אני מצטער מאוד

So, it has been almost a month since I have made a post. Quite a bit has happened in said month, so I will give you the Reader's Digest version. I am very sorry about the immense posting break that happened. 

1. Day trips to Tel Aviv, Galilee, and Haifa. (There are no huge stories behind this. We honestly just don't like going to the same beach all the time.)

2. My mother and sister came to Israel. 

     This was a very busy and fun week. It helped me remember that there are cool things here. A lot of the big things (Dome of the Rock, Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, etc.) had become so commonplace to me that I forget about the awesomeness of where I am. Not only did I get to see my mother and sister again, but I also was able to see Jerusalem with fresh eyes.

3. I went home for graduation.

     I flew home for graduation about one week ago. Now I am back in Israel. Jetlag was crazy, and then I got sick on top of all of it, but I wouldn't have changed any of it. I will just have to plant a tree to offset my currently huge carbon footprint with this study abroad. 

These are the top three things that have happened within the past month. This past month was when school really set in, and we all got into our ruts of schoolwork and everything. My classes are all awesome and my experiences everyday here are all awesome (whether they be great acts of kindness, or great acts of de-humanization), they all leave me speechless most of the time, and fill me with awe that this could happen.

The pace of Hebrew has picked up dramatically. We think that this is because our professors realized we have less than one month left here (only 25 days) and we apparently need to finish our book (or at least get really close to finishing), and we are currently on page 340 of 469. So either this month is going to get crazy, or we are going to be doing the "highlights" of level Aleph. We are JUST starting to learn the past tense in verbs, which is awesome, since that is what I am more familiar with (having studied Biblical Hebrew). 

Moments of Silence

Today has been a mixed bag of emotions. We celebrated the independence of Israel in Tel Aviv, as well as took time to remember during Israel's Memorial Day. 

Memorial Day in Israel was very interesting. Similar to Holocaust Day, sirens sound throughout the entire country for a solid minute to remember all those who are no longer with us. It may seem like something so trivial, but it is quite powerful. Also, don't think that only people who are not doing anything participate. Everyone participates. Classes stop and the students rise and take a moment of silence, our auditorium rose and acknowledged the moment, and highway traffic came to halt over the country as drivers stepped out of their cars to pay their respects.

This got me thinking about my own busy life and taking moments of silence. Memorial Day, for the most part, is somber. However, since days begin in the evenings here, the mood quickly changed around 8:00pm last night. We were in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv and fireworks were being launched high into the sky and Israeli pop singers performed for the vast audience. We stared in awe at the celebration that surrounded us. 

We left Rabin Square at about 10:00pm and made our way back to where we were staying. On our way there were DJs on the boulevard playing different music. A new DJ greeted us about every block and people were dancing down the boulevard and in the in streets. It was a complete 360 from 4 hours prior. We were wrapped into the celebration of Israel's independence. 

We got ready to continue our evening, as many of the celebrations last all through the night (dancing, barbecuing  and drinking), and we needed to be ready. It was when we were waiting that we logged onto the internet. It was about 11:00pm and we were seeing the news of the Boston marathon bombings playing out on our computer screens. We were in awe and stunned into silence. 

For me, it was the first time when home came rushing back to me. My life has been vastly different since coming to Israel, and I don't really base my memories on things happening in the US, as I do when I am at home. However, when I read about Boston I immediately thought about the moment when I read about the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I was back at Concordia, doing my news update after my first class, and never expected to read such terrible news. 

All of the sudden I was in polar opposites. On one hand I was celebrating the independence of Israel, and on the other I was struck with such terrible news of my home country. Although our excitement wasn't as high, we did go out and have fun in Tel Aviv. What was most interesting was when we came home. 

We walked in the door and immediately got onto our electronic devices for ay further news. The room was completely silent, save the few keystrokes of locating a new news source. The technological bombardment of information deafened the room. It was interesting how quickly we forgot about the festivities that literally happening outside of our door. 

Moments of silence. They come at very interesting times in our lives. Some may leave us in complete awe, while others may help us remember. Some are mandated, and some are self-inflicted. It is also interesting in seeing the way silence can bring people together. In Israel, nearly the entire nation shared in an event for a single minute. While online, we saw the immediate responses from people all over the nation sending prayers and vibes towards Boston, as well as Boston nations informing loved ones that they are safe. Their pandemonium was my silence. 

חיפה והגנים הבהאיים

This past Friday and Saturday I went to Haifa with a classmate. We left Good Friday afternoon (since all the services were in the morning) and then we returned Saturday night.

The Title of this post is "Haifa and The Baha'i Gardes." 

Here are the picture that were taken those two days. We also went to Salvador Dali exhibit, where about 500 works (most original, but a few replicas) were on display. It was awesome. It was only $22 to see the exhibit too, so it wasn't too bad. 

This is picture of The Baha'i Gardens, taken on Ben Gurion Ave. There are also a lot of restaurants along this street. We ate at one of them for dinner. It was very delicious. 

This is of a fountain at the lowest point of The Baha'i Gardens. It is open later, so we were able to walk around just the first terrace and see things. I messed with the shutter speed, so the water looks more silky.

Here is a cascading fountain that run downs just the first terrace. I also messed with the shutter speed to give the water some really great detail. 

The whole fountain on the bottom of the first terrace.

