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Monday, January 30, 2012

the weekend post

One of the interesting things about this country is how serious they take 'Sabbath,' or the day of rest. Most everything closes down every Friday around 2 p.m. and does not re-open until 8 p.m. Saturday. Shops, markets, restaurants, stores, busses, post office, all follow these "rules." Granted, not EVERYONE abides to this custom but the majority do. Therefore, you are practically FORCED to rest because you can't run errands, go shopping, or even travel a long distance (unless you are totally physically fit, so... this is not for me). Hence, on Friday we rested the whole day and then had dinner with two very nice couples in their home. They made a great Shabbat dinner and entertained us for the evening.

Since the Sabbath starts on Friday and goes into Saturday, that means Sunday is the first day of the work week. Therefore, our classes started yesterday (Sunday); definitely something to get used to!
Our class time consisted of walking around Jerusalem (mostly our college's backyard and the "old city") for about 5 hours. This is where our professor, Dr. Wright, told us a brief history on the different quarters (remember there are 4 quarters in the old city), we climbed on top of roofs, met trustworthy vendors, and I caught myself a cold:( 

So today I am at home in comfy clothes, sitting by the heater. 
Next post: History of our college (which is amazing, if you ask me) and some pictures of it. 
Hope you all had a great weekend! 
Posted by at 4:01 PM

6 comments:

  1. tanaJanuary 30, 2012 at 5:48 PM

    hope you feel better! I thoroughly enjoy reading your posts :)

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  2. NatalyaJanuary 30, 2012 at 5:54 PM

    :) Thank you, Tan. Knowing that people are reading and actually enjoying my blog helps me to write. I have ordered for the husband to grab some honey and fresh lemon on his walk home. Our neighbors down the street have a lemon tree and I wish a knew them in order to ask if i may snag a lemon, but no such luck. So I need to wait for the hubster.

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  3. TonyaJanuary 30, 2012 at 11:09 PM

    I feel connected to you through this... very cool & am very happy that you two are enjoying your adventure!! Take Care & love to the two of you

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  4. vika karpitskiyJanuary 31, 2012 at 4:46 AM

    Yea natash, keep posting. I look forward to all of them! This country is way more intriguing to me now.

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  5. NatalyaFebruary 1, 2012 at 12:04 AM

    Thank you buds, flower buds:) for reading and staying connected with us. It's only been one week but it feels like forever ago that I was in the U.S. Stay tuned to all that is to come: Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, Jericho, possibly the Red Sea, education on the Old Testament and the New, etc.. Plus, more on the every day life of us.

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  6. aleksFebruary 16, 2012 at 6:03 PM

    Natasha, do not travel great distances. You are not physically fit.

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