Seder Meal

On October 25th, we had a traditional Seder (Passover) meal led by our Jewish history teacher Orphir Yardin. Normally, Passover is in April, but since we aren't going to be here our teachers thought it would be a good experience for us to have. I got to sit at a table with Lauren Timmons and President Hayes. We had some really good conversation and heard some great stories. We went through the traditional rituals, with washings, readings, and eating the traditional food. Passover passages were read throughout the meal. There were groups who sang traditional Passover songs (I was in three of them), and even a couple boys in our group who put one of those songs to a rap. ;) It was a very good cultural experience. I think we all really enjoyed ourselves!

City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel

On October 24, 2007 we went to the City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel. The biblical City of David situated on the southern slope of Mount Moria outside today's Old City wall. Underneath the city of David is Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was built by Hezekiah in 701 BC. It was designed to get water into the city of Jerusalem as the city was preparing for war with the Assyrians. The tunnel was so much fun! There were points where the water was up to our knees. We had a couple water fights in the tunnel, which was really fun! At one point in the tunnel we all turned off our flashlights and sang "I Am A Child of God" and "Lead kindly Light". It was a really neat experience. As we got outside the tunnel there was a huge pool of water. We got into another water fight and had a lot of fun! It was a great day!

Ein Kerem--October 23

Ein Kerem-- According to Christian tradition, this is the birthplace of John the Baptist. Our first stop was Mary'sEin Kerem is a neighborhood in the hills of southwest Jerusalem. Spring. This village fresh-water spring is the traditional location where Mary and Elizabeth met. We walked up a hill from there to see the Russian Orthodox Mission, but it was closed. There was a really funny sign there, so we took pictures. Then we went to the Church of the Visitation. This is the traditional site where Mary visited Elizabeth when both of them were pregnant. There was a church there that we visited where some of us sat in on a Catholic Mass. It was a really interesting experience that I really enjoyed. Then we visited the Church of St. John the Baptist. The church supposedly houses the cave where John the Baptist was born. One of our final stops of the day was Les Soeurs de Notre-Dame de Sion Monastery buried in its garden. 13 nuns from the order of Les Soeurs de. This monastery was founded by the Jewish convert brothers Theodore and Alfonse Retisbon of France, as an orphanage. Alfonse himself lived in the monastery and is Notre-Dame de Sion (Sisters of Our Lady of Zion) now occupy the site. There is a church on the site, but we couldn't go in because a group was meeting there. We did walk the grounds and take some beautiful pictures. We couldn't leave Ein Kerem without getting ice cream. I got German Chocolate and Coconut, and it was absolutely amazing! It was a good day!

Olive Picking and Crushing in the Biblical Gardens

On Wednesday October 17th, we picked the olive trees on the grounds to prepare for the olive crushing the next week. It was very dirty, but fun work! Several people were up in trees and we got in a couple olive throwing fights! Good times!

After a couple more olive picking sessions over the next couple of days, we participated in olive crushing on October 22 using the tools in the Biblical gardens. We each took turns pushing the large wheel to crush the olives. The crushed olives were then put in large flat baskets and placed underneath a press. It was really a neat experience and we all had a lot of fun!

Update (Part 2)--Tel Aviv

Sunset over the Mediterranean

October 12

After classes Friday, a group of us decided to take a trip to Tel Aviv and go to the beach. Our group included Spencer, Tim, Annalisa, Tasha, Risa, Lynn, Holly, Erin, Nichelle, and I. It was really nice having a small, intimate group. It allowed us to really get to know each other better.

We went first to a restaurant that served American food! It was absolutely amazing! I got Chicken Parmesan on a huge bed of pasta--it was wonderful! Afterwards we went to the beach. We spent the rest of the day swimming in the Mediterranean and playing in the sand. A group of us built a sand castle and I actually got buried in the sand. There were a couple of Israeli guys who came up and started flirting with us. They were actually kind of creepy, but luckily we had people there to protect us. After watching the sunset over the Mediterranean, we went and got gelato. I had coconut and oreo in a waffle cone--it was wonderful and tasted divine! We drove back soon after the gelato and were able to get back for dinner. It really was a fun day and I got to know the people in our group a lot better.