So...I should probably write about Israel while I'm here... I just figure it'll be so much easier when I get back home and include lots of pictures.
We spent the last eleven days living on a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee. I hope to express my various levels of existence while there.
Physically:
Fantastic, for a day. Upon arrival and immediately put on swimsuits. The water was warm except for occasional patches creeping along the bottom. I loved swimming. Real swimming, with strokes and everything. I found out how weak my shoulders, but I can still do a better good butterfly stroke.
That night I felt congested and figured it was just the sea water in my nose. But then I started getting a sore throat, which is what happens when I start getting a cold so I figured it was that. But then the sore throat was gone after a couple days and I stayed very congested. So I've been sick since we got to Galilee... My nose is still congested and I can feel the pressure in my teeth and jaw. Unpleasant but bearable. I still swam a lot though :)
The day before we left the sea we had a long field trip, exploring mountains and cities and churches and the like, and got back to our rooms right before dinner. So a few of us ran into the water with our clothes still on. Which was fun. When I got out, I found a sandy loogie on my leg. Rather gross. Later that night my leg felt sore, but I thought nothing of it. The next morning my leg had an inflamed red mark with a scab in the middle. I had been attacked by a jellyfish! I do not think jellyfish are supposed to be in the Sea of Galilee!
Mentally:
This place is beautiful. Sunsets are a delight. The waves are calming. I realized that kibbutzim started forming around the beginning of the 20th century. During this time many Jews were coming from Russia into Israel. This was close to the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. This could mean that socialist ideologies influenced the creation of some of Israel's most historic modern Jewish settlements. Pretty neat. We went on a hike with a man from the kibbutz we stayed at. He was paid fairly well for taking us out. He does it as a side job while he lives at the kibbutz. It was at the kibbutz (Ein Gev) that he met his wife and has raised his three sons. We went to some waterfalls and swam for a while. He told riddles along the way. He is older than my father but his youngest child is younger than my youngest brother. Just interesting. After majoring in Russian while at college in the United States, he decided to travel to Israel for a year and then just stayed out here since. As a faithful member of the kibbutz, all of the money he earns as a hiking guide (an incredibly fit hiking guide with a magnificent beard) he gives to the kibbutz to be used by everyone. Strong ideals.
Emotionally:
I am worried to return to real life (as much as life as a college student in Provo can be termed "real") in two weeks with its work, roommates, unstructured classes, money, and competition. I am excited to see close friends again, dance, attend wedding receptions, and walk around a city alone late at night. Mostly, I am exhausted. Overwhelmed into happiness would be another way to describe it.
Spiritually:
The comparisons between a summer in Israel and living in Sacramento for a couple years are astounding. The structure in both has been wonderful, but I am glad for the freedoms we've had in Israel. I like walking around late at night because I just want to breathe the city. The intensity and energy of both has been empowering and sustaining, but the brevity of Israel has been most needed for recovery. Though I am thankful for the endurance of Sacramento. Studying in both places has been extraordinary. The depth and opportunities to learn have been so vast in both areas.
I feel fulfilled here. And complimented. It is interesting to see the change in return missionaries as they have been here. I feel like Jerusalem has been a place to understand my time in Sacramento much more fully. I doubt it comes as a surprise but I was not a forceful person while serving in Sacramento. Because of the missionary environment I sometimes felt uncomfortable because I find no satisfaction or result in trying to argue religion or force ideals. Israel is one of the best modern examples of the failure of forced ideals and argued religion. And so I feel that my calmness might have been more helpful than I saw. At least I can hope. My time here has been resolving, replenishing, and everything I wanted out of the Holy Land.
We spent the last eleven days living on a kibbutz on the Sea of Galilee. I hope to express my various levels of existence while there.
Physically:
Fantastic, for a day. Upon arrival and immediately put on swimsuits. The water was warm except for occasional patches creeping along the bottom. I loved swimming. Real swimming, with strokes and everything. I found out how weak my shoulders, but I can still do a better good butterfly stroke.
That night I felt congested and figured it was just the sea water in my nose. But then I started getting a sore throat, which is what happens when I start getting a cold so I figured it was that. But then the sore throat was gone after a couple days and I stayed very congested. So I've been sick since we got to Galilee... My nose is still congested and I can feel the pressure in my teeth and jaw. Unpleasant but bearable. I still swam a lot though :)
The day before we left the sea we had a long field trip, exploring mountains and cities and churches and the like, and got back to our rooms right before dinner. So a few of us ran into the water with our clothes still on. Which was fun. When I got out, I found a sandy loogie on my leg. Rather gross. Later that night my leg felt sore, but I thought nothing of it. The next morning my leg had an inflamed red mark with a scab in the middle. I had been attacked by a jellyfish! I do not think jellyfish are supposed to be in the Sea of Galilee!
Mentally:
This place is beautiful. Sunsets are a delight. The waves are calming. I realized that kibbutzim started forming around the beginning of the 20th century. During this time many Jews were coming from Russia into Israel. This was close to the time of the Bolshevik Revolution. This could mean that socialist ideologies influenced the creation of some of Israel's most historic modern Jewish settlements. Pretty neat. We went on a hike with a man from the kibbutz we stayed at. He was paid fairly well for taking us out. He does it as a side job while he lives at the kibbutz. It was at the kibbutz (Ein Gev) that he met his wife and has raised his three sons. We went to some waterfalls and swam for a while. He told riddles along the way. He is older than my father but his youngest child is younger than my youngest brother. Just interesting. After majoring in Russian while at college in the United States, he decided to travel to Israel for a year and then just stayed out here since. As a faithful member of the kibbutz, all of the money he earns as a hiking guide (an incredibly fit hiking guide with a magnificent beard) he gives to the kibbutz to be used by everyone. Strong ideals.
Emotionally:
I am worried to return to real life (as much as life as a college student in Provo can be termed "real") in two weeks with its work, roommates, unstructured classes, money, and competition. I am excited to see close friends again, dance, attend wedding receptions, and walk around a city alone late at night. Mostly, I am exhausted. Overwhelmed into happiness would be another way to describe it.
Spiritually:
The comparisons between a summer in Israel and living in Sacramento for a couple years are astounding. The structure in both has been wonderful, but I am glad for the freedoms we've had in Israel. I like walking around late at night because I just want to breathe the city. The intensity and energy of both has been empowering and sustaining, but the brevity of Israel has been most needed for recovery. Though I am thankful for the endurance of Sacramento. Studying in both places has been extraordinary. The depth and opportunities to learn have been so vast in both areas.
I feel fulfilled here. And complimented. It is interesting to see the change in return missionaries as they have been here. I feel like Jerusalem has been a place to understand my time in Sacramento much more fully. I doubt it comes as a surprise but I was not a forceful person while serving in Sacramento. Because of the missionary environment I sometimes felt uncomfortable because I find no satisfaction or result in trying to argue religion or force ideals. Israel is one of the best modern examples of the failure of forced ideals and argued religion. And so I feel that my calmness might have been more helpful than I saw. At least I can hope. My time here has been resolving, replenishing, and everything I wanted out of the Holy Land.
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