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.
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