Goodbyes and Traveling Back Home

     Today is the day we left Israel. We had breakfast at our hostel in Tel Aviv this morning before Chaim drove us to the Ben Gurion Airport. When we said goodbye to him I broke down in tears when he gave me a hug and kissed me on my cheek. Even though we only just met about two weeks ago, he feels like family. He's kind and loving like a grandpa, funny like an uncle, and protective like a father. I only hope that one day soon I can return and spend more time with him.

     Today, we spent 12.5hrs traveling from Ben Gurion, Israel to Toronto, Canada. We had to wait for the snow plows to clear a spot for our planes causing us a delay. We then had eight minutes to literally run through customs and across the airport to get to our connecting flight to SeaTac. Their was an issue with Kayla's checked bag somehow getting unchecked and given to her at customs that almost made her and Dr. Fekkes miss our flight. They ended up throwing out all of Kayla's liquids including souvenirs from AHAVA and a cross with four holy elements.

     We just barely made our flight due to our plane having mechanical issues and being delayed. Our plane sat on the runway for about an hour getting defrosted from all the snow before we were able to take off. The weather at SeaTac was too bad (extremely foggy and their were high winds) so we ended up going to Portland, Oregon to refuel. We stated their for about an hour for aircraft inspection and fueling before heading back to SeaTac and just barely landing on the runway (we almost crash landed in a nearby parking lot due to lack of visibility and low flying through the incredibly thick fog). After over 24hrs. of flying and over 4hrs. of delays it is nice to be back, although I really do wish that I was still in Israel.

Can't Wait to Return!

     I'm sorry that I did not post anything on my blog yesterday. It was a very relaxing, low-key kind of day. We visited Jaffa and a few other places in Tel Aviv yesterday morning. We went down to the waterfront and made our way through the artsy part of town. We walked through the largest open-air market in Israel and stopped to look at cool hand-made crafts and listen to street performers.

     Most of the day though we spent walking back to the hostel (a little over a 4 mile walk). While stopping at various restaurants, coffee shops, ect. along the way. I didn't realize just how large the park is that is across the street from our hostel is until we (Elyssa, Bello, Megan, Mykaela, William, and I) were walking through a large portion of it.

     Since we leave for the airport in about an hour and I am not mentally ready to go home, I will share with you a list of things I am going to miss about Israel.

When I go back to the states I am going to miss:

-Chaim (our tour guide)

-Mutasaim (the guy I rode the tandem bike with)

-Muhammed (the college student from Al-Qasim whose dad's farm we visited and had lunch at)

-the animals here (Nubian ibex, wild cats, rock hyrax, fire salamander, white donkey, camel, ect.)

-weird as it is to say this, people who look like me

-the beautiful Hebrew and Aramaic languages

-signs posted in multiple languages

-all the different local dialects/accents here

-the funny sense of humor the people here have

-the scenery (rolling hills, green grass, desserts, orange trees, limestone buildings, black stone buildings, seas, the architecture, palm trees, date palms, cactus)

-the warm weather (in Winter!!!)

-the food (everything here is fresh & locally grown! I love lox, Israeli salad, Hamantash, Rugelach, latke, fresh squeezed pomegranate juice, falafels, pierogi, fresh hummus, weird sour cream tasting yogurt type stuff, and samosa)

-the Arabian coffee

-the iced coffee (similar to a frappe in the states)

-fitting in so much that people think I'm a local & start talking to me in Hebrew

-the unique types of spices they use in the food here

-Yellow gas station

-the unique smells

-the clear/icy blue seas

-all the fresh/ripe produce

-the stereotypes of where people think I'm from (the US, Canada, Ireland, somewhere in Europe, Israel (and apparently I look Jewish)).

     I cannot wait for the day I return here! I am really hoping to come back here for graduate school (to get my M.Div.) after I finish my undergraduate degree at Trinity. Hope to see you in two and a half years Israel! Can't wait to live here, in the Holy Lands, some day!

By the Sea

     Today when we left our hostel in Kefar Giladi the rain had stopped, but the clouds were still dark and stormy. We went to a look out point where we could see into Lebanon. On a hill above us their were some soldiers with tanks watching us, so we didn't stick around for too long.

     We drove to the Mount of Beatitudes where we read from the Gospel of Matthew and visited a church. It was beautiful their, the weather had cleared up and it was starting to get pretty hot out. We stood by Palm trees and cacti as we overlooked the Sea of Galilee. We drove a bit further to visit the Church of Heptapegon where we saw an old olive press and saw a beautiful fish pool. At that church is the place where Jesus was believed to have blessed the bread and fish during the feeding of the 5,000. The floors were covered in beautiful mosaics.

