Shalom Yerushalyim

Already over two weeks have past since I arrived back in Israel from Rwanda. I still think about it every single day, but the transition went from one day being horrible to being totally fine.

Here is an overview of how things have been going and what a week looks like here.

Volunteering:

A slightly aerial view of the dig.

I was nervous to volunteer at the Ir David Archeological Dig because I had heard negative things from previous sections, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Yes, it is hard to get up at 5:45 in the morning and walk for 40 minutes to the dig, but it is incredible. We actually got to dig the second day we volunteered and we started getting to know the interesting people who either work or also volunteer there.
A day at Ir David: Arrive at 7 AM - wash pottery until the 9 AM break - do sharsheret, chain in Hebrew, we all line up in a chain and through buckets of dirt to each other for an average of one hour (it can go longer, though) - dig - leave at 11 AM at their lunch break.

Classes:
I am taking a few classes.
1) God Talk: a class looking at God through music and asking questions about God.

Russian Orthodox Church we visited.

2) Comparative Religions: Every Tuesday we take a trip around Jerusalem. We've had two classes; the first class we went to Mount of Olives, a mountain famous for it's Jewish cemetery right outside the walls of the Old City, the second trip we started learning about Christianity, visiting famous Christian sites and churches. I am lucky to study these religions here because no other person could say, "I've studied christianity at the rock where Jesus slept the night before he died," or "I've studied christianity where Jesus was baptized."
3) Torah Yoga: We do a little bit of yoga then focus on a piece of Torah and what it means then back to yoga.
4) Holocaust Movie class: The teacher is a "producer" from Hollywood that claims to know his stuff about movies and especially Holocaust movies. He talks to much in his class and it is not for credit so I am considering not taking the class anymore, but I will probably end up going each week.
5) Hebrew Level 4: Year Course needs to figure out a better way to test us on our Hebrew skills. I am in a level that fits me material wise, as in I am learning new words and even past tense, but we just started the 4th book when the majority of the class, not including me, has not started the 3rd book. Oy.