Day 6 - Final Day

During my final day in Jerusalem, I met up with another friend from the States who I met at a Model UN competition. He graciously gave me tour around Jerusalem, and we had tons of fun walking through the Shuk and exploring the streets and lane ways.

Now when I had gone to the Mahane Yehuda market previously, it was pretty much empty. This time, however, was completely different. On Fridays the market is full of people who are getting ready for Shabbat, which is the Jewish day of rest. It begins a few minutes before sunset on Friday until Saturday night.

Sabra - Israeli prickly pear. Sabra is also the term used to describe a native Israeli. Like the prickly pear, they are tough on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside.

People eating out in the Shuk

As we walked through the Shuk, I noticed a couple of stalls where some Orthodox men from the Chabad organization had set up and were offering to perform prayer services called tefillin. To humor my curiosity, my friend agreed to show me how it was done.

In front of the Chabad stalls

First, he had to put on a special kippa while our Chabad friend got these small leather boxes ready. The tefillin boxes contain scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. 

Next, one of the boxes was tied to his arm with a leather strap.

The last box went around the head.

Finally, they finished off with some prayers in Hebrew.

Tefillin is used as a reminder of God's intervention during the Exodus from Egypt. I've never seen anything like that done before, so it was fascinating from an outsider's perspective to learn about this ritual. 

Best line of the day was when my friend and the Chabad guy were speaking to each other in Hebrew. I don't speak Hebrew obviously, so my friend told me what was said after we left.

Chabad guy: Is she Jewish?

Friend: No

Chabad guy: Are you going to marry her?

Friend: Probably not.

Chabad guy: Thank God!

Kippas

After leaving the Shuk, we wandered around the alleys and lane ways nearby. 

We saw a synagogue

And an arts & crafts festival

And we stopped by an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church. Israel has an Ethiopian population close to 120,000 and has experienced an increase in immigration from Ethiopia since 2009. 

Church gate

Inside the church

Our last stop was just outside the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood Mea Shearim, one of the oldest, most insulated Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, whose residents adhere to a very strict religious lifestyle. We couldn't actually go in and walk around because I was wearing a tank top, and the sign outside warned passerby not to go in wearing immodest clothes. Proper dress would include long skirts and shirts that cover the arms and midriff. I was told of children throwing stones at people entering the area who were not dressed appropriately, so we didn't want to risk it.

Outside Mea Shearim

"Please do not pass through our neighborhood in immodest clothes"

We ended my last tour just in the nick of time. Since Jerusalem is a religious city, it completely shuts down once Shabbat starts. Luckily, I still had an hour or two to spare and was able to get a cab to the airport, where I began planning my next trip back.

My final day in Jerusalem was a wonderful end to an absolutely brilliant trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go around the city one more time and soak it all in. It was disappointing that I couldn't stay longer, but I'm looking forward to the next time I come. 

Day 5 - End of the Conference

The last day of the conference consisted of implementation workshops where we worked with groups to solve hypothetical international human rights emergencies. The exercises were a lot of fun, and it was great to use some of the things we had learned throughout the conference.

And of course, it wouldn't be a conference without an amazing closing ceremony and festive dinner. The ceremony was held at Beit Shmuel , which, like a lot of the places we visited that week, had yet another amazing view of the city. It was a bittersweet ending to a remarkable week. We were all so sad that it was all over, but grateful for the experience and connections we made. 

Beit Shmuel

View from the top

After the closing ceremony, I met up with a friend from undergrad who is undergoing a Masters program in Jerusalem. She generously let me crash at her place, and showed me more of the Jerusalem nightlife. We went to Ben Yehuda Street, which is a popular pedestrian mall area with both locals and tourists.

Ben-Yedhuda Street

We ended up at Mike's Place, a well-known sports bar. It had a great atmosphere, wonderful service, and a friendly, lively crowd. While we were hanging out, we made a couple of new friends - two Modern Orthodox guys from New Jersey who were studying at a Yeshiva, which are religious schools that focus on the study of the Talmud and Torah. We had such a great time with them - they were hilarious, and I got to learn a bit about Modern Orthodoxy.
The best line from that night was when one of the guys lightheartedly shoved the other, causing his kippa to fall off his head and onto the ground. I was curious as to whether there was any moral significance to taking it off, like if there were religious penalties or something like that. So, when I asked them what happens when they take their kippas off, they said "Oh, we lose our magic powers."
So good.

