Turns out Glacier National Park is spectacular even when it rains all day.

Labels: travel

I'm back from time with the family in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park, plus an afternoon at the New England Aquarium and a weekend visiting an old high school buddy in Chicago. It was good, at least until the flight home, which was canceled. (I got home only a day late, but my luggage still hasn't caught up.) Highlights: climbing Dorr Mountain, whale (and bird) watching, visiting the Field Museum and the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Much bio-geeking, but nothing work-related. Although it turns out that the Field Museum has a fishbowl genetics lab in the middle of one exhibit, where you can watch actual scientists do basically what I do all day. Kinda creepy. Anyway, time for photos:

Labels: travel

After blowing the last two weekends in an undistinguished collegiate cycling career, I'm now off to the EVO-WIBO biology conference in Port Townsend, Washington. It's a smallish, regional conference, but the Pacific Northwest includes some great biology departments (UBC, anyone?). And, if I go out a day early, there's supposed to be good birding in the vicinity.

Labels: travel

And now, after bringing me to San Jose, it looks like it's gone. I rode my bike to the convention center for registration and the first delegate session yesterday; I locked it in a rack in front of the convention center for the afternoon and evening. But when I headed back to my hotel late last night, it was gone, lock and luggage racks and all. I've just finished filing the police report; I think my renter's insurance will give me some coverage. At least I won't have to deal with the complications of putting on my flight home anymore!

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Well, as I said earlier, I'm done with my bicycling journey. Yesterday morning I took the train from San Francisco to San Jose, and I've already been to my first delegate meeting. But more about that later. I've got ten days of biking to report on! Let's take it day by day:

Thursday, 21 June

Dave and I were supposed to leave the Willamette Valley bright and early this morning, after meeting in Portland, OR and spending the night at the home of Josh Miller, a mutual friend from EMU days. Then, getting into Portland on the 20th, I got a call from Dave - he'd had a flight delay break up his travel from Washington, DC to Portland, and he'd be a whole day late. Fortunately, Josh was good enough not only to put up with me for an extra night, but to show me around Portland all day, including its fantastic Japanese Garden. Dave didn't arrive till 0300 the next morning!

Friday, 22 June

We slept in late (or I did; Dave had jetlag to work out) and Josh drove us down to the coast, cutting off the day's travel we no longer had time for. Leaving a bit after noon from Lincoln City, OR, we biked the first 71.7km (44.5mi) to Beachside State Park, where we spent the night. Good news: many Oregon (and California) state parks have campsites reserved for cyclists and hikers, available at a much lower rate.

Saturday, 23 June

Our first full day: 123.0km (76.4mi) south on U.S. 101 to the Bluebill campground in Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The scenery was spectacular - we saw sea lions and Brandt's Cormorants at a series of caves along the coast. I was soon tired of being passed by the endless line of RV's that filled the highway, though. We met up with two girls who were also on a long ride, theirs from Seattle to San Francisco, and ended up splitting the more pricey U.S. Forest Service campsite with them.

Sunday, 24 June

Kind of a rough start to the day; we woke up to the tail end of a light rain shower, and then, not three miles into the ride, my rear tire went flat. We made 122.5km (76.1mi) to Humbug Mountain State Park, where a dinner of fresh shrimp and scallops we found in the nearby town of Port Orford went a long way to making things better.

Monday, 25 June

We made poorer progress today; while coasting down a hill a little north of Brookings, OR, I paid for abusing my brakes with a major blowout in my front tire. Till Dave hitchhiked to the nearest bike shop for a replacement tire and we got back on the road, we'd lost almost half a day. The sunset at Harris State Park, where we finished the 82.8km (51.4mi) ride, was pretty spectacular.

Tuesday, 26 June

The day started cold and misty, and mostly stayed that way. We crossed the border into California early in the morning, and by early afternoon were off the 101 on a scenic alternative route through Redwood State/National Park. It's been more than a year since I'd last seen Sequoia sepervirens, and it was powerfully refreshing to coast through cool avenues of giant trees. We finished at Patrick's Point State Park, 134.4km (83.5mi) from our start.

Wednesday, 27 June

From the start of the trip I'd said to Dave that I wanted to try and bike 100 miles, a century, at least one day of the trip. This day we woke up early and Dave made me put my bike where my mouth was. We split from the 101 again and followed the road inland through dairy country, then up into the mountains and onto Avenue of the Giants, which runs through Humboldt Redwoods State Park, and emerged, almost at sunset, at a park in Benbow, CA. Although I was definitely at my limit, we'd ridden 188.6 kilometers - 117.2 miles!

Thursday, 28 June

After the long day, we took a shorter one, which was fortunate, since the route took us away from the 101 for good, and onto California Route 1, which wound up over the highest climb of the trip and back down to the coast. It was slow going, but it felt great to end the day in the little beach-access town of Cleone, where MacKerricher State Park is. Total distance: 99.5km (62.0mi).

Friday, 29 June

A longer day through easy-riding country (rolling hills, farmland, and little coastal towns) took us to Salt Point State Park, an area of dwarfed conifer forest right on the coast. Four days after my blowout, my new tires still hadn't had a flat. Distance: 131.1km (81.5mi).

Saturday, 30 June

And now we had only a short day's ride down the last stretch of coast before San Francisco. A quick 110.0km (68.4mi) took us through Bodega Bay and past Point Reyes National Seashore to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, in the distant suburbs of San Francisco.

Sunday, 1 July

Journey's end, just about. A short morning ride of 54.8km (34.0mi) took us through the northern suburbs of San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge. We made it to First Mennonite Church of San Francisco only by the end of the Sunday service, but in plenty of time to sing Old Number 606 as a benediction and join the welcoming congregation for a potluck fellowship meal. We spent the day seeing the city, and slept at the San Francisco MVS house.

The next morning, I took the train to San Jose (Dave got up earlier to bike it), registered at the convention center, and attended my first delegate meeting in sweaty track pants and my only clean shirt, the San Jose 2007 t-shirt I got when I registered. My luggage arrived after the delegate session.

Which brings us to today, the first full day of the convention. It's just starting, and I need breakfast. More later!

Labels: biking, photo, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

And showered, and well fed after a fellowship meal with the friendly folks at First Mennonite Church of San Francisco. Dave and I camped north of town last night, and rode across the Golden Gate Bridge about 0930 this morning. Photos and news of the bike trip will be here as soon as I re-connect with my laptop at San Jose, maybe sometime tomorrow.

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Bicycle touring forces you to adhere to the spirit, if not the letter, of Mark 6:8. Dave and I have to pedal everything we take uphill and down ourselves, so we've got to make sure we only take what we absolutely need. That means, until I get to San Jose and meet up with the luggage I'll send ahead with a contact from Portland, I've only got four t-shirts and two pairs of cycling shorts to wear, plus layers to thermoregulate if it's cool and a rain jacket/wind breaker. It means I'll trade in my Chacos and their oh-so-comfortable but oh-so-weighty footbeds for a lightweight pair of cheap flip-flops. It means I'll just take a Lexan spoon and some disposable plastic bowls for tableware. Actually, there's probably still somewhere I can cut weight. I leave at noon tomorrow. Gotta go!

Labels: biking, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Next Wednesday I leave for Portland, where I'll meet up with Dave at the airport - and we hit the road the next morning! And I guess I'm ready.

