The rest of Birthright was a blur. One sad thing that happened was that I ended up getting really sick from all of the exhausting traveling we were doing. Congested and tired, I lugged myself from place to place with the rest of the group. We saw some cool stuff on the last few days: we went to a military cemetary in Jerusalem, where we saw the graves of people who died from the first Lebanon war, the independence war, and the more recent conflicts. Seeeing the soldiers' graves from the second Lebanon War in 2006 was really sad. They were really decorated- some had freshly picked flowers, some were adorned with pictures and keepsakes, and they were generally well-looked after. Those kids were 18 or 19 or 20- and it's clear that 4 years after the conflict, the parents are still incredibly affected by the conflict. I can't imagine losing a friend or a sister that early on. It really hit home, knowing how young they were and how much they had left to offer.


The trip ended pretty briskly. I didn't realize until the actual airport that most of the people on the trip were leaving, permanently. The people I became friends with on the trip were so diverse and different from me- Midwesterners, law students, grad students, poets, dreamers and realists- and I hope we all stay in touch. Talking to the grad students made me want to go back to grad school. Being in contact with people two and three years older- people with rent and real person jobs and even spouses made me a little more ready for growing up. There is a difference between the 22 and the 25 year olds. The 22 year olds- Hillary, Jessi, and myself- all graduated in a really tough economic year and have spent the time since graduation perpetually seeking meaning, employment, and to find the elusive Nest Step. The older kids told us that it will all work out, and I believe them- the first year out is the most shocking and the hardest to get used to. I can't wait to live with friends and teach English in another country and go back to grad school and ride a bike around the city and get moving on life. At the same time I feel this great reluctance to grow up- this tug between the desire to be a kdi and the desire to be a big important Real Person. Maybe life is about wrestling a balance between the kid and the adult.

The day after the program, my Russian biochemist friend Ilya and I went to Jerusalem. We stayed at the Jaffa Gate Hostel, which is in an amazing location but is an incredibly crappy hostel. Our room was in absolute darnkness, the toilet made this loud draining noise for 20 minutes after it was flushed, and we were given one measly thin blanket for the wintry night. The people in the hostel were fun though- I met Sevillanos taking shots of whiskey the first night Typical!
Ilya and I tried to sleep in but both wound up wide awake at 8am- Birthright conditioned us well to rise early. We wandered around the Old City, walking through the Christian quarter of the market. We went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw where Jesus was crucified. I felt a great sadness and reverence for this gentle man who only wanted peace and love. My relationship to Jesus is constantly changing- I know he was special, but is he divine? That I don't know. But it was a very beautiful and sad church, and to see the actual crucifiction spot was astounding. We reverse walked the Via Dolorosa- Jesus' march from where Pontius Pilate sentenced him to death to the spot of his crucifiction. It was an uphill walk, and to think that he did it after being tortured and beaten, and with a giant wooden cross on his back, is insane.
For lunch, we went to the Arabic quarter and sat down for two hours, drinking mint tea and talking about life. Birthright wouldn't let us go into the Arabic quarter but I really liked it- especially the tea. Everywhere in the Arabic quarter, there are posters from 1929 that say "PALESTINE: A paradise." I guess the Brits used the posters for tourism back in the day. They are everywhere, and it's clear that to the Arabs, Palestine was rightfully theirs, a beautiful paradise that was stolen in the 40s when Israel became a nation. There really is no easy solution to the problem- do we give Jersualem back to the Arabs? No way! They would want the entire country before they are happy. I think the Jews need a homeland- we've been pushed around and killed and persecuted for thousands of years. But what can we do to bring lasting peace? And would each sides recognize it? I'm glad that Arabs, Christians, and Jews can all live in Jerusalem in relative peace. Jews can't go up to Temple Mount though which is sad because it's beautiful. Apparently the second intifada in 2000 started because Ariel Sharon, the Jewish prime minister of Israel, went up to Temple Mount. Just by entering the Mount he ignited a war. It's crazy how delicate the peace is between the three groups in Jersualem, the holiest city in the world to Jews and Christians and the third holiest to Muslims.

I will write more later. I've tried Skyping people, but I just realized that while it's 2:42 here, it's 7:42 am there. OOoooooopsss.

Love love,
A