After getting to sleep in until 7:15am, we are up, showered, breakfasted and back on the bus for new adventures.  Our first stop is the Israel Supreme Court.  We get another guided tour, but the guide is difficult to hear and the handout brochure seems just as informative.  I do learn a few facts about this high court: It is comprised of 15 justices (5 of which are women and 1 is of Arab descent) and cases may be tried by 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 justices depending on the seriousness of the matter.  The chief justice is the most senior judge and all judges are elected by a special committee.  There are two dilemmas facing the Israel Supreme Court.  One is that the country has no constitution so there is a lot of disagreements about how to decide cases and what to base decisions on.  Second is that the issue of seperation between church and state isn't clear here.  Currently rabbinical courts handles cases involving religion (which includes marriage...which therefore includes divorces).  So if you want to get divorced you must go to a rabbinical court, but to solve issues of spousal abuse, child custody or property divisions, you must go to a civil court.  It gets a little muddy. 

Afterward, we go back to the hotel for a 2 hour lunch break.  Sara and I go back to the room and sleep soundly for 90 minutes (we're that tired) and then grab a quick lunch before getting back on the bus.  We go hear another lecture (this one at the Van Leer Institute) about the seperation of church and state in Israel--the main issue is how does Israel preserve it's status of being a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time when muslim populations in the country are increasing and Jewish populations are decreasing? 

Next we have the option of going back to the hotel for a few hours or having free time in the city.  Sara and I have had no time to explore Jerusalem on our own so we eagerly pick the latter option.  We go for a walk with a guy, Gregg, from our group down Ben Yehuda Street (the main shopping street in town) and window shop.  We see huges amounts of kippot (traditional head coverings) for sale including a Seattle Sonics one.  We buy more iced coffees and make our way down toward the Old City.  We stop at an artists' colony that we've passed in the bus several times, but find that it's closed.  We keep walking and find another cute shopping district.  It's getting close to dinner so we stop for more falafel (soooo dang good) and a bit of shopping before meeting our group again. 

We meet at the King David Hotel--the swankiest hotel in town.  In 1946, the British Mandate was headquartered here and the Zionists (led by future Israeli PM Menachem Begin) bombed it. Since then the hotel has been completely redone.  We only pause outside before walking to a nearby neighborhood for a dessert reception at a donor to the program's house.  The house is beautifully decorated with Middle Eastern decor on the inside.  Outside their is a large couch with tons of pillows under a canopy, a second level balcony, hot tub and waterfall.  The place is gorgeous.  We enjoy another warm Jerusalem night and mingle with our cohorts while enjoying wine and dessert (yummy apple cobbler). 

It was still a busy day, but not as busy as yesterday... Tomorrow is another story.

I begin today in a most precarious situation.  Our group is taking a tour of the Muslim Quarter of the Old City including the grounds around the Dome of the Rock (a mosque that covers holy ground of all three major religions) and I am denied entry because my skirt is too short (it ends just above my knees).  Lucky for me there is another girl on my tour who has come prepared with an extra skirt and I quickly throw it on over my dress so I can enter.  We have a very brief tour of the area (it's close to noonday prayers and only Muslims can be in this area at that time--a loud alarm will sound when it's time for Muslims to gather and us to leave).  We learn that Jerusalem is the third holiest place to Muslims (behind Mecca and Medina) and that the Dome of the Rock is on the site where Abraham offered his son in sacrifice to God (also significant to Jews and Christians, but they claim that son was Isaac, while Muslims believe it was Ishmael).  We are also told that the Dome is where Mohammed ascended to Heaven (the dome created when the rocks of the earth tried to ascend with him) during his spiritual transformation. 

One woman in our group is muslim and is allowed to enter the mosque, but only after close scrutiny.  First she must delcare allegience to Allah and name Mohammed as his phophet.  Then she must recite the first chapter of the Koran and finally she must completely cover her head.  Only then is she allowed to go in.  We learn that the Dome of the Rock is generally used as a mosque for women and that most men come to pray at the nearby El Aksa mosque which faces toward Mecca. 