Saturday I drove up to the REIoutlet in Spokane and bought myself a rear rack and some panniers, the last equipment I needed to buy for the trip. Tomorrow I've an appointment at the local bike shop for a final pre-tour tuneup and inspection. And I'm keeping up with my training commitment, riding at least 100 miles a week. Over this weekend, I'll have a go at one last long ride of 50 miles or more. And I'll have to start thinking about packing.

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

Today, on the road to San Jose 2007, I saw a moose. And a yellow-headed blackbird. And a peregrine falcon. And two great blue herons. I only got a photo of the moose.

I'll be biking into San Jose (where I'll be serving as a congregational delegate representing Landisville) with Dave Landis, and I need training. So I spent much of today cycling on the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes, a rails-to-trails route that runs almost across the Idaho panhandle, from Plummer to Mullan. It was hot today, but it was a beautiful ride, with lots of scenery and wildlife to take my mind off my aching legs.

Total, I rode about 47 miles; the goal was to make it from Plummer to Smelterville, which is a bit over 51 miles, but I had a spectacular blowout just before the Enaville trailhead (conveniently), and had to call my ride to come get me there, instead. I'd been warned I needed new tires pretty soon; looks like I'm getting them tomorrow.

I'm also starting on non-athletic preparations for the conference; Saturday's mail included my copy of the Delegate Assembly Workbook. Right inside the front cover is a copy of a last-minute addition - a nonbinding statement asking that Mennonite Church USA take action to "end the practice of disciplining or expelling congregations based on differing interpretations of the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective. It's for "discussion only," as an attached note from the Executive Board says, but this is still a striking statement. Mennonite history could be cynically characterized as a long list of splitting events - could we come around to the idea that we should remain in communion with people who hold opposing views?

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

create your own visited countries map

Looking at a map like this, I feel not very well traveled. Especially considering that this is an overestimate: I've been to Quebec, Calgary, and British Columbia, so I get to count all of Canada! Guess I need to get overseas again.

Labels: travel

Biking the Oregon Coast with Dave Landis, that's what. We'll aim to get to San Jose in time for the 2007 Mennonite Church USA conference (though I have not decided whether to attend yet). I'm really excited. Presently the only thing I need to work on is my bike - do I take it as is, upgrade it to a more typical road/touring configuration, or try to buy a more suitable one used?

Labels: biking, church, San Jose 2007, summer, travel

As if last week wasn't enough out-of-Moscow time for awhile, I drove down to Boise yesterday to catch bikemovement on their way through Idaho. Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship provided the group with dinner, showers, space to spend the night, and a place to hold a really good discussion with local church members about the meaning and importance of church and the future direction of our denomination. It was great to meet up with my old friends in the bikemovement group and to make som new ones as well - I really think the project can make an important impact as they cross the country.

Labels: church, travel

I've just spent a week in Glacier National Park, and I have the photos to prove it. My roommate Noah put the whole thing together, planning a week of day-length and longer trips for the two of us and three of his friends from Boston, who flew out just for the trip. The images speak for themselves, I think - we saw some spectacular sights. I missed out on two awesome day hikes due to crappy footwear (never spend less than $100 on shoes you plan to use for carrying a 30-pound pack more than 10 miles), and photos from those days, plus additional images of the places I was able to get to, will be on Noah's Webshots page pretty soon, I think.

Labels: nature, photo, travel

I've just finished the first full day of Evolution 2006, and I'd say it's been a great trip so far. I took the train from Lancaster to Manhattan Thursday to spend the day in Central Park and at the American Museum of Natural History, where I saw a fantastic fossil collection (photos when I've got more bandwidth available on flickr) and an excellent presentation by Sean Carroll. I spent most of the next day wandering Manhattan, too; the conference officially started today. Chris Smith, Will Godsoe, and I presented our work on Joshua tree this morning, and it was pretty well recieved if I do say so myself. Now I can relax for the rest of the conference.

Labels: photo, travel

As Douglas Adams once wrote, "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase, 'as pretty as an airport.' " I'm getting a tour of airport ugliness this week while flying east to Evolution 2006 on Long Island. Right now I'm detouring to visit the folks in Lancaster, and also to buy clothing and toilettries to replace the contents of the duffel bag I left on an Amtrak train on my way from the airport in Baltimore to Lancaster. So I'm not feeling very sanguine about the national transportation grid at the moment. My photo-essay on the ugliness of terminals is here. Expect it to expand as the week goes on.

Labels: photo, travel

Here, then, is what I'm going to call a 'proper conclusion,' delivered only 18 days after my return. I've got most of my photos into the official Middle East Cross Cultural Semester album, spent two weeks doing more or less nothing (as per holiday custom), had Christmas (and a proper turkey dinner--thanks, Mom!), and been asked "What was the highlight?" often enough that I feel justified in being a little sarcastic whenever I hear it: "Well, I'd have to say Egypt was the highlight of the trip. And Jordan, that was the highlight, too. Then things got a lot better when we pulled into Beit Sahour, but I think I hit the real high during our stay in Jerusalem..."

Anyway, this is going to be the last entry in this 'blog. I'll be posting photos somewhere else on my site come the start of second semester (think the first full week of January), but this is the last original writing I'll be doing. I feel like I've already said most of what I want to say (which makes it harder to answer questions from folks who, having missed this 'blog, are genuinely curious), but I'll top it off with what I said at the last big group meeting, in a restaurant in Rome just before our final free travel period: this has been the least boring three months of my entire life.

I'll finish with the closest I've come to a coherent reaction to the Conflict, a paper on that very subject which I turned in to Linford just before we left Israel. It’s not much, but it’s what I feel like using to wrap this all up:

My Response to the Middle East Conflict
or
What I Learned on My Cross-Cultural

The Arab-Israeli conflict is, in a word, a mess. In fact it is such a tangle of half-truths, prejudice, hatred, and stupidity that it frankly leaves me at a loss for words. I have, however, an assignment to fill three to four pages, and I shall not shirk it. Perhaps the act of putting pencil to paper will even force out answers that have thus far merely brooded in my subconscious. I shall set forth my Response in a series of conclusions, listed in approximately the order in which they arrive in my forebrain. I hope it will suffice:


CONCLUSION 1: WAR IS STUPID. I have always held this belief, but never so keenly as I do now. In my mind it has now gained the strength of a law of Physics, akin to universal gravitation or general relativity. I feel I could almost calculate the stupidity value for a war based upon such data as the number of people involved, duration, quantity of war crimes committed by each side, et cetera. I don’t know what specific fact of this conflict has driven me to this, whether the sight of 1600 IDF soldiers protecting 500 slaveringly mad settlers in Hebron; Palestinians who smuggle bombs into Israel under wounded children in the backs of ambulances; or the two parties insistence that the other side is responsible, which calls to mind two toddlers sitting in the midst of a ruined kitchen pointing to each other with jam-stained fingers. I know only that I want no part of such idiocy.

CONCLUSION 2: WAR IS BEYOND OUR CONTROL. Having seen the massive multilateral efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and their practical results as of today (nil), I have come to see war as not a preventable disaster like an industrial accident but a catastrophe beyond human control, like a hurricane. Individual humans cannot stop a hurricane, only batten down the hatches and join the clean-up crew when it passes. Likewise, we must learn not to try to prevent or end war, but merely make sure that we do not join in the madness and help pick up the pieces as best we can afterwards. MCC attempting to end the Conflict is like MDS trying to stop an earthquake. This does not nullify the value of reconciliation efforts, but it does mean that they must be seen for what they are: damage control. Some day the war will end, either because the Arabs give up or because Israel ceases to exist, and until that day it is the task of those who want peace to see to it that the casualty list is as short as possible.

