The quick and uneventful month of October

I suppose every so often it is a good thing to be reminded of a world without wireless internet . . . But after a month of this reminder, it is great to return to the 21st century and have wireless internet in my room! Thus, the reason for over a month since I last posted here! To be honest, you haven't missed much in the life and times of Amanda in Jerusalem. :-) I put in quite a few extra hours of work, and most of my days off were spent relaxing in my room with a book, movie, cross stitch, etc.

In the middle of October, a group from New York came to stay at the Guest House. I was the one "on call" the night they arrived, and room 8 needed some special attention. After attending to its needs, I returned the key to the couple and enjoyed visiting with them for a bit at the dinner table. A couple days later, I came down for breakfast (the first time ever on a day off!!) without any real plans for that Friday. This couple from room 8 invited me to join them on their tour that day. There was room on the bus, so I went to staff devotions, caught a bus to meet the group at Yad Vashem for lunch, and then went with them to Bethlehem. I have been trying to go there since arriving in Israel in January, but it is not a simple thing to do at all. It ended up being the perfect activity that day, and it all started with a need in room 8!

The view that greeted me when I stepped off the bus at the Yad Vashem stop--the space and trees were such a change from the stones and crowds of the Old City.


I have been to Bethlehem before, but this time I took in more of the shops than the surrounding landscape. Here are some of the shops that caught my eye . . .

I don't know if you can read the writing on the glass door, but this is the "Holy Family Hotel."
Look carefully--it's not the Starbucks you all know and love! :-)

And here are a few pictures of a main thoroughfare in Bethlehem. Located in the West Bank, Bethlehem is virtually an Arab city, with a minority of Arab Christians living there. Israeli citizens are not allowed to pass through the checkpoint between the State of Israel and this territory under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.


Obviously, since I joined a tour group, many of whom were in Israel for the first time, the whole point of the trip to Bethlehem has the Church of the Nativity. This church has the amazing claim of being the oldest church in the Middle East, and one of the oldest, continuously operating churches in the world. One can still see the original entrance, columns, and mosaic floor from Byzantine times (4th century), paintings from Crusader times, and ancient mosaics on the walls as well. The church is built over a cave that has been considered Jesus' birthplace since the 2nd century AD. It is a large compound with many chapels, and the site is administered by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian authorities.

I am so grateful this was not my first visit to the Church of the Nativity. The roof is currently being redone, and the narthex of the church is filled with unattractive scaffolding. Also, there was a huge line of people wishing to go down the stairs and see the traditional site of Jesus' birth. I think we stood in line for an hour, and when we came out of the church later, the line had doubled, maybe even tripled--filling the courtyard!! Forgive the absence of pictures from this church, but the scaffolding really impaired picture taking.

After visiting the church, we walked back to the bus and were taken to an olive wood shop. Seeing as how I live here currently and am not the typical tourist, I was convinced I wouldn't spend any money in the shop. How many of you are laughing after reading that statement?! :-) I did spend some money (a little more than I would have liked), but most of it was on Christmas presents. I know, it seems early, but I would love to send a gift or two home for Christmas from Bethlehem, and I recognized the opportunity! Oh, and I also bought a pair of earrings . . . I had a really neat visit with the store owner who is an Arab Christian. We visited about the decline of tourism (and thus, the tourist industry in Bethlehem), and the hopes of peace for this region.

On the way back to Jerusalem, there was a line of buses waiting to be checked before going through the checkpoint. As we waited our turn, the sun sank in the western sky and gave us a beautiful sunset!


The trip to Bethlehem was my most notable experience of October, but October contained some weather worth noting. We had a week where temperatures were at least in the 90s, and a couple of those days it was over 100!! It certainly does not feel like October/fall when temps are still that warm.

But on October 8th, we got the first little rainstorm of the "wet." (Oops, I think that's an Australian term . . .!) It lasted maybe ten minutes and didn't rain very hard, but it was the first true rainfall we've had since the beginning of May.

It was worth taking a picture of the storm clouds rolling in! (Does that say something about how much I am longing for the rainy season to return?! I miss the sound and smell of rain!)

Since this blog has taken on somewhat of a "sky" theme, let me share a few other pictures of the October skies here in Israel. Enjoy the colors!

The bright sky and clouds above the building I live in here in Jerusalem.
Beautiful clouds in the Jerusalem sky one Sunday afternoon (I took these from the rooftops!)
This is the brilliant blue sky over the Church of the Nativity the day I went to Bethlehem.
And now a few unofficial photos to round out this post . . . .

You may have guessed by the first picture I've gotten another haircut. This happened the end of September and was the result of some sort of miscommunication. The stylist speaks English, I told him I wanted an inch trimmed off, and he verified the amount before proceeding to cut that amount three times!!! It was a little scary at first (I have NEVER had my hair this short in my life!), but it actually behaved quite well. I actually kind of like it, and I guess unexpected risks are not always bad things. :-)

I have gone out some evenings with friends in the past couple weeks, and it's been fun to enjoy each other's company outside of the compound and work.

On this night, we all decided spur of the moment to go out for coffee (No, I've not yet learned to like coffee, though others are working on me. I had a caramel/banana smoothie, thank you very much!)

Jonathan (Israeli) and Sara (American)
Nick is from Nebraska and (unfortunately) a big Cornhuskers fan. But, he still is a great guy, and I guess this picture goes to prove CU and Nebraska fans can get along. :-)
That was a Wednesday night, the next evening found a slightly different group of us out again enjoying each others company. Thursday nights in Jerusalem are like Friday nights in the States.

