I am updating my blog from Damascus, Syria. WHAT?!?
Yeah, I don't even know where to begin.
Since I've been here - what, like three days now? I've walked down a street in Amman, Jordan; visited Roman ruins in Basra; sat through two Arabic classes; haggled for a scarf in the souk of the Old City; found a sweet little restaurant between Bab Sharke and Bab Touma (ate lentil soup and meat with hummus); used a squat toilet (twice!); talked to little kids in the Umayyad mosque; smelled the piles of spices in the souk; learned that damascus is actually spelled "damashque" in Arabic - but is called "Sham" by the people who live here; played Go-Fish; played Banana Grams; planned to play Rook and never followed through :); eaten lots of olives (even for breakfast!!!); and bought ice cream down the street from the monastery.
My ice cream cost 35 syrian pounds. Which is like... probably less than 50 cents. sweet.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Orientation
this week has been crazy! after a crazy semester that was followed by three glorious restful weeks, I am back in the thick of it - reading, listening to lectures, waking up before 8:00, double-checking my packing...
I AM SO EXCITED!!! We've been talking about the food (excellent, in Janet's opinion), the people (hospitable, conservative, predominately Muslim for the first half and secular Jew for the second), the culture (don't cross your legs and show people the sole of your foot, don't make eye-contact with a man in the streets of Syria if you're a woman, do barter in the souks, or markets), and the travel (often by bus, often very slow at checkpoints between borders).
Our leaders have been telling us stories from the last several trips they've led through the Middle East - stories of students who got sick from eating chicken at an uncertified restaurant, students who met interesting people in the old city of Jerusalem, female students who got heckled in Cairo, students who thought their passports got stolen only to find it in their luggage at the end of the trip...
We've been talking about why God chose the land of Israel for his people. "Why," Linford asked, "not the Bahamas? Why somewhere hard?" We looked at the Nile to the south, the Euphrates to the North, the Jordan to the East, and realized that there is no major river flowing through most of Israel. Linford said, "Empires are built by rivers. Yet God gave his people the land between - the land dependent on rain..." He told us how important it seems to be that people keep moving; just like God expected his people to depend on the grace of rain, he expects them to turn from the security of empire and the stagnant water of comfort. We saw how God's people always seemed to grow while in Exile or in Exodus; how the Bible is a book full of cross-cultural stories. We talked about doubt and the difficulty of travel - how we will change and will return a different person.
Abraham's story connects to this. We looked at Hebrews 11 in class and read how those who left their country, following God's call, would have been able to return...but they chose to look ahead. And in doing so, it was impossible for them to remain the same. Even if they had returned to their own land, they would have been different because of their encounter with the Living God, because of their encounter with new people, because the discomfort of travel causes humans to grow in unexpected ways.
I am already seeing that I am not going to come back from this trip - the person I am now, never having left North America, will be gone. I will be different; I will be new. I will come home changed.
I AM SO EXCITED!!! We've been talking about the food (excellent, in Janet's opinion), the people (hospitable, conservative, predominately Muslim for the first half and secular Jew for the second), the culture (don't cross your legs and show people the sole of your foot, don't make eye-contact with a man in the streets of Syria if you're a woman, do barter in the souks, or markets), and the travel (often by bus, often very slow at checkpoints between borders).
Our leaders have been telling us stories from the last several trips they've led through the Middle East - stories of students who got sick from eating chicken at an uncertified restaurant, students who met interesting people in the old city of Jerusalem, female students who got heckled in Cairo, students who thought their passports got stolen only to find it in their luggage at the end of the trip...
We've been talking about why God chose the land of Israel for his people. "Why," Linford asked, "not the Bahamas? Why somewhere hard?" We looked at the Nile to the south, the Euphrates to the North, the Jordan to the East, and realized that there is no major river flowing through most of Israel. Linford said, "Empires are built by rivers. Yet God gave his people the land between - the land dependent on rain..." He told us how important it seems to be that people keep moving; just like God expected his people to depend on the grace of rain, he expects them to turn from the security of empire and the stagnant water of comfort. We saw how God's people always seemed to grow while in Exile or in Exodus; how the Bible is a book full of cross-cultural stories. We talked about doubt and the difficulty of travel - how we will change and will return a different person.
Abraham's story connects to this. We looked at Hebrews 11 in class and read how those who left their country, following God's call, would have been able to return...but they chose to look ahead. And in doing so, it was impossible for them to remain the same. Even if they had returned to their own land, they would have been different because of their encounter with the Living God, because of their encounter with new people, because the discomfort of travel causes humans to grow in unexpected ways.