     After that, we drove to Capharnaum, the town of Jesus. We saw Peter's house and visited the church built above it. We also went down to the rocks along the Sea of Galilee. Afterwards, we drove to The Yigal Alon Center to see The Ancient Galilee Boat, unfortunately photography was not allowed in the room that the boat was in. But it was very cool to see the remains of a boat dated all the way back to the first centuries BCE-CE.

     We then drove to Nazareth where we got lunch, visited Custodia Di Terra Santa, and did some souvenir shopping in the market. Megan, Mykaela and I ended up talking to a shop owner for awhile (about politics, Tel Aviv, Washington State, Canada, Texas, weather, ect.) and ended up getting some free Arab coffee from him. We are now at our new hostel in Ginnosar.

Traveling the Boarder

     Today we did a lot of driving. We started at the Mediterranean Sea  near the Lebanon boarder. We took the cable car down to the grottos (sea caves) and got splashed as the big waves came crashing against the limestone. Last night, we had a big thunder and lightening storm. All day today it was still windy, rainy, and humid but I really noticed it while we were at the sea.

     All day, we drove along the Lebanon boarder through thick fog and pouring rain. At one point Chaim stopped the van on the side of the highway and had us all get out. He had us follow him to a barbed wire fence which he cut and had us walk through. We walked through a lot of bushes, passed a lot of cow dung, and brought us to what is supposedly the first sugar press (built during the Crusader Period).

     We also stopped at a mall to visit a McDonalds to see what the menu looks like here. Even at McDonalds everything here is Kosher. After that, we drove to Mt. Hermon and walked around a bit. While their, Dr. Fekkes read from Deuteronomy 8. Our last stop today was a village by the Lebanon and Syrian boarders where we meet with a man who has his Ph.D. in Biology. He offered us Arab coffee and explained to us the issues that come with living so close to enemy territory (rockets, bombs, invasions, ect.).

     He also explained to us that at the end of the day we are all still human and we need to treat each other the way which we want to be treated. He took us to see all the watchtowers (United Nations, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria) all of which you can see by standing just about anywhere in his village. Surrounding the boarder of the town are tall barbed wire fences and explosive mines (which have killed 66 people, many of which have been kids who got too close). It's sad that they have to live like that, right in the center of a war zone surrounded by watch towers and explosives. It almost felt like a prison with crows nest surrounding all sides.

Visiting with the Locals

     I don't think I have ever been so excited to see pancakes before in my life! This morning the hostel had more recognizable foods that we have in America. Today we left Jerusalem and headed into Northern Israel, going through many Israeli check points along the way. Chaim's phone rang 14 times while we were driving before he finally pulled over at a gas station and called back whoever was trying to get ahold of him.

     We visited Al-Qasemi and when we told our student guide at the college that we are from Washington State he said, "that's where the vampires are from?" (Twilight reference). We also visited the high school where we met with sophomore students in an English class. One of the boys told me that today is his anniversary with his girlfriend and asked me for advice of what he should do/what he should get her as an anniversary gift.

     They asked us what comes to mind when we hear the word "Islam". Dr. Fekkes told them about how the news makes them out to be terrorist. All of them got very defensive and talked about how Islam is a religion of peace. I tried to reassure them that not everyone believes what they hear/see on the news and that it only takes one person doing wrong in the public spotlight to take a whole group of people down.

     One of the college students, Muhammed, invited us to his father's farm for a traditional Arabian meal. I even tried Arabian coffee. After lunch, we toured the farm where they ship out one ton of mint everyday (most goes to Russia and America). I think the one word that really described today is hospitality! Visiting the settlement today was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. Even though we were only their for about three and a half hours, it was hard to say goodbye. I really hope to come back to Israel someday, perhaps for graduate school after I finish my degree at Trinity.

     We drove from Al-Qasemi to Akko where we walked the crusader built underground excavated tunnel that leads to the port. We visited the port right at sunset and some people in our group got splashed by the crashing waves as they hit shore. While waiting for Chiam to drive around with the van some kids threw fruit at us (lemons and oranges). We just arrived at our new hostel, Shlomi Guest House and Youth Hostel.

Herodium & Bethlehem

     Today we went to visit Herodium, where King Herod died. We were able to walk through the underground tunnels. While at the water basin Chiam was saying something to Michael about cats and Michael thought Chaim was saying something in Hebrew. Chaim said, "a cat, C-A-T" and Michael was like, "achat? What does that mean?" It was so funny.

     We visited a settlement where we met with a man in an art gallery. He explained to us the issues of living in a Palestinian territory. They "rent" the land from the government, but don't own anything. Before building anything they have to get permits signed off by a ridiculous amount of people/committees/government officials.  At any moment the government can force them to pack-up and move out. Everyday they live with that fear.

     On the drive to Bethlehem Megan saw a sheep being attacked and eaten by a couple wild dogs. In Bethlehem, we had to go with a different tour guide because Chiam, being Israeli, was not allowed into that part of Palestine. Afterwards, we got dropped back off at the hostel.

People Getting on Each Others Nerves

     Today we had a late start because Michael needed batteries and tried to bargain with the salesman in the gas station store by our hostel. While driving through the dessert we stopped in a couple places, one where I paid five shekels to get my picture taken on a camel. We drove to AHAVA where we were able to shop for beauty products made from the salt, water, mud, and plants of the Dead Sea. Afterwards, we visited Masada. We took the cable car up to King Herod's Palace and walked around the remains that have been excavated.

     Afterwards, we went to get lunch (hot dogs) at a cabana type place by the water. We tried swimming in the Dead Sea (below sea level, in fact, it is the lowest point on earth) but it is very difficult to swim because of the obnoxious amount of salt. Once I started floating I couldn't get back up on my feet because of the buoyancy. I picked-up handfuls of salt off the ground. The salt was at least six inches deep where I was standing.

     We tried going to Qumran today, but got their right as they were letting the last group of people in before closing. So we headed back to the hostel early. Their were some arguments within our group today, especially among the more outspoken and sassy people. Certain individuals within our group are starting to get on everyone's nerves and people are starting to drink to coupe with it. I'm really hoping things settle down among our group soon and that everybody has a better attitude for the rest of this trip.

Site Seeing and LOTS of shopping

     This morning after eating breakfast at our hostel, we rode our bikes to The Holocaust History Musem. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside so I didn't get any photos. But it was very interesting going through the musem with a Jewish guide whose father was taken to a Jewish Ghetto when the war first began. It was interesting how the different parts of the musem are symbolic of various things that occurred during the war. For example, certain parts of the museum where smaller (and more clostrophobic) than others and the tempurture changed throughout various parts of the musem. It was a very different experience than the Holocaust Musem I went to in Washington D.C. five years ago.

     After leaving the main musem we went to get a snack in the building where all our backpacks were stored. It was interesting to see a divider up in the cafeteria with two separate serving areas. On the left was dairy and on the right was meat, in order to keep kosher. I got some weird ice cream that was like a vanilla base with what tasted like brownies chunks and also had some  kind of nut mixed in.

     While cycling back to the Jaffa Gate an American woman walked past us and yelled at Angela and Elyssa telling them, "it's illegal to ride bikes on the sidewalk!". We all responded with laughter, no wonder why so many locals hate Americans, they think we're all stupid and that our laws apply to other places. We also passed by a local market place where almost everything was half off or free as store owners were trying to sell all perishable items before Sabbath began. The streets were flooded with people similar to when kids got out of school yesterday. We dropped our bikes off in the parking garage for the bike rental company to come pick-up.

     We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in the main gates of Jerusalem. I got some cool souvenirs such as; a nativity scene carved from olive wood, frankensense and myrrh, a postcard, a couple communion ceramic cups, a while kilo of candy, a cashmere scarf, and a wool blanket. The man who sold me the scarf was trying to stick his hand down my shirt and fondal my breast while he was putting the scarf around me to show me how to "properly" wear it. It was so awkward and I felt so violated (note to self, DO NOT wear V-neck shirts in foreign countries).

     Anyhow, CHi-um picked us up in the tour van and drove us back to our hostel. The elevators here are turned off because of Sabbath and the Jewish kids that are here (who were celebrating someone's Bar Mitsvah last night) were obnoxiously loud. They were all singing very loudly and yelling in Hebrew. It reminded me of the camp dining hall when kids get really wild during no-hands/hands-optional night. Tomorrow is still Sabbath until sun down so it will be interesting to see first hand the cultural/religious differences that come with this day of rest.

