This week we had finals, and they were so hard! I haven't written much here about the classes I'm taking, but they're actually quite difficult, especially since most of them are graded on curves and other students here are competitive. On Tuesday, we took finals for Israeli/Jewish history and Palestinian/Muslim history. The Israeli final was fine, but the Palestinian one was super hard to study for because I felt like I hadn't learned very much before this week. That class was all over the place: the basic tenets of Islam, the story behind al-Qaeda (which I'm so glad I've learned now), and a lot about the history of the Arab/Israeli conflict. The final went okay, though.
Then, Thursday, I took finals for Hebrew and Old Testament, and they both went great. I can read Hebrew now! Some of my roommates came home with T-shirts on Friday, and I could tell that they both said "Shalom" :-). Of course, I don't know what most Hebrew words mean, but as long as I'm reading something with vowels written in, I can at least tell what the words are supposed to sound like. Old Testament also went pretty well. I feel like I'm full of interesting trivia about the Old Testament now: etymologies of names, geography, and obscure stories.
Last night we watched Ben Hur, which I liked a lot, but I'm still trying to figure out all the symbolism in it.
I'm afraid I don't have any pictures to show for this week--I hardly went outside at all. Today, though, we had a wonderful barbecue for the 4th of July! The setup committee decorated the cafeteria, and we had all the traditional foods. They were in Middle Eastern form, though--the potato salad was made with potatoes, dill, and vinegar. :-) Still, it was a lot of fun and helped redeem the holiday, even though it fell on a Fast Sabbath for us.
Also, today I finally finished reading The Poisonwood Bible! My roommate Jessica is always reading for fun, and she inspired me to do it. I really liked the book--the ending tied it up well.
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It must feel good to have your finals over! While the classes are certainly valuable, it's probably frustrating being stuck inside having to study when there is so much to be experienced out in the city.
ReplyDeleteYou briefly mentioned the cafeteria. What have been some of your favorite foods that you have eaten either in the cafeteria or on the street? Have you tried anything new that you really love?
Hi Taliatha!
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to see you on here! How are you?
I really like the cafeteria. My favorite things here are the falafel, boorekas, and all the mousses for dessert. And, of course, the pita bread and hummus is great. When you were here, did you have kanafe? I tried that a few weeks ago and was surprised that it was actually quite delicious.
I feel like I've visited all of the "must see" places in the city at this point. Do you have any recommendations for places to see off the beaten track?
What is kanafe? Can you describe it?
ReplyDeleteI would describe it as fried, sugary cheese with a crunchy orange topping. They sell it at a few places in the Old City.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've had that. It sounds yummy!
ReplyDelete