A Sense of Nostalgia

It snowed here over night, and it is finally feeling like winter. I am glad I got to see snow this year. I don't know if I will be seeing snow when I leave for Israel. The combination of this snow and the wonderful music I have been hearing all weekend have just put me into a very nostalgic mood. It is one of those moods where you just want to cry for no reason, but also for every reason.

I'm sitting next to a giant fake tree in my school's atrium realizing that this won't really be my home as it is now this time next year. It is a tradition of sorts for Juniors and Seniors to get a class ring here. I remember that when I ordered mine I wanted to make sure that it had meaning. I didn't want it to just symbolize a tradition, I wanted it to mean more. For me, it means all the people that I have met, and everything I learned, both in the classroom and about myself. This is really my last week here. When I come back it will be different. It will be me remembering all the shenanigans I got into, all the stories I had, all the people I met from other countries, and all my friends I made. It really is a time where everything just wants to come flooding out. Despite only knowing some people for only a few years, they have become some of my closest friends. Leaving high school never sucked this much, that's for sure. Why do all good things have to come to an end? 

Getting My Ducks In A Row

Well, it turns out that I will be a little pressed for some money when I go to Jerusalem. On one hand this is nice, because I will have to stick to a very tight budget, something that I am not completely against. However, I am saddened because I may not get to see some of the things that I may want to check out while I am there. I am not as concerned with travelling over the whole countryside and jet-setting to other countries. I feel there will be enough going on in Jerusalem for me to keep myself occupied.

In other news I am getting all of my flights figured out, so I will get to New York with ample time for me to ensure that I will not miss my flight to Israel, because that would be kind of completely terrible. I am already figuring out what to pack. It is hard to think about what you will need for 6 months. In January (avg. 43-54 degrees) I will need pants and sweaters, but by the time June (avg. 65-81 degrees) comes around it will be getting somewhat warm (well by my standards, maybe not by the locals). I am a fan of really hot weather, so 81 degrees is still on the cooler side for me. However, you can see the problem.

It sounds weird complaining about clothes and such material things, but clothing is one thing that I definitely cannot afford to purchase in Israel. I have also been advised by leaders on campus to pack the things I know I won't be able to get in Israel. Things like: face wash, razor blades, favorite deodorant  favorite toothpaste, etc. I am not too concerned about shampoo, because I will cope with that one. Probably deodorant and toothpaste too. I do realize that I will probably end up bringing at least one of all of these. I don't know when the first time I will be able to go out and hunt for all of these things, since the day we fly in we go straight to the university and register.

In other news, I am searching routes to learn Akkadian. The Hebrew University offers Akkadian, which is crazy awesome. For more information you can click here. I am aware that it is a wikipedia page, but it is a nice synopsis. If anyone should know one thing about me is that I absolutely love ancient languages. Akkadian is so ancient that it makes Biblical Hebrew (which I study now) seem like a modern language. I think it is a fascinating thing to study the languages that helped the foundations of civilizations that we are familiar with today. Language is a powerful tool. It can be used to destroy, but it can also be used to create. I think people could all stand to learn a couple languages in their time on terra firma.

As of today, I have finished one of my final papers for one of my classes this semester. I now only have my 25 page (minimum) research paper for my senior thesis. I also have a final test, but I am not too concerned about it, and will probably not worry about it until the actual day. It is probably not the best strategy, but it is a strategy at least. I am also getting all of graduate school materials together and then I will eagerly be awaiting to hear either affirmative or negative on my acceptance. That also means I will be putting in for housing and loans and all of that super fun stuff before I leave for Jerusalem. Lots of do and not too much time. My visa is hopefully going to be sent of next week, and then I will be able to actually be let into Israel and stay there.

But alas, my time for blogging must come to an end for now. That huge paper will not revise itself. I will hopefully do a nice celebratory post after I finish that righteous beast.