New Adventures Around Every Corner

     Today was our first full day in Jerusalem. Now, you know your in a foreign country when they serve fish and olives for breakfast. After breakfast, I went outside where an young Israeli man taught me how to ride a bike. First, he had me to downhill without touching the pedals to get a feel for balance and using the hand-brakes. Then he had me go downhill normally. I kept looking to close to me and running into posts and curbs. The man told me, "Look at least 30ft. ahead of you, just like when driving. You do have cars in Canada?!". It was pretty funny. He later had me go uphill, which was rather difficult. I was doing better than William though, he biked right into a pole and fell off his bike. Megan had a much more difficult time learning than I did and the bike rental man drove us in his stick-shift truck to the first location.

     We waited about an hour for the rest of the group to catch up to us. While waiting, we almost got pooped on by birds, got glared at by a dog (and just about every person that walked, biked, or drive past us), and got honked at by every taxi that passed. Once everyone else arrived, we met a Palestinian man who shared with us his struggles growing up in Israel.

     Afterwards, Megan and I took a taxi (while everyone else rode bikes) to our next location, the Jaffa Gate. While waiting for the rest of the group, we walked around Teddy Park. Once we met up with the group we stopped for beverages. I got some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice! We ate lunch at a nice (somewhat expensive) restaurant called Versavee. The food was awesome! Did you know here French fries are considered to be a type of salad? So is pita bread dipped in hummus. After that, we visited the Wailing Wall. Their were some gunshots nearby, but none of the locals seemed to notice or care.

     While their, I put a prayer in the wall and spent some time talking with a woman from New York who believes that a third temple is going to be built and that Jesus will return their. From the Wailing Wall, we could see the Dome of the Rock, but we didn't get any closer than that. From their, we walked the Via Dolorosa ending our tour at The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We biked back to our hostel (Megan and I rode tandom bikes with our tour guides). We had dinner here and met as a group to debrief the day, read some scripture, and prepare for tomorrow. So far, this trip has been great!

Full Day (Tandem) Biking (with Mutasaim)

     Today was our second full day in Jerusalem and it was filled with excitement! As soon as we all finished breakfast, we went upstairs to one of the halls where we met with Abraham, an Israeli who teaches Arabic at one of the local colleges. He talked about past wars, current wars, and wars he believes will come in the future. He talked about the symbolic locations around the city (such as The Wailing Wall) and told us how upset he is that people come from all over the world to Jerusalem to connect with God. Because in reality God's Holy Spirit lives within us and the best way we can connect with him is through relationships. It's sad that so many of the places here have turned into idol worship more than reminders of what God has done for His people. After meeting with Abraham, we began our full day bike tour. We stopped at the Jerusalem War Cemetery and learned about why the people buried their ended up their. As we cycled through a Jewish neighborhood, a woman dropped a green apple that rolled out into the street (I thought it was a tennis ball at first). Mutasaim (the guide that I was riding the tandem bike with) and I were going uphill so we were not really able to stop or slow down ended up running over the apple, slicing it almost perfectly in half.

     We rode all the way from our hostel to The Mount of Olives, where we had a gorgeous view of the city of Jerusalem. But before arriving their, we stopped for coffee (according to CHi-um the coffee shop we went to is the 3rd best coffe in Israel). Once at the Mount of Olives, we saw people who had a white donkey and a camel that other tourist were paying money to ride and get their pictures taken with the animals. As we were leaving Mutasaim started to take the lead, but we accidentally headed in the wrong direction. I was glad to be with a Palestinian Arab who grew up in that town and was able to speak in Aramaic with the locals to help us find our way to where we were supposed to be. We stopped for falafels at a restaurant where Mutasaim was good family friends with the owners.

     As we were waiting for our food, school was getting out and the street quickly flooded with children and cars. It was so packed we just had to stand still with hardly any moving room. Many kids came running up to us asking us all kinds of questions and wanting to take our bikes. It got so bad that the restaurant owner came outside and was yelling at the kids to leave us alone. After about ten minutes or so, the street cleared out again and we got our falafels. We went to a nearby park-type area where we ate our lunch. Another restaurant owner came over and sold us drinks. He sat down and talked with us during lunch. He said that he has been to the U.S. 23 times and visited 44 states (Washington being one of them). A couple school girls came up and were asking Megan for her watch, she told them that she needed it but have them the two friendship bracelets she had been wearing (that her boyfriend, David, had made for her). The girls were so happy! The oldest one kissed Megan on the check and both of them could not stop smiling.

     After lunch, we headed back in the direction of the hostel. We stopped at the wall that is meant to keep Palestinians in the West Bank out of Israel. While stopped their, a bunch of upper elementary aged boys came up wanting to steal our bikes. When we left, all of them followed us for quite some distance. Mutasaim was talking to a lot of them along the way. They were wondering where all of us were from, and funny enough they believed that Mutasaim was Arab, but did not believe that we was actually from the area. Along the way, some kids sitting on balconies threw food and first-sized rocks at us. Luckily nothing hit any of us. One of the kids riding past even pushed Fekkes causing him to loose balance and nearly fall off his bike.

