Wine and challah.

This past month has seen the three High Holy Days of Judaism. A great number of feast days, with challah bread and wine at every one. Today was the final day of Succoth, which means the fall term is nigh. It's all fifth gear from here.

Last week I went to Tel-Aviv to take care of someone's apartment and pets. It provided a much needed exit from Jerusalem. That makes me sound crazy, but living here takes away the romanticism of this place. That's not to say this experience isn't one of the best periods of my life, but simply I personally can't sustain being in this city 24/7. So I'm thankful I was able to get out for a bit. The apartment I was in is actually in Jaffa(Yafo). A few notes about Jaffa:

• It was founded as a Canaanite city
• It was conquered by Pharoah Thutmose III, and was under Egyptian rule until around 800 BC.
• In Greek mythology, Andromeda was rescued by Perseus from an outcrop of rocks near Jaffa.
• It's mentioned four times in the Hebrew Bible: It was given to the tribe of Dan, it was the port of entry for cedar from Lebanon for Solomon's Temple as well as the Second Temple, and it was where Jonah departed for Tarshish.
• Peter had the vision of the clean and unclean animals in Jaffa.

Urban sprawl as seen from my apartment.

Site of Egyptian garrison, with cast of monumental gateway. This gave me shivers- Egyptian history was my first fascination.

Canaanite temple.

Jaffa is known for having an Arab majority, and while it seems a number of Jews have moved in, it definitely had an Arabic flavour. I got some hummus from a joint ran by Arabic Christians, and it summed up why I enjoy being here rather well- I was the only white guy, and the only languages being spoken were Hebrew and Arabic. As for Tel-Aviv, let's just say I'm not as fond of it as I was of Jaffa. It felt very manufactured, like an Israeli Miami. Soulless and plastic. I'm sure there are parts I would like, like any city I've been to, but overall I don't plan on going there too often. 

Coastline of Tel-Aviv

As I was getting ready to leave, a heavy rainstorm came through which was entirely unexpected. The rains don't usually come for a few more weeks, or so I've been told. A good 10 minutes of heavy rain, and went over Jerusalem as well. Rain has a cleansing effect that is remarkable in desert cities. It was a beautiful thing.

I had a number of plans for this break, which unfortunately fell through. I spent a lot of time reading and enjoying the cooler air. I found a quiet cafe that I will frequent often when I need a change of scenery for studying. It's open on Shabbat which is fantastic, though not open on Sundays so I suspect these Jews are perhaps Christians as well. As for the coffee, it's purely espresso drinks. I've only had the espresso which is decent. I've yet to find any evidence of third-wave coffee(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Wave_Coffee) here. I was recently talking to two other graduate students who were also trying to find good coffee, or even good beans(Side note: people still think the States don't know how to brew coffee. Crazy what the Atlantic still prevents from crossing). Coffee is expensive here, even the instant stuff, so I suspect if I even find suitable beans I'll have to buy it in dime-bags. I'm back to black tea as my go-to drink. 

Tomorrow I'm planning on visiting an Arabic church body, which a graduate student I've been hanging out with attends. I'll get a better look at the Arab part of Jerusalem, which is still a bit mysterious to me. 

Until next time.