A Severe Lack of Care

This is not good. My impending travel to Israel is clouding my mind to what is important now. But how am I to focus when I still have so much to do? This isn't going to be a long post at all, simply my musings about my life currently, and how I am trying to live in the present moment.

When It Hits Home

Less than two months!!!! I am not sure how to even handle this. I am excited, terribly sad, and apprehensive all at the same time. I have less than two weeks left in my current semester and now Jerusalem is shockingly evident. I do my Visa process tomorrow and then I have to take care of my loans and all of that good stuff.

One of the things that will be the hardest for me to overcome is missing the "lasts." I am a senior this year, so this means that I will be missing my graduation walk (which in all honesty, isn't really that sad). What I am sad for is this final month of school, because it is essentially my last month with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. And I'm not ready to say goodbye yet. I've vocalized it once before at a meeting, but it really hasn't set in until now. "I come back to no one." When I am done and return home school will have been over for at least a month. My classmates will be seeking jobs and gone, and it really sucks knowing (even though I wish it wasn't true in the slightest) that these next two weeks may be the last time I ever see some of these people ever again in my life. 

My time table is becoming smaller and smaller. There is a world of firsts before me, yet I am finally coming to terms with the lasts that are present around me. 

In my class, "Legacy of Luther," we are discussing Dorothee Soelle and her understanding of mysticism. She identifies three aspects to mysticism. They are: 

1. Be Amazed

2. Let Go

3. Resist/Heal

I finally feel like I am being amazed by my life that will be happening. It is becoming more immanent and more real. I honestly don't want to let go yet, and I think that will be the hardest for me. I won't permanently let go, of course. Simply, the idea that everyone will stay the same. Who knows. Maybe when I come home I will find out I will be in the company of my friends in the future. That would honestly be fantastic, and I can only hope. For now, the emotions are hitting hard.

Finding Community in Aikido

Well, I finally did it today. I did what I said I would do about 5 months ago. What is that you ask? Why, I found the location of an Aikido dojo in Jerusalem.

My introduction to Aikido began with a religion course at Concordia College called, "Religion and the Body." We take Aikido with to help nurture what we are learning in the course. This course (both the academic and the physical side) has been the one course that has taught me the most about myself.

Through Aikido I learn many things. Such as: self-defense, self-awareness, understanding of space, a calmness of mind, repetition is a good thing, don't be afraid to fail, and always have a fresh mind. Another part that was awesome to my Aikido learning was my Aikido community. For the class, this included the class (obviously) but also some of the Sempais (upper-level Aikido members). We train with each other, which includes learning the defensive techniques (yes, that means being thrown to the ground in some cases), as well as spending time talking while cleaning the dojo, and community things like that.

This was a great opportunity to engage with a new community that I was unfamiliar with. I was extremely excited to learn (when I searched) that the Aikido dojo is actually located on Mt. Scopus, where The Hebrew University is located. How handy is that? I am so excited to look further into this awesome chance to continue my Aikido practice, because not only do you practice Aikido in the dojo, but you also practice it in life. There is a philosophy of sorts with Aikido and sometimes I find myself forgetting those philosophies the longer I am away from the dojo. I can wait to get back in.

Harvard Diversity and Explorations (DivEx) Program

This coming week I will have the opportunity to visit the campus of Harvard University, where I will be meeting with students and faculty at Harvard Divinity School. The DivEx Program is for students who have a strong desire to pursue further education at Harvard Divinity School. Like the title suggests, there is a strong tie to the recognition of diversity and social justice issues. With other students from around the world, we come and learn together.

I am extremely excited for this, since last weekend was the Interfaith Leadership Institute (ILI), which I was unable to attend. However, I have seen this DivEx program an ILI of sorts. All the students selected embody a commitment to breaking down the single stories of individuals that we may encounter. This will allow us to create lifelong friendships from all different walks of life. This is a skill that I think is imperative that people have, especially with such a religiously diverse - and often times volatile - world that we live in.

