Back to Life... Back to Reality

Say it isn't so! I either want to be swept away to another place OR do absolutely nothing, over and over again...

Day 13

The Last big day... Tomorrow, we will still spend the entire day in Jerusalem/Tel Aviv for departure so today is like the last day, really. Since we didn't get to see the Dead Sea Scrolls yesterday, our Selwyn said that we would add it on for the last day. So we began our journey to Massada which meant having to drive along the coast of the Dead Sea for about 45 min. Incredible. It just kept going! Much larger than I thought, but at the same time if you look at it on a man, you can see how large it actually is. Also, it's much smaller today that it was a thousand years ago. Waterline is receding like crazy :( So we arrive to the bottom of the large mount where Massada is and where King Herrod built his palace. Lawrence of Arabia was filmed up there? So it took a huge gandola to take us from the bottom of the mountain to the top (which isn't even as hard of a climb as Cowells Montain to put it into perspective. So we got to the top and it was pretty awesome thinking back to when it was first built and how incredible it was to make the mountain itself part of the palace but what is left to look at just isn't what I expected? There was still beautiful mosaic left on some floors and it is pretty huge. HOw they got all that stone up that mountain... geesh. After that we stopped in Qumran for lunch and shopping. Here we got all our "Ahava" dead sea products. Qumran is where the dead sea scrolls were found in the caves. Seriously right on the dead sea. After that we rushed on over to a beach site to take a swim/float! We only had 45 min to change, float/get muddy/take pictures, shower and get cleaned up. We did it! It was so simple and such a small chunk of time but it was seriously one of the highlights of the trip. So much fun. Falling in the quick sand like pits and getting disgusting water in your mouth, rubbing mud all over you, taking fun floating pictures. It was just great. I loved ever second of it! RInsed the salt off myself and hopped on the bus! Last stop the Israel Museum where they have the "HOLY BOOK Exhibit." Unfortunately, stupid Selwyn took forever with talking too much about stuff I cared less about and that meant that we seriously only had about 60 seconds of exhibit time to talk quickly passed some dead sea scroll writings and that was it, we had to go. Shame on us for not asking him up front where they were so we could skip all his bs. Oh well. We did it, mom did it and it was great. Beautiful trip. What a gift.

Day 12

10/22/10 7:30pm (10:30am PST)

Today wasn’t too shabby. First… surprise, surprise, we visited a church! It was the church where Mary fled to as a refuge in order to protect herself and her unborn child. I believe it was Elizabeth who took her in? I remember something about both Elizabeth and Mary both being pregnant and then Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist?) rolls over/kicks or something acknowledging that the other unborn baby in close proximity or one tummy away, was the messiah. I could have butchered that but oh well. After that, we visited Israel’s Holocaust memorial/museum. It was pretty incredible. We only had about an hour and a half there and Talia and I stuck together the whole time (because we were all free to scatter w/out our guide) and we only got through half of it before we noticed it was time to meet up with the group on the other end. Had lunch and that’s when Selwyn, our guide found out that the museum we were going to next closed at 2pm and we found this out at 1pm. We all hurried and tried to eat but we arrived at the museum (that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls) too late L Luckily, we are going to squeeze it into our schedule tomorrow. After dropping by the museum, we headed toward the west bank to visit Bethlehem. I didn’t know that Bethlehem was in Palestinian control. It was kind of scary/cool/intense driving in. We saw the giant sign, as we were driving in, that mentioned that no Israeli citizens were allowed to enter. There we met up with a new guide who showed us through the Church of Nativity where Jesus was born. It was sort of confusing because when I imagine where he was born I imagine a barn with straw and animals but this was a church. The wait to get in was an hour and a half. The parents and me ended up getting in earlier because of the wheelchair but it was soooooo crazy packed in there. We got to see where he was born and then where the manger was/where he slept. So special. After that, we went to a gift shop that was an official stop practically on the itinerary and then we were on our way. It took a little while to get out of Bethlehem because we had to cross what is the equivalent to the Palestinian border where there is heavy heavy security. At this point people were tired and not paying total attention to what was going on outside of the bus, but my attention was definitely awoken when a Palestinian officer walked through our bus with a machine gun in his hands. My stomach dropped. Seriously. It felt unreal. It looked like a toy. Yikes. Finally at the hotel. Looks like I’ll be up late tonight working on a midterm. Damn.

