How long have I been here?
Each day is so different from the one before that there are times that I still can't believe I'm even here. Class remains challenging, hard and fun. We have a good time learning but I think at times, each one of us is doing an internal exorcist head spin. There are so many verbs to conjugate and in so many ways! Often I know what to say but my tongue gets twisted. Today we had a guest speaker who spoke only in Hebrew about the myth of equality between the sexes in Israel. It was quite interesting for me. I think that many people believe that the country is totally, (how you say? <--just kidding with that English!) equal between the sexes since the women serve in the army, Golda Meir was Prime Minister and now Tzipi Livni was elected to a high position. Ha! According to this lecturer that's a joke. I'm not sure if there is any difference here on this issue than from anywhere else in the world.
Yesterday was wonderful! Harel, another friend who was a camper that we hosted, picked me up from the Ulpan and we drove to Jerusalem. First we went to the mall and had lunch near McDonald's. It was a long drive to Jerusalem with a lot of congestion, some due to construction -yes, even in Israel there's construction but here this is a good thing. More important, the family of Gilad Shalit started a walk from their home in the north to the Knesset (Parliment) in Jerusalem to draw attention to the plight of their son. They were walking by the freeway with the aid of the police and this was really something. Gilad Shalit is the soldier that was taken four years ago this month, in the Lebanon War. His family publicized the walk on FaceBook and now there are over 10,000 people walking with them.
We finally got to Jerusalem, found a place to park and headed to the Western Wall. Once there it was a totally different experience, unlike any I've ever had at The Wall. Tears poured and poured out as I prayed for everyone I know and their loved ones and our world. It came as such a surprise for me. Then, very carefully I placed each and every note that many of you gave me into the cracks. I think there was so much energy held in each of these notes that the praying and placing them in The Wall released it all. I have nothing to compare it to and am still in awe of the experience. May my prayers be answered for you and yours. Amen.
Sending you all love from Israel,
Debbie