I read a recent essay in the Harvard Divinity Bulletin titled, "Choosing Words over Bullets," by R. Gustav Niebuhr. The essay can be found by clicking here. This essay captured the way I want to lead. No one is perfect, not by a long shot; but we can all strive towards a journey. One of my favorite quotes from the article is:

In the coming years an endless struggle will be waged across five continents, a struggle in which either violence or dialogue will prevail. Granted, the former has nearly a thousand times the chances of the latter. But I have always thought that if the [person] who places hope in the human condition is a fool, then he who gives up hope in the face of circumstances is a coward. Henceforth, the only honor will lie in obstinately holding to a formidable gamble: that words are stronger than bullets.

I think it is really easy to come up against diversity, and feel as though our way of life is being challenge through the interaction. However, we must understand that learning about someone (and likewise, someone learning about you) is not about making them belief everything that you do. That is homogenization, not diversity.

Something I have learned over the past couple of years has been some tools from the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC). For more information, you can click here. We should be able to always bring our full identity to the table. We are all beautifully unique and compromising this beauty is something that we should never do, especially when telling our story to another person. We also can have mutually inspiring relationships with people of different faiths. Martin Luther King Jr. (A Christian) was inspired by Gandhi (a Hindu) who was inspired by Jesus (a Jew). This is a beautiful illustration of how we can all inspire each other, even across religious differences. Lastly, by certainly not least, common action for the common good. We can come together through service and make the world a better place.

These skills are critical for the future. Religion is something that can no longer be avoided in our everyday dialogue with others. We need to acquire the skills that enable us to engage in dialogue that is not divisive, but constructive. Through this, we can use our words to rebuild a world that is continually breaking apart before our eyes. We can abandon our bullets and heal our wounds.

This coming week will help me see how (if I get accepted) Harvard Divinity School would allow me to nurture this skills. 

It's Getting Tangible

I have entered in all the information for my flight to Jerusalem. I am just waiting to see if I have secured a spot on the flight or not. It is a little nerve-racking, since it is taking some time to hear back from the travel agent. If I am unable to secure a spot on this flight, then I will have to purchase tickets for my whole flight to Jerusalem. It won't be such a big deal if this is the case, but it may mean that I have to fly in a couple days early, and stay at a hotel, just to be certain I will be in Jerusalem at the proper time for registration day.

I am really excited for the classes that I will be taking at Hebrew University. The Winter Ulpan (from what it sounds like, it is essentially a J-term kind of class) will begin on the January 24, 2013 and I will apparently be taking Modern Hebrew. I haven't seen anything on the website for a course during the Winter Ulpan, but from what I have heard, it will be Modern Hebrew. If not, that means that I will have a month to get acclimated to the city and the campus. I will probably be a dork though and find some books on Modern Hebrew, because that is how much I love learned new languages. 

When the actual semester begins (on February 26, 2013) I will be taking the following classes:

Contemporary Kabbalah

Original Sins: Genesis and its Ancient Interpreters

Colloquial Arabic I (Beginners)

Modern Hebrew (Level TBD)

All of the course are 3 credits, which is different from Concordia College, where all classes are 4 credits. So, it looks like I will be having a little bit of an easy semester with only 12 credits, which is the minimum for a full-time student. However, the Modern Hebrew course is an intensive course, as we meet for about 8-10 hours a week (depending on your level placement). So Modern Hebrew actually counts for 6-7 credits. This would then bring me up to 15-16 credits, a pretty average amount for me, when I am at Concordia College.

There are so many other courses that sound absolutely amazing, but I chose not to take them. I was talking with a couple of my faculty mentors and they gave me great advice. They told me to narrow it down to all the ones that sound genuinely interesting to me. I did so, and was left with out 15 classes. Next, they told me to figure out the classes that sound similar to some that I have taken at Concordia already. Well that narrowed it down some. Then, I was told to determine what course would I be able to take more easily when I come back home to the United States. This left me with Contemporary Kabbalah and Original Sins: Genesis and it Ancient Interpreters.

