First Week

The first week of school is over, and I'm exhausted. I've taken on another heavy schedule, and am still dealing with some of last semester's work, so I've been either in class or in the library for most of the week. It's a good feeling though--I get so much more done when I'm busy.

The courses I'm taking this semester include Early Christianity and the World of Late Antiquity; Early Jewish and Christian Interperatation of the Bible; Godfearers and Judaizers: The Problem of Boundaries in Early Judaism and Christianity; and Maimonedes' Guide for the Perplexed. I am also continuing my Islam tutorial, for which I will be writing a seminar paper on either Islamic philosophy in the 10th through 12th centuries, or asceticism in Mystical Islam, as well as Hebrew and Arabic. It all seems a bit daunting, but it's really exciting as well. My intellectual curiousity is piqued anew.

Tonight it's over to Ksenia and Helen's for dinner, and then tomorrow morning, bright and early, I'm off to see the much-disputed separation fence

Palestinian Film Festival

Yesterday evening, after school, I went to East Jerusalem to meet Luise, Shadi, and Fadi at the Palestinian Film Festival being held at the YWCA there from February 26-March 2. Shadi had acted in a short film, and it was playing along with several other short films.

Shadi's film was excellent--twenty minutes long, about a group of Palestinian film-makers trying to cross the border from the West Bank into Jerusalem. Shadi played an Israeli soldier, much to the chagrin of his family. All of the other films were pretty depressing, without relief--but Shadi's took a difficult and depressing situation and, pretty accurately I'm told, managed to find as much humor as frustration. It was definitely an interesting experience. Afterward we walked to a sandwich shop and ate outside, and I was altogether content and happy.

In other news, my electricity got turned off today. Apparently the bill never got paid. So I was in the dark for a few hours until we paid it and they turned it back on. I have a hard time with the bills, since I can't read all that technical Hebrew. Tammy has a hard time with them because she's in and out of town all the time. Together, we are somewhat incompetent in that area. We also have no phone at the moment. All such good fun.

Security

First day of school today. It was really good to be back; I've been getting bored recently and was ready for the classroom again. They let me skip another Hebrew level--so I am now officially in level gimel. I'm going to try it for a week, and if I can't hack it, I'm supposed to go back to bet. We shall see. The future tense I basically taught myself already, but I'm over two hundred words shy of gimel-level vocabulary. I'm not making any promises.

Today, in the midst of my first gimel Hebrew class, a man came to the door of the classroom and said that everyone had to evacuate the building, as a suspicious package had been found inside. Sure enough, all the international students were making their way outside, and there were police cars lined up in front of the school. After a few minutes, men from the army dressed in green storm trooper get-up, complete with helmets, could be seen making their way inside. After that, there were four explosions, one after the other. I was told that they shot the bag, but as I've never actually heard a gun go off that I'm aware of, I can't be sure what they did. But my building is still standing, so I assume that it didn't blow up, and soon we were all back in class.

Later on in the day, I was heading to the library to work on this paper, the current bane of my existance, and the whole other half of the campus was closed off for security. I had to exit from the back of the campus and walk all the way around it just to get home, let alone to the library, which was completely shut down anyway. Just another normal old day.

School starts tomorrow

The weather is still perfect here--blue skies for miles and miles. Yesterday I had to study, but I couldn't bear to stay inside another day, so Helen and I went to the British War Cemetery, where we sat and studied until the heat forced us back inside. An aside: always strange to go to a war cemetery. This one is for the British soldiers who died in Palestine in the first World War. Private so-and-so, aged twenty-five, sergeant so-and-so, aged nineteen. They were all so young. Just a bit heavy.

So I've developed into a routine: study by day, party by night. Thursday night I went to a party with Tammy, thrown by one of her friends who is leaving soon to study abroad. So I practiced Hebrew, interspersed with bits of English with the inevitable German or two. The hostess, Nino, another artist from Bezalel, had her work all over the walls, and she is extremely talented. She recently had an exhibition at the Bible Lands Museum here in Jerusalem. Every one of Tammy's friends has this amazing talent. It's a bit inspiring, I must say.

