Pre-Shabbat Update!

Israeli flag on the ramp to the Dome of the Rock

I have learned so much in the few short weeks that I've been here.

Here are some observations:

1. Israelis will wait for NOTHING, with one exception. Israelis will wait for the green man (walk sign) to cross the street. They will not, however, wait for the traffic light to turn green before honking at the person in front of them to motivate them to go. Or really anything else.
2. There is a restaurant that serves bacon within a two minute walk of my apartment.
3. Even when you have lots of homework to do for ulpan, there's something so much better about doing homework in Jerusalem than any other place I've done homework (except maybe Thompson). It's just really cool to be able to do your Hebrew homework surrounded by people speaking Hebrew.
4. In Jerusalem it's possible to hear Hebrew, English, French, Spanish, and Russian, all on the way to school.
5. The most peaceful place I've found in Jerusalem is by the Dome of the Rock. It's serene up there.
6. If you even remotely look like you could be between the ages of 18-26, you WILL be asked on an almost daily basis if you're on Birthright. Saying yes will result in one of two options: you will receive an excellent discount OR you will get royally ripped off.
7. 40 shekels is not the same as 40 dollars, but it still sounds like it to me.
8. Israelis are full of hospitality. They will invite you to shabbos while you're waiting to cross the street (at the green man) with them. Or if you're walking through your apartment building. Or if you're in their cab. Also they always want to know if you and your friends have a boyfriend because their son/nephew/cousin is available and he was in the army.
9. "What time is it?" is a pick up line.
10. Some of my favorite American foods are readily available in J'lem, which is wonderful. I love Israeli food a lot (seriously, it's so great) but sometimes I just want those hot buffalo wing snyders pretzel pieces (WHICH I FOUND TODAY!).

Since my last post, I've seen some beautiful stuff in Jerusalem. One day, I went to a coffee shop after school where I could see HUC and the Old City. I know that I've been here for a month (!!!) but the novelty of this view simply has not worn off. It's so striking!

HUC's version of the Secret Stairs

On Tuesday, two of the ulpan classes took a field trip to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory. Now, for those of you who don't know, I generally dislike birds because they don't have hands (don't worry about this) but this field trip was actually pretty cool. And by cool, I mean sweltering and hot. But I learned a lot. We listened to a presentation about the organization done entirely in Hebrew. I was surprised at how much I understood; while certainly I did not know every word, I was able to piece a lot together throughout the presentation. We also watched this really bizarre video about how wildlife and urban areas intersect, particularly in Jerusalem. It certainly wasn't a documentary like Planet Earth, but I suppose it was still somehow informative.

Check out that bird.

This bright blue bird was a highlight of the field trip!

The next day we all had quizzes in both Hebrew and Biblical Archaeology. I am still not really used to having school over the summer. But learning is good.

Flowers on campus

What I'm most excited about today, though, is my trip to the Dome of the Rock. After a really fun night out on Wednesday, a group of us went bright and early to the Old City to visit the Dome of the Rock. When I think of Jerusalem, my first thought is the shiny golden dome of this incredibly beautiful shrine.

What an unbelievable sight to see.

While there are a lot of politically and religiously charged opinions about the Dome, my trip yesterday was motivated by a desire to photograph one of the most exquisite places I've ever seen in my life.

I think it was a huge success.