As I mentioned in my last blog..there have been escalating tensions here in Jerusalem. The Hamas Organization is protesting the opening/rebuilding of a ancient temple in the Old City that was destroyed in the 6-Day War. Hamas declared today as "the day of rage" and threatened violence and bloodshed in East Jerusalem. Protests did occur in East Jerusalem and the army/police thwarted the attacks with by using guns with rubbet bullets and other methods to detain the Palestinians. We have be asked not to go to the Old City, ride buses, and practice safe traveling methods. The student village, where I live, is located on French Hill, a primarily Arab neighborhood. Our madrichiem have asked us not to walk anywhere in French Hill and take taxi cabs to all our destinations. I was woken up this morning at 6am by helicopters flying above the student village, passed 5 armed guards at the south entrance of the village, had the usual bag check and walk through the metal detector upon entering campus, and then received a text message mid-day regarding the specific locations of the riots thus far. The school, our madrichiem, and the student community is doing everything possible to live normally and stay safe.
I do not feel completely safe however..this is what living in Jerusalem is like...there is always a "what-if." I would not trade in any of my experiences here thus far..and could not picture living anywhere else this semester. After school, my roommates and I came home and spent hours looking up articles and other things to educate ourselves about whats going on. I saw that temple under-construction when I was here in the summer for birthright..and I saw it almost complete a couple weeks ago when I was in the Old City for Shabbat. We are actually living the conflict and it is quite the experience. I hope everyone will also take some time to read up on the situation here..about the temple, the prayer situation at the Temple Mount, the protests, and the US involvement.
Love always
Kayla
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Major Update!
School Week Update:
Monday we went on our first field trip in Archaeology of Jerusalem. On the field trip we went to the Mount of Olives and to the City of David. Mount of Olives was really awesome...and I learned so much about Jerusalem as the "holy-city." Mount of Olives is about 10 minutes from Mount Scopus, where I live, and where Hebrew University is located. We can see Mount of Olives from the look-out on campus. Mount of Olives is very holy..said to be the place where Jesus was resurrected, where Muslims will start their walk to the Temple Mount on Judgement Day, and home of the Jewish Cemetary (jewish cemetaries are always located outside city walls, in this case, outside of the holy city of Jerusalem.) From the Mount of Olives you have a perfect view of the Temple Mount, the holiest place on Earth for many people. After the Mount of Olives we boarded the bus to the City of David. We learned all about the city, how it was constructed, protected, and hypothesized where the actual kingdom of David stood..no one knows for sure where it was. We walked through underground tunnels used for protection and saw the spring/pool where much of the water supply came from. It was a really cool experience..I love this class because its like getting a guided tour of the city..FOR FREE, and personalized. Wednesday I had my first test in a non-hebrew class..my holocaust class. It was all essays and identifications..but I think it went okay.
Weekend Update:
SUCH A GREAT WEEKEND! Thursday we did our own little Tiyul (trip.) Me, Becka, Emily, and two of our guy friends Max and Matt took a bus to Ein Geidi and the Dead Sea. Its about and hour and 15 minutes from Jerusalem. We started hiking Ein Geidi and swam in the fresh water springs. It was a great day..hot, but just perfect for a swim. Ein Geidi is home to many waterfalls and springs, and the hike is gorgeous. After the hike we walked to the dead sea, had lunch, and floated the afternoon away. Max and Matt covered themselves in some mud and did some good exfoliating. The dead sea is the lowest place on earth! It was such a weird experience to float..no matter how hard to try you actually cannot sink..the water just pushes you right up! It hurts a little bit because all the salt gets into your scrapes/cuts/ or if you have recently shaved your legs..it doesnt exactly feel so good..but your skin feels amazing afterwards! It was so much fun to travel in a small group, and do what we wanted to do..take our time..and really explore.
Friday me and Becka woke up at 530am to get ready for our overnight hike in the Judean lowlands, left at 630am. We spent all day hiking, it was super hot out. We went on the hike with about 30 other kids from our program, Inna (our madrich), Ori (our hiking leader,) and 2 guards. It was our job to navigate the hike, we got lost one time and had to trek through ferns/trees/brush to get back to the trail. After 7 hours of hiking we took a nice long lunch break in a shady area. We all took the food from the bus in our backpacks and carried it communally. We made Tahina, brought bread, corn, tuna, chocolate spread, peanut butter, tomatoes, cucumbers..it was delicious. And I was starving! We continued hiking after lunch till sunset when we finally reached our "camp grounds." We set up camp..and by camp..I mean..I unrolled a sleeping bag on a bed of rocks. Then we made two fires and started cooking dinner. Dinner was rice, vegetable soup, and potatoes..all made by us, using communal dishes. After dinner we roasted some questionable israeli/kosher marshmellos and went to bed. I don't think I slept a solid hour because I literally had rocks jabbing into my back and woke up covered in morning dew. Oh, and as hot as it was during the day...it was EVEN colder at night. It was quite the experience, one that we laughed about the entire time. We were woken up by the guards at 630am to have a quick breakfast of cereal, peanut butter, and bread..and we started hiking again. We hiked..had a similiar lunch..and then stopped hiking at sundown. There were a couple kids on our trip who are Shomer Shabbos (meaning the keep Shabbat) so we were not allowed to leave by bus until after sunset..after shabbat ended. I came back..took a well deserved shower..and passed out watching Friends in my bed..AT 9:15pm!!! I was so exhauseted! It was the best workout I have ever had...we hiked about 30 kilometers! I got very tan :).