Last night, Shabbat dinner at Luise's. Bernt cooked, and it was delicious. We ate out on their terrace overlooking the street. All very romantic, lovely. I met a few more people, another German and their Israeli neighbor. We went out, to the d1, of course, and I was back home by 1:30. Perhaps I am reining it in a bit?

As for tonight, Ksenia and Helen are cooking for me. All these dinners! I'll come home fat...

Spring is here

The last few days have been absolutely beautiful. Sixty-five degrees, sunny, absolutely lovely. Unfortunately I have been stuck inside most of the time finishing up my paper and studying. But I have managed to get out every once in a while and enjoy how wonderful it is. I feel so full--life is good, if not easy. I know I am where I am supposed to be, even if so many of my questions have yet to be answered.

Bus Fourteen

It's almost six o'clock here, and I'm getting ready to cook dinner for Ksenia and Helen--and hopefully my roomate, who I expected home by now. I have been inside studying all day, so I only just now heard about the bus bombing that occurred this morning at eight thirty. It's odd, I found out the same way I always found out at home--the Internet. Only this time I am here, in Jerusalem, a few miles from where this tragedy took place, yet I feel just as separate and insulated as I did back home. This is a good thing, I guess. Maybe. I don't know actually.

There were mostly schoolkids on the bus, teenagers, ten or eleven of them from the same school. One of them is confirmed dead, and the status of the others seems to be still unknown. The official body count is seven, with sixty wounded.

Apparently this has something to do with the delegation in the Hague, scheduled to start tomorrow, regarding the security fence. I must admit, I don't see the logic here--don't more bombings just add to Israel's case?

Study, No Dancing

I slept until two o'clock in the afternoon today. I must still be jetlagged, because I can't seem to fall asleep until seven or eight in the morning. I'm all out of whack. But it's okay for now--I still have a week until school starts.

Yesterday I went to the Mahane Yehuda Market in West Jerusalem. I can't believe I'd never been there before. Easily as colorful as the shuk in the Old City, and bigger and more accessible. I bought two overflowing, heavy shopping bags full of fruits and vegetables for a whopping fifty shekels (about ten dollars). I am set for the week.

That night I went to Luise's for dinner with Luise, Gosia, Bernt, and Felix, after which we headed to the d1, the dive of choice, where the DJ was playing gypsy and Arab music all night. We stayed for a while and danced till we were good and sweaty, then headed off to find a highly hidden, highly underground rave somewhere in the city center. Raves are illegal in Israel, so it was all very hush-hush, with a phone number, and a few detailed directions in Hebrew. Eventually we ended up in this alley, at the end of which was a huge abandoned building. We had to climb up a makeshift iron ladder to get in, as several stairs were missing. Inside we followed a few well-placed candles down, down, and down into the bowels of the parking garage, where we were greeted by strobe lights, smoke, and loud music of a techno-trance variety. There were people everywhere, though you couldn't always see them through the smoky, colored light haze. So we danced a while, looked everywhere for Luise, who had disappeared for a bit, and then decided to go get some food.

I went with Shadi and Fadi, two Palestinian brothers who I find absolutely charming, to a 24 hour bakery in East Jerusalem. They helped me practice my Arabic, although they laughed at me quite a bit, and we stood outside the bakery eating bagels dipped in sour cream and za'atar on the hood of the car. It was a lovely time.

But now it's time to study.

Feels like home

It's so good to be back in Jerusalem. I miss my family already, but I didn't realize how much I would miss Israel. And I missed several events as well. An earthquake that knocked everything off the shelves in my apartment, a bus bomb on the number 19 bus (the only bus I've ridden besides the 23), a snowstorm...it feels like I've been gone forever.

I feel like I'm getting things back in order around here, talking to professors, taking tests, writing papers. I had my Hebrew exam the day after I got back, which was worrisome as I hadn't slept much, but I got an A and they've seen fit to pass me onto the next level...and I'm actually hoping they'll let me skip a level. I would be behind again, but everyone loves a challenge.

