Floating away in the Dead Sea.

Shalom!

Being reminded of the current date, I have realized how in need my blog is of an update on our latest travels! (Side note: Melanie Barr I hope you enjoy reading this.) I don't even know where to begin!! On Monday we returned from our 10-day journey to Israel, The Holy Land. Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start...)

Day 1: We left Athens Sunday morning, and endured extensive security checks at the airport.  Soon we arrived in the beautiful Tel Aviv! The beach and sunset here were absolutely breathtaking. Nic and I rejoiced greatly with each other at our first sighting of McDonald's. We spent a total of $20 on a few "dollar menu" items, now aware of exchange rates, and I received my first sheckle! Sunday afternoon, with our amazing guide Yossi, we toured the town of Jaffa. We stayed the night in Tel Aviv and left in the morning for the beginning of a non-stop adventure. 

Day 2: Monday morning we left for Caesarea Maritime where we saw an ancient port, with lots of ancient ruins to accompany it, of course. We began to make biblical connections here. We have a journal (referred to as our "moleskin") that we are supposed to take notes in, but I will say most students quickly lost interest in this task! Later we visited Mt. Carmel, and then the town of Nazareth. Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday night we stayed at our first kabbutz. These were very interesting villages. More or less a community of people who all work together...to make it work. 

Day 3: Tuesday we visited Capernaum, which had MANY ruins. It was actually very interesting seeing the structure of this area. We also went to the Mt. of Beatitudes, which was probably one of my favorite things of the trip. We saw briefly the church there, but proceeded to get off the beaten path (literally) and hiked down a hill through enormous amounts of mud. It was not uncommon on this trip for Yossi to take us to non-tourist places (away from "tourist traps" as he would tell us). This hike landed us at a beautiful part of the hill with views of the valley and the Sea of Galilee. Yes, Jesus and his disciples once trudged through here. Today we also went to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. WOW! It is so beautiful. We could have all stayed by its side for hours. After a dip in the waters, we later went on a boat ride on the sea. We sang our "HUG" song, Magnificat. None of us wanted to leave. But, alas, good ole' Yos keeps ya going. This is really all I remember of that day. 

Day 4: Wednesday we went to Tel Dan. We went on a hike through the woods and followed the spring that runs through it. We also went to Caesarea Philippi, where Erin dropped her camera in the water. (I have to use memorable events to distinguish between all the places!) 

Day 5: Thursday we went to the banks of the Jordan River. Also one of my top places. There is only a small portion of the river that actually belongs to Israel. After reading in the scripture so many times about this Jordan River, it was amazing to see it in person. So calm. So alive. It was beautiful. After this we entered into the desert!! I fell asleep on the bus to the green, rolling hills of Israel and woke up to the tan, rocky hills of the desert. This is the Israel we all imagine. We visited Beth She'an and ended our day at our 2nd kabbutz by the Dead Sea. 

Day 6: (Whew I need to summarize more...) Friday I remember, because there were flash flood warnings (Yes, in the desert!). So after learning that 95% of the people who die in the desert because of flash floods, we continue up the mountains. Our trip to EnGedi was cancelled because it was closed. We went on our 2nd desert walk today. We also visited Qumran, and ended our day at the Dead Sea. Which, might I add, was the best and worst experience of my life. Close your eyes. Imagine the story I am about to tell. Nic and I, holding hands, walk into the sea, laughing and ready to experience the floating and awesome dead sea mud. After we get to knee deep waters, the smiles are washed out by a wave of pure salt. The wailing begins. Now slipping on the mud/clay floor with every move, feet are flying in the air and the burning commences. We finally (with no ease at all) make it to the rest of the group, experience a few moments of floating, and continue to scream from burning throats and eyes which feel on fire. Consider yourself warned, do not enter the Dead Sea with contacts in. It was fun to float, and especially to rub dead sea mud all over ourselves, but I would never want to experience the pain again. Luckily Nic and I looked after each other as we took turns being blind. No need to say we disturbed the peace that other swimmers once had. :) 

Day 7-rest of the trip: Jerusalem here we come!! I am going to combine all our days in Jerusalem and give you the highlights (as I recall them). The Garden of Gethsemane. An amazing place. There are 2 sides to the garden. A private side, which we went in, and a touristy side. In the private garden, there were people everywhere praying, olive trees constantly above you, and a peace that is hard to find within Jerusalem. The Garden Tomb. While there is no way to say if this is where Jesus was buried, it was great to see the sort of tomb he would have been laid in. The Wailing Wall. Such a cultural experience! With hundreds of men and women praying at the location nearest the "Holy of Holies", we actually went down to the wall and witnessed the prayers and notes being placed in the wall. The Market. Shopping!!! So much fun and quite an experience. I actually got proposed to because the seller said he liked me because I asked for a scarf for free. :) The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Not a fan. These buildings are very gaudy and full of people worshipping walls, oil lamps, pictures, etc. I was very overwhelmed here. The Church of the Nativity. Not as adorned, but just as gaudy as they all are. Here we viewed the 14-point star, where legends say was the location of the birth of Jesus. Interesting to see. While staying in Jerusalem, we visited Bethlehem. Seeing the wall separating Israel and Palestine was quite a wake-up call. The town did not have a ton of things to see but I am definitely glad I got to go. A lot of political images. 

We saw SOOO much on this trip. Knowing that this is a mere summary of all that we saw I only hope I will be able to remember Israel as I saw it with my own eyes. I loved Israel. It was beautiful in so many ways. I really had no idea what to expect going into it and was surprised constantly at all that Israel holds. I cannot wait to go back!! 

Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Marathon & Brauron, and then next Thursday we leave for a 3-day trip to the Peloponnese! It's non-stop from here! 

Bonnie and I shopping in the Plaka in Athens.

Preparing for Israel!

It's been a few days since I've blogged. All the days sort of run together so it is difficult to recall what I haven't told you about or what events have happened! This past week has been mostly consisting of classes, homework, and taking it easy in Porto Rafti. Today Bonnie and I went into Athens to shop in the Plaka. Verses going in on a weekday we had a lot more time to just take our time and really absorb the atmosphere. A lot more people were out and about today - a great time for observing European fashions! Some moments we convinced ourselves that we blended in with the groups as we said, "Yasas!" to store owners we passed by, however we were quickly brought back to reality when a couple approached us by a shop and asked if we were American. They were very exciting to see fellow Americans so we had a nice chat with them. We also visited a shop with a woman who Bonnie had visited a pervious day. Stella, was very excited to see her again and meet me. She and the store owner enjoyed helping us learn a few extra greek words and phrases. Tonight I will be packing for our 10-day excursion to Israel. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning and will return to "home" the day after Valentine's. Knowing we are leaving for a time and being able to look forward to returning to the Artemis really does make it feel like "home", which is very comforting. With little to zero internet in Israel, you won't hear from me till I am back, so I hope you are looking forward to hearing all about my experience in Israel as I am to discover it! Who would have thought I'd ever have this opportunity? Not me. I am blessed beyond words to be here and to be seeing and learning so much. I only expect much more to come :) Until I return ... S'agapo!