After the trip:
We lost wireless internet access in Tel Aviv and unfortunately that ended this journal. Some might say, "Alissa, why didn't you just write your journal in a word document and then update it at the airport?" to those dissenters I wholeheartedly admit my defeat- maybe I'll be smarter once I get my college degree.
Tel Aviv was fantastic. It's a great city, and I can only hope that I'll be back very soon. We saw a lot of interesting things, my favorite being The Gay Center (I'll elaborate more below). We also saw a park of African refugees, took a walking tour, met with Lehigh alums, went to the Rabin Center, the market...there's too much to write! I especially liked that Tel Aviv is so modern. It was a great contrast to Jerusalem seeing Israel in the 21st century.
To evaluate the trip overall, I'll go over my favorite and least favorite aspects of the trip, and some general impressions.
Favorite Site: The Gay Center- The Gay Center in Tel Aviv was my favorite site that we visited. Like any trip to Israel, we spent a good chunk of time focusing on the conflict over the land. This conflict certainly permeates every aspect of society, and it was interesting to see how Israeli culture deals with societal issues outside of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The people that we met at the Gay Center were really great- very honest and upfront. The group discussion was good and I learned a lot about Israeli culture.
Favorite Experience: Wandering around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv- Being able to wander alone through a foreign city is my favorite part of any trip. I like experiencing the culture not as a loud flock of tourists, but as a firsthand observer. It's like being uncover. There are a few instances of this that I look back on especially fondly. First, visiting the market in Jerusalem. On our second trip to the market in Jerusalem I'd had more than enough of being a tourist, so I decided to split from the group. I had just about one glorious hour of not having to be a tour group. I first got lunch by myself at a little cafe on a side street a few blocks off the market. After lunch, I wandered around inside of the market, and then decided to explore the surrounding area for a while. I got lost, but obviously since I'm here now after the trip and not in a back alley of the market, I found my way out eventually. The second time was in the market in Tel Aviv. In Tel Aviv I got to wander around alone- just me and my sack of chocolate milk. Although not the focus of the trip, I especially enjoyed the opportunity to just be part of a regular day in another country.
Least Favorite Site: Walking tour through Jaffa- We took a walking tour around Jaffa. The two tour guides talked in circles and it was mostly old information. At one of our stops however, there was a tour guide talking to an American family so I listened to her instead- she was great.
Least Favorite Experience: Lack of group discussions- We barely debriefed on anything that we saw. I was really disappointed by this. First, there was a whole lot to process, and we didn't have any formal setting to do that. Second, there were certainly some biased information being passed around because of the skewed nature of the trip ("do they censor television here?" "yes, much like Israel's sister country of North Korea, only the chairman's news channel is broadcast here!"). I definitely wish we had structured discussions of what we saw, and a talking stick.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
To continue the last update, here is the end of Sunday night.
Yesterday, after following Jesus's footsteps through the Christian quarter of the old city, we went back to the hotel and met with a group of people from ICCI, which is an interfaith dialogue group based in Israel. The talk with the people in the group were interesting, and had interesting stories about how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affected their dialogue with the other group. After a panel discussion, we had dinner with the group. Unfortunately, I'm about done with the hotel buffet for the rest of my life, so instead of eating I just talked to the panelists. After dinner, I was starving, as were a number of other people who were also sick of hotel food. Jess, Carolina, Rachel, Gina and I ordered Dominos, which was an adventure and disaster in itself. We tried to order cheesey bread and two thin crust pizzas, and with the help of our Israeli security guard we got two pizzas and two garlic parmesan breads. Regardless of the correctness of the order, it was delicious.
Today we began the day with an early trip to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was interesting, our Israeli tour guide and guard weren't allowed in, so we went with the bus driver and picked up a new tour guide on the way. In Bethlehem we went to visit with the mayor and some of the people who worked in his office. When we walked into the government building, the first thing that we saw was a giant picture of Yasser Arafat on the wall. This set the tone for an interesting visit, and it was nice to get a perspective that most American Jews aren't able to hear. After the visit with the mayor, we went to the Church of the Nativity and got to see where Jesus was born. After the church we went to a small shop for souvenirs. That's all the update for today!
Yesterday, after following Jesus's footsteps through the Christian quarter of the old city, we went back to the hotel and met with a group of people from ICCI, which is an interfaith dialogue group based in Israel. The talk with the people in the group were interesting, and had interesting stories about how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict affected their dialogue with the other group. After a panel discussion, we had dinner with the group. Unfortunately, I'm about done with the hotel buffet for the rest of my life, so instead of eating I just talked to the panelists. After dinner, I was starving, as were a number of other people who were also sick of hotel food. Jess, Carolina, Rachel, Gina and I ordered Dominos, which was an adventure and disaster in itself. We tried to order cheesey bread and two thin crust pizzas, and with the help of our Israeli security guard we got two pizzas and two garlic parmesan breads. Regardless of the correctness of the order, it was delicious.