Day 11

10/21/10

Today… Definitely was the most packed with emotional/ beautiful/ historical/ biblical experiences. We got picked up super late from our hotel and were off to a terrible start but we decided that nothing else was going to hold us back. First visited another church. I forget what it was called but it was where Jesus prayed the night he was arrested. Beautiful Olive Trees are planted in front that are well over a thousand years old. Then we were dropped off at one of the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. We were super nervous because we had my mom and the wheelchair but we were determined to make it happen. First stop… the Western Wall J AKA the Wailing Wall. I wrote my prayers out in the bus on our way there so I had about 4 to stick in the wall. It was heavy. So awesome. Then we started walking through the city/bazaars until we hit the Via Dolorosa where Jesus carried his cross. Oh man. So many steps and uneven grounds. Mom decided she wanted to do it on her crutches instead of somehow being wheeled up the steps. She said if Jesus could do it then so could she. What a trooper. It wasn’t easy. Then we hit The Holy Sepulchre. Now THAT was amazing. Soooo beautiful. Inside was this altar/tomb looking thing that was once a cave but now it’s protected with something around it. It’s where Jesus was kept for a few days after he was taken down off the cross. Then we did lunch and had some more falafel J THEN it was time for our appointment at the Garden Tomb of Jerusalem just outside of the Damascus gate of the Old City. Although it cannot be PROVEN, it is the most commonly believed cite where Jesus was hung on the cross (Skull Hill) In the bible it mentions the “place” where Jesus was nailed to the cross and it mentions a skull. Calvary means SKULL (Calavera). There was some more fun and very convincing facts that would further support that theory. Along with archeological evidence over the years that would also support the theory. ALSO, We saw what it believed to be Jesus’ tomb. VERY near the cite where the believed the cross would have stood. So incredible. After that we went back to Mount of Olives where we did some shopping but it was sort of disappointing because it was quite pricy. I really wanted to get a piece of jewelry that had a widows mite (currency during Jesus’ time) but again… too pricy. Finally arrived at our hotel that we’re supposed to be at the rest of our time here in Israel/Jerusalem/the entire trip. Almost done… So much love.

Day 10

10/20/10

Jordan River! Stopped to visit the baptism site where Jesus was baptized. It was sooooo pretty and an awesome stop. Just watching the people line up in white linens talking into the water, one by one, waiting to be baptized. Sort of emotional, actually. After that we visited Nazareth and the church of Annunciation where Mary was told by an angel about her immaculate conception. Super beautiful. Then we visited Beit Shean and another Roman Theater/National Park. Had some falafel. Yuuummmyyy! Then we headed for Jerusalem passing the Dead Sea, Jericho and then parked on top of the Mount of Olives where we had a beautiful view of Jerusalem and Dome of the Rock and the wall that blocks off the Old City. Then the hard part…. Got to the Grand Court Hotel and they told us that they were overbooked and had no room for us!! We probably waited around the lobby while they tried to figure out what to do with us. Sound Familiar? “Sorry, no room here.” A few of our group members made the Mary and Joseph joke and suggested we sleep in the nearest manger. Finally got settled at another hotel in the Islamic Quarter. Our group including myself…. PISSED! Goodnight.

Day 9

10/19/10 5:30pm (8:30 PST)

So little happened today. I haven’t gone outside AT ALL. I decided to stay in and work on a paper that was due today. Luckily I had a 9 hour head start so I wrote it all “night” US time so it was ready to be E-mailed to a classmate and available for them to print out by the time they woke up so they could turn it in for me. Thanks Brian! I only left the room once to get breakfast. Now I’m thinking I’ll get some dinner soon since lunch consisted of black tea that was already in the hotel room. I’d really like to treat myself to a reflexology massage that the hotel offers but I oughta check out the rates first. Something tells me it may be pricy. Rats. We’ll see. Tomorrow I’ll be back in business, in culture vulture, tour mode.

Day 8

10/19/10 5:30pm (8:30 PST)

So little happened today besides me sitting at my computer. I haven’t gone outside AT ALL. I decided to stay in and work on a paper that was due today. Luckily I had a 9 hour head start so I wrote it all “night” US time so it was ready to be E-mailed to a classmate and available for them to print out by the time they woke up so they could turn it in for me. Thanks Brian! I only left the room once to get breakfast. Now I’m thinking I’ll get some dinner soon since lunch consisted of black tea that was already in the hotel room. I’d really like to treat myself to a reflexology massage that the hotel offers but I oughta check out the rates first. Something tells me it may be pricy. Rats. We’ll see. Tomorrow I’ll be back in business, in culture vulture, tour mode.

Day 7

10/18/10

Got picked up at 8:30 by our new guide. We didn’t exactly get off on the best foot with him. He sort of appeared to be arrogant and not really at our service like most tour guides are. He seemed like he should be a history teacher where all he does is lecture as opposed to assisting a group travel through a country. You can tell he likes the story telling part but his tact wasn’t what it should have been. He is a Brit who moved to Israel long ago and has been a guide for over 20 years. It was hard because it was the first time mom needed to be on the tour bus since her accident where there was a lot of getting off and getting on. Luckily the driver was such a sweet heart and was super helpful with always getting her wheel chair ready that was kept below the bus. First we visit Caesarea, which homes a beautiful roman theater right on the Mediterranean. I guess it’s mentioned in Acts. It was commissioned by King Harod (Hared?). After that we visited Megiddo, which is the site where Revelations says the Armageddon is to take place. It was cool but a lot of work to check out when it didn’t look like too much. Then we visited Haifa, which is the 3^rd largest city in Israel, which is home to Mt. Carmel and the Persian gardens. Beautiful. Then we made a stop in Acre before going to our hotel in Galilee, the Kibbutz Lavi Hotel. It’s really nice and has mosaics all over the floor (even in our bathroom!) Best part is, it has free wi fi!! I finally got me some sheqels and I’m ready to buy me some serious souvenirs. There are 3.5 sheqels to every US dollar. Bam.

Day 6

10/17/10

Another brutal day. Mom decided to stay in because of her ankle, so it was just Dad, Talia and me traveling to Jordan with the rest of the group, and some others groups that tagged along. We mostly focused on the ancient city of Petra. It was incredible. Indiana Jones and the temple of doom was filmed there. Apparently, the “treasury” was added to the wonders of the world in 2007. I don’t know, though. I rode a horse on our way out of the “city.” Dad and Talia walked alongside. Upon finally returning to Israel after border crossing, we got back to the hotel, picked up mom and all our stuff and drove a few blocks to where the local domestic airport was located where we caught our flight to Tel Aviv. We arrived at about 10:30. There was no guide to greet us so we relied on the itinerary to try and decide what time we needed to be ready in the lobby with all our stuff. I thought that was a bit lame of the travel agency. LONG DAY! The hotel wasn’t too cool, either.

Day 5

10/16/10 7pm (10am PST)

