Jerusalem

This is the balcony just outside the classrooms on the sixth floor of the center.

The army is always hanging around. There are a lot of young people in the army. I think men are required to serve three years and women two years (Non-Arab Israeli citizens) if they are 18 or over.

In the Old City just inside Lion's Gate
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is where the Via Dolorosa ends.

Today we started classes and they seem like they are going to be very good. Old Testament was first and it still amazes me that we attend class in rooms that overlook the land we are talking about. Near Eastern Studies was next and I am very excited about this class because our teacher is one of the world's leading experts on the Dead Sea Scrolls and seems to be extremely intelligent to say the least.

This afternoon we got to go out into the city again because we were finally issued our proximity cards and cell phones for security. We headed straight to the Old city and found out that there was going to be a procession led by Franciscan monks on the Via Dolorosa so we went to join in. The whole thing was pretty crazy because there were a ton of people in the procession and it was very crowded in the narrow streets. You can also probably imagine all the interesting smells that come from being crowded in a tight street in Jerusalem. In case you can't, it was mostly a mixture of smoke, body odor and incense. The monks would stop at the different stations along the path to recite scripture and explain the significance of that station. Following the explanation, they would begin a chant or song that everyone in the crowd seemed to know but us. It was pretty amazing to see how important and meaningful this procession meant to the people there.

After the procession, some people from our group began to talk to some of the monks and they told us that they were from South America but they were here in Jerusalem to study for 3-4 years. They asked us if we would come and join them for dinner and to visit in their monastery sometime.

We then headed to the Western Wall where the Jews were preparing for the Sabbath. They were all gathered together next to the wall, but were separated by a rope with the men on one side and the women on the other. We couldn't stay long because we needed to be out of the Old City before dark but there was an Orthodox Jewish woman that approached us and began talking to us about the Jewish faith. She told us a lot about their lifestyle and what they believe and it was extremely interesting to hear more about how they live. She talked to us about why they do certain things. For example she said that the men wear beards to "pull down mercy from heaven" and that some women shave their heads (married women wear wigs) because in history Jewish women had been lusted after by non-Jewish men due to their beauty and they shaved their heads to become less beautiful to look at. She also warned us not to get involved with young Jewish men while we were here because we would die and our children would also die. I don't think she needs to worry about that, ha ha. She also said something to the effect of "when you see a Jewish man in the street you are seeing holiness." The whole conversation we had with her was very intriguing and once again I couldn't believe that I was actually here interacting with these people. She too invited us to come and visit with her husband and her again to learn more about the Jewish faith.

What a crazy day!