9/9 | Shabbat Reflections

Every shabbat, the entire city of Jerusalem shuts down.  Since there is nothing to do, I thought I would spend some time reflecting on the past week.  Before I do that, however, I wanted to comment today's ulpan class.  Normally, the entire five hours are spent in class learning Hebrew.  Today, however, we did things a little differently. About an hour into class, we were taken to a small auditorium where we sang Israeli songs as a group.  Under the direction of a pianist, almost every single ulpan student sang different songs given to us on a sheet of paper in Hebrew.  These melodies ranged from traditional Russian folk tunes to Israeli love songs.  It was surprisingly fun, and a good stress relief before the test we took later in the day.  The test turned out to be not too bad, but very long.  What was neat, though, was the fact that there was a whole passage on the neighborhood of Nachalot, which I had been in three days earlier.  It is common in Jerusalem to learn about something that is right in your backyard.  Just look out any window and it is possible to see so much!

A typical view from the campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Mount Scopus.

After ulpan, my friend Rachel and I went to a restaurant called Burgers Bar for a celebratory "done with week one" lunch.  There aren't many food options on Mount Scopus or the adjacent French Hill and Givat Shapira neighborhoods, but fortunately, Burgers Bar is tah'im me'od, which means very tasty in English.  Lunch was proceeded by a much needed five hour nap and a free shabbat meal at the Jeff Seidel Student Center.  Afterwards, we came back to my apartment--dira in Hebrew--and watched History of the World, Part I.  All in all, a very pleasant day.

As for reflecting, I thought I would do so through pictures.  So, here they are:

The front sign for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Every morning, it takes about 15 minutes to walk from the Student Village to the Mount Scopus campus.   The walk is uphill, so this sign is a much welcomed sight.  On the way to and from campus, there is an old British military cemetery, Hadassah Hospital, and a Starbucks-like café called Aroma.  There is supposedly a shuttle, but nobody has ever seen it run.

This is the sign for the Rothberg International School with the pomegranate logo.  I have met students from all over--Canada, France, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, etc.--that have come here to study Hebrew, International Relations, Psychology, etc.

This is the Frank Sinatra building with the school's iconic tower in the background.  From this building, it is possible to get to the Boyer building, where the Rothberg International School is located.  The garden in front has been dug up since I took this picture, so I am not sure what this area will look like in the future.

The tilted tree is a monument to the victims of a suicide bomber the detonated himself at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002.  It creates an interesting visual effect meant to inspire.

A lizard sculpture on the side of one of the buildings.  There are so many interesting things to look at on campus!

This campus has to rank among the most beautiful in the world.  For being on the edge of the Judean desert, Mount Scopus is very green.

Cut-outs of Albert Einstein on a bicycle are located throughout campus.  He was one of the school's founders, so he is highly celebrated here.

The entranceway to Kfar HaStudentim, the Student Village.

The cats, called chatoolim in Hebrew, are probably the funniest part of Jerusalem.  Like squirrels in the United States, they are everywhere!  Sometimes, they meow so loudly that the sound carries through the entire Student Village.  They are fairly aggressive, so it is best just to stay away.

I may be far from AU but Israel is already starting to feel like home!