Halfway to an MA

Thursday was the last day of class, and thus ended my first semester of graduate school! Now I'm completely bogged down with final papers.

Also I'm leaving for London tomorrow morning for the next month, and then I have friends coming to visit me.

So sorry this blog is so short, but I've been in the library since it opened this morning (even though I'm technically on holiday, but I guess that's grad school). I only plan on being in the library for another 40 minutes though, since I need internet access to check-in for my flight tomorrow! So excited! Pictures and exciting blog updates to happen from the UK next!!

Life

As I reflect upon my life the past few months, it's so hard to believe that I haven't stood on American soil in over three months now. This has been the longest I've ever been away from home, or even from America. So much has happened in the past three months, both big events and small. I began graduate school and confirmed the path that I want to follow the rest of my life; I've lived in a foreign non-English speaking country; I've traveled the Middle East, visiting sites that I've studied for the past several years; I've made some of the closet friends I've ever made and who are in my field of study; I've bonded with my professors, both past and present in ways that would intimidate me so much back at the beginning of undergrad; and really, I've gotten to see the world.

I think that my whole life, deep on a fundamental level, I knew (and I think my mom too knew) that I would leave my hometown for good. It all started with baby steps, leaving for Germany with school when I was 14, moving 150 miles away to Ann Arbor for college when I turned 18, spending two months digging in Israel when I was 20, and now moving to Israel for the next year or two. I know that home will always be in Grand Rapids for me, since that's where my whole family is, but it's strange to think that I probably will never live there permanently again. Little Grand Rapids could not contain my hopes and dreams, and although I do not regret growing up in a small town, it is saddening to know that so many never have the opportunity to leave, if only for a bit. 

A part of many people's identity is where they are from and where they've lived. It's one of the first questions you ask someone when you first meet them, "Where are you from?" Especially when abroad, I never know which answer to provide them. On the one hand, I could answer generically with "Artzot Habrit" (which would probably be obvious given my terrible American accent anyway). I could mention "Michigan" to be more specific. Whenever I say that I'm from Michigan, they usually follow up and ask if I live in Detroit. Again, I'm at a loss for an answer. Do I take the time and explain that I grew up in West Michigan but spent the last four years living near Detroit? It all seems overly complicated to explain to someone who's not familiar with American or Michigan geography. And now as much as Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor have become a part of my identity, so now is Tel Aviv. I'm fairly certain that I will not live in Israel forever (it's actually impossible for me to become a citizen here since I'm not Jewish), I do plan on staying here as long as my student visa will permit me. After that is over, I'll just move forward with the next chapter of my life, which will  be a chapter with a new setting.

I could wax eloquent about identity and seeing the world for ages, but I do have other things to update my blog readers on.

First, I (finally) got my visas all in order. The Ministry of the Interior opened promptly at 8am, so at 7:30am, I waited in line to go through security with a long line of other bleary-eyed people, alternating between darting apprehensive looks at the clock and the security guards and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. I stood there, with my backpack and school things and realized really how fortunate and well-off I am. I really had no worries at all. I was not an immigrant applying for citizenship to the country or asking for permission to work and earn money. I was only there for my student visa. I had no reason to be nervous. I had all my forms filled out (hopefully correctly, but I decided just to feign confidence and pretend as though I was completely confident that I had filled out my forms correctly to expedite the process when I met with the visa officials), my bank statement proving I had sufficient funds to stay in Israel, several papers in both English and Hebrew from school verifying my enrollment, and several passport photos of myself. At 8am, the line for security surged forward and the doors opened. The visa process was relatively painless, and my false confidence and resolute friendliness toward the visa official I think helped the whole process, and I'm sure my greetings in Hebrew were not missed either. I successfully got my visa, and then later when I was looking at it, stuck there in my passport, I realized that it expires like 6 months earlier than I expected. Guess you just can't win them all... (Also, readers, please do not fear, I'm in no danger of being deported from the country.)

