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Published: April 19th 2006
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Jerusalem
That's me on top of the Tower of David looking out onto the Old City Shalom everybody,
My trip to Israel has been great. Full of amazing history, cultures, new people, and surprises. However, it's been a bit of a mess from the beginning. My last night in Cape Town my friend Aaron and I painted the town whatever color the alcohol we were drinking was. I was out until 3:30 in the morning and managed to wake up just 2 minutes before my ride to the airport left. So I tossed all my stuff into my backpack and left. I spent the next 24 hours on planes and in airports without having had a shower and being extremely hungover. When I finally got to Jerusalem I couldn't check into my hostel for another 6 hours. So I left my backpack there and went for walk. After walking a block I ran into Rebecca Wallach, who went to Michigan and who I've known since pre-school. So that was quite a coincidence! She has been in Isreal for several months now and is currently living in Jerusalem. So she told me some good places to walk around.
It was funny walking the streets of Jerusalem. All of the street performers were playing Passover songs and
all of the homeless people jingle their coin cups and wish you Hag Sameach. Now I know how all you Christians must feel during the Christmas season. It feels very similar to a European city except for a few difference. For one, everybody is Jewish. Also, outside most of the cafes and bars or major buildings there are security guards who have to search your bags and scan you for any weapons before you enter. Although, I don't really see how one security guard is going to stop somebody from blowing themselves up in front of a cafe. But I guess it makes me feel safer. It's common to be sitting outside at a cafe next to a couple having some coffee. But in Jerusalem you will sometimes be sitting next to a couple and each of them has a machine gun slung over their shoulder. You get used to that pretty quickly though. Their are kids everywhere here in army uniforms carrying guns. You see them on the buses in restaurants and on tours of the old city.
The old city in Jerusalem is really amazing. There is so much history and so many things to see that
Seder
That's Rebecca and I in the back yard looking out onto the forest. it is sort of overwhelming. I saw a lot but there was plenty that I didn't see. I walked through the different quarters and saw a lot of the museums and sites. I walked the path that Jesus took on his way to his crucifixion and I took a tour of the tunnels underneath the Western Wall. That was really neat because you are walking through things that were built over 2000 years ago. The Muslim quarter was sort of crazy the day I walked around there because I think it was Muhammad's birthday. It was really crowded with tons of street vendors and shops. It amazes me that people actually live and work in these stone buildings and streets that are centuries old.
On Wednesday I had planned to go to a Passover seder at the Antons' cousin's place, but I couldn't get a hold of them. So then I was like, "Jesus, how am I going to get to a Passover seder this year?" And Jesus was like, "just don't go to one. Last time I went I ended up getting crucified later." So then I was like, "oh, come on Jesus." And Jesus was like, "YOU
come on!" And then I said, "I dont have time for this petty bickering Jesus." So I called Rebecca Wallach, and since she's one of the nicest people I've ever met, she invited me to come with her to her family's seder.
The seder was awesome. Filled with tons of great food and lots of singing and joking and yelling and arguing...I think. I could only partly understand what was going on most of the time because they were all speaking Hebrew most of the night. I was really only able to follow in the Haggada when the six year old daughter was reading. But I had a lot of fun. Rebecca and I spent the night at their house because the bus sytem shuts down for Passover. The next day we went for a walk in the forest behind their house. Their house sits on a hill and the backyard overlooks this beautiful valley filled with trees. It was a very relaxing day that was spent wasting time between huge meals.
Thursday night I got back to my hostel and I met these three guys my age that have been working on a kibbutz. Two were Australian
Friday Night at the Western Wall
I went to the Western Wall on Friday night to watch all of the Jews pray. You hear this roar of Jews praying and singing, and then from behind the wall in the Muslim quarter you hear the blaring recording calling all of the Muslims to prayer. Such a neat city with all these different religions living so closely together. and one was South African, but they were all planning on joining the Army and becoming Israeli citizens. They were total Delta Sig material, but they were fun to hang out with for a night. So we hit up some bars and stupidly ended up going to a dance club. Nobody was selling beer because it was Passover so I ended up drinking tequila all night, which was a mistake. I slept through my alarm the next day and missed my ride to the dead sea and Masada. Which means that I was stuck in Jerusalem for another two days because it was shabbat and everything shuts down. It wasn't bad being stuck in Jerusalem but it just meant that I wouldn't have time to see other parts of Israel that I wanted to.
So instead of going to the Dead Sea I went to see Yad Vashem, which is the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem. I didn't really want to go see another Holocaust museum but this one was supposed to be special. It really was powerful. The building is the shape of a long triangular prism and you walk through it visiting the different exhibits. It takes about
Yad Vashem
View when leaving Yad Vashem 2 hours to walk through everything, and at that point I was actually getting a little choked up. It's all very well done. At the end you hear a chorus of kids singing the Israeli national anthem as you walk out of the building into a gorgeous view of Jerusalem. So that made me thoroughly depressed for the rest of the day.
When I finally got to the Dead Sea on Sunday, it sort of sucked because it was windy, cold, and rainy. I saw Masada, which is neat because it's so old and the views are beautiful and the story behind it is a good one. But I had trouble enjoying myself because of the weather. The frigid wind and rain also didn't make for the most relaxing time floating in the Dead Sea. Oh well.
Instead of trying to cram a bunch of different places into my last days of my trip I decided to just relax on the beautiful beaches of Tel Aviv. I've had a great time here in Tel Aviv just bathing in the sun, swimming in the Mediterranean, people watching at the cafes and partying at the bars. Monday night a suicide
Old City Hostel
This is a picture of where I slept when I stayed in the Old City. It was a pretty creepy place. It was dark and cold and you felt like you were in a cave. But it was sort of neat to be living in such an old building. bomber blew up a falafel stand that I had walked past ealier in the day. So that was a little disconcerting. I didn't even know that it happened until the next morning. I think nine people were killed, but people seemed to go about their day as usual. I guess it has happened so many times that people try not to let it change the way they live their life. I've tried to do the same.
So I think this will be my last journal entry, as I have run out of money and will be heading back to the U.S. tomorrow. This trip has been absolutely incredible and these have been some of the best few months of my life. I'm sad that it is ending but I'm also excited to see everybody at home. Thank you to everybody who has written me emails or messages along the way. I've loved reading them and they're always a great surprise when I am able to check my email. I hope to see you all soon.
-Jonathan
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jillbord
Jillian Borden
Jonathan! I can't wait to see you~ Shave your beard!