I am already seeing that I am not going to come back from this trip - the person I am now, never having left North America, will be gone. I will be different; I will be new. I will come home changed.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas
i've been trying to figure out a Christmas post for the last couple days. and i feel like i am lacking in originality; in meaning; in good words. i guess if anyone wants to, they can read my post from last year: http://emilyharnish.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-eve.html
cause i still think that post is relevant.
but this year, rather than trying to add something to a day where we say and spend and laugh and cry and exist in extravagant ways, i thought i'd instead ask you (ask me) to be still for a moment.
click on this link and let it play in the background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv4ctye47OM
read these lyrics.
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
Walk in the world
In merciful ways, He loves you
He loves you
Emmanuel on Earth
Yours is the body
The hands and the feet
And Yours are the eyes to look compassionately
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
He will bless you and me
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
Walk in the world
Meaningful ways, He loves you
He loves you
Emmanuel on Earth
God with us on Earth
Yours is the body
The hands and the feet
And Yours are the eyes to look compassionately
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
He will bless you and me
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
To bless you and me
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
think about that -
Emmanuel on Earth
God with us on Earth.
Christmas. God with us on Earth. To bless us, love us; to cause us to walk in the world in meaningful ways. It is so beautiful.
So - yeah. ...Try to Love the Questions Themselves...'s Christmas benediction is:
Go into the world. Show it how much He loves us. Amen.
cause i still think that post is relevant.
but this year, rather than trying to add something to a day where we say and spend and laugh and cry and exist in extravagant ways, i thought i'd instead ask you (ask me) to be still for a moment.
click on this link and let it play in the background.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv4ctye47OM
read these lyrics.
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
Walk in the world
In merciful ways, He loves you
He loves you
Emmanuel on Earth
Yours is the body
The hands and the feet
And Yours are the eyes to look compassionately
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
He will bless you and me
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
Walk in the world
Meaningful ways, He loves you
He loves you
Emmanuel on Earth
God with us on Earth
Yours is the body
The hands and the feet
And Yours are the eyes to look compassionately
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
He will bless you and me
To bless you and me
Bless you and me
To bless you and me
Go into the world
Showing how much He loves you
think about that -
Emmanuel on Earth
God with us on Earth.
Christmas. God with us on Earth. To bless us, love us; to cause us to walk in the world in meaningful ways. It is so beautiful.
So - yeah. ...Try to Love the Questions Themselves...'s Christmas benediction is:
Go into the world. Show it how much He loves us. Amen.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
so, technology's pretty cool...
...seeing as how i'm updating this from my phone :) i don't really have anything to say (other than the fact that i am much faster at typing than texting!) so - merry almost-Christmas!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
i don't know how to start.
i don't know how to start writing about what has happened in the past four months. there is so much - and it is hard to think back on what did happen and be present where i am now.
in light of that, i'm going to put off writing about past things in favor or posting thoughts crossing my mind tonight.
“I’ve got a hope that never fails me…”
That’s how the Trent Wagler EP Timbered Choir begins. I just happened to be listening to that song while I was on facebook, facing down an onslaught of “Support our Troops” badges littering my News Feed. Sometimes I feel like if more of my acquaintances knew my views on pacifism, on patriotism, on the twisted and twined-together roles of church and state, I would get into a lot more arguments.
I wonder sometimes if I am too extremist. Like - if so many people I know are putting “Support our Troops” stickers all over their cars, all over their facebooks –should I really resist on the principle that “Support” means more than a yellow sticker? Should I give up on making things too complicated? Sometimes I feel like I am trying to keep my name; that my name has power behind it, has honor, and I don't want to give it up to something I'm sure that others will misinterpret. (I wonder if a facebook "name" is worth anything). My definition of "Support" is so much more complex than a prayer for God to bless America. I want to tell people – the reason I won’t add this badge to my facebook is that I think wars hurt more than help. I know people die (our troops. "enemy" troops. civilians) and I can't see how adding a yellow badge saying I offer my support will help.
I want to say, I’ve got a hope that never fails me. It isn’t a hope in military power. It isn’t a hope in the United States government. And despite my (nearly) limitless hope in the potential for love and goodness, beauty and peace, it isn’t a hope in people (American or otherwise). As Trent Wagler goes on to sing in his song
When Its All Stripped Away:
with no status, no power, no women or men –
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
with no profit, no weapons, no money in your hands,
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
stand up
stand up in the early morning
stand up
stand up when there is no morning
stand up
stand up when the storm is rising all around
with no color, no creed, no bible to defend
with it all stripped away, where will you stand?
when this world turns violent
when there’s no side left to win
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
stand up
stand up when the wind is blowing
stand up
stand up when the tears are flowing
stand up
when justice calls and you hear the sound…
so when you’re quiet, alone
this day has met its end
when its all stripped away, where will you stand?
