I know, I'm the worst blogger. ...Ever.

It's been over a month since my last blog.


Ugh.


It's not that I have nothing to write about. It's not that at all. I am in Israel, and there is a lot to write about. I just don't know how to write it all. I haven't even been journaling. I have honestly thought about turning this into a picture blog, forgetting about the words... but that didn't seem right either.

Rachel and I sitting on the edge of the
Haas Promenade, which overlooks
all of Jerusalem.

Oranim sponsored a trip for participants to Jerusalem yesterday. We woke up at the crack of dawn, met at a bus stop on Hertzl Street not long after, and boarded a bus to take a tour that I have done a couple of different times over. I will admit, this made me a bit grumpy. For one thing, I think this trip would have been a bit more beneficial in the beginning of the program, not more than halfway through. For another thing, it was six - forty - five in the morning, and I had yet to have a cup of coffee. Regardless, off to Jerusalem I went. 


Despite knowing the tours destination, and despite knowing that I was bound to hear repeated information, my heart skipped a few beats upon entering Jerusalem. I could cross the city line a million different times, but the feeling is always going to be the same, and there's no describing it. Seeing the landscape change, and the buildings slowly turn to stone... even if there were words, the description wouldn't do it justice. Dad, thank G-D you are coming here to witness it yourself.


So, we toured the Old City. We saw the Haas Promenade. I took pictures, pictures, and more pictures and have since added them to the collection. I could fill a store with the pictures I have taken from the Haas Promenade, and a gallery with those of the Old City. It never gets old (no pun intended!). 

Harris, Rachel, Dana and I.
(Please excuse Rachel and I, it had been a LONG day!)

After the tour was over (OK, a bit before, Rachel and I totally ducked out before we hit the Kotel), Rachel and I met Harris in German Colony to take him out for a belated-birthday dinner. It was fabulous, even more so because Dana met us to say hello! We crashed at Harris's house after dinner - - - literally CRASHED. I believe I was asleep by 10PM, Rachel following not long after.


And now, I'm back in Ramla. The streets are quiet, Shabbat is almost here. As Harris and I talked about yesterday, I often wonder about going back to America, where the world doesn't slow down on Fridays, doesn't stop completely on Saturday until sundown. Israel has become my norm.