Buses, Bricks, & Books

After a few weeks of living in Israel certain things become routine and familiar.
At first, I found myself intrigued by every ancient-looking structure and overwhelmed by the lack of any familiar writing on signs and storefronts. The first week here I would ask myself things like, “Where is the safest place to sit on the bus in case of a suicide bomber?” And I would make clever observations such as, “There seems to be a lot of Jewish people here”.
Now I am quickly beginning to feel like a local. Each day I head to the bus stop and manage to get on the correct bus in route to the University. I am able to understand the Israeli bus system and schedule. A basic rule of thumb in Israel is go to your bus stop anytime of the day and you are guaranteed to wait 20 minutes for your bus. No schedules are published because in Israel the bus comes when it comes and that is the schedule. So I get on my bus and drive across town past the old city and on to Mount Scopus.
Driving across Jerusalem I see what have now become quite familiar sites; Wine and cheese shops on every street, fruit markets located within each neighborhood, outdoor café’s, an incredible number of book stores (Israel is known to read more books per capita than any other country), and a consistent and comforting presence by Israeli police and military personnel. I even can read every sign (although I do not understand everything I read). The ride that once captivated my every thought has already become a 25-minute period of time that I can use to read and prepare for class.
En route to the University we pass piles of bricks that form the structures of some of the world’s most famous buildings. We pass sections of the city wall that were built around the time of Christ with the remaining wall being rebuilt in the 1500’s. Once passing through the city I come across another pile of bricks that make up Hebrew University. It is my oasis in a bustling city. After passing through strenuous security checks I enter a world of brick buildings among manicured green lawns and tall shade trees. Students from all over the world stroll the halls and relax in the courtyard. I almost feel guilty while enjoying the serenity of the college campus knowing that below the hill just south of here is the busy city of Jerusalem and a very short distance east is the entrance to the West Bank.
I spend my days in a combination of intense courses focusing on the historical setting of the bible and the world of early Christianity and in full immersion Hebrew classes. I realize that if I didn’t use the Hebrew language to study the Bible my efforts would be somewhat useless. With Israel being the only country in the world speaking Hebrew, this intense language study is all for the purpose of communicating with a population roughly the same as the state of Mississippi. Can you imagine putting forth the effort it would take to understand the language of the people in Mississippi just for one year of study? (Mississippi-English doesn’t even have any classic texts to study so that is one language I am not intent on learning.)
Back to the point; my impression of the University and level of scholarship I am immersed with is one of awe. The intellect of the people in my classes and the knowledge of the subject matter by the professors is considerably higher than anything I have experienced in the states. I will face a challenge this year to keep up and to produce a high level of acceptable academic work but this is why I am here so the challenge is appealing. The question becomes what will this year of intense academic and social study lead to? That is a question better left for a later time but for now I will sit outside on the campus while I wait for my next class (Biblical Archaeology) to begin.