With Sara (generally from Los Angeles, but her roots are in Guatemala)
Tal (Russian Israeli) and Elsa (Canadian)
Nathan and Joe (both from the UK)

I would like to take this opportunity to post a warning to all my friends and family--please be very careful when working around 3-kilo cans. Not paying attention can have some painful consequences!

(How boring must my October have been if I'm posting pictures of a colored finger!) Thank you all for your patience in between blogs, and always remember to look up--not just at the sky, but above your circumstances, difficulties, and perspectives. There's a bigger plan!

Just what the doctor ordered--Sukkot in Jerusalem!

(written Tuesday, September 28th)

Wow, I am dedicated to this blog this week! :-)

Today was not the smoothest day shift-wise, and I have to admit, I was happy to see 4:00 roll around this afternoon. After a trip to my room to gather camera, some shekels, and keys, (and then waiting for a sudden nosebleed to stop!), I escaped out the compound gates to experience Jerusalem during the height of Sukkot!

Sukkot is a week-long festival, initially described in Leviticus 23. Sukkot is known in English as the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. It is one of the three Jewish feasts for which the Israelites were commanded to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem (along with Pesach/Passover and Shavuot/Feast of Weeks). Although there is no longer a Jewish Temple standing in Jerusalem, the city is still flooded with Jews visiting during this festival week. It is agricultural in nature and occurs at the completion of the harvest. Sukkot is generally considered a time of thanksgiving for God's provision the previous year. It is a time of rejoicing; in fact, in Leviticus, the people are commanded to rejoice before the Lord for the seven days of Sukkot. It is often referred to as Yom Simchateinu (Day of our Rejoicing).

Interestingly, Moses commanded the Israelites to gather to read the Law every seventh year at Sukkot, Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot, and Sukkot was the first observed festival in Jerusalem after the sacrifices resumed following the Babylonian captivity.

Sukkot is known as the Feast of Booths because it is a festival to remember how the Israelites lived in booths during their time in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. The majority of Israeli Jews build their own sukkah for this week, and all meals are eaten in the fragile structure. Many also sleep in their sukkah (sukkot is the plural of sukkah). The sukkah is a temporary and somewhat flimsy structure, symbolizing the frailty and temporariness of life and dependence on God.

Anyway, today was the annual Sukkot march in Jerusalem. People from numerous nations around the world came to parade through the New City of Jerusalem in support of Jerusalem's inhabitants. It is truly a parade and exemplifies the joyful nature of Sukkot. It was still going on when I finished my shift and walked up to Jaffa Road.

After a day that was not necessarily my favorite or the easiest, absorbing the mood of the day and the crowd was just the right medicine. It was impossible not to pick up on the rejoicing and celebrating, and it was amazing to see the hundreds of people from around the world walking down Jaffa Road, shouting Chag Sameach (the Hebrew version of "happy holidays") and Shalom Yerushalayim, waving and cheering. It was a day of celebrating, and I loved seeing it. It was also fun to see all the Israel/Jerusalem flags as well as flags from the paraders' countries. So much excitement!

I wanted to share some Sukkot in Jerusalem snapshots with you!

Entrance to Christ Church decorated for Sukkot
The sukkah inside Christ Church

Some of the sukkot in Jerusalem's New City outside shops and restaurants . . . (photos taken Sunday evening)

The Jerusalem Sukkot march this afternoon
Jaffa Road was packed!!
More sukkot in western Jerusalem

After watching some of the Sukkot parade, I went for a walk through Jerusalem (New City and Old City); maybe you'd like to share some of my walk through photos?

The famous King David hotel
Dusk in Jerusalem (though the colors aren't quite so breathtaking in the photograph as in real life)

"Ground sukkot" in the Old City's Jewish Quarter
(the giant sukkah in Hurva Square)(an "open air" sukkah in Hurva Square)

A couple "rooftop" sukkot in the Jewish Quarter
And what is a walk through the Jewish Quarter without a visit to the Western Wall? Here is a gigantic sukkah in the Western Wall plaza!
It's a good thing my ultimate goal was not the wall itself as I would not have gotten anywhere close to it--the plaza was packed!! It was humming with celebration and certainly something to experience.

One moment from my walk to the Western Wall really stuck in my mind. (Sometime I will take pictures of the endless stairs leading from the Jewish Quarter down to the Western Wall--there are a lot! I really admire the Jewish families for their ability to navigate these stairs (up and down) with strollers every time they visit the Western Wall. In America, parents would probably insist on an elevator or a ramp, but here, it's just part of life.) Anyway, as I was going down, I saw two Jewish men working together to carry a stroller up the stairs. I just caught a brief glimpse, but it really touched my heart to see people looking out for each other. Such a random thing, but it is one of my special Sukkot memories.

An important part of the Sukkot festival is the "four species." For an interesting read on these, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_species. Although I was aware of the four, I had not previously heard the symbolism they embody.

On my way back through the Jewish Quarter, I decided it was impossible to be in Jerusalem for Sukkot and not have something to show for it. :-) I decided to buy just one of the four species and ended up with a couple willow branches. Of all the luck, to get willow!! (If you read the wikipedia article, you'll get it!). I am not going to read anything into it, though. :-) And, it really is fun to have a piece of Sukkot in my room!

My Aravah (Hebrew for willow) from Sukkot 2010 in Jerusalem

And one last thing just for laughs . . . :-) Sukkot is an agricultural festival, and I decided to honor that connection with some green nail polish. Can you imagine?! In case you can't, here is proof!! :-)

Hope this has given you a little taste of Jerusalem during the week long festival of Sukkot. Although it's made a crowded and busy city, I have really enjoyed being here during this time. What an unforgettable experience!!