Another thing that I've noticed about my life currently is that the novelty of Israel, of living in a foreign country, of being in graduate school, has worn off. My life no longer seems like a vacation. I'm sick of eating hummus and have recently taken to jam, which is a food I wasn't even that attached to when I lived in America. I've also been on a huge sushi kick lately, and my roommate Denize and I found a great place near our apartment that has all our favorites! Shopping in the shuk no longer seems new and exciting, rather it's just the way we buy our groceries. Even going to school has lost some of its novelty. I am still really enjoying my classes of course, but the work is piling up, and the amount of readings and papers we have assigned now is slightly overwhelming and reminds me of my stressful years of undergrad, where it was not uncommon to be working in the library until the early hours of the morning. Israel no longer seems like a vacation; it's just my life now. My life, where I have real responsibilities and obligations from finishing school work to paying bills.

Lately I've taken to walking along the promenade at the beach, since I live so close now. One thing that I miss a lot about America is spending summers at Lake Michigan. I truly live in a gorgeous part of Tel Aviv, and I love where I live so much! To walk along the beach and look out at the Mediterranean Sea is simply amazing. I remember when I first came to Israel in 2010, the Sea amazed and fascinated me so much. I could not wrap my mind around the fact that I was staring at the vast watery expanse that was so central to the Ancient Near East:  the Mesopotamian, Persian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Iberian, Greek and Byzantine, Roman and Italian, Illyrian, Thracian, Levantine, Gallic,Armenian, Arabic, Berber, Jewish, Aragonese, Slavic and Turkish cultures. It was that moment of realization that I really wished that the sea could tell stories. How much the sea has seen! From great battles to ancient maritime trade to fisherman attempting to make a living. And tonight, as I looked from the sea back towards the blinking lights of central Tel Aviv, towards modernity,  I was struck again with the paradox of such a vibrant modern community in front of me and to my back the ancient sea. I stared back out towards the sea. There were no boats out tonight. I tried to imagine what it was like 3000 years ago and, even with my advanced degrees in the subject, I really could not fathom. But I had my modern responsibilities that I was obliged to, so I once again, turned my back on the sea and trekked back to my little apartment by the beach.

I apologize for the lack of pictures in this blog update, but I haven't been anywhere really new or exciting in the past 10 days since my last blog post. Also, as I reread this blog post, it came out far more philosophical and poetic than was my original intent, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!!

A Trip into the West Bank

So for the next two weeks, my cousin Anna is in Jerusalem with some of her classmates from Calvin College to learn about the geography and history of Israel. Including in their course, they get to take tours of pretty much all of Israel to get a well-rounded education of it all. On Friday, a few friends and I took the sherut into Jerusalem to hang out and grab dinner with her, and over dinner we casually asked what other places she was due to visit, and she said Samaria. Needless to say, you can't just mention Samaria to a group of archaeologists over dinner. We freaked out and ate our the rest of our dinner in complete and utter envy. We weren't able to go there with our program, you see, since our professors are all Israeli and probably wouldn't want to risk taking us (their first class in the program) into occupied territories. On Saturday night, I was checking my facebook, and I had a message from Anna, saying that she remembered that I said we didn't have class on Monday, and that's the date of their tour of Samaria. She said she was going to ask if I, as a graduate student in archaeology, wanted to come. Cue freak out. Her professor said yes and said I could bring a friend, so that's how I got to go to Samaria and a few other places!

So on Sunday night after class, back to Jerusalem I went, this time by bus. The bus station is huge and kind of difficult to navigate, but we made it to Jerusalem all in one piece. We checked into our hotel and then went to grab a bite to eat before settling in for the night to prepare for our early morning. Usually I sleep terribly the night before tours, and this night was no different. After what seemed like no time at all, my alarm was beeping, and we went to go meet Anna at the Jaffa Gate to board our bus. Anna's professor was very happy to have us and was also very happy that we were so excited to be tagging along with them.

First we stopped at the site of Shechem, which used to be one of the capitals of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was really exciting, because we had learned all about Shechem in one of our classes and found ourselves muttering the answers to the professor's questions under our breath (or telling them to Anna to answer).

Shechem

After Shechem, we continued north to Samaria, the destination that I had been waiting for. It definitely did not disappoint!!! It was sooo cool to see the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel. It was mostly Herodian architecture left there. 

