Today was a pretty awesome day. No classes. So I spent it trying desperately to read in the library for homework. And with a worship team meeting. And playing Ultimate Frisbee. And celebrating Shabbat. And playing sardines...
Let's start with the worship team meeting. I'm on the worship team here! This is my first time doing a worship team (second if you count the one time I accompanied on piano at the Springs). I'm on a team with two other people. And there's about four teams. So we'll play once a month. Pretty cool. I'll be playing piano. ^_^ So we met to discuss vision for vespers, and then went on our day.
Ultimate Frisbee was pretty awesome. However, I stink at it. I think I had a catch rate of 5%. It was pretty bad. So I walked up and down the field, jumping in peoples' faces every so often. Funny story, I was saying this exact thing to one of the girls on my team, and then paused slight to jump at one of the guys to distract him, and actually hit his face! It was kinda embarrassing, but I didn't hit him very hard, and it was also pretty funny too.
Shabbat shalom! We celebrate Shabbat on Saturday for the most part, so we have a small service, with vespers (which I'll be doing worship during), and I think we light candles. Today was an odd Friday night meal 'cause we had BBQ.
And sardines... oye, that was fun. We did about three rounds, but I couldn't really enjoy it. See, during some of the events of today, I hurt my lower back doing... something. I'm not sure what. But it really, really hurts when I sit in the wrong way, go up stairs, or laugh hard. I feel like a cripple, because while going up and down all those stairs, I was taking my time and holding onto the railing to pull myself up or down.
That's definitely a prayer request now. I think some sleep will do me good, but I really cannot deal with my back hurting right now. Sunday is our next field study, and I need to be able to walk without cringing. Thankfully, my ankle has not been complaining (which has been a real blessing, especially since I was running around in my Chacos). So that's one less thing to worry about. But my lower back really aches. Prayer would be much appreciated for that. :)
Tomorrow I'm going to a congregation since we have a field study on Sunday.
Shabbat shalom everyone!
-Sarah
Friday, August 31, 2012
Conversations
I usually end up having several wonderful conversations with people at school, but the past few days have had wonderful ones. One was a bit crazy and awkward, and two were wonderful and meaningful. Just now (it's about midnight), I finished up a great conversation with a girl down the hall. I think we sat in the lounge for... at least two, if not three hours talking about... everything. Haha. And I think two or three nights ago, I sat in my hammock (that was unfortuntely close to the ground) with another girl, sharing a pomegranate and trading stories. How cool is that?
There's been some kind of music festival going on across the street from us. So two nights ago we got folk music, last night we got modern Israeli music (I heard music akin to Sarit Hadad and Gad Elbaz - great artists, by the way), and tonight we got.... American music. Sigh.
And now it's 15 after midnight, so I'm going to hit the sack. On the other hand... no classes tomorrow! Yippee! It'll be my chance to catch up on homework and hopefully blog posts. We go on another field study on Sunday. Expect pictures. :D
Shalom, and laila tov (that's good night)
-Sarah
There's been some kind of music festival going on across the street from us. So two nights ago we got folk music, last night we got modern Israeli music (I heard music akin to Sarit Hadad and Gad Elbaz - great artists, by the way), and tonight we got.... American music. Sigh.
And now it's 15 after midnight, so I'm going to hit the sack. On the other hand... no classes tomorrow! Yippee! It'll be my chance to catch up on homework and hopefully blog posts. We go on another field study on Sunday. Expect pictures. :D
Shalom, and laila tov (that's good night)
-Sarah
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
1st Field Study
Sunday afternoon, after church and lunch, 50 of us trooped outside to the garden where we begun our first field study. Yay!
We don't call them "field trips" because they're not like the third grade trip to the zoo. We are doing a ton of studies out there. The field is essentially our classroom. :)
So we talked about the historic location of ancient Jerusalem (which is actually a little southwest of where current old Jerusalem is), noted valleys and mountains around, and then we went in the Zion Gate to the Jewish quarter where we spent a good chunk of time.
One of the odd things I've noted, and other people have noted, is how you can tell which quarter you are in. It's strange, and some of the clues are subtle, and some are blatant, but you can tell. In the Christian quarter (if you're looking at Jerusalem from the top, it is the northwestern quarter), I've noticed a lot more relic-type shops and The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Shops are geared more towards Christian tourists (though there are a LOT of tourist shops). And street names tend to be more Christian too.
