Study and Play

Middle Ages map of the Jerusalem being the center of the world

Israeli Defense Force soldiers in Zion Plaza

Front entrance of JUC

So today was my second day of class, which I had Islamic Thought and Practice at 0830 and later tonight I had History of the Church in the East at 1900. This morning was a tough morning, I had a hard time sleeping and thus getting up because I was so tired. I still got up and went to breakfast after having another cold shower with a little warmth in it just to fool you. I went to my first class and was fine at first then going through the history from 200 AD to 600 AD (discussing the Eastern Roman {Byzantine} Empire against the Sanasian Empire {around Iran and Iraq}), just before the rise and spread of Islam, I started to get really tired and doze in and out. A reason why is I have learned this information before multiple times and also I was very tired from the night. But I stuck it out and waited till class to get done.


 Thankfully, it did and I was able to lay on my bed and take a 30 minutes snooze then off to lunch. I was then free till 1800 do get caught up on homework and do whatever; and that is what I did. I'm somewhat caught up on all my homework for tomorrow and then I was invited to go to the Old and New City for some things; like shampoo, toothpaste, military surplus, and gelato. Of course I would go, get busy and more awake was what I needed along with the fresh air and not cramped cold classroom. So the group of us walk to Jaffa Gate then visited Shaban, our awesome shopkeeper, and went on to the New City on Jaffa Road. WE got back I got a little more reading done and had a great dinner with a apple dessert. Got all ready for my last class and walked in thinking this class will be good. I was right on some parts but also the professor was talking in come form of   language I didn't understand (Eastern Theology language) and wow my thinking just dropped and I was having a hard time keeping up. So for 2.5 hours I went through it and at the end the professor said this class would be like tonight, she just had to give us a strong foundation for the rest of the semester. So, I was pretty happy about that, and so I am looking forward to learning about our brothers in the East, that the West doesn't know much if anything on.


Prayers for me to fall asleep easier and stay asleep and to enjoy the classes that may be already troubling me.

Old City and a Pub

St. Andrews Church

Today, was a beautiful cool-ish day with the sun out and bright blue sky. I with some classmates went to St. Andrew's Scots Memorial Presbyterian Church across the valley. The service was traditional with liturgy and hymns and the pastor was SCOTTISH! and his aide was a pastor from the Oklahoma UMC Conference. I did enjoy the service, and we had snacks with the congregation and also bought some small handmade items from the gift shop which helps un-employed Palestinian artists.

Western Wall and Dome of the Rock (Temple Mount)

Mount Zion (JUC Campus and Dormition Abby)

When we all got back the school broke into two groups to tour parts fo the old city. So we started on top of Mt. Zion (where JUC is located on) looking across the horizon and seeing the Hills of Moab in Jordan, the Mount of Olives on the Eastern Hills and the Kidron Valley. mt. Zion is known as a Christian Mount because of the Catholic Dormition Church and Greek Orthodox Church along with JUC being on top of it. But to add was the Church of the Upper Room where it is also the Tomb of King David and also a mosque. So there we discussed it being a Crusader rebuilt church after it being a mosque then before that a church then before that the Tomb.

Temple Mount at Dusk with Mount of Olives in background

From there we traveled up the hill to Zion Gate where we talked about the significance the gate had in the Israeli War of Independence or as the Arabs call it "The Catastrophe" with the gate dotted with bullet marks. Walking inside we went to an excavation site where an ancient road was called the Cardo Street which is still in use, well the same direction just 10-15 feet above because of rubble. Walking eastward we went to an overlook of the Temple Mount where we saw the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock and the less fancy functioning mosque on the east side of the Mount. Also we saw the famous Western Wall (Wailing Wall), it was just cool seeing the place and imagining the Jewish Temple on the Mount and thinking Jesus walked those steps to the east of the platform and where the thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and other Jews went to but could pray, hence the Waling Wall name.
Then we walked on to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (again for me, which is fine) and we talked about it though we didn't have time to go inside. We walked more and climbed the stairs to the roofs where we got to see the whole Eastern Hills and overlooking the Temple Mount and it was just mind blowing at the same time the Muslim call to prayer happened an that really gave it a more feel of being in the East, and in Jerusalem with the church bells ringing, too. We walked back to the campus and had dinner.
After dinner, a group of us went out to the pub where we had drinks and free hookah, along with popcorn and American sports. This was a great experience with new friends and a good time to converse and laugh. Definitely a great way to start off the semester, here in Israel.

Arrived at JUC

Well today was beautiful in the morning but later on got really windy and rainy. I got enough sleep at the hostel and had a great Israeli breakfast with Alejandro and Greg (the two new friends). We then parted ways as they were going around the Old City to follow the route of Christ from the Upper Room to the hill when Jesus rose after witnessing to the thousands before he ascended to heaven. I grabbed a taxi and he took me to JUC, he was great and gave me a deal for him to take me to the campus on Mt. Zion. I was greeted by the President's wife and was taken to my room on the 4th floor (with no elevator) with narrow stairways and steep slippery stairs. I then walked around the campus and took pictures, then I was greeted by other students from Minnesota, Kansas, Alberta, New York, Colorado, etc. As of now, I am moved in and ready for the weekend(Shabbat) then classes begin on Monday.