Samaria

When we were driving down from the tel, we saw some flags of the Hamas. Rachel and I found it mildly terrifying, but none of the younger students really knew what was going on (or even who the Hamas were). We were completely safe the whole time though!

We headed to Mount Gerizim later, which was the location of the temple of Israel. On Mount Gerizim is a small Samaritan community (I had no idea they still existed!). The Samaritans believe that their holy place is Mount Gerizim, rather than the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as the Jewish faith believes. The Samaritans also believe only in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible). While we were there, we had the opportunity to go in the synagogue there and listen to the High Priest, in his limited English, tell us about the Samaritan faith. Because it was a Christian tour, it was most people's first time in a synagogue. Before we entered, we removed our shoes as a sign of respect for the sanctity of the place. We asked how the High Priesthood was obtained, and he told us that it was passed down father-to-son, and they were descendants from the tribe of Levi. This was one of the most powerful moments in probably my entire time in Israel thus far. To imagine that the little old man in front of me, talking to us in his broken English, was a descendant of Levi was simply astounding! It's an opportunity that I imagine I will never have again.

Samaritan High Priest and the Torah

View of Palestine from the top of Mount Gerizim

As we drove to Shiloh, I quite enjoyed looking out the bus window and observing the differences between Israel and Palestine. Although I do not claim to have seen all of Israel, I have been many places in the country. One of the things about Palestine was how these really extravagant houses would be in the midst of a completely desolate location and also near other houses that were really run-down. 

I was also looking forward to going to Shiloh. I actually could not remember why I thought Shiloh was important; the name really rung a bell, but I couldn't remember its significance. Turns out it's where Samuel spent his childhood. In fact, they've narrowed it down to three possible areas where the Holy of Holies was. SO incredibly amazing to consider that I might have been standing where the Holy of Holies was situated, and also neat to think about that biblical figure of Hannah being there, simply because we have the same name. :)

Shiloh

Terraces for farming

Location of the Holy of Holies?

After we returned to Jerusalem, we were all exhausted. Anna, Rachel, and I decided to do a bit of shopping in the Shuk at Jerusalem for a bit. I forgot how much I love/hate the Shuk. Love cuz they have absolutely everything. Hate because the shopkeepers generally hassle you and assume you're a tourist and thus try and give you a bad deal. I hate to have them hear me speak English. When they ask why I'm in Israel and if it's my first time here, I like to be a bit snarky and respond in Hebrew, "No, I live in Tel Aviv..." I took Anna and Rachel to my favorite scarf man in the Shuk though, who I discovered last summer. He actually has a degree from Northwestern and gives great prices on his scarves! He saw that I still had his card all the way from last summer and gave us a great price and treated me like an old friend. :) It was great. 

After shopping, Rachel and I decided to take Anna out to eat at the Armenian Tavern, as a thank-you for allowing us to tag along. I had the lamb shishlik, and it was delicious. Then we stopped by a bakery in the Jewish quarter to buy some baklava for dessert, and Rachel and I then had to catch the bus back to Tel Aviv. 

And that was the close of one of the best days ever. :)

It's the Holiday Season...in Israel

Shalom and boker tov, dear readers. So sorry I made an empty promise to blog more regularly and then haven't updated since Christmas Eve. Now I have "high-speed" internet in my apartment, so no excuses really.

On Christmas Eve, a few of us when to this really nice restaurant near by apartment called Little Prague, which is well-known for having several types of beer, which I actually did not sample any of. That's one good thing about living a few blocks away from such a touristy area is the abundance of great restaurants in such close proximity! The food was wonderful and non-kosher, and I had the most delicious artery-clogging chicken steak covered in melted cheese and mashed potatoes and coleslaw. For desert there was nutella-filled crepes with peaches. All SO incredibly delicious. But I couldn't help but think how very different it was from all my previous 21 Christmas Eves. It did not seem like Christmas was approaching at all. Normally on Christmas Eve, I would be gathered with my entire family. But really my Christmas Eve wasn't bad, just different.