CONCLUSION 3: NEITHER SIDE HAS THE MORAL HIGH GROUND. I cannot see one good reason to favour either Arabs or Jews in this conflict. Both sides are deeply pained by horrible, stupid things that have happened to them in the past; Jews have the Holocaust, Palestinians the Catastrophe. Both sides have committed atrocities to further their agendas; Jews have ‘targeted killings’ which kill more innocent than guilty persons, Palestinians have suicide bombings which do the same thing with less efficiency. To pick one side and say that God is on it is absurd, and I have no patience for either the evangelical Christian Zionist or the CPTer who calls Israel the enemy. The Zionist needs to remember that other human beings call the Promised Land home, too; CPT needs to stop telling the Jews they’re wrong and learn to suffer with them as they have with the Palestinians. A balanced view is unlikely to be popular on either side, but I have never considered popularity an indication of what is right.

CONCLUSION 4: PACIFISM COMES ONLY THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. As laid out more thoroughly in my independent research project, I have come to realise that what I consider true pacifism – the belief that violence is so evil that it is better to die that use it – is utterly illogical by the standards of the world outside the Church. True, self-sacrificial pacifism can only be the result of the suspension of logic that is a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Thus, no Jews or Muslims hold this view; even those who abhor violence will use it as a last resort in self-defence.

As long as violence is allowed as even a remote option, it will be used, for who can say whether this re-occupation or that suicide bombing represents the last desperate straights of the Palestinian or Israeli nation? With that, any terrorist attack or economy-strangling curfew becomes self defence and fair game. Violence is the weapon of mankind’s great Enemy, and, once legitimised in even the most extreme circumstances, it will be used, for it wants to be used.

It is precisely because of this that I fear there can be no peace in the Middle East until all the parties concerned are Christian. If a successful peace process requires both Arabs and Jews to surrender self-sufficiency and security, then at present neither will be willing. If even one side would throw down its arms and give in to the other’s demands, peace would be possible, but while neither can conceive of sacrifice for greater good there is little hope.

What then are we Christians to do it a world where storms of stupidity and violence strike whenever some idiot shoots a visiting dignitary or the American President decides to finish what his father started? We cannot choose one side to back, and we cannot try to teach peace without Christ. We cannot even hope to use politics – which is really just a polite means of exerting force – to try and patch up the world. We can only love those God puts in our way, and tell them that they need not be bound into the madness of the World. This alone should be enough to occupy us for however long we must live in human-directed history.

Labels: middle east, travel

I'm back! Two days since we arrived at Dulles now, and I'm over the jet lag (I think) and ready to wrap this sucker up. I'll have to get a proper conclusion online once I get home from EMU, but for now I'll post my last journal entry:

10 December 2002

Cross cultural is over. I am once more aboard a Lufthansa 747, sitting between Adam and Todd; am I only imagining what is to come in the next three months, or remembering it all? Remembering, of course. I've ample evidence: a full journal, a dozen exposed films, even the new sweater and leather jacket I'm wearing. But I can feel it all sliding away into the mists of memory.

Our final free travel, this time in Italy, was spectacular. I joined Brandon, Jesse, James, and Adam in a drive to Florence, where I found a great deal on the aforementioned leather jacket and we picked up Dave Stutzman for the real adventure--the Dolomites.

I shall certainly come back to the Alps; they were wonderful, Platonic mountains, robed in forest and crowned with snow, brooding over wooded valleys where cold streams foamed past Germanic villages. The Dolomites are the Italian Alps, close to the border with Austria, and the culture is more German than Italian: houses are peak-roofed and wood-framed, and everyone speaks Deutsch. We settled into a nice hotel in the ski resort town of Urtsei and spent two days taking it easy and exploring the mountains. There was snow on the ground and Christmas décor on the houses--it put me in the mood for what will probably be a great holiday season. Dave introduced me to German Christmas cookies, soft ginger snaps dipped in orange-flavoured chocolate. They tasted like everything I assosciate with the holiday.

We hustled back to Rome yesterday, and flew this morning from DaVinci Airport to Frankfurt, where we just caught the flight to Dulles. With luck we'll arrive by 1615 EST, and I'll meet the folks and the LB by 1700. Hopefully I'll get a nap between now and then, but the first thing on my agenda is, for now, the upcoming hot lunch.

Labels: middle east, travel

This is, in all probability, going to be my last update from overseas. I'm coming home in eight days! Not sure I'm ready to return to the mundane world of school and family again, but I do begin to feel that my life has been on hold for three months, and I am ready to pick up where I left off.

We left Athens two days ago and took a bus ride through Corinth to Patra, where we climbed aboard a ferry to Bari, Italy. The ferry ride was fun; it was like a miniature cruise ship, complete with a casino, two bars, and a cafeteria full of overpriced entrées. We arrived in Bari yesterday morning and rode another bus on the six-hour trip to Rome. Italy in fall is beautiful: blue cloud-shrouded mountains loomed over autumn-reddened grape vines in the roadside vinyards. We even caught a glimpse of snow on the distant peaks as the bus plunged into the driver's nightmare that is Rome.

I spent today touring the ancient parts of the city: the Forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Palatine Hills. Also stopped at Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, and the cathedral of San Giavonni (the Pope's own congregation). Rome's quite a city, packed with people and little European cars and motor scooters, and so full of monuments and memorials and churches that you can barely throw a brick without breaking a stained-glass window or chipping a marble pediment. The food is more expensive than in Greece, but very, very good. Pizza and pasta are always easy to find, and the locally made ice cream (gellato) is supurb. My four years of high school French have stood me in good stead, since Italian is similar enough that I can easily undertand most important signs and notices. The city Metro is amazingly crowded, and pickpockets are a real danger there; Dan Umbel lost seventy euros just getting aboard this morning.

Look for wrap-up writing and a description of free travel in the next week and a half or so, sometime after I get home. Till then, watch EMU's site for new photos and the final writing.

Labels: middle east, travel

Nazareth has no internet access. At least, not for those of us not willing to hike for half an hour and then pay NIS 30 (about US$6) to the hour. This is my excuse for another long gap. I'll try to fill it.

Our last week in Israel was in Nazareth, working at the Nazareth Village. The Village is a recreation of a first-century terrace farm, house complex, and olive oil factory on a plot of open land in the middle of modern Nazareth, an Israeli Arab town of some 60,000. We had a couple of jobs for the week: weeding and cleaning up around the visitor's centre and museum, helping to build a new path up across several terraces, and just wandering around in first-century costume to create ambience while groups of schoolchildren slouched through.

The biggest project, though, was helping in the construction of a new house using authentic materials and techniques. We worked under architectural conservator Mark Goodman, who managed to take a pile of limestone and a mob of inexperienced college students and produce the beginnings of a house. We only finished a few courses of two walls, though, since it was time-consuming labour. Selecting new stones, heaving them into place, and getting them well-seated took ages even with Mark's guidance; he told us that, if we all stuck around, we could maybe have finished the whole project in a month.