Today was filled with all sorts of drama. We awoke to a loud knock at our door at 1am. By that time, I had already slept 5 hours. Talia and I (along with the rest of our group, in their respective rooms) scrammed to get ready to be ready and in the lobby by 1:30am. We were at the beginning of the hike site at 2am with a mass of people and busses at the bottom of the mountain. It was dark and the air was thick, full of cigarette smoke. Pretty gross, if you ask me. It took us a while to get to the top. About 3 ½ hours. Talia was coughing and wheezing the whole way up so we decided to get her a camel the rest of the way up (until we hit the steps, where the camels can no longer “hump” it). That helped a lot. I wanted one so bad but I just couldn’t justify it with being an able-bodied 23 year-old who wasn’t sick. I was just being lazy. So I toughed it out. We made it to the top just in time for sunrise. Oh my goodness. The whole way up I was thinking about how I was tired and sweaty and was tired of dodging camel poop but then we got to the top and I was like “oh yeah… this is why I’m here.” It was incredible. 6 o’clock rolled around and it was time to meet up with our Bedouine guide who I can only assume his name is “Felfel” because that was the name he gave us to respond to and call to when we needed him. We started to head down the mountain and by this time the sun was out and we could actually see where we were going. Although that was a plus (being able to walk without needing a flashlight) it still didn’t help us much as we would have liked it to. We reached the first checkpoint down the mountain but still had many steps to go. There was a “danger” sign and mom wanted to snap a photo of it with the mountain background before we kept going. As she hurried off to the side she took a spill and fell…. Hard. Her camera, of course, smashed to the ground and broke (for now at least). That part was just an annoying inconvenience but she was definitely hurting and it was hard to tell how bad it was until she got up. As she was sitting down, trying to rest before she tried putting weight on her hurt ankle, we were all gazing up at the sea of people, filed in a line coming down the steps of the mountain. We spotted the rest of our group, and as we did, Judy, one of our group members, probably in her 70s fell face first into the ground… there were nothing but rocks below. It made SUCH a loud sound, I was almost positive there was something terribly wrong with her… something along the lines of a serious concussion to the point of a coma, her snapping her neck or hurting her spine… something like that. Thank God after about 5 minutes we saw her moving. To make a long story short, two of the bedouine guides carried her down the mountain. As we saw her passing us, she had a bloody scarf of sorts wrapped around her head and she had a big bloody gash on her cheek. She looked as if she was in shock, with her mouth wide open. It was terrifying. We helped mom down the mountain until we reached the camels. She was crying and whimpering whenever she put too much weight on her ankle. Thank goodness for the camels the rest of the way down. There was a hospital right across the street from our hotel (in the middle of nowhere!) so we stopped there before the hotel. Mom and Judy went into get checked out. Long story short, mom broke her ankle (very minimally, but the doctor said there was definitely some sort of break) but it could have been him saying that so he could charge her for a cast. She refused the cast and was on her way. She wants to get a second opinion in Tel Aviv. Judy wants to sew the Bedouine? Crazy. Anyway, after that we visited St. Catherine’s Monastary; the oldest working Christian Monastery in the world. Built in 542AD, named after a Greek Christian. It was beautiful. In the monastery is the supposed burning bush. It was pretty beautiful. After that, we were on our way for the Israel border. It was sort of hellish getting through but we made it. At the border during customs and passport check we ended up seeing a group of sweet Korean women who gave mom medicine when they saw her fall (painkillers and vitamin C). It was so sweet. Now we are in the southern most city in Israel at the King Solomon Hotel. We drove along the Golf of Aqaba where we could see Saudi Arabia across the water and then what turned into part of the Red Sea where we can now see Jordan across the water. It’s a super nice hotel. Today was so miserable that we definitely deserve this. Mom has a pretty nice wheel chair too J

I already forgot which day. Day 4?

10/14/10 9pm (12:00pm PST)

Today was definitely a day of mosques and sickness. It was our free day in Cairo and we decided to do an Islamic Tour. I was a little surprised when the folks opted for that but it was a cheaper alternative to 600 dollar/person day in Luxor or a 150 dollar/person day in Alexandria. I didn’t mind it. However, today was the warmest day so far and by george, I grew tired of taking my shoes off and putting scarves on my head in that horrid weather! Plus I was holding a parasol and trying to fan myself while trying to make sure my shoes didn’t touch the ground AND take pictures??? It was challenging for sure. We went to 3 mosques before we said “no more, thank you.” They certainly were beautiful. One of the most interesting “fun facts” for the day was that Christian architects designed the mosques we went to (along with countless others that exist) because they were the best architects and they were also the best carpenters so they did all of the intricate woodwork for the alters etc. After that we went on another walk through the bazaar we visited yesterday but this time FAR less shopping and then went to lunch. After lunch we returned the hotel where we then spent the rest of our Egyptian money at the gift shop inside the hotel and then retired. Talia and Dad woke up sick so Mom and I made sure to NOT share water bottles with them and use an excess of hand sanitizer. Talia is snoring right now and I can hear her phlegm gargling. Ewww. Tomorrow we meet at 8:30am for our drive to/through Sinai. Hmmmmmm….