Christmas Day was extraordinarily uneventful. Christmas Day was the day that we were going to get our internet in our apartment! Excitement was high in the air that morning, as my roommates and I woke up and eagerly anticipated the phone call from the internet technician telling us he was on his way. They had given us a timeframe between 10am and 1pm. At 10am, we all gathered eagerly in the living room and awaited his arrival. Two and a half hours later, we get a phone call. It was the internet technician, telling us in broken English how he was running a bit late and should be there sometime before 3pm. Although quite disappointed as we were all eager to skype our families for Christmas, we waited. And waited. Finally he arrived! In no time at all, he set up our modem for us. Complete with one internet cord. We asked what about the wifi that we had thought we ordered. Apparently that is something completely separate. In fact, our internet cord wouldn't even work until we called this number to turn it on for us.

So I called the number to at least get our internet cord working so perhaps we could take turns skyping with that for a bit. After being on hold for most of the afternoon (and having to run to the convenience store twice to put more minutes on my phone), we got our internet cord working. Now to order the wireless was a completely different matter. I was on the hold even longer and transferred approximately 6 times (not even an exaggeration), since none of the customer service reps spoke English and could understand what I wanted. Finally, we got through, and they made an appointment to come set up wireless in our apartment a little over a week later. So that's how I spent my Christmas.

Academically speaking, we finished our class on the Persian Period archaeology of the area and moved onward to Hellenistic archaeology, which is the last course in our history classes! I was quite eager to start this one, since it's basically what one of my undergraduate BA's is in. It's quite different than the way that I was used to studying archaeology. In undergrad, we usually learned about specific sites and applied the characteristics of that site to the greater history of Greece and Rome. Here it's kind of the opposite, which is interesting and not what I'm used to. Additionally, I'm also used to a great deal of memorization when it comes to my classes, since at Michigan, we would be required to memorize and be able to recognize certain features of sites for our exams and plans and be able to locate it, date it, and explain its importance. Here at TAU, we just write a short paper. Quite different.

On New Year's Eve, some of the boys in my program had a big party at their new apartment. One of our friends is Russian, and he made this thing called plov, which is a meat and rice dish, which was absolutely delicious! We had a pretty great time (not too great though that we wouldn't be able to make it to class the next day though). It's also interesting how New Year's really isn't celebrated here. There was no Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. No ball drop. No obnoxious party favors at stores. Nothing really. New Year's Day in Israel is an optional holiday, but in Tel Aviv apparently some 40% of people take the day off of work.

Apartment-wise, our new furniture FINALLY came in! So we each have our own beds now and closets! It's simply wonderful to not have to rife around in my suitcase for a clothes or to have to share my bed anymore! We also have a washer and dryer now! It's my first time not having to pay for laundry since I lived at home! I'm sure it will be great, but we haven't set it up yet, since it's really heavy and wrapped in a box. I'm pretty confident that we'll be able to figure it out though.

Other news - my cousin Anna is in Jerusalem for the next 2 weeks or so for a class trip! Tonight hopefully I'm grabbing a sherut from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to see her and exchange belated Christmas presents. It's so strange the way that members of my family keep finding their way over here. About two years ago, my cousin Adam was here for a few weeks in January, then I came the following summer for two months to dig, then I moved here this year, and now Anna is visiting. So wonderful! Also one of my best friends from home Breanna and her mom will be coming for a week at the end of February! I'm really excited for their visit, simply so that I can show them Israel.

Israel is one of those countries that I feel that most people don't care to visit. What with terror attacks and it's proximity to "dangerous" countries in the Middle East, I feel like very few people come here unless they are Jewish. That's why I'm so excited to show my guests otherwise and to demonstrate that this really is a lovely country with such a rich history! I'm also excited for the opportunity to show them some of the historical sites and be able to explain a bit about some of my biblical historical passions!

Some of the things I love about my life in Israel right now are the really close friendships that I've developed with the other students in my program! We actually are like a big family and care very deeply for one another. I love the random moments when we realize that we communicate over facebook much more so than regular friends (due to us all not wanting to waste minutes on our pay-as-you-go phones). I love how when one of us is sick and misses class how the the rest the class is so willing to share their notes and to help catch them up. I love how after class some days, we all run to the mall to grab a falafel. Or the way we talk about archaeology kind of all the time.