     After a long distance uphill the kids ended up turning around and going home, racing each other back downhill on their bikes. We later stopped at an Orthodox Church in Gethsemane that was built in a cave. Mykaela was exhausted and broke down in tears saying that she hated this so much and just wanted to go home. I think partially of it was being out of shape, partially lack of sleep, and partially being that time of the month (although, I could be completely wrong). We headed towards the Jaffa Gate and part way their she got a ride back to our hostel in a Taxi. The rest of us all cycled back to our hostel. Along the way, Mutasaim ran into some co-workers and all of them were asking if we were a couple (since we're 2.5yrs apart and were riding a tandem bike together). We eventually made it back to our hostel racing down the last downhill section and biking in the lane of traffic headed in the opposite direction, where Angela nearly got hit by a car, and raced up the final hill to our hostel.

     We put our bikes downstairs in the room where we were storing them and then had a bit of downtime. Later, we met together in David Hall for today's debrief, reading of Psalms (122 & 123), and discussed the itinerary plans for tomorrow. We then ate dinner, in a weird side room (because their was a Bar Mitzvah going on in the main eating area). That was pretty much our day today and I am so excited to see what adventures await us tomorrow!

The Beginning of Our Journey

     Today we left Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 8am and flew to Toronto, Canada. On the airplane, I watched Dispicable Me 2, along with some TV shows on the screen that was in front of my seat. Getting through customs in Canada was quick and easy (it only took about 3mins. for all eleven of us to get through). We had a short layover where I played hangman and tic-tac-toe on one of the airport iPads. From their, we flew to Frankfurt, Germany. It was a long flight so I tried to sleep, but after about 2hrs. I jolted wide awake. I literally jumped up and hit the tray table in front of me. We got 2 meals on that flight. A dinner which consisted of chicken covered in tomato paste, some kind of cous-cous salad, a weird other salad, a roll, and a brownie. Our "continental breakfast" was a slice of banana bread. In Germany we had to go through two security check-points (similar to the one at Sea-Tac). At the second one they patted down everyone flying to Tel Aviv. One our flight from Germany to Israel I got seated in one of the emergency exit rows, which was really nice because I got to stretch out a little bit. On that flight we got another meal which consisted of scrambled eggs (with spinach, tomato paste, and cheese), cherry yogurt, a roll with jelly, a croissant, turkey, roast beef, a tomato, and price of cilantro.

     Once in Israel, we went through a passport check-point, walked right through customs, picked-up our luggage, and met our tour guide/driver/event planner/translator/well...everything. He drove us to the hostel in Jerusalem that we are staying in tonight and helped us get all checked-in before going home to his family. We got settled in our rooms, ate dinner at the hostel buffet (all the food was very spicy), and met in a conference room where Bello, Emmanuel, and I gave our presentations on the wailing wall, the dome of the rock, and the Via Dolorosa. A few of us went to the gas station store across the street just to get outside for a bit. Right now we're trying to sleep, but their is a herd of kids running up and down the hallway screaming as loud as they can (and some of them have great lungs).

     Flying into Israel today was so surreal. I have always been connected to this place spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. But to physically be here now, feels like coming home for the first time since forever. Although many of the people here are somewhat hostile to us Americans, I am so glad I am here and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings as Megan and I learn how to ride bikes and we visit a few historical sites here in Jerusalem.

The Time Is Coming

     The time is coming for my classmates, my professor, and I to officially embark on our journey to the Middle East. I finished packing this evening (and my check-in bag only weighs 21.7lbs, that is very impressive for 12days of international travel) and in a just a few hours (about 4.5hrs) I will be on my way to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to meet up with everyone else.

     After all this time waiting it is crazy to think that we will soon be on our way half way across the world. I am so excited about this opportunity to study abroad in Israel that I can't sleep. Just think, soon I will be emerged in a new culture with a very different language. A culture that is filled with many different rituals and ideas that I cannot even begin to fathom. I am excited to see what God has in store for us! I'm going to try to get some sleep, but before I do I ask a simple task of you (my readers). Please pray for me along with the others from my school that I am traveling with. I ask for prayers of safe travels, bonding (and overall good group dynamics), for openness, and for growth (spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically). Thank you for your support!