Getting Adjusted

Day 4 in Jerusalem:

Damascus Gate

Today is the first day that I have felt adjusted to the jet lag. It has been a more difficult adjustment then I would have thought but the coffee and tea help immensely. On Wednesday Jill gave me my first mini-tour through the Old City. We started in the Muslim quarter via Herod's Gate. Immediately on the inside we saw a "Jewish settlement." I knew this was happening outside the walls in E. Jerusalem but I had no idea that this was happening everywhere. Anyway, Jill went on to show me the Western Wall and Holy Sepulcher and came out the Damascus Gate. The next day I went on a walk with Andrew, the course director, and his son down the Kidron Valley and back into the Old City. This time we went through the Jewish quarter. There was a distinct difference from the Muslim quarter. The Jewish quarter was much newer and cleaner having been built mostly since 1968ish.
Tonight is the start of Yom Kippur, one of the Jew's holiest days. As I understand it, this is a day for Jews to repent and atone with God. It is a somber day of prayer that begins very shortly. Tonight and tomorrow the whole country will be at pretty much a standstill. Jill says it is very hard to get around, everything is closed, and the Israelis are even shutting off the TV. (Maybe a little over the top) So tonight, if all goes well, I want to go to the Western Wall and observe. We aren't sure whether we will get in but it is worth a shot.

Old City from top of Austrian Hospice (Holy Sepulcher: top right;
Church of the Redeemer: top left)

 Now that I am feeling more or less normal I am happy to start working on preparations for the upcoming course "Ways in the Wilderness." This will be my first of three courses here through St. Georges. I can't even begin to reflect how excited I am for next week to come and the course to start. The theme of the course is following the Exodus route. An abridged version of the trip: Wednesday we take off from Jerusalem and travel across the boarder to Egypt. We spend a couple of nights in Cairo exploring the pyramids/sphinx then head south toward the Suez Gulf. Then cross over the gulf to the Sinai Desert for a jeep trek across to Mt Sinai. Then we travel to the Red Sea, cross over, then head to Petra for two nights. Then we cross back into Israel after two weeks of travel. Should be fun!


Insha'Allah
Warren

Arrival Day

Travelling across the globe is no easy task. I left Shane's house at 5:30 in the morning to start my day and a half of travel. Two planes, seventeen hours, and about 15,000 miles later I arrived in Tel Aviv. I was definitely nervous about entering Israel because I had heard a couple of negative stories about Israeli customs. Shortly before we arrived I journeyed to the bathroom to spiffy up a bit, intending to look sharp and avoid hassle. I was planning on trimming my man beard the night before at Shane's but the hedge trimmer-like clippers crapped out on me as I was in the middle of the trim. So, needless to say, I was a little apprehensive about my reception. To my suprise, I was able to pass right thru the multiple guard-women that stopped me. I am specific about saying women because I did not see a single customs attendent that was a man. So I just smiled and let them fall deep into my eyes, when they weren't looking through my passport.
Jill and Stephen picked me up and we started up the mountains toward Jerusalem. I thought that I was fairly rested but found soon that my body doesn't adjust as well as I would hope. Fighting through my exhaustion, I went with Jill to do some shopping. What an experience already! The first set of markets we went into were right next to the Old City. These were the Palestinian markets in East Jerusalem. They were cramped and had merchandise stacked 15ft on the walls. As small as it was, I was suprised how much stuff there was.
Later I went to visit Mark Brown at Agusta Victoria. Next month I will be working on the olive harvest on the estate. More to come.
I also met a man named Samer, the gardener at St. George. Samer lives in Bethany, a village about 3 miles from East Jerusalem. He told me breifly about how his village is now surrounded almost completely by Israeli erected barriers. I was able to see them in the distance. He showed me his green ID card and his admissions papers to get into E. Jerusalem. It takes him at least 45 minutes to get to St. George every day! Talk about jumping through hoops. And to top it off, he was born in the Old City and he is barely allowed in. Also more on my this as I talk to Samer more.
Tomorrow I make my first journey into the Old City. I am really excited about this trip. Hopefully I can begin to sort out the many intertwined histories in my head. I really can't believe I am here right now, its going to be special. Pictures to come.

Salaam and Shalom
Warren

Getting Ready

It's five days until I depart and I am still terribly unprepared. Hopefully, with the help of my beautiful mother, I will be wrapping up some of the more important "to-do's."