After a quick lunch back at the hotel, we travel back to the Old City again to visit the Christian Quarter.  Prior to arriving here, we overheard one of our group leaders mention that we'd have paramedics travel with us through the Christian Quarter. I am surprised by this and wonder why we'd be more prone to allergic reactions, strokes or choking accidents while in this section.  As we begin the tour, I realize that an Israeli paramedic is different from an American one.  This paramedic was young, buff and equipped with a very large and very powerful gun.  We were packing heat!  It turns out the Christian quarter is largely sympathetic to Palestinean causes so for safety's sake we traveled with an armed guard. 

Our tour guide tells us that the Christians in Israel are mainly those of Eastern influence (Greek Orthodox, etc), but that there is a growing number of Western influenced Christians arriving.  We visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchure which is the site of both Jesus's crucifixtion and ressurection.  The church was built on the site in 320 by Helena, mother of Constantine.  Since arriving in Israel, I confess I've felt a bit ignorant as I know very little about Judaism and it's made it somewhat of a struggle to keep track of all the history I'm witnessing.  Today I realize my limited understanding of Christianity makes me an expert in my group when I witness the following conversation:

Tour Guide:  This was the room where Helena discovered Jesus's cross.

Lady in my group:  Which cross?

TG:  THE cross

LIMG:  Which one?  The one Jesus carried?

TG:  Well, yes, um...he did carry it.  But he was also crucified on it. 

LIMG:  Oh, really...oh, okay. 

After our tour we go back to the hotel for dinner (more veggies, rice, pita, hummus and watermelon) then a concert of North African music featuring an amazing Moroccan singer.  Then Sara and I go back to our room where we are lucky enough to find an episode of "The Office" on TV (Jim:  If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?  Dwight:  I can travel anywhere in the world...except Cuba.). We waste precious sleep minutes watching it, but it's well worth it.  Tomorrow we're up early for Tel Aviv.

So far we've focused on the older parts of Jerusalem.  Today we venture into modern history.  This morning we visit the Holocaust Museum --Yad Vashem (Hebrew for "A name and a place" taken from Isaiah 56:4,5 --"For thus says the Lord: to the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name...I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.")

It is a thoughtfully-designed, beautiful memorial.  The area around the main building is landscaped with carob trees (significant because the Bible says that carobs will give you sustenance until better times come) planted in honor of each of the "righteous gentiles" who helped save Jewish lives during the Holocaust.  Our tour guide walks us through the trees and reminds us that "evil is not a neccessary. It's always a choice.  Even at the worst of times, there is always a choice.  Yes, an order may be given and an order is to be obeyed, but God gave you a brain too." 

The building is triangular shaped (think pup tent) and built on the slope of a hill.  You enter from the bottom of the hill and the entranceway is very dark.  A film collage of European Jews of the 1920s is playing on the wall.  The darkness sets the mood for the terror that is lurking in these people's near future.  As you walk through the building, you criss cross between rooms for each of the years leading to the end of the war.  Our guide is a knowledgable man who has clearly spent his life studying this history.  He tells us fascinating stories as we walk past photographs, mementos and videos of survivors.  He tells us that the ugly term "death camp" is really a euphamism as very few people actually stayed in these places--the average time spent by a Jew in a death camp before death was just 2 hours.  He also talks about the Warsaw Uprising where Jews fought back against their Nazi oppressors.  He tells us that the Warsaw rioters were not resisting in order to survive, but rather resisting as a way to fight back and get revenge even though death is guaranteed.  I notice a tour group of Israeli soldiers nearby and a big, bulky soldier who could pass for Bluto's son has tears in his eyes.  I think about today's Israeli army and wonder how this soldier feels about fighting back oppressors, revenge and certain death.  As we continue to make our way through the museum, the light gets stronger and brighter.  The last room of the museum is dedicated to preserving the names of everyone who died in the Holocaust.  The room is lined with binders containing the names of anyone who died (although, of course, there are still many nameless victims).  Anyone who lost a relative in the Holocaust can fill out a form to make sure the name is remembered here.  Finally, you exit the building and walk out onto a balcony overlooking Jerusalem.  It is powerfully symbolic.  The Jews suffered terribly, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel--the creation of Israel, a permanent home for the them. 

