Hey everyone, I'm safe!! That's the first good bit of news. Currently I'm at my school's computer lab just checking some e-mail for a little bit. I'm about to go into the Old City and get myself a falafel (or however you spell it). I'm not even really sure what a falafel is, but i'm gonna eat it.
So my travels went well yesterday. I left from Indy airport at about 10 am on Wed. and arrived in Tel Aviv at about 3 or 4 pm on Thursday, so it was quite a lot of time on airplanes and at airports, but I arrived at Tel Aviv at last only to take a train, to take a bus, to take a cab to finally get at the guest house where I stayed. I think the only form of transportation I didn't take yesterday was submarine. Well, I'm not going to bore you with very many details right now, but I'd like to give you some pretty fun highlights of my traveling experiences.
* I discovered my ukelele was a pretty good conversation starter. In Indy airport I met and had a long talk with a group of street performers that do were traveling with Renaissance Fair work or something like that. Some were clowns, musicians, and a flute-playing children's fairy. They travel all over the country doing that sort of thing. They told me after about a half hour of talking that I looked and felt as if I fit right in with them. So I think that was a compliment.
* I got to play my ukelele in the middle of O'Hare airport for about an hour, so that was kind of fun.
*When I arrived at Tel Aviv airport knowing exactly nothing about what i was to do next, I met an English-speaking (from England) Israeli soldier going to Jerusalem at the same time I was who offered to help me get to where I needed to go, carry one of my bags (I had 3, so carrying them all at once looked and felt ridiculous), helped me find a good taxi, and was just good company. His name was Daniel, so keep him in your prayers. He told me a really funny story though, that I have to share. Well, apparently dodging service in the Israeli army is a rather common occurence, and one of the most common ways of doing it is convincing the army you are crazy. So they have this interview to kind of determine that kind of thing, and people come in pretending they are crazy by doing weird stuff. Well, a friend of a friend of Daniel walked into the interview carrying a bass guitar and a live dog. He sets the dog down, plugs his electric guitar into the dog's ear, and commences to pretend to play during this entire interview. It actually worked, which was kinda strange.
* I am all set up in my room (I'll post pictures soon). I have 3 roommates, but it's a really big room. I've only met one of em, but he's a cool guy, and I think we'll get along just fine.
* I spent some time last night exploring the Christian and Armenian quarters of the Old City. I touched the Old City wall and walked in and out the Jaffa Gate (my campus is right outside the Jaffa Gate).
* I was awoken this morning at 5 am to the sounds of monks chanting not too far out of my window. I couldn't really be upset, cuz hey, it's kinda cool. I was ready to get up anyways... jet lag really messes with your system.
*And just to give you a post on the weather. It's about 50 degrees (so light jacket weather) and beautifully clear and sunny.
Well, I think that falafel is calling my name. I miss you all so much already. Thanks to those of you who have been sending me prayers and encouragement. I am blessed by all of you! And if you see my parents around, just give them a hug for me!
SHALOM
Friday, January 25, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
The First Entry
So I officially leave for a semester abroad in Jerusalem in 2 days from now. I leave on Wednesday morning to fly out to from Indy to Chicago, then from there to London, and from London to Tel Aviv. I have a lot of mixed emotions about it right now. I've been telling people that the only way I can really explain how I feel right now is by saying my heart is full. That pretty much sums up all the excitements and blessings and anxieties I've been feeling.
With this first entry though, I kind of wanted to give a little background into this blog and the name and how this whole thing is going to go down...
First of all, I want to explain the name of this blog because I didn't just pick it randomly because it sounds cool (which it does). But it actually comes from one of my favorite quotes of all time by one of the wittiest men to ever live. It's by G.K. Chesterton, and the whole quote states:
"I am the man who with the utmost daring discovered what had been discovered before."
I've kind of taken this at a motto for my own life, and it rings especially true this semester. When G.K. Chesterton wrote this, he was speaking of his own personal journey to his faith. He sought out to prove everything that was wrong with Christianity (especially Orthodoxy) at his time. He was sick of what was being done and how it was being done, so he sought out his own path. When he reached his destination of orthodoxy, he discovered that he ended up believing the same thing he had before, but only now he has a deeper, richer understanding as to why he believes what he does. I see my journey to the Holy Land this semester in much the same way. I am going to the land to discover that which had been discovered before in order to gain a deeper, richer understanding of my faith.
I also want to explain a little my fascination with the word "Shalom". You'll probably notice that at the end of each blog, I'll end with a blessing to all who read this, which is simply "Shalom". It's not because I'll be in Jerusalem and it's cliche, but it's because of the deeper meaning behind the word. This Hebrew word translates to the English language simply as peace. But when we typically think of peace, we think of it as the absence of something. When we look for peace, we look for the absense of sound or people or other distractions. However, the ancient Jewish concept of peace can mean "welfare" or "prosperity" or it even goes deeper than that. It is peace as a concept of fullness, where everything is as it should be. When someone is blessed with Shalom, it would translate something like, "I wish you a full life where everything is as it should be, as it was created to be." To me, this is the most powerful blessing one can wish upon someone. So I've been using this for a couple years now.
Well, my next entry will probably take place in Jerusalem, so thank you for reading. I'll try to keep in touch and update about once a week or so, and I'll try to post pictures as well.
SHALOM my friends
With this first entry though, I kind of wanted to give a little background into this blog and the name and how this whole thing is going to go down...
First of all, I want to explain the name of this blog because I didn't just pick it randomly because it sounds cool (which it does). But it actually comes from one of my favorite quotes of all time by one of the wittiest men to ever live. It's by G.K. Chesterton, and the whole quote states:
"I am the man who with the utmost daring discovered what had been discovered before."
I've kind of taken this at a motto for my own life, and it rings especially true this semester. When G.K. Chesterton wrote this, he was speaking of his own personal journey to his faith. He sought out to prove everything that was wrong with Christianity (especially Orthodoxy) at his time. He was sick of what was being done and how it was being done, so he sought out his own path. When he reached his destination of orthodoxy, he discovered that he ended up believing the same thing he had before, but only now he has a deeper, richer understanding as to why he believes what he does. I see my journey to the Holy Land this semester in much the same way. I am going to the land to discover that which had been discovered before in order to gain a deeper, richer understanding of my faith.
I also want to explain a little my fascination with the word "Shalom". You'll probably notice that at the end of each blog, I'll end with a blessing to all who read this, which is simply "Shalom". It's not because I'll be in Jerusalem and it's cliche, but it's because of the deeper meaning behind the word. This Hebrew word translates to the English language simply as peace. But when we typically think of peace, we think of it as the absence of something. When we look for peace, we look for the absense of sound or people or other distractions. However, the ancient Jewish concept of peace can mean "welfare" or "prosperity" or it even goes deeper than that. It is peace as a concept of fullness, where everything is as it should be. When someone is blessed with Shalom, it would translate something like, "I wish you a full life where everything is as it should be, as it was created to be." To me, this is the most powerful blessing one can wish upon someone. So I've been using this for a couple years now.
Well, my next entry will probably take place in Jerusalem, so thank you for reading. I'll try to keep in touch and update about once a week or so, and I'll try to post pictures as well.
SHALOM my friends
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