i am backpacker, hear me roar.

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill." -ps 137:5

i took the free ride with the study tour class to jerusalem, which had a couple stops along the way but i didn't mind. it saved me 42 shekels and i got to hang out with friends along the way :). the first stop was a jewish soldiers memorial museum, of which i couldn't enter because i wasn't part of the class. israeli soldiers and arabs everywhere. i hung out a cafe and watched people. there were all kinds of groups going in and out.

later in the day, they dropped me off in ramat eshkol and i found my way to the central bus station, as a sort of bearing. i immediately noticed how much more crowded the buses were than in haifa. there were also more religious jews everywhere. much much more.


you can barely see it, but this man is wearing the whole get-up with crocs shoes. i wanted to die. :)

another ridiculous part of that day was just how many men wanted to talk to me. they weren't pushy, but they were pretty forward. "where are you from?" is the most common pick up line once they realize my awkward foreignness. followed by "are you dating anyone?" or "you beautiful!" i must have been wearing nice perfume that day because i couldn't get the boys to go away. avoidance tactics include ducking out the bathroom while one of them was waiting for me & looking the other way, and walking quickly down the escalator. i'm not that mean, i just didnt want to take him up on his offer to chat in a tax office where he worked. things to do! people to see! places to go!

sometimes i just want to wear a big sign that says " I don't want to speak English with you."

i talked to one guy in hebrew for 20 minutes. i was just sitting there at the cafe drinking tea, and i couldn't figure out what he was saying at first. he mostly helping me trying to stay stuff. i learned to say "ragil" like when ordering "te ragil"... normal tea.





jerusalem morning in the jewish quarter. i took a long meander through the old city as soon as i left the hostel. there were children everywhere on their way to school. for some reason i really didn't expect the old city, chock full of religious sites and ancient buildings, to be that bustling with life.

everywhere i walked, in the new city and otherwise, was pretty crowded. i had my alarm going off in my bag for 1 hour before i realized the sound of it. there was so much noise everywhere.

being quite ravenous, i stopped in a bakery for a 3 shekel bread... mmm.

other things i love about israel: some bakeries are just excellent, the public transportation is more reliable than in Boston (time schedules? who knew!), and the people in general. They are tough people because they have to be, but also kind.

i got homesick for haifa after just one day. nothing like the glittering mediterranean to greet me on the bus ride back to my home in israel :)