Yesterday, we went to Jerusalem with the medical school.
I uploaded all of my pictures to Facebook with descriptions. You can view them here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150258081999475.346644.503644474&l=3567aebbbb&type=1
It was so strange to see the places I've only heard about. I still don't know what to make of it. I stood on the Mount of Olives. I saw the place where it is said that Jesus ascended. I saw where His cross was placed. I saw where they say He was buried. I saw Mount Moriah. I saw the Valley of Kidron. I stood at, observed, and prayed at the Western Wall. What an intense place. I heard all about the history of how Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Jerusalem is a very unique city. The Eternal City, as the Jews call it.
I found it rather saddening to see how people worship these places as idols, instead of looking to the One who saved them and can give them true hope. I saw people collecting holy water from the stone where Jesus was prepared for burial and kissing the place where His cross was placed. I understand the level of respect people have, but we place such importance on physical things when one of the main points of Jesus' teachings is that it's all about the heart.
The market was in the Muslim quarter. Oh my goodness, SO many BEAUTIFUL fabrics! I got some fresh fruit juice from a vendor. It had freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice in it. Yummy!
I don't really have much else to say about my visit to the Holy City other than that you should go. It's not anything like you imagined when you were being taught about it in Sunday School, I promise.
In other news, I found gluten-free soy sauce today in the natural foods store! Granted it may have cost me $8, but it will be used well. In comparison, that's not much more than regular soy sauce here anyway. I figured it out, and at the rate I've been going (where I haven't been eating out), I will spend over $300 a month on food. Crazy.
Last night, I went out to a movie with some friends. That was super fun. Guess how much movies are here. Expensive? Yes. $12 each. Lamesauce.
About an hour into the movie, the reel suddenly stopped, the screen went black, and the lights in the theater came on. We were so confused! The Israelis there were like, whatev. We eventually deduced that it is an Intermission. That's nice, actually. I don't mind that at all. I didn't fall asleep during the movie, but I think that was mostly because I was laughing the whole time. I'm sure the intermission helped, too. When the movie was over, one of us had the bright idea to do down the "up" escalator. That's exactly what we did. The security guard at the door watched us the whole time. We tried to get the other group to do it too when they were done with Harry Potter, but they all wimped out. Oh well, we had all the fun.
We're having Shabbat dinner tonight again at our host family's house. We're leaving in about an hour, and I have to get ready.
Shabbat Shalom!
I uploaded all of my pictures to Facebook with descriptions. You can view them here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150258081999475.346644.503644474&l=3567aebbbb&type=1
It was so strange to see the places I've only heard about. I still don't know what to make of it. I stood on the Mount of Olives. I saw the place where it is said that Jesus ascended. I saw where His cross was placed. I saw where they say He was buried. I saw Mount Moriah. I saw the Valley of Kidron. I stood at, observed, and prayed at the Western Wall. What an intense place. I heard all about the history of how Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Jerusalem is a very unique city. The Eternal City, as the Jews call it.
I found it rather saddening to see how people worship these places as idols, instead of looking to the One who saved them and can give them true hope. I saw people collecting holy water from the stone where Jesus was prepared for burial and kissing the place where His cross was placed. I understand the level of respect people have, but we place such importance on physical things when one of the main points of Jesus' teachings is that it's all about the heart.
The market was in the Muslim quarter. Oh my goodness, SO many BEAUTIFUL fabrics! I got some fresh fruit juice from a vendor. It had freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice in it. Yummy!
I don't really have much else to say about my visit to the Holy City other than that you should go. It's not anything like you imagined when you were being taught about it in Sunday School, I promise.
In other news, I found gluten-free soy sauce today in the natural foods store! Granted it may have cost me $8, but it will be used well. In comparison, that's not much more than regular soy sauce here anyway. I figured it out, and at the rate I've been going (where I haven't been eating out), I will spend over $300 a month on food. Crazy.
Last night, I went out to a movie with some friends. That was super fun. Guess how much movies are here. Expensive? Yes. $12 each. Lamesauce.
About an hour into the movie, the reel suddenly stopped, the screen went black, and the lights in the theater came on. We were so confused! The Israelis there were like, whatev. We eventually deduced that it is an Intermission. That's nice, actually. I don't mind that at all. I didn't fall asleep during the movie, but I think that was mostly because I was laughing the whole time. I'm sure the intermission helped, too. When the movie was over, one of us had the bright idea to do down the "up" escalator. That's exactly what we did. The security guard at the door watched us the whole time. We tried to get the other group to do it too when they were done with Harry Potter, but they all wimped out. Oh well, we had all the fun.
We're having Shabbat dinner tonight again at our host family's house. We're leaving in about an hour, and I have to get ready.
Shabbat Shalom!
