Wow, it has been way too long! Did you all miss me? I'm sorry I've been MIA. Midterms ended up spanning 3 weeks and ate up my time monstrously. I actually still have 2 papers due in the next week, so that's not so fun. I've gotten far more time in studying lately than going on adventures or anything, I'm afraid.

I'm happy to report that my studies in Hebrew are coming along nicely. It's nice to only be taking it 8 hours a week instead of 25, like I was during summer ulpan! I'm also taking 2 religious studies courses ("Prophecy, Politics, Pathos: Readings in A.J. Heschel [a Jewish philosopher]" and "From Jewish Jesus to Christianity"), and a history course ("Issues in the Study of the Holocaust: Perspectives on Perpetrators, Victims, and Bystanders"). I'm not really used to courses that depend so heavily on midterms and finals as these courses do; back home, I take mostly classes that depend on smaller assignments and papers distributed throughout the course, especially in linguistics courses. (For those who don't know, I'm a language studies major.)

Thanksgiving in Israel was a bit interesting! It was hosted by the pastor who runs both the campus Christian fellowship and a house church in our neighborhood. He has an oven, but none of the students do, so it was a bit interesting trying to prepare all the food. We didn't end up doing a turkey, because the guys who were in charge of the meat/main course are both African; traditional Thanksgiving fare was not high priority for them. Plus I know there are turkeys available somewhere because there are a lot of American Jews in Israel who celebrate Thanksgiving yearly, but that would've required someone to go to the effort of finding out where to get one. In the middle of midterms week, that wasn't going to happen.

It was also intersting for me because I was in charge of making the pecan pies. Well, I don't have an oven! This was also a pie governed by Murphy's Law: everything that could've gone wrong (in the preparation) went wrong. I had to go to the pastor's place early to bake the pies, and I'd forgotten to bring along several of the ingredients and had also forgotten to bring measuring cups. They didn't have a rolling pin or a pie dish. The oven was already in use. My roommate was at the shook (outdoor market) and was supposed to drop off the pecans for me on the way home, but the tram got stopped because they had to investigate a suspicious package, so she had to walk back, resulting in my getting the pecans only half an hour before the meal. When I did get them... there was only enough for one pie (I'd planned to make 2), and they were SALTED! But, somehow, the pie actually turned out to be completely delicious, it was kind of a hit for the evening. We also had a ton of other delicious food that the other students brought, including a few traditional things, like rolls and mashed potatoes with gravy. There was also homemade fried chicken (one of the students who came is from the South), grilled vegetables, salad, etc. Everyone who came had a wonderful time, and there were about 17 of us! Once the pie was in the oven and I could relax, it was a very enjoyable evening, full of giving thanks. :-)

The student fellowship went on a retreat last weekend! The photo for this post is the sign that was on our bedroom door at guest house we stayed at, which was owned by a wonderful Arab Christian family. I was amazed; I've heard that Arabs are huge on hospitality, but my program doesn't allow me into the West Bank, so usually my opportunities to even meet Arabs is limited. And seriously, serving tea and cookies 3 times a day? That seems a bit extreme! It was fun, though, for sure. Plus they make this mint tea which is completely delicious. It was very cold that weekend though, and they made a big fuss that I was going to get sick because of my bare feet. (For those who don't know, I'm what they call a "barefooter;" I don't wear shoes, rain or shine.) They kept trying to offer me socks and blankets and such, and tried very hard to convince me to put on shoes. God bless them for their concern!

Want to hear the big scandal among the students? The place near the Damascus Gate of the Old City that is known far and wide for being THE place that sells falafel for only 6 shekels (about $1.60) bumped their prices up to 7 shekels!! (About $1.95) How could they?? We're all very upset over this. Hahaha, yep, that's the life of a student in Jerusalem! Also the tram, which has previously run for free, is going to start charging on December 1. Ah, the sad times when Israel gets yet more expensive. Everything here is grossly overpriced and nothing is ever free, so it's sad when even the few exceptions start slipping away. (Though let's be clear: I'm kidding about being upset that the falafel is now 7 whole shekels. That's better than I'll get in the States by a long shot!!)