Next we travel to the Jerusalem Forest for lunch (a picnic of Burger King while sitting on pointy rocks--definitely not having it my way) where we hear stories about Israeli soldiers who fought here to protect Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem during the war of independence in 1948.  Then it's on to Mt. Herzel to visit the grave of Theodor Herzel (the founder of the modern Zionist movement which calls for Jews worldwide to return to this land).  We also visit the gravesite of Yitzak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who was assassinated in 1995.  From here it's on to the military cemetary.  I notice that Israeli graves are different than American graves.  They are above ground, not below and the tops are like open planters for families to grow memorial flowers.  It is also the tradition here to place stones, not flowers, on people's graves as a sign of rememberance.  This is because while flowers can whither and die, stones will always stay there.  We visit the grave of Uri Grossman, an Israeli soldier killed on the last day of the 2006 war with Lebanon.  We hear a eulogy written by his father before leaving the cemetary for shabbat. 

It has been a long and emotionally wrenching day.  Luckily it is Friday and shabbat begins at sunset--no work for the next 24 hours.  We all go to synagogue services around town.  Sara and I go (with others) to a reform synagogue.  It's my first experience in a synagogue and I'm pleased with how enjoyable the services are.  People enter, grab their siddurs (prayer books) and join together in 45 minutes of songs and chants in praise of God.  There is a rabbi leading services, but he's there more to keep the beat rather than preach to the congregation.  I don't know any of the songs, but I'm still able to enjoy hearing the voices and watching the people.  There is no driving after services, so we walk home, enjoying the warm evening.  We have a late dinner and get to bed around 11pm... Luckily, I don't have to get up too early tomorrow. ;) 

This morning we are up bright and early for a tour of the Israel Museum.  First we hear a lecture and see a slideshow presentation of the some of the museum's highlighs (torah coverings and personal items of people lost in the Holocaust are among the highlights).  Next the curator of the museum comes to speak to us about the Dead Sea Scrolls which are housed here. 

The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents from the Hebrew Bible written prior to the year 100 AD.  They were found in caves along the West Bank beginning in 1947 and continuning through the 1970s.  They are significant because they are the oldest Biblical texts in Hebrew.  The first discovered scroll was purchased by an Israeli archaeologist on November 29, 1947--a noted date here as it was the date the UN approved the creation of Israel.  Later four scrolls were put up for sale (by a seller who clearly didn't know what he was selling) and advertised in the classifieds of the Wall Street Journal on June 1, 1954.  Today they are housed here.  Only occasionally are the actual scrolls put out on display--usually it's just photocopies on display.  Today we get to see the Book of Isaiah scroll on display.  It's the second longest scroll at 734cm in length and it's out as part of a special exhibit celebrating Israel's 60th birthday.  President Bush toured the exhibit two months ago when he was here.  The Dead Sea Scrolls are all housed in a special part of the museum called the Shrine of the Book.  From the exterior, the building has an odd shape.  Our bus leader Leah calls it "a dollop of whipped cream" and Sara says it looks like "a white Hershey's Kiss."  It is actually designed to look like the clay pots that the scrolls were discovered inside. 

Afterward, we very briefly tour the outdoor model of the Old City and the surrounding sculpture gardens before visiting the art museum.  There are six museums in the country exhibiting art from the last sixty years of Israel's history (again as part of birthday celebrations).  This museum features work from 1998-2008.  We see a lot of cool, modern pieces including a photographer's recreation of the Last Supper using Israeli soldiers as Jesus and the apostles. 

Next we go back to Ramat Rachel for lunch and another lecture.  Then in the early evening we depart for the Ein Karem neighborhood and a visit to the Church of Notre Dame.  As soon as we enter, we are "challenged" to remain silent for the remainder of our stay.  We're led to a chapel where three new-agey musicians play for us.  I am a little uninspired until we follow the musicians outside into the lovely gardens of the church.  The music becomes more tranquil and less Yanni-esque and were allowed to just sit and take in our surroundings.  When the music is over, we are allowed to roam freely (but silently) through the gardens.  I stop in one courtyard to sit and it suddenly dawns on me that I am in one of the most peaceful places on earth.  It's so quiet, beautiful and serene here.  I'm also in one of the most conflicted places on earth (I'm still in Jerusalem after all).  It's an amazing juxtaposition.  So many times I have felt relaxed and soothed in this city yet I can never forget how volatile my surroundings are.  I'm thinking about this contrast when the silence is broken by the wail of a distant police siren reminding me once again that everything is at odds in this city. 

