Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Mid Term(ination)
For the past few weeks, I've had only one thing on my mind: midterms. Friday, my midterm examinations come to an end. Then, I will proclaim liberty throughout all Israel. I will publish peace thoughout all the land of Palestine. All the people thereof shall hear and be glad, for the freedom of Elisabeth McCartney shall be known to them, and none shall be excluded from her rejoicing. Amen
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Jerusalem Syndrome
Because of the tragedy at Gaza, we can't leave the Center to go to East Jerusalem or the Old City for a few days. Consequentially, BYU students pass the time by finding interesting things on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome
Check out Type III of the disease known as Jerusalem Syndrome.
Some people here might be headed for trouble. I may potentially be one of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome
Check out Type III of the disease known as Jerusalem Syndrome.
Some people here might be headed for trouble. I may potentially be one of them.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Israeli Palestinian
Oh. My gosh.
An international film festival? In Jerusalem? In July?
Yes, please!
In other news, my friend, Dan, is moving to Jerusalem next week. I helped him out yesterday by wandering over toward his future apartment in West Jerusalem and paying his rent in shekels to ensure he'll have a home in a few days.
I'm always stunned by the differences between East and West Jerusalem. East Jerusalem (predominately inhabited by Palestinian Arabs...and BYU students) looks a little worn around the edges, you know? A little shabby. Parts of West Jerusalem (dominated by Israeli Jews), on the other hand, is generally modern and clean. The part of town where Dan is moving reminds me a little of Europe.
The contrast between these parts of the city reminds me of a really good Arabic class the other day. True, we didn't learn that many words and phrases, but it was interesting to hear our teacher's experience with international travel.
Ayman, our Arabic instructor and a Palestinian Arab with Israeli citizenship, told us that a while back he wanted to take his family to Egypt so his children could hear the Arabic language and see the Arab culture there so they could feel proud of their identity as Arabs. Once they got to the airport in Tel Aviv, however, their luggage was searched for three hours while Israeli Jews easily bypassed security.
When airport security concluded their search of Ayman's baggage, they had to perform a body search.
"Okay," Ayman said, "I want my sons to come with me."
Security told him that it wasn't necessary that his children accompany him, but Ayman angrily protested. "No, it is necessary that my sons see you search me so that they know that Israel is not their country, and that it will never be their country."
He then swore at the security officers and was given a slip labeling him as 'a problematic passenger.' "Okay, no problem," Ayman said.
Then they got to Egypt. Ayman, his wife, and his children joined a tour group when they arrived, and he was surprised to see an armed guard on the bus with them.
"Why is there a guard?" Ayman asked the guide.
"It's for you. It's because you are an Israeli," the guide responded.
"What? I am not Israeli, I don't need a guard. I'm an Arab."
"You have an Israeli passport. You get a guard."
So Ayman had to tour around with this armed guard following him everywhere. At the pyramids, the Egyptian children whispered to each other:
"Who is that? It is a movie star?"
"No, no. He is an Israeli."
Then, at a museum where Arabs got a discount on admission, Ayman went to the ticket office and said, "Five tickets, please."
The museum worker looked at him and said, "Passport, please."
Ayman handed over his passport. The worker said to him, "That will be $100."
"What? But I am an Arab."
"No, you have an Israeli passport. You are an Israeli, and it's $20 each for Israelis."
In other words, Arab Israeli citizens are really men and women without a country. They're 'Palestinians' in Israel, and 'Israelis' everywhere else.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Rockefeller Reminiscing
I've been creeping on other people's blogs today. Look at you all. With your fancy photos and snazzy video clips. We do things old school on this here blog. Especially since I don't have a laptop from which to upload said technological wonders.
I went to the Rockefeller Museum in east Jerusalem the other day. Looking at all of the ancient pottery, jewelry, sculptures, etc. made me wonder: Which of my belongings will some archeologist be fishing out of tel 2000 years from now?
Of course, I hope that my journals would survive, but who knows how well the paper will be preserved. Maybe my...bike would survive? I don't know. I don't own very many clay pots. Maybe I should start collecting now just so there will be something to testify that I was on the planet at one point.
I went to the Rockefeller Museum in east Jerusalem the other day. Looking at all of the ancient pottery, jewelry, sculptures, etc. made me wonder: Which of my belongings will some archeologist be fishing out of tel 2000 years from now?
Of course, I hope that my journals would survive, but who knows how well the paper will be preserved. Maybe my...bike would survive? I don't know. I don't own very many clay pots. Maybe I should start collecting now just so there will be something to testify that I was on the planet at one point.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Warfare and Swimwear
I slept restlessly the other night, plagued by a recurring nightmare. In my dream, everyone at the Jerusalem Center and I were headed for a foreign country. Our tour guide from Cairo, Ahmed, was also there as we drove our bus through the desert. We arrived at a military base of an unnamed Middle Eastern country, which we were going to tour. However, after we ran inside (narrowly passing doors that slowly slid closed, like they do in Indiana Jones movies), the military personnel tried to kill all of us. It was brutal. Many died.
However, in my dream Jud, Morgan, and Tyler were wandering around the base in their bathing suits and, for some reason, were completely untroubled about their prospects of survival. The rest of us were scattering in terror, and they were just sauntering around in their swimsuits. They were the only people who survived.
Oh, how highly the military prizes swimwear! The next time I show up to a foreign military base, it will be in a bathing suit.
However, in my dream Jud, Morgan, and Tyler were wandering around the base in their bathing suits and, for some reason, were completely untroubled about their prospects of survival. The rest of us were scattering in terror, and they were just sauntering around in their swimsuits. They were the only people who survived.
Oh, how highly the military prizes swimwear! The next time I show up to a foreign military base, it will be in a bathing suit.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Walk like an Egyptian (like you have the runs)
Okay, so I got back from Egypt two days ago. I'm so glad to be back in Israel.
Don't get me wrong. Egypt was great. I was just a little tired of sanitizing my hands twenty times a day and eating rice, bread, and pasta. Oh, and I got sick. Really, really, really sick. And I hate being the sick kid on a trip, so by the end of our Egyptian journey I was like, "Get me out of this freaking country."
Noteworthy events/sites:
Cairo--The housing complexes are like nothing I've ever seen before. In fact, most of them were incomplete, roofed by what looked like the beginnings of another floor of the building. And there were thousands of them! Thousands of unfinished apartment buildings, capped with a thousand more satellite dishes. I asked a few people why they were unfinished, and there was one main answer I consistently received: Egyptians don't have to pay taxes on unfinished buildings. As long as the structure is incomplete, no taxes will be filed.
...This seems like an unusual law to me, but whatever. It's Egypt.
The Pyramids--The first day we, you know, just happened to be in Giza so we dropped by the pyramids. It wasn't a big deal or anything, you know. Do tis kinda ting all de time. NOT.
They were huge! Even bigger than I expected! And we got to go INSIDE ONE THE FREAKING PYRAMIDS! It was such an Indiana Jones moment, crouching through the tiny dusty corridors. While we were inside the tomb, we sang the LDS Primary song "I am a Child of God." I wasn't totally paying attention beforehand, so I was a little confused about why we did that. So were all of the foreign tourists.
I also had my first encounter with an Egyptian vendor at the pyramids. It was terrifying.
Here's a little piece of knowledge for you: In all likelihood, the pyramids were not built by slaves. Instead, the pharaohs probably hired the farmers of the Nile River Valley to construct the pyramids during flood season. It was a way to keep the farmers occupied and employed when they couldn't grow their crops. Pretty neat, huh?
The Sphinx--I kissed him. I have photos.
Karnak--The Karnak Temple Complex was what I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. It was, hands down, the coolest thing I saw in Egypt.
The part that impressed me most was the Hypostyle Hall--a colonnade consisting of 134 massive columns covered in hieroglyphics. They built this thing by digging trenches in stone, filling the trenches with sand to the top, and carving each column out of the stone at the level of the sand before removing some sand and carving the part that had been previously covered. Repeat. (Does that make sense in writing? If only I had Refaat's drawing to illustrate.)
The Suk--This is Luxor's bazaar. I have never felt so harassed in my life. Bunch of men hustling me for my money.
But it was also kind of entertaining. I went to the Suk with 5 other girls and one boy named Jared Colton. As we walked down the narrow alleyway lined with shops, Egyptian men would shout at Jared, "These, they are your wives? Lucky man! So strong. You share a few with me, huh?" It was kind of demeaning, but also hilarious.
