Ein Gedi

The beautiful, the glorious. Ein Gedi is an oasis near the Dead Sea around an hour and a half's drive from Jerusalem.
On the drive, we passed the caves of Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. (!!!) As I wrote a paper about the Jewish community who fled to the caves in Qumran, I was massively excited. I've been promised a return visit - and trip to the actual caves - with Yael's program later this summer. Meanwhile, if you'd like to read about the Essenes, visit "The Yakhad" (another name for the group).
The Field School
Ein Gedi Field School is the headquarters for historical research at the oasis and a mini-museum. We saw artifacts from the different ages of habitation at the oasis and models of what the area looked like. Surrounding the Field School are many yael, known in English as the ibix. Adorableness.
The Springs
The great thing about oases? They have fresh water. Ein Gedi is a gorgeous mountain with a fresh water source flowing down and forming several natural springs along it. Which meant I got to "hike" (such as it was...I could have used another several hundred feet, but oh well) and then swim!

The Qibbuz (Kibbutz)
A qibbuz is an Israeli commune, essentially. Folks live together and share earnings. They used to be strongly based in agriculture, but that's changing a bit. The Ein Gedi Qibbuz, though, has glorious botanical gardens with plants from all over the world that have been brought by visitors. They have a bunch of Biblical plants as well...myrrh!

The Sinkholes
The Dead Sea has sinkholes! Underground reservoirs used to be covered entirely by the Sea. But when the water level went way down, much of the turf that was covered became open and susceptible to other forces. The new exposure to salt and fresh water on the surface causes some of the sinkholes to collapse. They can be dangerous, obviously. But they're also really, really pretty. Their edge stratification is gorgeous, and the bottoms form pools of amazing colors with mineral-rich water inside a salt basin. This picture doesn't show any with the awesome colors...I'll try to grab a picture from Mia to show you.

The Dead Sea
Ah, the sea so salty anyone can float. We stopped briefly to let folks get in. I did not, as I'll be back for a longer period of time with Yael's class and did not want to get all salty and gross for such a short swim. But I'm glad we stopped so that those who would probably never be here again could get in. Definitely something everyone should experience at least once.

Picture Status

So, here's the deal. Like an idiot, I left Michigan without stealing Grampa's camera. I'm actually rather enjoying it...I don't really like taking pictures all that much. But it is going to limit how many pictures of me you see. So. I will grab pictures from Google Images and share them with you as I discuss places, so you have some idea of what I'm looking at. And I will occasionally bug friends to take pictures of me so we have at least some record of my existence here.
To get the party started, here's the group at Tayelet Haas Promenade:

Shabbot!

Shabbot Shalom! Happy Sabbath. It's Saturday morning in Jerusalem, and life is considerably quieter. We're going to the Dead Sea today. We'll be discussing sinkholes and the desalination attempts of the Sea. We'll also be visiting some springs.
The bathing suit is on. The Aronoff children are awake. I have ten minutes until breakfast. Life is good. Life is very good.

The Kids

The leader of the environmental course (the first two and a half weeks of my summer) is Eric Aronoff, a professor in the Residential College for the Arts and Humanities at State. I served on the leadership team for the 21st Century Traveling Chautauqua with Eric last year.
For my time at Hebrew University, I will be instructed by Yael Aronoff, a professor in the James Madison College at State specializing in Israeli politics. Yael is on the core faculty for the Jewish Studies Program and the Peace and Justice Studies Program.
Eric and Yael are married. Eric and Yael have children.
Maya is twelve and delightfully mature. Loves Harry Potter, hates Twilight, is a tomboy.
Aidan is eight and painfully adorable. Loves Percy Jackson, hates girls. (Ha.)
They are an utter delight. They are staying for the entire trip. Huzzah! Becca's wildest dreams are fulfilled. I no longer feel such a need to snatch random children from the street to play with (though I don't know that there's anything cuter than young Jewish boys wearing yarmulkes...I die. I seriously die).
I have wormed my way into the position of best friend. Aiden willingly held my hand (indeed, instigated the hand-holding) nearly all the way home from the restaurant after dinner. I am learning all about all of Maya's friends in middle school.
It's good. It's very good.

Friday, June 12

Today we took a ten-hour tour of Old Jerusalem. Up at 5:20 to shower, blog, and eat, and then on the bus before 8 am. Our guide is footnoted in one of our course readings, so that was cool.
Learned a ton, naturally. Saw pretty much all of the City of David, the many holy buildings in al-Quds (the Arabic name for Jerusalem), and plenty of maps to tie it all together.
Best moment: We went through some water tunnels underneath the city that were created to feed the pools. Dark, dank, enclosed spaces…water above my knees…tunnels two feet wide…crouching down. La vie est belle!
There was an incident in the city today: Someone blazed through a checkpoint and was shot by the soldiers. As a result, bits of the Mount of Olives were cut off. So we didn’t get to go through all of the Via Dolorosa, but we got into most of the buildings – Garden of Gethsemane, the Gorge, the church where Mary is believed by some to have ascended.
A service was going on in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; that was fun to watch. Tonight is Shabbot (Sabbath), so the kids in the dining hall were just singing and thumping the table. The elevator is on “Shabbot mode” – pushing the button uses electricity, considered to be lighting a fire, considered to be work, and thus forbidden from dinner Friday to sundown on Saturday. So the elevators just go up and down on a specific schedule. Nice to still use an elevator…annoying to wait forever for it to move.