As soon as I picked those classes I then moved to emailing the professors. Both of these classes are 3000 level (300-for Concordia people), so they require a prerequisite. I emailed my future professors that courses that I have taken at Concordia, as well as the catalogue description, and the grade I received. I was happen to hear back from both of them within the day, telling me that I would be allowed into the course even without the specific prerequisite course. This was a very awesome email to get.

I have also starting sending out letters, seeking any donations, if people are willing. Living in Jerusalem is not cheap, and being involved with campus organizations doesn't allow me tons of time to get hours in at a job. If anyone out there would like to contribute anything, send me an email at emarsole@cord.edu, and we can go from there.

The Anticipation Builds

So much has happened since my last blog post. I have met with my program coordinator, I got accepted to a weeklong program at Harvard Divinity School, I have met with people on campus who have been to Jerusalem, and (just today) I met someone who actually has a house in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. He even invited me to come over for dinner anytime I wanted and to meet his family. He said he has some children that are around my age.

The anticipation is seriously really nerve-racking. It is hard to keep focused this semester, because I am just looking forward to being in Israel next semester. I have been thinking about my plans to travel over my spring break and the more I am thinking about it, the less I kind of want to do it. Sure, it would be fun to travel, since everything is so much closer over there. However, there will be so little that I will have been able to see within Israel (the parts that I'm allowed to go to). I may just spend those two weeks really immersing myself in the city. Finding extremely random restaurants. Taking in a symphony of something along those lines. Who knows what the city has to hold.

I have also been talking with our new Campus Pastor, who used to live in Jerusalem. She was giving me advice on places that are good. She even told me about Aroma, a coffeehouse chain, that serves coffee like they do here, in America. She also said that I could have Arabic or Turkish coffee. The way she described it to me reminded me of Greek coffee. I am all on board for that. She also told me about local churches and nights that they have open dinners and volleyball. It is really nice learning about all these different things that I will be able to do, here before I leave.

Well, I'm off to class, I will try again and post later this week/weekend with more detailed stuff. 

My Schedule To Be....If All Goes To Plan

Hey everyone. It has been a while since I had a post for my upcoming semester in Jerusalem, so I thought I would give you guys a sneak peek at the classes that I will hopefully be taking when I am there. So here they are:

The Battle Ove The Bible: The Bible in the Eyes of Jews, Muslims, and Christians

Not long after the canonization of the Bible, it had already become the subject of fierce debate between Jews and the nascent Christian church. With the appearance of Islam centuries later, all three major monotheistic religions took part in such polemics. These polemics involved both technical issues surrounding the biblical text and larger theoretical issues such as the method by which it should be interpreted, the identity of its author(s), and the editorial process which it underwent. For each of these issues, we will proceed chronologically from the earliest Jewish-Christian debates in the ancient period to the polemics involving Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Middle Ages. Finally, as we move into the modern period, we will explore the pivotal role that Jewish-Christian disputes played in the evolution of modern biblical criticism. Examining inter-religious debate about the Bible throughout the ages provides a window into central themes in the history of these religions as well as familiarizing us with the questions that form the core of modern biblical studies.

Colloquial Arabic I (Beginners)

During the course students will learn the conjugation of the verbs, declination of the nouns and the prepositions and will acquire a large vocabulary from different fields of daily life. Attention will be given to listening comprehension and to active use of the spoken dialect. A selective list of topics: Acquaintance, self-presentation and greetings; Proverbs and other expressions; Family and kinship terminology; Languages and nationalities; Numbers; Colors. Course requirements: presence in class and active participation are two main conditions for success in this course. This is not a theoretical course and in order to learn how to speak Arabic one must be present and participate. Another crucial dimension is the willingness of students to work seriously at home between lessons; without work at home the above mentioned goals cannot be reached. 

