Finals, Field trips, and Feasts

Sader Feast

Going down into the Grotto

In the Grotto. The star marks the spot where they say Mary had Jesus

I just love the Arabic on the coke bottles

Outside the Church of the Nativity...not THE star, but the moon. Would be cool though!


I realize that last post was a bit sticky, but it was mostly me taking out my frustrations on all the frustration over here. I really am loving everything I am learning! This past week and a half has been pretty amazing. Let's get the gunk out of the way. Last week we had our Old Testament final ( which was REDICULOUSLY hard), a midterm in Palestinian Near Eastern Studies, a midterm in our field trip class (we have to fill out a workbook on each field trip we go on and we were tested on questions from the workbook), and then yesterday I had my Hebrew final. I have loved starting the Testament and I absolutaly loved the little bit of Hebrew I know. Ask me to write your name for you in Hewbrew when I get home. We pass notes written in Hebrew all of the time now. This week I have two more finals and then we take off for Galilee next week.

Last week we had an Israeli lawyer come talk to us about the conflict over here and he took us to the seperation wall. I have been so lucky to be able to learn from the people they have come talk to us here at the center. This lawyer is pretty important although you would never know it by looking at him. He has already been contacted by the new president's office to be 'befriended' because of his high involvement with the issues over here. I don't know what it is about lawyers, but I really think I could sit and listen to them all say. Especially this guy. I envy their way with words and explaining things. I am sure there are many who would disagree with me, but law facinates me for some reason, and so naturally lawyers facinate me. I just need to find me a rich one and get him to marry me! Just kidding...but really.

On Friday night, our Jewish professor arranged for us to attend a Shabbat service at the synagogue he attends. It is definitly one of my favorite experinces of being in the Holy Land. I don't even know if I can explain it! The men and women sit on different sides of the room and are seperated by a thin sheet a material in the middle of the room. A Rabbi directs the services from the front of the room. At first it kind of bothered me that the men and women sit seperately, but I can see how it actually fosters a sense of unity between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters as they take their children to synagogue and teach them their roles. It also reinforces the differnt roles of men and women. Not that one is less than the other. Much of the service is sung, and it is one of the most beautiful sounds on earth. I was fortunate to sit behind a girl about my age and just on the other side of the cloth from a man, both of whom had beautiful voices. Even though I could not understand the Hebrew, I could feel the sincerity with which they read/sang the Torah. The people have always been more than kind when we have visited synagogue before, and this visit wasn't any different. Devout Jews do not drive on Shabbat , so families walk to and from synagogue together. It is actually quite amazing what a little walking can do. One of my favorite things to do is go walking with my sisters and mom. We could probably walk for hours, just as long as we get to be together and be talking. Some of my favorite memories here have happened while we have been walking around the city or walking from place to place. It really is quite amazing the feelings that walking fosters. After Synagogue, we had some Israeli folk dancing instructors come to the center and they taught us some Israeli folk dances. I thought about not going because I wasn't feeling well, but I am so glad I went. It was so much fun! We danced and danced until we were exhausted. Our intructor was a hoot. I suspect he is a little bit gay. We got a peek at his friut of the looms more than a few times.

On shabbat, I went to the Garden Tomb again. The Garden Tomb is one of my favorite places on earth. I love being with som many people from all over the world. I was walking around by myself and got stopped by a big group from India. One man asked to take a picture and I thought he wanted me to take a picture for him. Nope! He wanted a picture with me. Then, one by one, the rest of the people in the group lined up to get a photo with me. It was so wierd! I took pictures with families, couples, and old men. I was so confused! It was really funny. I met up with some people that had come to church that day and I was able to talk to them for a bit. They were in Israel for business. Turns out one man is the founder of New Skin. With him was one of his higher ups and his wife, and then two young people he was bringing over here to head up their division in Tel Aviv. The man that had brought him wife was a mission president in Georgia in 2003, so it was fun to talk to his wife about the mission president life.

On Sunday we had a Sader Feast, or the Passover feast. It isn't Passover, but our Jewish professor makes sure we are able to experience it while we are here. It was long long long, but definitly an experience worth having. I can't say I absolutley loved all of the food, but it is something that I am glad I experienced.

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Bethlehem. All of us students have been so excited to get the Christmas season going, and there is no better way than to visit the birthplace of the Savior. The trip was put together by our Palestinian professor who lives in Bethlehem. Our first stop was to a Palestinian 'think tank' where we were given an amazing presentation of the conflict. We were educated on the frustartion with the lack of mobility the Palestinians have and the control Israel is having on their lands and lives. The presentation had amazing maps to explain everything, but I am not going to lie, I was fighting my eyelids the entire time. All 80 plus of us were crammed into a little room, the light were out, and I had just eaten a huge breakfast. After our think tank experience, we went to Bethlehem University to talk to some students and get a tour of the University. The teachers at the University were all on strike, but the students came to talk to us anyway. It was so good to be able to interact and try and create as little of a friendship as we could with our peers in the West Bank. They told us about their frustration with living in refugee camps, having their land taken or disputed over, the struggle to get an education, and so many more issues. I was able to walk around the campus with a guy studying information system and we were able to talk just like any two twenty-something-year-olds would. After Bethlehem University, we ate an amazing lunch and then went to the the church plopped ontop of the Nativity site. It was hard for me to feel the sacredness of the location because of the other tourists and the fact that there was a funeral going on inside of the church. It was fun to hear our tour guide talk about how much he loves the Mormons. For once it sounded really sincere. He told us how we are so different from the other tourists because we aren't scared and love to be with the people. We are always smiling and he loves that. It was really neat to hear him say how much he loved us over and over again. After waiting in line forever to go into the grotto and then be quickly pushed out by angry Russian tourists, we went to the Shepard fields to have a sacred moment. My professor asked some of us to talk about specific people to talk about people involved in the birth of Christ and how they were testifiers of Him. I was the lucky one to get Herod. As I prepared, I struggled to know what to say about how Herod, the man who tried to kill the infant Christ, was a testifier of Christ. I finally came to the conclusion that is was his opposition that testified of Christ's importance to the world. As we sat on the hillside looking out at Bethlehem, it really was a special moment. I don't think Christmas will ever feel the same. It is like all my love for my experiences here have been channeled into Christmas. I am excited for the season, and can't help but feel more and more love for this place everyday!