Messing with the shutter speed of the cascading fountain. 

A rather ornate light in gardens. These types of lights were everywhere in the gardens.

A close up of one of the sections of the cascading fountain. I also was playing with the shutter speed. 

The Shrine of the Báb. Despite the open gates, you are not allowed to walk on these sections. At least during the time we were there. You have to enter at a different level to go to the shrine. 

A picture of the shrine through that gate that held us back. 

Looking down from the top of the first terrace. You can all the symmetry. 

An eagle statue at the gardens. 

A lamppost. These is on the first terrace. They are much more ornate around the shrine area.

Looking up the stairs of the first terrace. 

Another view of the fountain. 

After dinner it was clearly dark. Now the gardens are all lit up and it looks very awesome. 

The lampposts near the shrine. Notice how much more ornate they are. 

Just a sliver of the stairs we had to climb to get to the same level as the shrine. Since we aren't allowed to climb up from the bottom, you have to take a route that is about a block away from the actual gardens. 

An ornate fence near the shrine. 

So this was as close as to looking down from the level that I was at. It is much smaller than before. 

A golden eagle near the shrine.

The Shrine of the Báb. Sorry, no photography allowed in the shrine. 

Looking up at the shrine.

A golden bird holding a light.

A cool light that provided some sweet symmetry.

Looking out over two fountains. I wish I could've walked to that gate a taken a picture looking down.

One of the four doors that lead into the shrine. There was a door on each side that all empty into four separate chambers on the inside. However, all the chambers all face that same inner shrine, just from a different perspective.

So roads go under the gardens. Even underground the gardens stairs are constructed and symmetry is achieved. 

Zoomed in one The Shrine of The Báb. 

So things got a little out of order, but this is as far zoomed out as I can get. You can see the symmetry. The only thing that we noticed that isn't symmetrical is the tree in front of the shrine. We figured it is to allow photos to be taken. 

Here is the beach that we made it to after we were done at the gardens. 

Seeing the sunset from inside the bus back to Jerusalem. Can't say it was a very magical moment, but it was still a cool sight. 

Okay, so this photo is supposed to be between the other two, but oh well. So symmetrical except for that dang tree. 

Wednesday Adventures

You may have already noticed, but today is kind of a catch-up on my blogging day. 

I also realized I had only been posting my pictures to my Facebook, so people who are Facebook haven't been seeing the photos from this break. 

These pictures were taken on Wednesday, March 27th, 2013. We went out just looking for a little walk to the Mount of Olives and ended up walking all over the place. Going into churches. Wandering through tomb complexes. Seeing Augusta Victoria hospital. It was a very eventful day. 

I apologize for the order. It is a little scattered. 

The beginning of the Tsurim Valley.

A semi-old looking fountain at Augusta Victoria.

Looking down into the Tsurim Valley. You can see The Old City on the Left, and all of the new city on the right.

This is looking at the Augusta Victoria Hospital.

A more complete view of Augusta Victoria Hospital.

Looking at the "separation fence" (WALL) from the grounds at Augusta Victoria.

Another photo of the "separation fence" (WALL) and some fence.

A section of road/trail at the Augusta Victoria grounds. 

The view from the lookout spot. On the right you can see the "separation fence" (WALL) and in the back you can see the desert. 

Stairs that led up to a lookout spot on the grounds of Augusta Victoria.

The doors to Augusta Victoria Hospital. They appeared to have been once on the outside, but now a new structure is being erected around it, so there will be two sets of doors to go through.

If you look in the hazy distance you can see some mountains. Yeah, that's Jordan. The Dead Sea is in between, which you can very faintly see.

Here is the King's Valley Trail. We somehow ended up hiking along this for about an hour.

A goat. Not really much else to say about this one.

A cool window on the grounds of The Church of Agony. 

A statue of Jesus, praying in the garden.

The windows on the outside of The Church of Agony.

The grounds of The Church of Agony. Really old olive trees

The front door of The Church of Agony.

Coming around the corner to see the door.

Inside The Church of Agony. It was rather dark in the church. 

The tiled floor at The Church of Agony.

Coolest. Tabernacle. Ever.

We actually never saw the front since you enter from the side of the church. When we finally saw it, we thought, "Hello, awesome façade." 

All the pointy wrought iron fencing around the church.

Here is the outside of the Tomb of Virgin Mary.

The archway above the front entrance of the Tomb of Virgin Mary. 

The massive steps descending into the Tomb of Virgin Mary.

No album of mine is complete without a shot a burning candle. So, here you go world. 

Fancy golden incense and/or candle holders. None of the holders were in use, so for let's just say they were only for decoration.

Church of Mary Magdalene (with the gold onion domes) and The Church of Agony.

The Church of Agony. This was taken across the street on our way towards the Mount of Olives.

Mount of Olives. Yes. Lots and lots of dead people. Those are all graves, not just sand. Definitely not sand. 

I still have yet to get to The Church of Mary Magdalene. It is only open for 2 hours, and only open 2 days of the week. 

Stairs leading onto the Mount of Olives. Many, many tombs. 

Some tombs. Tomb of Zechariah (the one with the pyramid on top) and Tomb of Benehazeir (the one with columns). 

One of nine (I think) domes at The Church of Agony. This was the most central and ornate of the domes.