"Jerusalem, if I forget you, fire not gonna come from me tongue. Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand forget what it's supposed to do"

Last Thursday, all of the Oranim participants went on a trip to Jerusalem.  I decided that I do not enjoy these group trips for the most part (in fact I kind of loathe them) -- I don't know what it is, but when we step on the bus in the morning (maybe because it's usually at 6 AM) I get a feeling of uneasiness and dread.  There's only so much touring around these cities in large groups I can handle.  Thank God we had the world's best tour guide for this trip, RON! He's the most amazing person ever and has the best energy and is so funny.  After touring the Old City and going to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and seeing where Jesus is buried, we went to the Kotel, which is always an amazing experience.  A few friends and I had planned to stay in a hostel in the Old City where we reserved beds on the roof.  By bed, I mean thin foam pad...but it was an absolutely amazing experience which could have been made infinitely better because there was a meteor shower the night we slept there, but unfortunately it wasn't a very clear night and there were too many lights so we couldn't see much.  We went out to dinner and hung out and drank a little in a reflection area (we looked for a park but this was the best thing we could find and it was very fun) and then went to a bar in Zion Square, which was over run by boys from Yeshiva.  We were woken up very early in the morning from the sun and from bells ringing every 15 minutes starting at 5 AM for Muslim prayers.  While making our way to the central bus station to catch a bus back to Ashdod, we walked through the Arab Quarter and saw a shark being skinned which was both nasty and fascinating (and very unkosher).  We ended up in East Jerusalem which is basically the West Bank, but it was cool, we hopped on a bus and went to the bus station.  The exhaustion from lack of sleep was totally worth it because I slept all day and night once I got back home.  I really enjoyed seeing all the religious Jews in Jerusalem hitting up the ATMs and grocery stores and everything before Shabbat started, it was like black hat central in the streets, but unfortunately I was too tired to realize I should be taking pictures.

where Jesus is buried (I think...)

view from the roof

I'm the one in the brown blanket hiding my head underneath the backpacks

cat on the roof that bit me because I was playing with it and shaking it

SHARK!

Side note: I've noticed that everyone in Israel has mp3s on their phones and they always have music playing without headphones in making it like background music to everyday life.  I like it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  A lot of people are really upset they aren't home for the holiday so we are having a makeshift Thanksgiving here, even though I obviously really could care less, it's still nice.

Our program ends January 13th (CAN'T BELIEVE HOW SOON THAT IS AND HOW FAST THIS HAS GONE), but I'm planning on staying a couple weeks after.  I want to go to Egypt and I want to just travel around and hang out in Israel before going home, so I will most likely be home in 2 months give or a take a day or two.  I know you all can't wait and are counting down the days...

Miss you.  Love you.  Like you.