Posing with our new boyfriends

Day 4 - Student Hospitality

On our fourth night, we all were hosted by different students from the Hebrew University. My hosts were so sweet and hospitable; they even cooked me a delicious dinner! Salad, fried eggs, an eggplant dish, toast, and of course - hummus. We had a wonderful time talking, joking, and getting to know each other. They were all so interesting and fun, and I'm glad we were paired up together. 

After dinner, we made our way to a club where the rest of the delegates were and danced the night away! It was an awesome night with amazing people.

The spread

My lovely hosts!

Dinner is served!

Jerusalem Day 2 - The Old City

After our first official day of the conference hearing about theory and practice from a number of fascinating and engaging speakers, we went to the Old City to see the Night Spectacular at the Tower of David Museum. The Tower of David is an ancient fortress, which also used to be the palace of King David.

Walls of the Old City

They have a nighttime light show here which, true to its name, is indeed spectacular. The walls serve as the stage, and the show traces Jerusalem's long history up until modern times in the most dazzling way. The story of Jerusalem was displayed before us through enormous, breathtaking audiovisual effects and dramatic music in a celebration of sight and sound. It is truly remarkable, and one of the most captivating shows I've ever seen.

The entrance

Upon our arrival, we walked through the garden and saw an assortment of projector images displayed on the walls, ranging from farming and garden scenes to people playing chess. After we made our way to our seats, the show started, executing an enthralling performance. I was hypnotized for 45 minutes as Jerusalem's history unfolded before my very eyes.

The stage for the light show

When the Night Spectacular ended, we walked around the Old City and made our way through the Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters.

We ended at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. It is situated at the western end of the Temple Mount and is the most sacred site for the Jewish faith aside from the Temple Mount itself, and has been a site of Jewish pilgrimage and prayer for centuries. The area surrounding the Wall is split into two sections - one for men and one for women.

Torahs

There's a great quote which describes praying at the Wall as if one "has prayed before the throne of glory because the gate of heaven is situated there and it is open to hear prayer". Visiting it was the most intense part of the whole trip; chills ran up and down my spine during my entire time there. When I entered the women's section, I could feel the energy radiating from everyone praying, and could almost see it whizzing around in the air. All around me women were muttering prayers, their heads bowed and eyes closed. Many were crying, wailing, as they read from their Torahs and touched the Wall itself. I have never seen anyone express their faith in such a heartfelt, impassioned manner. It was beautiful and emotional to be around so many people displaying such a strong spiritual connection.

This was definitely one of my favorite days of the trip. Not only was it an incredible cultural experience, everything - from the relations formed with other delegates, the speakers we heard from, and of course our night tour - went along swimmingly and without a hitch.

Jerusalem

Back in August, I had the most amazing opportunity to travel to Jerusalem for an international law conference. During the six days I spent there, I learned more about international law in a series of thought provoking, balanced, and challenging lectures. Furthermore, I was able to meet brilliant, thoughtful, and kind individuals from all over the world; all while spending time in what is probably the most incredible place I've ever been. This was a truly remarkable and transformative experience that I am incredibly fortunate to have had. Walking away, I am more than satisfied with all that I've learned and the friendships that I have formed.

Applying for this conference was one of the best decisions I think I've ever made. Before coming, I was worried about taking a week off of classes and unsure of how my time in Israel would really be of benefit. Law school has been very demanding, and I found myself losing perspective and forgetting why I wanted a law degree in the first place. In making the choice to go, I was able to remind myself why I want to study law, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Since I took way too many pictures to fit it all into one post, I will be dividing my experiences into each day I spent there. Enjoy! :)

Group shot overlooking the Holy Basin

Korea pictures!!

Seoul!  So clean

Gangnam at night

The subway!  They blocked off the railway because of too many suicides..

Cat cafe mascot!

In the cat cafe...cat tower

Street food!  Yum!!

On the DMZ trip in front of the museum

Korean BBQ!!

Omg tunnel!!

Throwing up the Lundquist sign with ROK soldiers! LOL

At the DMZ

Yonsei University

With Richard Lui from MSNBC!

With Governor Dukakis of Massachusetts, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee!  He was so sweet

With the Indonesian delegates!

Gala night!

At a club in Gangnam on the last night!  We had so much fun!