Todaystarted out wonderfully--my roommate's alarm kept going off every couple minutes for a large majority of the night, but surprisingly I got quite a bit of sleep and was feeling pretty well. We went on a tour of Jerusalem this morning for a few hours, and I must say--i'm not sure Jesus would even recognize it anymore! It's almost as modernized as many current cities, which for some very silly reason I didn't realize. My favorite part was the Arabic side (the East side)--the writing is cool, the music is awesome, and the feeling (while seemingly a bit hateful) is generally respectful. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (administered by at least three different Christian faiths--interesting huh? plus, some Ethiopian Orthodox Christians built a monastery ON THE ROOF of the Holy Sepulchre Chapel...crazy!), visited Jaffa gate, walked through parts of all but the Muslim quarter in the Old City, and surveyed the city from the Austrian Hospice. We visited the Jewish side, too--unfortunately they didn't seem quite as...tolerant. Oh well. I did hear street performers, though, so that was cool. Oh, and incidentally, i've decided I REALLY don't like tours when we have to stop and group so often to stand around while someone talks. I think i'd rather do the research myself and go at my own pace when I have the option from now on (not here, but on other trips).
After our tour we went to lunch, then a short nap before more orientation meetings lasting until dinnertime (UI fought SO hard to stay awake, but it just wasn't happening). Lunch and dinner were both really good, and I've heard from a number of sources that I could very easily gain MORE weight here. Help! oh dear...after dinner we played some 'get to know you' games that are super awkward for everybody, had brownies and then dispersed for the evening. I've been pretty grumpy during parts of the day (probably because I'm still so tired) and that hasn't been really fun, but other than that the day turned out alright. Too bad Krystal isn't here! Anyway, it's getting late and i'm still exhausted so I'm going to bed. Goodnight till tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment