The Old City

i went to the old city yesterday. you know how babies, 0-5 months, start blinking a ton and can't focus when you put really colorful or shiny things in front of their face? that's basically how i felt the entire time i was getting lost. the old city is so confusing!! our little group of 4 was lost in the muslim quarter for an hour. taking directions from 10 different locals led us to the entrance of the dome of the rock. fyi it was friday.

so i started writing this post after my first day- not the best day. The following day was MUCH better. I walked through the Jewish quarter (my favorite), on the ramparts (the old city walls), saw the western/wailing wall, ate my first falafel and got to know the city so much better. I found out that students aren't even supposed to go into the Muslim quarter. whoops. I finally quit waking up to the prayer call at 4 AM every morning!!! I have already had so many adventures here. The most awkward one was probably crashing an orthodox Jewish backyard party in WEst Jerusalem that some kid in our group had heard about. He was technically invited by a Jewish man he met on the plane over here, but I guess that invite wasn't universally shared among all the Jews at this party. I have never felt more conspicuous, disrespectful, or unwanted in my entire life. Me and a few other girls waited outside because we felt like we were intruding BIG TIME. 15 minutes later this Jewish guy in a gold robe and what looked like a Russian furry hat said something in Yiddish and spit on the ground by us. Needless to say, we high-tailed it outta there.

Also, things that gardeners like to yell out at you as you walk down the street in yorba linda is NOTHING compared to what palestinian men say here. In fact, they almost seem sweet and naive in comparison.

Is this a weird spot for me to tell you i really like it here? probably, but i do!