Jerusalem

My flight arrived just before 11 am. I didn't have any problems getting into the country, though I was questioned at the gate just after getting off the plane as well as the usual questions at immigration. So, I now have an Israeli stamp in my passport ... and can't go to several countries until I get a new one (only 1 1/2 years away).

I had no problems finding the sherut (shared taxi) to Jerusalem. The driver dropped me off just below the Jaffa Gate and gave me detailed instructions on how to get to the hotel, so it wasn't hard to find at all! The hotel is simple, but it's clean! The elevators are a tiny (have to get a picture in there next time I take it) and slow, but since there are probably 60 steps between the ground floor and the first floor, elevator it is ... for going up, at least! (The bedroom I'm sharing has 2 hard single beds and a large bathroom.)

The street the hotel is on

After dumping my stuff off at the hotel, I picked up my information packet at reception, flipped though it quickly, then walked down to JUC (Jerusalem University College) to take a look around. That school is a maze! I knew there were computers somewhere (had to email my mom so that she could stop worrying about me) and after wandering around for a while, eventually found someone to ask. Good thing I did - I had to go through the dinning room, across a courtyard, into another building, down a set of stairs ... the next problem was finding my way back out again!

David Street

After that, I headed into the old city down David St. - a narrow street heading downhill toward the intersection the the Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian quarters. I spent about an hour walking around, then headed back to the hotel to use the bathrooms and see if my roommate had shown up yet (nope). Then it was back to the Christian quarter to see if I could find the Church of the Holy Sepulchre without having to pull out my guidebook for the map - you'd think it would be easy, there was even a sign for it off David St.! I knew that I was in the right area, but after 15 minutes, just couldn't find it. I finally pulled out a map, saw that I was basically right beside it, and continued my search - you'd think a large church would be hard to hide. 10 minutes later, I realized that there was one small passage that I hadn't gone down and finally found the gate to the church's courtyard. It was neat to see all the people in there, their different reactions to the various things in there (such as kissing and rubbing rocks, jewelery, and other things on the Stone of Unction - where Jesus' body was prepared for burial). We'll probably be back here with the prof, so I didn't bother reading all the details in the guidebook - just looked at it to find what was important about the various rocks! And I didn't see the tomb, eithere - there was a huge line and I'm sure we'll be going there as a group.Leaving the church, I got to hear my first Muslim call to prayer.

Back at the hotel, I met my roommate for the next 3 weeks and after supper (at the hotel - we'll be getting all breakfasts and dinners there), we went back to JUC to explore the campus some more. Then it was back to the hotel for an early bedtime since neither of us had slept on the way over!