A Day in 'The Holy City'

Today is Orthodox Easter, and the first day after Passover week. Last night I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher with several other students to observe the proceedings. We arrived just before midnight, when all the services commenced. We stayed for a bit watching the Greek orthodox ceremony, but it was quite crowded, there were cameras and lots of tourists taking photos and videos. We decided to see if we could find the Ethiopian chapel, and see their service. One of the doors in the quart yard which was usually closed was open, because inside they had the computers and electronic equipment for recording the event. There were several guys sitting in there manning the computers, but they didn't say anything as we walked by and went up the stairs. We found ourselves on the roof, looking down to the quart yard bellow. We could hear the Ethiopian service nearby, and after maneuvering around some scaffolding we got to a rooftop where we could look over the Ethiopian service. At one point we saw flashlights sweeping the roof, and two Police officers on top a near bye roof spotted us. We looked to see if it was ok we were there, and they gave us the thumbs up, so we continued to explore. After a while, we found scaffolding which led to the very top of the Church, to where the dome and cross are, over the sepulcher itself! We were just about to climb it when a woman saw us, and made us leave...but a couple of other guys were able to get to the top later that night, around 3:00 AM. I think they could even see into the Church and see the Greek Orthodox service bellow! As for me and the other two students I was with at the time, after we were kicked off the roof we went to stand in the Ethiopian service. It was so different from the Greek orthodox. For one, everyone was arranged in neat lines, not pushing and shoving toward the front. No one had their phones out, and it was much more quiet and peaceful. They were all dressed completely in white, and the Women all had their heads covered. I felt a bit bad because I din't bring my scarf, but when we entered the man at the gate ushered us in nicely, and I don't think it mattered that our heads were uncovered. We stayed for a while, then explored some rooftops near the cardo, hoping they would lead back to the vicinity of the Holy Sepulcher, but they did not. So, at 1:45 we headed back to school. however, we made a quick stop at the 5 shekel coffee shop, and met an orthodox Jew named Ephriam, who had moved to Haifa seven weeks ago. After talking a bit, we walked to Zion gate, where we almost snuck onto the City walls, but there were already some others up there, so we called it a night and walked back to school. What a night!
Today, I went to Christ Church, and sat next to a woman who greeted me in a foreign language. Unsure if she spoke English, I sat for a bit in silence, then decided to try, and asked how she was. She was very friendly and spoke English well, but had greeted me in Dutch because she could tell I looked like I was from the Netherlands. I think she may have been from the Netherlands, but she lived in Jerusalem for a couple years, and immigrated to Canada a while ago. I was glad to have made a friend, we talked about what a blessing it is to be here in Jerusalem, but also about the Spiritual warfare here, even within the Christian Church. "You need to pray the grace of Christ over yourself everyday," she said.  After church we had our Jewish thought and Practice final, presenting on objects in the Israel Museum. On our way there, our taxi driver began to talk to us about his views on how the Israelis treat Palestinians. He is a Palestinian, so it was neat to hear his perspective. "I know the Jews have a very sad history, I am sorry for that. But why they come and fix it by pushing us out? They are very smart people, they should find a solution." Of course its not that simple, but it was interesting to hear his opinion. He was right on one thing, "people here - not only here, all over the world - they hurt others in the name of god." And to my surprise, he thanked us (Americans) for coming, because we give the people "good feelings," whatever that means. "We like the people of America, not always the government, but the people, yes." After our presentations I looked at the art portion of the museum, and then went to the old city to buy some earrings I had wanted.
I got them for 30 shekels, (about 7.5 dollars) so I thought that was pretty good. Then, on my way back, I let myself be stopped by a shop owner. He showed me his shop, made me some tea, and even gave me a gift for free - earnings made out of coins much like the ones I had just bought! We sat and talked for a longish time, and I hope it wasn't too rude that I didn't buy anything. He wanted to sell me a matching necklace for 900 sheckels, $125! In the end I am glad I got to know him and talk with him, though I feel a bit bad for taking the earrings and tea without buying something. On the other hand, I told him in advance I wasn't interested to buy, and a main trick of getting you to buy is to make you feel obligated when you really aren't. Now I'm finally back at school, and getting ready to study for the evening. This is finals week, and next weekend we will be back in Jordan for a while. I am looking forward to one last field study before having to say goodbye to the other students.