CATCH UP!

Wow so I feel like I haven't done this in forever! The internet isn't so bad here when you are the only one on it...but when everyone is trying to upload pics like right before we left for Egypt and ever since we got back, the poor thing crashes daily :( It's a little touchy. Being gone for so long made me forget that I'm still going to school while I'm here...but don't worry, I got an abrupt slap in the face by my good friend, reality. The week we came back, we had quizzes galore in every class and this week we had two midterms and a 14 page paper due! (I'm actually taking the time tonight, the night before the second midterm and when the paper is due, to post this because there is simply no other time). I am super studious.

So here is the field trip we went on the week before Egypt-- Neot Kedumim. It's a national park/reserve type place in Israel where they have tried to recreate the land most accurately to what it was like during Biblical times. Here are some quick pics:

Here is my lovely date....palm tree. (The only kind of dates we get here in Jerusalem ha) Date palms are one of the 'four species of Israel' (date palm, willow, myrtle, and etrog-citrus). During the Jewish 7-day holiday, Sukkot or Feast of the Tabernacles, they carry around these four species everywhere with the 3 branches in one hand and the etrog in the other. Kind of cumbersome I would think...

Hyssop! Probably the number one herb mentioned in the Bible and used in Israel...even now a days. (I swear they always figure out some way to put it in every meal). I believe it's used for a lot of things but most commonly for healing. Anyways, I got the opportunity to feel like a true Israelite woman; chore number 1 - grind some leaves. CHECK!

Chore number 2 - gather up the flocks. Yup, I can herd sheep and goats...that is if there were somehow 15 more of me! It was actually harder than it looked even though there were 20 of us doing a one man's job. I have no idea how shepherds do it. We would get the sheep into the middle and then have to hold down the fort while other people were gathering ones who were farther off but then one of the goats would randomly start walking away from the middle the whole herd would follow! Frustrating but super fun. Certified shepherd. CHECK!

Chore number 3 - do NOT burn the pitas. Well at least I can say I didn't do that. During our lunch break, our Israeli guide showed us how to make pitas and it's surprisingly really simple- just flour, water, salt, and olive oil. Anyways, he insisted on cooking them over the fire for us himself which is when he precisely burned mine to a crisp. Instead of pita bread, mine was a stale pita barbecued chip. Lucky for me, there was extra dough left so I figured why not add 'pita cooker' to my list of acquired skills for the day?.....

Hyssop grinder, done. Shepherdess, done. Heavenly pita creator, done, done, and done. Needless to say, it was an exciting day filled with hikes, shrubs, sheep and pitas. I am now officially a self-sufficient and cultured Israelite :)