Jerusalem and Rockets & Sirens

It's been a busy last week, since we started most of our placements. Last Thursday, we went to Jerusalem, starting at Mount Herzl to see the memorial for Ethiopian Jews who died on the way to Israel. The memorial is in a weird place and you have to walk through a gate to get there, but you can't get back through the gate, so we walked through the woods to get back on the path. We don't know if that was an intentional part of the visit or not. I'm not convinced it is. The memorial had stone dojos (traditional Ethiopian houses) and written testimonies of some individuals' experiences. I read a prayer and a short poem I found online and then we had a short discussion about what we thought. I liked that we saw a part of Mount Herzl that we hadn't seen on Birthright. Apparently, many Israelis don't even know that it is there (and it was only completed a few years ago to commemorate those who died on the trek in 1984). So, it was pretty cool to see it.

We then met up with a tour guide to hear more about Ethiopian Christians in Israel. It was an educational day! We toured the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and learned about the struggle over the claim to the roof between the Coptic Christians and the Ethiopian Christians. After eating the best hummus in the old city (I'm not even kidding - it's across from one of the stops of the Via Dolorosa trail), we walked through the Arab market to the Ethiopian Church. Unfortunately, it was closed, but we still got to see the outside. The tour guide left us then and we went to meet Kasa, an Ethiopian Jewish activist who lives and works in Jerusalem. She told her amazing story and we were able to ask questions.

I stayed in Jerusalem for Shabbat and had a lovely time with my Hebrew teacher from Jewel and her family. I also met another girl who is living in Jerusalem. So good to meet new, cool people! Then, it was back to the grind Saturday night - back on the bus, that is. The transition from Shabbat to the rest of the week I think is much harder when you keep Shabbat. All of sudden, you are thrown back into life of technology and transportation and it absolutely breaks away from that calm and quiet you have during Shabbat. I don't keep every Shabbat, but when I do, it's always new and I always learn something about other people, myself, and the world in which we live.

Monday night, we went back to Jerusalem for the MASA opening event, which included one hour of MASA promotion and then the Idan Raichel Project came on. The beginning was ridiculous and over the top. But the Idan Raichel Project was so amazing. I wish we could have stayed longer, but alas, we had to get back to Gedera. I'm hoping to get some of his music because it was really great!

On Tuesday, we had ulpan as usual. In the middle of the class, after break, the siren starts going off. We all stop and wonder what we need to do. Thankfully it was just a drill, and apparently the other ulpan teacher knew about it. Our program coordinator came in and confirmed that it is just a drill, no need to worry, and we will have a discussion about it later. Our ulpan teacher didn't seem too fazed by it, and we briefly had a discussion about better to have rockets than natural disasters which you can't get away from, really. I thought about the tornado sirens at home and how scared I always am when I hear those sirens. The sirens sound the same here, and everyone knows what to do when they go off. In the States, I always had a plan for what to do in case of a tornado. While you can't really escape either, the point the ulpan teacher made about better have rockets than natural disasters really made me think. Is it better? I don't know. It's just a different threat. I'm sure an Israeli in St. Louis during tornado season would be terrified (although probably not because Israelis seem to know what to do in case of an emergency). Regardless, while the chance of rockets coming to Gedera are very, very slim, it is good to know exactly what to do when sirens go off, and we had a discussion after ulpan to remind us. (Don't worry, Mom and Dad! Everything is good here!) Just another part of life in Israel.

By the way, I'm working on uploading photos from my trip thus far. Please be patient and I'll post the link when I have them all online! Have a good rest of your week and Happy Halloween for those celebrating it!