It's October 19th. It's the halfway mark. I really can't believe it.
Time has been flying by and everyday I selfishly pray that it slows down! I can't believe I've already been here two and a half months. In some ways, it seems like I just got here yesterday. In other ways, I feel like I've been here forever.
It's been a glorious whirlwind so far! The Study Tour course was great! I had a break for about two weeks, and now my fall courses have begun! We started fall courses on October 12th, and I really love all my classes so far. (Many of my friends in college back home have been giving me a hard time about starting my courses as they take midterms, but note that I will have my finals at the end of December while all of them are on winter break!) My fall courses include Spoken Arabic, Biblical Theology, Arab-Israeli Relations, and an internship with the Hecht Museum on Campus. I am enjoying Arabic, and I LOVE my Biblical Theology course! (I'll write more about that later!) I haven't officially started the internship yet, but I have met with my supervisor and am really excited. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work there! :) Check out the Hecht Museum's website: http://mushecht.haifa.ac.il/Default_eng.aspx. I am also planning on auditing a “Guided Fieldwork” course where we go to local Arab communities to talk with high school students and then meet with the class once a week to discuss what we experienced. It seems really interesting.
I honestly feel like a slacker right now. I am taking fourteen hours (seventeen including my audit course), but all of my courses begin at noon or later, and I managed to have all of my classes on Monday through Wednesday! This means I can sleep in and have four day weekends! Crazy! Realistically though, I won't have four day weekends often because I will probably put in a lot of internship hours on Sundays and Thursdays. Still, the course schedule definitely worked in my favor. I am so grateful for this, but it has been strange to adjust to. I am so used to always being busy! At home, I usually take heavy course loads with work, Epsilon Sigma sorority things, and life in general on top of that. I am not used to having free time! Don't get me wrong, my courses are still rather challenging and I am learning a lot. No worries. I just really appreciate this change of pace! I especially appreciate it because I can use my spare time to get to know my new friends, travel, and really soak in Israel!
Still, the days are flying by and I can't bear to think of going home anytime soon. Please don't take it personally. :) I miss everyone at home and often wish that many of you were here with me, but I love it here. This is where I need to be right now. I know I have a lot more to learn here. I am looking forward to coming back and sharing these things with all of you and delighting in being in your company again, but for now, I am more than content to stay. (Although, Lacie mentioned Chick-fil-a sweet tea the other day and for a couple of minutes, I wished that January 5th would come faster.) :)
I am sorry I have been awful about posting entries here! You have all been so sweet and supportive and I really want to let you know what I've been doing. Each day has filled with so much that it is difficult to know where to begin or what to tell you! I am currently in the middle of writing a couple of different blog posts, which I intend on finishing within this week. So look for them soon!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Truly Epic Adventure
It was a great plan: hike around the Kinneret (aka the Sea of Galilee). I don't think any of us were fully prepared for the epic adventure that awaited us.
On Tuesday, September 29th, eight of us set out on our adventure from Tiberias around noon. Kelsey and I started a little later than the rest of the group because we arrived in Tiberias a bit late, but we were able to catch up with everyone down the road. For most of the first day, we walked on Highway 90 heading south. We thought that there were trails that went along the water, but we found that we would be walking along the highway most of the time. On the first day, the road stayed very close to the lake and was quite enjoyable. After we looped around the southern point of the lake, we found a bike trail heading north alongside a couple of kibbutzim. Our group naturally maintained formations that mimicked the cyclist teams in the Tour de France as we hiked. We even started to call our hike the “Tour de Kinneret.” Just before sundown, we found a campground just north of the En Gev Kibbutz. The campground had a lovely, rocky beach that was directly across the lake from Tiberias and Arbel. The sunset over the lake was beautiful and winds sweeping over the water were breathtaking. Everyone was exhausted and went to sleep shortly after the sunset. The first day was wonderfully filled with marvelous views and great conversation.
The next morning, we woke up with the sun, doubled our socks in attempt to relieve some of the pain from our blisters, and set out north on Highway 92. The first couple of hours were fine. We were going at a good pace and the heat wasn't too bad even though we lacked shade. We stopped at a beach for a quick swim break and then continued on the highway. That's when things started to get rough.
From then on, we were walking on highway. The further north we went, the further the road moved away from the lake. Throughout the day we saw little more than kibbutzim, tour buses and asphalt...infinite asphalt. It was getting really hot, and there was absolutely no shade. In addition to that, everyone was started to get exhausted and our feet were throbbing.
We finally made it to the junction of highway 92 and highway 87, which headed southwest to Tiberias. We had a choice. There was a restaurant near the intersection. We could eat there or keep going several more kilometers to a nearby beach. We were tired and low on water, so we
decided to stop at the restaurant. It was a bit pricey, but most of us just bought a drink and ate the granola and fruit we brought with us. Our leader, Ben, decided to keep walking and find something else to eat further down the road. That was the last time we saw him before we made it back to Haifa. That story will come later. :)
The stretch after the restaurant was even worse than the earlier part of the day. We were still on the highway, and though we could see the lake in the distance, it still was very far. For the most part, we could handle the weight of our backpacks, the fatigue, and the heat, but blisters were unbearable. Our “Tour de Kinneret” formation had mostly dissipated. Kelsey was wearing Converses and had some of the worst blisters in the group. She eventually decided to take a sherut (shared taxi) to a beach up road to give her feet a break. The remaining six of us finally crossed the Jordan River and had a brief moment of celebration. Not too long after that, Kate and Madison decided to catch a sherut to Tiberias and go back to Haifa. I don't blame them. It was getting really difficult. Ben was near Migdal when he heard that Kate and Madison were going back to Haifa. He misunderstood and thought that all of us were going back to Haifa, so he found a sherut and went back too. Later, we found out that he went most of the way to Tiberias without finding food. It's nice that we can look back on these things and laugh. :)
So only four of us kept on hiking. Our morale picked up as the road finally came closer to the lake. We were pretty exhausted though and were talking about stopping for the night once we made it to where Kelsey was. One problem though... we couldn't find Kelsey! We planned to meet Kelsey at a beach that was on our map, but we never saw a sign for it. In addition to this, we realized that we were all running out of water. Seriously running out of water. I am pretty sure we had less than 12 ounces of water left between the four of us. We kept walking and walking and never saw the beach. Since we couldn't find the beach or any other landmark, we weren't sure where we were or when we would find water.
Finally, we made it to the Orthodox Capernaum site. It was such a blessing. The site was pretty much abandoned, but shortly after we arrived a man who knew English pulled up in a truck. He lived near by and just happened to come there to go on a walk. He told us there was a campground several kilometers further, but said we were crazy for hiking all this way. :) He began his walk and we went down to the site to find water.
Things were much better. We had directions and water, but we still didn't know where Kelsey was. We decided to just keep hiking. Once we found somewhere to stay for the night, Kelsey could meet us there.
From the Orthodox Capernaum site, there was a cobblestone trail that headed east through the other Christians sites. We were so grateful to walk on something other than asphalt! As the sun began to descend, we periodically were able to walk in shade. We walked for about an hour on this trail passing the Roman Catholic Capernaum as well as. We called Kelsey and found out that she was at a beach called Hakuk. Apparently, the sherut driver didn't know the beach we planned on meeting her at, so instead he dropped her off at this beach. She told us that there was a place to camp there as well as swim. On the trail, we bumped into the man who had given us directions, and he informed us that the Hakuk beach was still several kilometers away and once again assured us we were crazy for hiking there. We were still very encouraged. We knew where Kelsey was, we knew where we could sleep, and we knew we could get there before nightfall.