Update as of Today:
In class I received a text message from our program, it warned us not to visit the old city for the next couple days due to rising tensions in Jerusalem. Joe Biden came to speak on Thursday in Tel Aviv. There have been issues regarding territory in Jerusalem between the Arabs and the Jews. I encourage everyone to read and educate themselves about it. After walking home from class I could already see a change in energy in Jerusalem. At the entrance to our apartment complex instead of one guard checking IDs there were about 5 armed guards patrolling the entrance and ID check was intense. We also received messages from our Madrichim to stay away from the Old City. I don't want anyone to worry..we are exercising caution..listening to all the warnings and being safe. I do want people to read about it..read about the situation I am living every day because it is important that Americans stay informed because we have such a strong connection to Israel.
I will be posting picutres from the weekend very soon. Hope everyone is doing well. Love and miss always
Kayla
Monday we went on our first field trip in Archaeology of Jerusalem. On the field trip we went to the Mount of Olives and to the City of David. Mount of Olives was really awesome...and I learned so much about Jerusalem as the "holy-city." Mount of Olives is about 10 minutes from Mount Scopus, where I live, and where Hebrew University is located. We can see Mount of Olives from the look-out on campus. Mount of Olives is very holy..said to be the place where Jesus was resurrected, where Muslims will start their walk to the Temple Mount on Judgement Day, and home of the Jewish Cemetary (jewish cemetaries are always located outside city walls, in this case, outside of the holy city of Jerusalem.) From the Mount of Olives you have a perfect view of the Temple Mount, the holiest place on Earth for many people. After the Mount of Olives we boarded the bus to the City of David. We learned all about the city, how it was constructed, protected, and hypothesized where the actual kingdom of David stood..no one knows for sure where it was. We walked through underground tunnels used for protection and saw the spring/pool where much of the water supply came from. It was a really cool experience..I love this class because its like getting a guided tour of the city..FOR FREE, and personalized. Wednesday I had my first test in a non-hebrew class..my holocaust class. It was all essays and identifications..but I think it went okay.
Weekend Update:
SUCH A GREAT WEEKEND! Thursday we did our own little Tiyul (trip.) Me, Becka, Emily, and two of our guy friends Max and Matt took a bus to Ein Geidi and the Dead Sea. Its about and hour and 15 minutes from Jerusalem. We started hiking Ein Geidi and swam in the fresh water springs. It was a great day..hot, but just perfect for a swim. Ein Geidi is home to many waterfalls and springs, and the hike is gorgeous. After the hike we walked to the dead sea, had lunch, and floated the afternoon away. Max and Matt covered themselves in some mud and did some good exfoliating. The dead sea is the lowest place on earth! It was such a weird experience to float..no matter how hard to try you actually cannot sink..the water just pushes you right up! It hurts a little bit because all the salt gets into your scrapes/cuts/ or if you have recently shaved your legs..it doesnt exactly feel so good..but your skin feels amazing afterwards! It was so much fun to travel in a small group, and do what we wanted to do..take our time..and really explore.
Friday me and Becka woke up at 530am to get ready for our overnight hike in the Judean lowlands, left at 630am. We spent all day hiking, it was super hot out. We went on the hike with about 30 other kids from our program, Inna (our madrich), Ori (our hiking leader,) and 2 guards. It was our job to navigate the hike, we got lost one time and had to trek through ferns/trees/brush to get back to the trail. After 7 hours of hiking we took a nice long lunch break in a shady area. We all took the food from the bus in our backpacks and carried it communally. We made Tahina, brought bread, corn, tuna, chocolate spread, peanut butter, tomatoes, cucumbers..it was delicious. And I was starving! We continued hiking after lunch till sunset when we finally reached our "camp grounds." We set up camp..and by camp..I mean..I unrolled a sleeping bag on a bed of rocks. Then we made two fires and started cooking dinner. Dinner was rice, vegetable soup, and potatoes..all made by us, using communal dishes. After dinner we roasted some questionable israeli/kosher marshmellos and went to bed. I don't think I slept a solid hour because I literally had rocks jabbing into my back and woke up covered in morning dew. Oh, and as hot as it was during the day...it was EVEN colder at night. It was quite the experience, one that we laughed about the entire time. We were woken up by the guards at 630am to have a quick breakfast of cereal, peanut butter, and bread..and we started hiking again. We hiked..had a similiar lunch..and then stopped hiking at sundown. There were a couple kids on our trip who are Shomer Shabbos (meaning the keep Shabbat) so we were not allowed to leave by bus until after sunset..after shabbat ended. I came back..took a well deserved shower..and passed out watching Friends in my bed..AT 9:15pm!!! I was so exhauseted! It was the best workout I have ever had...we hiked about 30 kilometers! I got very tan :).