We left Nazareth early Tuesday morning (00.30, to be exact) to make it through Israeli security in time to catch our 0600 flight to Athens. I made it through without a personal baggage search, but I was one of maybe half a dozen such lucky individuals. There were no major snags, though, and we had plenty of time to relax before the flight left. I bought a copy of John Michner's history of Judaism, The Source, at an airport bookshop. We arrived in our Athens hotel by noon to start a week of self-directed exploration, following a list of sites to visit compiled by Linford and Janet.

Athens is probably the most enjoyable city I've ever been in. It's got plenty of great historical sites to see; I've been to the Acropolis, the ancient agora, the cell where Socrates was supposedly kept prisoner, and the old Olympic stadium. Food is great: gyros, cheese-and-spinach pies, and all sorts of other treats. I picked up a kilo of superb fresh clementines at a street vendor's cart for only one euro, which is, conveniently enough, equal to one US dollar. The weather's a good bit colder than in Israel, though, and I've had to buy a new long-sleeved shirt and a nice, thick sweater.

Janet managed to arrange an excellent turkey dinner for Thanksgiving yesterday, but the holiday is still a reminder of home. Good thing I'll be there in about 11 days. Tomorrow morning we leave for Corinth, and then take a ferry to Italy for a day or so in Rome and four days of free travel. I'm planning on joining a group headed for the Dolomites in the north of the country, where Janet says there are several interesting Anabaptist historical sites.

The latest news out of Israel isn't so hot: terrorist attacks in Kenya and Israel just yesterday, and re-occupation of Bethlehem/Beit Sahour last week. Not much to do from over here but pray (interestingly enough, there wasn't much more to do over there...).

Finally, check out EMU's site for photos of kibbutz life and Nazareth, plus more writing, of course.

Labels: middle east, travel

Finally made it online after two weeks' hiatus. Between a phone line outage and heavy use by other members of the group, I've not had any significant access to the one free Internet-attached computer during these two weeks at Kibbutz Afikim.

The kibbutz (or collective farm; the word is Hebrew for 'togetherness') is located just south of the Sea of Galilee, reletively near the quiet Jordanian Border. For those of you worried by recent reports of an Arab attack on a kibbutz, that's miles away from the place where those unfortunate events transpired. We're quite safe, as usual. We've been put up in dormitory-style quarters, with three meals a day provided by the kibbutz's communal dining hall. Kibbutz Afikim has a lot of different industries: a big, state-of-the-art dairy; bannana, orange, and avocado fields; and a factory that makes electric scooters. The kibbutz layout looks a bit like a college campus in the States, with buildings placed more or less at random within a network of sidewalks and green spaces. Folks get around by walking, bicycling, or riding those electric scooters at breakneck speed. Dogs and cats wonder through the place at random, looking for attention.

Our days have been quite simple here. We ususally spend about three and a half hours in light work (I've raked leaves, cleaned up the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and helped plant bannanas in the greenhouse) in the morning, and then have a few hours of class after lunch. We've had lectures on the Holocaust, Zionism, and the history of the kibbutz movement (all are interrelated, of course), and classes in conversational Hebrew. We're also using our copious free time to finish up our biggest paper of the semester; mine should be done in the next day or so.

Labels: middle east, travel

We're at the end of our time in Jerusalem; we've tomorrow free, then we leave Monday noonish for two weeks on a kibbutz followed by a week at Nazareth village. Really, this feels like the end of our time in Israel, since from here on out we'll be moving away from Jerusalem. I've come to like the Old City, with its M.C. Escher-esque maze of homes, shops, and shrines. This last week at the Ecce Homo convent on the Via Dolorosa has been particularly nice, since it put us right in the heart of Old Jerusalem. I've had good street vendor falafel or shawerma for lunch every day, and can look off the roof terrace of the convent to see the shining Dome of the Rock near enough to touch.

Classes this week (coordinated by the Bat Kol Institute) have been good: lessons in Jewish spirituality from a Reformed Rabbi, Jewish Biblical interpretation from a priest, and Hebrew from a professor at Hebrew University. We've also had an excellent set of lectures about the harmony of the Old and New Testaments from another priest. Results are that I can now sound out a fair amount of Hebrew (though I keep mixing up the printed and handwritten forms of the Aleph-Beth) and understand how significant the first three verses of the Gospel of Mark are for understanding its roots in the Old Testament.

We've also had some good field trips. Tuesday night we stopped in at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank called Efrat, where we talked (well, I say 'talked...') with a trio of friendly settlers about their side of the conflict. I came away rebalanced; after that night I now realise the obvious fact that, were I to start with the assumptions the settlers do--that they have a right to the land and that violence is an acceptable means to defend that right--I would probably come to the same conclusions they do. Last night (the beginning of Shabbath) we attended a Reformed synagogue, and this morning we went to the Orthodox-affiliated Jerusalem Great Synagogue. Both were very interesting, though we understood very little of the service at the Great Synagogue, where the prayer books were only in Hebrew.

Tomorrow I'll probably try to attend Sunday services somewhere in the Old City, and spend the rest of the day working on upcoming assignments. I might also go shopping for a nice, touristy t-shirt.

Expect updates to become less frequent once we leave Jerusalem; I'm not sure where I'll find Internet access on the kibbutz or in Nazareth. Also, look to EMU's site for an update in the next day or so; I've just sent off the next batch of writings.

Labels: middle east, travel

That's all for now. Expect photos on EMU's site within the next few days; my group was one of two with digital cameras, so I'm sure we'll have some shots featured.

Labels: middle east, travel

Our luck (or God's provision) continues to hold up under the most potentially frustrating circumstances.

Set out late (about 0800) this morning across the north of the Khula Basin. At about 1100 we crossed the Jordan River and found a nice swimming hole. We'd just jumped into the swift, cold water when a veritable horde of Israeli high school students walked out of the bushes. Had to fight our way past them for the entire length of the trail along the Jordan, but eventually left the behind.

Reached Tel Dan by 1300 and had a lighter-than-expected lunch--lighter because our large store of flatbread turned out to be mouldy. Had to toss out the lot, which left us with canned fish (sardines and tuna), nut bars, and Nutella. We headed out to reach a campsite some three miles to the south, a long walk along the highway in the hot sun. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found it closed; we're still not sure why because the guy on duty didn't speak much English. He also shoo'ed us out so he could lock the gates. This left us with two options: to walk back to the Jordan (a couple of miles since we'd essentially doubled back on our previous route) or try and hitch a ride back to Kiryat Shmona to spend the night at a hostel north of town at Tel Hai. Since the former was en route to the latter, we started toward the Jordan with our thumbs out.

What happened next has left my personal theology in a mess, but I'm still thankful for it. We'd been walking the highway for half an hour, getting no response from passing drivers and more pain from our feet. Kirk, with a blister count pushing double digits, was barely mobile. At that point I prayed, not for anything in particular other than that things would work out. And, contrary to my rock-solid belief that God doesn't work like that, we got an answer. A van pulled over and the driver took us to Tel Hai at top speed. The hostel is great--clean rooms for less than the 'Gaucho,' and within walking distance of the local shopping mall, where we had dinner and a movie, Tom Hank's excellent Road to Perdition. I shall have to amend my beliefs, and I don't care.

26 October 2002

Two days past, and lots to journal.

