Armenian Quarter

This week is a crazy week, especially in regards to what is happening in my classes. So much so that I made the conscious decision to stay in a study all day yesterday. (Left - While walking to the Armenian Quarter, we passed by an open doorway that looked intriguing. We stepped inside. I think it is a monastery, but it is hard to know sometimes). By doing that, I felt justified in going out to the city with a group headed toward the Armenian quarter of the Old City. There we went to a museum that was interesting, but small and not well kept. I did learn some interesting things about the history of Armenia and the Armenian people.
Next we went to a church, the church of St. James. Apparently according to tradition James, the brother of Jesus, was killed there and the apostle James was beheaded there as well. It was beautiful, but also blackened from burning incense. (Right - the Armenian Museum is in this large and beautiful building, but there are about two rooms of information, most of which was pictures, paintings, and posters). That is how the inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is as well. It is really sad that these beautiful paintings have been ruined by using smoke over the centuries.
On the way back, the weather took a interesting turn. It started raining on us. By the time we made it back to the center, I was soaked to my bones. In fact, I got wet through three layers of clothing! It was rather cold.
Tonight we had a forum speaker, Dr. Seballa, a member of the Palestinian Parliament. (Left - inside the Armenian Museum). It was interesting to have a Palestinian view on the Arab-Israeli Conflict. He doesn't seem too hopeful for peace, though he wants peace and wants to work towards it. He says that the Israelis say they want peace, but are not willing to do what is necessary to actually have it. It will be interesting to see what will come from the most recent developments and plans in the future.

Armenian Church of St. James I think this picture shows well the blackened Church of St. James - the ceiling used to be whiteInside the Church of St. James during a prayer service

Crazy and Fun Day

Today has been an amazing day. Once again I wasn't planning on doing anything, but before classes were over, I found myself part of a group headed to West Jerusalem. (Right - Shaelee and Mindy in front of one of the shops that we purchased things at). Since today is Friday, we can't be in East Jerusalem before 3pm, and so we have to take a taxi if we are going to leave the center. We decided to go to the Jewish Open Air Market and then hit Ben Yehuda Street for some shopping.
After class, and after a lightning fast lunch, we headed upstairs for our taxi. We drove to the open air market. There we did a little shopping. I bought 2 skirts and a scarf. Others bought similar things. It was a lot of fun.
After some time there, we headed to Ben Yehuda Street. A lot of the shops were closed down because it was getting late (aka 3pm and everyone was leaving to get ready for Shabbat) but we found an open shop and bought some bags. Then we headed back to the center. (Left - me on Ben Yehuda St. with a Kosher Burger King sign in the background. I have one with Bethany, the other girl who was with us and that is the only picture I got of her, but I look fat in it, so I used this one instead). It was nice to leave the center, to be out in the city, especially after being inside for so long.
Later, after dinner, we held our Talent Show. It was amazing. I knew we had some talented people in our group, but I didn't know how talented until tonight. We had music acts, dancing numbers, poetry readings, spoofs, skits, comedic announcers, an art show, and the grand finale, a talk show put on by my roommate, Lauran. They were all amazing numbers and I was entertained the entire time, even though it lasted 3 hours. Everyone participated, even if they didn't sign up. Those who didn't sign up were put into groups to do some improv skits. Those included the faculty. I danced the Hula and I was really nervous, but despite some technical difficulties, I made it through. I wish I could share the entire night with you, or at least some clips from each of the acts, but since I can't do that, I have put a link here to one of the presentations. It is a preview to a new show called The JC.
So yeah, that has been my day. It was great.

Zedekiah's Cave and Sephardic Synagogues

Good news! I actually went out into the city today! I surprised myself because I've been feeling so tired the past couple of days and have had a hard time waking up in the morning. (Left - outside of Zedekiah's Cave, also known as Solomon's Quarry). In fact, I didn't want to get up today. I figured after class I would go back to bed and sleep for awhile, but instead I went out.
I'm really glad I did, though. It felt so nice to get out of the Jerusalem Center. Besides field trips, my stints in the emergency clinic, and my ultrasound visit, this was my first time out of the center since before Egypt. It was such a relief.
We went first to a place called Zedekiah's Cave. It cost 10 NIS to get in. Then we went exploring. (Right - me inside of Zedekiah's Cave). Most of the places were well lit with paths, but we managed to find a little place to the side that went up and down where not many people have traveled. Sometimes we were crawling through tight spaces. (Left - Standing on the Roman Main Street in the Old City). It was really fun, though we got very dirty (I'm sure you can tell from the pictures if you pay attention). We even found a place that said do not enter. There were skulls painted on the wall. We didn't go down there, though it was tempting. We figured the skulls probably meant there was poison gas down there or something like that. Plus, there were cockroaches and spiders down that hole.
After that, we decided to go do something else. We decided to find the synagogues in the Jewish Quarter. As we were walking, we saw the Cardo. I had never seen the Cardo before. It is the Roman main road that was part of the city during Christ's time. We went down there and walked on it a little. It has been reconstructed, but a lot of it was the original stone (from what I understand).
That didn't take long and we were once again off to find the synagogues. (Right - one of the Sephardic synagogues). We found one and went in. In our group there were two girls and two guys. We didn't realize that the entrance to this synagogue was for men only, and went in. There was a rabbi or someone inside that shooed us out. He told us to go around, but we couldn't find another entrance. But, I did get a look inside.
Then we went to a group of 4 Sephardic Synagogues dating back to the 16th century. Those were interesting, but we had to pay 5 NIS each to get in. (Left - While walking around the Old City, we saw this staircase which a lot of people were coming down. We decided to see what was up there and headed up. It just went onto the rooftops, but we could see holy sites for the three major religions in Jerusalem. We could see the Dome of the Rock, the Hurva Synagogue, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Besides that, we could see the Russian Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. It was very interesting. It was a nice little rest stop). I don't really think it was worth it. There wasn't much to see, but oh well, it was still interesting.
After that, we walked through the Old City to get some lunch. I had my second falafel and it was much, much better than the first. (Right - while walking around the Old City, I wanted a picture of this street. I asked my traveling companions to show their faces and this is what I got. From left to right: Danny, Ashley, and Rich). It was actually really good. After our quick lunch, we contemplated going to see something else, but we didn't have as much time as we would have liked, so we came back to the center instead. I was pretty wiped out by the time we got back, so it was probably a good thing. I still need to take it easy so I don't have a relapse.
P.S. I had my Ultrasound report translated today and I am stone free!! Let's hope I stay that way!

