Jerusalem and Soccer

So, we have had an exciting week. On Wednesday we went and spent a wonderful day in Jerusalem. We woke up early and took a bus to the bus to Jerusalem. We started driving (it was 9am) and we were out of the bus station by 10 minutes and we were stuck in completely stopped traffic! Now, I thought, "well, this isn't good", but I assumed that it would only be part of the way to Jerusalem. Boy, was I wrong. There was terrible traffic the ENTIRE way. I'm not a fan of bus travel to begin with--but this was torture. We finally got there, and we had to be at the Kotel for our tour of the Tunnels at 10:35. We arrived at the bus station at 10:20, hopped into a cab and we made it to the Kotel in time. The tour was really interesting--both Yuval and I had done it before, but that didn't matter it was still great. The tour ends in the Muslim quarter, so we walked back with 2 guards, and I was happy to be back in the Kotel plaza. After this, we were hungry and looked for something to eat. We ended up in the Cardo, had some terrible pizza, and terrible falafel. Really the worst of both we have had in Israel. I did have a good ice cream though. We then made our way through the cardo and a shuk to the Jaffa gate where Midgal David (the tower of david) stands. It was a fort built in the 2nd century BCE. Inside there is a museum which explains the history of Jerusalem from biblical times to today. The museum is very well done and the citadel itself, impressive. We spent about 2.5 hours exploring the museum and then we went to meet my friend Hollie, from genesis. She is studying at a Yeshiva in a neighborhood called Katamon in Jerusalem, we took a cab to meet her. It was so much fun to talk with her after not seeing each other for a long time. After some more delicious ice cream, we took a cab back to Migdal David for the highlight of the night. We stopped for a little dinner, only Yuval ate, I was stuffed from my meals of ice cream..and then we went to Migdal David for an amazing light and sound show. They project a movie type thing onto the walls of the citadel, and the technology is amazing. It is difficult to explain, but if you have the chance to go, go! After the show, we were exhausted and went back to the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem to catch a bus back to Tel Aviv. This time it took barely 40 minutes.

We then spent the rest of the week in Tel Aviv, going to school, etc. Unfortunately, Yuval caught a cold, and has been fighting it, so we have been taking it easy. We went to Haifa for Shabbat, because it was Netta's birthday, and then after Shabbat was the event Yuval has been waiting for. The Israel-Greece World Cup Qualifying game. We had gotten tickets the previous week, bought Israel team jerseys and were ready to go to Ramat Gan to watch the game. After figuring out exactly how to get to the stadium on Shabbat when the buses do not run, we were there 2 hours early. Part of the reason we got there so early was that many cabs didn't want to drive us there because they thought it would be so congested. When we finally found a cab to take us, it was a mere 10 minute drive from the train station, no traffic at all. The best part of the game for me was the beginning when everyone was singing and cheering. After that, the game was pretty boring. The hardest part about Israel for me is dealing with the people here. It just seems like rudeness/meanness is the default behavior. At the game, the people in our section spent most of the time screaming at each other to sit down. Now, in my mind, these people paid money to go to a sporting event, which is supposed to be a fun activity, but they chose to spend it red in the face screaming at the people around them. It is hard for me to understand.

This weekend Yuval developed a cold, but he is getting better. We are beyond excited to come home, and will try to be better at blogging more often.

Love,
Sarah