Galilee and other shenanigans…

...where can I even start? I filled 18 pages in my journal over the last 2 days alone, and my head is still reelin'!

I just got back from a crash course tour of Galilee and the Dead Sea region.  Maybe you'll let me spare you all the details until a later time if I exchange a couple highlights and pictures?

Okay! Highlight number one: Mt. Tabor. This is the (supposed) sight of Jesus’ Transfiguration. The church and grounds are cleanly kept by the Franciscans, and are perched above the expansive Jezreel valley. The gardens were glorious! Flowers of all colors and sizes and shapes and aromas! Flowers from all over the world, really - each plant had a placard that revealed its native home. In the same garden are plants from India, Korea, Mexico that all shared the same sun and air (which I think is beautifully poetic in a simple way). Also, my camera ran out of battery at Mt. Tabor. This was initially a bummer, until I realized it freed up my hands for my pen and journal! So instead of snapping a whole bunch of pictures, I was able to take down my thoughts in the moment, and not after the fact. And honestly, that was pretty refreshing.

Highlight two. Dead Sea…I floated! And because I didn't need to hold myself up in the water, I could really swim. I can only imagine what Michael Phelps would do in the Dead Sea. Oh! And I made a point to get my feet wet in the Mediterranean Sea before we left that day, and I visited the Sea of Galilee on Friday too. So now I can say I have been in the Dead Sea, the Med Sea, and the Sea of Galilee all on the same day. Maybe that's silly, but I'm enjoying the idea! 

One last highlight: waking up this morning in the Tiberius hostel because the sun gently nudged me awake. I haven't risen with the sun in a few weeks, so it felt especially nice to have the natural alarm clock do what it does best. AND I was allowed to roll over and go back to sleep (even better!) with the anticipation that I was about to live a full, new day!

Alright -- here are a few picks from my time last Saturday at Caesarea. The first is of my friends and me after we got eaten alive by a wave (quite unexpectedly!). The second is just of me, enjoying the sun and Roman architecture. And finally, the third is me chillin' on the top of the Roman aqueduct.

Love you all - goodnight! :)

deep breath

I'm writin' to y'all on the fly tonight - just wanted to pop by before I wind down for bed. :)

It's the Thursday night before the only long weekend here in Ashkelon. We worked until 1 pm (according to our normal schedule) this afternoon, but did not have to scrub pottery at the compound from 4-6. AND, tomorrow we have a field trip to the Dead Sea/Masada/Qumran...so fun times are ahead! AND some of my friends and I have rented a car for the weekend that we'll take North from the Dead Sea into Galilee for the weekend. (!!!) :D

With our free time and our new ride that we picked up from Avis in Ashdod, we explored Lachish - the site of a major siege and epic destruction back around Hezekiah's time. Sennacarib (I think I spelled that right?), an Assyrian king, traveled south to capture all of Judah (he nearly succeeded), and laid siege at Lachish for over a year while he built HUGE siege engines and ramps. Can you imagine what those ancient people living in that city must have felt to be so constantly acquainted with the feeling of inescapable, imminent doom? I might've expected the grounds to feel eerie, but instead the landscape (which sported an EXCELLENT view of the Shephelah and Judean Hill Country) felt at peace. Actually, it felt as if it was waiting for something, almost as if the very stones I was treading upon were dreaming in the middle of a deep sleep. In the words of Cisneros, the land felt "full of a deep breath."

Anywho, I digress.

Post-Lachish we romped for a bit around Bet Guvrin, a tel that sports famous caves. However, we weren't able to romp properly because the park was generally closed, and there was not much to see.

Okay, talk to you soon! Can you tell I'm trying to be much more proactive about this blog? I am! I hope you all have a great couple of days until we meet again.

Peace :)