Jerusalem to Beersheba

It's amazing how much happens in a day or two.

Thursday we all went to Jerusalem for the day and it was a great trip!  We started off at the Herzel Museum, which was amazingly done.  It was a multimedia storytelling experience about Theodore Herzel, the father of Zionsim.  I learned a lot about the history and motivation of the movement.  Do you remember the Dreyfus Affair in France?  Think back to your European history class... it's the event when an innocent French Jewish officer was stripped of his rank and the French call out "death to Jews" in angry mobs.  Herzel was a reporter present at this event, and was spurred by the anti-Semitism to write Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) which led to the First Zionist Congress in 1897.  Though his efforts and ideals had a long way to go to 1948, his efforts helped unite the Zionist vision.

The museum is on Mt. Herzel in Jerusalem, where there is Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Memorial) and the resting place of significant Israeli leaders.  Our tour guide took us around and we saw the burial places of Herzel, Golda Meir, and Yitzhak Rabin.  We were also fortunate to stumble onto a rehearsal for the Indepence Day ceremony next month.  Every branch of the army was rehearsing marching formations and it was an impressive scene.  The soldiers didn't seem to mind our watching their practice, and even made small talk with us for a few minutes.

Later we headed into the Old City of Jerusalem and took a walking tour of the Ramparts (the defence wall of the Old City).  We could see all the historic sites, and how the city defended itself for all these centuries.  The pictures are amazing.  If I do say so myself. 

By this time, we were starving and made our way to a scharma stand.  It was gigantic and had everything in it!  French fries, pickles, and who knows what else!  After filling our bellies and looking around at touristy shops we made our way to the Kotel (Wailing Wall).

The Kotel is divided into two sections: men and women.  This is because according to the Orthodox, men and women can't pray together.  If you're reading this, you know me, and if you know me you know how I feel about sexual equality.  Clearly, I have issues with the Orthodox view of gender roles.  So while I truly appreciate the history, religious and historical significance of the Kotel, I still think we have work to do.  But that's my two cents.

After the Kotel we went to an attraction called the Time Elevator.  It's a motion/film ride about the history of Jerusalem.  (Think Star Tours at Disneyland).  It was only 30 minutes and had moments of total cheesines, yet I thought it was pretty interesting.  

The end of the trip marked the beginning of our Pesach vacation.  We have a week off!  So many people departed for their trips, family etc. from Jerusalem. The rest of us fell asleep on the bus in an instant. 

Friday I packed for Pesach, went for a run and watched James Bond in the Moadon (clubhouse).  Pretty chill day until 5:30 when my Aunt and Uncle picked me up from the Kibbutz.  Later I went out with my cousin Shaer and his girlfriend and ate some yummy chocolate souffle. 

It's raining again in Beersheba.  The joke is true: it rains when I come here.  Never fails.  Hopefully it will stop soon.  I'm also thinking that I may meet up with Grasya at some point this week for some girl time.  It's great how fast some people can connect.  I've only know Grasya and Etel for three weeks and I totally adore them!  Turkish people are great.  I'm hoping to get to know some more of the Ulpan people better too.  I really like the people I've met from Venezuela.  They are so lovely.  Yes, I used the word lovely.  

Not sure what's on the agenda for today... this rain puts a damper on everything.  (Pun totally intended). 

Hope you are all having a great start to the weekend!

Latraot!