Ne'ot Kedumim and a Pizza Party

Place names around here are so weird, and I really can't spell them that well. Anyway, the day before we left for Galilee we had a field trip to Ne'ot Kedumim. It was a cool field trip, though I feel like it might have been appreciated more if the timing had been better--we all had a ton of stuff to do to get ready for Galilee! It was still fun, though. It kind of reminded me of elementary school field trips--there was a guide who took us from station to station, and we did things or learned about things that were relevant to daily life in Bible times. For example, we herded sheep! That was really fun, though really hard, because sheep can be pretty stupid sometimes. We were divided into three groups and had to make the sheep perform certain tasks. We all had to take them around a circle of stones that represented a watering hole without letting them into the "water" (all of our sheep drowned). Then our group and another group had to try to separate the sheep and the goats. Our group never quite figured that one out, so I don't know how the other group managed it. Their's was a short-lived victory, though, because they couldn't figure out how to make the sheep to move. Somebody yelled out that "you have to whack 'em!", so first tentatively, then with greater vigour, they began hitting the sheep with sticks (don't worry, no sheep were seriously harmed during this field trip). Well, the sheep moved--in fact, they started running, right past the "watering hole" and down to the edge of the field, with students running after them, yelling for them to come back. That may be one of my favorite memories of this trip :)

There were also some other stations. In one of them, we ground up some spices that we picked from trees growing in the area. Later on, we made pita bread, and sprinkled the spices on the bread. We also drew water from a well and discussed the implications of Rebekah's offer to draw water for the servant and the camels (because that would have been a TON of work!), and we met with a Torah scribe. We also saw pomegranate and fig trees, and discussed something about wheat and barley (I can't remember what--I was really tired), and I think they advertised burnt wheat or something as a really good snack? Anyway, it was a cool field trip, but like I said, the timing could have been better.

Most of us were exhausted by the time we got back to the JC, but I (and many others) still hadn't withdrawn money for the Galilee trip, so up to Jerusalem we went. Then some friends of mine mentioned that they were going to Shabban's to buy some Jesus sandals, and that sounded like a good idea, so I wandered around the city a little longer. Then, when I was well and truly exhausted, Mike said, "Do you want to go to West tonight to celebrate Matt's birthday?" and I said "Of course!" A few seconds later, I wondered why I'd said that, because all I really wanted to do was eat dinner, put on P.J.s, and curl up on a chair in the computer room, maybe making a popcorn run at the Shekel Shack sometime that night. I'm glad I went, though. Matt, Mike, Eliza and I went to a pizza place, and I haven't had good pizza (or any pizza at all, really) in a long, long time, so it was amazing. I mean, I'll be happy when I'm back in the U.S. and can order non-Kosher pizza again (pepperoni pizza is definitely not a hot item or even an option on pizza menus here), but it was still good. So was the mac and cheese. Then we went to a gelato place, where we hung out, talked, listened to the music playing in the store, and ate gelato (though I assumed the last one was implied). Of course, I eventually came back to the Center and realized that I still wasn't packed and my laundry wasn't done and my religion paper wasn't written, but apparently I made it through okay, so it was worth it.