It was a balmy 50º today and we were all shivering at our desks. It's hard to type because my hands are so cold! The problem with living in a building that is designed to let in light and has open air hallways to the dorms is that we're all freezing. Most of us didn't discover how to turn the heat on in our rooms until day two, so the first night was very chilly. My feet were so cold that it woke me up (but the Muslim call to prayer did not) and I had to find socks to put on in the dark. Since then we have discovered extra blankets in some high cupboards as well as the button to turn the heat on and off. May the Lord be praised.
Today was the first day of class, and the general consensus was excitement mingled with dread, because it was 4 straight hours of sitting and not getting to go into the city. However, the time flew by! We split into two groups of 41ish students for Old Testament and then combine for our Ancient Near East class. In Ancient Near East we spent the two hours trying to get a basic sense about the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis. It's really interesting to finally have it all laid out in front of me--and crazy that I'm living on the border between Palestine and Israel. The two hours were gone before we knew it and it's pretty much all we've been talking about all day. In our weekly forums they scheduled to have people come in and share their side of the conflict, so now that we all have the basics down (and 1,000 questions) we're really looking forward to the forums.
It's been a musical day for me during free time. I didn't have time to really go into the city after class because I had a meeting with the committee for the talent shows, but I got to hang out and sing Disney duets on the piano with the talent show committee chair, Dan the Man, and then miss my dearest darling Makeli while my new friend Rachel harmonized along with me and the ukulele. It was fun because people passing through to see where the music was coming from would make requests and sit in for a few songs. Also, there are so many people with the same name that they're getting nicknames. Julia in the Floral. Sexy Josh. Etcetera. Even if there aren't doubles (or triples) people are still getting nicknames, like Indy, Kha-leb (with lots of phlegm), Dan the Man, and Ramses. It's a blast. Nobody is really clique-ing off (yet) and we all love it. It feels like we've been here forever already!
Tomorrow is the Sabbath, and it's got us all in a twist. I was asked to substitute teach a youth class for Sabbath School (it isn't called Sunday School because it isn't on Sunday), so I'm going to have to prepare for that and hopefully find someone to help out and be moral support. It ought to be interesting. After church we're all going to the Garden Tomb, which is the site where the Protestants believe Christ was crucified and buried (Catholics believe it was at the sight of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City). Sunday is our free day, so I'll probably go into the city and Monday is our first real field trip!
A little more about the city: the wild cats you'll occasionally see walking on rooftops or prowling the balconies are protected by unspoken law due to their help controlling pest populations (they kill snakes, therefore they can stay). There's a lot of graffiti, but it's all in Arabic or Hebrew, though I've seen one or two stylings with the Greek alphabet. There's also a lot of trash in the empty ditches on the way to the city. Unless the open area is a park, it's got wrappers and soda bottles in it, which is pretty unsightly. I said it looked a bit like Italy or other cities in Europe (which is true) but picture one of those crowded cities with 200% more satellite dishes. Also, instead of terra-cotta rooftops, most are limestone bricks that match the exterior of the buildings--and almost every roof has at least one satellite dish. Classy.
Those are the downsides, though. It really is a beautiful city. The more you look, the more there is to see. In one area we stopped outside Jaffa Gate they have stationary bicycles that you can peddle to power music, lights, fans, drums, and flowers that go up and down. We had a lot of fun cheering on the person peddling while we all listened to the speaker at the top of this pole play Amy Winehouse. Of all the artist to have it power, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment