Greetings from the mid-east - a land of politcal tension and great baklava!
Traveling to Amsterdam:
My flight was pleasant as I sat next to a talkative yet interesting lad from India. Although I don't tend to be a talkative airline seat-mate, this guy was interesting. I had to laugh as he described his indoctrination into the US by being sent by his Indian based marketing company to Minneapolis for one month. The trauma, as he described his first, freezing week in Minniapolis, hadn't left him yet. I was glad to hear that he was treated with the utmost kindness during his stay (glad he wasn't made aware of the scores of angry americans blaming \india for our job loss) He mentioned how on ave. he puts in 15 hr days at the office back home. And we American's think life at the office is hard....
I was excited to finally get to see Amsterdam on my 8 hr layover. Unfortunately my happiness died quickly as I began hoofing it around town. The cold temps, and gusty winds put a real damper on my mood. I had such grand plans to visit 'amsterdam' sights, but after the ferse winds bent my umbrella in two (along with half the umbrellas in AMS) I resolved to overeating at one of the many delightful cafes until my outbound flight. (Oh and yes I accidently walked through the 'red light' district' - was more than a little stunned when I saw men masqurading as ugly women in the peek a boo windoews)
In Israel:
My arrival into Israel was 300am on the 11th. I was greated by 2 generations of cousins. (Gracie - 1st cuz & Estelle - 2nd cuz) at the Tel Aviv airport. Since I don't have any extended family here in the States its a real treat for me to spend quality time with them. Poor Gracie spent 2 days travel to get from Australia and Estelle & her folks flew in from Canada. We were all there to celebrate Renee (Estelle's 20yr old sister, Gracie sister's daughter) wedding in Jerusalem on the 12th. She's been attending a Sheva for the last yr and would be marring a lovely Jewish man she met in Israel.
Not only was this my first trip to Israel, it would also be my first time to a orthodox Jewish wedding. The wedding was lovely, intimate and fascinating because of the various traditions of the Jewish orthodox church which were incorporated into the wedding. The reception room was divided in half with a curtain border, one half for the women, the other for the men. Prior to the ceremony, Renee was seated on the female side and a line formed in front of her as blessings were exchanged. Its believed that what ever blessing the bride bestows on her patrons, it will come true. Right before the wedding ceremony, all the men, wearing their kippahs, accompanied the groom to the brides side as she was veiled with a thick face covering. It was his duty to lift the veil and make sure the Renee was the bride and hadn't been switched w/ another women (like in the Bible with Racheal)
My cousin's Wedding:
The ceremony itself was held in the outdoor chuppah, with the all the attendees and family surrounding the couple closely. It was probably the most intimate exchange of wedding vows I have ever witnessed After the short ceremony everybody got down like I had never seen before. Perhaps the dividing of the genders took away from much of the self-consciousness that we feel when we interact and dance with the opposite gender.?? The most shocking site to me was the israel solder friend who attended the ceremony. She had a gun and magazine wrapped around here while both dancing and eating. Something you simpy don't see everyday.
Once the business of the wedding was over it was time to hit the town. I was told that jerusalem was a destination unto itself - finally after 3 days here we would get to see some of it. This is the holiest site for both Christians and Jews. We took a guided trip Jerusalem and even ventured to occupied territory in Bethlehem, a place Jews do not enter. Our driver in Israel, was exchanged for a local guide/driver in Bethleham, b/c he said that Israel's are not allowed into the West bank since they may be taken hostage. I hadn't realized how close the West bank really is to Jerusalem, with the old wall bordering it. It was evident that the Isreal's were quiet unsettled about venturing into any part of the West bank, or any Arab territory, some of which had no distinct borders. I didn't get the sense it was a big deal, but then again, I grew up in Detroit.
Although there are many sceptics (Gracie being one of them) we were shown the various sights significant to the Christian faith, such as the site where Jesus was buried as well as the actual road (Via dolorosa) He walked to the cross. I often times wish I had a more vidid imagination so that i could more fully picture the actual events in my minds eye.