In the Armenian quarter (southwestern quarter), there isn't a whole lot going on. There are some shops, especially closer to the center of the city. Lots of things are in... whatever the Armenian language is. And it seems to be quite a bit quieter than the other quarters.
I'm going to skip out of order of my counterclockwise rotation and go to the Muslim quarter. I have not ventured very far into the Muslim quarter, but you can ENTIRELY tell that it is the Muslim quarter. First of all, everything is in Arabic. Second of all, there's a general atmosphere that you can pick out. It's very dirty and run-down. Honestly, it was a little scary when I saw it the first time. It didn't help that we were right on the edge when the Muslim call-to-prayer was going on, but still.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Jewish quarter. Along with all the men and boys (even the little ones) running around in kippas with tzitzit (tassels) waving), the quarter itself is very new-looking and clean for the most part. That's because at some point, all the old buildings in the Jewish quarter got blown up. So the buildings now are new. Also, we know the most archeologically about the Jewish quarter because they did digs and such before rebuilding. Quite neat.
So, onward to where we went.
We went through the Zion Gate, which is on the south side of Old Jerusalem near modern Mount Zion. I say "modern Mount Zion" because it's not the same Mt Zion in the Bible. Go figure. :) Anyway, we went in the gate, made several turns, and ended up on the highest point of the Jewish quarter. We talked about it a bit, and then we prepared to go off again, with our instructor saying cryptically with a grin, "Watch very carefully which way we go, because you're going to want to come here again." And with that, we hurried off after her, all fifty of us.
Well, she was right. She led us to an area that overlooked... the Western Wall. *grin* Right beneath us was a deep pit area with boarded walks, I suppose where people go to study the dug out area. And then beyond the Western Wall was, of course, the Temple Mount.
I am soo sorry I don't have pictures. I didn't want to take my camera on this field study because (1) it was our first one (2) I can go back to all the places we looked at (3) I honestly hate looking like a tourist. >.< Hehe. Okay, okay, I'll get plenty more pictures for you, I promise!
That's about all I want to talk about for now, so here are some pictures for you. :)
Shalom!
We don't call them "field trips" because they're not like the third grade trip to the zoo. We are doing a ton of studies out there. The field is essentially our classroom. :)
So we talked about the historic location of ancient Jerusalem (which is actually a little southwest of where current old Jerusalem is), noted valleys and mountains around, and then we went in the Zion Gate to the Jewish quarter where we spent a good chunk of time.
One of the odd things I've noted, and other people have noted, is how you can tell which quarter you are in. It's strange, and some of the clues are subtle, and some are blatant, but you can tell. In the Christian quarter (if you're looking at Jerusalem from the top, it is the northwestern quarter), I've noticed a lot more relic-type shops and The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Shops are geared more towards Christian tourists (though there are a LOT of tourist shops). And street names tend to be more Christian too.
In the Armenian quarter (southwestern quarter), there isn't a whole lot going on. There are some shops, especially closer to the center of the city. Lots of things are in... whatever the Armenian language is. And it seems to be quite a bit quieter than the other quarters.
I'm going to skip out of order of my counterclockwise rotation and go to the Muslim quarter. I have not ventured very far into the Muslim quarter, but you can ENTIRELY tell that it is the Muslim quarter. First of all, everything is in Arabic. Second of all, there's a general atmosphere that you can pick out. It's very dirty and run-down. Honestly, it was a little scary when I saw it the first time. It didn't help that we were right on the edge when the Muslim call-to-prayer was going on, but still.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Jewish quarter. Along with all the men and boys (even the little ones) running around in kippas with tzitzit (tassels) waving), the quarter itself is very new-looking and clean for the most part. That's because at some point, all the old buildings in the Jewish quarter got blown up. So the buildings now are new. Also, we know the most archeologically about the Jewish quarter because they did digs and such before rebuilding. Quite neat.
So, onward to where we went.
We went through the Zion Gate, which is on the south side of Old Jerusalem near modern Mount Zion. I say "modern Mount Zion" because it's not the same Mt Zion in the Bible. Go figure. :) Anyway, we went in the gate, made several turns, and ended up on the highest point of the Jewish quarter. We talked about it a bit, and then we prepared to go off again, with our instructor saying cryptically with a grin, "Watch very carefully which way we go, because you're going to want to come here again." And with that, we hurried off after her, all fifty of us.
Well, she was right. She led us to an area that overlooked... the Western Wall. *grin* Right beneath us was a deep pit area with boarded walks, I suppose where people go to study the dug out area. And then beyond the Western Wall was, of course, the Temple Mount.
