June 1

Orientation day. We didn’t have to get up as early as we were going to have to the rest of the trip. We had to be on the bus by 8 or 8:30, so we had time to eat breakfast at the Kibbutz hotel. I sat with a couple of people from the Truman group and two people from West Virginia, Becky and Brandon. As the week went on, we ended up being back of the bus buddies. The three of us and Lauren Greenspan would sit in the back of the bus every day to and from the dig-site. Occasionally other people would join us.
The introduction to the dig was interesting at first, but got to be a bit boring. First, they introduced all of the professors and then handed out name tags before going around the circle and having everyone say their names. Rami, the man in charge of the dig, gave us a brief history of both the site and the excavation. Turns out, the site is much older than the New Testament period. It was the main city of a kingdom during 8 and 9 centuries B.C.E. and was home of one of David’s wives. By the time of Jesus, it was a small fishing village and anywhere from 5 to 7 of his apostles were from this town. Gradually, however, as time when on, the lake receded and finally the shore was too far away for the village to be fruitful. People moved away, and the village was abandoned. It was completely lost for a while until some priest found it. He followed cows up a hill, I think, because there were land mines from the 1967 war between Syria and Israel. (Bethsaida used to be in Syria, but Israel took that land from them in 1967. So the dig might not be part of Israel anymore depending on how things work out over there…).
Having a history lesson by the Sea of Galilee was pretty cool. I definitely heard music coming from over the lake while Rami was talking. It was pretty moving to be sitting in a city Jesus visited often, looking over the Sea of Galilee and hearing music playing. Much more moving than the tank fire we heard from training camps during the rest of the week.
After the history lesson, Rami led us around the site showing us various places of interest. He showed us the high places in front of the city gates, the city gates and the roads. He explained part of what people would be working on during the next two weeks. A couple of groups would be working on making the area of the city gates more accessible for tourists. Another group would be working on the area in front of the city gates and a third group of about 10 would be working in the Roman Era Area under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth McNamer.
I kind of stopped paying attention by this point because it was hot, and I was tired and bored. We went back to Kibbutz for lunch, and in theory an afternoon to ourselves since pottery readings would not start until Wednesday afternoon (there was not enough pottery to warrant a reading at this point.) Instead of being given time to ourselves, Dr. Appold decided we should see the Jesus boat at 4. We were to meet in the lobby of the hotel and then go over to the Museum to see the boat. Very few people wanted to go that afternoon. We wanted to go on our own to see the boat when we wanted to instead of having our one free afternoon taken by him. He was, I think, actually late and we did not get away from the hotel until 4:45. By the time we got to the Museum, it was supposed to be closed. They did open up the gift shop for us but then Dr. Appold had us walk around the dark, closed museum for which most of the media presentations were not on.
There was a good side to all of this. We did manage to find free internet. We used a computer we probably shouldn’t have, and realized that there was a wireless router. This came in handy since several people in our group had brought laptops and the Kibbutz hotel charged an outrageous amount to use the internet over there.
A few of us hung out by the computer for a while, and then even fewer went up to the top of the museum to the look out area. It was really beautiful to look out over the Sea of Galilee. Then we had dinner and a lecture about Kibbutz living.