Last night I went out with Luise and Bernt and Luise's boyfriend, who's visiting from Germany. I didn't eat dinner, so the drinks went to my head faster than I thought they would, and I'm paying for it today. I also have the unsettling feeling that I behaved foolishly, as often accompanies such nights of revelry. Oh well. I was celebrating my return. Tonight I head out to the Hauman, Jerusalem's largest dance club. Should be interesting.

Back again

It's been a long time since I've written anything, but this life of mine spun out of control briefly and I'm only now picking up the pieces. My grandmother passed away three weeks ago, and the next thing I knew I was on a plane from Tel Aviv to Cleveland. I had two weeks left in the semester, but my professors all let me arrange things so that I could go home and be with my family. I did just that, and in a few days I head back to Israel and all the work I left behind. I feel disconnected from my life there right now, understandably so, but I have this nagging feeling I won't be able to catch up.

It's been a long time since I was in school last, and even then I don't recall ever worrying as much about my grades as I do now. That's not all I'm worried about though. The future is still there, lurking, closer than it felt when I was in my last respite--college. There is no more running from it! But I am. I am running from lots of things, and toward nothing certain. Bla bla bla.

Sof Shavua

It's been a bit of a lonely weekend for me thus far--not counting Thursday's terrific party. Luise, Gosha, and Bernd really went all out with their apartment, covering the walls with foil, moving out all the furniture, filling the tub with ice and cheap Israeli beer, and renting sound equipment. There were people from all over there--artists from Germany, volunteers from France, a handful of Israelis, Italians, and even a few Palestinians. I tried practicing my horrible Arabic, to no avail, but they were all very encouraging. I talked to an Arab drummer, who I had seen perform a few days before, and we talked about religion and Israel and Palestine. I suppose my first real conversation with a Palestinian. The strange thing was how western they seemed in a lot of ways, blond, blue-eyed, excellent English (better than a lot of the Israelis I know here), well-educated. I don't know what I expected. Anyway, the party was a great time.

But yesterday I spent the whole day in my apartment by myself. The idea was to study like a maniac, but something happens to me in absolute solitude for more than four or five hours: I sort of shut down mentally. This is not good for me. I guess I need human contact for at least an hour every day. I didn't get nearly as much studying done as I should have, but I did do quite a bit of Hebrew. Today I am scrambling to get out of my apartment, but none of my friends are answering their phones, and I can't just head to a coffee shop as everything is closed for Shabbat! Well, tonight I go to church, and I'll get my fill of people there.

Finals are approaching

I am skipping class today. I just decided. It is dark outside, and I am supposed to walk to class right now and sit for three hours on a Thursday night (which is the equivalent of Friday night in the states). That is what I am supposed to do. Who makes class on a weekend evening? Moshe Idel, that's who. He may be The Man in Kabbalah but right now I am very angry at his choice of schedule. So I am skipping! I am being very naughty, writing this instead of being a good student...but I have a party to go to tonight and I must get ready.

I have been studying hard though. Arabic is getting increasingly complicated, and I am attempting to recopy all of my messy notes from my other classes whilst reading the million assigned books, so I've been in the library quite a bit. I'm worried about exams, more than I thought I would be, mainly because I don't know what to expect. I've managed to get out a few times though. The other day I went to a student concert at the Givat Ram campus of my school, in which a Spanish friend of mine played the violin. Afterward we went out to the Stardust, and I met up with some Israeli journalists who took me out for a drink or two. I understood about 1/4 of what was said, so I guess I'm improving.

It's very cold here

Jerusalem is in the midst of a cold snap, which for the most part I enjoy, except for the fact that I have to walk the twenty minute walk back and forth from school in freezing rain. I am getting used to being wet. It's not so bad actually. I'm just happy to be living in a place that has (at least) two recognizable seasons.

I am slowly but surely getting better. I finally went to the doctor to get my antibiotics, after having figured out all the insurance stuff. Luckily with my card I don't have to pay a thing--not for doctor's appointments, not for prescriptions--very nice. So now I am left with only a cough and a runny nose. I think I have forgotten what it feels like to be healthy.

