First, as my last post mentioned, I spent Christmas Eve in Bethlehem and Christmas Day in Nazareth. It doesn't get much better than that. And to top it off, I was with some of my closest friends.
Bethlehem was really interesting. In order to get in we had to go through a security check point at the wall that separates the West Bank from Israel. And once we were in there it was like another world. There were Christmas trees and Santas everywhere! And Christmas music was playing in every store. One of the most memorable parts of Bethlehem was the graffiti that was covering the barrier wall from inside the city. There are two pictures on the wall that stick out in my memory. The first is of Leila Khalid, a member of the Palestinian National Council who hijacked a plane when she was only 15 years old, holding a rifle and wearing a kaffiyeh. She has a huge smile on her face. I'm pretty sure the mural is a replica of an actual photo.
The second is a picture of a dove wearing a bullet proof vest with a red target light on his chest. This one was done by the famous graffiti artist Banksy. Of course what makes it so interesting is the fact that a dove is symbolic of peace, yet it's wearing a bullet proof vest. And the olive branch... Noah and the flood perhaps? I'm not sure.
After Bethlehem, we went back to Jerusalem and ate Christmas Eve dinner at an Irish pub. It was so delicious. Then we went to a coffee shop until Midnight Mass, but I don't want to repeat what's in my previous post. :)
The next day we went to Nazareth. We visited a lot of churches and even saw a movie theater there named after the one and only Frank Sinatra! (At one point my friend Amy pointed out how crazy it was that we were actually walking in Nazareth. Sometimes I forget what an amazing adventure I'm on.) We ate Christmas dinner at a little restaurant in the center of Nazareth and then headed back home. On the way back, we reminisced about the music we loved when we were in middle school and high school. You can be sure that we sang a ton of Backstreet Boys, Shaggy, and TLC, to name but a few.
A week later, we were ready for another holiday! On New Year's Eve we went to 3 different parties and had an absolute blast. I always get excited at the beginning of a new year because you just never know what it may hold. This time last year I had no idea that I would be spending the end of 2011/the beginning of 2012 in Tel Aviv. So much can change in such a short period of time. We'll see what surprises this year holds!
The next day we went to Nazareth. We visited a lot of churches and even saw a movie theater there named after the one and only Frank Sinatra! (At one point my friend Amy pointed out how crazy it was that we were actually walking in Nazareth. Sometimes I forget what an amazing adventure I'm on.) We ate Christmas dinner at a little restaurant in the center of Nazareth and then headed back home. On the way back, we reminisced about the music we loved when we were in middle school and high school. You can be sure that we sang a ton of Backstreet Boys, Shaggy, and TLC, to name but a few.
A week later, we were ready for another holiday! On New Year's Eve we went to 3 different parties and had an absolute blast. I always get excited at the beginning of a new year because you just never know what it may hold. This time last year I had no idea that I would be spending the end of 2011/the beginning of 2012 in Tel Aviv. So much can change in such a short period of time. We'll see what surprises this year holds!
It will be GOOD, whatever God has!
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