Eventually, we made it to the final stretch... Mount of the Beatitudes and finally Tabgha. We didn't stop at any of the sites. By this point, we were all exhausted and just focused on making it to the beach and campground where Kelsey was. It became harder and harder to keep going after after each break. When we would start going again our muscles and feet would scream until we walked enough for them to go numb. So, we stopped having breaks. We just kept walking.
As we were passing Tabgha, we saw our friend again. He had finished his walk and was driving back to his Moshav (a type of communal neighborhood). He offered us a ride to the beach. We stood in the road for what seemed like several minutes debating what to do. We were so exhausted. The sun was sinking down below the hills. We still had several kilometers to walk, but we had come so far on our own that we didn't want to give up now. The man told once again told us we were crazy and warned us that most of the way left was uphill. We eventually let go of our pride and took the offer. It was such a blessing!!! We jumped in his truck and quickly discovered that he was very right. The road wound up the side of a sleep mountain, and we would have had to walk along the road's very narrow shoulder. We all agreed it would have been miserable to hike and were so grateful for the ride. There was no way we could have made it to the beach by sun down, and I don't think any of us had the strength to make it up the hill. We thanked our friend dozens and dozens of times for his kindness.
As soon as we entered the campground, we saw Kelsey hanging out with a couple of soldiers. They were there preparing a cookout for a group of soldiers that evening. Kelsey had been waiting there for several hours and had become friends with them. When we arrived, the soldiers offered us cold sodas. We couldn't resist. We gladly took the cold, sugary drinks, laid down our heavy backpacks, and collapsed on the ground. We gently removed our shoes and peeled off our layered socks. Our feet were awful. Simon's feet were actually bleeding. He said didn't mind too much because he couldn't feel them. He even took photos of them. I couldn't bear it. We stayed there for a while practically incapable of moving. As we reflected on the day, we agreed that we were made it that far on nothing but God's strength and pure adrenaline.
We decided to go for a victory swim in the Kinneret as the sun was setting. It took a while for us to slowly get up, change, and hobble our way to the beach. It was worth it though. Our campground just had a rocky natural beach but the hostel next door had a nice sandy shore. So, we crossed over to their beach and enjoyed a nice swim in the shallow water as the sun descended behind the hills. It was lovely.
The rest of the evening was hilarious. We were all so exhausted that everything was funny. Everything. There are so many little stories from the evening; however, I know I would inevitably just end each story with “you just had to be there,” so I'll spare you.
As we walked back to the campground, we could smell the soldiers' food on the grill, and we were so jealous. The five of us gathered around our picnic table and shared what was left of our food. Our small feast consisted of fruit, bread, hummus, and granola. It was good, but the whole time we kept eyeing the soldiers' food. When the group of soldier's arrived we realized that they were all young. (All Israelis have to go into the army when they are 18. These soldier's couldn't have been much older than that.) We also noticed that there were only 30 to 40 of them, and we were pretty sure we had seen enough food for at least 50 to 60 people. So, we were hopeful that they would have leftovers.
We ate our food very slowly. We kept waiting and hoping the soldiers would bring leftovers to us. We waited and waited until we were practically hysterical, and finally Kelsey stepped up and offered to go ask (beg) them for food. She is our hero. We tried to inconspicuously watch from a distance, but I am sure we looked pretty pathetic to them. She eventually returned with grape juice and said they were going to bring us some things in a minute.
We anxiously waited in anticipation, and finally we saw them coming. Several soldiers were bringing us armfuls of food! We were overwhelmed. They brought us 10 pounds of seasoned chicken, about 100 hotdogs, a kilo of hummus, five loaves of bread, tomatoes, and several containers of tahini and other spreads. It was way too much food! We told them we only wanted some and offered to pay for it, but they insisted we just take it. They apparently were planning on throwing out what they didn't use. It was wonderful, but there was one downside. None of the meat was cooked. The soldiers had brought their own grill, but were preparing to leave, so we had to cook it ourselves.
We scouted out a fire pit and filled it with charcoal they had also given us. We soaked it in lighter fluid and waited for the coals to get hot, but really wasn't working. Eventually, the soldiers added their hot coals to our burnpit before leaving. Finally, it was warm enough to cook the chicken. Our next delima was how to cook the chicken. The burnpit didn't have a grill and the sides were pretty high. We decided it was best to make kebabs and searched the campground for useful items. We were able to find sticks and (probably used) wooden skewers on the ground. Christina also found a old “gate” behind the bathhouse. It was perfect. It's difficult to describe what we did so there is a picture below to illustrate. Basically, we laid the gate across the top of the burnpit, put the chicken on the skewers, and strategically laid the skewers on the gate. It took awhile for the chicken to cook because it was so far from the coals, but it was quite a success! It was great! We didn't even cook the hotdogs and gave all the extra food to the man who owned the campground.
We happily fell asleep with full stomachs on soft green grass beneath a cluster of palm tress. We were so tired and content that we didn't even care about the loud party at the hostel next door or the strange girls who were also at the campground.
We peacefully slept for a couple of hours, but then there was another unexpected surprise. RAIN. I laid in my sleeping bag for several minutes trying to figure out if I was dreaming. As my sleeping bag became cold and soggy, I was finally convinced. It was in fact raining. It still seemed like a dream. This was only the second time I had seen or felt rain since I arrived in Israel. It had only rained once before in Haifa for about 10 minutes. Furthermore, the weather forecast said nothing about rain. I was amazed. I looked around and everyone else was still asleep or intentionally ignoring it. We didn't bring a tent and all of our stuff was laying out on the picnic table. I got up and rescued the map, put our shoes under the table, and put away other valuables. It wasn't raining hard though, so I crawled back into my sleeping back and prayed it would stop. It did stop, but only for about 5 minutes and then it rained harder. By then, everyone was awake, and we took our sleeping bags to a covered area by the bathhouse. We went to sleep on the hard cement. I woke up in the morning to find that I was the only one still there. Everyone else moved back to the grass when the rain stopped. I probably would have done this too, but I slept the rest of the night without waking up even once.
As the sun rose, we all slowly crawled out of our sleeping bags and started to pack up. We ate breakfast, tended to our blisters, and prepared to go back to the road to continue the hike on highway 90. Shortly before leaving, the campground owner arrived, and we asked him to take our photo. He told us that we could hike along the water for a while and then go to back to the highway to go the rest of the way to Tiberias. We were thrilled. We were all dreading walking on the road again. We had been told that the rest of the highway to Tiberias was hilly and veered away from the water again. We were also warned that the road had a very narrow shoulder for walking. We were so excited to be able to walk along the water!
The hike was glorious! It was how we had hoped the whole trip had been. We hiked directly on the shoreline, occasionally making our way through tall grasses, cattails, and reeds. Sometimes it was rocky, but most of it was soft dirt and sand which was much more comfortable for our feet than asphalt. For the first couple of hours, we hiked with a gorgeous view of the Cliffs of Arbel and Tiberias. We were so excited and encouraged to come closer and closer to Tiberias. I think I know now how Dorothy and the gang felt when they approach the Emerald City. Everything was so beautiful that we could care less about how tired we were!
