Fun Stuff

The trip to Jaffa/Tel Aviv was great. Turns out we couldn't swim after all, but we did make the most out of wading to our knees. The water was actually not bad, I totally would have gone swimming. We played frisbee on the beach and enjoyed the sand and sun. Jaffa is an ancient sea port and was formerly known as Joppa. The group I stayed with hung out in Jaffa all day. It is a beautiful little town with a district of really old architecture, and a newer district not as old, but still quaint and Mediterranean. We actually saw the Hayes, a service couple that lives with us here at the JC. They were out sightseeing too. Sister Hayes is leaving us this Friday to go back to the states. Her mother isn't well and she is leaving to go help. We'll miss her a lot.

Tel Aviv is only a short walk away and very modern with skyscrapers and shopping centers, really anything that you find in a big city in the states. We had fun confining ourselves to the little town of Jaffa: going into St. Peter's church, crossing the Wishing Bridge, cruising the flea market, and eating some delicious gelado. We took taxis to and from the coast and on the way there, our driver's rear view mirror flew off. Not the whole contraption, just the mirror, exposing the wires and stuff behind it. It was really funny. And kinda scary. Drivers here are crazy and drive very close together, so driving without a mirror on our driver's side took some major skill.

Yesterday we couldn't go out into the Old City or East City because of something we don't fully know about. Apparently some people are striking for reasons associated with stuff going on in Gaza. You probably know more about it than I do. We could still go to the West City, but you have to take a taxi. We've had beautiful weather for nearly two weeks, and today it decided to rain again. Too bad it didn't yesterday when we couldn't leave anyway.

Jaffa pictures are in Album #2. The link to it is on the left. I added the Gethsemane pictures to Album #1.