day 3

10/13/10 6:30pm

So just to correct myself from yesterday… It was not Ramses who ruled between the ages of 9-19… that was TUT! He was the fella. Which definitely confused me because how could a king be that famous when he probably couldn’t be THAT influential if he ruled when he was that young. But it turns out his is the grave that archeologists learned most about because it was actually intact. No one wanted to rob it. Well, maybe they did want to… but they didn’t. So when he was found, they found all 4 shrines, the sarcophagus, the 3 coffins found one inside of the next, the mask and the body!!! Bam. Anywho… we started the day off with some churches. A Christian church and then a Synagogue. Apparently, 85% of Egyptians are Muslim and only 15% are Christian. I believe it. After that we visited Cairo Museum. That’s where we saw the King Tut exhibit. Unfortunately the sarcophagus, and the mummified body itself is at Luxor but everything else is in Cairo. It was awesome but sooooo packed and a little smelly. Don’t use the bathroom there, you’re better off at a public park restroom. Mmmm hmmmm. After the museum we had lunch on this boat restaurant on the Nile. After that we went to Mohammad Ali Mosque. That was an experience for sure. Had to take the shoes off, scarf over the head… The whole kit and kaboodle. It was huge!!! Super beautiful. THEN it was time for the bazaar!!! That was something else. Just as I imagined it. Our tour guide said to haggle the first offered price down by 20-50% So… I did. Some good deals… some not so good. Bought a couple of hats (think Aladdin) some percussion instruments… some scarab type goodies… leather camels. The reg. We all met up at a Shish bar and then headed back to the hotel to change for the Nile dinner cruise. That’s what’s next. I got ready in a flash and now I’m waiting to meet up with the group. I hope it’s good. I know there will be food and belly dancing. That’s sort of all I know. Well… I guess I should head downstairs. Goodnight children. I miss you so. ……
Ok. Back from the cruise. Saqqara beer is the jam. Belly dancers have a lot of endurance and I have a new found respect for them. I’m exhausted. Nighty night.

Day 2

10/12/10 7:45pm (10:45am PST)

FULL DAY! I’m finding that the Ramses Hilton likes to feed us. Started the day off with breakfast at the hotel and met the rest of the group in the Lobby. There are only 11 people in our tour for the next 2 weeks. I’ve been on two other tours in my life and both were over 50 people. That being said, although you may think that 11 people are easier to handle, when a couple pairs of people think they are entitled to make the rest of the group wait, constantly, and somehow NEVER notice when they step in front of other people’s pictures…. Well, it complicates things. It’s all good though. I knew that Talia and I were going to be the youngest in the group, but next to us, my parents are second youngest. Anywhooooo… so we started our journey off to see some pyramids! But not the ones we thought we were going to see immediately in Giza. We went to a place where there was certainly a lot of sand, some tombs, some camels and a pyramid with a lot of steps!! We learned a lot about Ramses II. Apparently he was the most important Ramses. Ruled between the ages of 9 until 19 (when he dies). Tomorrow we’re supposed to find out about the controversies and different theories about his death. Oh yeah, I forgot about this other museum we went to before the step pyramid. There was a mini alabaster sphinx and a very large Ramses II that lied down. Everything there was definitely BC… definitely BC. We learned some fun facts during the drive. 22 million people live in Cairo, alone. The Nile has no been home to hippos or crocodiles since the building of the high damn sometime in the 60s, and it’s 500 km long! Visited a carpet making school, which was pretty intense but awesome. Had some lunch and then it was time for GIZA! We checked out the main 3 pyramids and took some photos and all that jazz, and then it was time for camel riding!! It was sweet. Definitely a lot of laughing. We sort of caravanned during our short ride and took tons of pictures. Mom is hoping that one of them will be our Christmas picture. After the ride it was time to see THE Sphinx. Unfortunately, we saw her during sun down so the pictures were not premium photos. By the by, she’s 70 X 20 meters. After that we went to a papyrus museum and cartouche shop. It’s the piece of jewelry (long necklace charm) where they put your name in hieroglyphics. Man, I’m beat!! We got back to the hotel an hour ago and just had dinner. I would like to be doing more shopping but the street vendors make me not want to do any buying. They’re soooooo obnoxious but still not as bad as China. Pay more in a shop with less hassle or pay less on the street with a massive headache?