May 30/31

The day we flew out! I got up early and arranged my bags so the things that I wanted for the flight were in my carry-on bag. I had two bags, the one I used as my purse for the trip and my purple on, which I checked. I did very well as far as space I must say. Anyway, I arranged my bags, got dressed, ate breakfast and Grandma and I left for the airport. We got there and found everyone congregating around the Delta check in area. Dr. Appold handed out our books, T-shirts and tickets. We got our luggage checked in and made sure that everyone was there. We were all assigned numbers so we would make sure to stay together while we were abroad. I was number 7. We then waited around before boarding the plane to Atlanta. I sat next to Nate on this flight, and it was short and pretty boring. The cookies were good though.
When we got to Atlanta, we had about a two hour layover. Several of us got lunch at Wall Street Deli. The sandwiches were good but very big. Most of us saved the other half to eat later. We waited around and then found out they changed our gate so we ran to the new one just in time to get on and fly to New York. (Don’t ask me why we had to fly from St. Louis to Atlanta and then to New York. It’s cheaper for some reason…). I didn’t sit next to anyone I knew on that flight. I was next to a lady and her daughter from Alabama, who were on a family vacation to New York. This little girl was a very good traveler. She sat quietly and didn’t disturb anyone. I wish I could say the same for the children sitting behind me. There were a boy and girl who were really loud and kept hitting the back of my chair. Oh, it was annoying…
The view when we flew into New York was absolutely stunning. The clouds were pink with the reflection of the sun and the water was shimmering and there was a small strip of land visible in the distance. It was so beautiful.
We had another layover of about 2 hours in New York. I finished my sandwich and studied my Hebrew phrasebook. We talked to a couple from Tel Aviv while we were waiting. Laura Beth and I decided to fill up our water bottles also. That turned out to be a bad idea because we had to go through security again before getting on the flight. We had to drink our water fast. So much for drinking less to keep from having to go to the bathroom…
It turned out to be okay, though, because I was on the aisle. I sat across from Nate and next to Jordan. The flight was long and boring. I did finally get to see Slumdog Millionaire. It was really good. Dinner was okay. I had chicken. I then tried to sleep, but it didn’t work out to well. Eventually I figured out that it was okay to stand in the back, which was good because my legs were starting to hurt. I went and stood with Lauren Greenspan as she talked to two people, one girl and a guy. The guy was interesting to listen to; he was very well educated. Not going to lie, I didn’t follow their conversation very well, but it sounded like it was interesting. There were snacks in the back, so I had a little something for breakfast. They fed us a second meal just before we landed. It was pizza, I think, and was not very good. Oh, I had a glass of wine with the dinner, and it was disgusting. The bottle was cute, however, but I did not keep it.
We finally landed in Tel Aviv. We got in a long line to get our passports stamped and then went to retrieve our luggage. DELTA RIPPED MY BAG! And it got pretty beat up. I was annoyed. Dr. Appold thought that his bag had been lost and went over to talk to the Delta representatives, but we found while he was gone, and Nate took it over to him. Why he didn’t just leave it and go get Mappold, I do not know, but whatever. It was fine.
Customs was a joke. We just walked through. (We did pass this really cool fountain after we got off the plane. I didn’t get a picture of it unfortunately, but it had water that dripped from the ceiling into a pool of water at the bottom.) After breezing through customs, we had to wait for a while before the bus came to take us to the Kibbutz. We also had to wait for Justin who was coming in on another flight to join us. This was the first I had heard that someone else was coming along. We each changed $20 into shekels (exchange was about 3.8 or 3.9) and debated about whether or not to get SIM cards for cell phones. It was really expensive to get them at the airport, so we decided not to get one. Laura Beth bought a phone card for NIS 50, but I decided I didn’t want to. I wasn’t quite ready to spend money yet, and I didn’t plan on using 300 minutes. I didn’t plan on calling home too much.
We all just sat around after that. I emailed my parents, talked to Laura Beth, and noticed there was a boy wearing a KU shirt in the Tel Aviv Airport. (Turns out he was a boy who would be working on the dig with us: Johnny Dunn). It was fun times.
Eventually we got all of our people plus a few more. A girl from Georgia who was going to be working on the dig join us for the bus ride to the Kibbutz. Her name was Ingrid, and she had been granted a fellowship to work on a couple of projects in the Middle East for a while. We got our own bus to the Kibbutz and did not have to share with the other groups who apparently came in on Justin’s flight.
We all piled on to this little tour bus and began the two hour drive to Kibbutz Ginossar. I tried my best to stay awake to see the scenery, but it just wasn’t happening. I listened to my MP3 player for a little while and took a couple of pictures, but I kept dozing off. The billboards made me laugh. The Pillsbury Doughboy was on one, and there were Smurfs on another one. The scenery was pretty cool; it was a lot different than at home. There was a lot of trash and the buildings looked run down, but maybe that was just because I wasn’t used to the architecture they have over there. Anyway, we drove. The cacti were fun to see. They looked exactly like the cardboard cut out ones that people use for school plays.
We finally got to the Kibbutz and went to have dinner. I was really tired; I was kind of dizzy during the meal. I wanted to try new food, but I wasn’t feeling quite up to it yet, so I stuck with stuff I recognized. I did not eat the St. Peter’s fish at all on the trip, though I found out later it was tilapia. It still looked too fishy. They pretty much just bake the fish. Don’t skin it (scale?) or anything. Just bake it. It still has eyes… I did enjoy the salad that night at least. I also remember seeing a guy in a cowboy hat and having less than positive thoughts regarding his choice of attire. I changed my mind later on…
Our group had made the decision not to stay in the dorms at the Kibbutz. We stayed in 3 person rooms in a two story building. The rooms were nice. 3 beds, a fridge, a desk, a closet, a sink and a bathroom. The shower was a bit ridiculous and flooded the bathroom every time it was used. I was in a room with Laura Beth and Anna. We were all pretty exhausted so we went to bed.