It is important to note that we hiked through places we probably shouldn't have been. We did cross through public beaches, but most of the land did seem to belong to private owners, kibbutzim, and Christian sites. I must admit that we did climb to rock walls along the way that we later realize were at Ginosaur. We weren't intrusive though. We just kept to ourselves and moved quickly. We decided that we would keep going along the water until someone stopped us and if they did, we would gladly ask how to get to the road. Fortunately, no one ever stopped us. It's amazing they didn't. We saw plenty of people, boats, and docks, but no one even asked who we were. It was such a blessing.
Being able to hike most of the day by the water was incredible. Eventually we ran out of beach and came to highway 90 again which would take us into Tiberias. We decided to take a quick swim break before continuing. We talked to some workers at the beach's campground, and they told us we could walk a while on a utility trail parallel to the highway. We were reluctant to do this because there were several signs staying “Do not walk here” in English, but we still went. It was so nice. We were able to avoid a couple of kilometers of inclined road by walking on this on level path. Eventually, the trail ended at a electric place and we were forced to climb a fence/wall and make our way up to road. It was still worth it.
Once we were on the road, we could see buildings on the mountain that were the outskirts of Tiberias. We still had several kilometers of road ahead of us. We were in the sun without shade. We knew we were all on the brink of exhaustion. We knew this was the final stretch. We just kept walking and didn't stop.
Finally, several kilometers down the road, we saw the official “Tiberias” sign. We were thrilled but were too tired to celebrate then. We walked a a couple more kilometers and stop to rest for a couple of minutes in the shade. We knew we were in Tiberias, but our adventure was not over yet. We still had to find somewhere to get ice cream. That would mark the end.
We walked toward the bus station and found an ice cream place. We sat there for an hour our so enjoying our delicious rewards and reflecting on the adventure. We were still in a state of shock. We were too exhausted to fully grasp the fact that we had hiked around the Kinneret. The Sea of Galilee! It hard to look out over the water and think I was over or near that landmark within the past 48 hours, and I walked all the way to here. We had in fact completed the journey in about 48 hours. We left Tiberias around noon on September 28th, and we arrived at the ice cream place around 1 pm on Thursday, October 1st. The circumference on the Kinneret is about 53 kilometers (33 miles). The highway route around the lake is about 66 kilometers (41 miles). We easily had hiked about 60 kilometers (37 miles). It all seemed like a dream.
As mentioned before, none of us were prepared for what this adventure would hold. I didn't know what to expect. I have been to the Galilee before and have visited some of the Christian sites, but I knew it would be so different to experience it on foot. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hike along the Sea of Galilee! What could be better than to explore the some of the land where Jesus did much of His ministry with wonderful friends? However, I did fear that my expectations for the trip could hinder hearing what God wanted to teach me there. As we hiked, I prayed that God would open my eyes to what He wanted me to learn. Throughout the whole trip, God kept reminding me of how much He loves and cares for us. He was with us the whole way and provided for our needs in abundance. It was a beautiful and humbling experience.
On Tuesday, September 29th, eight of us set out on our adventure from Tiberias around noon. Kelsey and I started a little later than the rest of the group because we arrived in Tiberias a bit late, but we were able to catch up with everyone down the road. For most of the first day, we walked on Highway 90 heading south. We thought that there were trails that went along the water, but we found that we would be walking along the highway most of the time. On the first day, the road stayed very close to the lake and was quite enjoyable. After we looped around the southern point of the lake, we found a bike trail heading north alongside a couple of kibbutzim. Our group naturally maintained formations that mimicked the cyclist teams in the Tour de France as we hiked. We even started to call our hike the “Tour de Kinneret.” Just before sundown, we found a campground just north of the En Gev Kibbutz. The campground had a lovely, rocky beach that was directly across the lake from Tiberias and Arbel. The sunset over the lake was beautiful and winds sweeping over the water were breathtaking. Everyone was exhausted and went to sleep shortly after the sunset. The first day was wonderfully filled with marvelous views and great conversation.
The next morning, we woke up with the sun, doubled our socks in attempt to relieve some of the pain from our blisters, and set out north on Highway 92. The first couple of hours were fine. We were going at a good pace and the heat wasn't too bad even though we lacked shade. We stopped at a beach for a quick swim break and then continued on the highway. That's when things started to get rough.
From then on, we were walking on highway. The further north we went, the further the road moved away from the lake. Throughout the day we saw little more than kibbutzim, tour buses and asphalt...infinite asphalt. It was getting really hot, and there was absolutely no shade. In addition to that, everyone was started to get exhausted and our feet were throbbing.
We finally made it to the junction of highway 92 and highway 87, which headed southwest to Tiberias. We had a choice. There was a restaurant near the intersection. We could eat there or keep going several more kilometers to a nearby beach. We were tired and low on water, so we
decided to stop at the restaurant. It was a bit pricey, but most of us just bought a drink and ate the granola and fruit we brought with us. Our leader, Ben, decided to keep walking and find something else to eat further down the road. That was the last time we saw him before we made it back to Haifa. That story will come later. :)
The stretch after the restaurant was even worse than the earlier part of the day. We were still on the highway, and though we could see the lake in the distance, it still was very far. For the most part, we could handle the weight of our backpacks, the fatigue, and the heat, but blisters were unbearable. Our “Tour de Kinneret” formation had mostly dissipated. Kelsey was wearing Converses and had some of the worst blisters in the group. She eventually decided to take a sherut (shared taxi) to a beach up road to give her feet a break. The remaining six of us finally crossed the Jordan River and had a brief moment of celebration. Not too long after that, Kate and Madison decided to catch a sherut to Tiberias and go back to Haifa. I don't blame them. It was getting really difficult. Ben was near Migdal when he heard that Kate and Madison were going back to Haifa. He misunderstood and thought that all of us were going back to Haifa, so he found a sherut and went back too. Later, we found out that he went most of the way to Tiberias without finding food. It's nice that we can look back on these things and laugh. :)
So only four of us kept on hiking. Our morale picked up as the road finally came closer to the lake. We were pretty exhausted though and were talking about stopping for the night once we made it to where Kelsey was. One problem though... we couldn't find Kelsey! We planned to meet Kelsey at a beach that was on our map, but we never saw a sign for it. In addition to this, we realized that we were all running out of water. Seriously running out of water. I am pretty sure we had less than 12 ounces of water left between the four of us. We kept walking and walking and never saw the beach. Since we couldn't find the beach or any other landmark, we weren't sure where we were or when we would find water.
Finally, we made it to the Orthodox Capernaum site. It was such a blessing. The site was pretty much abandoned, but shortly after we arrived a man who knew English pulled up in a truck. He lived near by and just happened to come there to go on a walk. He told us there was a campground several kilometers further, but said we were crazy for hiking all this way. :) He began his walk and we went down to the site to find water.
Things were much better. We had directions and water, but we still didn't know where Kelsey was. We decided to just keep hiking. Once we found somewhere to stay for the night, Kelsey could meet us there.
From the Orthodox Capernaum site, there was a cobblestone trail that headed east through the other Christians sites. We were so grateful to walk on something other than asphalt! As the sun began to descend, we periodically were able to walk in shade. We walked for about an hour on this trail passing the Roman Catholic Capernaum as well as. We called Kelsey and found out that she was at a beach called Hakuk. Apparently, the sherut driver didn't know the beach we planned on meeting her at, so instead he dropped her off at this beach. She told us that there was a place to camp there as well as swim. On the trail, we bumped into the man who had given us directions, and he informed us that the Hakuk beach was still several kilometers away and once again assured us we were crazy for hiking there. We were still very encouraged. We knew where Kelsey was, we knew where we could sleep, and we knew we could get there before nightfall.
Eventually, we made it to the final stretch... Mount of the Beatitudes and finally Tabgha. We didn't stop at any of the sites. By this point, we were all exhausted and just focused on making it to the beach and campground where Kelsey was. It became harder and harder to keep going after after each break. When we would start going again our muscles and feet would scream until we walked enough for them to go numb. So, we stopped having breaks. We just kept walking.
As we were passing Tabgha, we saw our friend again. He had finished his walk and was driving back to his Moshav (a type of communal neighborhood). He offered us a ride to the beach. We stood in the road for what seemed like several minutes debating what to do. We were so exhausted. The sun was sinking down below the hills. We still had several kilometers to walk, but we had come so far on our own that we didn't want to give up now. The man told once again told us we were crazy and warned us that most of the way left was uphill. We eventually let go of our pride and took the offer. It was such a blessing!!! We jumped in his truck and quickly discovered that he was very right. The road wound up the side of a sleep mountain, and we would have had to walk along the road's very narrow shoulder. We all agreed it would have been miserable to hike and were so grateful for the ride. There was no way we could have made it to the beach by sun down, and I don't think any of us had the strength to make it up the hill. We thanked our friend dozens and dozens of times for his kindness.
As soon as we entered the campground, we saw Kelsey hanging out with a couple of soldiers. They were there preparing a cookout for a group of soldiers that evening. Kelsey had been waiting there for several hours and had become friends with them. When we arrived, the soldiers offered us cold sodas. We couldn't resist. We gladly took the cold, sugary drinks, laid down our heavy backpacks, and collapsed on the ground. We gently removed our shoes and peeled off our layered socks. Our feet were awful. Simon's feet were actually bleeding. He said didn't mind too much because he couldn't feel them. He even took photos of them. I couldn't bear it. We stayed there for a while practically incapable of moving. As we reflected on the day, we agreed that we were made it that far on nothing but God's strength and pure adrenaline.
We decided to go for a victory swim in the Kinneret as the sun was setting. It took a while for us to slowly get up, change, and hobble our way to the beach. It was worth it though. Our campground just had a rocky natural beach but the hostel next door had a nice sandy shore. So, we crossed over to their beach and enjoyed a nice swim in the shallow water as the sun descended behind the hills. It was lovely.
The rest of the evening was hilarious. We were all so exhausted that everything was funny. Everything. There are so many little stories from the evening; however, I know I would inevitably just end each story with “you just had to be there,” so I'll spare you.
As we walked back to the campground, we could smell the soldiers' food on the grill, and we were so jealous. The five of us gathered around our picnic table and shared what was left of our food. Our small feast consisted of fruit, bread, hummus, and granola. It was good, but the whole time we kept eyeing the soldiers' food. When the group of soldier's arrived we realized that they were all young. (All Israelis have to go into the army when they are 18. These soldier's couldn't have been much older than that.) We also noticed that there were only 30 to 40 of them, and we were pretty sure we had seen enough food for at least 50 to 60 people. So, we were hopeful that they would have leftovers.
We ate our food very slowly. We kept waiting and hoping the soldiers would bring leftovers to us. We waited and waited until we were practically hysterical, and finally Kelsey stepped up and offered to go ask (beg) them for food. She is our hero. We tried to inconspicuously watch from a distance, but I am sure we looked pretty pathetic to them. She eventually returned with grape juice and said they were going to bring us some things in a minute.
We anxiously waited in anticipation, and finally we saw them coming. Several soldiers were bringing us armfuls of food! We were overwhelmed. They brought us 10 pounds of seasoned chicken, about 100 hotdogs, a kilo of hummus, five loaves of bread, tomatoes, and several containers of tahini and other spreads. It was way too much food! We told them we only wanted some and offered to pay for it, but they insisted we just take it. They apparently were planning on throwing out what they didn't use. It was wonderful, but there was one downside. None of the meat was cooked. The soldiers had brought their own grill, but were preparing to leave, so we had to cook it ourselves.
We scouted out a fire pit and filled it with charcoal they had also given us. We soaked it in lighter fluid and waited for the coals to get hot, but really wasn't working. Eventually, the soldiers added their hot coals to our burnpit before leaving. Finally, it was warm enough to cook the chicken. Our next delima was how to cook the chicken. The burnpit didn't have a grill and the sides were pretty high. We decided it was best to make kebabs and searched the campground for useful items. We were able to find sticks and (probably used) wooden skewers on the ground. Christina also found a old “gate” behind the bathhouse. It was perfect. It's difficult to describe what we did so there is a picture below to illustrate. Basically, we laid the gate across the top of the burnpit, put the chicken on the skewers, and strategically laid the skewers on the gate. It took awhile for the chicken to cook because it was so far from the coals, but it was quite a success! It was great! We didn't even cook the hotdogs and gave all the extra food to the man who owned the campground.
We happily fell asleep with full stomachs on soft green grass beneath a cluster of palm tress. We were so tired and content that we didn't even care about the loud party at the hostel next door or the strange girls who were also at the campground.
We peacefully slept for a couple of hours, but then there was another unexpected surprise. RAIN. I laid in my sleeping bag for several minutes trying to figure out if I was dreaming. As my sleeping bag became cold and soggy, I was finally convinced. It was in fact raining. It still seemed like a dream. This was only the second time I had seen or felt rain since I arrived in Israel. It had only rained once before in Haifa for about 10 minutes. Furthermore, the weather forecast said nothing about rain. I was amazed. I looked around and everyone else was still asleep or intentionally ignoring it. We didn't bring a tent and all of our stuff was laying out on the picnic table. I got up and rescued the map, put our shoes under the table, and put away other valuables. It wasn't raining hard though, so I crawled back into my sleeping back and prayed it would stop. It did stop, but only for about 5 minutes and then it rained harder. By then, everyone was awake, and we took our sleeping bags to a covered area by the bathhouse. We went to sleep on the hard cement. I woke up in the morning to find that I was the only one still there. Everyone else moved back to the grass when the rain stopped. I probably would have done this too, but I slept the rest of the night without waking up even once.
As the sun rose, we all slowly crawled out of our sleeping bags and started to pack up. We ate breakfast, tended to our blisters, and prepared to go back to the road to continue the hike on highway 90. Shortly before leaving, the campground owner arrived, and we asked him to take our photo. He told us that we could hike along the water for a while and then go to back to the highway to go the rest of the way to Tiberias. We were thrilled. We were all dreading walking on the road again. We had been told that the rest of the highway to Tiberias was hilly and veered away from the water again. We were also warned that the road had a very narrow shoulder for walking. We were so excited to be able to walk along the water!
The hike was glorious! It was how we had hoped the whole trip had been. We hiked directly on the shoreline, occasionally making our way through tall grasses, cattails, and reeds. Sometimes it was rocky, but most of it was soft dirt and sand which was much more comfortable for our feet than asphalt. For the first couple of hours, we hiked with a gorgeous view of the Cliffs of Arbel and Tiberias. We were so excited and encouraged to come closer and closer to Tiberias. I think I know now how Dorothy and the gang felt when they approach the Emerald City. Everything was so beautiful that we could care less about how tired we were!