Today we began the day with an early trip to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was interesting, our Israeli tour guide and guard weren't allowed in, so we went with the bus driver and picked up a new tour guide on the way. In Bethlehem we went to visit with the mayor and some of the people who worked in his office. When we walked into the government building, the first thing that we saw was a giant picture of Yasser Arafat on the wall. This set the tone for an interesting visit, and it was nice to get a perspective that most American Jews aren't able to hear. After the visit with the mayor, we went to the Church of the Nativity and got to see where Jesus was born. After the church we went to a small shop for souvenirs. That's all the update for today!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Another day in Jerusalem...
In the morning we took a bus tour of overlooks and significant sites to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict around Jerusalem. For the first two hours of the three hour tour, the fog was so dense that we couldn't see anything, so we just sat on the bus and listened. Eventually the fog cleared up and during the last hour of the tour we were allowed to scurry out of the bus onto windy and wet overlooks, and huddle around shivering while our tour guide talked about the history and conflict in the region. The tour was run by a company that offers a perspective in line with a two state solution where Israel gives back land. It was nice to hear an often silenced perspective.
In the afternoon we toured the Christian and Muslim quarters of the old city. I'd never been to this section of the city, so it was exciting to get to go through new parts. We took the walk that Jesus took from being accused sedition and blasphemy, to where he was crucified, to where he was buried. The site was filled with Christians also walking his path, and it was interesting to see the different traditions for honoring Jesus.
I'm getting tired now, I'll finish writing about today tomorrow... just as a sneak preview to keep you interested, there is Dominos Pizza involved. I know, get excited.
In the morning we took a bus tour of overlooks and significant sites to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict around Jerusalem. For the first two hours of the three hour tour, the fog was so dense that we couldn't see anything, so we just sat on the bus and listened. Eventually the fog cleared up and during the last hour of the tour we were allowed to scurry out of the bus onto windy and wet overlooks, and huddle around shivering while our tour guide talked about the history and conflict in the region. The tour was run by a company that offers a perspective in line with a two state solution where Israel gives back land. It was nice to hear an often silenced perspective.
In the afternoon we toured the Christian and Muslim quarters of the old city. I'd never been to this section of the city, so it was exciting to get to go through new parts. We took the walk that Jesus took from being accused sedition and blasphemy, to where he was crucified, to where he was buried. The site was filled with Christians also walking his path, and it was interesting to see the different traditions for honoring Jesus.
I'm getting tired now, I'll finish writing about today tomorrow... just as a sneak preview to keep you interested, there is Dominos Pizza involved. I know, get excited.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Now that we're all up to speed on the emails, let's tackle today.
In the morning we went to the Holy Lands Museum. The museum followed the history of the "holy lands" (modern day Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iran...etc) from the beginning of recorded history to whenever I got bored and left the exhibit- I'm guessing it went slightly past ancient Egypt. I really did enjoy the museum, the exhibits were interesting and the artifacts we nice, but at a certain point my attention span got the better of me. One of my favorite parts of archeology museums is wondering about the lives of the people who's work is represented in the cases. Although I'd love to know why that individual made that specific pot or bowl, what I'm really interested in is the mundane details of his or her daily life. Did she like music? Did he have kids? What did he do for fun? Was she close to her siblings? These are the things that we likely won't find out from the artifacts, but probably mattered a lot more to the creator than any clay pot ever did. After I finished with the exhibits, I waited in the lobby of the museum and discussed the merits of grilled cheese- a food that Israel seems to be sadly missing.
After lunch and a quick break back at the hotel, we went to the Islamic art center. The Islamic art center was filled with intricate vases, rugs and tiles- a really impressive array of art. As a general pattern on the trip, we've been staying museums about an hour longer than most people would like, so with this in mind (we had over two hours for about 7 rooms) we created a game through the museum. As we walked through the museum we decorated our imaginary houses with painted tiles, plush rugs, and wall mounted weapons- the game helped pass the time, but we still ended up with about a 45 minute surplus at the end. The final exhibit, although unrelated to Islamic art, was my favorite. The museum had a dark exhibit filled with clocks and watches. The exhibit detailed the mechanics and origin of each clock, which excited the engineer in me to no end. There were two clocks that especially impressed me, there was a clock that relied on a cylinder rolling down and inclined plane, and another clock that used small metal balls on inclined planes to keep track of seconds.