Set out this morning with plans to make Yehudia Nature Reserve, Israel's largest and most scenic park, by nighttime. Got there by bus and hitchhiking with plenty of time, and found the campground already partially occupied by a group of international students from Haifa University. They were very friendly; Eric and I spent a good hour and a half explaining what Mennonites were to a woman from New Jersey and a man from China.

The water was boiling for dinner when our other neighbours arrived: about 150 Israeli boy and girl scouts. They settled in, started meals, and began an all-night jambouree. I've thus far in the week been kept awake by Israeli soldiers, rain, and wild animals, but I'd take any of them over Israeli kids having a party all around us. We stayed up late (past sundown) to chat with the Haifa U. group, but still had to go to sleep amidst the din.

Woke the next morning to see the scouts leaving (good riddance), and spent the day hiking along one of Yehudia's two main trails, which ran along a wadi floor past several springs, waterfalls, and the famous hexagon pools, where volcanic basalt has formed walls of hexagonal columns. We spent a lot of time jumping into deep, cold pools from high places, and all in all it was a great day.

27 October 2002

Last day of free travel, and it definately feels like we're on the downslope.

Spent yesterday hiking the other big trail at Yehudia. This one follows a wadi-bottom river and springs too, but it's about half as long, and it runs over more interesting terrain. Occasionally we'd have to get along on footholds nailed into cliff faces, and two or three times the trail ended at one side of a nice, deep pool only to pick up on the other side. We got in lots of swimming, and finished in high spirits.

Returned to Yehudia's central campground for lunch, then shouldered our bags and started the hitch-hiking trip to our last stop: the hotel at En Gev, on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee. Took us about three hours to get there, but we were glad when we did. US$100 got us a comfortable four-bed room and breakfast this morning; for supper we barbecued knockwurst from the hotel's mini market on the grill outside our room's patio. We fell asleep watching a bad Shwartzenegger movie (is there a good one?) on TV.

28 October 2002

Arrived in one piece at Ecce Homo at abotu 1730 tonight. Busses from En Gev turned out to be easy to get; took at 1350 bus from the hotel to catch a 1400 bus from a junction at the south end of the Sea to Jerusalem. Accomodations at EH turn out nice: partitioned-off dorm rooms with individual sinks. Regular, prepaid meals start again tomorrow, and I'm ready for them. Otherwise, it's a bit odd to be back with everyone, swapping stories. Class may be a bit of a shock tomorrow.

How was the last week? Good. No, great. We hit all our goals: hike from Tiberias to Dan, see Yehudia, finish at En Gev. We saw a lot of the Israeli countryside and towns in the process; there is no better way to see a country, I think, than to hitch-hike through it. We had excitement and adventure and really wild things, and I feel stretched. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Labels: middle east, travel

Well, I'm back in one piece. Free travel was everything I'd hoped for: excitement and adventure and really wild things. Without further ado, then, I'll present excerpts from my journal for eight great days:

20 October 2002

First day out and we're already camping in interesting times.

Took the 0810 bus from Jerusalem to Tiberias, only to learn that, in Israel, 'express' busses aren't. Unless, of course, 'express' means stopping at just about every bus stop and minor village along the road to Tiberias.

Took off from Tiberias in high spirits, following Route 90 north along the west coast of the Sea of Galilee until it intersected the Israel Trail just east of the Pass of Arbel. We followed the trail further north through orchards and pastures and into the Wild, where it plunged into a wadi about two hours outside of Tiberias. The track dove straight in between sheer cliffs into the froth of brambly brush and scraggly trees on the wadi's floor. Sometimes we followed the dry riverbed at the bottom, sometimes we walked along higher up the cliffs. Once a fox and a hyrax scrambled up the hillside ahead of us, and we investigated one of the caves that pockmarked the cliff face to find it full of pigeons and bats all chittering and chirping at our intrusion.

As the sun went down we turned at what we thought was the right place and climbed an unmarked path through a small farm only to realise we were miles short of the town, campsite, and--most important--water source at which we'd expected to end the day. At this point we had about 1.5 litres between four of us; since the farm afforded no help, we were high and rather dry. We hiked back down to a good campground at the spot where we'd left the trail, had a nice, dry supper, and went to sleep a bit concerned.

21 October 2002

Well, God and the kindness of strangers have provided, and sevenfold.

But first: last night was rough. Were woken once or twice by voices at close quarters, and when a flashlight came up the dark trail we expected trouble. Fortunately it turned out to be Israeli soldiers on a training mission--odd that soldiers should be a relief, but at least they were a known quantity. They were doing navigation practise, and, after building a cairn of stones near our sleeping spot, trooped in and out of the site all night. Also howling from some sort of canine on the other side of the wadi, above the highway that runs there, but no trouble from them, either. The worst was the rain, which caught us in the open during the early morning hours. We pulled out tarp over ourselves and tried to sleep through it.

So, managed to waken today both thirsty and damp. Light breakfast (no-one very hungry) and we headed for the trail. Dave located a four-by-four road that ran off the Israel Trail and up past some helpful-looking settled areas, so we took that. An hour and a half of painful hiking on about 300 mL of water each took us pas some unhelpful construction workers and several tantalisingly gushing (but closed) pipelines. FInally we saw what would turn out to be the town of Safed in the distant heights, and a smaller collection of homes and pastures below it and just ahead of us. We wheezed up a hillside past a herd of irritable-looking cows to a small farmhouse where a saint of a woman gave us a whole jug of refridgerator-chilled water. Further into the development someone else supplied us with enough water to make it to Safed, and we were just about to head on up when a fellow in a van pulled over and, completely unasked, offered us a lift. We accepted gratefully.

Safed provided us with drinks, water refills, more bottles to increase our carrying capacity, and lunch (kosher pizza). We then found our way back onto the Israel Trail by dropping into another wadi just west of town. As we descended, the vegetation became thicker and greener until we suddenly heard voiced and rushing water: the trail ran by a locally popular natural feature, a cold mountain spring at the bottom of the wadi. We took a quick dip in a handy pool and headed off up the wadi to our campsite, the well-equipped public campground we'd meant to get to at the end of the previous day.

22 October 2002

Another fine day, though harder than previously. We're withing two day's hike of Tel Dan and the end of the trail, though.

Slept well last night. Awoke a bit late and struck out up the nearby wadi towards the ridge of Mt. Meron, the majority of our route for the day. The ridge afforded excellent views of Israel thanks to incredibly clear weather: we saw from Mt. Hermon in the northeast to the Sea of Galilee in the south to the Mediterranean in the west. Also found two good public campgrounds with running water, so we were set for the next day. We were just trying to find the trail along the road on the north slope of Meron when a trio of motor scooters whizzed past, their occupants waving. Turned out to be another bunch of EMU'ers; we exchanged stories, recommended the public trails we'd just hiked, and parted.

Hiked downwards into another wadi, and camped in a nature reserve/public grazing land at the bottom. Our site was, basically, a cow pasture, but it was the only handy flat ground for miles, so we settled in. Heard howling alarmingly close as we set up camp, but the anonymous canines didn't bother us. (Dave Barryesque aside: 'The Anonymous Canines' would be a great name for a rock band)

23 October 2002

Headed northeast this morning, climbing out of our wadi and up the ridge along the west side of the Khula Basin, a huge area in the Golan that looks like a bit of the American midwest: flat, irrigated cropland from one end of the rectangular basin to the other. The view was hazy but nice; could see Mt. Hermon on the far horizon.

