It's Almost Over...

Hello Hello:

We are beginning our last week here in Israel with a day off and we are grateful. We have literally been on the move with no time off since the study program started. Yesterday we had a whole day of a study tour, which included the Golan Heights and the borders of Syria and Lebanon.It helps to understand the border conflicts better when you can see what the terrain and security issues are. So, Mel and I have actually traveled the whole country except for the extreme south....

We are missing everyone and we miss some good old fashioned american cuisine....grease and all. The "med diet" has consisted of a whole lot of carbs (white...white potatos and white rice, white bread) which is served with every meal. Yes there is hummus but that also is served with every meal. The veggies have been really nothing more than peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, usually pickled. We enjoy these things but not breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fruit has also been limited so we are both craving bananas. Israel grows them but we have yet to find a ripe one. Some of the problem is that we are basically eating cafeteria food which is never good in any country....

This is our last week here in Israel so there will only be one more post....we have felt safe here the whole time even though in Ashkelon the military presence was strong but more about that when we see you all in September. Love to all from the Galilee...

Peace

Jerusalem

Shabbot Shalom as they say here...

Wow, we have had a whirlwind the last few days. After a week and a half of some very intense lectures, we have traveled and seen much. Last week was the Galilee and yesterday we did Masada, the Dead Sea and Qumran. Today we went into the West Bank to see Bethlehem and then to the Old City and walked the De La Rosa. Tomorrow we will spend some time at the Dome of the Rock and then back to lectures.

I woke up early this morning and was met by a beautiful morning just breaking over the Jerusalem. We are staying at Hebrew University on Mount Scopus so the views are breathtaking.

As we were listening to a tour guide explain the views from the Mount of Olives someone asked me to take their picture so I thought I'd share it with you all....

Until next time....peace and love from the Holy Land....

In the Galilee

Shabbot Shalom !!!!

Greetings from Kibbutz Miza from the Galilee. We arrived here last Sunday afternoon and have been going ever since.  Our classes run from 8 or so in the morning to 6 at night with a lunch break thrown in. Our only day off will be on the 24th of this month. Sounds intense and it is but in a real good way. The caliber of faculty and students are phenominal. We are learning so much about the history and perspective of both the Jews and the Palestinians who live in this much loved, much fought over land.

Tonight we are going to visit a Druze village and tomorrow we are off to Nazareth and the Sea of Galiliee. The curriculum is wonderful. Besides lectures by some very impressive scholars, the school has many trips planned for us. We visited the Sharon Perez Peace Center this past Tuesday and will be in Jerusalem next Friday for 5 days. We will ahve many stories and adventures to bore all of you with for quite awhile.

So, until next time from this part of the world, Shalom.

Pat

On to Galilee...

Shalom:

Good morning on this beautiful Sunday. Mel and I walked the beach early this am for one last dip in the sea and one last look at the skyline.....we are on our way to the Institute and kibbutz this afternoon. Don't know what kind of internet connection there will be so this may be it for awhile.....the program looks very exciting and we are both looking forward to it.....

We walked to Jaffa (Yafo in Hebrew) yesterday...it's south along the coast....very cool to walk in this very old city...Jaffa has one of the oldest working ports in the world.....Tel Aviv has been a wonderful place to relax and prepare for the next step...glad we have been able to spend some time here.

Someone please give my Mom a big hug for me...she doesn't have access to this blog and I have only talked with her twice...give her our love....Peace.

Trip to Caesarea

Shalom to All:

Just a note with some pics....we did a tour of Caesarea and Acre yesterday. Learned quite a bit and took lots of photos.....we are starting to gear up for school...lots of reading to do before we arrive...still have time to go to the beach and enjoy the warm waters (and watching out for mammoth jellyfish) though...
Love to you all

This was taken from our hotel patio....

These are some of the ruins of king Herod's Caesarea. To the left is the sea and his palace

We will be going to Jaffa this week as well..it is just south of Tel Aviv. In fact, they really are one city. Jaffa is one of the oldest ports in the world...maybe you will remember the story of Jonah....anyway, you are in our prayers and we miss you all....Shalom

Goodbye Ashkelon, hello Tel Aviv!!!

Shalom to all our friends and family:

Today we have made our way to our hotel in Tel Aviv for a week of much deserved rest and relaxation. Although the excavation was a huge experience and we do have some great stories to tell, our bodies feel like the 50 year olds they are. So time to heal the muscle srains, decompress, and gear up for northern Israel.

Right now I am looking out our patio window which overlooks the sea. The beach is literally across the street from us and we can't wait to sit on our porch tonight to view an absolutely gorgeous sunset.

Okay so now I am able to download some pics because I am on an actual internet service...the first pic is taken at Ashkelon National Park, which is where we were digging at. Melanie is walking with some others as we are given a tour of the Canaanite gate of Ashkelon, which was uncovered over 20 years ago.

the second pic is of Melanie in Jerusalem as we climbed the outer wall of the Old City. Silwan is seen behind her. The third pic is of a double rainbow over Lake Linnhe from our hotel window in the Highlands....so as your can see, we really are traveling (and very sore) Pilgrims..........until next time....Peace.

yes we are alive!!!

Hello to All:

I know it has been a couple of weeks since the last entry. Getting an internet connection here in Ashkelon is very dicey. I finally decided to pay a pretty high rate so I could communicate.

We are in our second week of the archaeological dig at Ashkelon, Israel.  The weather reminds me very much of Arizona during monsoon season (late summer). Hot with some humidity. Our day starts at 4 am when we get out of bed to brush our teeth, do our business and throw on clothes that have already been laid out the night before. We have two other roommates so trying to get 4 women in the bathroom in just a few minutes is a trick but we are getting good at it. After our absolutions, we head down to the lobby for tiny cups of coffee and bread and jam for those who need to eat that early in the morning. We are then herded onto a bus and we are at the dig site by 5am.

Yes, it is still dark then but we clammer off the bus half asleep and load up with various tools: pickaxes, large spades called "tureas", large rubber buckets called "goufas", wheelbarrows and other odds and ends. We then lug all this stuff to our assigned site. There are 3 sites right now that are being excavated and both Mel and I are at site 47, which is the largest.

So, what do we do with these things? Well, the first week we did nothing but move dirt......a whole lot of dirt. You see, the pickaxes and tureas are used to break up and scoop the dirt into the goufas that are then carried up a whole bunch of sandbags that comprise stairs (we are about 8 to 10 feet down in the earth) and then the dirt is thrown into wheelbarrows that are then lugged to a dump site. It is very heavy, hard work. By the time breakfast break comes (at 9:30) we are already beat. But, although it is probably some of the most physically hard work I have ever done (and I have done a lot) it has actually been pretty fun. It is amazing what the body will do when pushed. Mel is finding strength she never thought she had. Most of the volunteers are undergraduate and graduate students, but there are a few of us "oldies"...in fact we have one gentleman who is about 65 with a bionic hip. He is our wheelbarrow guy because he can stand up straight and go at his own pace. But remember, we are doing all this in heat over 100 degrees with humidity so everyone is working extrememly hard.

We have one week left here before we embark on our third part of our adventure. We will be in Tel Aviv for a week to prepare for school in the Galilee which looks to be an absolute fantastic adventure. Because that hotel actually has real internet connection I will be able to be in touch a little more.........we miss you all and please keep us in your prayers as we keep you in ours.
Shalom