Sunday, March 23, 2008
Easter Week
Monday, March 17, 2008
Palm Sunday in Jerusalem
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The Generation Gap...filled
Thursday, March 13, 2008
I like it "Eilat!"
Eilat is known for really good scuba diving and snorkeling. While my limited snorkeling experiences in Hawaii have been wonderful, I must say that this exceeded all previous snorkel excursions. By a lot. Usually I look for beautiful fish which were plentiful in Eilat, but I have never before seen such beautiful coral reefs! They are an incredible animal (yes, coral is an animal. It eats plankton.) Anyway, I was so amazed and fascinated by the many different schools of fish all hanging out at the reef. A somewhat obscure but accurate comparison would be a popular high school hangout. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere, everyone is just peacefully enjoying good food, good friends, and good people, or fish, watching.
By the way, fish have no fear. On my first trip out, I became entranced by a large school of fish which swam directly in front of me. After admiring them for a few seconds and with my goggles blocking my peripheral vision, I used my arms to propel me in a different direction. As I continued to rotate more and more, I finally made a complete 360 and realized there was no opening among the fish. This giant school of fish had turned into a fish circle, which was eerily reminiscent of shark hunting behavior. I freaked out for about a second until I realized how cool it was. I floated idle for a short while, bewildered and amazed by the insignificance I was feeling from a group of finger-sized fish. I've never felt that way before and may never again.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Petra-fied!
I apologize for so many references to the Eagles lately, but this is a funny side story. When my horse guide asked me where I was from, I answered California and he replied, "Ahh, California's a lovely place!" Then his friend came up and independently asked the same question. He also replied, "Oh, a lovely place!" I noticed the similar answer and then laughed when they both started singing "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I joined in and enjoyed a memorable ride out of Petra, a great ending to a great day.
I found a cool and brief (5 photos) online photo gallery of Petra from National Geographic.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Back to Reality
After an Israeli military attack on Gaza last week killed 120 Palestinians, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem foolishly (and some Palestinians feel valiantly) responded by opening fire in a Jewish seminary, killing eight Israeli citizens.
The Jerusalem Center is located in East Jerusalem. Often when the violence gets bad in Gaza, we aren’t allowed into East Jerusalem or the Old City because many of the shop owners go on strike and the overall feeling of tension is just higher. This has happened a handful of times since we’ve been here, but even when we can’t go into East Jerusalem, we’ve always been able to go to West Jerusalem.
To hear that the violence happened in West Jerusalem shook us all a little more, and of course the sign “WEST JERUSALEM IS OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” went up right next to the more familiar “EAST JERUSALEM AND THE OLD CITY ARE OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE” sign.
So, we’re locked in for the time being. It’s a good thing everyone stocked up on pirated (and legal by Jordanian law) DVDs in Jordan.
In case you’re interested in how the media shows bias, read this article about the shooting in Jerusalem and notice how the reporter chose not to mention the 120 dead Palestinians until the 27th (4th from the bottom) paragraph.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
I found that Peaceful, Easy Feeling
in Jordan.
The entire area of the Middle East has unfortunately been labeled by the media as a land of unsettled conflict. I can feel the tension in Jerusalem; I even felt it in Egypt. There are still 19 Arab countries left for me to visit, but using Israel and Egypt as a comparison, Jordan seems to stand out as a beacon of hope to its surrounding Mideastern counterparts.
Twilight is my favorite time of day. Sunlight hits the earth, highlighting its natural features in the most beautiful way and people are out and relaxed, enjoying the beauty of the sunset after a good days’ work. We first entered Jordan about an hour before twilight and I immediately felt the ease and happiness emanating from Jordanians walking out of their shops, going out of their way to wave at our American tour bus passing through.
At one point we stopped the bus for about 10 minutes on the main road of a small village. No one unloaded, but many students began exchanging smiles and “Keef Hallaks” with shop owners outside. I smiled at one man and without thinking he brought me a falafel from his shop and handed it to me through the bus window. His big smile showed that he didn’t expect anything in return. This small gesture became so indicative of the overall hospitality and friendliness felt on for the rest of the trip (which included an unforgettable dinner with a good friend of my grandmother's, Leila Sharaf).
Jordanians are proud of their country and eager to share their culture. Many of the military members we saw at tourist sites were more than friendly and eager to pose in a picture for us. This was quite a contrast compared to some of the guards I've meet in other countries (I'm thinking England).
If I were to judge a country based on my impressions of its people, Jordan is definitely towards the top of my list. Its wonderful people combined with incredible natural wonders (Petra), great food, and modern political significance makes Jordan a country everyone should enjoy in their lifetime.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
The Gaza Situation - Not Easy
Since I've been here, I haven't exactly woken up with a special hop in my step every morning. I love Jerusalem and appreciate every amazing thing here, but it seems like that peaceful easy feeling (thanks, Eagles) hasn't been there the way I've been so lucky to feel as a free citizen of the United States. After trying to figure out possible explanations for this feeling, I think I've figured out a different answer. The reality of the conflict I am living in the midst of is difficult. I have become so interested in studying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but too much of it just makes me sad.
Please look at this article.
And this one.
And this one.
Back to the disclaimer at the beginning, all of this has made me even more grateful for everything I have been given, but as the LDS hymn says: Because I have been given much, I too must give. Last week, I was given lunch by a group of gardeners in Orson Hyde Park. Without question, they fed six hungry students Mansaf, an authentic Jordanian dish, which we ate with our hands. They not only welcomed our presence but invited us back every Thursday for their weekly gatherings. The food was the best meal I've had here. I don't know how much they've been given, but they definitely gave me a lot. Not only food, but friendship.
Now the big question remains, What can I give?