Old and New

Today, I and my fellow classmates had orientation, which is basically the same stuff as any other college with the added safety and culture warnings. But today was also when the faculty broke us into groups and we had to find certain things on a sheet of paper and then take a group photo of each of them in the Old City. So, at first we were suppose to find this shop-keeper and money changer, who's name is Shabin, who is also a friend of JUC but we had no clue how to find him we walk all over in the Armenian Quater and we were suppose to be in the Christian Quarter (look on a map, if you don't know, and that the city is divided into 4 parts = Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian). But lucky for us he found us among the many tourist and other college groups. He took us to his shop and we exchanged money for Shekels and then we also had to get a picture of a person in the group wearing a keffiyeh, which is the arab headdress for men. I was that lucky guy, because I always want to try it and well here was the chance. After that we went on following Shabin around, very fast, from stop to stop for our scavenger hunt. He was a great help. From eating a falafel to going to the Via Del a Rosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jaffa Gate, photos with a Israeli IDF soldier and Israeli Police. For an added 75 points we could ask the IDF soldier to allow us to hold his M-16 assault rifle and get a picture. So being bold at the time I asked the question and the group didn't want me to do for fear of being shot or something. But this fun, but kinda scary moment failed, for it was in a public place and a lot of people.

Also, my group kinda took extra time at went in to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and at that time the priest were preaying and singing, which just made it even cooler and more awe-inspiring to the spot of Christ's crucifixion. We then went up to the balcony which was even cooler because this was the supposed spot where the Cross was place and a huge line was there for people to knell down and then kiss or touch the rock where Christ died for all our sins. This was mind-blowing. We then were trying to exit but the priest and clergy went up t the balcony with a even large mass of people where they prayed and sang beautiful chants and hymns, all with the smell of incense in the air. But we got out and made it back to campus in time to turn in our photos to be judged.

The rock alter where Jesus was placed on the Cross

Later tonight, we went out to explore the New City, which is west of the Old City outside of the walls. We did a huge loop and saw many cool bars, coffee shops, general stores, and other useful places to use in the near future.

Arrival Day

The airport from the plane

Well after 18 hours, I know I said it would be like 20-something, on the plane and waiting I have successfully made it to Jerusalem, Israel. It was 65f today and very beautiful, the landscape is a lot like Italy's if you know what that looks like. The nights are cool but the adrenaline still after the flight kept me warm walking through the streets. Oh, and today and last night I met a group of North Carolinian from the Methodist Church there taking a week-long visit of the Holy Land. Also, I sat next to two Jews, one a Mexican-Israeli Secular Jew and other and Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn. Both of their names are Moshin which is Hebrew for Moses, which from what they said is very popular Hebrew name, like Jacob is in America.
After I arrived at Tel Aviv and got on the sherut(taxi shuttle) I sat next a guy from the UK and we started to talk and we found out we were both heading to the the same hostel. So tonight we hung out and walked around the city and then went to the bar at the hostel where we met a Canadian born again Christian who has been to Israel 10 times and also a UK college lady who is interning at the UN in Israel, along with a guy from Johannesburg, South Africa who starts a tech job in Israel for 5 months.
Overall, I am really excited to learn about the old land and its people. The Canadian explained to me that he went to most of the sites the Jesus went to today and at the same time he read the scripture tying it back to the Word. Its' going to be unreal and an huge eye-opener for sure.

So tomorrow I will be heading to JUCin the morning and getting ready for my adventure.

Things to remember:
Prayers for my safety and for me to learn as a person of global world, but more importantly for me to grow deeper in Christ through the settings around me.

Shipping Items

Only 7 days till I board the plane to study in the Holy Land and I am getting very excited, nervous, and kinda stressed. But, all in all I am ready to go. I have my luggage almost all set and books and papers ready, too. Also, I now have my visa from the Israeli Consulate in Chicago, it took them three months to get it processed. So I have had friends and family ask me how to ship items over to JUC. So here is the information to send me goodies from the great US of A.
If you want to have something sent other than using the postal service, please use USPS if at all possible. They know the college and are reliable at making deliveries to our gate. The address to send items via couriers is:

Jacob Solmonson
Jerusalem University College 
Aravnah HaYevosi #3, Mt Zion
91012 Jerusalem Israel
Telephone: 02-671-8628


Remember: all packages received in Israel are subject to duty, although usually the duty is waived. To minimize the chances of incurring duty, please instruct those mailing packages to you to list the contents of the package on the customs tag with the notation “no commercial value” and, if possible, the notation “used items.” All new packaging and price tags should be removed from the items that are included in the package. It is also helpful to keep the size of the package as small as possible. Generally, you will need to pay duty on electrical, computer, video and DVD items received by mail.

Welcome to Trekking Student

The BBC logo

So, I am typing up my first blog ever while watching BBC World News and reminiscing about my past adventures to the Mediterranean region in 2007, British Isles and Canada in 2005, then going way back to Bahamas in 2003 and Mexico in 2002. Gosh, I missed having the travel bug, but I am so excited to be able to have the great opportunity to study abroad in the Holy Land for a full semester. I will be attending Jerusalem University College (aka American Institute of Holy Land Studies) in Jerusalem, Israel and its going to be totally new, kinda scary, but totally worth it. I still can't believe that in 20 days I will be traveling 6421 miles as the crow flies from Minneapolis-St.Paul to Jerusalem. Now, I am shopping for pairs of zip-off desert proof pants, and my many books along with many ways to pack all I need for 3 and a half months in one suitcase and a carry-on.


Can't wait to jump on the plane and become an international student!

The State of Israel with its neighbors