Home for the Holidays

Well, I did it. I managed to fly half way around the world to spend a week with my family in Florida over Christmas. I still can't believe that I pulled THAT one off!! I always hate being at the airport. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester in Jerusalem and I'm SO excited for my time in Europe ... but it's always hard to say my goodbyes and wait at the airport. SO excited that I'm seeing Justin in 5 weeks, Ellie in 6 weeks, and mom in 8 ... on another continent!!

I managed to be incredibly productive while in Jacksonville ... I talked with my uncle about graduate school admissions process ... I got my H1N1 vaccine ... left most of the stuff that I'm not going to need abroad anymore (um, like a TON of books) ... got the study Bible that I needed. Bummers would be that my Kindle stopped working and I had to leave before the replacement arrived (though I suppose that means that I will really focus on school work for the last few weeks instead of reading Diana Gabaldon books for the umpteenth time) ... and that airports are a MESS with all the crap on flights to the US in the past week!

My New Year's resolution? be better at updating my blog!!!

Static vs. Living

Classes are fascinating. Several of them overlap, which enables me to get different perspectives on the same places, times, and words. My favorite class, I think, is "Classical Jewish Texts" which is also covering the early Christian writings (like the Apochrypha). It's so interesting to look at the early words of Christianity and the words of the Talmudic period and to see where they really started to diverge. It's also interesting to see how the Gospel's are different from the rest of the Christian scriptures. There a definite parallel to the differences you see between the writings of the Torah and the law that is practiced in Israel, with particular attention to the Talmudic writings.

There are things that are set down in law in the Torah that the Sages of the Talmud interpret so as to allow for a continued religious practice that extends beyond desert life around 1500 BCE. The Talmudic Sages regarded these words as sacred and holy ... but not particularly practical by the time of the 1st century. It seems to be the same with early Christianity. The words spoken by Jesus in the gospels (particularly the statement that "Whosoever therefore shall break on of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven ... " (Matthew, 5:19)) became impractical by the time of Paul's Acts of the Apostles. The Jews of the time were not cleaving to the words of Jesus in any great number, and there was little chance of getting the gentiles of the time to convert to Judaism and follow all of those laws, PLUS the teachings of Jesus. Therefore, Paul decided that it was not necessary to become a Jew first.

Because of the flexibility of Paul Christianity appealed to a great many Gentiles and won them as converts. They were able to take Christian beliefs and weave their own culture into it. The Celtic gods and goddesses didn't disappear when Christianity came to down ... they were incorporated into the belief system.

Similarly, the foresight of men like Hillel and Johannan ben Zakkai allowed Judaism to transform from a cultic religion focused on one location and the sacrifices to be made there, into a religion of belief ... a tradition that could become a "portable homeland" (The Jews: The Period of the Talmud, Goldin).

Conclusions can then be drawn to modern Constitutional scholarship. Do we interpret the Constitution according to the mindset of people who lived and thought and wrote 222 years ago? Or do we look at the words in their current context? The Bible has been read and translated and interpreted over and over again. It can be found in modern language or in ancient. I am currently reading a King James translation, written in 1611. The words and grammatical syntax don't make a lot of sense to me in 2009. The prose is majestic and it sounds great ... but in terms of applying it do daily life? The words just don't apply. But if you put the words into a more modern vernacular (say, the JPS translation from 1987, or The Good News Bible, from the 90's for the Christian texts), all of a sudden, the words take on a more applicable meaning! Is the Constitution more sacred than the Bible, that it must be kept to it's original context and not EVER looked at with a modern eye? I think not.

The difference between Judaism and Christianity and the other religions that existed from 1000 BCE - 1000 CE is that Judaism and Christianity adopted a LIVING document approach. The moment that societies begin to think of themselves or their primary (be they religious of secular) texts as static is the moment that they cease to be relevant.

Back at Ben Gurian

whoa ... I had ZERO trouble going through security, thank HEAVEN! I have some SERIOUS doubts about my ability to make my connecting flight ... so I'm really hoping for smooth flying and a quick run through US customs!

I realize that I have been SORELY neglecting the blog, and I will make it up as soon as I get home!! There has been a LOT going on and I've just been going crazy with school work.

Bottom line? I love it here. I miss home and the people at home, but the experience of living in Jerusalem and the people that I'm meeting are AMAZING. I love Hebrew and I love Israelis so I'm having a very good time!!!

I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to being home with family and friends, however, and I'm really looking forward to seeing CH and Larry! It's been WAY too long since I've been there, and I think that I get to see Bridgit as well! It's going to be a CRAZY 2.5 weeks (meetings all next week, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, NYC, FL ...) OY! But I wouldn't have it ANY other way :)

weight and body image in the Middle East

It's funny how different cultures appreciate different things. In the US there is a HUGE emphasis on weight. Having been overweight for much of my life I can personally say that being fat in America totally sucks. Malls, a source of amusement for so many young women, become large torture chambers to remind you that you don't fit in. The looks of judgement you receive from people when you are walking around in stores remind you that, even though the clothes on the shelf are pretty, you can only look. You must search far and wide to find stores for women like you. Department stores hide your section far away from everyone else.

Basically it SUCKS.

On the plus side, you really develop relationships that are about the PERSON and not the appearance. People fall in love with YOU ... not your size. But it's hard to have a positive self image in that environment, none the less.

It's completely different here. Even at the beach ... you see women in bikini's that wouldn't even be able to BUY one at home. Yeah, it's still hard to find clothes your size because most are designed for the average size person (which is about 3 sizes bigger here than in the States) but when you're walking around you don't get the looks of judgement. And you are no longer exempt from male attention.

It's a rather freaky experience being hit on and having pick up lines used on you ... Does it change how I feel about J? not at all! In fact, it just reaffirms how I feel about him ... it's just flattering. For example:

I was out at a street festival in Talpiyot with Meghan tonight and I'm looking at this rack of skirts (so many colors!!!!!) and this guy comes up to me and starts asking me (in Hebrew) if I study at the University. I'm like, "yeah ... " "AH! (long string of Hebrew I didn't understand here)" "Anglit, bevakasha" "Ah! Ken, you study Hebrew?" "ken" "AH! I was saying that I knew I recognized you, I keep seeing you everywhere" (ummm, I have NEVER seen him so I'm a little confused) "It's nice to meet you, what is you're name" (extends his hand for a shake) "Sarah" "Sarah. It's nice to me you. I'm Henry" (an Israeli Henry? hmmm he's holding my hand a long time ... that's weird) "Na'eem meod" "Well, now that we've met shopping, it must be a match in heaven. It's hard to get a man to shop! Now you know you should go to dinner with me!" (ummmmmmm ....) "heh heh ummm yeah I know ... I have SUCH a hard time getting my boyfriend to shop with me ..." "Ahhh you have a boyfriend?" "yes, for three years" "ah, lucky me, well, nice to meet you." "yes, you too ..." and then he was gone ... I just cracked up.

Meghan and I had a great laugh over it ... it's just so funny! Clearly he NEVER saw me at HUJI ... it was a PICK UP LINE! hahahahahhahahaha

Anyhoo, I'm off to bed. Wearing my new dress tomorrow!!!!

Ancient tunnels, tumbled walls, Dead Sea Scrolls, dead seas, sacred tombs

Wow, what a FASCINATING weekend it has been! Freddie was here visiting and we did just about all we could do in a day! He went on a whirlwind 3 hour tour of the Old City on Thursday morning while I was in class and then I met him downtown to go to Hezekiah's Tunnel with Devora!! Hezekiah's tunnel is possibly the COOLEST thing I've done. It's this looooooong waterway that goes underneath ancient Jerusalem and protected their water source from invading armies. It was SO much fun! Whenever people visit me? We're going there!!! SOOOOO cool! (the only POSSIBLE exception would be Justin ... there are part in the tunnel where I was bent almost 90 degrees ... and I'm a foot shorter than J ... I feel like there are parts of the tunnel that would not be so much fun for him ...

The BUMMER about the tunnel is that it dumps you out in the middle of the East Jerusalem village of Silwan ... and you have to hike BACK up the hill through the neighborhood which is not so nice. Lesson learned: bring the number of a cab company with you so that you can have a cab meet you when you get out on the other side (waiting for the cab would be fine because you can play in the water (see pictures on Facebook) or shop in the gift shop (the shop keeper has an antiquities license!!). We, however, did NOT have a cab waiting for us and decided to hike up ... TERRIBLE plan. My knee STILL hasn't recovered and we didn't get all the way up!!! MANY cab drivers LIVE in Silwan and we found one who hadn't parked and gone inside yet. He gave us a lift back to the Jaffa gate and then I went back to campus to change before meeting Freddie BACK downtown for dinner (Spaghettim, where else???)

On FRIDAY Freddie and I took a personal tour of Jericho, Qumran, and then a dip in the Dead Sea. Jericho was VERY cool (and I was crowned a Beduin queen which was fun!) but I have to say, the inherent risk in going to Jericho (it is PLO administered and Israeli citizen are NOT allowed to go there ... and if, heaven forbid anything should happen to you there, the IDF will NOT go after you nor will your health insurance cover you.

