorite word at the moment.

                Class itself is challenging, which is good. We’re doing a lot of vocabulary at the moment, things like ‘cost of living,’ ‘addiction,’ ‘tendency,’ and the like. We’re also doing grammar; we’re covering all the things I never formally learned, like passive voice. We also read newspaper articles and discuss current events, using the new vocab and verb structures.

                There are a couple of problems that make class interesting, though. For one thing, the bookstore ran out of textbooks, so copies have to be handed out to everyone whenever we start a new section. For another, our room is fairly small and stuffy, so half the people want the window open, but it’s also still chilly outside, so the other half want it closed. Which means that, in the end, we just switch every few minutes. Exacerbating all these problems is the fact that our class was pretty large in the first place – about 20 people – and about eight people from the class below us have decided to move up, so our already-cramped room is now overflowing with desks, chairs, and students.

                The main stressors in my life aren’t related to class, though. I only thought I had a lot of errands before this semester; between food, toiletries, phone issues, and paperwork, I have much more to occupy me. I did, though, go to the market this morning with a couple of friends, and so my shelf has gone from peanut butter and bread to a bunch of fruit (see pictures below). All the little worries are wearing on me, but we get a sort of holiday tomorrow (we have to go to class Friday to make up for it; no one’s sure why it’s there), so hopefully I’ll have some bedenkzeit and be able to regroup. In any case, it’s good to know that all of you are reading and/or praying, and I certainly appreciate it. Until next week!

Intro to Jerusalem

                Welcome back! I’m sitting in my dorm room on a mountaintop in Jerusalem, admiring the view. It’s been quite a busy week, and it’s not over yet, but I thought I’d take a few minutes to let you know how it was going. A couple of notes to start off: one, I’m staying here for the entire semester, until the beginning of June, and two, the time difference between the central US and Israel is 8 hours.

                My jet lag isn’t as bad as could be expected, probably because my schedule wasn’t that normal in the first place, so even though I haven’t settled into a routine here yet, I also don’t have to get out of my routine from the states. The plane ride over was very nice – I’d never flown Turkish air before, and they give you three meals and a whole variety of accessories. Besides that, the flight wasn’t that full, so I had three seats to curl up and nap on during the 11.5-hour flight to Istanbul.

                Sarah picked me up at the airport, and I stayed at their apartment for the night. The morning was a little hectic because of the two little ones and a meeting Josh and Sarah had to get to, but Sarah was able to take me to Jerusalem and drop me off at campus (all before ten in the morning). I filled out all the forms, got my key, found my room, and started settling in. There was quite a bit to worry about yesterday – not only settling in, but finishing my placement test, signing up for trips outside class, and all the other little things that go with moving in.

                The scenery around Mount Scopus is breathtaking enough that even if it weren’t Jerusalem, I would love to stay here. It’s about a 15-minute walk from my dorm to the other side of campus, where my classes are, but it’s a very nice walk, and the weather is beautiful right now. There’s also a really beautiful botanical garden en route.

                In case anyone’s worried, by the way, you have to go through a bag check, id check, and metal detector in order to get onto main campus, and only staff and students can get in without prior notification. Basically, imagine that all of Israel has the atmosphere of an airport in the States: no jokes about terrorism, no unattended bags, etc.

                Anyway, by noon yesterday I was exhausted from so many unfamiliar situations and people and trying to worry about so many things at once. When I’d gotten everything done for the morning, I went back to my room, locked the door, closed the window, wrapped up in a blanked and just lied there in silence for half-an-hour or so. I don’t know how extraverts relax, but sometimes I just have to lie down by myself and think, or I hit a shutdown point. Anyway, after that I felt my energy coming back and headed out for the rest of the day.

                The main event of the afternoon, outside of several other errands, was orientation. I usually find orientations disorienting, since they usually involve trying to take in a ton of information and cultural/security warnings in the space of an hour or two, but this one wasn’t that bad. And afterwards, the leaders took a group to go shopping for kitchen utensils, bathroom supplies, food, and etc. I don’t think anyone got everything they wanted, but it certainly helped for immediate needs.

                I also got to translate for the first time. We went to a bagel shop yesterday and, since most of our little group didn’t speak much Hebrew, asked for an English menu. The waitress explained (in Hebrew) that the English menu wasn’t right, which I translated, and we ended up with Hebrew menus. As it turned out, what people wanted wasn’t on the menu anyway, but it was nice to know I could translate if needed.

                And the week isn’t over yet. The weekend here is Friday and Saturday, but I have my first class in a few hours. And after class, there’s an overnight trip to the desert in which I’m participating, that lasts until tomorrow evening. And then there will be time to rest and recharge, and get ready to start classes and start exploring Jerusalem and Israel. I’ll let you know how it goes next week – I’ll probably be posting Tuesday or Wednesday, so stay tuned! Oh, and hello from Jerusalem!