Travels to Places Unknown

Shabbot Shalom! I am back from a great week in Jerusalem where I explored the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, got a full spa treatment in everyone’s favorite salty sea, climbed King Herod’s last great fortress, explored an old, new, and Armenian city, and even visited Jesus’ birthplace. I would say it was probably one of my most jam packed weeks, but after all of the traveling I feel full of energy and ready to start classes tomorrow.

By traveling, I am starting to realize how small Israel is, and really starting to appreciate the people that live here, the Israeli culture, and succumbing to the unknown of everyday life. As hard as I try to plan my next move, I know inevitably I will change my mind over 1,000,000 times in a day in this country. Trying to plan months and years in advance is a very American trait and something that the majority of people in the world do not have the luxury to predict or ability to do. The trick is to really live in the moment, and I am continually surprised with how things naturally work themselves out, when I stop worrying about them.

This trip I went traveling with two of my guy friends who are fellow Ambassadorial Scholars; Nick and Tucker. They are both doing the Peace Studies Program with me and will be here for the year. Tucker is from a small town near Athens, Georgia and spent the last year working in Washington, DC. He is a big teddy bear, and one of the nicest guys I have met since being in Israel. Nick is from Grand Rapids, Iowa and spent the last year getting his Masters in Dublin and will be going back after this year to Ireland to do his PhD. Both of the guys were great travel partners and we ended up having a lot of laughs throughout the week. It was also my first time, in a while, traveling and spending so much time with two guys. By the end of the week, I have to say, I am very appreciative not only to be a woman, but to not have been born a man. Ha! But in all honesty it was a great trip and I can’t wait to go back to Jerusalem and explore more of Israel with them.

First on our agenda was to go to Qumran. After I saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition in San Diego, and my roommate Miruna had been unable to see them in her two months here in Israel, I really wanted to visit the site where they were originally discovered. Although it was really interesting to see the actual caves, I was a little disappointed to not see more of the actual scrolls, and probably saw a more extensive exhibition in San Diego than I did in Israel. Also, because of the bus schedule, we were on a time restraint and only ended up staying a short while before heading to the Dead Sea.

My second time at the Dead Sea I was able to stay in the water longer than five minutes, which was a plus, but still cannot fully describe the feeling of free floating in the lowest place on earth. I also found a free place to get mud without paying, and next time can enjoy my favorite spa treatment for even less money. After Ein Gedi, we made our way to the Masade Youth Hostel. The night we happened to be staying there was the same night an army platoon of about 150 soldiers were having a big party for their only vacation time of the year. Luckily, we were still able to get some sleep and woke up at 4:30 to hike Masada before sunrise.

Hiking Masada was one of the best things I have done in Israel thus far, and is a must for anyone who comes to Israel. Not only is Masada aesthetically and naturally beautiful, but the hike up to the top is an experience that is to not be missed. Masada is the last Bastian of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans. Just by seeing Masada, you are humbled by the strength of human beings and ingenuity to create such an amazing civilization, on top of mountain, in the middle of the desert. The size of Masada is unbelievable, and then when you realize that over 900 people lived on top of the mountain, you cannot even imagine what it must have been like to be that secluded in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes on the University in Haifa, people complain that we are very isolated on top of the mountain from the rest of the city, but at least we have buses! The poor people that lived in Masada had at least a 45 minute walk up and down the mountain if they wanted anything, or needed to go anywhere.

It was an amazing sight to see sunrise on top of Masada, and it made you sit back and solely focus on the natural beauty in which you were experiencing and had no control of. Sunrises and Sunsets have quickly become my favorite things in Israel, and I find it continually ironic that they have nothing to do with any man made invention of force. Also, I find that experiencing an actual sunrise or sunset cannot be done with a camera or lens. The beauty you see in a sunrise or sunset cannot truly be replicated and can only be experienced in that moment in that time. Watching the sunrise rise over Masada with the moon in the background will be something I never forget, and I cannot wait to go back again.

After leaving Masada and eating a huge breakfast, my friends and I relaxed by our hostel’s pool for a few hours and took an afternoon bus to Jerusalem. There we checked into a Youth Hostel and I prepared myself for my first time sleeping in a dorm bed with one woman and six other guys. After going to bed sometime around midnight and falling peacefully asleep, everyone in our room was awoken to the sound of the other woman in the room saying there were bed bugs and that, “we are all going to get bitten”. Thinking I was somewhere in between a dream and hell, I asked Nick if what I heard was actually true and, Nick, Tucker, and I all found ourselves unable to go to sleep and psychosomatically feeling we had bugs all over us. I really doubt there were bed bugs on me, but regardless it was one of the most hilarious stories looking back, and I will never forget my first crazy experience in a dorm hostel.

Exploring Jerusalem for the rest of the week was great and I really love the city. It reminds me a lot of Rome, and truly is the heart of Israel. There are so many religious people from so many different religions that it’s hard to always know who is who. While we were in Jerusalem I also got to meet with the Executive Director of Best Buddies, who showed me the Best Buddies office and gave me lots of information for this upcoming year. During the school year I will be opening up a Best Buddies College Club at the University and recruiting people to become involved in being in a one to one friendship with people with disabilities. I have already met some really great Buddies through an Israeli friend at school and miss my Buddies in San Diego so much.

Also, my Rotary Sponsor Randy had given me a contact from a Rotary Club in Jerusalem, and Nick, Tucker, and I were able to attend their meeting while we were in Jerusalem. We were also able to book a speaking engagement to come back and talk, and had such a great time getting to know their Rotary Club. The Rotary has been so wonderful and helpful since I have been in Israel and I honestly do not know what I would have done without them. While I was at the Rotary Meeting, I had the opportunity to meet a prospective Rotary Member Ishmael who is Arab Muslm and from East Jerusalem. He wants to join the Rotary Club and will be the first Arab Muslim in their club. He was the nicest guy and even offered to take all three of us on a trip to Bethlehem the next day. Of course I jumped at the opportunity to be toured around by a local, and it was a great experience getting to know him and seeing Jesus’ birthplace.

Getting to Bethlehem, we had to take a bus to the separation wall, and it was my first time seeing the wall and passing into the West Bank. All along the wall there was graffiti protesting the walls presence and a call for peace. Having an American Passport made it really easy to pass security, but Ishmael had to have papers giving him special permission to go back and forth between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Also, he had to get his fingertips scanned and explain why he was traveling with us. I was so lucky to be with him because Ishmael was an amazing tour guide and able to get us the cheapest deals with taxi’s because he spoke Arabic. Trying to find a taxi cab driver that would not rip us off was a hilarious process, and we must have gotten into and gotten out of three different cabs before one of them would give us a good deal. Then we made our way into the main church and I was amazed at how many people were there from all over the world. People from India, China, Europe, America, and Australia were all crammed into this one church to have a look at where Jesus was born. The church itself was beautiful and I really enjoyed being able to look around wherever I wanted to and to not be on any guided tour. Ishmael then took us around to some of the neighborhoods and showed us some Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

After wards, we parted ways with Ishmael and went back to Jerusalem to relax and make ourselves lunch. Right now it is still Ramadan for many people in Israel, which means from the time the sun rises to the time the sun sets, Muslims fast and are not even allowed to even drink water. We did not want to be rude and eat or drink in front of Ishmael, but found ourselves starving by 3:00 in the afternoon. For the rest of our trip we stayed with my friend Reena, from Ulpan, and hung out with her friends. It was a great trip, but it also felt good to come back to Haifa. Last night I had a great Shabbot Dinner with Reena and some of her friends from the Technion. They are American but are here studying Medicine for five years. Again, I ate way too much food, but it was so good I am not complaining.

I am going to try and post more pictures so you can see everything, but its hard when I take over 500 photos every week. I finally bought myself a planner to keep track of vacation times and when people can come and visit so don’t forget to book your flights! I hope you are all safe, healthy, and happy and I miss everyone!

With Love,

Annelise