Stopped at Ramat Naftali for lunch at the local country store/post office, then walked further north and off the ridge to reach the bustling town of Kiryat Shmona by dark. Since we had no good choices for camping that night (either on the ridge, with no flat land, or in the middle of a field in the basin) we decided to find a hotel room, a nice rest from the outdoor life. Inquiries in town led us to the 'Gaucho,' a very gone-to-seed hotel at the southern end of town. NIS 250 bought us a badly-furnished three-room suite with insufficient sheets and a television that only worked if you twiddled the tuning buttons for five minutes. Still, there was a hot shower in it for us all, and a good dinner to be had at the kosher fast food joint (Burger Ranch) down the road. We were satisfied.

Labels: middle east, travel

Got back yesterday from a four-day extended tour of the Galilee and the Golan Heights. We stayed at a kibbutz-owned hotel on the Sea of Galilee, and so went swimming every evening in the body of water upon which Jesus walked. Lots of swimming this week, actually, in addition to the Sea, also in the Mediterranean amongst the ruins of Herod the Great's coastal palace in Caesarea and in some warm springs in the southern Galilee. Oh, and we also learned stuff, too.

Seriously, it's been another great week. I can't really separate out everything we did, but I'll try to hit hightlights. We saw lots of ruined cities, this time with much more Greco-Roman influence, since the area around the Sea of Galilee lays right across the international highway. There were even a couple of Byzantine-era synagogues with mosaics of the Zodiac on their floors; Paul says that was just the thing to do at the time. We saw a reconstructed Jewish village from about the same time period, which would have looked a lot like towns from Jesus' time, and walked in the ruins of Capernaum, where the Franciscans have built a spaceship-looking church atop the octagonal Byzantine church built over the ruins of a house church that is thought to have met in the home of Simon Peter. We took a boat out into the Sea of Galilee; I leaned over the front rail and let the wind blow in my face.

My bird sightings are improving, too, especially since I finally found a field guide to the birds of Israel and the Middle East. Spotted little egrets, a grey heron, a sunbird, a pied kingfisher, and others that slip my mind at the moment; I am keeping track of them in the book, though. Now if only I had a pair of binoculars...

I'll probably add to that list of birds in the next week when I head off for free travel, backpacking with Kirk, Eric, and Dave L. We ended up buying the Hebrew topographical maps and translating the place names and keys with help from Paul and a good pocket road atlas of Israel. We've finally settled on a broad itinerary: we'll start in Tiberias, take the Israel Trail (sort of the Israeli equivalent of the Appalachian Trail, it runs from Eilat north to Dan) up to Tel Dan in the very north of the country, and then head south to Yehudiah Nature Reserve. Basically, we'll be backpacking the whole eight-plus day free travel period, which will be rather longer than any of us have done before. I can't wait to get started.

New stuff on EMU's site; photos from the past two weeks at JUC, and my own journal entries. I'm having trouble recruiting other people to contribute for web writing for some reason.

Labels: middle east, travel

A lot's happened in the last week, and I'm not going to be able to type it all up. I'll try to hit the highlights, though.

Last Wednesday we toured the countryside around Jerusalem, including stops all along the Mount of Olives, which runs along the city to the east. There we saw Dominus Flavit, a Franciscan-run church that commemorates Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem; and the Church of All Nations, built on the supposed site of Christ's passion. In the afternoon we stopped at Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum/memorial: very powerful, if heavily under construction at the moment.

Thursday we did the old City of David, the southern spur of the Temple Mount which no longer lies within the walls of the Old City. We also sloshed through Hezekiah's Tunnel, the system that carries water from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, about half a kilometer away. The water varied from about ankle depth to mid-thigh, and we had to duck occasionally - adventurous but not particularly nervous-making. We then hiked back up Mount Moriah to the base of the Temple Mount and toured the remains around the base of the Mount.

Friday we started out hiking into Wadi Quilt, a deep valley/canyon east of Jerusalem along the route to Jericho. Saw lots of wildlife: martins and hyraxes. At the bottom was St. George's Monastary, where I saw my first incorrupt body; turns out that this particular miracle amounts to natural mummification, not perfect preservation of the corpse. Thence to Jericho, where we perused our first tel. A tel is a hill made up of layer upon layer of settlements built one atop another. Jericho's is old; I climbed inside the base of a tower that was dated to 8000 BC - before the invention of pottery. Finished up the day hiking in Wadi Sorek, west of Jerusalem. It was more green than I'd seen in a long time, but it reminded me a bit of the forests along the Atlantic coast: scrubby pines and olive trees in sandy soil. The trail ran through an abandoned Arab village with two springs, and I joined a group in scrambling up the tunnel from which one issued; we found a nice cave, but couldn't go further back in.

Friday evening we had a classical Jewish Shabbat dinner, and then Dave L. and I went to the Western ('Wailing') Wall and joined the Orthodox Jews there for a little prayer.

Saturday we took a bus down into the Biblical Negev, the southern wilderness, and we went by way of five tels: Beth Shemesh, Azekah, Mareshah, Lakish, and Beer Shevah. Picked up a painted potshard from the Arabic habitation at Beth Shemesh, and explored the underground systems of a home on Mareshah. Saw lots of lizards and a family of partridges. We spent the night in a hotel at Arad.

Sunday we started by bussing over to Madaba, the hilltop fortress where a bunch of Jewish Zealots made their last stand against the Romans in the first Jewish revolt. Most of the ruins up there were from a fortress/palace built by Herod the Great (the one who tried to kill the infant Jesus), and some were quite well-preserved: plaster wall facings, tile mosaics, and a 3.8 million-litre cistern to support Herod's Roman-standard bath house. Saw fan-tailed ravens and Tristram's starlings all over the place, and tried to get some photos.

Thence to the Dead Sea, where everyone bobbed like a cork for fifteen minutes and then, as the salt water worked into cuts and scrapes long thought healed, jumped right back out and made for the showers. The floating was OK, but I don't think I'd go out of my way to do it again; that water's toxic stuff, five times saltier than the sea. From there we went to the springs at Ein Gedi, a little pocket of Hawaiian-looking greenery in the desert. I joined a bunch of the guys in jumping into one of the bigger pools, which was paradise after the Dead Sea. Saw some ibexes up on the cliff faces as we went out, as well as gangs of Israeli schoolchildren on field trip with their armed guards. Finally stopped at Qumran, the site of the community that wrote the famed Dead Sea Scrolls; saw their settlement with its complex water system for ritual bathing and a few of the caves where they stashed the scrolls (but didn't go in).

Today we've a free morning before we get our first exam after lunch. Spent most of it trying to find a good map for free travel with Dave L, Eric, and Kirk. No dice. The map store Dave heard about at JUC doesn't seem to exist, and other sources either failed to have English topographical maps of Israel or to be open. So it goes.

Labels: middle east, travel

Whew! JUC's programme is keeping us busy from dawn to dusk, or as near that as makes no difference. Yesterday we spent the morning in introductory classes and the afternoon in a walking tour of Old Jerusalem. Dr. Paul Wright, our instructor for the whole programme, turns out to be a great lecturer, full of interesting facts and Biblical connections as we strolled along. We stopped at or passed by the Dome of the Rock, Al-Aksa Mosque, the Western ('Wailing') Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I'm taking photos faster than ever; now halfway through roll number nine.