Following Jericho it was off to Qumran which is Israeli controlled. SOOOOOO FREAKING COOL! We walked through the ruins of the Essene community and saw all of the caves!! I wanted to go spelunking but we aren't allowed (and my knee still hurt!!). I took loads of pictures and moved we moved on, after lunch, to the Dead Sea. Ni'im took us to a relatively new beach which TOTALLY kicked the beach I went to in July's butt!! There were no rocks and LOTS of mud (again, see pictures on FB!!). I covered myself with mud several times and enjoyed floating around. We met an Israeli family from Haifa and I had fun talking with them in Hebrew :D Then it was back home for Friday night services and shabbat dinner at the center (Freddie got a LOAD of Jewish culture in while he was here :D)

Saturday I got to sleep in while Freddie went to Ramallah and Bethlehem and then we all met up to go to Holy Sepulchre! That was a very interested experience! Paul, a friend from class, who is also a Benedictine monk, gave us a tour of the entire church which is just MASSIVE! We were there late enough in the day that we got to see and hear all the different groups chanting and singing and stomping giant staffs on the floor. REALLY cool!! We had several really interesting conversations about differences in religions and religious beliefs and had a GREAT time (Paul and Meghan are two of my favorite people here :D) I went back to campus to work on HW ... and Boaz calls to see if we can hang out. Since he is Israeli and I'm doing Hebrew HW this seemed like a good plan.

Oh awkwardness. Men are silly silly people. Oy vey.

Then Sunday it was time for the last summer installment of learning at the Center. $100/month to listening to interesting lectures and talking with interesting people? yes please. I definitely don't agree with everything that is said or professed ... but it's still interesting to learn about a very unique perspective. It's interesting, the more of these lectures I attend, the more I realize that Orthodoxy is not for me. There are some nice things about it but it's just so narrow minded in so many ways. I just can't understand denying evolution. The spirituality and passion for joy and loving G-d is very interesting and nice ... but you can have that and still accept basic scientific principles!! The point of the "Dollars for Learning" program is to enrich student's Jewish education, and it definitely does that ... from one point of view. I enjoy learning about it ... but also talking with secular, Reform, and Conservative Jews ... not to mention several modern Orthodox Jews. There are so many different perspectives and it's fun to know about them all!

I'm really looking forward to Rosh Hashanah. I'm spending it down at the Wall! There is a program that includes hospitality and meals and the services are "user friendly" with explanations about what everything means and why we do it (PERFECT for me!!). Again, it's from the Orthodox perspective, but c'est la vie.

ANYHOO, I'm off to get some work done before HOPEFULLY meeting Freddie for a farewell drink!

Oy vey

oops! I've been neglecting my blogging duties!

Things here in Israel are going much better. I've found a nice group of people to hang out with on a semi-regular basis and have also found two very sane and pleasant Synagogues to be involved with, one of which is a 2 minute walk from my apartment! Class is going well but I'm really ready to start regular classes! Having Hebrew class from 8:30-1:30 EVERY DAY with the SAME people in the SAME room is really starting to wear on my patience! I also can't wait for the Israeli students to get here so that I can actually USE my Hebrew!

I'm VERY excited that Freddie is coming this week! We're going to rent a car and go to the Dead Sea on Friday and drive up around the Golan and Galilee on Saturday (yes, I did that with Cristen and co from the dig, but it's SO beautiful and a few people want to go up there to see the Sea so why the heck not!) And THEN ... after he leave ... is ONE WEEK TO THE NEW YEAR AND ANOTHER WEEK AFTER THAT UNTIL I FLY HOME FOR BREAK!!!! I'm definitely looking forward to that ... I just wish the break were longer! I'd like to go to FL to see Mimi and everyone, I'd like to go to NYC to see CH and Larry, I'd like to go the Chapel Hill to see Ellie during Family Weekend, I'd like to go to Fredericksburg to spend time with Justin's family, and OF COURSE I want to spend time at home sleeping in my own bed and seeing my friends! Unfortunately, I am only home for 15 days and two weekends ... and I have meetings with people scheduled for 5 days in the first week already. No matter what I do, SOMEONE will be unhappy but I know that I just can't do it all and that some of it will have to wait until I come back in February (which is a longer break!!)

Now, to take a nap and then study for my quiz tomorrow!

Which would you prefer: Black and white, or full color? Or, why everyone needs a Leroy Jethro Gibbs in their Life

Personally, while I thoroughly enjoy black and white movies and TV shows, I infinitely prefer the complexity of full color. The black and white movies and shows have an attractive simplicity about them ... you always know what will happen. There is an order ... a hierarchy. Things don't go wrong, and when they, there is a concrete reason why and a way to fix. It's hypnotic, especially when you are going through a rough patch in your own full color-and-chaotic life.

You can sit in front of these black and white movies and be drawn in by the simplicity. You can say how much you wish your life was so simple. You can try to recreate the seemingly wonderful haven that exists on the screen. Many people get totally pulled into to idealizing that simplistic image and completely lose track of the fact that life is actually full of color.

This brings me to my next point: when you notice someone starting to get pulled in by a seductively simplistic image on the screen please smack them on the back of the head. Don't be an ASS about it, but remind them of all the things that are wonderful about living in full color.

There are many wonderful things about the black and white image shows and movies: everything has a place, all the families are warm and loving, people are happy all the time. But when you look closer (IE after the back of your head has been smacked by your loving and wonderful Boss) you realize that everyone in those shows and movies are strikingly similar. Where is the wonderful diversity that makes the world so bright? Where is the difference of opinion? Where is the dissent?

This is not to say that the black and white shows and movies are great: they're CLASSICS! Everyone should observe them and learn from them ... but living your life like it's all black and white doesn't work for most people. Some, yes, but not most people.

It takes all kinds to make the world go round ... and there is a vast myriad of experience, none of which are less important or less valid than the others.

Thanks, Boss.

Spring Break

So I have a dilemma. I have like 15 days off for Passover during the Spring which also covers Easter. Plenty of time to come home and spend time with my family and Justin and friends ... but it is ALSO plenty of time to go to Greece and/or Italy. Or I could go to England and visit Ellie if she's studying in London ...

I mean, I REALLY want to go to Greece before I leave Israel. It's possible that I will stay here for three years and therefore will have three additional Passover breaks in which to go Greece and Italy ... but who knows what will come up!

Hmm ... I have a few days yet before I need to make a decision ... and this is one to think long and hard about.

!!!עברית

!!אני כוטבת עברית

זה קשה אּבל אני את אוהבת

המחשב שלי לא איהב לכתיב עברית

Hebrew!!! I write Hebrew!! This is hard but I love it. My computer doesn't like to write Hebrew.

The punctuation doesn't like to actually go at the end of the sentence (on the left!) And the key assignment doesn't make total sense, but that's fine. You need to know English in order for the keys to make any type of sense.

Class today went really well. I didn't do as well on the test as I had thought I did, but I still did pretty well. I'm waiting for Justin to get online, and them I'm off to Ben-Yehuda street to shop! I DEFINITELY need more books in English, but I want to get a copy of one or two of my favorite books in Hebrew and start going through it. It will be REALLY REALLY hard to read, but I learned English by pushing myself to read challenging books, perhaps it will work with Hebrew as well.

Israel Bucket List

Now that I'm feeling MUCH better (though I still have a major case of the blues), I am determined to make a plan to truly experience Jerusalem and Israel. This is the second weekend where I have basically sat in my apartment and it is rather depressing and boring. I've been working on the creation of an "Israel Bucket List" and I'm sure that it will grow and change while I'm here, but here it is for a start:

1. Eilat and Petra

2. Tel Aviv (beach and nightlife)

3. Rosh Hanikra

4. Ceasarea

5. Western Wall Tunnel

6. HaOphel

7. Via Dolorosa and the Holy Sepulchre at 4pm (that's when all the different denominations chant, it's supposed to be amazing)

8. Israel Museum and Shrine of the Book (this is currently closed for renovation, but will reopen next year)

9. Shopping for jewelry in the Jewish Quarter

10. Yad Vashem

11. Rosh Hashannah at the Western Wall

12. Observation Point on Mount Scopus

13. Masada

14. Haifa (more than just the mall :P)

15. Attend Shabbat services at a few different synagogues with different affiliations

There will be PLENTY more to add, I'm sure!

Jerusalem is a whirlwind ...

Jerusalem in intoxicating. It's an incredible blend of secular and religious and can leave you feeling completely turned upside down. I knew when I came here that I wanted to learn more about Judaism and you can't help but feel a yearning for a deeper level of observance when you are here.

But there are sooo many different levels! Unless you truly have no issue being stared at, you dress when walking around most of the city as if you are orthodox. You wear shirts that at LEAST cover your collar bones and shoulders (think a t-shirt), though I wear a 3/4 length shirt or a very LARGE t-shirt that has sleeves that come basically to my elbows. You wear a skirt that covers your knees ...

You are surrounded by people who have made Alliyah ... it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and think "maybe I should Immigrate" or "maybe I should be Orthodox" ... but then you realize that means basically leaving behind friends and family ... and it helps put things back in perspective.

For example, there is no way that I could live here alone. I miss my family and Justin too much. Being here for a year is difficult enough. I find myself taking it "one day at a time" so that I don't get overwhelmed by the daunting amount of time that I spending away from those I love. To complete the MA in Archaeology, it would require being here for 3 years. I'm not entirely certain that I can do that. First of all, it's a LOT of money. Secondly, it's three YEARS. 1095 days. I can't possibly fly back every 3 months. The autumn semester is going to be difficult enough as it goes from Oct 18-Jan 29 with zero break. Ok, I get 1 day off for Chanukkah, but other than that, 0 breaks. That's a LONG time to go without seeing my family at home!