Okay, so as I said, I am back in the United States. I have spent the past couple of days catching up with my family and getting used to being home. I started sorting pictures and uploading them to facebook. I am also working on typing up the journal notes I took while I was gone as well as adding other things that I remember. My current plan right now is to post one of my journal entries about one or two days. Please remember that these are not edited so this is by no means a sample of my best writings. My only goal is that they make enough sense for me to remember what happened.

So here for your reading pleasure is my first day of Travel.

May 29

I began my Israel journey not on an airplane but on a good old fashion train. Around 10 a.m. my mother and I loaded my suitcase into her car and drove to the train station. The weather was breezy and cool, perfect for waiting outside on a bench for a train I assumed would probably be late. (The last time I took the train to St. Louis it was 3 hours late. I could have driven there faster.) Mom did not have anything planned for the day, so at least she would be able to wait until it got there this time. I wouldn’t have to wait by myself.
Shortly after we got there, we saw Dad walking down to where we were. He had taken off work for a little while to come and see me off. We sat for a while discussing the places I would be seeing and talking about what time it was in Israel. I had changed my watch about 2 weeks before hand since I generally used my cell phone for U.S. time. This meant that while I was traveling I had no idea what the local time was. I turned my cell phone off to conserve the battery. I wasn’t going to be using my cell phone while I was gone, but I needed it when I got back so I had to take it along. I didn’t want to cart the charger over there, so I just left my phone off.
Surprisingly enough, the train was on time! It was actually a little early (there was a point were it had to move off the tracks for another train, which did end up putting us a little behind schedule. An Ozark shuffle or something like that. They had to move the train backwards.) I boarded the train and began to look for a seat. I wanted to be able to sit by myself, but that clearly was not going to be an option. The train was crowded, and every seat already had at least one person sitting in it. I found an open aisle seat. A little boy had been sitting there, but he had moved to sit in the lap of one of his grandparents so I thought it was okay to sit there. When the conductor came by to take tickets, however, he skipped me. When I got his attention, he told me the seat was already taken, and that I would need to move. Turns out, everyone has to be in an assigned seat, whether or not they are actually sitting in it. I got up and moved to an empty seat next to a blond woman a few rows back. I remember being slightly intimidated because I was not dressed as nicely as she was. (I did not want to take anything I would be upset about losing to Israel.) That was, of course, very silly. She was very pleasant, and we chatted at various intervals during the trip. If I remember correctly, her name was Jennifer, and she was traveling to St. Louis to meet her husband for an Air Force function (a retirement party, I think). She had recently graduated with an Air History degree and was/is considering going to grad school eventually for Museum Studies. She wasn’t sure exactly when that would happen because her family was moving to Louisiana for her husband’s residency. We discussed some other things, like history (Mayans and Aztecs and Incas) and the economy. We passed by a coal train that had derailed. It was mangled and there was coal everywhere.
We got to St. Louis pretty much on time, despite the short delay for the other train. Grandma was waiting to pick me up. We went out to lunch because she said she did not have much food in the house because she was getting ready for her trip to Maine. After lunch we went to Walgreen’s to pick up pictures and ran into Hajime. Grandma and I had plans to eat dinner with him and his wife Clare that evening. I had a choice between Chinese and Italian and I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to have. They both sounded super delicious. After picking up pictures at Walgreen’s, we went to the grocery store to pick up an apple and granola bars (for breakfast and a snack for my trip.) Then we stopped by a Border’s and bought a Hebrew phrasebook (had I been thinking more, I would have gotten an Arabic phrasebook as well. We were in Jordan for a couple of days and in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem.)
After running those errands, we went to Grandma’s house. I finally got to see the Sun Room she and Sue had built out of their deck. It was very cool. There was a big chair, a couch, a table and a T.V. I eventually decided on Italian for dinner, and we left around 5:15 to meet Hajime and Clare for dinner. It was very nice to see them, and Clare gave me a little bag for my trip. Hajime and I order the same thing for dinner, but since I ate several slices of bread, a bowl of soup and part of a salad before my meal came, I sent the leftovers home with him. Grandma wouldn’t eat them because it was too hot.
After dinner, Grandma and I went back to her house. I called my parents and then grandma and I watched a movie (Raising Helen). I went to bed after that because I had to get up early to go to the airport to get on a plane to ISRAEL!