I am in love with the location of my paper. It's so great being able to shop at the Shuk for all my produce. Lately I've been craving fresh fruit, and the shuk is right there! Right now my roommates and I are on a huge melon kick. So delicious! There is also a bakery, and I'm in love with their fresh bread loaves! We only tried it out this week because we needed some bread, and we got this kind that has tons of seeds in the crust, and it's so good! I like eating it with peanut butter. Another one of our favorite treats right now are these small baked cookies that have different fillings in them such as strawberry or fig or chocolate. Also very delicious.I love being able to see the Sea from my bedroom window. I love watching the sunset over the Mediterranean. I love watching the waves. It kind of reminds me of home, since I pretty much grew up on the beach of Lake Michigan and spent all my summers there.

I love waking up to this in the morning!

It was quite window on this morning; there are lots of people surfing!

I also love the long bus ride to school. Rather than simply rolling out of bed and staggering across the street to campus, we have to wake up early and make it to the bus stop by 9am, so that we can catch the bus. We're the first stop, so we luckily always get a seat. I like listening to my iPod and just looking out the window the whole 45-60-minute journey to school on the bus. It's still hard for me to wrap around my mind that this is my city now. It feels like I've lived in Tel Aviv forever (and it has been 3 months now), but then I remind myself that I have at least 7 months left here! Hopefully my Hebrew gets a little better during that time.

I also am growing to love the Middle Eastern fashion. In Tel Aviv, women wear lots of leggings or jeggings and boots and scarves. This is really perfect for me, since I actually hate wearing real pants, so getting away with wearing leggings everyday and dressing it up slightly with a scarf is simply fantastic. Unfortunately, this had developed into a slight scarf addiction, and now I've accumulated quite a lot. Also I've finally purchased harem pants!!! So stereotypical Middle Eastern, and I love them. Most comfortable pair of pants ever.

Okay, obviously this isn't me, but I do feel a lot like Princess Jasmine in them (sans the belly shirt, of course).

And lastly, I know I've raved about this before, but I absolutely love my coursework. In undergrad I also loved what I was studying...most of the time. I would go to class mostly prepared (unless it was a language class, then fear of appearing unprepared would cause me to over-prepare), here it's so easy for me to complete the required readings, usually the optional readings, and every time a professor mentions a book or an article if we'd like further information, I always jot it down. Additionally, since I hope to one day also be a professor and plan to teach later as a graduate student, I sometimes find myself subconsciously planning lessons and tagging articles for my future students to read someday! It's really been a great confirmation of my passions, and this is what I want to do in the future! At Michigan, I was incredibly lucky to have such great professors and mentors who helped guide me at Michigan and guide me to here. I've also been so lucky to expand that network of mentors to include many professors here who are also deeply interested and invested into my future in academia and in their field!

I know I keep promising to take pictures of my apartment and post them, but I still haven't done that, and our apartment is actually kind of messy right now, so hopefully we'll have cleaned by my next update, and I'll have pictures.

Hopefully my next update will come soon, but I can't make any promises since we have a few papers due as the semester winds down. I also have a gameboy emulator on my computer now, so my nights have been filled with lots of Pokemon playing. Grad school....

My New Stomping Grounds

So since my last post, I have officially moved into my new apartment. Unfortunately, I refuse to show anyone pictures until we tidy up a bit, plus some of our furniture still hasn't come in! The apartment came partially furnished, which means it had a refrigerator, couches, a coffee table, night stands, and one double bed. So right now, one of my roommates Rachel is sleeping on the futon in our living room, and Denize and I are sharing the double bed, and we are all living out of our suitcases. The rest of our furniture should be in early next week, and we can't wait! We also don't have the internet yet at our apartment, which has been kind of cathartic for me actually. I actually waste so much time on the internet, so it's great to get back to reading and things that are not on the internet. It's kind of sad to me the way that there can be a room full of people and nobody will be talking to each other b/c we'll all be on our laptops. I think I'm just old-fashioned. Also it's nice to take a bit of a break from checking email constantly, since it is the holidays after all, so I really don't need to be so caught up in my work.