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
I want to stand on the Prince of Peace.
That's what I'm staking my hope on. That's what I'm giving my heart to.
So - sorry, facebook acquaintances. Until you have time in your sound-bite world to let me say all that, I can't put the yellow badge on my profile.
http://www.jesusradicals.com/advent-and-the-liturgies-of-church-and-state/
in light of that, i'm going to put off writing about past things in favor or posting thoughts crossing my mind tonight.
“I’ve got a hope that never fails me…”
That’s how the Trent Wagler EP Timbered Choir begins. I just happened to be listening to that song while I was on facebook, facing down an onslaught of “Support our Troops” badges littering my News Feed. Sometimes I feel like if more of my acquaintances knew my views on pacifism, on patriotism, on the twisted and twined-together roles of church and state, I would get into a lot more arguments.
I wonder sometimes if I am too extremist. Like - if so many people I know are putting “Support our Troops” stickers all over their cars, all over their facebooks –should I really resist on the principle that “Support” means more than a yellow sticker? Should I give up on making things too complicated? Sometimes I feel like I am trying to keep my name; that my name has power behind it, has honor, and I don't want to give it up to something I'm sure that others will misinterpret. (I wonder if a facebook "name" is worth anything). My definition of "Support" is so much more complex than a prayer for God to bless America. I want to tell people – the reason I won’t add this badge to my facebook is that I think wars hurt more than help. I know people die (our troops. "enemy" troops. civilians) and I can't see how adding a yellow badge saying I offer my support will help.
I want to say, I’ve got a hope that never fails me. It isn’t a hope in military power. It isn’t a hope in the United States government. And despite my (nearly) limitless hope in the potential for love and goodness, beauty and peace, it isn’t a hope in people (American or otherwise). As Trent Wagler goes on to sing in his song
When Its All Stripped Away:
with no status, no power, no women or men –
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
with no profit, no weapons, no money in your hands,
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
stand up
stand up in the early morning
stand up
stand up when there is no morning
stand up
stand up when the storm is rising all around
with no color, no creed, no bible to defend
with it all stripped away, where will you stand?
when this world turns violent
when there’s no side left to win
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
stand up
stand up when the wind is blowing
stand up
stand up when the tears are flowing
stand up
when justice calls and you hear the sound…
so when you’re quiet, alone
this day has met its end
when its all stripped away, where will you stand?
with it all stripped away where will you stand?
I want to stand on the Prince of Peace.
That's what I'm staking my hope on. That's what I'm giving my heart to.
So - sorry, facebook acquaintances. Until you have time in your sound-bite world to let me say all that, I can't put the yellow badge on my profile.
http://www.jesusradicals.com/advent-and-the-liturgies-of-church-and-state/
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
so close
all that's left is a paper, a presentation, finishing writing a chem lab, finishing up lab work in cell bio, three exams, two homework assignments, submitting poetry to a journal, and packing up my room. :) see, almost done!!!
Friday, December 10, 2010
almost done
so i haven't been a very prolific blog-poster this semester - that may have something to do with the fact that i am spending most of my time "underground," aka the basement of the science center.
but. that does not mean that things worthy of being celebrated, mused over, talked about, and laughed at haven't happened. they just aren't public yet. ;)
one cool thing that happened this morning:
this week has been so stressful - feeling like i can't possibly get everything done that needs to get done. last night i was in the science center til around 10:30 and i was listening to my iPod on the walk back to my dorm. i was listening to the song "Peace" by Jennifer Knapp and when i got to my room it wasn't finished playing, but i pulled out the earbuds (effectively hitting "pause") and put my iPod on to charge. i forgot to take it off, so this morning when my alarm went off, instead of a blaring beep-beep-beep I got to hear he is my light and my salvation; whom have i to fear?
but. that does not mean that things worthy of being celebrated, mused over, talked about, and laughed at haven't happened. they just aren't public yet. ;)
one cool thing that happened this morning:
this week has been so stressful - feeling like i can't possibly get everything done that needs to get done. last night i was in the science center til around 10:30 and i was listening to my iPod on the walk back to my dorm. i was listening to the song "Peace" by Jennifer Knapp and when i got to my room it wasn't finished playing, but i pulled out the earbuds (effectively hitting "pause") and put my iPod on to charge. i forgot to take it off, so this morning when my alarm went off, instead of a blaring beep-beep-beep I got to hear he is my light and my salvation; whom have i to fear?
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