First "Class"

Last night, the class met up in the lobby of the Guest House, and then taxied off to some famous gardens close to the UN headquarters. We got out of the cab, and I had to laugh. The view that greeted my eyes is the one you see at the top of this blog. Figures that the first thing I would see officially was that. (I put the picture up not really knowing where it was taken from or what it was. I can now tell you a great deal more about it.)
We wandered through the gardens a bit. We have a few folks interested in/knowledgeable about botany with us, so we discussed which herbs and plants were growing around us. Rosemary!
We settled down in the grass to have our first "class." This included the traditional distribution of paperwork - health and safety cards, syllabi, etc. Eric introduced us to some of the perspectives and principles we would be exploring during the course, and then we headed off to dinner.
My favorite bit about the first class? A group of Arab Israelis sat near us smoking fruit hasheesh and sending the smell over.

Safe Travels

I have safely arrived in Jerusalem. It's been a wonderful trip already. The airplane flight and layovers all went incredibly fun and were actually rather enjoyable.
Todd dropped me off at O'Hare in Chicago on Tuesday, June 8. I waited in the rather long line at the LOT Polish Airways check-in. A large groups of nuns was nearby. I refrained from singing "Sound of Music" out loud. Barely.
Given the length of the line, I didn't have to wait at the gate in O'Hare too terribly long. We boarded and off I flew! To Warsaw.
Yes, Warsaw. I had a thirteen hour layover in Warsaw. LOT fed us twice on the plane over, so I didn't need to worry much about food. I exchanged some money at the airport so I'd have some right away in Israel. Shockingly, I got majorly ripped off.
I don't study Eurasia at all. I thought about going into Warsaw proper, but I really would have no idea what I was doing. I did, however, leave the airport, find a glen of trees, and hang outside with a book for a good amount of time.
Later in the airport, I entered into a great conversation/interview with two women - one American-born Muslim whose husband is an Israeli Muslim, and one Israeli-born Jew who married an American Christian Marine, moved to California, and still lives there, though she and her husband are now divorced. Full details of that encounter are given in the "Field Notes" section (see tabs up at the top of the blog).
On the plane we got, and off we went to Jerusalem. We arrived at 3:30 am, so I flew into darkness with a bunch of beautiful lights. I did get a chance to see the lights bordering the Mediterranean, which lit up the water. It was a gorgeous sight.
One funny moment in the Ben Gurion Airport: A guy who had been on the plane with me asked me where I was from and was trying to make the traditional small talk. Except that he started rambling about how great Polish and Finnish sausages and pork were...it was ridiculous.
Merci (the Israeli Jew met in the Warsaw airport) and her kids took me out of the airport and put me on a shuttle after speaking to the driver. He took me exactly to where I needed to be - Agron Guest House, a youth hostel in Jerusalem. That was a huge de-stressor...I'd had an ugly feeling I was going to be dealing with cabs all day trying to find the right place. The shuttle was great - so long as it wasn't reversing. I cannot begin to describe how loud and high-pitched the reverse squealing alarms were. 'Twas utterly painful.
Driving along the highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, I could have sworn I was back in Egypt. I didn't see the Wall, and street signs were in Hebrew, English, and Arabic. The scenery is much the same - a bizarre and charming juxtaposition of traditionally adorable white-stoned buildings and Western architecture. Israel has made great pains to make itself much more green than Egypt, however. In the next few weeks, I'll be exploring how this effort to "make the desert bloom" has affected the state, the people, and the environment.
I arrived at the Agron Guest House around 5 am. Reception didn't open until 7 am, but the guard let me in, showed me around, and gave me some information about Israel. When reception opened, I dropped my luggage off at the front desk, grabbed some books and paper, and headed off to walk around Jerusalem. I didn't do anything too exciting - hung out in several parks, explored some buildings and streets, accustomed myself to the sights, sounds, and smells. Got my first shock at the streets. The native Israelis actually obey the traffic signs, both in cars and on foot. I don't think I've ever been in another country where that actually happens. It was a bizarre feeling, expecting the Israeli standing next to me to walk into the road and having him not do so.
Most different from Egypt thus far (other than the obvious Jewish influence) - the birds. Israel is home to hundreds of bird species. They're everywhere and they're exquisite.
So here I am in Jerusalem, safe, happy, and now joined by my entire class. We all got here, mostly on time and without incident.