This week I went to two very different birthday parties, the first for my friend Ephrat, an Israeli, and the second for Anya, from Poland. Ephrat's party was all in Hebrew, so I was pretty lost, but I understood some things and had a good time anyway. Anya's party was in her boyfriend's lovely apartment in the German Colony. His father is the Israeli ambassador to Poland, so it's apt that he's dating a Polish girl. This party was all in English with Polish subtitles, and it was a great time. I talked to one girl for quite a long time, and she explained to me some of the intricacies of keeping strict kosher (such as, if you should accidentally use meat in a dairy pot, it can be salvaged if the pot is ceramic, but not if it is Teflon.) I learn more every day.

As for classes, everything is going well, and I am in the middle of writing my final paper for my class on Ancient Mesopotamia. I'm writing about the origins of Jewish Monotheism in the Ancient Mesopotamian pantheon, and am learning some startling things. Maybe I'll post all twenty pages when I'm done.

Ani Yoter Tov

Yesterday in Arabic, we finally learned the last two letters in the alphabet, and theoretically should be able to read, though not understand, everything written with vowels. In Hebrew we are about to finish our first level (Aleph) textbook, and in Classical Jewish texts we are up to the Mishnah. My actual class time in Islam is over, and now it is time to start thinking of my seminar paper. Soon the semester will be over, and I will be a quarter of the way through my Masters. Everything is going so fast, and yet I feel strangely detached lately. My mind is in several different places, and I'm having trouble concentrating on schoolwork. The mid-semester lull, I suppose. Hope I snap out of it.

On the Mend

Finally went to the doctor today, and am now thankfully taking Augmentin. Hopefully I will soon be able to concentrate on something, be it my room, that still needs drastic attention, as the rug is a rusty, mildewed mess, or my classes, in which I am very behind, or any number of things that I have let slide over the past few weeks, due to traveling, or visiting, or illness...soon all will be in order again.

This is Jef and I atop the Tower of David last week, with all of Jerusalem beneath us. 

Chola B'lev

So now I am alone in my apartment, having dropped Jef off at the airport a few hours ago. I miss him already, and everything seems worse since I am sick sick sick. I never get sick, and yet it seems like I've been sick since I've been here. Why is this? All I eat are healthy foods. I walk a few miles a day. I take vitamins. When I was home, I never exercised, didn't take vitamins, and ate a disturbing diet of fried everything, and yet there I was healthy all the time. So what am I doing wrong? Should I eat more McDonalds and watch more TV? Maybe then I'll feel better.

As for my week, it was great--except for the sick part. Jef and I had to take turns trying to nurse each other back into health. Yesterday we were in Tel Aviv, and all we managed to do was take a taxi to the only open pharmacy (shabbat) where we loaded up on drugs and sat on a bench outside, barely speaking, waiting for the stuff to work. Finally we went to a movie. Last night we managed to make it to Jaffa, the "old city" of Jerusalem, and one of the oldest ports in the world. This was the place where Jonah took off when God told him to go to Nineveh; this was the place where Solomon received his Cedar from Lebanon. The city was charming and beautiful, but it took a lot of energy just to have dinner and take a few pictures. Maybe we'll laugh about this experience one day. We'll see.

Home Again, and Sick Again

Here I am back in Jerusalem, home from a wonderful (and very full) week back in Cleveland. I realize I've been very slack in keeping up here, but my whole life feels like it's on hold at the moment: I am super-behind in all my classes, Jef is here (the best part of it all), my radiator exploded while I was out of town, leaving me with a room submerged in a rust-puddle, and to top it off--I have the flu. The horrible, body-aching, throat-searing, fever-inducing, cough-shaking, moan and groan flu. So I am missing more classes, and falling more behind. Oh well. There is very little I can do about it.

And I certainly wouldn't trade my time at home with my friends and family, and my time here with Jef, for anything. If you want to know of Jef and my adventures, he's been writing more than me, so click here.