I've started shopping for people at home! I have some really creative ideas for people ... and shopping for others is more fun than shopping for myself! There are LOTS of really interesting things here that are outside the normal thought process. There are lamps, hookahs, goblets ... and then there are the normal things: religious jewelry, hamsa's, t-shirts, magnets ... so many different things. I'm trying to decide if I want to go to the Arab and Christian quarters today to do a bit of shopping (and getting out of the apartment would be nice ...). The unfortunate thing is that I'm by myself ... which can be rather uncomfortable when you are walking around.

Defying Gravity

Sometimes life's emotions are best described by a song:

GLINDA: Elphaba, why couldn't you have stayed calm for once, instead of flying off the handle!

I hope you're happy!

I hope you're happy now!

I hope you're happy now you've hurt your cause forever,

I hope you think you're clever!

ELPHABA:

I hope you're happy!

I hope you're happy, too.

I hope you're proud how you would grovel in submission

To feed your own ambition!

BOTH:

So though I can't imagine how,

I hope you're happy, right now!

GLINDA:

Elphie, listen to me. Just say you're sorry!

You can still be with the wizzard,

What you've worked and waited for.

You can't have all you ever wanted!

EPHABA:

I know. But I don't want it.

No. I can't want it anymore.

Something has changed within me.

Something is not the same.

I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game.

Too late for second guessing

Too late to go back to sleep!

It's time to trust my instincts,

Close my eyes, and leap!

It's time to try defying gravity.

I think I'll try defying gravity,

And you can't pull me down.

GLINDA:

Can't I make you understand?

You're having delusions of grandeur!

ELPHABA:

I'm through accepting limits,

'Cuz someone says they're so!

Somethings I cannot change

But 'till I try, I'll never know!

Too long I've been afraid of

Losing love I guess I've lost!

Well, if that's love, it comes at much to hight a cost!

I'd sooner buy defying gravity.

Kiss me goodbye!

I'm defying gravity, and you can't pull me down!

Glinda, come with me. Think of what we could do. Together.

Unlimited. Together we're unlimited.

Together we'll be the greatest team there's ever been.

Glinda, things the way we planned 'em.

GLINDA:

If we work in tandem:

BOTH:

There's no fight we cannot win!

Just you and I, defying gravity!

With you and I, defying gravity!

ELPHABA:

They'll never bring us down.

Well, are you coming?

GLINDA:

I hope you're happy, now that you're choosing this.

ELPHABA:

You too.

I hope it brings you bliss

BOTH:

I really hope you get it,

And you don't live to regret it!

I hope you're happy in the end!

I hope you're happy, my friend!

ELPHABA:

So if you'd care to find me

Look to the Western sky!

As someone told me lately:

"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"

And if I'm flying solo,

At least I'm flying free.

To those who'd try to ground me,

Take a message back from me:

Tell them how I am defying gravity!

I'm flying high, defying gravity!

And soon I'll match them in renown.

And nobody in all of Oz,

No Wizard that there is or was

Is ever gonna bring me down!

It currently rings a little hollow, but I'm working on making it my mantra. Really trying not to let stuff I can't control or change bother me. I've chosen my course, and now it's time to defy gravity. It's just not that easy.

I can say that in Hebrew!

I had an epiphany with several girls in class today. We all realized that we know WAY more Hebrew than we thought we did ... and there is a BUNCH that we can say. I'm getting pretty good at reading comprehension but I still have trouble with listening. I do OK when it gets slowed down a bit ... so many words in Hebrew sound alike and when someone talks a mile a minute they all kinda run together.

I think that a few of the girls from class and I are going to go to dinner tomorrow night at my favorite restaurant: Spagettim! Super stoked. And perhaps the Old City? There is some souvenir shopping that I want to do for people ... and I've been on campus for a week now and haven't actually ventured off of Mount Scopus. What's the point of living in the most amazing place if you don't actually go see it? I also want to explore outside of Jerusalem. There is NO WAY that I would drive around the city, but the rental car place is outside if I want to go up to the Galilee ... and I really want to go to Tel Aviv. I'm thinking chillin' at the beach. Sun, Mediterranean waves ... not really that interested in the CRAZY nightlife I keep hearing about (in Israel, it's the City that Never Sleeps. When asked "what do the young people do in Jerusalem for fun" the answer was "go to Tel Aviv." ha bloody ha). The thought of partying until 8am is not particularly appealing ... but the beach DEFINITELY is.

I don't REALLY want to go off on my own, however, so I'm on a quest to find people to go exploring with. *ponder*

Well, it's back to studying for me ... major test tomorrow.

I'M RECONNECTED TO THE WORLD!

After what seems like an ETERNITY, I finally have the internet hooked up in my apartment. Let me review what has happened in the past week:

Monday, August 3: Left Jacksonville on route to Tel Aviv. The plane ride to both Newark and Tel Aviv were fine. I sat in one of the bulkhead seats on the 12 hour flight to Tel Aviv which meant that I could move my legs a bit which was nice. I put my backpack underneath my legs like a footstool, took an ambien, and passed out for much of it. I was rather emotionally exhausted and had a difficult time getting on the plane in Newark. Don't get me wrong, I love Israel (and now that I'm in classes I'm pretty settled) but I still haven't gotten over wishing that when I'm sick or having a hard time that I can just go home. Knowing that life at home is moving on and going forward, without me ... it's very difficult. I want to be a part of everything that is going on at home. It was hard leaving my grandmother. It was hard not having even seen Justin when I flew back for the funeral ... it's all just hard.

Tuesday, August 4: I arrive in Tel Aviv and take a cab to the Regency Jerusalem (thank you, Mimi!!!!!!!). I check in to the hotel and call up the spa and ask if there was still space for a massage and that a male masseuse was fine with me. I made the horrible mistake of asking for a deep tissue massage ... boy did that hurt like hell, but felt good at the same time. I had room service (AMAZING pasta). I had a great night just relaxing but was a little unsettled by the fact that I was developing a cough (stupid airplanes, they are illness incubators).

Wednesday, August 5: FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! I head over to campus and get my first taste of what security is like: I need to present my passport to the security guard who goes through all of my personal belongings before allowing me to enter the campus. The problem is this: I was dropped off at the start of the Social Sciences building ... I need to get the Boyar building ... which is nice and tucked away ... on the other side of campus. So not good. So I lug my stuff all over campus trying to figure out where I'm going and finally run into these two nice Israeli girls who are going the same way. They inform me that "you know, it's not a requirement to bring all your belongings to school every day. All you need are your books!" Helpful, these two were. Whatever. They help me lug the bag to Boyar and I try to figure out where I'm going to check in. I follow the signs for reception down to the first level and leave my bag in the "luggage room"and follow MORE signs up to the 4th floor (or was it the 5th??) either way, I sign in, fill out some paper work and wait to be called. Then they ask if anyone will need to check into housing. I do, so I raise my hand and I get to cut to the front of the line. SWEET. I get my ID card via the webcam on her computer (wasn't THAT what the 8 passport size photos I had SHIPPED HERE WERE FOR??????? Ugh, and they were so much more flattering, too) and she tells me that I should hustle downstairs and take the shuttle to campus and then hurry back for classes. Uhhhh whaaaat??? So I jump on the shuttle and make it to Kfar HaStudentim (student village) and check in, get my keys and make my way to my assigned room. I unlock the door to the bedroom and ... someone elses stuff is in there. Crap. So I go back out ... and the elevator's have stopped working. Double crap. So I decide to leave my stuff in the apartment and go ask what's going on ... perhaps I was supposed to be in room 5, not 4??? So I go back to the housing office and tell them what's happened and they assign me a new room in a new building. Craaaaaaaap. So i walk back UP the 9 flights of stairs, get my belongings, go DOWN the 9 flights of stairs and get to my new building. The internet office happens to be downstairs so I pop my head in and tell them that my room number has been changed. They write it down and tell me it should be set up in 24 hours. HA-HA-HA. I go BACK to housing, hand them the old keys and ask for directions back to campus. Seriously, it's mile walk ... and it IS uphill both ways. Stupid hills. So, I make the mile hike, back to Boyar and go back to where I started. They look surprised to see me "But you're supposed to be in class." "well, Yes, but I don't know what class I'm in, or where it would be ..." "Ah, talk to Gila." "ummm, where would she be?" So I go off to find Gila ... and she informs me that I'm in Alef Advanced-14 which will finish Alef in a few weeks and then finish Bet by the end of Ulpan. Ummm REALLY??? She writes me a note admitting me to the class, tells me where to go and I'm on my way. I get into class and find a seat ... and realize I have no idea what is being said. By anyone. I try to explain this fact to the professor who tells me that it's fine, i'll be ok. Um ... NO I WON'T!!! I find the person in Humanities building who is charge of moving people around ... and she says to come see her first thing in the morning. I wander BACK over to Boyar to wait for the bus trip to the mall (I am in DIRE need of shampoo and conditioner ... and a pillow). I find what I need in about 20 minutes and decide to go to Pizza hut with the rest of my time. BTW: Pizza Huts in Israel are nice establishments not little fast food joints. I have dinner and make my way back to meet the group and head back to campus. I meet my roommate, Dvora (she's AMAZING) and head to my room to unpack. Dvora is in Level Gimmel (Alef, Bet, Gimmel) so she can EASILY help me with my homework and tells me that yeah, I should switch levels, but that my Hebrew is much better that I think it is *:D*