Well, I have returned home from Israel. Now the real fun begins :) Over the next few days I will be trying to organize my pictures and flesh out the journal I kept while I was there. Sometime soon, I will put pictures up here and describe each days events with a little more detail than I could while I was gone. I also will be deciding on a paper topic and beginning my research paper. Fun, fun.

So, I am in Bethlehem. It is pretty cool. I miss the Sea of Galilee. I went to a concert tonight. It was fun.

this one is going to be short. I'm sorry. I'll update when I can, but I don't know how my internet access will be for the next week or so.

Okay, so the other day we went floating down the Jordan River. It was hilarious. So, originally I was going to be in a two person raft with Nate. That really wasn't a good idea on my part since Nate flipped his boat over the last time I saw him in one. It all turned out okay though because we ended up joining Justin, Jordan and Dr. Appold in a 5 person raft. I was pretty cool with that because I didn't have to do too much. I didn't really want to have to row.
Considering I was in a boat with 4 men, I foolishly thought I would be safe on this voyage down the Jordan. These men, however, including the Reverand Doctor Mark Appold, possess an adventurous (and rather mean) streak. Our raft was given two less than steller paddles to use, and Nate noticed that Loren and Richard had been given two very nice paddles for their two person raft. So, our raft snuck up on their raft and Nate jumped in and attacked them and stole on of their paddles. (All this time people are splashing each other as much as possible, with Dr. Appold's encouragement and Nate is trying to act like the captian of our raft.) So we now have three paddles, and they have one. At this point, Jordan turns around and sees that we have another paddle. He says, "oh, when did we get a new paddle?" Dr. Appold responce was, "haha, we're really in shape now."
Needless to say, Loren and Richard were not okay that we stole their paddle so as their creeped closer to ours, Richard jumped out to to try to get it back. This left Loren in their raft by herself. Nate then jumped out of our raft, pulled Loren out of their raft, jumped into it himself and rowed down the river in their boat. (Yep, we commandeered a boat on the river where Jesus was baptized.) Loren and Richard had no raft, so we let them into ours for a while. Eventually Nate came back and Richard joined him in the two person raft.
After this exciting episode, we got into small skirmishes with other rafts. Jordan and Justin jumped out to defend our raft, but took their paddles with them. So Loren, Dr. Appold and I are stuck in a 5 person raft, by ourselves, with only one paddle. We then got stuck by on a rock, and Dr. Appold fell out of the boat. So Loren and I are trying to 1. Get Dr. Appold back into the boat and 2. Get the boat unstuck. While all of this is going on, Jordan, Justin, Nate and Richard are just floating along in the two person raft we stole from Richard and Loren in the first place. Justin and Jordan did return to our boat so we didn't have to stay by ourselves. Or maybe the two person raft was just too crowded with 4 men.
A little while later, our boat hit the bottom of the river. (The Jordan is not very deep. It is only 4-5 ft deep at the most usually.) We all got out of the boat to get it to move and then attempted to jump back in. Loren and Dr. Appold made it back onto the boat in time, but Jordan and I did not. The river suddenly decided to get deeper, and then turned out to be (probably) the only part of the river that was too deep for me to touch the bottom. And I was not on the raft and had no way of pushing myself into the raft... (Jordan tried to tell me that I could touch, but then discovered the river was too deep for him to reach the bottom as well. That shut him up pretty quick :)) Loren tried to help me back into the raft, but the life jacket I had gotten didn't have a back she could grab onto. So she grabbed me by the seat of my shorts and dragged me in. It was not very comfortable, but I did get back into the boat...
Then we got everyone back in the boat, fought a few more battles over people's hats, and then returned to the Kibbutz for lunch. It was pretty cool.

And that was my Jordan River adventure. Pretty much the best thing that has happened to me on this trip.

Except, I bartered yesterday! It was pretty cool. I am ready to get to Jerusalem and practice some more.

So I rafted down the Jordan River today. Pretty much the best thing ever! I have decided traveling by Pirate Battle Raft is the only way to go. It was a blast, and something I will describe in more detail when I have more time on the computer.

Have a wonderful day!