Field Study and Cookies

This week continues to fit into the schedule that I beginning to develop. Sunday we went out on field study, this time looking at the land of Benjamin (and it major entrances). We started by going to the Jerusalem - Jericho road and looking out into the wilderness. It continues to be incredibly interesting to look at passages of Scripture in light of the imagery upon which the authors were undoubtedly drawing. From the Jerusalem - Jericho road we got back on the modern road and went down to Jericho. Looking at both Herod's palace and the OT site of Jericho was pretty awesome. Taking Jericho as a point of entry (for Joshua at the Conquest) makes so much when you see the barren country around and then the beautiful green in Jericho. One thousand gallons of water a minute (Jericho spring) can be a pretty good incentive in a country like this!

From Jericho we drove up some very windy, very narrow roads (those who have driven the coastal highway of California may have some appreciation for what I'm talking about) about 4, 000 feet into the hill country of Benjamin. We drove through the Central Benjamin Plateau, stopping at Nebi Samwil to try to get a view of the area. Unfortunately it was raining and rather cloudy so we didn't see much. Finally, we made our way to Gezer. There is a gate there that was built during the reign of Solomon. I continue to be in awe of the fact that I'm looking at stuff that I've read about in the Bible. It's always been sort of a true "fairy tale" world (I know it happened, but never thought I could see it). Seeing these places is a little bit like finding myself in Cinderella's Palace, only more awesome!

Apart from field study, life and JUC continues on. I have been going to class, doing reading (well, most of it), and going out around the city. Monday night, I discovered that one of the guys here brought a deck of Rook cards with him. While this may not mean anything to most of you, Rook is a game my family has played since before I was born. I was kind of excited to get in on a game.

Another JUC tradition is Wednesday cookie night. Justin and Mandy (the student activities coordinators), bake cookies for us in the afternoon. Any students who want to go over and help are welcome. Yesterday, I went down at 4:30 and spent the afternoon baking oatmeal raisin cookies with them. It was a lot of fun, since I enjoy both baking and good conversation. At 8:30, most of campus takes a study break and comes out to the patio for some cookies and glass of milk. It's a pretty fun tradition, both for the cookies and just another chance to get everyone together and hang out for a few minutes. Besides, I'm learning that you can end up in some really interesting conversations over cookies :)

Now it's back to the rhythm of classes and work, at least until tomorrow at about 3:30. Then it it time to put away work for the week and enjoy a Shabbat rest. Speaking of work, I should get back to mine. I'm off to my first Arabic exam in about an hour and should probably go over my flashcards again. Hope everyone is having a good week, and I'd love to hear from you!