Thursday, August 6: I am Goldilocks and the Ulpan. I go to see the level changing lady first thing and she decides to put me in Alef Advanced-13. Oh yeah, that should be LOADS different from 14. Brilliant. Aaaaand it's not. The teacher is quite nice, but thinks that I'm a complete IDIOT and sends me back to change levels again. This time they put me in Alef-Intermediate 6. I was talking CIRCLES around them and the teacher kicked me out. Again. So I go back and get places in Alef 10. PERFECT. The teacher is amazing, it's the right mix of "I know that!" "I don't know that!" I'm happy. Then Gila walks in and tells us that there are too many people in this class and that we are going to be split into 3 the next day. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I go back to the room after class, and decide to chill out for a little bit. I open my window to let in the breeze ... and am attacked by a pigeon. So not ideal. I run around the apartment screaming and waving a pillow at the damn bird until it wanders back out. I decide that I've had quite enough nature and chilling and walk to the supermarket. Ok, shopping in a new grocery store is intimidating. You never know where things are, they have different brands ... it's kinda 1000000 times worse in a foreign country. Where the labels are in a completely different language. I know enough Hebrew to kinda guess what most things are (and there are pictures which help. Note to food producers: ALWAYS PUT PICTURES ON THE LABEL) but it's hard to know what cheese is what, what type of milk that is ... is that yogurt, or sour cream?? After being scared in the dairy isle, I decided to stick with veggies and obvious things. I got humus, cucumber, tomato, water, bread, and chocolate spread. And TP. And walked back to my apartment.

Friday, August 7: The only Friday that we will have class. I walk over to the Humanities Building, where we meet, and see that I've been moved to another class. Again. Major bummer. I head over and the teacher is COMPLETELY confused to see us. She normally teaches level 7 ... but we are not level 7 ... and we don't know where they've gone. So she teaches us until the break when we ALL have to walk over to Boyar to sing songs for Shabbat. Interesting. I stay to register for the Shabbat dinner that night and make it back to class just in time. But the people in the room are completely different ... WTF? So I go BACK to the room I was in YESTERDAY and see my name on the door there. Seriously? So I go in. The teacher calls roll ... and I'm not on it. Rather than have me go outside with the other people who are clearly confused, she just tells me to sit and she'll add me so we don't waste time. But but but but but ... FINALLY Gila comes in and says that she has the list of people who are supposed to be in this room and if we could please come outside with her if we're not on the list. I'm not on the list. She takes me to a NEW room where the rest of my class is waiting. With a new teacher. Again. We have a test on the first 110 pages of the text book. No problems there. And I head back to the village to unwind before dinner. I pick out a nice, conservative outfit and, at 7:50pm head down to the gate to meet up with everyone. Dinner is AMAZING ... but not at all traditional ... except for the food. The food is STUPENDOUS and traditional. I get back wait to speak to Justin ... that mean 1am here. And he doesn't answer. Again. And I'm sick ... so I call mom and dad to cry and bitch and then pass out.

Saturday, August 8. Shabbat. I observe it in the most literally way: I SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP into the afternoon. Mom calls me around 1pm my time to tell me that Justin called her the night before to tell her that he's been trying to get hold of me but that his phone isn't cooperating. GRRRRR. I then spend a lovely Shabbat afternoon reading and just generally unwinding. I finally manage to get hold of Justin and find out that his grandfather's beloved dog had been put down the night before :(. For a day in which I didn't do much, it really went by fast!

Sunday, August 9: Back to school! We got our tests back that we had taken on Friday. I got a 91. I think this means that I should TECHNICALLY move up to Alef-12 ... but I'm not moving! I understand what's going on and there is a bunch of vocabulary that I am just now learning ... or had learned and COMPLETELY forgot ... and with all the other changes going on, I'm perfectly happy staying where I am and having an easy start to the Ulpan. It will be plenty tough later on! Plus, I have a year of more Hebrew. The cold that started when I got off the plane is getting worse with this really irritating cough so I decide to hit the sack pretty early.

And now we're to today! Still not feeling so hot ... I really just want to get over being sick and be healthy so that I have the energy to explore! I have plenty of time during the day to get away from Mount Scopus and down to the Old City ... or the New City ... and I'm really excited to get started. Actually ... that has to happen soon ... because the bank on campus and the bank down the street don't accept my card ... and I have 20 NIS left ... lo tov.

On the road again ...

And I'm back at an airport. About to board my 2.5 hour flight to Newark, 2.5 hour layover, 12 hour flight to Israel, 45 min cab ride to Jerusalem. Oy ... I will post an update when I get to the hotel on Mount Scopus ...

Whitnerisms

I will continue to add to this as I can. It's hard to keep working on it now.

Please comment on this to add other Whitnerisms that you remember and share with those who knew him. Some may be popular in a wider circle, some unique to George Whitner (Papa), but they are well known and loved by those who knew and loved him.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful"

"People do what you inspect, not what you expect."

"Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining."

"Va va va voom"

"Don't eat the daisies"

"Easy as teaching children to play"

"Custer had the Indians"

"Don't let the camel get its nose under the tent"

"God's little scheme of things"

"Unshirted hell"

"Oh my dear, all through here"

"Riding around on this damn ship"

"Duck on a june bug"

"Happy as a puppy with 2 P's"

"Dog on a point"

"Face up on the beach"

"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water"

"Get out from behind the potted palm"

"Dog to a bone"

"Shovel sand in your mess kit"

"Skate around the lobby"

"Cavalier about it"

"Bull dog on tramps pants"

"Deck chair off a steamer"

"Leave a hole to jump thru"

"The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings"

"Running for the city limits"

"Golden words"

"Sitting in a tub of butter"

"If it's not broke, don't fix it"

"Stick his candy in the sand"

"Now you come on down or along"

"Fish or cut bait"

"Fat, dumb and happy"

"Plant the flag"

"One arm paper hanger with crabs"

"The ship hit the sand"

"What the little boy shot at"

"Pick up the marbles and run"

"White on rice"

"Pitching or catching"

Current travel time: 22 hours

Well, I made it to NYC and am sitting in the Newark airport TOTALLY zonked. I started traveling at 4:30am Israeli time, which translates to 9:30 EST. It's now 2am (or 7pm, depending on your perspective) and I still have another hour and a half before my flight to FL takes off. I'm actually so tired that I HURT. I can't wait to see Jordan and Ellie at the airport and then mom (and EC?) when I get to 3767. And then I get to see Dad and Gigi tomorrow (ironically, they are actually about 10 minutes away from me right now ... but seeing them and CH and Larry would require leaving the airport and I can NOT survive airport security again. Too many checkpoints. Cannot handle anymore.

I literally feel like someone took a giant spatula to my brain and squished it all about. Ugh. Must ... have ... bed ... and sleep ... and lotion. Yes, lotion.

Ok, I'm actually going crazy here so I think it's time to stop blogging

Peace and Strength

Written: 4974 mi from NYC. 2pm ISRAELI TIME 34005 ft above eastern europe

When I said that I went to the Western Wall and prayed for what was foremost in my mind I meant it. I prayed for peace for my grandfather and strength for my grandmother the rest of the family to deal with what lay ahead. The moment of peace came yesterday at 2:30am EST and now comes the search for strength. It was not a surprise, but that doesn't make it less difficult to deal with. I am currently on a Boeing 777 flying from Israel to Jacksonville to attend my grandfather's funeral. The entire situation brings up many different emotions ... I am glad that he is no longer suffering and is at peace ... but I am deeply affected by the profound sense of loss. I am glad to be seeing the rest of my family, but sincerely wish it were for a happier occasion ... and that my grandfather would be there as well. The sense of loss is still too strong and personal to write about. Perhaps there will be a time when it will help to remember all of the wonderful and happy memories, but I can't do that yet.

Instead, I shall think and write about the flight. I was offered an upgrade to first class for 200 NIS ($50) and I JUMPED on it. Best decision ever. But I must backtrack to the start of the journey: 4:15am. After staying up past 11pm to finish packing and bring things over to Simcha and Tami's house (they are being AMAZINGLY kind and holding onto my two suitcases and bringing them to Jerusalem for me next week. This means that I have one night on campus with no sheets ... but I can survive that. Maybe I'll steal a blanket from the flight ...). I get up with the rest of camp to go to the dig site, but I jump in the car with Cline and Assaf who give me a ride to the train station. I get there at 5:15 and buy the train ticket to Ben-Gurian Airport which leaves at 6am (every other train from Nahariyya goes to the airport, other mean you need to transfer trains in Tel Aviv = BAD). After some confusion at the train station, I get on the CORRECT platform and board the train and take my seat. I dozed through much of the ride (which is a beautiful journey down the Med coast) and arrived at the airport. It was hard to find where I needed to go for Departures ... but I finally figured it out and made my way up to the 3rd level and got in line for security. Israeli security is INTENSE. It is much harder to get OUT of the country than it was to get in. You go through 5 check points. These check points are not "Hey, do you have your passport and boarding pass?" NO. They are full scans and xrays with LOTS of questioning. "What were you doing in Israel? Where were you staying? Do you know people who are here? What are their names? Where do they live? Are you a member of a congregation in the United States? What is the purpose of your travel today?" The xray machines for your bags make the ones in the US look like a JOKE. The images are sent to ANOTHER check point, where they go through each and every one of your bags, mainly looking for shoes and electronics. Now, I've been on a dig in an AVOCADO GROVE for three weeks which means that my backpack and shoes and some of my clothes are COVERED in fertilizer residue. Plus, I'm 23, which means that I horde electronic devices and the power cords that go with them. So ... I booked my flight yesterday, I'm traveling alone, I'm not checking a bag, I have a lot of electronics and cables, and I'm covered in fertilizer residue. You see where this is going, don't you? After turning on and fiddling with each and EVERY one of my electronic devices (laptop, ipod, israeli cell phone, us cell phone, Storm, chargers, adapters, cables -- the Storm was the most amusing to me ... they had never seen one before so an electronics specialist had to come over and play with it. He had never used one before so I had to show him how it worked, and he liked it and asked me questions about it that I SWEAR were personal interest, not security threat assessment) I was cleared by the second checkpoint and went on to check in. So I got to go to a special line with a carpet and checked in, got my pass to the first class lounge, and went on my merry way. I then went on to Passport Control and Security (I THOUGHT that was what I had just gone through for 45 minutes with the scanning and the electronics ... but apparently not). I go through passport control with no real trouble and get to security. APPARENTLY my friends at checkpoint 2 had marked my passport for additional scrutiny (DAMN YOU, AVOCADO GROVE!) So I get to go to a special line and get SUPER SCREENED. Again, they took out each and every one of my electronic appliances and screened them for residues. Scratches on them were questioned. When the man asked me if I was Jewish (um, I'm wearing a Magen David and a Hamsa with Chai on it ...) he got this funny look on his face and went to talk to his supervisor. Still have no idea what that was about because he came back and said I was ok to go after opening and closing EVERYTHING. Again.FINALLY I am through security and at the concourse.

Let me tell you about first class:

At the lounge they serve free meals, snacks, beer and soda. There is a full bar there. The chairs are plush and comfortable and they all have power cords. They will personally tell you when you need to go to your gate. You get to board the plane first and there are no grouchy flight attendants. You get free alcohol (but since I'm on a plane for TWELVE HOURS before my connection to J'ville I opted for water and soda) before and during your flight. You get a MENU to choose your inflight meal. I got the NY Strip Steak with mashed potatoes, asparagus and carrots. There is an appetizer course, and a salad course before your meal. You get a hot moist towel before the flight. You get a hot desert (apple cobbler with ice cream and all the toppings!) served to you on REAL plates and bowls. You chairs fully recline and have a foot rest. They have two chairs in the space that Coach has 3 so the seat are roomy with no fighting over arm rests (because everyone has two!). Best flying experience EVER. I am going to go back to reading by my personalized lamp! Ahhh, the good life :) Feels good after roughing it for three weeks ....\

Kabri Humor

A man dies and descends into hell. When he gets there he is met by Satan and told he has a choice of three ways to spend all eternity. "Well, I'd like to see them, if you don't mind." "But of course," says the Devil. He takes the man to the first room which is hotter than the hottest place on earth and all the men there are wearing giant, thick fur coats and sweating buckets. "Hmm, well, this is all very nice but I don't think I'd like to spend all eternity here. Can I see the next option?" So the Devil takes the man to the next room where it is FREEZING cold and everyone there is stark naked and shivering. "Well, I think this is better than the first room, but I don't think I'd like to stay here either. What is the third option?" So the Devil takes the man to the third room where everyone is standing waste deep in crap drinking cups of tea and chatting. "Well, this doesn't look very pleasant, but at least they are standing and seem to be social and friendly, I think that I'll stay here." "Are you sure?" said the Devil. "Yes, I'm sure. This is where I will stay." So the man gets checked in and joins everyone else and introduces himself and takes a cup of tea. 10 minutes later a lesser demon comes in a back room and says "Alright, break's over. Back on your heads."

We work with hoes and pickaxes all day. I am an EXPERT at "hoe" jokes. And at "The sound of the pick ... " haikus. There are also many, MANY jokes that are very funny but not fit for public consumption (archaeologists aren't noted for their PC sense of humor ... email or facebook me if you want the full collection)

I was purchased for 20 shekels. Or, why cab drivers are insane.

Ok, this place is amazing. I am DEFINTELY going to walk everywhere as the cab drivers are INSANE (Cristen and I decided that it was a good idea to take a cab back to the hotel from the Old City last night as it was almost midnight ... it would have been safer to walk).

Let me backtrack, so yesterday at the dig was nuts. Several people had gone out the night before and came back to the kibbutz at 3:30am, drunk as skunks, and crashed. They woke up JUST in time to throw their stuff together and run to the bus. One of the girls FORGOT A SHOE so the dig director had to drive her back to get it. They were all still a little drunk from the night before (that didn't last long ... hard work and a good sweat is an excellent cure) but for the first hour or so they were VERY giggly (not a good thing when you are wielding a pickaxe). We took out the tabun (sorry, Irving), and are now steaming down to try to find the wall (and HOPEFULLY some floor). I DOUBT that we will be able to go down that far in 3 days (that's right, only three more days of digging! Then it's cleaning up time!). Time really flies when you're wielding a pick axe and the day was over before we knew it. We had lunch and ran back to shower and change and pack for Jerusalem.

Somehow I was put in charge of calling for cabs (we needed two as there were 5 of us). The first person we called took over an hour and a half to come (BAD as they are in Nahariyya, which is 10 minutes away MAX) so we called another cab company from Haifa. Of course, both cabs arrive at the same time. Two cabs came from Haifa and one sherut came from Nahariya. Kait, Cristen and I get in the sherut and Mark and Allison get in one of the cabs. We make it to the gate of the kibbutz when the two cabs block the sherut in so that he can't drive out of the kibbutz and the cab drivers commence SCREAMING at each other. I couldn't understand MOST of what was going on, but the sherut driver was an Arab and the cab drivers were Jewish Israeli, which added some interesting ... color ... to the argument. When the sherut driver attempted to lock the door of the sherut so that we couldn't get out because he sensed that the Israeli cab driver (who spoke English) was starting to win out I had had about enough. I told Cristen and Kait to get ready to run and I gave the man 10 shekels and told him in a tone that could be understood universally to open the door of the sherut and let us out. The cab driver also gave the man 20 shekels and he went on his very unhappy way. In the end, it was a good move because the cab driver spoke excellent English, gave us lots of advice on how to get to Jerusalem and how to get around when there, told us funny (and not so nice) stories about sherut drivers, and introduced us by phone to his daughter who is about to start school in New York.

We pick up the rental car and I am named navigator. I get us through/around Haifa and down the coast to the BRAND NEW toll road that cuts an hour off your trip if you drove down to Tel Aviv. We cut through the center of Israel and SOMEHOW manage to navigate through the streets of Jerusalem (props to Mark for not hitting anyone or anything). Lesson about driving in Jerusalem: it involves much yelling and hand gestures. If you don't yell and wave your hands you're doing something wrong. We make it to our hotel and part ways with Mark, Allison, and Kait and check in. The room is BEAUTIFUL with a WONDERFUL shower and comfortable bed with soft, fluffy pillows. We change and head down the Jaffa Gate to meet up with Kait and Allison. We walk through the security check points and enter the Old City. It is AMAZING. There is literally no other way to describe it other than absolutely WONDERFUL. We don't get a lot of pictures (though Cristen sure tried) because it's dark out so we just wander up and down streets and alleys until we find our way to the Jewish quarter and this little kosher pizza place. Ok, the pizza was gross, but the view was stunning. We people watched and were adopted by this little kitten (who, I'll be honest, I REALLY wanted to adopt). We then realized that it was almost midnight, we had been up since 4am, and were exhausted so we wandered back out and Cristen and I hailed a cab.

It was the scariest experience EVER. This cab driver spoke NO english, didn't know where our hotel was, and didn't believe me when I told him it was on Sderut Salomon. He called a friend who gave him the address and we made it there, but it was a TERRIFYING ride. I would imagine that Disney got the idea for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride from an experience in a cab in Jerusalem. Cristen and I were just holding hands PRAYING that we would make it there in one piece ... and THANKFULLY, we did.

Cristen and Kait were going to attempt to do every site POSSIBLE on Friday ... and I have over a year here to explore and enjoy everything, so I decided that I was going to do my own thing and get used to getting around in my new city. BEST decision EVER. I wandered around the area near the hotel (Ben-Yahuda, Hillel, and Yaffo streets) and found several GREAT coffee shops and shops. I bargained Middle Eastern style at a Jewelery store (and made friends with the owner, who invited me home with him and his family for Shabbat. I have his card). I got two GREAT necklaces and some really cool ideas for gifts for people back home. I then realized that I was in DIRE need of new shoes. The two that I brought keep falling off my feet and don't give a lot of support/cushion and there is a LOT of walking around here, so I went to Khalifa Shoes and bought Teva's. Basically, the most comfortable shoes EVER. I then realized that I hadn't had breakfast or caffein yet and was really feeling that ... and I kept seeing people walk by with the AMAZING looking iced mocha thingys ... so I found the store where they were sold at and got in line. I realized that the two women in line in front of me who were slightly older than myself were speaking English with American accents so I asked them where they are from. Turns out, they are ex-pats from New York, who live on Mount Scopus. While we were waiting for our coffee, they told me about themselves and I told them that I'm from DC and here for a dig and school. They then gave me their phone numbers and told me to call them when I get to school and that I am welcome for Shabbat any week.