Today was a bus/walking tour of the land around Jerusalem: the Mount of Olives and what's now called 'United Nations Ridge.' Stopped at Dominus Flavit ('Our Lord wept'), a Franciscan church commemorting Jesus' final approach to Jerusalem over the Mount; the Church of All Nations, which marks the spot where he prayed in Gethsemane; Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust museum/memorial; a scale model of Jerusalem just before the Romans destroyed the Second Temple; and the road to Emmaus. I love it - I feel as though I'm not just walking in Jesus' footsteps (or a close approximation thereof) but actually coming to know the land around Jerusalem.

EMU has updated its site again with stuff from Week 3 in Beit Sahour.

Update on College Night: Got a response from Joe Lapp himself last night; I'm not very impressed, but see what you think:

Jeremy,
I tried your emu e-mail address and the message was returned. Krista gave me this address. Hope you all are doing well. We are doing our best to buildup the military on this side. (Believe that and I will tell you another story.)
Joe

To The Middle East Cross Cultural Students:

This is in response to your concern.

Not many things and decisions have a pure context. Administrators always have the issue of getting things done, deciding who should make a decision and who needs to be involved in the process of making a decision.

The Rockingham--Harrisonburg public schools organize a college fair for one evening. Last year they asked to use our facility where the graduation exercises were held. About 75 colleges have representatives at a table to represent their university to prospective students and their families. As part of a college fair it is typical to have person representing the branches of the US military because they provide financial support to students attending college.

For the second year the R-H organizers asked to use our facility. The organizers were very pleased with the hospitality they received last year. The president's cabinet discussed the issue of allowing the college night to be on our campus again this year. We decided the advantages out weighted the disadvantages. We considered the presence of military to be incidental to the larger purpose of the event. When we made our decision the circumstances were different; war did not seem as imminent as it does today.

We recognize not everyone thinks this is a proper decision. As an administration we have agreed not to have the college night another year in the future without the university community have a through discussion of the issues. We will probably have that discussion among faculty, staff and students begin soon.

I find it very interesting that many persons objecting to this incidental presence of the military urge the university to be open and welcoming to the gay and lesbian community, another hot button issue in the church.This seems to me to be inconsistent. At the same time I recognize others can say I am inconsistent by allowing any military presence whatsoever on a campus that wants to "walk boldly in the way of nonviolence and peace" while seemingly restricting the presence of practicing gay and lesbian persons.

As I said in the beginning of this reply--not many circumstances and issues allow for a pure and consistent decision. I join in being very concerned over the world situation. I regret that our appeals President Bush are not providing us much hope.

The following is a report sent to the campus community after a meeting to discuss the College Fair event. By-the-way, the fair went very well with everybody acting respectfully to our guests. Many persons were very interested in the materials on a table providing information re alternatives to participating in the military.

Respectfully,
Joe

[I should note at this point that the following message (attached by Joe) was well known to me, since I recieved a copy along with the rest of EMU; it's the only reason I found out about College Night]

The following is the report of Barry Hart of University Accord regarding a meeting with some faculty and staff and an SGA representative concerning the Rockingham-Harrisonburg College Night being held in the University Commons this evening October 3, 2002.

Also, it is important for you to read the e-mail of Shirley Yoder, vice president for enrollment and marketing, to everyone regarding the regulations that govern "College Night" programs held around the state of Virginia.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
President Joe Lapp called a meeting with faculty, staff and an SGA representative to discuss issues related “College Night,” specifically around representatives of the military being on campus for this event. He explained the process and rational for the invitation, recognized the tension around this issue and reaffirmed the university’s commitment to peace and not war. Shirley Yoder, vice-president for marketing and enrollment, spoke about her contact with Dr. Margee Greenfield, who heads up the College Night committee for Rockingham County and the city of Harrisonburg. Shirley explained that she asked Dr. Greenfield if the military (the Army) representative could be disinivited and she explained Dr. Greenfield’s response about an alternative peace presence possibility.

There was important discussion around these and other issues, looking at both short and long-term options. The results of the meeting were as follows:

· President Lapp asked members of the Facilitator Group who were present to take on the process of widening the discussion about “College Night” for next year. That this discussion would begin as soon as an invitation is extended to EMU for next year (should this be the case) and the discussion would be campus wide. (This was a decision representing a long-term approach to the issue)
· In the short-term, there would be a respectful “engagement” of the military personal and representative from military schools during “College Night” and the general public in attendance in several ways. 1) An information table with brochures and other materials speaking about nonviolent methods of dealing with global issues and against militarism. 2) Information regarding financial assistance to people who may, due to their financial circumstances, choose the military as a way to get their education. This material would mainly come from MCC, but other sources were discussed. Several people volunteered to make sure this table would be set up, etc. Also, a person volunteered to look for an MCC video that counters militarism and this video would be shown next to the above-mentioned table. 3) President Lapp said he would find the $25 to rent this table. 4) Some JPCS students would circulate throughout the evening with material they would hand out on nonviolence approaches to peace and justice. 5) SGA hadn’t decided its exact engagement that night, but it was stated that SGA would probably be present and engaged in some manner during “College Night.” 6) There was also a suggestion that Quakers and Church of the Brethren members be contacted and asked to participate together with Mennonites in presenting an alternative message to militarism.

The meeting ended on a constructive note with people clear that there was going to be important engagement with those representing the military, but also a recognition that this is not the main issue of “College Night” but nevertheless an important one for Mennonites and the EMU community. Also, it was agreed at the end of the meeting that all the information of the meeting was public and could be shared freely.

Barry Hart, Ph.D.
Director, University Accord

Labels: middle east, travel

Forget marching on to Zion - we've arrived. Jerusalem University College, where we'll be staying for the next two weeks, is built right on the slopes of Mount Zion, just below the walls of the Old City. Drove out this morning from Beit Sahour at around 1030, and settled into our new rooms by 1200. JUC isn't so much a campus as a big, rambling old building full of twisty staircases, mediaeval-looking classrooms, and unexpected courtyards. I love it; it's like living in an old monastary or something. Classes start tomorrow, but we had this afternoon to do what we liked.

West Jerusalem is, according to Dave, a lot like Europe. Certainly the people there looked much more Western (with the exception of the occasional Hassid), and the atmosphere was, well, wealthier than Beit Sahour. There were shops of every description and sidewalk restaurants. We actually had lunch at a Burger King, where cheeseburgers were unavailable due to Jewish dietary law.

Dave L, Eric, and I found the much-lauded outdoor gear shop an easy walk away from JUC. The merchandise was high-quality, but also rather more expensive than it would have been in the States. I picked up a mess kit, a sleeping mat, a nice shirt, some water-purification tablets, and a bandana-like thing to keep my ever-lengthening hair out of my eyes. The question of whether or not it makes me look like even more of a punk is up for debate.

New material at EMU's site; just a couple of short journal entries in the Jordan section. Look for photos and journals from last week (probably going to be called Beit Sahour 3) in a couple of days.

Labels: middle east, travel

PS - Otherwise feeling really good today. Think I've finally acclimated to Beit Sahour air: went on a one-hour-and-ten-minute, six mile run all over Beit Sahour/Bethlehem with Dave L; had no significant problems; and I'm still on the endorphin high. Have been running regularly all week, actually: 15 minutes on Tuesday, 40 yesterday, and now more than an hour! I think I'll be in really good shape by the end of this semester, if I can keep this up.