This evening, we were allowed to get dinner on our own and then go shopping at Ben Yehuda street. I went to a spaghetti restaurant with Rachel, Gina, and Kester. The food was delicious and we even go dessert! After the restaurant we wandered around town, going in and out of shops, until eventually taking a taxi home around 10pm.
In the morning we went to the Holy Lands Museum. The museum followed the history of the "holy lands" (modern day Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iran...etc) from the beginning of recorded history to whenever I got bored and left the exhibit- I'm guessing it went slightly past ancient Egypt. I really did enjoy the museum, the exhibits were interesting and the artifacts we nice, but at a certain point my attention span got the better of me. One of my favorite parts of archeology museums is wondering about the lives of the people who's work is represented in the cases. Although I'd love to know why that individual made that specific pot or bowl, what I'm really interested in is the mundane details of his or her daily life. Did she like music? Did he have kids? What did he do for fun? Was she close to her siblings? These are the things that we likely won't find out from the artifacts, but probably mattered a lot more to the creator than any clay pot ever did. After I finished with the exhibits, I waited in the lobby of the museum and discussed the merits of grilled cheese- a food that Israel seems to be sadly missing.
After lunch and a quick break back at the hotel, we went to the Islamic art center. The Islamic art center was filled with intricate vases, rugs and tiles- a really impressive array of art. As a general pattern on the trip, we've been staying museums about an hour longer than most people would like, so with this in mind (we had over two hours for about 7 rooms) we created a game through the museum. As we walked through the museum we decorated our imaginary houses with painted tiles, plush rugs, and wall mounted weapons- the game helped pass the time, but we still ended up with about a 45 minute surplus at the end. The final exhibit, although unrelated to Islamic art, was my favorite. The museum had a dark exhibit filled with clocks and watches. The exhibit detailed the mechanics and origin of each clock, which excited the engineer in me to no end. There were two clocks that especially impressed me, there was a clock that relied on a cylinder rolling down and inclined plane, and another clock that used small metal balls on inclined planes to keep track of seconds.
This evening, we were allowed to get dinner on our own and then go shopping at Ben Yehuda street. I went to a spaghetti restaurant with Rachel, Gina, and Kester. The food was delicious and we even go dessert! After the restaurant we wandered around town, going in and out of shops, until eventually taking a taxi home around 10pm.
Here is the second email to Jared, sent in the evening on Friday, March 2nd:
Hi J,
Today it snowed in Jerusalem. It was like a bad joke. Israelis have no
idea how to drive in the snow and the roads were complete chaos. There
was only maybe an inch or two of snow but cars were sliding and
honking- we even saw a car drive down train tracks the wrong way! Today
we went to Yad Vashem which is the holocaust memorial museum. I've
been before but it's always sad. The building has very cool
architecture, you should look it up, you'd like it. After the museum we
went to the market where I got some kinder bueno and gummy peach
rings. Tonight we've just hung around the hotel
and napped. Liana says hi by the way... we spend a lot of time
together but she has not been a happy camper so far. I miss you and
can't wait to see you soon! Please tell me all about work and your
life! I love you!
A
Here is the first email to Jared, sent around 9:45pm on Thursday, March 1st.
Hi J,
I'm
riding a camel through the desert right now! Not really. I'm sitting
in the hotel room in Jerusalem, which isn't that nice but it does have a
concierge who I have been calling repeatedly with demands. I also have
not gone to sleep since you dropped me off at the dialogue center (it's
2:45pm thursday your time). I got in about 45 minutes combined sleep
on the plane ride, took a two hour nap this "afternoon," and now
finally, we are released to go to bed. Liana was a little angel on the
plane and was quiet and slept, but once we got to Jerusalem all hell
broke loose and she acted sort of drunk and pooped like crazy. Today we
went to the Israel museum during the morning. Everyone was super
delirious and I wasn't feeling too well so I went and sat with Liana and
Seth for
a while instead of following the tour. The best part of the day was
getting to see the dead sea scrolls! In the afternoon we had time to
nap and shower (yayyy), and then we had dinner and a speaker. The
speaker was an author talking about the reasons behind and meaning of
Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all claiming Jerusalem for their own-
it was actually very interesting. I hope you're doing well and feeding
that fish. I love you and miss you!!
xoxo,
A
I'm starting to blog about my trip to Israel because 1. I'm jealous that Jess and Carolina have blogs and 2. It's easier than trying to convince my professors that my daily emails to Jared count as a "trip journal." It's a few days into the trip so to get you up to speed I'm going to repost my emails to Jared which detail the first few days of the trip. Please leave comments and enjoy!
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