I am soo sorry I don't have pictures. I didn't want to take my camera on this field study because (1) it was our first one (2) I can go back to all the places we looked at (3) I honestly hate looking like a tourist. >.< Hehe. Okay, okay, I'll get plenty more pictures for you, I promise!
That's about all I want to talk about for now, so here are some pictures for you. :)
Shalom!
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| View of the shoreline by the Mediterranean Sea from the airplane about 20 minutes before landing in Tel Aviv |
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| This is the sherut we took. And one of the guys we met up with, Kyle, happened to be in the picture too. :) |
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| View of the New City from the roof on my first night |
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| This is what it looks like during the day. Yes, we can walk on this roof at will. :) |
Sunday, August 26, 2012
In Jerusalem
Well, today is my second morning in Jerusalem, and I am tired. We have been doing lots of activities to orient ourselves here. Yesterday we did a photo-scavenger hunt in the Old City, and then later that evening we went on a walking tour through the New City. Lots of walking! Now suddenly that hill to get up to my dorm at Messiah seems like nothing!
Walking aside, it is taking plenty of time for me to adjust with sleep. Despite avoiding the urge to nap in the afternoons, and going to bed around 10, both nights here have not yielded a full night of sleep. I was sure I was going to do well with jet lag and get over it quickly, so I don't think that's all the issue. I'm going to try something different tonight and see if that helps. If not... I may need to take a nap during the day. I can't do classes feeling like this.
I've been drinking a TON of water. Seriously. It's so dry and warm here, you almost HAVE to drink several liters of water a day to not feel like a dried raisin. I think while we walked back from the New City last night, I commented that I probably have been drinking about 5 times the amount of water I drank every day in the States. It's kinda funny.
The buildings around here are so beautiful to look at. Almost every building I've seen is made of white stone. The building of Jerusalem University College (JUC) is the same. And there are a ton of stairs. Hehe. I will definitely be getting exercise here! Not to mention that the stairs are in such an odd pattern. It's rather entertaining. The middle of the building is kinda like a courtyard - open to the air, but covered by a leafy covering. I'll post pictures once I get them off my camera.
And that is a large task in of itself. I've been hesitant to turn my computer on because I don't have a three-prong converter for the sockets in order to charge it. And I can't buy a converter until I change my money over to shekels. And I can't do that until I find where the moneychanger is. Oye. It'll get done very soon, to be sure, but it's kinda annoying until then.
Now it is about time for church, so I will talk more later. :)
Shalom!
Walking aside, it is taking plenty of time for me to adjust with sleep. Despite avoiding the urge to nap in the afternoons, and going to bed around 10, both nights here have not yielded a full night of sleep. I was sure I was going to do well with jet lag and get over it quickly, so I don't think that's all the issue. I'm going to try something different tonight and see if that helps. If not... I may need to take a nap during the day. I can't do classes feeling like this.
I've been drinking a TON of water. Seriously. It's so dry and warm here, you almost HAVE to drink several liters of water a day to not feel like a dried raisin. I think while we walked back from the New City last night, I commented that I probably have been drinking about 5 times the amount of water I drank every day in the States. It's kinda funny.
The buildings around here are so beautiful to look at. Almost every building I've seen is made of white stone. The building of Jerusalem University College (JUC) is the same. And there are a ton of stairs. Hehe. I will definitely be getting exercise here! Not to mention that the stairs are in such an odd pattern. It's rather entertaining. The middle of the building is kinda like a courtyard - open to the air, but covered by a leafy covering. I'll post pictures once I get them off my camera.
And that is a large task in of itself. I've been hesitant to turn my computer on because I don't have a three-prong converter for the sockets in order to charge it. And I can't buy a converter until I change my money over to shekels. And I can't do that until I find where the moneychanger is. Oye. It'll get done very soon, to be sure, but it's kinda annoying until then.
Now it is about time for church, so I will talk more later. :)
Shalom!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Made it to Tel Aviv
Yes, we made it to Tel Aviv, so we're sitting in the airport waiting for the others... except I'm starting to wonder if they left without us. Our flight was delayed by about 20 minutes, so we got here at 3, not 2:45. Now it is about 4, and I'm kinda doubting that others are actually here.
Alright... turns out they ARE here. :) Time to go to Jerusalem!
Alright... turns out they ARE here. :) Time to go to Jerusalem!