We leave the church and walk a short distance to a neighborhood restaurant where we have a catered, outdoor BBQ dinner in the garden above it.  It's a beautiful setting.  We watch the sun set on the city as we enjoy BBQ (including soy patties-yum), salad, pita, hummus and for dessert....watermelon. 

Afterward, it's back to the hobbit beds for some sleep.

"Here old is REALLY old." -- Benah, our tour guide of the Old City

Today is a field trip to some of the most amazing places in the world.  We begin with a bus ride through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (of Psalm 23 fame) which I am surprised to learn in a real place (so named because of all the killing that took place here during a long ago battle).  We pass Oskar Schindler's grave in a Christian cemetary and then park just outside the Old City walls.  The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian.  The Armenians are Christian so their quarters kind of blend in together.  The Jewish and Muslim quarters are the largest in area. 

We begin in the Jewish Quarter on Mt. Zion.  We enter the Zion Gate which is riddled with bullet holes, remnants of Israel's 1948 fight for independence.  Benah the guide reminds us that "here tradition is stronger than the truth."  It's hard to accurately know what happened when and where in this city and most people rely on faith, not facts, to guide them.  We walk past the site of Jesus's last supper and the trees where Judas hanged himself.  We enter the room where King David's tomb is, though Benah points out that from an archaeological point of view, it is unlikely to be the actual King David's tomb.  The room is designed with Muslim influences therefore making it much more recent than King David's life. 

We travel along the Cardo, the main road of the Old City that cuts through the heart of it (hence the name Cardo).  We see places where the road has worn away to the original road that lay here thousands of years ago.  Next we tour an archaeological museum and see relics from Herod's palaces of 2000 years ago. 

After a quick lunch of rice, veggies and of course, more watermelon, we have a little free time to explore the Old City.  It is a hot day and since we've arrived in Jerusalem, Sara and I have kept seeing the same small freezers of "Nestles Nok Out" ice cream bars everywhere.  We decide to get some ice cream as we puruse the market stalls of the Old City.  The market is packed, cramped and slightly dark.  We navigate up and down each aisle, but cannot find any of the ice cream freezers we've seen everywhere else all week.  A normal person might just give up the quest for ice cream, but it's REALLY hot, we're a little fatigued and it sounds so good.  So we keep walking--briskly as we've been given only 45 minutes of independence--but we can't find anything, but cheap sandals, tacky souvenirs and spices.  Somehow we stumble into the Muslim Quarter and wander into what I call a Vegetarian's Worst Nightmare.  It's a grocery corridor filled with the strong aromas of Middle Eastern spices, onions and meat.  We see a display of goats heads within arms' length.  We see animal carcasses (leaving nothing to the imagination as to where this meat came from) hanging from the ceiling.  We walk even quicker, keep our eyes down and our focus at the literal light at the end of the tunnel.  Finally, we emerge into an open aired section of the city where there are plenty of small cafes....and Nok Out bars.  We are so excited.  We only have 10 minutes to buy, eat, enjoy and get back to our group meeting place.  We both decide that there is no way we will go through Butcher Alley again and somehow through sheer luck (because I know our navigational skills aren't that good) we find our way back.  

Afterward we get back on the bus and return to Ramat Rachel for another lecture, dinner and time to change before returning to the Old City at 10pm.  We come to visit the Western Wall, the holiest site in all of Judaism.  Since the destruction of the first and second temples, Jews have come to the Western Wall to pray (the location of the temples is where the Dome of the Rock--a Muslim mosque now sits so it's as close as Jews can get to the temple site).  Before we have time to visit the wall, our program leader Peter tells us, "The wall is alive.  You've seen other examples of antiquity today, but they're all just ruins--only alives to tourists.  Not the Western Wall.  The wall has karma."  Peter is right.  The place is magical.  The wall is crowded at this late hour with men praying on one larger side than the women (seperated by a dividing wall).  We write prayers on little pieces of paper, wash our hands (as is the custom) and walk up to the wall.  It amazes me that in such a well-known, much-visited public place every single person is having the most private, intimate conversation with God.  Some people go up to the wall to touch it, whisper to it or pray.  Others stay back holding prayer books and reciting words.  It is an amazing experience to witness.  Once we've been up close to the wall, we walk backward (always facing the wall) to meet with our group again. 

