A Foggy Desert, Masada, and The Dead Sea!

Whats up!

As the title suggests, I went to Masada and the Dead Sea this morning with school.  It was awesome! I was FINALLY able to hike up and down Masada, an ancient fortress/palace built by the Roman ruler Herod (who built a lot of stuff...like the Western Wall and the ancient port city of Caesarea).  Although I have still never been at Masada for sun rise, it is on my list of things that I hope I can do while I am here.  The drive from Jerusalem to Masada's Roman Path (the path I hiked up) was about an hour and a half.  We drove through the desert, which, shockingly, was extremely foggy.  I, for one, didn't know that the desert got foggy at all! Luckily it cleared away so we could all appreciate the breathtaking views of the desert.  A few things about the desert around Masada and the Dead Sea: it is in fact very mountainous, rocky, and there is not a cactus in sight, nor is there mass amounts of sand and high sand dunes!  Shocking, I know!  Nevertheless, it is very beautiful (in a sort of dry, rocky sort of way).  Seriously, some of the landscapes look like they are totally fake!

After a hike down the Snake Path at Masada (its name can be understood once one walks the path - it's all winding!) we went for a dip/float in the Dead Sea.  It was a REALLY nice way to relax after hiking for a bit!  Unfortunately there wasn't enough time for me to put on the famous Dead Sea mud. Ah well, next time!  On the way back to Jerusalem, we again drove through the desert and was fortunate to see a few donkeys, lots of sheep, and of course, a few camels parked on the side of the road by a market! For those of you who don't know me too well, my favourite animal is the camel (no I do not know why, so don't ask =P).  Because we were driving in the bus when I saw all the animals (who I can only assume belong to Bedouins), I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of them. Again, I'll just have to go back! 

That's all for now!

Dale

Fogginess. Not clouds. Fog. In the desert!

Oasis in the Desert

Masada!

The Roman Path

The Top of the Roman Paty

Me, at the top of Masada

Ancient Roman Siege Camp

Ancient Roman Bath

Synagogue atop Masada

Walking down the Snake Path

The Snake Path

The Dead Sea ("Look mom! No hands or feet!")

Mountains around Dead Sea

I Can See the Palestinian Territories from My House!

Hi All!

I know, it's been a while! Ulpan (intensive Hebrew class) started this week, and I have been in class pretty much all day learning Hebrew.  Unfortunately, it's all been grammar thus far, which really makes us sound ridiculous when speaking to Israelis, who tell us we sound like academics.  Of course, it has given me an opportunity to meet lots of people (mostly Americans), so this is good!

As the title of this post suggests, my dorm/campus is extremely close to the West Bank.  In fact, from my Ulpan class, I can see "The Wall" - not the Western Wall, but rather the other now-infamous border between Israel and the West Bank. Or Yehuda-Shomron, or the Palestinian Territories, or the Occupied Territories. This all depends on who in Israel you speak to. You know what they say: For every two Israelis there are at least three opinions!

I went to the Israel Museum this week - what a great place! It's a huge museum that was just redone and reopened this summer.  It has everything in it from Jewish ritual objects from all over the world, to traditional Jewish garments from all over the world, and even four replica synagogues from all corners of the earth.  Also on the museum grounds is the Shrine of the Book, the building that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I realize that I have not uploaded any pictures of my dorm yet, so I will do that here.  Unfortunately it is almost 10pm here, so I cannot take pictures of my view from the window right now, but I will be sure to do so when it's light out (and when I remember)!!  I will also be sure to take pictures of the Boyar Building (the one building that all of my classes are in; also known as the Rothberg International School) and the rest of the beautiful Har Tzofim (Mount Scopus) Hebrew U campus.

A thought that struck me today when I was at the Kotel: there was a big gathering of young soldiers in the Israeli Army at the Wall.  They were combat soldiers of some sort (they all had guns), and it struck me that as a young person, I thought back on my Grade 12 year.  For me, I was deciding where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to study.  In Israel, however, the mentality is very different.  Instead, students in Grade 12 here decide what part of the army they want to get in to.  This sharp contrast really stood out at me today.

That's all for now from Israel! Hopefully I will be able to post more frequently now that I have more of a schedule!

Peace, love, shwarma!

Dale =)

Replica Synagogue from the Caribbean

Replica Aron Kodesh from India

Replica Aron Kodesh from Italy

Replica ceiling from a synagogue in Germany

Dreidles

My Bedroom

Bathroom Area

Sitting Area

Kitchen

Kitchen Table

Random Wanderings

Hi everyone!