Day 1

10/11/10 8pm Cairo (11am PST)

So I’m exhausted. Today was full of travel but not in the way where you really got to see that much. Our flight out of JFK was a bit delayed. It was delayed in arriving and then once we finally got on the plane, there was a passenger who collapsed before take off. I had an isle seat and he passed out right in front of me but closest to my dad. My dad sort of caught him so he didn't hit the heck super hard and didn’t bump his head. It was scary. Poor guy. It delayed our take off by a good chunk of time. Took a happy sleeping pill right before take off…. I woke up with an hour left in our flight. It was brilliant. However… freezing and uncomfortable. Eh well. We arrived at 3:45 Cairo time. Looking out of the window before we landed, the building all looked like neutral, earth-toned legos. There was also a noticeable amount of sand J Picked up our Egypt VISA and got our passports stamped and we were out of there! We got picked up by our tour leader (not to be confused with tour GUIDE) and he took us to our hotel. There’s where I am right now… Ramses HILTON! Outside of our balcony is the Nile River. More noticeably, there is some serious hustle and bustle going on out there!! Had a complimentary dinner just now and exchanged some doll hairs for Egyptian pounds. It’s about 5.6 to our dollar. Tomorrow = pyramids time J Apparently the family goal is to find four fancy camels and some how manage to take a picture on them in front of the pyramids. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? Listening to some Beirut, Talia’s taking a shower… I’m afraid to use the electrical outlets for fear of destroying my computer. I have adapters but I just haven’t the CAJONES. I’m missing loved ones already. Can’t exactly pick up my cell phone and use it, at this point in time. Snicklefritz. XO

Day 1

10/11/10 8pm Cairo (11am PST)

So I’m exhausted. Today was full of travel but not in the way where you really got to see that much. Our flight out of JFK was a bit delayed. It was delayed in arriving and then once we finally got on the plane, there was a passenger who collapsed before take off. I had an isle seat and he passed out right in front of me but closest to my dad. My dad sort of caught him so he didn't hit the heck super hard and didn’t bump his head. It was scary. Poor guy. It delayed our take off by a good chunk of time. Took a happy sleeping pill right before take off…. I woke up with an hour left in our flight. It was brilliant. However… freezing and uncomfortable. Eh well. We arrived at 3:45 Cairo time. Looking out of the window before we landed, the building all looked like neutral, earth-toned legos. There was also a noticeable amount of sand J Picked up our Egypt VISA and got our passports stamped and we were out of there! We got picked up by our tour leader (not to be confused with tour GUIDE) and he took us to our hotel. There’s where I am right now… Ramses HILTON! Outside of our balcony is the Nile River. More noticeably, there is some serious hustle and bustle going on out there!! Had a complimentary dinner just now and exchanged some doll hairs for Egyptian pounds. It’s about 5.6 to our dollar. Tomorrow = pyramids time J Apparently the family goal is to find four fancy camels and some how manage to take a picture on them in front of the pyramids. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? Listening to some Beirut, Talia’s taking a shower… I’m afraid to use the electrical outlets for fear of destroying my computer. I have adapters but I just haven’t the CAJONES. I’m missing loved ones already. Can’t exactly pick up my cell phone and use it, at this point in time. Snicklefritz. XO

It's all happening

Tomorrow morning... 6:30am... I'm leaving on a jet plane. It's super stress provoking to go on "vacation" when you're in school, but seriously... I need this so much. Although my life is sort of like the elevator business right now, I really feel like stars are aligning. Very slowly, but I can see it happening. God has dropped some amazing people into my life, along with scooting some of them closer to me. I'm almost done packing. It's going to be an amazing trip. Egypt, Jordan and Israel. I was at a house show last weekend and a good friend told me he thinks I'm going to come back a different person. I know he didn't mean for it to sound dramatic and I didn't take it that way. I understood. Yes, I'll still be me but I feel like it would be impossible for me to NOT come back a little more enlightened and inspired. At the very least, I will have ridden a camel. I've never done that before :) Hmmmm... It's all happening.