Flying Tonight

It's freezing in Jerusalem tonight. For the past few weeks I've been wearing t-shirts to school, and today, thinking it was to be the same, I went out in just a light sweater. The wind was blowing fierce and I ended up running to school blinded by sleet. When I got home this afternoon, it was hailing and thundering, and it got me worried that my flight would be cancelled. Luckily, Ben Gurion's website says all flights out of Tel Aviv on time.

So, now that I'm on my way home to true winter, finally Jerusalem feels like Christmas. Tammy and I threw a party the other night, and around thirty guests crowded into the apartment, most of them new to the concept of Christmas. But they ate our cookies and listened to carols and drank egg nog, and we danced and ate and talked about nothing much, just like a Christmas party should be.

Now, in about five hours, I fly home to my house and my family and this distant other life of mine. I have never felt so completely at home in two different places before. I'm not the first to say that about Jerusalem. Maybe since it's been a part of my life since I was a child, the mythology and the history of this city, but from the moment I arrived here, it has been familiar to me. I will only be gone a week, but I will miss it.

Two Hundred Shekels

Yesterday I went into the Old City for yet another round of Christmas shopping, and somehow managed to spend the better part of a thousand shekels (a little over $200) in the course of a few hours, while also finding myself the unfortunate victim of the pushiest of salesmen for the first time that I can recall. Here is how it happened (keep in mind that at the time of my story, I had been up since seven in the morning after a night of four hours sleep, had been in two two-hour classes, was stressed out about finding something for everyone, catching up in my classes, planning a Christmas party and packing for home, and had already been walking around the Old City for several hours, bargaining to the point of exhaustion): I was on my way out, laden with gifts, when a man passed me on the street and asked me to come look in his shop. I said no. He said just come take my business card. I was so tired, and just wanted him to go away, but finally I sighed and followed him. Next thing I know, three Arab salesmen are showing me things, talking to me, confusing me, and in a few short minutes, one of them is packing up a necklace, and removing from my outstretched hand 200 shekels. I have no idea what happened, how I could have been so weak and discombobulated that I actually finally agreed just so I could leave. I actually burst into tears when I walked out of the shop. It reminded me of a few times in India when I had felt so utterly taken advantage of, and so manipulated, that control suddenly flew from my hands to some stranger's and I was left with this feeling of violation. It was awful.

So now I have this necklace, which is actually quite beautiful, but which I never wanted in the first place. I had a few thoughts of trying to return it, but I know how futile that would be, and besides--I will never set foot in that shop again. From now on I limit myself to one hour of shopping, on a full night's sleep, and only when in full command of all my mental faculties.

Egg Nog

Spent last night decorating Christmas cookies and making egg nog with Tammy. We didn't have any cookie cutters, so we ended up having to sculpt our own cookies. Among our best creations were a donkey, Bart Simpson, and the Baby Jesus, all of which were covered with festive blue and pink frosting and colorful orange sprinkles (I couldn't find red and green anywhere). The egg nog, for my first attempt, turned out pretty decent. Just needs a little rum and a little nutmeg, and it should be perfect.





I have to finish my Christmas shopping today, and then head home to get ready for the big party. I have no idea how many people will show up--it could be ten, ir could be thirty. But either way, there'll be plenty of food, and plenty of Christmas cheer. Tammy is so excited. So far, she seems pretty impressed with Christmas--the carols, the cookies, the decorations. Strange how easy it is to leave the actual Jesus stuff out of Christmas...it will be nice to be home where I can put him back in again.

We Got 'Im

Such a strange day. I am baking Christmas cookies for the party I'm throwing on Tuesday, and I am listening to carols that are all centered around the land I am living in right now. The Little Town Of Bethlehem is just four miles down the road. To top off the surreal nature of my thoughts tonight, my head is swimming with images of pathetic Saddam Hussein being examined by a doctor, bedraggled and defeated. What does one do with days like today? Enjoy them, I guess.

I am happy to report that I somehow managed to get A's on both my language midterms. Hooray--a major source of stress for me now gone. And I go home in five days! I can't wait to see everybody I miss so much...