Spell Check doesn't work on Transliterations

The Last couple days have been spent in Jerusalem, living in the beautiful Shalom Hotel. On the first morning in Jerusalem, we met 6 soldiers from various factions of the Israeli army. Together we all went to an open marketplace to buy food for our picnic lunch. With Maya, one of the soldiers, in my ear, I was able to order some Jerusalem bread and pita from a vendor! Its hard not to feel accomplished when people can understand you in a foreign language. 

From here, we drove to Old City Jerusalem, doing a walking tour and eventually ending up at the Western Wall. It was actually a pretty amazing experience, being at the wall, even in the rain. Unfortunately there were a few over-zealous orthodox jews pestering our group for tzedakah and "suggesting" we wear teffilin. (damn you, spell check!) I had hoped for a strong religious experience, but it was hard to focus when in the corner of my eye I could see my friends being poked and prodded by the "men in black."

Afterward we headed back to the hotel, celebrated shabbat with a nice dinner and a short service. Then, since it was only 8 or 9 PM, we were left to do... well, to do whatever college kids do in foreign countries with a lowered drinking age. 

On Shabbat we got to sleep in and went out into the city around 11 or 12 on a walking tour. It felt weird being a large group walking through these quiet neighborhoods, especially with Adam and Kenny talking about figuring out the scores from the football games the night before. Still though, it was humbling to experience an entirely different culture just in seeing how much shuts down on the Sabbath. We came back to the hotel for a havdallah service and then all left for Jerusalem. 

Shwarma. Oh My God, Shwarma is potentially the greatest food ever. Kenny had been talking about it for days, and when Adam and I, Shwarma virgins, finally had it... wow. We were truly amazed. It occurs to me that we didn't get any pictures of the Shwarma, but they wouldn't have done it justice. I love Shwarma. 

Shwarma - thin slices of hot lamb on top of lettuce, hummus, cucumber, and french fries, all wrapped in a pita. AMAZING. 

After our culinary experience, we wandered the streets and spent time soaking in the culture. It got pretty cold, and by 11 we were ready to head back to the hotel when the bus arrived to take us there.