So after a long flight and several delays, I finally made it into Jerusalem about 9:00 last night. I also discovered that I was certainly not the only one experiencing travel difficulty. We are actually still waiting on students to arrive, and several have trickled in throughout the day. And what a first day it has been!
This morning breakfast was at 8, followed by the first session of orientation at 9. Dr. Wright (the director of the school) explained to us some of the things that we would need to know about Jerusalem University College as well as some things about our classes and professors. Then we met with advisors to register for classes. For anyone interested, I will be taking Physical Settings of the Bible, Cultural Backgrounds of the Bible, Archaeology of Jerusalem II, History of the Church in the East, and Arabic I. It should be a very interesting semester. We also got a tour of the school and its buildings, and then we had lunch.
Following lunch was more information, this time about cultural and safety things that we would need to know as well as information about activities and ways for us to get involved in things. All in all it was a very informative start to the day.
At 3:00 we all headed out on a photo scavenger hunt of the Old City (within the old wall) of Jerusalem. We had to do completely random things from taking pictures at Jaffa and Zion Gates to exchanging money and buying falafel from a street vendor. It was a lot of fun and gave us a chance to get out and see the city. It also helped us to stay awake, something that jet lag has made rather a struggle all day long.
After returning we had a little down time and will soon be headed out for a walking tour of the new city. By the time we make it to bed tonight, I don't think any of us should have trouble sleeping, jet lag or not!!
Oh, also, I should give you first impressions of JUC. I'll try to post pictures soon so you can see it, but the school itself if beautiful. It's an old stone building with lots of funny corridors and weird ways to get places. I just know that I'm going to get lost some time in the future. The gardens outside are also very beautiful, with a view overlooking the valley. It's certainly strange for an American girl from a country with relatively little history to show up in a land like Israel and realize the history that a place as simple as my school has to offer. In short, so far I love it, and I can't wait to actually start my classes and get into the swing of things!
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