Arrived in Austria
It is 8 in the morning Austrian time, 2 in the morning Eastern Time. I got some sleep on the plane, but my body is confused. After all, it thinks it is sleeping time, but the sun is up.
At Dulles, I met up unexpectedly with one of the guys also going to JUC. We were sitting many rows apart, but it was nice to have a familiar face in an airport that mainly speaks German.
There's this odd couch thing in the middle of this waiting area. (picture below) I guess it's for people to sleep in, since there were already people there when we walked over.
We had to go through security again, and I was really scared they were going to take my water bottle! My precious Nalgene. Thankfully, they just wanted to empty it out, but for a few minutes, I was sure they were going to throw it away.
These pictures are ones I just took from where I'm sitting with my phone plugged in. Before I left, my sister stumbled across a bunch of convertors left over from when our step sister went to England. I brought all of them, and I'm very glad I did. However, I forgot my iPod cord. :/
Alright, now I'm going to hang around until the next flight leaves. When you hear from me again, I will be in Israel!
Shalom!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Today's the day!
Yes indeed! Today is the day, the final day, the day during which I go to the airport and fly out. Yay! It's both exciting and scary. I can't believe that this day is finally here. But my suitcase is packed (mostly), I have my passport and visa, I've got a scale to weigh the suitcase on, and I'm mostly finished with the map stuff.
Ah, I suppose I should explain the map stuff.
For one of my classes, Physical Settings of the Bible (which all undergraduate students are required to take, I believe), we were given a series of 7 maps, a booklet-type-thing and a pdf 108 pages long. We were, over the summer, supposed to read through the PDF and mark up the maps and read the booklet as it told us to. The idea was to get us acclimated to Israel's geography and connect it with Scripture that we've been reading our whole lives. Pretty neat. It was hard to get into, but once I was really marking the first map, I realized how cool it was. Doesn't change the fact that there was a *lot* of work to do, but at least it was good work. :)
So now, it's almost 10 am EST. I'm going out to lunch with my family around 1, and then they're taking me to the airport around 2:30. My flight leaves around 5:30. And my granddad is walking me in! :D 'Cause he's cool like that. ^_^
So this is the basic flight plan. I leave from Dulles Airport at 5:30pm. I arrive in Vienna around 10 in the morning Austrian time (I think...), switch flights during an hour and a half layover, and then fly to Tel Aviv, where I'll be arriving around 2:30 in the afternoon Israeli time. Once I collect my luggage and get through customs, I'm meeting a group of other students from the school, and together we will get into a sherut and go to Jerusalem. Pretty exciting!
Sorry there's no pictures with this post. My phone is on the other side of the room, and I'm feeling lazy at the moment. I did get an SD card for my camera, and figured out the problem with the phone camera. Apparently I had it set to a weird setting that didn't have the flash on. Odd.
So now I'm off to more packing and making sure my suitcase is under 50 pounds... that ought to be fun.
I'll try to write a quick post when I arrive in Austria to keep you all informed. Or maybe while I'm waiting in Dulles... we shall see. :) So see ya then!
Shalom!
Ah, I suppose I should explain the map stuff.
For one of my classes, Physical Settings of the Bible (which all undergraduate students are required to take, I believe), we were given a series of 7 maps, a booklet-type-thing and a pdf 108 pages long. We were, over the summer, supposed to read through the PDF and mark up the maps and read the booklet as it told us to. The idea was to get us acclimated to Israel's geography and connect it with Scripture that we've been reading our whole lives. Pretty neat. It was hard to get into, but once I was really marking the first map, I realized how cool it was. Doesn't change the fact that there was a *lot* of work to do, but at least it was good work. :)
So now, it's almost 10 am EST. I'm going out to lunch with my family around 1, and then they're taking me to the airport around 2:30. My flight leaves around 5:30. And my granddad is walking me in! :D 'Cause he's cool like that. ^_^
So this is the basic flight plan. I leave from Dulles Airport at 5:30pm. I arrive in Vienna around 10 in the morning Austrian time (I think...), switch flights during an hour and a half layover, and then fly to Tel Aviv, where I'll be arriving around 2:30 in the afternoon Israeli time. Once I collect my luggage and get through customs, I'm meeting a group of other students from the school, and together we will get into a sherut and go to Jerusalem. Pretty exciting!
Sorry there's no pictures with this post. My phone is on the other side of the room, and I'm feeling lazy at the moment. I did get an SD card for my camera, and figured out the problem with the phone camera. Apparently I had it set to a weird setting that didn't have the flash on. Odd.