I continued my journey down Yaffo street and wandered BACK into the Old City and proceeded to get COMPLETELY lost while looking for the Western Wall. I ended up wandering through several bazaars and started walking down a street ... when a flood of men started walking UP it. I was stopped by a Arab man about my age telling me "it's closed! It's closed!" APPARENTLY I had walked I had walked PAST the street I needed to get to the Wall and had ended up at the entrance to the Temple Mount (and the two mosques on it ...). It's FRIDAY so I'm DEFINITELY not supposed to be there. The Arab guy asked me what I was looking for and I told him I was looking for the Western Wall. He offered to take me there and proceeded to go walk ahead of me talking away, pointing out several sites. He informed me that he didn't want money, he wanted to be my boyfriend! I told him, thanks, but no thanks. "But why?" "Um, I already have a very nice boyfriend." "Ah, well you can have more than one!" At this point, I'm more than a LITTLE uncomfortable. We finally reach the stairs leading down to the Wall and I tell him good day. He proceeds to follow me telling me that he wants my number, he wants to know where I'm staying, he tells me he loves me ... FINALLY I reach the security check point to get to the wall and throw my bag into the scanner and walk through the metal detector. I'm FREE and at the Western Wall.

It was amazing. I didn't want to take pictures because it just didn't feel right. I spent a long time there thinking and praying. I wrote the most important thing to me down on a slip of paper and inserted it into a crevice in the wall. It was, without a doubt, the most spiritually moving experience in my life.

I walked out, down the hill and walked around top of the Ophel Archaeological Park (aka the City of David ... OOOOOOOOLD Jerusalem). It was so amazing. I definitely want to go back there, but with an organized tour -- it's not such a great place to go on your own. I decided that I would brave a Jerusalem taxi cab again (as I was now at the bottom of the city and would have a loooooooooooooooooooooong walk back up and around to the hotel) and had a driver who KNEW the Harmony Hotel and told me the price would be 40 NIS (which is 10 NIS LESS than the metered trip the night before, SCORE). So here I am, back in the hotel with a KILLER loaf of Challah, water, a bottle of Israeli and wine. Life is good.

The Tale of Irving the Iron Age Man

So, Irving lived during the Iron Age and was homeless and put all his worldly possessions in this great tabune (basically a stove) that he had made and set off to wander the western Galilee. He's just kinda walking around when he hears this rumor that there's an old Bronze Age palace in ruins near by and he figures he can set up camp there for a while. So he wanders over and finds these great old stone walls, many of which have fallen over, and set down his tabune and all his stuff on top of some of the rocks, but sheltered by the remnants of a wall. He's just chilling there when the wall supposedly providing shelter falls down, crushing his tabune and all his other clay pottery possessions in it. Bummer. So Irving the Iron Age Man moves on, leaving his precious tabune crushed between two layers of rock and debris.

3300 years later, Sarah Hoptman is excavating at Tel Kabri trying to pick axe her way down to the bronze age wall she should be above (or to China, unclear what the end goal really is) when she finds this MASSIVE amount of pottery. They stop pick axing and start to articulate it and realize that it is an iron age tabune ... at a bronze age site.

Ok, CLEARLY Irving and his sad tale are made up, but what the bloody hell is an iron age tabune with POTTERY (not normal stove stuff like, um, ashes???) doing in the middle of debris of a BRONZE AGE structure? Without ANY other iron age settlement??? And who sets up an INDOOR STOVE outside ANYWAY? A squatter, that's who! Hence the story of Irving.

In the battle of Creme Brulee ... Israel 1, World 0

So now that I'm feeling better the appetite has returned somewhat and I am once again able to enjoy the varied pleasure of the Israeli cuisine. Dinner at the kibbutz dining hall is NOT counted among these pleasures and after a VERY disappointing dinner last night that left many people back sick from the dig Cristen, Kait, Laura and I decided that we would venture to Nahariyya to try Spaghettim, a local restaurant specializing in ... spaghetti. It was AMAZING. They also had DESSERT which we haven't had since we got here (sorry, people. Fruit is GOOD but it does not dessert make). I had the creme brulee simply because 1. it is my favorite dessert EVER and 2. it looked NOTHING like any creme brulee I had seen before (including France). It was in a parfait like cup and had bits of what seemed to be brownie in between the layers of custard. They flambéed the top (which is what qualified it for it's name). There is nothing to describe it OTHER than amazing. I HOPE that this place is not a chain because otherwise I will be in SERIOUS trouble. At ANY rate, the whole meal (drinks, appetizer, pasta, dessert) cost roughly $28.

We then hopped a cab back to the kibbutz (with 4 people, it was MUCH cheaper and easier than a Sherut) and I met up with Tami and Simcha, friends of my dad's best friend. They are AMAZINGLY nice people who have invited me back next week for dinner! ALSO (and this is WONDERFUL): they are going to help me with the move to HU!!!! I can leave one of my bags here with them and they will bring it back to me at HU on August 6. This means that I just need to repack a little bit ... but that is fine with me! I can DEFINITELY handle a backpack, suitcase, and purse (umm, I lugged that much around the UK. I can HANDLE a cab ride to the train station and then a cab ride to the hotel. I'm going to stay at the hotel across from campus and then just move my stuff over to campus on the 3rd when I check in. I feel SO much better about that whole process now!

Well, it's off to bed for me so that I can actually FUNCTION at the dig tomorrow ... followed by the trip to JERUSALEM!!!!! SOOOO excited!

Click your heels, Dorothy

So, I'm really feeling the homesickness thing. I miss my family and friends back home a lot. I miss having that group of people who know everything about you and you just fit right in with. It took me YEARS to cultivate that kind of group ... and now I've left them all behind. I needed to break out and make my own way, but I had gotten so comfortable at home that I forgot how hard it is to forge a new path. I've met several girls on the dig who are the same age as me and who feel the same way, but they always say "only X more days until I go home" and I'm still counting in months. There is nothing worse than working your butt off all morning in the hot Israeli sun with people when you are all sick and cranky with each other, and then have to go home with them all. We are together all the time.

University will be completely different but it's like starting college all over again. Room-mates I don't know ... and no where to go if we don't get along. A new place, new food, new routine. I'm really looking forward to learning the language because knowing Hebrew will make things so much easier here ... at least there I SHOULD have my own bedroom where I can shut the door have some space of my own. I can do my own laundry instead of sending it out with everyone else on the dig (which means that when it comes back everyone rifles through all the underwear, socks, etc), or wash it in a bucket in the sink and hang everything out to dry outside in the courtyard. Now, I'm a social person, but I need some space on my own! I can't talk on Skype without being in earshot of SOMEONE.

Most of all, I miss being able to sit down with mom, dad, Ginna, Ellie and Justin and talk or even just sit. 68 more days. Still longer than I've every been away before. I have plenty of contacts here in Israel thanks to Dad ... but I don't actually know any of them yet. And they are willing to be my "Israeli Family" which is AMAZING and SO sweet and kind ... but they aren't my FAMILY ... and that's who I miss.

The most epic roadtrip EVER.

Places I've been Saturday:

Sefat

Tel Hazor

Lebanon-Israel border (as I said, make a wrong turn end up in the wrong country)

Tel Dan

Banias Streams

Banias Falls

Nimrod's Fortress

Golan Heights (we could see Syria)

Crossed the Jordan River

Capernum

Magdala

In the Sea of Galilee

Migdal

Cristen, Allison, Kait, and I woke up for breakfast (nom nom nom) and then hit the road! We realized that we were driving right past Tel Hazor so we HAD to stop (Biblical Tel). We spent a loooong time there walking around. They have this AMAZING water system that was dug down in a tunnel. We went down it. It was soooo cool down there (literally, it was 40 degrees cooler. I didn't want to leave). We then had to climb back UP (this was not so fun). And we walked around the ancient temple and palace. It was LITERALLY amazing. See the pictures and captions on Facebook. There is NO way I can do them justice here.

We moved on to Tel Dan but missed a CRUCIAL turn and ended up at the Lebanese border. I took pictures (don't know if I was supposed to ... but I did). We turned around and went back and took the right turn. We got to Tel Dan but I wasn't feeling so hot and we didn't have a lot of time there so I hung out at the gift shop while the other girls literally RAN up the trail to see what they wanted to see (I am going to live here, why kill myself today?). Allison got some REALLY cool pictures of the Winnie the Pooh tree (the author of Winnie the Poo came to Tel Dan, saw this tree and was inspired.