Next we take an underground tour of the Western Wall (much of the original wall is now buried underground as the result of thousands of years of construction here).  We go down nine stories to walk on the original road outside the wall which was used by the likes of King Herod and Jesus.  We learn that Muslim villages built over the road and walls in the 7-9th centuries.  We also learn that the full Western Wall (of which we walk the entire length) was only discovered in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  When these tunnels that we're walking in were first discovered, many Arabs were upset because they thought the Jews were trying to infiltrate the Dome of the Rock and Jewish archaeologists and construction workers were even murdered as they worked here.  In truth, Jews would never dig underneath the Dome of the Rock as to not disturb what both religions refer to as the "holiest of holy," the site where God touched down and created man.  The tunnels are narrow and cramped, but we get an impressive view of the Jerusalem of yesteryear. 

Our tour wraps up just before midnight.  On the bus ride home we watch the clock go from 23:59 to 00:00--an experience we will repeat several times before our trip is through.  It was a long day, but a profound one too.

Today begins with back-to-back lectures in our hotel conference room.  The first is a presentation by a photographer named Frederic Brenner, a man who has traveled to 40 different countries over the past 25 years capturing images of the Jewish Diaspora.  We watch a slideshow of his work and listen to him speak.  Next we hear from David Horovitz, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post.  He talks about the current state of affairs in Israel.  He says that people generally feel safer today than a few years ago, but the threat of Iran is worry to everyone. 

In the afternoon we take a walking tour of Jerusalem and visit a few neighborhoods.  The places we visit our diverse.  As we enter one extremely Orthodox neighborhood, a woman standing by the gate tells us in Hebrew, "Please leave our community."  And a boy taking out the garbage shields his face from us as he passes.  As we walk around, we stop periodically in small courtyards to hear local music and folk songs being played for our benefit.  We also have an opportunity to visit a synagogue and hear about its traditions. 

I notice that there are LOTS of stray cats in Israel.  They seem to be everywhere.  Another member of our group (there are 98 of us altogether) tells me that Jerusalem had a big mouse problem a few years ago so they brought in the cats.  The mice are under control, but now the city is dealing with an overpopulation of cats. 

Our last stop on the walking tour is a visit to the home of Rabbi Arye, a famous Israeli spiritual leader.  As our guide tells us about the Rabbi's house, a neighbor walks out and begins to tell us about Arye and his famous visitors (Menacham Begin amongst many).  Then the man says Shalom and we continue back to the bus. 

Dinner is at our hotel.  I've noticed that a lot of the food is pretty salty so I'm careful with what I get.  I make a dinner out of rice, vegetables, pita and hummus, a meal which will be my staple for the next two weeks.  Dessert is watermelon.  Watermelon is very big here and is served at all three meals.  It's been a while since I've had good watermelon so I take advantage and enjoy it. 

After dinner, we attend a two-hour lecture on water usage in the Middle East.  Informative, yes, but it's been a long day and we're all still jet-lagged.  When it's over, we go back to our rooms and get a little bit of sleep before we start again in the morning.

It took a LONG, LONG time to get here.  I left Austin at noon on Sunday and arrived in Tel Aviv at 10pm on Monday night.  That includes a 2 hour weather delay and electrical problems on the plane that involved shutting it off and rebooting it (while on the runway, but unsettling nonetheless).  But I am finally here and can hopefully relax a bit. 

Or maybe not... After we got picked up at the airport, one of our guides tells us that the freeway to Jerusalem might be backed up.  He explains how a terrorist forced a tour bus off the highway on this date and people are out at the Memorial on this night.  Yikes!  Terrorists taking over tour buses--a new worry for me.  He also explains that we can't take any alternate routes because we don't have an armed guard with us and we'd need one for the backgrounds.  Gulp!  I suddenly wish I'm back on the plane with faulty wiring.  We drive by a new light rail station that was just completed.  Our guide explains that it was at this site that the terrorist with the bulldozer plowed into a crowd of people recently.  Wow!  My Middle Eastern adventure is really getting off to a good start. 

I survive the bus ride and make it to our hotel, Ramat Rachel (named thusly because it's at the site of burial of the Matriarch Rachel).  It's in the southern end of Jerusalem.  Before 1967, the swimming pool would have been in Jordan.  One side of the hotel looks toward the lights of the little town of Bethelam.  It suddenly hits me that I'm in Israel.  Really in Israel. 

