Nigerians, the Jesus lemon, and a tractor scare

Thursday was a pretty interesting combination of events. We started our Christianity unit in ICC, so since Thursdays are Tiyul days, we went to Ein Kerem, the Christian quarter. We stopped at a look-out on the way which was located in some Christian area. It overlooked the Mt. of Olive and also the Temple Mount. It was so interesting being somewhere where three prominent religions co-existed. The call to prayer went off just as the church bells rang as we stood overlooking the cemetary. It was so powerful and gave me hope that maybe some day we can all try and put our differences aside. I know it sounds cliche, but in that moment, it felt so real. It's a little ironic talking about peace when that same day in Jerusalem, there was a terrorist attack right by our nearby mall. Some Arab-Israeli attempted to ram a bus with his tractor. The bus was filled with Israeli kids in Purim costumes on the way to the hospital to cheer up patients. It's so different hearing about attacks while you're here as opposed to at home. As our ICC teacher told us the news, jaws dropped and tears welled up in our eyes. We grasped onto each other as Alan continued to tell us that it happened at the intersection before Malcha Mall, the place that a lot of us would have gone to later that night on our free night. It was a reminder that even though I'm living in my own little American, perfect society, I'm still in a country that is conflicted in many ways. People told me that I was crazy for coming here and jokingly told me to not get blown up. Maybe I am a little crazy and while living here, not getting blown up is not a joke, but an actual concern. I'm not filled with terror or tempted to go home at all. The little bit of fear is a part of living here. We don't let it get to us. We read the news, let the fear take us over for a minute, then go out to the store anyways. That is the essence of being Israeli. On a lighter note, I'll continue with my Christianity Tiyul. Once we got to Ein Kerem we stopped by Mary's Spring and took notes. I slept (oops), then we ventured to the Church of Visitation. It was really pretty inside and the gardens outside were beautiful. Suzanne and I spotted a lemon tree and debated whether or not it was sinful to take one. We decided to pluck one anyways and named it the Jesus Lemon and saved it for a snack later. After a few churches, monks and crosses later, we happened upon a large group of Nigerian tourists. They were in awe of us. They had never seen white, American Jews before and they flocked us and attempted to speak English with us. More and more came and took pictures with us and told us to visit them in Nigeria. The funny thing was is that they were so kind and sweet that it made us want to take a trip there. The day ended at the sight where the last supper is assumed to have taken place. Even though it's not a holy place for Jews, you could sense the significance and impact it gave to the Christian tourists around us. This kind of understanding should be the basis for our search for peace. We don't need to completely "get" the other religions, nor do we need to know all the answers. If we can at least understand or "agree to disagree" respectively, then we'd be one step further to peace.