Holy Town

So this weekend, I headed to Jerusalem for a couple days. It was amazing. I spent most of my time yesterday in the Old City. I had my little Lonely Planet book and junk so I just kind of wandered around until I found something interesting. First, I ended up at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre where Jesus was supposedly crucified/resurrected. I wandered around a little bit more until I got to the Western (Wailing) Wall, really cool. There were a lot of Jewish people there all praying, both outside and inside; very intense sight/sound to see/hear.

Afterward, I went to a restaurant next to the entrance of the Western Wall area where I ordered a Sprite, and saw an Israeli gentleman sitting at a table, I asked him if I could join him. His English wasn't great but I asked him questions about the Western Wall and this Jewish horn I bought and why they were important. After explaing this to me, he asked me my thoughts on Obama, I said I thought he was an alright guy. Eliow (told me to call him Eli) said he saw Obama as punishment from God on the Jewish people, I thought this was very interesting but it kind of makes sense if you look at our past presidents. Most have either backed Israel or left them alone but now Obama criticizes the Israeli government, and Eli was saddend by this. We talked about what I study and I had to describe it as "helping people and governments with finding shalom (peace)." He was so happy about this and he kissed me three times on the cheek. I asked him what he thought should be done to achieve peace, he actually had some very moderate solutions and realistic concerns. Then he bought us pasta to share (he said our conversation gave him an appetite) and afterwards, he took me back to the Western Wall and showed me how to pray. Eli prayed for me and asked God to keep me safe and help me make peace in this region of the world (what suprised me the most is how happy he was that I studied Arabic). He gave me his number and told me to call him if I ever needed anything in Jerusalem. I also got a number from a Palestinian cafe owner today named Naser who also told me to call him if I ever needed anything, so I got a little network going on in Israel now.

I also walked around on the roofs of the Old City where I bumped into some really young kids smoking argeelah, so I joined them and we talked a little bit. The rest of yesterday and today were just sight seeing (death place of the Virgin Mary, tomb of King David, sight of the Last Supper, Temple Mount - from a distance, Oskar Schindler's grave - that was pretty cool, etc.). Yesterday night, I met up with Agnus, saw some light show stuff in the Old City, had a few drinks, then headed to her place. The next morning, I walked to the Old City (about 4 kilometers or so) and saw some more sights, met Naser, etc., then headed back to the farm.

Overall, Jerusalem was amazing. I saw some fantastic sites and met some great people; hopefully I get to go back soon and meet up with some of the people I met. One last thing, I'd like to give a shout out to Eli, congrads buddy on getting married soon. All for now - Peace, Salaam, Shalom.