Original Sins: Genesis and its Ancient Interpreters
The opening chapters of the Book of Genesis contain some the most famous and captivating stories in the Bible, including the Story of the Garden of Eden, the story of Cain and Abel, and the story of the Tower of Babel. The universal nature of these stories and their concern with fundamental issues such as what it means to be human has captivated throughout history. In this class we will study these stories with an eye towards understanding their appeal and relevance to both ancient and modern readers. For each story, we will first study the Biblical text from a modern literary perspective. We will then go on to examine how these stories were understood and developed by their earliest interpreters: Jews of the Second Temple period, the rabbis of the Midrash, and the fathers of the Christian Church. Through this course, students will gain an appreciation of what has made the Bible such a compelling and controversial text from ancient times until our own day. 

Jewish-Non-Jewish Relations and Rescue During the Holocaust
The course will examine case studies of Jewish – non-Jewish relations during the Holocaust, as well as rescue attempts – whether initiated by Jews, by non-Jews, or both. Several overlapping topics will be addressed, among them, the events in Jedwabne in July 1941; partisans and family camps; rescue efforts in several European countries (e.g., Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, France, and Poland); the question of the bombing of Auschwitz; and the reactions of the Pope and the Vatican. Each general subject discussed will include an examination of some of the literature on the subject, documents, and visual material where possible. The documents give an insight into the types of sources available to help us understand the events and their significance, as well as the limitations of those sources. If possible, a survivor will be invited to meet the class in connection to one or more of the subjects under discussion. The events at Jedwabne exposed by Jan Tomasz Gross in his 2000 book Neighbors rocked Polish society and the debate engendered by the book continues to reverberate to this day. The course will study his book and some of the discussion around it, as well as additional research on Polish-Jewish relations. Family camps were a singular Jewish phenomenon during the Holocaust, consisting of Jews hiding in the forest in organized, underground towns, protected by armed Jewish partisans. Two such groups in particular will be examined – the Grynszpan group and the Bielski group. The section will include a film, if possible the new film "Defiance" (tentatively scheduled to come out in Israel in April). A variety of rescue attempts initiated by Jews and others in Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, France, and Poland will be examined, as well as the controversial question of the bombing of Auschwitz, the responses of Pope Pius XII and the Vatican, and the Righteous Among the Nations

My Home to Be

So when I study abroad my new home will The Rothberg International School located at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. While living in Jerusalem I will be engaging in the culture. I am extremely excited for this. I love immerse into different cultures. It helps reflect upon the culture in which I was raised, sometimes thinking about how I like things more, but also on how we have much to improve upon.

Probably the biggest thing that I am looking forward to is learning some languages. All the international students go through an intensive modern Hebrew course for the first month of being in Jerusalem. This allows us to engage with the local people of Jerusalem. I also like this because I enjoy communicating with people in their native tongue. There are very few Americans (although this is changing) that can speak other languages. I don't want to be in Jerusalem and expecting people to speak English. I will also be learning Arabic too, so I am really excited for that. It will be interesting learning two languages while abroad, but I am ready for it. I love language a lot and it really fascinates me.

I will also be taking classes while I am there. The one I am most looking forward to deals with Jewish/Non-Jewish Relations during the Holocaust. This will cover things from rescue missions and hidings all the way to the brutal Holocaust. It will be a very interesting class, but it will also offer some of the extremes that occurred during this time period.

Even though my departure is about six months away I am really excited. I have even contemplated getting Rosetta Stone, or something like it, to start learning some Hebrew before I even leave. Yes, I am dork like that, and love languages that much. Who knows what I will do, since I also want to learn Russian. The possibilities are so varied that I could do a lot of things. For now, I am just waiting on that call for a second job during this summer. Hopefully I won't have to wait too much longer. I need to amass some funds for Jerusalem. The more money I have, the more that I will be able to do when there.

A Long Ways Away, But Still...

So technically I won't even be leaving for Jerusalem until January, next year. However, I just wanted to get this blog up and running. Who knows, maybe I will put a post up here every now and then this summer and next fall.