After the Suk, we decided to save money and walk back to the hotel. It was about 50 degrees C. You do the math.
Night Train--We took a night train back to Cairo, and it was on the night train that I got sick.
The train ride wasn't too bad. I would do it again if I had to. However, this particular night train is ingrained in my consciousness as a part of a traumatic illness experience. Those bathrooms in particular will be a part of my nightmares forever.
So, after downing a couple of Imodium A.D.s, Brother Jackson (a service missionary who also happens to be a doctor) dropped by my room and gave me a pill to help me fight nausea. But, this pill made me so drowsy that it led to a slew of problems for the remainder of the day.
What kind of problems you ask? Well, I passed out on the bus, for instance, and while I was under I apparently made all kind of mumbling sounds, turned deathly pale, and basically freaked everyone out by moaning in pain. I don't recall any of this, of course, but I understand that it was something to behold.
Another issue was the Egyptian National Museum. I had been really looking forward to the museum, so I forced myself off the bus. This was a bad move on my part. I made it up the stairs, and no further. I was forced to lie down on a bench by Sister Jackson (also a doctor) where I slept, ate an apple, drank water, and was prodded by a passing Latino acupuncture third level grand master...or whatever he was. All I got to see in the museum were the mummies. Those were pretty awesome, though. Ramesses II was my favorite.
Mohammad Ali Mosque--It was gorgeous and huge. I was sick when I saw it, though, so that kind of colored my perception of it.
Sinai--Traditionally believed to be the mountain on which Moses received the 10 Commandments. Because my illness kept me down for about two days, it was questionable whether or not I would be able to climb Sinai. But, I was determined. I was going to reach the top of Sinai, gosh dang it, even if it killed me.
We arrived at the base of the mountain at about 3 AM. Sadly, I wasn't able to hike the whole of Sinai on my own power. I'm gonna have to go back some day to conquer the mountain. Instead, I had to ride a camel up. I almost trampled a few unsuspecting tourists along the way (including Brother Hamblin (aka, Bonesaw), my Ancient Near East teacher), but other than that it was a pretty smooth ride. Eventually, I had to get off the camel and walk up the remaining 800ish stairs to the summit. I held the hand of my young bedouin tour guide, Mohammad, the entire way.
I didn't go all the way to the top, though. It looked really crowded and kind of unpleasant up there. Instead, I found a nice, secluded cliff on which to perch while watching the sunrise, Mohammad crouched nearby.
The sunrise was stunning. Pictures could never do it justice (I should know because I tried taking, like, 30 of them). Sitting up on the mountain was the single best part of the entire trip to Egypt. It made me so happy. My friend, Ashley, later remarked that I was "glowing." I was in my happy place.
Well, I think I've talked enough about Egypt. I probably have a piece of homework or two waiting for me downstairs in my room, so I think I'm going to go check that out. Hasta luego.
Don't get me wrong. Egypt was great. I was just a little tired of sanitizing my hands twenty times a day and eating rice, bread, and pasta. Oh, and I got sick. Really, really, really sick. And I hate being the sick kid on a trip, so by the end of our Egyptian journey I was like, "Get me out of this freaking country."
Noteworthy events/sites:
Cairo--The housing complexes are like nothing I've ever seen before. In fact, most of them were incomplete, roofed by what looked like the beginnings of another floor of the building. And there were thousands of them! Thousands of unfinished apartment buildings, capped with a thousand more satellite dishes. I asked a few people why they were unfinished, and there was one main answer I consistently received: Egyptians don't have to pay taxes on unfinished buildings. As long as the structure is incomplete, no taxes will be filed.
...This seems like an unusual law to me, but whatever. It's Egypt.
The Pyramids--The first day we, you know, just happened to be in Giza so we dropped by the pyramids. It wasn't a big deal or anything, you know. Do tis kinda ting all de time. NOT.
They were huge! Even bigger than I expected! And we got to go INSIDE ONE THE FREAKING PYRAMIDS! It was such an Indiana Jones moment, crouching through the tiny dusty corridors. While we were inside the tomb, we sang the LDS Primary song "I am a Child of God." I wasn't totally paying attention beforehand, so I was a little confused about why we did that. So were all of the foreign tourists.
