Dear literate people,
Happy 2012! I hope that y'all had a good new years, and that you have health and happiness in the next year. But really: this blog is about me.
So: if you have been keeping up to date: I went to Jerusalem. I actually went with very low expectation.s A city full of ultra orthodox Jews, religious tension, a barrier wall running through the city, and the only city in Israel to actually shut down (mostly on shabbat). Yet... I loved it.
Part of it I blame on all the Americans. Many of the Haredim are American immigrants. I would walk down Jaffa street, and hear mostly English. It was comforting after months of being on the street and hearing only Hebrew. Living in a foreign language can be exhausting, not having to work on that level for a bit was nice.
Second: I love Jerusalem stone. Its this light sandy color that is used in all of the buildings. It has this rough hewn texture, and keeps a consistency in the city despite over 2,000 years of architecture remaining in it. In a country full of ugly architecture: it was a relief seeing some pleasing asthetics.
Third, I had a good time.Of course, it doesn't really reflect the city, but it affects my perspective. I never claimed to be objective :-) So here's what I did since Thursday.
Friday, I went hiking in a nearby park. My hosts were going to bury a friend's ashes, so i tagged along. It was beautiful and I'm glad I had an opportunity to hike for a bit. Afterwards, I met a couchsurfer from New Zealand (kiwis!). We grabbed lunch, walked around town, and proceeded to bar hop for the afternoon. It was nice to remember what its like drinking more than wine occasionally :-) New favorite bar drink: vodka and grapefruit juice.
Sarah is a interesting person. She had a kid young and has been working since. She had been working in Christ Church during the earthquake at a newspaper. Afterwards, realizing how mortal she was, she cashed her savings, said goodbye to her family and now grown son, and left. She ended up in Phuket, Thailand helping start an English paper there. Eventually quit, wandered in India and has now been in Israel for a few months. She might even start volunteering teaching English in Nablus. She's a lot of fun, and I was glad to meet and have someone to hang out with during the day/have an excuse to drink in the day (it's rare that i get the opportunity these days... i appreciate it when i can).
Afterwards, I walked back to Lynne's home with her husband since Shabbat had started. It was a nice walk, and we had a good discussion about the Reform and Conservative movement, commandments, and doing things we do/don't like. He's a cool guy. Very sarcastic, but a lot of fun to talk with. We had a fantastic vegan dinner with some of their friends. I got an invite to spend a weekend up near Cesaria, and their friends were nice. Mostly american expats who had moved to Israel/Jerusalem. Which seems pretty common.
Saturday: A beautiful lazy day with Lynne and her family. I tried to keep shomer shabbat (although some work did crop up). I really just enjoyed relaxing with the kids, going for a walk and seeing the skyline of jerusalem, and chatting with Lynne (she kind of reminds me of my mom... although I think I have more patience for Lynne than my mom: sorry!). Eventually, I packed my bags, celebrated havdallah with their family, and hopped on a bus to my next hosts.
I didn't realize how far out they live: it was in Ein Chemed a suburb of Jerusalem and just enough of a pain in the ass that I was uncomfortable trying to go out and meet Sarah the Kiwi for drinks. So it was an early night instead. Still, my hosts were nice, and I chatted with them. I found out that Gadi is a criminal lawyer who also writes music reviews for one of the main papers/writes his own music too. Tamar, his girlfriend, had lived in the US growing up and her mom still works for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
My last full day in Jerusalem: I saw the Kotel, Temple Mount, and more of the insides of the old city. Next time I want to do Mount Olives/Mt Scopus since i didn't get there. It was nice going back to the Kotel. As i say this I have a lot of problems with it. The women's side is TINY and cramped and the men have an excess of space (another example of how separate is never equal). Women are not allowed to read Torah at the wall While I have mixed feelings about it
Still, the Temple Mount is a beautiful spot. The rabbis say its against Jewish law because the spot is too holy. Its quite, wide open spaces (it's actually huge, I had no idea). I cansee why so many find it such a holy spot. I don't think I believe that there is one spot in the world to connect with God the way ancient Jews did. God is everywhere, and it is a matter of opening your heart and mind. Still, I think some spaces lend themselves to opening,and the Temple Mount is one.
There are two gorgeous pieces of the height of Islamic architecture: Al Aqsa mosque (smaller, silver domed, and holier) and dome of the rock (famous golden dome). Arches, mosaics, caligraphy, color, YOU NAME IT. I was so happy, Islamic architecutre is some of the most beautiful and seeing the detail put in these buildings was breathtaking.
Afterwards, I met Sarah for a late lunch, drinks, and wandering around Jerusalem. We went to the super orthodox neighborhood (where they find women wearing pants offensive). On the one hand, it was fascinating, it felt like a shtetl. On the other hand, I felt like walking on eggshells. People were staring, and in the end we were offending (with wearing jeans). On the one hand, I thought they were ridiculous, and on the other hand, I felt like I was being super insensitive. If it were an indian village, I would understand. But because they are jews living in Jerusalem... I suppose it is different levels of acceptance.
Eventually, back to Ein Chemed for the evening, and then got up in the morning and went to the Central Bus Station. Caught an early bus back to Beersheba and was back in Lakiya by 1230 (wouldve been 1130 but it wasn't because i missed my connecting bus by like a minute).
Since then: work. Only other exciting news: I am going to start tutoring. It's the kids of Foud, the brother of my last host, Rogiya. They have 3 boys, one girl. I will be coming over 2x a week, one hour/visit with Basel, the eldest son, and 1/2 hour/week with their daughter Hanan. I'll be making (a little) money from it, plus its something to do in the afternoon and shouldn't affect my traveling schedule.
So that's life right now, love and miss you all,
KAS
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