Salam! No Swimmunging Allowed.

Do you ever wonder what a pet would think of some of the things you do? Was Oliver just wondering why we stick those weird sticks (toothbrushes) in our mouths everyday? The assumption you may draw from this rumination is correct. I am home!! I didn't get a chance to update again, so here's a recap...

We (including Der Vasken) were all under the impression that we'd have the Holy Sepulchre to ourselves. But, despite the fact that a few hundred Russian Orthodox pilgrims had been granted the same right, it still was a far more personal experience. I actually peaced out after the evening service we had there and slept on a bench. Any suffering I had was put in perspective though. After four headache-filled years, I needed that. I've been letting it get to me more lately, but I'm back on track. I used to harness the pain and channel it to help me appreciate life more, and I'm recommitted to that. We may not always be able to control the events that happen in our life, but we can always control our attitudes.

The rest of the group went around from place to place and were prompted with questions by Der Vasken. Then at 4am (we arrived there at 12am) they celebrated badarak. Around 5:30 we walked back to our beloved Olive Tree Hotel and slept until 11, at which point we went to the Arab Bazaar for shopping, and managed not to lose anyone this time coughMarkAndGreg. I bought some cool stuff, but more importantly, we ate a lot of really good food. I'm trying not to think of it too much in my Post-Jerusalem Shawarma Withdrawal state though. Really, it's a pretty dreadful disorder.

Karine and I lucked out with our room. It had a huge porch, complete with potted plants and reclining chairs. Sunday night at 7:30 all fifteen of us, including Der Vasken, gathered on it and really had that moment as a group where we all clicked, and respect for each other turned into affection for one another. It started with just talking about thoughts on Jerusalem and our dramatically different experiences from the previous night (some felt intense grief, some felt intense joy while they were there). It evolved into a three hour conversation on suffering, the Armenian Church, and what we're going to do with this experience when we get home. A lot was shared. Everyone has so much more going on than is apparent from the outside. It's so hard to be open and not judgemental sometimes, but I was reminded of the importance of that this week. Arpi (to the Dadekian's: that's the girl I was hanging out with at the St. Leon's picnic) stayed in our room afterwards, and the three of us talked until well midnight.

Monday was Bethlehem. This too is Palestinian territory. We saw the place where Jesus was born and the area of the manger. The disheartening thing is how picky people are about it. The Armenians can't renovate the bottom half of the wall which is water stained because the Greeks own the top half and won't let it. How silly is it that one half is "owned" by one country and half by another. Additionally, we saw the Shepherd's field, the Nativity Church, and the Armenian Monastery there.

That night was unique. We decided as a group to go to the graduation of the seminarians at the last minute. The seminarians sat seriously and stony faced for the entire ceremony, which consisted of songs and speeches. Our group was mentioned in two or three for being there. Afterwards drinks and cake were served, but it was more us and them. We invited them out all the same, and in the street met Fr. Issahag who brought more clergy. He is the most hilarious Hayr Soorp I've ever met!! There's this awesome Armenian Cafe that we went to pretty regularly. It was SO MUCH FUN getting to talk to them! Der Issahag started a competition where his half of the roof tried to outdo ours in song. We struck back hard. The two seminarians on my side I talked with for a long time, mostly about camel back riding and sports. They were far more inclined to talk and laugh than I had thought. It was strange to think that they were the age of most of our group though, because they conducted themselves so politely. I migrated to the other table with the remaining four deacons half-way through. We had a great conversation about more sports and subjects, the meaning of names, America, services in english, music (one liked hard-core American punk rock haha), and the hardest part of seminary, to name a few topics. It was so much fun. When I commented about their seriousness on stage, they said "we're good actors." They cracked up when the singing of The People That Walked In Darkness was mentioned (it was in english. I don't think they're used to singing in english :). If they do decide after their year of service that they would like to be priests, I hope they let that show through sometimes. Anyhow, they left at midnight.

This was followed by the defining moment of our group. We sang-screamed Yerevan Yerepooni as a group. It was awesome. As our last night, most of us didn't want to stay in quite yet, however, so about ten of us went out to a really awesome club the boys had found one night. Lets just say the American's owned the place for the night. It was a total blast, although it was definitely necessary that we stuck close to the boys. They took good care of us though. We got into the hotel at 4:30am. But we ended the night on a REALLY good note when, getting out of the elevator, Arpi dropped the one room key down the elevator shaft which caused Mark to jump, crash into me, and both of us to fall. Crazy Armenians.

YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!! Just the next morning, three girls including myself and four guys got up at seven to go see dome of the rock with the seminarians. The boys were way late though, so we didn't get there until 10. At that point, the seminarians had to take care of secret urgent business and disappeared. They made it back in time to say goodbye to the boys at 11, who had to get their Hajis (not enough time the first day). That left three girls walking with three seminarians, which they said was taboo. We got a lot of stares in the street and at lunch. We were flocked by the Men In Black! We met up with the rest of the group after lunch, bid our new seminary friends goodbye, and shopped with the late-risers before flying home.

Which brings me to now! You're all filled in on the events. I might write another few entries this week while I'm home with observations or neat points, but that's for another day. Shukran (thank you in Arabic)!