It is important to note that we hiked through places we probably shouldn't have been. We did cross through public beaches, but most of the land did seem to belong to private owners, kibbutzim, and Christian sites. I must admit that we did climb to rock walls along the way that we later realize were at Ginosaur. We weren't intrusive though. We just kept to ourselves and moved quickly. We decided that we would keep going along the water until someone stopped us and if they did, we would gladly ask how to get to the road. Fortunately, no one ever stopped us. It's amazing they didn't. We saw plenty of people, boats, and docks, but no one even asked who we were. It was such a blessing.
Being able to hike most of the day by the water was incredible. Eventually we ran out of beach and came to highway 90 again which would take us into Tiberias. We decided to take a quick swim break before continuing. We talked to some workers at the beach's campground, and they told us we could walk a while on a utility trail parallel to the highway. We were reluctant to do this because there were several signs staying “Do not walk here” in English, but we still went. It was so nice. We were able to avoid a couple of kilometers of inclined road by walking on this on level path. Eventually, the trail ended at a electric place and we were forced to climb a fence/wall and make our way up to road. It was still worth it.
Once we were on the road, we could see buildings on the mountain that were the outskirts of Tiberias. We still had several kilometers of road ahead of us. We were in the sun without shade. We knew we were all on the brink of exhaustion. We knew this was the final stretch. We just kept walking and didn't stop.
Finally, several kilometers down the road, we saw the official “Tiberias” sign. We were thrilled but were too tired to celebrate then. We walked a a couple more kilometers and stop to rest for a couple of minutes in the shade. We knew we were in Tiberias, but our adventure was not over yet. We still had to find somewhere to get ice cream. That would mark the end.
We walked toward the bus station and found an ice cream place. We sat there for an hour our so enjoying our delicious rewards and reflecting on the adventure. We were still in a state of shock. We were too exhausted to fully grasp the fact that we had hiked around the Kinneret. The Sea of Galilee! It hard to look out over the water and think I was over or near that landmark within the past 48 hours, and I walked all the way to here. We had in fact completed the journey in about 48 hours. We left Tiberias around noon on September 28th, and we arrived at the ice cream place around 1 pm on Thursday, October 1st. The circumference on the Kinneret is about 53 kilometers (33 miles). The highway route around the lake is about 66 kilometers (41 miles). We easily had hiked about 60 kilometers (37 miles). It all seemed like a dream.
As mentioned before, none of us were prepared for what this adventure would hold. I didn't know what to expect. I have been to the Galilee before and have visited some of the Christian sites, but I knew it would be so different to experience it on foot. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hike along the Sea of Galilee! What could be better than to explore the some of the land where Jesus did much of His ministry with wonderful friends? However, I did fear that my expectations for the trip could hinder hearing what God wanted to teach me there. As we hiked, I prayed that God would open my eyes to what He wanted me to learn. Throughout the whole trip, God kept reminding me of how much He loves and cares for us. He was with us the whole way and provided for our needs in abundance. It was a beautiful and humbling experience.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Close Brethren
Before I came to Israel, I did some research online to find churches in Haifa. I am going to be here for a while, and I really want to be involved with a local congregation. Well, there aren't many churches and most are not protestant. I was, however, able to find a Baptist church here. (It's cleverly called Haifa Baptist Church.) :) I figured that could be starting point for my church hunt. I found very little information about the church online, but eventually after a couple of emails, I found out the address and service times. (Note: Sunday is a working day in Israel. Adults go to work and students go to school, so churches have services Sunday evening.)
This past Sunday, I made my way down to the German Colony and found the building on one of the side streets. Upon walking in, I was met with warm smiles that greeted me with “Keif halek?” (“How are you?”) Arabic. I was thrilled. I was visiting an Arab congregation! I probably should have expected this. Most Christians in Israel are Arab-Israelis. It was an incredible experience.
I had arrived a little early, so I sat down and saw an Arabic Bible next to me. Out of curiosity, I opened it and much to my surprise the words had vowels. I could read it! Granted, I didn't know the vocabulary and my pronunciation would be embarrassing for anyone around me to hear, but I was reading it. I was reading the Bible in Arabic! The feeling I had is difficult to describe, but I know that those of you who have been in similar situations completely understand. Soon after this discovery, I met the pastor and his family who had been expecting me. They are so wonderfully kind. Mrs. Violet, Paster Philip's wife, sat by me and translated for me and Therese, a girl from Germany, who was also visiting.
The service was beautiful. The first song they sang was “How Great Thou Art” in Arabic. It was beautiful. Simply indescribable. I really cannot relate it in words. The rest of the songs were also lovely. I tried to follow along on the screen with where the song was. (Once again, written Arabic is different than spoken.) Sometimes the spoken Arabic was transliterated on the screen and a couple of times the English translation was on the screen as well. Mrs. Violet was always so kind to translate the verses for me. The first hour was singing. Beautiful melodies. The people sang from their hearts and fill the room with a glorious sound. They also clapped. I tried to clap, but there were rhythm patterns that I was completely unable to grasp. :) It didn't seem to matter though. It was all a joyful sound.
The sermon was nice. The pastor had an interesting perspective on the Scriptures definitely seems to reflect the struggles of this congregation and others in Israel. I find it rather fascinating. Shortly after the sermon, the offering was taken up by children rather than deacons or elders.
Then, they had the Lord's Supper. I still felt a bit like and outsider, and I wanted to make sure no one would mind if I participated. So, I leaned over to Mrs. Violet and asked. Her response was priceless. She was shocked to the point that she laughed. “Of course we do not mind! Why would we mind? We are the same. Besides, it is between you and God.” Then she leaned close and said softly, “And, we are a close brethren here.” Her words touched me. I have grown up in the Bible Belt. I have been in churches in the States that strictly permitted only the local members of the church to participate. I have also heard the topic debated!
Here, knowing that we shared the same faith was enough. There were no other expectations. No other requirements. They truly exist as a unified body. They share responsibilities. Prior to the service, the Lord's Supper was prepared by women and teenagers. A couple of men distributed the bread and juice. The deacons didn't formally walk down the isles at a coordinated pace. In fact, they just stood from where they were sitting with their families and made their way to the front. It wasn't hushed and quiet. It was joyous. It was genuine.
I adore this congregation. I don't know the last time I experienced such genuine, honest worship. These people are passionate about God. They own no masks. They were also so warm to me and Therese. They were eager to know more about us. Pastor Philip offered to drive us to our homes. As soon as they knew I would be here until January, Pastor Philip and Mrs. Violet invited me to their home for Christmas. They also insisted that I come have dinner with them soon. I feel like I experienced “the right hand of Christian fellowship." And, I think my church hunt is over.
Afterwards, Therese and I walked to the bus stop together. Both of us were moved by this congregation. I was sad to find out that she was leaving soon. She has already been in Israel for 3 months volunteering. I wish I could have met her before that night, but I am really grateful to have met her.
Since I have been here, I have meet very few Christians. In August, over 200 students from more than 40 countries participated in the International School, and there were hundreds of local students on campus. Of all of those, I met nine Christians. Nine. And trust me, I looked for them. It has been a difficult adjustment. I grew up in the Bible Belt and even go to a Christian college. Back home, I feel like I am almost always surrounded by people with the same faith as me. I have also been immensely blessed with a marvelous group of friends who are passionate about God. At home, fellowship is practically constant. I realize now that I have been taking this fellowship for granted. Still, I have been meeting wonderful people here. I have delightful friends with fascinating lives and interesting ambitions. I enjoy their company very much and am so grateful for each of them!