Update as of Today:
In class I received a text message from our program, it warned us not to visit the old city for the next couple days due to rising tensions in Jerusalem. Joe Biden came to speak on Thursday in Tel Aviv. There have been issues regarding territory in Jerusalem between the Arabs and the Jews. I encourage everyone to read and educate themselves about it. After walking home from class I could already see a change in energy in Jerusalem. At the entrance to our apartment complex instead of one guard checking IDs there were about 5 armed guards patrolling the entrance and ID check was intense. We also received messages from our Madrichim to stay away from the Old City. I don't want anyone to worry..we are exercising caution..listening to all the warnings and being safe. I do want people to read about it..read about the situation I am living every day because it is important that Americans stay informed because we have such a strong connection to Israel.
I will be posting picutres from the weekend very soon. Hope everyone is doing well. Love and miss always
Kayla
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Life on a Yacht
I can without a question say that this weekend was the best weekend I have had in Israel. I only had 2 days of school this week because of Purim Break. My friend from WashU, Morton, came to visit from Paris (she is studying abroad.) It was so nice to see her and have another WashU connection. It made me feel more at home and it was so great to catch up with her. We explored downtown Jerusalem and she slept over and met all my friends. She also got a chance to visit with some of her camp friends and explore the Old City and other fun spots in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Start of the AMAZING weekend: The weather was perfect..upper 70-80s all weekend.
Thursday my roommates, my friend Max, and I all went to the zoo, its really called the Biblical Zoo. It is on the other side of Jerusalem (from Hebrew University,) and we had to wait an hour for the bus to come, and then it was about an hour bus ride--BUT it was totally worth it. It was such a cool zoo. They had your classic zoo animals and then some more exotic/different animals such as the Red Panda, a 3-legged cheetah, a herd of elephants, and much much more. All the animals were outside and the area is beautiful..its on a mountain. It was unreal to be in a zoo in the middle of ISRAEL..ha very weird..not free like the St. Louis zoo (yay) but we got a student discount. All the signs about the animals are in Hebrew and English. It was a cultural experience in itself...and I don't mean just the animals. The people watching was great! Its a different experience to see clusters of little orthodox children with their payas screaming and playing in hebrew and the mothers in the skirts, and the dads in black suits with big top hats--very Jerusalem. Overall--great day, I will definitly be going back!
Friday we left early in the morning via a Sherut (group taxi) to Herzliya--a port town near Tel Aviv. A man, Sergio, that I met in my Ulpan class invited my and 8 of my friends to stay on his boat for the weekend. Sergio is one of the most interesting/kindest/friendliest person I have ever met. He sailed to Israel on his boat with his 3 adorable kids and wife from Brazil. He speaks 4 languages, studied engineering at Cornell and business at Harvard, and lives life to the fullest. He was my partner during Ulpan and is in my Hebrew class for this semester. He invited me and two other boys, Jeff and Matt, from our Ulpan to come visit Herzliya anytime and stay on his boat. We took him up on his offer and brought my roommates (Becka/Leah/Emily/Ilana) and Jeff's friend from camp Nimrad. We arrived in Herzliya and met up with Sergio, his wife, and his youngest son Natan (2 years old) at the boat. They gave us the tour of the boat..its gorgeous/unreal..4 bedrooms, bathrooms, showers, kitchen, breakfast room, tv, THE WORKS. After the tour they went back to Jerusalem for the night and planned to meet back up with us on Saturday. All of us immediately changed into our bathing suits and headed out to the beach. It was gorgeous, 80 degrees and sunny. We laid out on the beach all afternoon! After the beach we went back to the boat and relaxed some more then went back to the port for dinner. We had a delicous meal outside overlooking the marina and celebrated being abroad together in Israel, good friends, good people, and good times in general. After dinner we went back to the boat and played music, played some cards and ended the evening with a classic film: SPACE JAM! Sergio's right hand man..his good friend and boat hand..lives on the boat and had some friends there as well. There were many language barriers--portuguese, spanish, hebrew, and english--ha its so cool to have that many cultures on ONE BOAT. Becka, Ilana and I took the kids room on the boat and all cuddled together in our borrowed sleeping bags from everyone on our program. Saturday morning we slept in a little and then laid out on the boat for a bit. After that we headed to the port for brunch...probably one of the best meals I have eaten in Israel. Becka and I shared the couples breakfast---it had everything you can imagine in it...eggs/cheese/tuna salad/tomato and cucumber salad/bread/marinated tomatos/white cheese/espresso/grapefruit juice AND more! It was delicious! We headed back to the boat after and met up with Sergio and his family. We played puzzles/cars with his kids..ages 2,4,and 6. Then had one final hour in the sun and took a Sherut back to Jerusalem. Overall AMAZING. Pictures to follow...
