Day 5 -- 06/14/18
Wonderful day, but as it's almost 2am Jerusalem time, I will keep it very short! (Hopefully -- I always think that and then end up writing an essay -- even just writing this sentence proves that point!)
I went to one of my professor's classes today, as they were learning about protein docking in Rosetta, something I am working on this summer. The class was for graduate students, all of whom are most likely miles smarter than I am, but I spent the last week studying all of this from all day for a full week, and the past three months before reading papers on the topic, so it was pretty fun to sit there nodding along as she spoke.
Afterwards, she was going to drive me back to the lab, but had to pick up her youngest son (around 10) first. I think she felt bad bringing me out there, but I loved it; her kid and his friends were all adorable, and they all stood around nervously trying out all their (limited) English phrases on me, before bursting out laughing. They had all been in day care for awhile, so she took us all to a place to grab some quick dinner. It was all different bread-type products, but I had no idea what any of them were, so ordered based on the only word that I fully caught -- pizza. It turned out to be a delicious pocket of mozzarella and tomato sauce with sesame seeds on the outside. I don't think my professor was that impressed with my choice, as she ordered me her favorite as well so I could try it -- a thing of pita covered with garlic, lemon, and an oregano-tasting herb that she said is only grown in the North of Israel. Delicious!
I got back to my dorm and finally met the other student who I've been living with. For the past week, she's been a little like a ghost; things will shift around the house, or there will be a different light on somewhere, but I finally got to meet her! She was very nice, but unfortunately leaving in a week, so I'm not sure how much more of her I'll see.
After talking with her, I headed straight back out to meet up with my friends from Brown, Alex and Claire (who will leave tomorrow for Jordan). We met at the main market, and got drinks (legally!) at a bar in one of the more quiet alleyways. It was great to catch up with her, and here all about the program she's been doing.
We left afterwards to walk more around the market. After dark, it transforms from the shops I had seen before into something closer to a huge party. Thursdays are the only night people in Jerusalem can go out (their weekends are Friday and Saturday, and Friday night is Shabbat), so it felt like everyone under the age of thirty was out! We ran into some other people from Alex's program, and went around with them -- really fun to met them, even if it was sometimes hard to hear anyone over all of the music! One of the more surprising things (to me) was to see lots of young Orthodox men out drinking. I asked Alex about this (she is on an Orthodox-lead program, and in general knows far more about Judaism then I probably ever will), and she said it's not an issue at all -- as long as it doesn't lead to any sort of fooling around with a woman!
I went to one of my professor's classes today, as they were learning about protein docking in Rosetta, something I am working on this summer. The class was for graduate students, all of whom are most likely miles smarter than I am, but I spent the last week studying all of this from all day for a full week, and the past three months before reading papers on the topic, so it was pretty fun to sit there nodding along as she spoke.
Afterwards, she was going to drive me back to the lab, but had to pick up her youngest son (around 10) first. I think she felt bad bringing me out there, but I loved it; her kid and his friends were all adorable, and they all stood around nervously trying out all their (limited) English phrases on me, before bursting out laughing. They had all been in day care for awhile, so she took us all to a place to grab some quick dinner. It was all different bread-type products, but I had no idea what any of them were, so ordered based on the only word that I fully caught -- pizza. It turned out to be a delicious pocket of mozzarella and tomato sauce with sesame seeds on the outside. I don't think my professor was that impressed with my choice, as she ordered me her favorite as well so I could try it -- a thing of pita covered with garlic, lemon, and an oregano-tasting herb that she said is only grown in the North of Israel. Delicious!
I got back to my dorm and finally met the other student who I've been living with. For the past week, she's been a little like a ghost; things will shift around the house, or there will be a different light on somewhere, but I finally got to meet her! She was very nice, but unfortunately leaving in a week, so I'm not sure how much more of her I'll see.
After talking with her, I headed straight back out to meet up with my friends from Brown, Alex and Claire (who will leave tomorrow for Jordan). We met at the main market, and got drinks (legally!) at a bar in one of the more quiet alleyways. It was great to catch up with her, and here all about the program she's been doing.
We left afterwards to walk more around the market. After dark, it transforms from the shops I had seen before into something closer to a huge party. Thursdays are the only night people in Jerusalem can go out (their weekends are Friday and Saturday, and Friday night is Shabbat), so it felt like everyone under the age of thirty was out! We ran into some other people from Alex's program, and went around with them -- really fun to met them, even if it was sometimes hard to hear anyone over all of the music! One of the more surprising things (to me) was to see lots of young Orthodox men out drinking. I asked Alex about this (she is on an Orthodox-lead program, and in general knows far more about Judaism then I probably ever will), and she said it's not an issue at all -- as long as it doesn't lead to any sort of fooling around with a woman!
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