Over the last couple of days, I have been busing to an area of Jerusalem called Emek Refaim, and the German Colony.  The area is very nice - lots of shops and places to eat!! Those who know me know that in Toronto, I really liked Booster Juice.  Well, I am happy to announce that I have found a suitable replacement here in Israel. It is called re:bar! Unfortunately I do not know how many locations they have - I am only aware of the one in Emek Refaim, which is about a 40 minute bus ride away from my dorm. Oh well!

Today I was fortunate enough to go on a tour of the Western Wall Tunnels - it was so cool!! The Western Wall extends well north of the current "famous" Western Wall, and it was so cool to be able to explore this area on a tour!  This is not for the claustrophobic or tall people.   The tunnels are pretty narrow, and have very low ceilings!

That's all for now!

Dale =)

My New Favourite Drink

Western Wall/Dome of the Rock

Part of the Western Wall not visible (underground excavations)

The Tunnels

A Herodian column

More tunnel

Underground reservoir (they're still not sure exactly where the water comes from)

The Beginning (ish)

Hi everyone!

I know, I know...I've been in Israel for about 3 weeks now. Should've started this earlier, but hey, Internet in the hotels I was staying at wasn't available, and I wasn't going to set this up while I was in class, I had to be paying attention (wink-wink-nudge-nudge)!!  One notable part of this trip was how I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Christmas Eve found me at a midnight mass at the local Scottish Church, and on Christmas Day, Gabi and I went church hopping (not even kidding) from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to a church in East Jerusalem that looks similar to Notre Dame (minus the river around it).

For those of you who don't know (and therefore I have no idea why you're reading this), I am spending the winter semester of 2011 at the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University.  I am living in university dorms that are part of the Mount Scopus campus of the university! The area of the dorms is called the Kfar Studentim (student village) - so when you read "kfar", assume it's the village!  The kfar has quite a few buildings that house students, and the grounds are home to numerous cats (who I can hear fighting down below right now). 

My Ulpan (Hebrew language course) doesn't start until January 19 - so why am I in the dorms already? The answer is relatively simple.  Because I was participating on the York University Jewish Teacher Education trip to Israel which took place over winter break, I decided it was not worth my time (or money) to fly back to Toronto at the end of December, only to fly back to Israel a couple of weeks later (talk about jet lag!).  For the past week or so, I have been living in the dorms.  What have I done? Sleep, more sleep, read, and, of course, ventured out to campus and to the city center!  Since I assume that you don't want to hear about me sleep and read, I guess I will start this blog by summarizing what I've done other than that!

I ventured on campus the day I moved in. I know, adventurous!! Campus is beautiful, naturally; although, I must admit, being placed on the top of the hill/mountain means that it is quite the walk to get from my dorms to the building that my classes will be in.  The more interesting parts of my recent travels are, obviously, the times that I went to the city center, and the Old City.  On my first trip into the city, I started at Machane Yehudah, which is an outdoor market /shuk where you can get practically anything you want, from fresh fruits and veggies (I got amazing strawberries!), to fresh meat and fish (wasn't brave enough to get that...), to clothing and housewares (I finally have hangers!). From there, I walked down to Ben Yehuda street (those of you who have been will know that it is one of the biggest tourist traps for shops in Jerusalem), and from Ben Yehuda, I made my way to the Old City. I visited the David Citadel/Tower of David, a museum detailing the 4000 year history of Jerusalem and boasting spectacular panoramic views of the Old City from its rooftops.  Then, by chance, I overheard someone in the tourist office mention that there is a free walking tour of the Old City, which I joined! The group, called New Europe Tours, offers these free tours all over Europe (no catch - it's free, you can tip at the end of the tour if you wish).  It was a great basic tour of all four quarters of the Old City - Armenian, Jewish, Muslim and Christian.  On this first trip, I decided it best to take a taxi into the city - but yesterday, I braved the Jerusalem public transit system, and took a bus from the kfar to Ben Yehuda. It was pretty normal, except the bus driver couldn't seem to go for more than 5 minutes without honking the horn! Ah well...when in Israel...

For the past two Shabbats I have gone to the Student Center for dinner, where I have made friends from all over the world - from the US (California to Rhode Island), to Moldova, to Switzerland, to Italy, to France!


That's all for now, hope you all have enjoyed reading! I hope that the rest of my blog posts won't be as long, but I figured I had a lot of time to cover!

Peace, hummus, and rabid homeless cats, and of course, love!
Dale =)

Church Christmas Eve

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

 

Notre Dame look alike

Sunset from campus

Amphitheater on campus, overlooking desert

View from a classroom

The Wall/Temple Mount at night

Machane Yehuda

Machane Yehuda

Top of the Tower of David