Gunfire at Armageddon

Shalom,

Today was an eventful and long day full of visits to ruins and listening to talks. On the plus side, I had a little more sleep last night, so I could enjoy it. On the downside, my luggage has yet to show up. It is in Israel, but because it arrived without a person it has to go through another round of security before they send it to me. So, I am now borrowing clothes to get through tomorrow. I am getting a little annoyed, because it is not as if I chose to not have my suitcase with me. However, I did know that Israel's airport has more security than we are used to.

This morning we rose early to meet the day and visit Ceasaria, where we toured the ruins. It was interesting to tour these ruins, which were Roman, so I have not seen many in that style. As we sat in the theater and looked around, I was trying to decide all the ways that a Roman theater differs from a Greek theater. I managed them all except for one, the most obvious. Our professor pointed out that Greek theaters were built on natural hills and Roman theaters were built up so they were more impressive. I was a bit embarrassed to have missed such an obvious difference, luckily, nobody knew that I was thinking through this list and missed it, well, until you all read this. As we continued to walk the ruins, I did not feel the novelty at being in ancient ruins that I had felt in Greece, perhaps because ancient ruins are no longer a novelty for me for the reason that they are ancient. They are still exciting if they are cool ruins or something amazing happened there, they are just not so exciting simply because of their age. While walking through the ruins toward the hippodrome, I was asked by another student if this was anything like Greece, because he did not expect to ever get to go there. This caused me to stop and think for a moment. I wasn't entirely sure how to respond but I tried. I told him that in some ways it is obviously very different, because this is Roman and Greek ruins are, well, Greek. But, the feeling of being in an ancient place is similar, because I felt comfortable in the ruins. It felt familiar. Thinking about the question now, I think that the feeling of ruins as familiar and comfortable can be gained anywhere and will spill over into visits to other ruins. I also think that because I am past the "wow it's so cool because it's ancient" stage, I can look at it with a different eye. I did also enjoy it when we walked past a stone with Greek writing on it and three of us immediately veered toward it to play with the Greek. We also visited aqueducts while we were there, but we did not spend much time by them. There wasn't exactly much to see.

Next, at lunch, I had falafel (not sure if I spelled that correctly) for the first time, in a restaurant with an all Hebrew menu. It was actually very good, though I am still not sure what is in it. One thing I learned in Greece and have put into practice here, is to try everything and hope something turns out to be good. Often in our hostels we have buffet style meals, all Kosher since we have stayed in Jewish hostels so far, and I have no clue what I have been eating. I just put it on my plate and ate, and it turned out well.

After lunch, we went to Meggido. the word Armageddon come from the Hebrew for "to Meggido." Now, these were some cool ruins. As we started up to the ruins, about 6-8 older people who seemed to be traveling together started following our group around, listening to the guide, and listening to the student presentations. Eventually they got bored and left, but they were with us for a good hour. I think they were really enjoying it until some became tired and bored and so all had to move on. As the presentations were happening we kept hearing noises that sounded a bit like gunshots in the distance, but I pretty much ignored it, until somebody finally asked what it was. We were told "gunshots." As we looked at the professor in horror, they explained that army drills/maneuvers were happening on the other side of the mountain a little ways away. There were also planes flying overhead in formation. It was a bit odd to be staing on a site where traditionally the battle between good and evil will happen, where more than 30 major battles have been fought over the years, listening to gunfire. It was somewhat disconcerting and odd, but not frightening. Today, we stood in a city where Joshua was, where Solomon was, and where many people have lived since. That was pretty cool. Also, standing on the top, we could look out over Jezreel Valley. If the weather had been nice, we could have looked straight into Jordan.

Even though there had been gunshots, the scariest part for me was actually leaving the site. To leave, we walked through the tunnel that they dug for access to water. I do not like caves. Natural ones are worse, but this one was bad enough. We walked through a little tunnel in the mostly dark, as I was just trying to remind myself that we were almost out. Of course, the people around me were also reminding me that we were almost out. Then we had to climb stairs to exit. My knee twinged a bit, but that is the first time on the trip, and it wasn't too bad.

Tonight we are staying at a Kibbutz, Kibbutz Lavi, which is a religious Kibbutz. Because of this, tonight we listened to and spoke with a Kibbutz member who explained what a Kibbutz is. A Kibbutz is a settlement of people. It can be religious or non-religious. The members of the Kibbutz live there and may either work there or outside the Kibbutz. If they work outside, their pay is given directly to the Kibbutz. If they work inside, they are not payed. They own no property, but all is owned by the Kibbutz. They are each given money according to their needs, which they live on. In this Kibbutz, you must follow the Jewish laws. In all kibbutzim, you must always work. Being born into a Kibbutz does not automatically make you a member, but instead after your mandatory military service (required because they are Israeli citizens) a young adult may choose to become a member of the kibbutz. If they go to school, the kibbutz will pay it. If they wish to work, they may do so. I asked him about young people returning, and he said that they tend to have 30-40 percent returning, but the community stays not too old because they bring spouses and sometimes children back with them. As in most situations, the Kibbutz says it is doing what needs to be done to attract the young people to return, but the young people say that it is not enough. One practice is that they do not have to leave the kibbutz if they cannot decide right away, yet they can keep their wages while in college. It gives them more time to make a decision without as much pressure or difficulty. My reaction to this is that I am surprised that they have such a high retention rate. They must be doing something right, that it is working as well as it is, even though it is lower than in previous times. Obviously they teach their children well what they believe and why if those children leave for 3-4 years, exposed to all other Israeli cultures, and then choose to come back as adults. They must teach them well why they do as they do for them to come back so freely, even if it is not in as large quantities as they used to have.

For now, shalom chaverim.