I also had my first encounter with an Egyptian vendor at the pyramids. It was terrifying.
Here's a little piece of knowledge for you: In all likelihood, the pyramids were not built by slaves. Instead, the pharaohs probably hired the farmers of the Nile River Valley to construct the pyramids during flood season. It was a way to keep the farmers occupied and employed when they couldn't grow their crops. Pretty neat, huh?
The Sphinx--I kissed him. I have photos.
Karnak--The Karnak Temple Complex was what I was looking forward to the most, and it did not disappoint. It was, hands down, the coolest thing I saw in Egypt.
The part that impressed me most was the Hypostyle Hall--a colonnade consisting of 134 massive columns covered in hieroglyphics. They built this thing by digging trenches in stone, filling the trenches with sand to the top, and carving each column out of the stone at the level of the sand before removing some sand and carving the part that had been previously covered. Repeat. (Does that make sense in writing? If only I had Refaat's drawing to illustrate.)
The Suk--This is Luxor's bazaar. I have never felt so harassed in my life. Bunch of men hustling me for my money.
But it was also kind of entertaining. I went to the Suk with 5 other girls and one boy named Jared Colton. As we walked down the narrow alleyway lined with shops, Egyptian men would shout at Jared, "These, they are your wives? Lucky man! So strong. You share a few with me, huh?" It was kind of demeaning, but also hilarious.
After the Suk, we decided to save money and walk back to the hotel. It was about 50 degrees C. You do the math.
Night Train--We took a night train back to Cairo, and it was on the night train that I got sick.
The train ride wasn't too bad. I would do it again if I had to. However, this particular night train is ingrained in my consciousness as a part of a traumatic illness experience. Those bathrooms in particular will be a part of my nightmares forever.
So, after downing a couple of Imodium A.D.s, Brother Jackson (a service missionary who also happens to be a doctor) dropped by my room and gave me a pill to help me fight nausea. But, this pill made me so drowsy that it led to a slew of problems for the remainder of the day.
What kind of problems you ask? Well, I passed out on the bus, for instance, and while I was under I apparently made all kind of mumbling sounds, turned deathly pale, and basically freaked everyone out by moaning in pain. I don't recall any of this, of course, but I understand that it was something to behold.
Another issue was the Egyptian National Museum. I had been really looking forward to the museum, so I forced myself off the bus. This was a bad move on my part. I made it up the stairs, and no further. I was forced to lie down on a bench by Sister Jackson (also a doctor) where I slept, ate an apple, drank water, and was prodded by a passing Latino acupuncture third level grand master...or whatever he was. All I got to see in the museum were the mummies. Those were pretty awesome, though. Ramesses II was my favorite.
Mohammad Ali Mosque--It was gorgeous and huge. I was sick when I saw it, though, so that kind of colored my perception of it.
Sinai--Traditionally believed to be the mountain on which Moses received the 10 Commandments. Because my illness kept me down for about two days, it was questionable whether or not I would be able to climb Sinai. But, I was determined. I was going to reach the top of Sinai, gosh dang it, even if it killed me.
We arrived at the base of the mountain at about 3 AM. Sadly, I wasn't able to hike the whole of Sinai on my own power. I'm gonna have to go back some day to conquer the mountain. Instead, I had to ride a camel up. I almost trampled a few unsuspecting tourists along the way (including Brother Hamblin (aka, Bonesaw), my Ancient Near East teacher), but other than that it was a pretty smooth ride. Eventually, I had to get off the camel and walk up the remaining 800ish stairs to the summit. I held the hand of my young bedouin tour guide, Mohammad, the entire way.
I didn't go all the way to the top, though. It looked really crowded and kind of unpleasant up there. Instead, I found a nice, secluded cliff on which to perch while watching the sunrise, Mohammad crouched nearby.
The sunrise was stunning. Pictures could never do it justice (I should know because I tried taking, like, 30 of them). Sitting up on the mountain was the single best part of the entire trip to Egypt. It made me so happy. My friend, Ashley, later remarked that I was "glowing." I was in my happy place.
Well, I think I've talked enough about Egypt. I probably have a piece of homework or two waiting for me downstairs in my room, so I think I'm going to go check that out. Hasta luego.
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