Well, that is all for now. I will try to blog again tomorrow. Thursday evening, I am going to Jerusalem for the weekend with some friends! On Sunday, I will meet my class, and we will spend the week traveling in Jerusalem and the Negev. I won't be back in Haifa until Thursday, September 17th. So, if I am unable to blog tomorrow, don't expect any new entries until after the 17th. :) Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
This past Sunday, I made my way down to the German Colony and found the building on one of the side streets. Upon walking in, I was met with warm smiles that greeted me with “Keif halek?” (“How are you?”) Arabic. I was thrilled. I was visiting an Arab congregation! I probably should have expected this. Most Christians in Israel are Arab-Israelis. It was an incredible experience.
I had arrived a little early, so I sat down and saw an Arabic Bible next to me. Out of curiosity, I opened it and much to my surprise the words had vowels. I could read it! Granted, I didn't know the vocabulary and my pronunciation would be embarrassing for anyone around me to hear, but I was reading it. I was reading the Bible in Arabic! The feeling I had is difficult to describe, but I know that those of you who have been in similar situations completely understand. Soon after this discovery, I met the pastor and his family who had been expecting me. They are so wonderfully kind. Mrs. Violet, Paster Philip's wife, sat by me and translated for me and Therese, a girl from Germany, who was also visiting.
The service was beautiful. The first song they sang was “How Great Thou Art” in Arabic. It was beautiful. Simply indescribable. I really cannot relate it in words. The rest of the songs were also lovely. I tried to follow along on the screen with where the song was. (Once again, written Arabic is different than spoken.) Sometimes the spoken Arabic was transliterated on the screen and a couple of times the English translation was on the screen as well. Mrs. Violet was always so kind to translate the verses for me. The first hour was singing. Beautiful melodies. The people sang from their hearts and fill the room with a glorious sound. They also clapped. I tried to clap, but there were rhythm patterns that I was completely unable to grasp. :) It didn't seem to matter though. It was all a joyful sound.
The sermon was nice. The pastor had an interesting perspective on the Scriptures definitely seems to reflect the struggles of this congregation and others in Israel. I find it rather fascinating. Shortly after the sermon, the offering was taken up by children rather than deacons or elders.
Then, they had the Lord's Supper. I still felt a bit like and outsider, and I wanted to make sure no one would mind if I participated. So, I leaned over to Mrs. Violet and asked. Her response was priceless. She was shocked to the point that she laughed. “Of course we do not mind! Why would we mind? We are the same. Besides, it is between you and God.” Then she leaned close and said softly, “And, we are a close brethren here.” Her words touched me. I have grown up in the Bible Belt. I have been in churches in the States that strictly permitted only the local members of the church to participate. I have also heard the topic debated!
Here, knowing that we shared the same faith was enough. There were no other expectations. No other requirements. They truly exist as a unified body. They share responsibilities. Prior to the service, the Lord's Supper was prepared by women and teenagers. A couple of men distributed the bread and juice. The deacons didn't formally walk down the isles at a coordinated pace. In fact, they just stood from where they were sitting with their families and made their way to the front. It wasn't hushed and quiet. It was joyous. It was genuine.
I adore this congregation. I don't know the last time I experienced such genuine, honest worship. These people are passionate about God. They own no masks. They were also so warm to me and Therese. They were eager to know more about us. Pastor Philip offered to drive us to our homes. As soon as they knew I would be here until January, Pastor Philip and Mrs. Violet invited me to their home for Christmas. They also insisted that I come have dinner with them soon. I feel like I experienced “the right hand of Christian fellowship." And, I think my church hunt is over.
Afterwards, Therese and I walked to the bus stop together. Both of us were moved by this congregation. I was sad to find out that she was leaving soon. She has already been in Israel for 3 months volunteering. I wish I could have met her before that night, but I am really grateful to have met her.
Since I have been here, I have meet very few Christians. In August, over 200 students from more than 40 countries participated in the International School, and there were hundreds of local students on campus. Of all of those, I met nine Christians. Nine. And trust me, I looked for them. It has been a difficult adjustment. I grew up in the Bible Belt and even go to a Christian college. Back home, I feel like I am almost always surrounded by people with the same faith as me. I have also been immensely blessed with a marvelous group of friends who are passionate about God. At home, fellowship is practically constant. I realize now that I have been taking this fellowship for granted. Still, I have been meeting wonderful people here. I have delightful friends with fascinating lives and interesting ambitions. I enjoy their company very much and am so grateful for each of them!
Well, that is all for now. I will try to blog again tomorrow. Thursday evening, I am going to Jerusalem for the weekend with some friends! On Sunday, I will meet my class, and we will spend the week traveling in Jerusalem and the Negev. I won't be back in Haifa until Thursday, September 17th. So, if I am unable to blog tomorrow, don't expect any new entries until after the 17th. :) Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
A Moment in Israel
You may be curious about the title I chose for this blog. I spent a lot of time prior to my departure trying to think of an appropriate and perhaps, witty blog title. Well, as many of you know this proved to be quite a difficult feat. I appreciate all of the funny suggestions from friends, but I still wasn’t settled on any of them.
Not too long ago, I was walking on campus and had a moment of realization. I am here. I am in Israel. This is my dream. This is what I have been praying for and wrestling with for more than a year. This is now my life for five months! I looked back on the past few weeks and realized how marvelous my experience has already been! Everything is new and unexpected in the most delightful sense! Each day is full to the brim and flies by so quickly that I can barely grasp its sweetness. And yet, when I reflect upon my experience here, time seems to organize itself into a series of rich moments.
Each moment seems so real and precious. I try to soak them in, but I feel incapable of fully appreciating them. These simple, fleeting moments seem so trivial from the outside but have significantly enriched my experience here. I could tell you countless little stories of people and places that have made this trip so worthwhile. It’s sharing an umbrella at Buckingham Palace, the sweet victory of buying a fan the first day, the incredible view from campus, traveling with new friends, a moment of confidence, a lovely shade of blue, a sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, my first “real” train ride, a stunning view of Mt. Hermon, stumbling upon ancient ruins, Pear Cactus Apple Juice, catching the bus, a patient friend, a view of Old City, recognizing a familiar street, and the trial and error process of grocery shopping. Each is a unique blessing. They are tiny specks of realization that capture my thoughts and whisper God's glory. These moments are brief and never repeated. They are my moments. My experience.
In many ways, this blog is an attempt to share these moments with you. I will do my best, but it is impossible to tell them all – and some are better to save for long conversations. :)
Not too long ago, I was walking on campus and had a moment of realization. I am here. I am in Israel. This is my dream. This is what I have been praying for and wrestling with for more than a year. This is now my life for five months! I looked back on the past few weeks and realized how marvelous my experience has already been! Everything is new and unexpected in the most delightful sense! Each day is full to the brim and flies by so quickly that I can barely grasp its sweetness. And yet, when I reflect upon my experience here, time seems to organize itself into a series of rich moments.
