Hi everyone! Today was my first day of class. At 9 Am sharp we took off in a van, that barely held all of us, to the city of David. We started by looking down into the kidron Valley, which actualy used to be much deeper. So when he pointed out the city of david it looked far too close to the floor of the valley to me, so I asked, "Didn't they live on the slope because they couldn't defend the city any lower?" And he said yes they did and took my notesbook and made a drawing asking us to identify the valleys, which I did. "Ah so somebody did the homework!" he exclaimed. I was proud.

Then we walked to where warren's shaft is. This is the earliest water system in the city and it's in the hillside, so you go into an opening and through a tunnel to where a shaft goes down to where water is. Now Every article I read claimed ancient people would lower a bucket and get water this way. However my professor swears earlier there was another water system that emptied into a pool and so they didn't need it. He admits the Israelites dug to this shaft for some reason but that it was never used.

Now many scholars disagree not only saying it was used but it was how king David's general breached the city- climbing up the shaft from the source of the water and opening the city gates from inside. See the source of the water is outside the city and it flows underground inside the city walls where this shaft is. But our prof says it would have been impossible to do and there is evidence that King david worked something out with the ruler since there is evidence of him paying him off, or something. Basically our prof is arguing against everthing he had us read! Though he has reasons to back it up. he says moss found on the shaft dated back 38,000 years and if it was in use the moss wouldn't have been able to survive to today, it would have been destroyed with the shaft's use.

So, anyway we got to crawl through rock and look down a shaft. We also visited the Siloam pool which was where pilgrims would take ritual baths before heading up the road or stairs to the temple mount. We sat on the steps of the pool itself (long since buried and dried up) and even got to go into where the steps leading to the temple mount were, steps pilgrims traveled thousdands of years ago!

However, we ended late and I had made plans with Greg. We asked in class when we'd be back and he had said by noon last week. Today I asked again, and it was 12:30. Fine I was meeting Greg at one. Nope, we got back at like 5 of one and I had to sprint to the bus stop to meet greg. I was so vexed and annoyed. I was ranting to a fellow student because I had asked specifically so if we were going to go over, i could text greg. Yes I ranted with my professor in the same tiny van. Oops. Another student turned around and helpfully told me to add a half hour to whatever anyone said, sometimes and hour- it's Israeli time. Never precise.

I'm obsessed with being on time, and having set plans and things being neat and ordered! This is going to kill me! Then just as I get to greg Jessie texts me asking if I want to go to Hebron at 2:30! We had planned to go but we only came up with the idea last night! And then he wants me to drop everything and go with an hours notice! I couldn't drop my plans with Greg so I asked if we could go another day. He had already made plans with some other kids to definitely go today! So I had to bow out, but I was annoyed. This all happened in the space of a morning. We went from agreeing to ask if anyone else wanted to make a group and go, to him having a group and a set time without me even knowing until the last minute. Oye.

Well I let it go, I hope in the future we can make more solid plans in advance. So Gred and I headed to Ben Yahuda street, a main shopping drag. I got to try shwarma ( VERY FILLING wth wonderful sauces and toppings but i prefer falafel) and got a sweatshirt that's white with blue lettering, it says peave in hebrew, then peace in english and the peace n Arabic. i thought it was a tasteful somewhat subtle message about peace in the middle east.

I also got a necklace with my name in hebrew! I love it. I got a cheap one with silver letters on a black, well, not string, but yeah, string. There's a picture. We didnt have much time because greg had class at 5 and busses are sporadic but we did manage to catch a bus back this time!!!

Also Greg went to a kippah shop and they had everything imaginable on kippahs there, stewie from family guy, a rather badly done homer simpson, pink floyd, the grateful dead, even a green day kippah. Everything you could imagine. I was kind of surprised, I thought they were more, I dont know, a religious, solemn item, but I guess pop culture strikes again.

Then we went into a jewlery shop that Greg said is rather well known throughout the world. I looked but didnt buy anything.

Now I'm home and really really tired! I'm going to upload some pictures and maybe take a nap, whew. Tired.