Anyways, I love our new neighborhood! We are just south of Shuk HaCarmel, which is this huge outdoor market. I think it's sort of like a farmer's market, only they literally have everything! From fresh produce to cheap clothes (and scarves...) to spices to bakeries, and everything is very inexpensive. I think the concept of a shuk is a very Middle Eastern one, but it's wonderful!

We also live right by the beach. Literally two blocks away. I can see the Mediterranean Sea from my bedroom window! I have a picture, but I'll have to post it later, since it's on my camera at my apartment, and I'm currently on campus to suck up some of the internet while my roommate skypes with her family.

It was kind of a huge hassle to move in. I absolutely hate moving. I really thought the move would go quite smoothly, and it did for the most part. I am a terrible packer though. For the past few days before we moved in, we've been slowly bringing down stuff on the bus in our backpacks and bags, which was a really good idea, since I could barely get my suitcases closed. I have no idea how I managed to pack to come here. I need to find a vacuum before I move back home so I can use my vacuum seal bags again, that's for sure. Also making matters worse, the airlines pretty much ruined both my luggage and also Rachel's, so it was an interesting adventure trying to lug our bags to the street. Our friend Lianne was super nice and let us use her car to move our stuff down. But we each had two suitcases plus pots and pans plus bags of food, so there was no room for us in her car after we'd packed it all! So part of us took a taxi down to our new apartment. We live on the 6th floor of the apartment, which is the second to top floor. Thank goodness there's an elevator. 

Also exciting news is that I got my first package since I've been here from one of my best friends Becky, who I met at Megiddo last year! It was full of Christmas and Chanukah goodies and much appreciated! (Again, I have a photo, but it's also on my camera, oops. I really should have put them on my computer before coming up to campus.)

When we finally got all our stuff moved into our apartment, we realized that we actually had no food at all really except for like a pita and a thing of hummus and rice and ketchup and other random assortments of food, so we walked up the street a bit, and we found a wonderful Chinese restaurant! It made me a bit nostalgic for home, since my mom and I love Chinese food and were on a huge Chinese food kick right before I moved here. The food was a bit pricey but absolutely delicious!! Also very strange to be eating Chinese food in Israel. When I go out for Chinese food, I'm used to a menu in Chinese and English translations, not Chinese, English, and Hebrew. The food was soooo good, and I definitely have to go back!!

Anyways, I have a paper to get back to writing now. Hopefully in my next blog post, I'll have pictures of my new (fully furnished) apartment and internet at my apartment! Also more pictures of Hazor and Tel Dan, which I'm visiting on Monday! 

Israel vs. America/Michigan

Gilad Shalit, a kidnapped soldier who has been held in captivity by Hamas terrorists for over five years came home to Israel back in October. In exchange for Shalit, the Israeli government agreed to return1,027 Palestinian prisoners  to the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The first group was already released at the end of October, and last night the second batch were released.  The 1:1,027 swap, as the media has dubbed it, is insane and beautiful at the same time. It shows that Israel values human life so much that they are willing to set over 1000 terrorists free. It also shows that Israel wants its people to know that when they willingly or unwillingly enlist in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) to know they will do their best to save him or her. 

Political current events aside, I'm trying to be a much better blogger and to captivate my blog readers, that means I should probably update more than once a month. The past few days have been quite lazy for me, mostly filled with cleaning and reading about Late Second Temple burial and cult practices for my classes. Also Harry Potter, but that's not for class. :)

One of the things that I really enjoy about my program are the other students in it. We have such a good group dynamic. It's also incredibly neat to be able to sit in class with these people all day and struggle with speaking Hebrew and then later that night sit with the same group at the pub splitting a pitcher of Goldstar and eating hummus while talking about archaeology. I've never experienced such a dynamic before or had friends who really share the same passions for archaeology and ancient history as I do. It's also amazing to think that these friends are really the future of our field. Sure, we are nothing but graduate students now, but many of us are planning to pursue the field even further and eventually it will be us. It's so crazy to know that even when our year here is finished, it won't be the last we see of each other, since undoubtedly, we'll run into each other at academic conferences and some of us might even collaborate on papers together in a few years. 