Each moment seems so real and precious. I try to soak them in, but I feel incapable of fully appreciating them. These simple, fleeting moments seem so trivial from the outside but have significantly enriched my experience here. I could tell you countless little stories of people and places that have made this trip so worthwhile. It’s sharing an umbrella at Buckingham Palace, the sweet victory of buying a fan the first day, the incredible view from campus, traveling with new friends, a moment of confidence, a lovely shade of blue, a sunset over the Mediterranean Sea, my first “real” train ride, a stunning view of Mt. Hermon, stumbling upon ancient ruins, Pear Cactus Apple Juice, catching the bus, a patient friend, a view of Old City, recognizing a familiar street, and the trial and error process of grocery shopping. Each is a unique blessing. They are tiny specks of realization that capture my thoughts and whisper God's glory. These moments are brief and never repeated. They are my moments. My experience.
In many ways, this blog is an attempt to share these moments with you. I will do my best, but it is impossible to tell them all – and some are better to save for long conversations. :)
Monday, August 31, 2009
بعد شهر في إسرائيل (or After a month in Israel...)
Here it is! I made my travel blog! I apologize again for the delay!
It’s difficult to decide how to begin, so I apologize if my first few posts seem scattered. I also apologize that this first post is very long. Please do not feel obligated to read it all at once!
I have been in Israel for about a month now, and I am really enjoying every moment of it! For those who don’t know the details, I recently finished an intensive Arabic program for the month of August to learn elementary written Modern Standard Arabic. Tomorrow, I will begin taking a month study tour that focuses on the history of the land. My fall semester begins in October, and I’ll be taking spoken Arabic (which is quite different from the written), a biblical theology course (from a Jewish perspective), Arab-Israeli Resolutions, and an internship course at the Hecht Museum on campus! I’ll be returning to the States in the beginning of January.
I guess it’s best to start from the beginning… (If you are not really interested in my flight and London day trip, then feel free to skip down a couple of paragraphs to hear about Israel.) :)
I left Georgia late at night on Friday, July 31st. That day was pretty hectic. I definitely underestimated the difficulty of packing for 5 months, but we made it to the airport, made some strategic shifting in my luggage weight, and I was on my way! (Thank you again, Mom!) I was little nervous because it was my first solo international flight, but it actually great! I have flown dozens of times but almost all of my flights have been with large groups of people I know - usually study abroad trips! When you fly in groups, you don’t have to think about where you’re going or the time… you just follow the person in front of you. I experienced my first and only solo flight in February when I flew out to meet my mom at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas. It was an enjoyable experience, but still really easy. There is something slightly daunting about your first international solo flight, especially when your also thinking, “hey, I won’t be back here for 5 months.” Well, I am very grateful that my flight went really well. I found that it really wasn’t difficult, and I could enjoy a nice sense of accomplishment when it was over. : )
I arrived in London at 10:20 am local time and had a 12 hour layover! Thus, began my 12 hour London Extravaganza! I have never been to London before so I was really excited about this opportunity. I am so grateful for everyone’s advice on how to get around and what to see! I really can’t express how much I appreciate it! As soon as I got off the plane I changed some a bit of money over and hurried to the tube information booth. My dear Amber Wilson let me borrow her Oyster Card (tube pass), so I added a couple of pounds to the card and was on my way!
I got on the tube and started going over my plans for the 8 hours I would be in the city. Unfortunately, on my way into the city, the Piccadilly line was temporarily shut down because a suspicious bag was found at the King’s Cross stop. We were stuck at the Osterley stop for about 25 minutes, but it turned out to be a false alarm and the tube continued into the city.
I decided to get off first at the Westminster stop. I was a little disoriented at first but I found an exit and emerged from the station to see Big Ben directly in front of me! I was so excited and couldn’t help but switch into stereotypical tourist mode. I stayed there for a bit and then walked over to Westminster Abbey. This was one of the sites that I really wanted to see. I walked on the grounds for a while and just took in the grandeur of it all. I wanted to see David Livingstone’s grave, but I was disappointed to discover that it was part of the tour. I debated whether or not it was worth paying for the tour, but ultimately decided against it. If I had more time, I probably would have done it. I’m pretty sure I’ll have a chance to go back one day anyway. (By the way, if you don’t know who David Livingstone is, you should definitely research him!)
After Westminster Abbey, I walked past Big Ben and Parliament to cross over the Thames River. I spent some time over by the London Eye, but didn’t ride it. The line was incredibly long, and I was quite content to walk along the crowded boardwalk. There were a lot of street performers that day and I found what I like to call Dr. Seuss trees. The trees along the boardwalk were wrapped in fabric that was red with big white spots! Definitely Dr. Seuss trees. I really enjoyed walking there and decided to the London Bridge instead of back tracking to the tube stop. I quickly realized that was not a good idea considering my time restraints and the fact that I had my laptop backpack and a large purse/carryon with me. Anyway, I bumped into someone who suggested that I walk back to the Jubilee Bridge and cross over to the Monument stop. So, I did and moved on to my next stop at Mansion House.
Here, I walked over the Millennium Bridge to see the Globe Theatre. I couldn’t help but mutter some sonnets and pieces to myself that I had memorized in high school. : ) I also went by St. Paul’s Cathedral before heading back to the tube station. Once again, I was content with not going in. One day, I’ll probably come back to London and take the time to really soak up places like that, but I am quite content with what I saw that day.
Next, I went to the Monument stop and saw “The Monument” and the London Bridge. I planned on going from the Monument stop down to the Borough market, but the connector between Monument and Bank was closed and I never had time to go over a different way. Not seeing the Borough market was really my only disappointment of the whole trip, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to see it some day. Instead, I went to Tower Hill and spent some time there. It started to rain so I made my way back to the tube station and made my way to my last 2 stops: Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace!
By some bizarre sequence of events, it took me about an hour to get from Tower Hill to Piccadilly Circus. I couldn’t cross over to the Piccadilly Line from Monument, Embankment, Westminster, or Victoria due to closings. When I finally tried to connect to Piccadilly at South Kensington, the platform was terribly crowed. (It was Saturday evening and everyone was heading to Piccadilly Circus.) The tube was delayed, then one arrived that was out of service, then I literally could not squeeze into the next train, but finally I made it. I really like Piccadilly Circus. I have never been to New York City so this was my first “big city lights” experience. I walked around for a bit until I was satisfied and went on my way to the Palace. I really debated even going to the Palace. I knew I need to be heading back to the airport shortly and by that time I was really starting to feel exhausted. I ultimately decided to go for it, and I so glad I went. It was raining, and I discovered there is something wonderful about walking through Green Park in the rain. (I wish that the classic green and white chairs were still scattered across the fields, but it was still great.) I had a unique experience on the way to the Palace that I will never forget.
After I left Buckingham Palace, I said goodbye to London and went back to Heathrow with plenty of time to spare before my flight. It was honestly a wonderful experience! London was never on my top 10 list of places to visit because I’ve heard so many stories and seen so many photos from my friends. This brief trip has definitely changed my mind. I was really impressed by London. There’s something really intriguing and enduring about it. England in general has finally made it to my top 10 list of places to go visit (again), but I still need to see a lot of other things first. : )
And finally, Israel….
