This new semester has been sort of an odd juxtaposition of new things and old things. I spent a full semester in this room, (sorry, it's rather poorly stitched together, but you get the idea)
at this school,
in this city,
in this country.
Some things are wonderfully familiar. On the other hand, that semester was in the fall, with an entirely different group of people and classes. Some things are amazingly different. I will try to sort my thoughts into those two categories, and probably fail miserably, but hey.
First Impressions?
1. New students started arriving on Friday. I think I've met most of them, though certainly not all, and I don't remember all of their names. There are a lot of Steve's, Matt's, Mark's, and Jo(h)n's. (Feeling Biblical, parents, weren't we?) Good recipe for confusion.
2. It's a much smaller group than last semester, which is sort of nice. At least in some ways. There are a total of 34 students living on campus.
3. There are two new girls here for the grad program - yay! More long-termers.
4. There are actually more guys than girls on campus this semester, though most are undergraduates, for you wannabe matchmakers out there. :) Nonetheless, that's a rather unique situation from most Christian contexts I've been in.
5. There is one Canadian, one Norwegian, one from Hong Kong, and a couple MKs from Kenya. I guess that adds a bit to our cultural diversity. :)
5b. I think I'm still the only Montanan on campus. (One student's wife grew up in MT.)
6. It's kind of different to be one of the "returners." Perhaps a little like it is at Clydehurst? One wants to be helpful and welcoming, and still avoid being a know-it-all. It's so great to see the other returners - it's comfortable being with them. But on the other hand, one wants to avoid any semblence of a new-people-excluding clique.
7. I ate my first whole kumquat the other day. It was a bit weird, but tasty.
8. I went to Jerusalem Baptist Church on Sunday with a few other students. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll make it my "home." I do need to work on finding/deciding on a home church, though.
9. I discovered today that there is a Mechanical Engineering major here. Yay! Someone who will get some of my geeky jokes!
10. I finally brough my first JUC shirt today.
11. I finally went shopping at Shabban's and got a couple skirts. His "new" remodled shop is now open.
Second Impressions?
1. I've been pondering how different it feels to arrive here in the winter (spring semester) as opposed to the summer (fall semester). While it's not terribly cold (it reminds me of spring in Montana, or the the weather during staff training) it's also not terribly warm. Jackets, coats, sweatshirts, hats, scarves, and gloves are all rather welcome.
2. This contrast was especially apparent as some of us returning students accompanied the new geography students on their first "field study" around the Old City. On our first tour I remember distinctly being very warm and sweaty. Especially when we went and saw the tomb of Joseph of Aramathea inside the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. This time, I have to admit that it was really nice to go inside that rather tight and enclosed area of the church to soak up a little extra warmth.
3. Speaking of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, I finally got to go inside the actual "tomb" of Jesus for the first time. (Since we had heard most of Dr. Wright's teaching on these things before, some of us we a bit less attentive to him and a bit more attentive to other details).
4. I also love listening to the different groups chanting in the church.
5. I'm getting more used to the smell of insense.
6. I feel fairly comfortable in my ability to avoid getting helplessly lost in the Old City, but I'm not entirely certain of being able to find anything on the first try. :)
7. I've been here nearly a week and have yet to be bitten by a mosquito or see a lizard. Cats, however, are still quite common. In fact, I seem to be seeing cats everywhere today. There was a cat outside my window when I got up this morning (my window looks out on a 3-story-high roof) and there was one peering over the stairs at me just now.
8. I saw my Hebrew teacher today. After he told me that he forgot I was coming back but he was very good to see me, he told me I did very well on my final last semester. Well, that's encouraging. :)
9. It's a little greener than it was in the fall, but we are still in desperate need of rain.
10. Pretty sure all the warm weather last semester has turned me into a wimp. :)
11. People in Jerusalem are still crazy. I mean, well, I guess different cultures react different ways to their "holy" city. I, for one, have no desire to parade around the town with drums, dancing and singing. Apparently some people do. Whatever makes your socks go up and down.
12. I've come to have a higher opinion of the value of tradition than I had at the beginning of last semester.
13. I still have much to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...but I rather dislike it when people pick a side and cling to it tenaciously. Biblically speaking, there are clearly right and wrong aspects of both sides.
Random thoughts:
1. I found out yesterday that some people are not familiar with the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," not to mention "Don't sniff a gift fish." ;) I suppose they also would be confused by "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" and, of course, "Beware of bears greeking gifts" would be a total mystery. (If you get the reference in that last one, major kudos.)
2. I learned that about 30,000 people live in the old city. In has an area of about 220 acres. My parent's house is situated "on" about 80 acres. Multiply that area by three and the crowd the population of Bozeman into it. That's crazy.
3. I'm looking forward to having a falafel. :)
4. I got to sit in a hammock!
5. This is one of the driest winters in Israel since...I don't know when, but apparently quite a while. And they're already in a drought.
6. It did rain the other night, and I went up on the roof with Amy to see the lightening.
7. I'm going to quit trying to think of other things that have struck me since returning and just publish this post.