Many people have asked me if being away from home so long is difficult, and quite frankly, I haven't really been that homesick. Sure I feel as though I'm missing out on a lot back home such as the birth of new baby cousins and my brother's recent engagement, but technology has made everything much easier. I do miss my friends back home, but at the same time, my friends here have quickly become my new closest friends and new family away from. We are all exactly in the same boat, and for most of us, it's our first holiday season away from home. Also, truth be told, it doesn't even seem like Christmastime to me. I actually didn't even realize that Christmas is in less than a week. There is no snow obviously and also obviously not Christmas decorations. No lights decorating the street lamps, no holiday flavored coffee at coffee shops or other Christmas treats, no blowup Santa Clauses and his reindeer, and no Nativity scenes anywhere in Tel Aviv. Right now my Christmas plans are to sit at home with my roommates Rachel and Denize with a bottle of wine and snacks and watch Christmas movies online. 

I think another reason why I haven't been homesick at all is because I came to Israel with the knowledge that the next time I would be home wouldn't be until the end of next August. I can hardly believe that I've been here two months exactly (as of yesterday). On the one hand, it seems like ages ago that I was sitting in the Gerald R. Ford International Airport with my parents waiting to board my flight, but on the other hand, it seems like only yesterday. I still remember vividly the preparations of the day that I left, running around town like crazy with my mom purchasing last minute supplies and packing and unpacking and repacking my suitcases. Last summer it seemed like I was in Israel for such a long time, but it was only two months; I've been here two months now and my time here is still only just beginning.

Furthermore, I absolutely love living in Israel! It's quite different to visit a country for a few weeks or even months like I did last summer, but to actually live here. To buy groceries here, to have a bus pass, to purchase furniture for your apartment, to cook your dinner with the vegetables that you just bought at the shuk, it's all so great. I've never had such an opportunity to be able to live in a foreign country, and I actually doubt that I ever will have such an opportunity again. I really do try to make the most of each day, though most of the day is spent in class. It's strange to think how Israel no longer seems foreign to me any longer. Hearing Hebrew spoken all around me is completely normal, and I'm used to having to try and communicate in my broken Hebrew and apologize for not knowing more. Living here is also really different than just visiting because I get to live in the heart of of the city, surrounded by people who aren't tourists and who aren't students and many of whom don't speak English very well. It's such a unique opportunity, and I'm so glad that I decided to do this!

The Israeli education system is also much different than the American one. First of all, I am one of the younger people in the University, though I'm not even an undergraduate student. This is because every Israeli student must do 2-3 years in the IDF before they enroll at the University. Many choose to continue with their military career and many do not choose to go to University. Many of the people I've met find it very surprising to know that I'm only 22 and working on an MA degree here. Further, the environment is totally relaxed. I'm not sure if this is because it's graduate school or because it's in Israel, but I was so used to the fierce world of academia present at Michigan, that it was a little unnerving here. I absolutely loved my four years at Michigan, but I would be lying if I did not say that it was the most stressful four years of my life. Every student was really in the mindset that every moment you weren't studying was a wasted moment. I was also a subscriber to this thought. It was completely commonplace to be unable to find a seat (or an outlet) in the library at 2am. At TAU, the library isn't open past 6...6pm that is! So strange, considering the UGLi at Michigan was open until 5am, and you could always find somebody there at that time too. 

Now, instead of writing carefully worded emails to professors about if they would perhaps considering meeting with you during their prearranged office hours to discuss something with you if they weren't too busy, I'm emailing my former professors pictures of my adventures here and having coffee dates with my professors here and talking about archaeology and my future goals. It's really amazing how many people that I've met, both at Michigan and now here, that are also invested in my academic future, and I love it.