Yad Vashem, Mt. Herzl, and MLR Institute

Today has been an interesting day. We went on a field trip to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum here. It is the largest Holocaust museum in the world. (Left - Yad Vashem. It is a lot larger than it looks from this picture. We didn't even see a third of what is there). We had a guided tour through the museum that was very interesting. I learned a lot of things that I had never heard before. I wish we had had more time to just look around, but I may go back. One of the best stories that I heard was about the country of Denmark. The entire nation pulled together to save the Jews in that land. Eventually, they had to smuggle them out, but when those Jews returned to Denmark, they returned to their locked homes that had been cleaned, gardens tended, pets fed, and even silver polished. (Right - View of Jerusalem from the end of Yad Vashem). One religious leader said, "I do not know what a Jew is, I only know what human beings are." I like hearing more about things like that. I also didn't realize that some Jewish prisoners revolted. In Auschwitz, several people smuggled in (don't ask me where they hid it) dynamite and when enough was collected, they bombed one of the crematorium. Other revolts happened, though not everyone was able to do so.
The last thing I saw was the Children's Memorial. (Left - entering the Children's Memorial. The pillars that you see on the left represent the lives cut short). That was amazing. 5 candles are used to produce quite an effect. The memorial was dedicated to the son of one man and one woman. This little boy had been gassed at one of the death camps, but both parents had survived. They had two more children after the war, but never forgot that little boy. 1.5 million children were killed during the Holocaust. Those who could prove that they were 15 or older were more likely to survive, but younger than that were killed without thinking.
After Yad Vashem, we had lunch and then toured Mount Herzl. (Right - Me and Bethany on Mount Herzl). That is a cemetery/museum named after Theodor Herzl, one of the founders of Zionism. His body was moved there after the State of Israel was created. The main Independence Day Ceremony is held there every year. Other political leaders are also buried there. It was interesting, but by that time I was ready to be done.
When we came back, I had to leave to go to my ultrasound appointment. (Left - checking in for my ultrasound appointment). That was interesting because I have never had an ultrasound before. The hospital (called M.L.R. Institute) doesn't have signs in English. I felt so confused. The woman at the desk didn't speak English, but was able to point us in the right direction. Luckily the woman at the desk in the Ultrasound section spoke English. But the nurse who came to get me to take me into the room for the test didn't. She had to demonstrate what she wanted me to do. It was quite amusing. Luckily the guy who came to do the ultrasound spoke English.
The results (as far as I know) are that nothing is wrong. But, it is hard to know because the paper they gave me is all in Hebrew. I have to take it to the office tomorrow to see if that is the official report, or if it just says that I had an ultrasound. I think I am fine because I have been pain free now for 4 days and nights. I think I will stay that way. I am drinking lots of fluids and that should hopefully mitigate. But, it was definitely another adventure.
I will add more pictures later because I am hungry and haven't had dinner yet.

It's raining, it's . . . snowing?

For the second time since I have come to Jerusalem, the unusual has happened, though the first time it happened while we were in Egypt. If you haven't guessed it by now, I will tell you. It has snowed! We have been hearing that it was going to snow for the past couple of days, but last night it happened. I woke up this morning, hurried to look out the window, and was happy to see snow! It has been snowing all morning though now is beginning to taper off. The Dome of the Rock is covered in snow. (See above and right). It is quite a sight.
On a different note, last night I went to the center's Basketball Tournament Championship Game. It was a game between The Dream Team and The Zealots (I know that means nothing to you, but names of people would mean just as little). It was quite exciting. The Dream Team was up the entire first half, but it was close the entire way. (Left - Davey flying during the half-time show). Then the Zealots pulled ahead after the half-time show to win a stunning victory 76-68. It is hard to cheer at a game where you know all the players. I have to admit, I was pulling for the Dream Team, but I always cheer for the underdog. (Right - the game got intense toward the end of the second half!)
I also wanted to share a quote with you that Brother Draper shared in our Old Testament class. It is from a paper called "The Weight of Glory" written by C. S. Lewis. I really like what C. S. Lewis has to say. He very well articulates things. Here it is:

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours."
-C. S. Lewis "The Weight of Glory"