I left the Heathrow airport at 10:30 pm and arrived in Israel at 5:30 am local time. I knew there was another student going to the University of Haifa on the flight, but I actually didn’t meet her until we arrived in Tel Aviv. We talked as we went through customs and such, and then she left to visit family before going to Haifa. I had met another student via Facebook who would be arriving around the time I would be, so we planned on going from the airport to Haifa together. I waited a while for him, but ultimately decided to go alone. (His flight ended up landing a lot earlier than expected so it was good that I went ahead.) I took a sherut (a shared taxi for about 8 to 12 people) to Haifa, and the driver to me straight to entrance of the dormitories at the University. I finally arrived!
I LOVE HAIFA. It’s wonderful. The University sits on the top of Mt. Carmel and looks down on the port city of Haifa on the Mediterranean Sea. The view is breathtaking. You can see most of the city Haifa, Akko, the Galilee hills, and Lebanon on a good day. Because the school is on a mountain, it’s isolated from the busy city, but I can get on a bus and be in the heart of the city in 20 minutes and on an incredible beach in less than 30 minutes. If that wasn’t enough, the University is in the middle of the Mt. Carmel national park. So, I’m surrounded by forest, looking out on the beach, city, and Galilee hills. I love it here!
So much has happened in this month, and there is so much I want to share with all of you! I think it may be best to give a brief overview of the main points for now. I apologize that most of this will be pretty vague. In the future, I will post blogs that will elaborate in detail on these experiences. If you would like more information sooner, feel free to email or facebook me! I would love to tell you more about it!
This past Thursday, I completed the August Intensive Arabic Program here at the University of Haifa! Over 200 students from over 40 countries were here during the month of August to study Hebrew or Arabic. Of over 200 students, only 20 of us were in the Arabic program. That should tell you something! It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! The goal of the program was to teach us the basics of written Modern Standard Arabic. By the end, we learned the alphabet, basic syntax and grammar, and hundreds upon hundreds of vocabulary words. We seriously have about 40 new vocab words a night! We had class on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday for three and a half weeks. Each class was from 8:30 am until 1 pm with a thirty minute and a ten minute break in between. Usually, we would have four to six hours of homework each night. Several times a week we had “Arabic Zone” where we all worked on homework together and got help from our Madrichim Aboud, who is an Arab Israeli from a nearby Druze village. Each week, we also had lectures in the evenings, hiking trips, and Israeli movie nights on Sunday. In addition to all of this, our Arabic class also went on trips each Tuesday to visit Arab communities, learn about current issues, and understand more about what it is to be an Arab in Israel. I truly enjoyed each of these trips!
Our first trip was to the Golan Heights. We visited inactive military bunkers that sit on the hill tops looking into Syria and Lebanon. We also spent a lot in Druze villages learning about the people and how their lives are affected by Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights (which used to belong to Syria). This trip was by far my favorite and one of the most interesting and eye opening experiences I have here so far. I promise to write a blog solely devoted to this experience very soon!
The following Tuesday, our Arabic class went to the Galilee region. Here, we visited one of the few schools in Israel that integrate Arab and other Israeli students. Usually, Arab Israelis go to one school while Jewish and other Israelis attend separate schools. We also met with a woman who works with a NGO that is working towards cooperation between Arabs and other Israelis. Afterward, we visited an environmental organization that focuses promoting green energy and aiding local Arab farmers. We ended the day by visiting a Palestinian heritage museum.
Last week, we visited Nazareth. We visited both the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches of the annunciation, as well as an excellently preserved Roman bath system.
I have also tried to travel as much as I can on the weekends. I am sure this does not surprise anyone at all. There is so much to say about these trips, but once again, I will just give you an overview for now. The first weekend, my friend, Andrea, and I woke up early Friday morning and went to Akko and Rosh Hanikra. Akko rests on the other side of the bay from Haifa. I see it everyday from the University. Akko is an old city that is rich with history and some of the best humus in the Middle East! Rosh Hanikra is just north of Akko and absolutely beautiful! It consist of bleach white cliffs that overlook the Mediterranean Sea and mark the border between Lebanon and Israel. A cable car takes you down to the base of the cliffs where you can explore beautiful grotto caves that have been carved by the sea. From there, you can also see fossils embedded all over the cliffs. Rosh Hanikra is definitely one of my favorite places in Israel!
The following weekend, my suitemate and I went to Tzat (or Sefat or Sefed or any other spelling you prefer). Nomi (who is from Holland) and I decided after class on Thursday to go! We checked the buses, found a hostel online, packed our things, and were gone! Tzat is only about two hours away from Haifa. When we arrived, we were happy to find that our hostel had a great location. We spent the evening walking around and then woke early in the morning to explore the city. We visited the Citadel, Artist colony, and the Jewish Quarter. Tzat is an interesting, old town with gorgeous views of the Galilee and Mt. Meron. It is well known for its artists and connections with Judaism, especially Kabbalah.
Last weekend, I went to Jerusalem! I thoroughly enjoyed this trip! I went down on Thursday evening and met with some friends from the University. A lot of students from the University came down at one point of another that weekend, and we went back to Haifa Saturday night. We found an amazing hostel in the Arab Quarter of the Old City! It was a European oasis with excellent prices and a beautiful view from the rooftop! I have been to Jerusalem before with the group from Shorter College. That was a wonderful experience, but there is something marvelous about taking in the city at your own pace. I was able to see so many new things as well as visit some of my favorite churches and sites. It also happened to be the start of Ramadan. It was really interesting and the Arab Quarter was draped with lights! It looked like Christmas! There is much to say about this experience! Definitely expect a detailed blog about this soon.
All this leads me to this weekend. I decided to not travel this weekend. Our Arabic final was
on Thursday and since then I have been spending time with friends, saying a lot of goodbyes, and resting! Almost everyone from the August Ulpan has left and the campus is deserted! Only a handful of remain and many have gone on trips for the weekend. Fortunately, I do have some friends who are staying here longer, so it has not been too bad. My Italian friend, Martina, has moved into my room for the weekend so we wouldn’t be alone in or empty suites. It is incredible how close you can get to people in a month! I really don’t like saying goodbyes.
Tomorrow is the first day of my Study Tour entitled “The Land of Israel: The Jewish Connection.” Throughout September, we will have lectures and field studies regarding the history of Israel. I am really excited about this course. Tomorrow and Wednesday we have lectures on campus, and on Thursday we are going to Tzippori (Sepphoris), Nazareth, and Tzfat.
Well, that is a glimpse at my experience here in Israel over the past month. I appreciate your interest and commitment to read this far. I will try to make future posts much shorter! I also plan on getting photos posted here and on Facebook soon. Unfortunately, I have experienced some technically difficulties with my laptop that are currently preventing me from uploading photos and downloading Skype. I will let you know as soon as possible when I get a Skype account! Thank you again for your patience!
Many of you have asked me about a mailing address. I do have a mailing address, but I do not recommend you sending me anything. It usually takes two to three weeks to get anything to and from Israel. It can also be expensive, so maybe wait and just send me a Christmas card in December! Instead, feel free to email me at rebekah.smith@students.shorter.edu. I also have a Facebook account! If you still really want my mailing address, it is:
Bekah Smith
c/o International School
University of Haifa
Haifa 31905
ISRAEL
I appreciate all of the prayers and support from back home! I cannot express how much it means to me! I miss all of you so much!
(Ep Sig Ladies, I miss each of you so very much, and you are all in my prayers! I wish I could be there for all of the excitement! I am thrilled to see such a great new pledge class! It also warms my heart to see all of you “Little Ones” taking Littles! I am so proud of each of you! All My Irish Love!)
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