Just another Shabbat

We took a taxi to a synagogue and went to a service. Lots of singing and clapping. It was one of my favorite things ever. Plus, I went with awesome people...who are all normally very photogenic.

Bethlehem

Super cool experience and our last venture into the West Bank. The city is surrounded by an enormous cement barrier that gives it the feeling of a prison, but the inside of the city is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen. We spend some time just walking around the city, but also:

1. Went to the Church of the Nativity. The oldest continuously functioning Christian church on earth and also the least functioning continuous snooze fest of my life. Admittedly, the church was undergoing some significant reconstruction, but we were in line for two hours for the grotto which I didn’t actually get to see because an old lady with blue eye shadow pushed me out the door. Fortunately, I was listening to Christmas music the whole time, so I still felt the intended spirit.

2. Got to spend some time mingling with the students at Bethlehem University.

Me: “So, what’s it like going to school here?”

Bethlehem University Student: "Good."

James: “Do you know Shakira?”

Bethlehem University Student: “Yes!”

James: “Waka Waka??!!!”

Bethlehem University Student: “Waka Waka!”

3. Enjoyed a spectacular lunch with spectacular people in a tent.

Me: "Isn't it great to escape to the bomb shelter sometimes?"

Andrew: "The real bomb shelter? Or your own personal bomb shelter?"

Dallin, Lindsey, and Blair: “These puns aren’t very tomato. Dangit.” I miss you guys.

Mid-term Finals

This week we finish up three of our classes and start one new one tomorrow. But since I’ve spent the last week buried in homework, I haven’t had a lot of time to get out into the city. So, these are three of my favorite studying moments.

1. Stephanie: “Before taking this class, I didn’t know the Queen of Sheba was a real person. I thought she was kind of just this made-up personification of uppity-ness. Like, ‘who does she think she is? The Queen of Sheba?!’”

2. James (fighting for a point on a quiz): “But don’t you think level three could have seeped a little bit into level four?”

3. Melia: “That reminds me of this really good Dove chocolate quote...”

Tov, Tov Week

1. Passover. Our Judaism teacher helped us celebrate an early Passover. At this particular Passover, it was emphasized that the telling of the exodus is mostly for the children and so we made it a little more interesting, i.e. ending with a rap with pneumonic numerical symbolism. I didn’t get to look for the Afikomen this year, but I have a feeling I’ll get another chance.

2. Red Sea (Eilat snorkeling). This day was awesome for a lot of reasons:

· I got to wear Lisa’s mu-mu. (It’s getting passed around to every girl at the center. It magically fits us all).

· Taking underwater engagement pics of Andrew and Stephanie. I can’t lie, I’m 10,000% jealous.

· Spending some quality mall time with Johnathon and James. Good good people.

· Touching a gargantuan purple fish.

· Cow Kibbutz. (K-I-B, B-U-T-Z, we’re in a kibbutz and happy are we). And chocolate milk in a bag is the best invention of all time.

· Bus dance party. DJ Melia rocks.

3. Talent Schmalent Show. Easily the best part of my week. I’m not super into talent shows, but somehow, that night will forever be engrained in my mind as one of the funniest nights of my whole life. Thanks to a lot of incredible untalent and our brilliant MCs, Brandt and Andrew.

• Brandt: “Doesn’t that just make you want to start a family?”

Andrew: “Yes, separately.”

• Brandt: “Who’s your favorite rightly guided Caliph?”

Andrew: “I’m a Abu Bakr man, myself.”

Brandt: “But where would we be without 'Uthman b. 'Affan?”

Andrew: “True.”

• Andrew: “C-Bass and Sister Ann “Kickin Bod” Killian.”

Snorkeling in the Red Sea

Justin: "It's like the Passover all over again".

I'll explain the mu-mu later.

3 Highlights of the Week

1. 10/10/10 party at 10:10 with 10 people in the bomb shelter. The bomb shelter was built for dance parties. There’s neon tape lining the walls, black lights, and it’s always cold. At 10:09, we started a countdown to the fateful moment, and then for one full minute, we danced. It was a pretty great minute and now I’m just trying to remind myself to live every moment as if it’s 10/10/10 10:10.

2. Trying to read the Old Testament. This is my first struggle with the ancient text, but fortunately, I’m surrounded by 80 other people going through the same struggle.

Me: “I took an accidental two hour nap today. I was reading in 2 Kings…”

James: “Yep, that’s like Tylenol PM.”