So sorry this blog is completely void of pictures. Hopefully in the next one. :)

If you want to start World War 3, take a trowel to the Temple Mount

Dear readers, I am so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time. On Monday, we went to the City of David in Jerusalem for one of our archaeological tours. We didn't look around the Old City of Jerusalem, but I was fine with that, since I've already spent quite a bit of time in Jerusalem last summer. It was great to be back though. Jerusalem is really neat, but one thing I don't like about the city is the amount of tourism there and the way that historically questionable "facts" are presented as truths. I think that's just the biblical historian in me though. :)

One of the features that was neat to reexamine is the Stepped Stone Structure just outside the city wall. It's actually a highly controversial topic in archaeology, because some scholars think that it can be the palace of David or one of the fortresses that he took over. The complex actually plays a major role in the debate of the historicity of the United Monarchy, which, of course, I find absolutely fascinating! One of the major problems in the complex is how to date it, since the topography of Jerusalem doesn't really lend itself very well to being able to date stratigraphically.  In archaeology, we like to use layers and pottery typology to figure out a relative dating scheme, but that's difficult to do in Jerusalem for a few reasons including the fact that Jerusalem has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years and the Babylonian destruction of the city in 586 BCE and lastly, there are holy areas in the city that you just can't get to. I'd imagine it'd be any archaeologist's dream to excavate the Temple Mount. However, this would definitely be a really bad idea and anger a ton of people. So unfortunately, the Temple Mount is off-limits.

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Anyways, so the Stepped Stone Structure (seen above) is controversial. The complex is actually made up of two components included the Stepped Stone Structure and the Great Stone Structure.  Part of the debate is whether these two units made up one complex or if they are actually separate entities.  This architectural problem also contributes to the dating problem. Some scholars who read the Bible maximally think that this might be the Fort of Zion from the 11th century BCE (David's time). The minimalists however think that the stone terrace is 11th-10th century BCE and that the mantle should be dated to the 9th century BCE. Pottery typology really doesn't help us too much in this situation either. A collared rim jar (typical ancient Israelite pottery) was found on the floor below the stone terrace dates to the 11th-10th century BCE. This gives us a terminus post quem (Latin for the date after which) but no terminus ante quem (or date before which). So in other words, we know when the structure has to be after but we don't have an upper limit. There were stone houses built into it in the 7th century BCE, which could provide a terminus ante quem, but this isn't that useful. So really all we can say that this complex was built sometime between the 11th century BCE and the 7th century BCE. 

But does this all even matter? The structure obviously is a sign of monumental architecture, so this is a manifestation of the power of the city-state of Jerusalem. What it cannot tell us though is the size and extent of the so-called "Davidic" kingdom during this time.It's really only enough to conclude that Jerusalem was a political base of power not the sprawling capital of a huge kingdom like the Bible says. But it also doesn't mean that it wasn't. Very interesting!

On Monday, we also visited Ramat Rahel, which was used as an administrative city instead of Jerusalem during the Babylonian Period. There were a bunch of stamp impressions found there like the rosette stamp impressions and the lmlk stamp impressions. These were pressed into the handles of jars, which were used for taxes. At Ramat Rahel are also some great examples of the proto-ionic capitals, a number of which were also found at Megiddo!

We also had the opportunity to go to the Israel Museum, which is in New City Jerusalem. We only looked through the archaeology wing really, but it was AMAZING! Their collection is great and every time period of Israel is so well-represented!! One of the highlights might even be like the highlight of my entire academic life, which is that I got to see the TEL DAN STELE!!!! I was sooo pumped! The Tel Dan stele is an inscription that is the only other mention of David outside of the Bible. It was only found in the early 90s, and it's absolutely incredible!!! Unfortunately, pictures aren't allowed inside the museum though. The Ketef Hinnom scrolls are also at the Israel Museum, which is super cool! They are these two tiny little scrolls of silver inscribed with the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers, which was found in a burial chamber. It might be the oldest surviving text of the Hebrew Bible from 600 BCE! Very cool!

I apologize for the lackluster update after such a long blog hiatus. I will try to do better. I've been busy with papers and presentations and readings and furniture shopping, but I think it will calm down a bit next week. It's like 10:30pm here now, and I want to get back to reading Harry Potter. :)

Also completely unrelated to Israel or archaeology, but congratulations to my big brother Jake and his new fiancee Julia! Hope you're ready to be a VanVels!!!