Jerusalem + Dead Sea

Monday evening we were all invited to Raed’s (= principal) house. We talked about our experience and the start of a lifelong collaboration with ‘Friends Forever’. I feel honored that I was a part of this program. I cherish my certificate that was handed out by the principal and the parents association. On Tuesday we said goodbye to the pupils and the school team. Raed gave a last speech to thank us for the efforts we made. The pupils were confused and sad because we will leave the school and will return to America or Belgium. But we promised to be back next year! The Americans left that evening and it was an emotional farewell. Afterwards the house felt so empty…I will miss their company.

On Wednesday we had a meeting with professor Taha and the principal of The Arab College for Education. We explained our project in the El-Abhara School (Ein Mahel): how we teached English, how we prepared the English Day and how the pupils changed by the enthusiasm. Mister Taha asked me what impressed me the most during my internschip. It is definitely the hospitality of the Arab people! Even if their day is busy, there is always time for family, friends or visit. I hope that I can bring that attitude to Belgium so I can forget the sentence: ‘Sorry, don’t have time now!’

After the meeting with the principal and saying goodbye to some of the students, mister Taha took us to Jerusalem. The first stop was in a small restaurant situated in an old building. Their specialty is humus. When mister Taha was younger, during his student days, he came to this place to lunch. This meal is an emotional event for him and It’s nice of him to share this moment with us. After lunch we walked through the old centre (= downtown) of Jerusalem. We saw the different quarters of the city: Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian. We walked on the path that Jesus followed with his cross and ended by the most important church for the Christian faith:  The Holy Sepulchre. We went inside and saw Jesus’ final resting place and the spot where he was crucified over 2000 years ago. I’m not that religious but the combination of the people, the history and the beauty of this building gave me goosebumps. I bought my father a small crucifix in silver and placed it on the grave of Jesus. He will be so happy with it!  We saw the Wailing Wall, the Al-Asqa mosque and the Dome of Rock. As a non-Muslim it’s not possible to enter the mosque when you want to. Only between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. you can go inside. Of course, we were too late…Mister Taha talked with security agents but they were strict: no exceptions! Unfortunateley our time was limited and around 5 p.m. we left this wonderful city…On our way back we drove through the West Bank and passed by a check point. I thought it would be a huge check but the police didn’t even ask for my passport. Probably because mister Taha spoke Hebrew to them. That evening I went to Haifa to my former host family. The children were happy to see me again and showed me their new toys and the results of their homeworks/tests.

Thursday morning, the last day of my internship, my alarm went off at 5 in the morning! Time to prepare my lunch for this day trip to Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea. After a three-hour ride we finally arrived at the lowest reserve in the World, called ‘Ain Feshkhah’. I ate breakfast with a view over the mountains, different plant species, ponds (where you can swim) and the noice of animals in the background. This is an oasis of peace…I walked through the reserve and I was hoping for a glimpse of the wild animals. In the past visitors have seen a leopard, wow! Maybe it’s a good thing that I didn’t see him or her. Except for nature there is also an archaeological site. It’s almost unbelievable that people lived here several centuries ago. The next stop was the waterfalls of Ein Gedi. Fresh water sources in the middle of the desert  surrounded by beautiful nature! Suddenly I stood face to face with an Rock Hyrex. He wasn’t  afraid of people so I had the time to observe that pretty animal. I ended the trip with a ‘dive’ in the Dead Sea. It’s a very strange feeling to float on the water…On the way back to Ein Mahel I experienced the Israeli traffic jam. It took me 6 hours to get back to my host family!

My time here flew by so fast! I enjoyed every second and I learned so much. When people ask me about the Israeli culture, their is one word: unique! Not only because the way of life but also because every family and every person lives so different. I was Lucky to compare three host families and I saw more differences than similarities. I saw a conservative family in Illut, a very modern familie in Haifa and a family in between (Ein Mahel). Every family has their own habits and you can not define them by one concept ‘culture’…