3. Hezekiah’s tunnel and the pool of Siloam. We walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel this week which not only made me feel like Indiana Jones, but also became an epically immortalized experience as we did the Waka Waka in linear formation. Something I learned from the experience was about the man who was born blind who Christ healed. He used dirt and spittle to cover his face and then told him to wash his face at the pool of Siloam. If he had uses fine ointments and herbs, people would have said that he regained sight because of the pure elements on his face. Also, Siloam means “follow” or “disciple”, so he uses this radical illustration to give light and knowledge to the man who was blind so that he could become a disciple for Christ. I love it here!!!!!

Just a quick pic

Me, Melia, Matt, Jocelyn, and Mickell. This is a church in the Christian quarter called the Church of Flagellation. The church was amazing, but the company was even better. Seriously, I love all these people. "Digestive?...anyone? Just me. Cool."

Heard in the Halls

These are three of my favorite not-so-quotable quotes from the JC:

Jake: "Can we watch Lord of the Rings instead of having a midterm?"

Everyone: "Yeah, yeah, let's take a vote. Let's do this democratically."

Jake: "We want a king! We want a king! We want a king!"

James: "Waka Waka healed the world. Can we just let it heal us?"

Jake: "You know who Jason Bourne's dad is?"

Me: "No."

Jake: "Chuck Norris. You know who Chuck Norris's dad is?"

Me: "No."

Jake: "Indiana Jones. You know who Indiana Jones's dad is?"

Me: "Chuck Norris?"

Jake: "That's amazing and it works."

Sometimes, Judaism class is rough, until your teacher says this...

Q: How many ultra orthodox Jews does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: Change?!!!

Ah salaam!

My friend Muhammad used to say, "Ah salaam!" in moments of deep distress. I've been saying it all week. My Hebrew teacher was walking around the classroom as we were doing drills with our partner and she stopped at my desk right as I got stuck on a word. I looked up and I could tell she was waiting for me to answer and I just said, "I'm really stressed right now!". She felt bad, but I felt worse. Midterms are hard everywhere. So, to ease the pain, I'm blogging.

1. Shephela! Turns out, they’re not as cool as their name (But still very cool). We spent an entire day wandering through four of the five cities of the Philistines. We went to Gath to see where Dr. Chadwick excavates and then returned and learned the “Shephela Song” sung to the tune of “My Boyfriends Back”. That song is the most memorable part of the Shephela experience.

Quote of the day: “You sound like you’re singing a hymn, SPICE IT UP!!” –James

2. Lesson 1: “Digestives” (the cookies) are amazing. Lesson 2: Don’t eat 8 in one day.

3. The Jews have more history than I thought. Like WAY more. Like, over 200 pages more than I ever could have even made up about a religion is all factual Jewish history. I love what we’ve been learning, though. Yesterday, we talked about how if you are not Jewish and you observe the Sabbath following all the same laws the Rabbis do, it’s as if you are stealing. If the laws don’t apply to you, you shouldn’t practice them. It’s all pretty fascinating. I love it here.

Sukkot!

1. A couple nights ago, Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli-Arab journalist, speak at one of our forums. I learned more about the Middle East in 60 minutes than I have in all my years of Wikipedia research. But, I think what I really learned from the whole lecture was that media can hardly ever be trusted. The real conflict starts with a hidden agenda, when one man says, “I want this story, not that one”. That’s when activists raise their heads and decide to do something. Be careful about what you say and even more careful about what you read.

2. In Old Testament, we’ve been talking about the story of Saul. Saul did a good thing with good intentions, but not according to the Lord’s timing. Then we talked about how Uzzah was killed for steadying the ark. I know the Bible sometimes illustrates using extremes, but I think I’m going to work on staying out of those tricky gray areas…just in case.

3. The last day of Sukkot, Hoshanna Rabba, was a couple days ago. It’s been so fun going out to the Jewish quarter of the Old City for the past week. I went out Monday morning and saw two bar mitzvahs at the western wall. I love how 13-year-old boys are the same everywhere you go. Part of the tradition of a bar mitzvah is to throw candy at the boy being celebrated, but it was great to watch some of the priests to try and get them to stop once they started the Torah reading portion. The whole Sukkot festival is fascinating. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Native American traditions. They have a harvest, a feast, and then a dance in celebration for God. I love that gratitude is the core of all the Jewish Festivals. Anyway, sorry these posts are sporadic at best, but I’m telling you, with three different religions fighting for the spotlight, the fun doesn't stop.

P.S. Ryan Hill, for our Jerusalem Center Branch Choir Christmas Concert, I’ve requested the song, “Gesu Bambino”, only because I have such incredible memories of that performance. Although it will be tough to outdo the Edgemont 14^th ward rendition, it’s worth the risk.