Going to go take a nap and gear up for the school week. I have a hebrew test and a test in my Holocaust class.
Love you all..hope everything is good back in the states.
Kayla
Start of the AMAZING weekend: The weather was perfect..upper 70-80s all weekend.
Thursday my roommates, my friend Max, and I all went to the zoo, its really called the Biblical Zoo. It is on the other side of Jerusalem (from Hebrew University,) and we had to wait an hour for the bus to come, and then it was about an hour bus ride--BUT it was totally worth it. It was such a cool zoo. They had your classic zoo animals and then some more exotic/different animals such as the Red Panda, a 3-legged cheetah, a herd of elephants, and much much more. All the animals were outside and the area is beautiful..its on a mountain. It was unreal to be in a zoo in the middle of ISRAEL..ha very weird..not free like the St. Louis zoo (yay) but we got a student discount. All the signs about the animals are in Hebrew and English. It was a cultural experience in itself...and I don't mean just the animals. The people watching was great! Its a different experience to see clusters of little orthodox children with their payas screaming and playing in hebrew and the mothers in the skirts, and the dads in black suits with big top hats--very Jerusalem. Overall--great day, I will definitly be going back!
Friday we left early in the morning via a Sherut (group taxi) to Herzliya--a port town near Tel Aviv. A man, Sergio, that I met in my Ulpan class invited my and 8 of my friends to stay on his boat for the weekend. Sergio is one of the most interesting/kindest/friendliest person I have ever met. He sailed to Israel on his boat with his 3 adorable kids and wife from Brazil. He speaks 4 languages, studied engineering at Cornell and business at Harvard, and lives life to the fullest. He was my partner during Ulpan and is in my Hebrew class for this semester. He invited me and two other boys, Jeff and Matt, from our Ulpan to come visit Herzliya anytime and stay on his boat. We took him up on his offer and brought my roommates (Becka/Leah/Emily/Ilana) and Jeff's friend from camp Nimrad. We arrived in Herzliya and met up with Sergio, his wife, and his youngest son Natan (2 years old) at the boat. They gave us the tour of the boat..its gorgeous/unreal..4 bedrooms, bathrooms, showers, kitchen, breakfast room, tv, THE WORKS. After the tour they went back to Jerusalem for the night and planned to meet back up with us on Saturday. All of us immediately changed into our bathing suits and headed out to the beach. It was gorgeous, 80 degrees and sunny. We laid out on the beach all afternoon! After the beach we went back to the boat and relaxed some more then went back to the port for dinner. We had a delicous meal outside overlooking the marina and celebrated being abroad together in Israel, good friends, good people, and good times in general. After dinner we went back to the boat and played music, played some cards and ended the evening with a classic film: SPACE JAM! Sergio's right hand man..his good friend and boat hand..lives on the boat and had some friends there as well. There were many language barriers--portuguese, spanish, hebrew, and english--ha its so cool to have that many cultures on ONE BOAT. Becka, Ilana and I took the kids room on the boat and all cuddled together in our borrowed sleeping bags from everyone on our program. Saturday morning we slept in a little and then laid out on the boat for a bit. After that we headed to the port for brunch...probably one of the best meals I have eaten in Israel. Becka and I shared the couples breakfast---it had everything you can imagine in it...eggs/cheese/tuna salad/tomato and cucumber salad/bread/marinated tomatos/white cheese/espresso/grapefruit juice AND more! It was delicious! We headed back to the boat after and met up with Sergio and his family. We played puzzles/cars with his kids..ages 2,4,and 6. Then had one final hour in the sun and took a Sherut back to Jerusalem. Overall AMAZING. Pictures to follow...
Going to go take a nap and gear up for the school week. I have a hebrew test and a test in my Holocaust class.
Love you all..hope everything is good back in the states.
Kayla
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