So now I'm off to more packing and making sure my suitcase is under 50 pounds... that ought to be fun.
I'll try to write a quick post when I arrive in Austria to keep you all informed. Or maybe while I'm waiting in Dulles... we shall see. :) So see ya then!
Shalom!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Hebrew Keyboard
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| Stickies in the package! |
As I wrote a few days ago, I made little Hebrew letter stickies to put on my computer keyboard so I could type without too many issues. I attached the pieces of paper with tape and quickly realized that it was weird typing on tape. It felt strange to my fingers, but I was willing to deal with it. Tape on my fingers was a small price to pay for not needing to remember where each letter was, as well as which letter was which.
However, a dear friend of mine decided that he didn't want me typing on tape. ^_^ So, because of him, I received actual Hebrew keyboard stickies in the mail.
So I took lots of pictures of the stickies, and of taking the ghetto ones off my keyboard and the new ones on.
While taking the old ones off, I didn't have a place to put them. I didn't want to put them on the floor, and the trash can was across the room, so I stuck them on my knee.
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| At the beginning... |
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| At the end with ALL the old stickies on my knee |
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| Picture of half-finished keyboard |
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| Picture of snack while working on keyboard. :) |
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| Picture of music while working on keyboard. Of course, it is Hebrew music. :) |
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| Finished keyboard |
Until next time, שלום!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Packing...
I've been eagerly packing to prepare to go. So this includes
So, I'm not sure if you can completely see what's going on in this picture, but I have attached with tape tiny pieces of paper with Hebrew letters on them. This will make typing in Hebrew easier for, say, homework, since I'm going to be taking Hebrew while there. However, since this picture was taken, two things have happened, which I will talk about in a later post once a third thing occurs. *grins* *likes keeping her readers in the dark for a few more days*
This is my summer homework. Yep, I have work to do, and I'm not even there yet. I have to go through a long document and mark up a whole bunch of maps
So you see, I have lots of preparatory work before leaving. T-minus 12 days! *squee*
Lots to do. I'll be back when that thing I mentioned up there ^^ has happened. Until then, שלום!
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| Stuff. I'll put this stuff into an actual bag to take with me, but for now, it's going to stay in this box and laundry basket. And there's a maroon duffle I have stuff in now, that I didn't have when I took this picture. |
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| Preparing the keyboard! |
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| Awesome book of Israeli geography |
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| Instructions |
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| Map! This is the first one |
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| What I've done thus far. See the yellow highlighting? Yeah, that's me. I have to start with these tiny maps, and unfortunately, I haven't gotten much farther than that yet. |
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| The other booklet I'll be using for this class |
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| This is me being studious. Yes, I need the computer for the document telling me how to mark the maps up. That's why it's open. :) |
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| Better picture of the map |
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| Some map, and lots of computer |
Lots to do. I'll be back when that thing I mentioned up there ^^ has happened. Until then, שלום!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Welcome to the adventure!
Welcome everyone, this is my newest blog. This blog has a very special purpose, however. This fall, on August 23, I fly out to Israel, where I will be living until early December. I'm doing a semester of study abroad there. I'm very excited about the prospects of going.
This blog will be to keep everyone informed of my comings and goings while I am in Israel. I called this blog "Streams of the Desert" because Israel is partly a desert, and I'm going to be taking lots of pictures of the beautiful things. They might not all be streams, but I'm also referencing a devotional book called Streams IN the Desert. I love that devotional, because I feel like I'm drinking in words that extinguish the thirst of my soul. I will be taking classes in Israel, and feeding my soul in other ways.
Things will start a little slowly, as there are less than 13 days before I fly out. But I wanted to get this started for you all. :)
So welcome, and make yourself comfortable for the upcoming adventure!
!שלום
שרה (Sarah)
This blog will be to keep everyone informed of my comings and goings while I am in Israel. I called this blog "Streams of the Desert" because Israel is partly a desert, and I'm going to be taking lots of pictures of the beautiful things. They might not all be streams, but I'm also referencing a devotional book called Streams IN the Desert. I love that devotional, because I feel like I'm drinking in words that extinguish the thirst of my soul. I will be taking classes in Israel, and feeding my soul in other ways.
Things will start a little slowly, as there are less than 13 days before I fly out. But I wanted to get this started for you all. :)
So welcome, and make yourself comfortable for the upcoming adventure!
!שלום
שרה (Sarah)
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