I reunite with my coworker Sara and stagger into my little bed (it's really short...we call them Hobbit beds) for some much needed sleep. 

When in Jerusalem, there's no better place to stay in the Old City, and your options can be rather limited. You see, a majority of the Old City is one giant maze-like bazaar which you will find yourself trapped in for hours if not careful! The Jaffa Gate hostel is one of the hostels that is inside the walls of the old city near the Jaffa Gate. We had a bit of trouble there our first night because it was a little cold and there was no hot water in the morning! We talked with the owner's son though, and they did the best they could to accommodate us. That night we had hot water and lots of blankets! That's all I need in a hostel. The location was perfect though...I couldn't imagine coming into the Old City each day from a hotel in the new section of the city, that would just be too much work and too time consuming. The views from our room were amazing, too...it can be hard to appreciate the Old City from the ground level, but when you can see it all from your room, it's impossible not to. Just beware the Islamic chants at random hours of the day!

We stayed here for 4 days. i was happy with the amenities. i enjoyed the gym. the WIFI was not free but it was reasonable price. it is walking distance to the east wall of old jerusalem. plenty of shopping nearby. i would recommend coming here. Completed in 1996, this relatively new, three-story hotel has been fitted into a small triangle of land less than 30m (100 ft.) from the walls of the Old City (blocking what would have been a sweeping view of the walls of the Old City as you approach from Jaffa Rd.). In terms of luxury, this hotel is a big notch below the nearby King David, and sadly, the rooms, food, and general service have all suffered since the tourism slump. That aside, rooms here are interestingly designed, with blond contemporary furniture, and curving wood veneer and stone walls that add a sense of interest and spaciousness. In terms of structure, standard suites, with a living room, bedroom, two bathrooms, and kitchenette are good possibilities for families. Because the hotel is not higher than the Old City's walls, rooms with the more expensive Old City view essentially face out onto a busy road and a stark wall. Sound insulation is good if windows are closed. The spa, mikvah (ritual bath), and indoor heated swimming pool are unusual selling points here. Wi-Fi is available in the lobby ($7 for 1 hr.; $35 for 3 days). Food services are glatt kosher and the hotel caters to the interests of an observant Jewish clientele. Facilities: Restaurant; dining room; cafe; indoor pool; fitness room; Jacuzzi; sauna and steam room; business center; shops; 24-hr. room service; massage; laundry/dry cleaning service; nonsmoking rooms; synagogue Dining & Entertainment: Restaurant and cafe.

Never having been religious I decided to tske a trip to the Holy land in Israel.. It was an amazing experience.. By bus we travelled with a guide from Eilat he was an Israeli licensed guide called Oded Cohen, he was just brilliant and made us all feel very safe in an unpredictable country.. i felt safer there than some places in the UK.. After an informative and beautiful bus journey we arrived in jerusalem. We followed what i think is called the Via Dolorosa (please tell me if I have any wrong info)following the footsteps of Christ.. We visited the following places, The Mount of olives, The church of the holy Seplcure, the garden of getsemane, the alleged place of the crucifiction and finally the wailing Wall, which was packed!! we had to go through a security point here and a metal detector!! Also went to lovely little cafe called friends Cafe in central Jerusalem for a nice lunch.. I would have liked to see more but we ran out of time.. Flew back to eilat from Tel Aviv ben gurion airport. recommended visit!!

So I had a great night sitting up with a bunch of people from all over the world, throwing back some brews and learning about all kinds of interesting places. I now had a place to go to find a kibbutz, so I should be good right? WRONG! The next day when I got up some of theg uys from the night before, asked if i'd like to stay in Jersualem for a couple days and hang out. being 18 and not knowing any better (isn't that a sweet reference to the title, that's skill baby!) I said "sure, I'm a hep cat, lets hang out". I think that was the first time i've been drunk for 3 straight days in my entire life. I learned quite a few things, such as, never try to match a russian drink for drink with vodka. Or how about, never sit down on a bus in Israel before ensuring that no older women are seatless. Or don't fall asleep on the bus to the bus station or you'll end up at yad vashem (the holocaust museum) and realie you are nowhere near where you need to be. Those are just a few of the nuggets of widom I picked up. Oh yeah one more, don't go drinking for 3 days and spend all your money! Apparently my dad was right all along and money indeed, does not grow on trees. So when I awoke on thursday morning feeling like hammered puke I came to discover I had no money left. So I went to the post office (in Israel you can get money at just about any full-service post office) and called my parents and begged them to wire me money. Unfortunately I had to wait 24 hours for it to go through, so I went back to the hostel and got a room by helping to clean up dinner. by the way, the hostel was run by these 2 ex-pats one from new york and i'm not sure where the other one was from, but if that helps anyone recognize it, than that's sweet. The next morning I got up ran to the post office, and got my money, I then ran to the bus station and got the first bus to Be'er Sheva / Eilat. Of course I wasn't thinking about what day it was, Friday! Oh yeah, i'm a slow learner. So I got on the bus and off I went to the Negev. to be continued.