After Tel Dan we went to my favorite place so far: Banias. It was AMAZING. From the surface you just think that there are some green bushes, but then you climb down the cliff (ok, there are stairs, but you have to climb those and they're made of rock so it's like rock climbing, sorta) and you realize that you are in a forrest! It's cool and breezy and BEAUTIFUL! The water is FRIGID (I put a toe in but you're not allowed to swim). There are 50 ft falls and it's just GORGEOUS. When I get in better shape I want to go back and hike the 90 minute trail that takes you to the next stop: Banias Springs (you can ACTUALLY hike all the up to Nimrod ... but that's 2 1/2 hours+ and up a mountain. And NOT in the shade). Banias Springs is the same place as Ceaserea Phillipa, which some of you might recognize from Matthew 16:18 as the place where Jesus told Peter "this is the rock on which I will build my Church." I've always found the interpretation that Jesus meant Peter is rock interesting because it doesn't actually say that. It sounds like Jesus is talking about an actual rock. If so, then I think it's a funny place to build your Church's foundation ... as it's the site of a temple to the god Pan! There are alcoves where statues of gods used to be and a giant indentation in the cliff face with lots of vegetation called Pan's Grotto. Below is where the water from Banias falls pours out into these beautiful springs which the Greeks and Romans built up to form multiple layers with a whole system to allow water to spread out in the winter when there is more of it! Again, the photos don't do it justice and the place was AMAZING. I could HAPPILY go back for hours and walk around and sit and think. It really is a very spiritual place.

After Banias it was up, up, UP to Nimrod's fortress (again, SO not hiking that). The road was an adventure in an of itself. We got there at 4:10 and found out that it closed at 4 (our guide book said 5) so we were really bummed and had to settle for taking pictures from below. Oh well ... it gives me an excuse to go back again (which means more Banias!)

We decided that since we had plenty of time to before pizza was delivered to the kibbutz that we would take the loooong way back and drive down the Jordan river (Banias is th e source) to the Sea of Galilee. We stopped at a Greek Orthodox church at the ruins of Cappernum which was BEAUTIFUL. Cristen, Kait and I really wanted to put our feet in the water and I REALLY wanted to see Magdala (wife of Jesus or not, I think Mary Magdalene is really cool). Right next to the ruins of Magdala was this freeish beachish type thing. We get stopped at the gate and realize there is some HUGE Muslim camping thing. I told the security guard (who looked like Guido Gotti) that we just wanted to put our feet in and would only be 20 minutes. He asked me for ID or my passport which I thought was SUPER sketchy. I was NOT about to give him my passport so I forked over my VA license (yes, I realize that this was not the smartest thing I've ever done ... but it seemed ok at the time) and drove on in and parked. Allison didn't really want to go to the water and the place was pretty sketchy looking so she stayed with the car (locked) and Kait, Cristen and I walked on down. We walked in to our calves and I have to say, the whole campground thingy behind us really took away from the atmosphere. Cristen (with a little encouragement from moi) actually went all the way in and swam ... with her clothes on. Actually, so were most people in the water (perhaps because they were all observant Muslims?) but when she got out she realized that water and her shirt didn't QUITE get along and had to walk all the way back through the camp site hugging herself. Needless to say, I was amused. We jumped in the car and drove back through the hills to the Mediterranean and back to Lohame HaGettaot and had PIZZA for dinner. I must say, Israeli's kick US's BUTT at Veggie pizza! We had plain cheese, tomato and onion, olive and onion, olive and mushroom, mushroom and olive ... it was seriously the best pizza I've ever had (it was also the only thing I'd eaten all day ... seriously, WHERE has the appetite gone?)

On Sunday we got to sleep in an extra 10 minutes because the days are getting shorter and the sun isn't up when we get to the dig (which does make it rather hard to do archaeology if you can't SEE THE GROUND). I'm still not feeling so hot and pushing myself like I did at Hazor (seriously people, those stairs were KILLER) didn't help me any ... but I made it through the day, returned the rental car, and learned at lunch that the US kick Israel's butt when it comes to cooking hot dogs. Kosher hot dogs TASTE better ... but only when you cook them the right way ... otherwise it just doesn't taste that great.

Well, all the pictures are up on Facebook with captions for the most part and I'm thinking strongly about taking a nap ...

The Making and Unmaking of Mr. Mediterranean

Cristen, Allison and I hop a sherut to Nahariyya to rent the car and go to the beach. We get there and the sherut driver drops us off in the middle of who knows where and we start walking towards the beach to find the Avis. After SEVERAL wrong turns we find it and rent the car (EEEK!) We get in and there is a security code to start the damn thing (note: it must be entered BEFORE you insert the key into the ignition ... otherwise the car will not move and makes an annoying beeping sound and flashes lights angrily at you). So I enter the security code, start the car, put it in drive .... and nothing happens. I call the man back over who gave me a very cursory introduction to the car (not including the fact that you need to enter the code FIRST) ... and then we realize that the parking break is on. DOH!

So we make it out of the parking lot on the streets of Naharyya and we're all SCREAMING. The first rule of driving in Israel is THERE ARE NO RULES. The paint markers are just for decoration. Lanes mean NOTHING. Right of way (and this goes for life in general not just driving) is whoever pushes the hardest. At any rate, we manage to make it to the beach, find a free parking lot and walk down. But there is NO SWIMMING. We're all like, wtf mate? So we walk around and find a place we can swim and pay the 30NIS to get in (roughly $7.50), spread out our towels and lay out on the Mediterranean sand.

Cristen and I go to take a dip in the lagoonish thing and see about the most stereotypical Mediterranean man EVER (long blondish hair bleached by the sun, brown, brown, BROWN skin, ripped abs) and dub him Mr. Mediterranean. He starts swimming near Cristen and I and kinda gets around behind us (not creepy like it sounds ... there was some good distance) and all of a sudden we hear this loud snorting sound like someone haucking a giant loogey. It was Mr. Mediterranean. We stripped him of his crown and just start laughing. He snorts again ... and that was when Cristen and I decided that he was no longer pretty to look at and moved on to admiring the view (see Facebook).

We continue to alternate between beach and water when we realize that we're all kinda ready to move on, the sun is REALLY hot and we all kinda have the munchies (I actually hadn't eaten anything all day and wasn't that hungry ... odd, that) so we went up to the bar and had a beer or two, ate pretzles, and Cristen ordered lunch (that was an odd combination between middle eastern and American/Western food and kinda failed at both). And decided to hit the road so we could shower, change, and hit the road to Akko to watch the sunset.

We pick up Kait on the way (she's coming with us tomorrow, too, YAY!) and head to Akko. We get there and realize that NOTHING is open and it's kinda weird to walk around when you're the ONLY ones there) so we went to dinner. The only thing open was this odd South American food (kinda) place. It's hard to make South American food Kosher (no mixing milk and meat ... so no cheese if you have meat) so it was more like South Americanish meat and veggies) but it was pretty cheap and I ate like 1/2 of it (again ... not sure where the appetite went today). So then we walked back to the beach and sat on the wall just outside the Old Wall of the Citadel from Crusader times (Akko = Acre) and watched the sun set (see Facebook). We then listened to the call to prayer from the Minaret and then attempted to drive back to the Kibbutz. We got lost in Akko (I was driving in the general direction of Route 4 -- North and West -- but the roads kept being one way in the wrong direction and we kept going through round about after round about -- deja vue, Scotland! -- but we eventually got there and got a nice scenic drive through the Old City to boot!).

We DEFINITELY want to go back to Akko when things are open (and it's not super sketchy to be walking around) so hopefully we can work that it. On another note, I think that I figured out what to do when I'm homeless! I have two option that I really like: 1 is to get a room at the hotel across from school and drop off my bag there and ask them to hold it for one week while I finish the dig. 2 is to ask the school to hold my bag while I go with Allison to Eilat for the intervening days (her flight isn't until the 4th so it works out well). I'll email the school and ask the hotel this week. And then I just need to think about what I really want to do: do I want to relax or go on an adventure? We shall see.

Lucy and Ethel go to Haifa

Oh. my. goodness. Never have I put SO much effort into seeing a movie. But it was TOTALLY worth it. So here, the story:Cristen and I wander out of the Kibbutz (I still haven't actually figured out which end is up yet here ... from what I can tell, it's a GIANT circle ... ) and cross Route 4 (roughly equivilent to Route 7 near Tyson's Corner ... but with a cross walk ...

sort of ... and catch the Sherut to Haifa. Except that APPARENTLY these "taxis" don't take you wherever you ask. They're more like mini buses ... so he dumps us out at the main bus terminal and leaves us to fend for ourselves. We go through security basically as serious as you do a most minor airports. EVERYTHING is in Hebrew. EVERYTHING. And everyone said (in perfect English) that they don't speak Hebrew (ummm ... Grand Kanyon sounds THE SAME IN BOTH LANGUAGES). Finally, we find a very nice bus ticket man who tells us that we want bus 125 which leaves platform 5 in 20 minutes and costs 5.90 NIS. We wait MORE THAN 30 minutes and get on the bus. The very nice bus driver tells us when to get off ... and we've made it (after going through security and bag check)! Cristen and I have traveled 1/2 way across the globe to end up at the largest shopping mall in Israel. To see a movie in English. And eat in the food court. Oy vey (the bus was a big enough adventure for me today ... I wasn't ready to tackle the menu that was all in Hebrew ... I told Cristen that if she could figure out how to order that she was more than welcome to go to one of the cafe's. If not, it was the food court for us! We went to the food court).

We found a very nice family who had just immigrated to Israel from England who were watching Harry Potter as well (BTW, they assign seats, there are no previews, only commercials, and there is an intermission!).

There are some pictures of Haifa farther below. It's a REALLY cool city and I can't wait to go back (when I have more energy!) and explore! It's built into the side of the mountain, so all the streets are really windy. The mountain in question is Mount Carmel (which is where Elijah hid out!) It's also the center for the Bah'ai faith and there are some REALLY pretty gardens. There's also a subway (the only one in Israel) which takes you up the mountain (a good decision because it is a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way up).

Cristen and I, after dinner at the mall, walked outside to try to catch the bus back to the terminal so we could catch a sherut ... but the bus we needed was across the street ... and we couldn't get there. So Cristen and I opted for a cab. It was a little pricy (roughly $30) but it was worth it because we didn't have to try and hail a sherut or whatever. We get back the the kibbutz to find some of the people who did the entire season (all 6 weeks) grilling out (and to find that our roommates went out, locked the door, and took the key with them. SOOOOO not happy). But we hung out for a while (here's a picture of Jillian dancing), I realized that I was both homesick and tired and sat on our front stoop until the roomies came back.

Well, it's off to bed for me because I have a full day of relaxing at the beach ahead of me (and walking around Akko ... and watching the sun set over the Mediterranean ...)

It's all about the small victories in life ...

6:30 pm: I managed to ask about movie times in halting stilting Hebrew (until the nice person asked me if I would prefer English ... which I DEFINITELY did).

Cristen and I (kinda) have our weekend plans put together ... and we may have managed to salvage a pedicure! On Thursday we are going to Haifa to spend the afternoon there (we're taking a Sherut with a bunch of people and then getting off at the train station ... which also happens to be near the beach ...) so we are going to check that out and just walk a round Bat Galim for a while ... before taking bus 5, 16, or 28 to Grand Kanyon Mall, which is the largest mall in Israel, to see HP6 :) Then it's a sherut back the Kibbutz for a night of well deserved sleep!

On FRIDAY we are getting up and going to Nahariya for some MORE beach and lunch, renting a car, and then going to Akko to walk around, have dinner, and watch the sun set over the Mediterranean (:D)

On SATURDAY we are taking said rented car and driving through the Galilee to The Golan Heights to check out Tel Dan, Nimrod's Fortress, and Banias Falls (NOTE: Banias Falls is the source of the Jordan River. Jordan is derived from Yared-Dan "Down from Dan") (geography lesson: the border area between Israel, Syria, and Lebanon). It's supposed to be REALLY pretty and several people have said it has been the best part of their trip. The whole renting a car and driving around the Galilee and the Goland KINDA worries me a bit (nothing like taking a wrong turn and ending up at the Syrian border ... ) so we're hoping we can talk to some of the people on the trip who are a bit older and see if they are interested in joining us ... if not, as Bridgit said ... it will be an adventure!

On SUNDAY: It's back to work at Tel Kabri and then returning the rental car.

There will be PLENTY of pictures and stories from the weekend, I PROMISE! And the GOOD news is that it should be slightly cheaper since we don't have to pay for a hotel room (and we get more sleep on Saturday night ...)

Bummer

3 pm. I woke up this morning with a raging headache, sore throat, and nausea. Not a good thing when you have 6 hours of heavy manual labor in the sun ahead of you ... I talked to some of the people working the area with me and they said to stay back and just sleep ... which I did ... I slept for 16 hours and woke up for lunch (wasn't particularly hungry, but decided that skipping another meal wasn't a great plan). I came back to the room with Cristen to cancel our reservations for the spa at the Dead Sea (I know, I was REALLY looking forward to relaxing at a spa and getting a massage ... but Cristen didn't want to spend 1 of 2 weekends in Israel at a spa ...). So now I'm trying to figure out how to get to the other places that we want to go while Cristen takes a nap. I'm not getting very far because I don't know what how late things are open here! I really want to go to Safed but I don't think we will get there before 5pm on Thursday. We could get there early on Friday ... but then we are stuck because the buses stop running at 2pm. Problem. It's looking like we might be renting a car. Oh dear.

two days down ...

Well, I have two full days at the site under my belt and boy am I in pain! I have hoisted about a gazillion buckets of dirt up and over my head. The good news is ... we have reached the floor (at least we think it's the floor ... it could be plaster from a wall that collapsed ... we aren't sure yet)! This means that we will do some real excavation tomorrow (instead of hoeing and pick-axing our way through several centimeters of dirt with nothing in it ... it's just ... dirt).

I'm still getting used to the physical strain of the work, but 4am wake up isn't so bad! I've gotten to the point where I don't have to take a nap every 10 seconds which is a vast improvement from yesterday.

I was so excited today when I thought that I had gotten a little bit of a tan ... but it turns out it was really just a film of dirt caked onto my body. Gross, right?! The food here is AMAZING! Breakfast (which I am in charge of with Hannah) is bread, chocolate spread, peanut butter, melon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and either cheese, pudding, tuna, or humus as the main course. Lunch is AMAZING ... it's a buffet of a variety of different cheeses, fresh baked bread, salad, tomatoes and cucumbers 15 different ways, rice, tahini ... it's amazing. Dinner is usually chicken, a meat dish, rice, tomato and cucumber salad (notice that I have tomatoes and cucumbers with every meal?). It's nice because you get to pick and choose what you want. And it's all FRESH FRESH FRESH. To drink your options are water, lemonade, and this weird orange thing that tastes fine. Basically, we're not picky. We just put whatever is handy in our mouth and drink and eat it. Dirt and dust pervades everything so you get over that REAL quickly. When you sit in dirt, it's on your hands, clothes, hair, skin ... you stop being afraid of eating it as well.

A bit of background about the site we are at: Tel Kabri is about 10 minutes south of Lebanon and 5 minutes east of the Mediterranean (the fighter jets doing maneuvers over my head currently are a good reminder of just how close to Lebanon we are). It is a middle bronze age site (17th-16th century BCE). It has a painted floor and several painted walls that are painted in the Aegean style (very similar to Santorini). They are frescoe (which means they were painted when the plaster was still wet). Roughly 10 years after the painted walls were put up they were ripped down and used as scrap fill to build up some stairs. We're not sure WHY they were pulled down ... but they were. Kabri (emphasis on the first syllable) is the 4th largest mound in Israel and has two BEAUTIFUL natural springs (probably why the palace was located here). The palace is HUGE. I am working in DS-1 which we BELIVE is a courtyard. A piece of worked gold and some bronze was found there in 2005, so we are thinking that it was the location of a workshop but until we start excavating below the surface we are at we won't know for sure.

Anyhoo, I'm going to go read for an hour before pottery washing! More later!

The Plane Ride

Ok, the plane will NOT be remembered as a high note in the trip. After a tearful farewell at the airport the plane we took from Dulles to Newark was roughly the size of a tin can with twin prop engines. Definately not ideal for two people who aren't big fans of planes (in case you didn't know, Cristen is with me for the first three weeks while I'm on the Dig). We get to Newark and we were actually fans of the airport. We had a GREAT (albeit hazy) view of NYC from the restaurant and had a good time chatting and gossiping (fahdling??) We clear the extra security at the gate and that's when the fun began. We checked in again at the gate and asked if there were any seats available with computer plugs and were informed that the entire plane had plugs so we asked if there were two isle seats next to each other. SOMEHOW that became ME IN THE MIDDLE SEAT which was NOT fun at ALL. There was this family in front of us with little kids who just kept the seat backs all the way down all the time (including during boarding) so Cristen and I politely asked the flight attendant if there were any seats available with computer plugs. She said yes, there were, but they weren't next to each other. When we went to check them out they were the front seats of the section which means .... MORE LEG ROOM! We jumped at the opportunity and moved up. Cristen lucked out and sat between two very nice people who helped her get her stuff settled (hard to do mid flight). I, on the other hand, got placed between two surly middle aged men who did NOT want me there. They both plugged their computers in and left the computers closed and refused to let me plug my computer in (when I was using it!). They ALSO insisted on using both armrests and there was NO WAY I was going to win that battle. So I was stuck in a tiny chair between two big guys that didn't want me there with no way to get to my stuff (because cranky pants would trip me if I tried to get out of the seat). For 7 hours. Awesome.

Thankfully, I had the first seat so I was able to stretch my legs out and move them around so that I didn't go completely crazy. Oh, and they kept making me move around so I never got to sleep. Fan-freaking-tastic.

At any rate, I survived and after some stretching will be fine. I'm now at the airport waiting for the bus to take me to the dig!!! Cristen is sleeping on the marble floor of the airport (winning her some funny looks!!!) but I think that I'm going to hold off until we get on the bus and nap during the drive. DIBS ON A WINDOW SEAT!

Only 1.5 days ...

Wow, I can't believe that in two days I will be on a plane to Israel. I still need to put things in my suitcase (I hope everything fits!) but I've got everything I need. I've said goodbye to most of my friends and the family in Florida and NYC, but I can't believe that tonight is my last night with Mom and Belle before they go to FL and I go to Israel!

I've warned Cristen (who is going with me for the first three weeks on the dig near Haifa) that there is a real possibility of a meltdown at the airport. Of course, I'm very excited about my new adventure, but its scary to be going so far out of my comfort zone ... for such a long period of time. I'm going to miss everyone here at home so much.

Well, I should get back to packing and organizing my life ... trust me, there will be more to come ... probably once I reach Israel!