Labels: middle east, travel

For the record, here's what I've done about College Night: put together a nice little statement, which about 18 of us signed (including Linford, who was very supportive and even enthusiastic) and then sent it off to President Lapp, the chair of the EMU Board of Trustees, the SGA co-presidents, the offices of MCUSA, the Weather Vane, and a friend on campus who will hopefully be able to make some copies and post them around. The statement follows:

To President Joseph Lapp and the Eastern Mennonite University Community:

We the undersigned are participants in the EMU cross-cultural trip to the Middle East. Thanks to EMU's fine cross-cultural program we have been able to see firsthand the fruits of war: homes demolished, innocents killed, and hatred kindled on both sides. We have come to truly appreciate the power of Christ's radical call to peaceful living in the midst of a broken world.

We were therefore saddened and angered to learn that EMU has once again compromised its witness to that call by hosting College Night, an event at which military recruiters were present. We therefore wish to make the following statements:

-While we recognize Christ's call to lovingly welcome all people regardless of whether or not we agree with them, we deplore the admission to the EMU campus of persons who are actively promoting a message opposed to the Christly call to peace.
-We recognize that hosting College Night increases EMU's exposure to the high school students of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. However, we question the value of increasing exposure by permitting the dissemination of a message which runs counter to EMU's Mennonite Christian values.
-We applaud the decision to voice the message of peace at College Night, but wonder if it would not be better if the message of war were not heard on campus at all.
-We believe that the presence of military recruiters on campus, whether expressly invited by EMU or by the organizers of College Night, amounts to an implicit endorsement of their message by EMU.
-We question the administration's commitment to the message of peace if it is willing to compromise that message to increase EMU's exposure.
-We therefore call upon EMU to cease hosting College Night as long as the event continues to be attended by military recruiters.

Signed:
Dave Landis
Kirk Landes
Christopher Friesen
Eric Kennel
Jeremy Yoder
Brandon Bergey
Linford Stutzman
Kristen McManus
David Stutzman
Daniel P. Umbel
Mary Hope Brenneman
Tara Kreider
Todd Yoder
Andrew Jenner
Lindsey Weaver
Jennifer Brown
Jesse Buckwalter
Shiela Wiebe

Labels: middle east, travel

The last three days have been pretty intense, but also very good. I think I'm finally beginning to feel the presence of the Israeli-Arab conflict. Tuesday we spent touring the Gaza Strip, where 1.2 million Palestinians are being pushed aside to make space for about 6,000 Israeli settlers. We didn't see the conflict much, but we could feel the difference between Gaza and Bethlehem: Gaza is much more crowded, noticeably poorer, and overwhelmingly Muslim. There was a checkpoint for entry and exit into the Strip; we went through the VIP gate in about 20 minutes each way, but Ed Nyce told us that the hundreds of Gazans who work in Israel have to get up at 0400 to go through an hours-long wait for border-crossing. We saw the lines of men waiting to get back in as we left in the evening, stretching well back from the gate.

Hebron, the next day, was incredible. There the settlers are seperated from the Palestinians by nothing more than a foot or so of concrete, as opposed to the hundreds of yards of open space around Gazan settlements. The whole place was crawling with Israeli soldiers; we toured with guides from the Christian Peacemaker Teams Hebron group, and watched soldiers shut down part of the town market. CPT Hebron apparently exists largely to keep an eye on the soldiers (they behave a bit more decently when they know Americans are watching) and to get in the way when things turn violent. They're a great group of people, and I like their methods, but it bothers me that they side as heavily as they do with the Palestinians. This is an easy thing to do given the wild imbalance between Israelis and Palestinians, but I'm not sure it's Christlike. The Palestinians were thrilled to see more Americans in town, the soldiers were rather less so, and the settlers were outright angry about it; my touring group was called 'Anti-Semites' by some guy who drove past in an SUV, and once a rock flew out of nowhere and hit a plastic barrier near us. Interesting fact: the majority of Jewish settlers in Hebron come from Brooklyn, New York, USA.

Today's final activity, after a bunch of interesting lectures, probably hit me as hard or harder than Hebron did. We toured a home across the street from the Palestinian military headquarters in Bethlehem. The military headquarters was bombed to rubble some time ago, and when it went it took the nearby homes with it. I can't begin to describe the house beyond saying that it was ruined. The couple who had rented it stood with us in the remains of their living room and told us that, as Christians, they refuse to hate the Israelis and have brought their three daughters up in the same spirit. I was angry, sad, helpless, and frightened at the same time: to see what war has done to such good people was to see the concrete effects of evil in the world.

In other news, I've just recieved word by e-mail that EMU has once again hosted College Night, an event at which Virginia colleges set up booths to tell Rockingham County/Harrisonburg City high schoolers about themselves. This would be all well and good, but for the fact that the US military also sets up booths to recruit. So: College Night = military recruiting on a Mennonite college campus. I was angry when it happened last year, but I'm furious now. One of the e-mails was from the President's office, and it indicated that EMU had tried to 'counter' the military presence by setting up a display about alternatives to violence in solving world problems and ways to pay for college without the military's lucrative tuition assistance package. In my mind this doesn't change the fact that the military was recruiting in the EMU University Commons. I'm going to have to see what I can do about this from the other side of the world.

Labels: middle east, travel

Wrapping things up with the host family, and getting ready to move to the hotel.

Saturday night a bunch of us went out to a local social spot, the Shepherd's Valley tent restaurant. Ordered snacks (fried pita coated in herbs and spices, with hummas for dipping) and just talked. Had a bit of a joke-telling competition, which exausted my repertoire.

Good, relaxing Sunday again, but this time rather more active: woke up at 0800 to join host dad at local Greek Orthodox church for mass, then went to James and Kirk's house for an informal English service with about half a dozen other EMU'ers. Very good; we brought our hymnal samplers, and I my copy of the (old, red, shaped-note style) Mennonite Hymnal, and the singing did my soul some good. Came back home for a going-away barbecue: balls of herbed ground lamb, roasted chicken, shiskebab, more chicken, and assorted salads. Ate till I could barely move, then had to fight to keep host dad from giving me another enormous piece of delicious roast chicken. He makes a big show of being offended, but I know he's kidding. Dave S. joined us, and he and Christopher and I then frittered away the afternoon, talking and digesting.

Light schedule today. Had last Arabic lesson, then watched a film about Jewish anti-Zionists. Very interesting, in fact, and good discussion afterwards. Free for the rest of the day, so went to lunch, then took a public bus to Bethlehem (this is not dangerous in the West Bank, but I wouldn't do it in Israel) where I bought myself a duffel bag to help contain all my touristy purchases. On our way back through Manger Square we saw a reletively small protest march come through bearing Palestinian flags and signs in Arabic. Nothing dangerous or violent, but quite interesting all the same. Thence walked back to the Beit Sahour 'Net café, and here I am.

Starting to think about the long-term. Only one more week in Beit Sahour, then we move on for two weeks at Jerusalem University College, and then we've got nine days of free travel, a blessed blank on my schedule. Right now planning to join Dave L. and mabye Eric to hike from Haifa on the Mediterranean coast to Tib