Today I can officially say is the beginning of winter. It rained a little yesterday, and it has been cool and windy, definitely winter.
Last night a bunch of us went to the mall and watched the Matrix. Very cool. On the way home, one group caught a taxi back to school, but another taxi wasn?t coming for us, so we jumped on a bus. It was my first time riding a bus in Jerusalem. Bombers usually dress themselves up as Hassidic Jews to disguise themselves, so I only got nervous when we went through the Hassidic side of town. Nonetheless, we finally figured out that the bus didn?t go anywhere near where we wanted to go, so we got out and found a taxi anyways. But I did get to see a whole lot more of West Jerusalem.
It is the middle of Ramadan and the Muslim Quarter is full of lights and parades every night. The other night we watched one for what looked like the Palestinian chapter of the Boy Scouts. A bunch of them were playing the bagpipes. I was confused until I figured that they were probably told that the Arabs invented the bagpipes first or something like that.
Last weekend we went on a fieldtrip and got to poke around on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre and go to a bunch of other hidden churches in the Old City. I knew the Holy Sepluchre was big, but I didn?t know it was that big. Especially when you count in the massive cistern of St. Helena, and the unexcavated parts beside St. Helena?s crypt. It?s no wonder that they just found another room on the roof that nobody has known about for the last 500 years. We also took a bus trip to the wilderness to see some ruins of monasteries, and even climbed down into the cave of St. Gerasimos.
Last week we went to the Feast of St. James at the Greek Orthodox Patriarch. Of course, James the brother of Jesus was the first patriarch of Jerusalem, so St. James day is a major event. I got to meet the Patriarch, i.e. kiss his medallion, and talked to the priest who is second-in-charge. They were very nice, and very humble. They all knew English very well and were so happy to see us and explain things to us. We also were given this loaf of bread that supposedly never goes bad. It symbolizes the Patriarch who feeds the community the Bread of Life. They receive it only twice a year, hence why it is made to never go bad. Although I think it does get very hard. Rachel is giving her loaf to her sister?s neighbor who is Greek Orthodox, it definitely is a gift that is priceless.
I have just 4 weeks to the end of the semester. It is sad to think that I will be leaving Israel. This place really gets to you after a while. When I go home the first thing I?m doing is going to Taco Bell and then to Wal-Mart, and then to some Chinese food. But then I?m really glad that I?m coming back. I can?t even imagine how sad I will be next Spring when I really have to say goodbye.