So after I awakened at sunrise on a lovely winter morning in northern Israel, I walked back to Bet She'an and caught a bus to Jerusalem. OF course I had only american money, because I'm an idiot. So I had to scramble for shekels until a nice Israeli soldier exchanged my money with some of hers and squared me away. I can't say how good it felt to not walk somewhere, I used the time on the bus to regroup, and to take in a bit of the countryside. when I got to jerusalem I decided to spend the night in a real bed and to get a decent meal. I went to the old city because I know it better and entered in Jaffa gate. I remembered seeing a hostel by the Citadel, or atleast that's the way I remember it. It claimed that Herman Melville or Mark Twain or someone had stayed there once. I can't remember the name of it, but if anyone out there knows it, hit me up. So I got into the hostel which was ok as hostels in the middle east go, you could get a private room for $20 or a dormitory room for I think it was $4. So I got a dormitory room which held myself two japanese dudes who spoke nothing but japanese as far as anyone could tell, two german guys, one form the east and one from the west (people still talked about that then), two guys from denmark and a chick from denmark who was with one of them. So I hung out tried to pick up a little info from the fellow travelers at the hostel. The two german guys told me where I could get a fake passport if I ever found myslef in Jordan, and how to smuggle alcohol into egypt and radios into china from india. Unfortunately neither of them knew anything about kibbutz's that needed workers. The japanese guys seemed nice, but there was a bit of a language barrier. the danes on the other hand, hooked it up! One of them, who's name was stefan told me I could find work way down south. So I decided to drink a little bit a bunch of us started drinking in the common room, throwing back some Carlsberg's (why is there Carlsberg beer everywhere on the planet but the U.S.? it's likes earth's budweiser, but I digress). I had a great time hanging out with people from everywhere on the planet. It was a great night but It would lead to yet another retarded decision by yours truly. to be continued...

Well my dad was on a tour of Israel for the third time, so I hung with him for the last 10 or so days. Now they've left, so i'm on my own. My plan was to go to the Galilee and start walking around to find a kibbutz. Let me add a little background here, I was 18 and i'd been reading a lot of kerouac, plus I knew someone who had done it, so I figured I was good. Most people who stay on a kibbutz or moshav in Israel use some sort of service to set it up before they even arrive in Israel. I now know why people do that. If you want to stay on a kibbutz, I highly recommend using one of these services, unless you're really into adventure. Back to the story, so I packed up my duffel and headed out for a little hummus and bread before I left. I went to the bus station in Jerusalem and got a bus too Bet-She'an, where I figured i'd get off and begin to look for a kibbutz to work at. With $100 in my pocket I set out.

Shechem

We were not suppose to drive the rental van through Palestinian Areas but we did, although we did not take any photos (well I did not as I was driving) it sure gave the kids the difference in living conditions.

Jerusalem, Israel

We got to Jerusalem and stayed at a nunnery just outside of the old city.  This was a great place to stay although we had to be back by 9 pm or be locked out….no problem.

Western Wall and we hired a student to be a tour guide around the city.  At the western wall we met some Israel kids whom we talked to for quite awhile, they were very nice.

Kristen got ill while walking around and she laid down on the steps (pic) we prayed for her and God healed her, she was fine from then on.   By the way yes this is the same Kristen who went with Bridget and me to Alaska (See Alaska blog).  Her parents’ divorce and she really has had a tough time, I sort of adopted her and paid for her trip to Alaska too for her graduation gift.

There is one photo of me sitting on steps….I am sitting in Hell!  Yep that is Gehenna ….hell ROFL.