The Laughlins

I found a good website for 360' panoramic "virtual tours" of various parts of Jerusalem. Now you can "see" what we see in our daily walks around town. If you have Quicktime, you can view all of these, zoom in or out, and spin in various directions. CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW to go to the main website! You can also visit: www.nylocations.com

Well, I just opted not to post the last posting I created about where we are staying in Eilat, etc. etc. We aren't paranoid or anything, but we were thinking that (no matter where we live) we shouldn't post future happenings/locations, where anyone on the Wolrd-Wide-Web could track us :) Mark was making fun of me and saying, "We are taking the _____busline #___ at ___o' clock, and we will be staying in the _____________ hotel in Room # ___...the key is under the mat." All of that to say, we are just being extra careful, because we have orders from many family members and friends to do so...and because we would want to anyways :) Suffice it to say that Mark and I will be spending a few nights next week in the beautiful resort city of Eilat on Israel's southernmost border. We are very excited for this time off and a vacation. We plan on hitting the beach a lot, snorkeling, hiking, and sightseeing. By next weekend, I should have pictures up of our time there. In the more immediate future, Mark and I both have finals on Monday right before we leave. I also have an oral exam on Sunday that (in its requirements) is much harder than the one that Mark had to do for his more advanced class...guess I should move up a few levels :) Mark has the choice to either take the final for his class or to take the entrance exam to get into the next level (Bet). His class still did not finish the last eight chapters of so of the Aleph book, which means that he would need to know all of that before Monday to pass the Bet test. He is going to go for it though, because he wants to stay on track for finishing the language aspect in a timely fashion...you can pray for him. He feels like he is at quite a loss at times, so he is letting this test "determine" where he should really be to learn Hebrew well.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW to view a video that I compiled using my clips from Masada, Ein Gedi, and the Dead Sea! Note: It may take a few minutes or so to load depending on your Internet speed. There was a bit of wind on Masada as well, so you will hear that in the video.

This weekend we went on a trip with the university to Masada, Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, and the Dead Sea. It was a fun trip, but Mark and I want to go back by ourselves so that we can have more time there and explore many more areas as well. We started our weekend by going to a theater in Talpiot and seeing Pirates of the Caribbean II (one theater picture below). It was pretty good, but not as good as the first, and obvioudly there is going to be a third one as well. We ended up waiting for a bus that never came, walking a long ways, and eventually taking a taxi home rather late. We got two hours of sleep, and then woke up at 1:30am, because we had to meet the bus at 2:30am. We drove to Masada, and because of some bad planning (apparently this happened last year as well), we arrived a too late to actually see the sun rise from the top of Masada; we saw it come up right after we got off the bus. Anyways, we climbed to the top via the Roman's siege ramp on the western side, so it only took about 10-15 minutes to get to the top. On the eastern side of Masada is the snake path, which was originally the only way to reach the top of Masada, and therefore the fortress of Masada was very easy to protect (until the Romans built the ramp). Once we reached the top, we wandered around on our own for a while, but unfortunately (because this was a school-planned "guided tour"), we were rounded up and forced to stay with our group, only visiting certain sections of the mountain. (The whole time-limit and "guided" experience made things a bit frustrating at times, but it was fun to go to these locations nonetheless.) Masada has some pretty amazing features, including the remnants of Herod's palace, saunas which had a raised floor, heating below, and vents above, food storage building, bath houses, a HUGE cistern (see picture of people in large pit below) and the oldest synagogue they have excavated. After our tour of the top, we took a cable car down the eastern slope and took the bus to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve. We were only there for about 30-45 minutes. We hiked up to the lower (and smaller) waterfall in the park, and saw MANY rock hyraxes/coneys (in Hebrew they are called "rock rabbits). They are very funny-looking animals that are quite fast and agile for their size and shape. I was hoping to see an ibex or two (mountain goats of Israel with two horns), but there weren't any around that day. We had a quick lunch and drove across the way to the Dead Sea. Unfortunately, my camera got switched to a different setting there, so when one of my friends tried to take pictures of Mark and I floating around on the water, none of them turned out at all. That's OK though...we'll go back again and post pictures then. There are a couple of pictures of the umbrellas and beach though. The Dead Sea was fun, but you have to stay within a very small public beach area, you aren't allowed to go out more than 8-15 meters, and you have to stay on your back so that you don't get water in your mouth or eyes. It really works your stomach muscles, because you hold your head up out of the water the whole time. I was a little sore on Saturday :) We drove home that afternoon, and I slept about 13 hours that evening/night because I was wiped out. There are a couple of random pictures from our neighborhood too - I especially liked the one of the Orthodox Jewish man and son with the Blockbuster behind them and another man on a cell phone next to them. I could do an extensive theme here is Israel with my pictures: the new and the old. This country really is a huge intergration of new buildings/technology and very olf history and traditions. It makes it a very unique place to live!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF ZIZEK BELOW TO VIEW VIDEO OF HIS LECTURE!!!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Mark and I went to the Jerusalem Film Festival last weekend and watched two movies. They were both good, but the most interesting part was probably after the second movie, at which time Slavoj Zizek (who was the narrator of sorts in the movie) came onto stage and gave over an hour-long lecture. To most of you, this name probably doesn't mean anything, but the whole reason that we chose to attend this movie is because Zizek is someone that I studied in my Literary Theory and Literary Criticism classes in college. He is very well-know in literary circles, so I was quite surprised when he showed up on stage after the movie (...and all for about $10 each!). He brought over 20 pages of notes with him, and the only reason that he stopped lecturing was because they basically kicked him out of the theater so that they could start the next movie. I met him afterwards, and when I told him that I had studied him in my college English classes, he told me that I must hate him because I had to study him; he told me to buy a voodoo doll of him so that I could get back at him. Anyways, it was a fun experience - one of those "once in a lifetime" experiences, of which we are having many here in Israel... Before the movie, we ate in the German Colony at a place called the Coffee Shop. The food was delicious - I got a penne pasta with a creamy pesto sauce...yum yum. After the movie on Friday night, we walked around Ben Yehuda Street and Zion Square. We went to Steve's Packs (the famous backpack/bag store of Israel), and we both got little wallets.
Mark and I both finished our 3rd week of ulpan; next week is our last week of the Jerusalem Ulpan. After it ends, we get about one week off, and then we start the Summer Ulpan (two months long). We are thinking of going to Petra (in Jordan) with some friends during our week off. We'll see though. Jordan is our friend - Jordan is to the East :) I feel like I am learning a lot, can read much faster, and definitely understand the grammatical aspects of Hebrew. Mark and I both want to work on our vocabulary a lot more (supposedly we know over 1,000 words already), and I need to work on my spelling as well. Mark is very good at spelling in Hebrew, but I am still learning to recognize the words by sight. (I am still better at spelling in English, so we trade off). That's about it!
We are going to see Pirates of the Caribbean this evening in Talpiyot (near the German Colony). After that, we are going to come home, go to bed right away, and wake up at 1:30am to take a trip with the university to Masada. We have to leave early because we are going to see the sun rise (and we have to hike to the top first). Check out BiblePlaces.com on my links to read more about Masada. Needless to say, we will be tired on Friday, but it will be worth it. It will be nice to be physically tired for a change instead of mentally tired!

Well...it is possible...likely, even. I have been looking into M.A. programs (for myself), and after much searching, I think I have finally found one that is 1) enjoyable/right up my alley 2) easily done from Israel through an "external degree" program, 3) cheap, and 4) a quality program according to individuals whom I respect and trust in my field of study. Where is it? Maybe I should make you guess :) I am currently looking into the HUX program at CSU Dominguez Hills. A good friend of mine (you know who you are) is currenly finishing this program and recommended it to me. I have added a link on the top of my link list so that you can check it out for yourselves. The basic overview is as follows: I would be working on my Master of Arts in Humanties Degree. This program requires you to complete 30 units: 9 classes and a thesis paper. Classes cost only $198 per unit!! This means that I could complete the program for less than $6,000. In addition, all the work is done via postal service and Internet, meaning that I wouldn't have to show up on campus (no residency required). All of that said, I am very excited about this possibility, and Mark reallys wants me to do it too. I could presumably finish the degree by the time that Mark finishes his (or sooner). At the same time, I plan to continue doing ulpan (Modern Hebrew language school) for the two years that I am here and will probably look to tutor/edit papers in English. (Don't edit what I am writing now!) One of my Hebrew teachers has already told me that she would pay me to edit the papers that she is working on in English.

I just figured I should keep putting posts up to say that we're "OK"...so we're OK :) I'll post something soon with cool pictures and mayeb a video of our weekend at the Jerusalem Film Festival. It was fun :)

This article was released today by the Associated Press. Please read the remarks of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran carefully. He believes the Holocaust is a myth, that Israel should be wiped out, and that the U.S. (which they call "The Great Satan"...not part of this particular article, but check the archives of any major US periodical), above all others, will be accountable as well. No matter where you stand politically, these comments must be taken VERY SERIOUSLY! No one wants war - everyone would like to feel secure and comfortable...I'm OK, you're OK. Unfortunately, it does not always work out that way; because mankind is wicked, there are times when the best diplomacy in the world will not "fix" the problems at hand. Just keep this in mind over the next few months...


TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday that Israel could not harm Iran, even as the Jewish state expanded its offensive into Lebanon to target the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

"Despite the barbaric and criminal nature of the occupiers of Jerusalem, the regime and its Western supporters do not even have the power to give Iran a nasty look," the agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in Osku, in northwestern Iran.

His declaration came just hours after he warned Israel against extending its Lebanon assault into neighboring Syria, saying such a move would be seen as an attack against the whole Islamic world. Ahmadinejad made those comments in a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar Assad, to assure him of his support, IRNA reported.

Syria and Shiite Muslim Iran are allies, and together are the top backers of the Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon.

Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon, striking bridges, airports and the main highway leading to Syria to put pressure on the government and force Hezbollah to free the two Israeli soldiers it captured Wednesday.

Ahmadinejad also said attacks and threats against Lebanon and Syria prove that Israel's "fake regime" would not survive under peaceful conditions, and he urged Israel's allies to stop supporting its military operations.

"One day all supporters of Israel, especially the U.S., should be held accountable," he said.

He held the Jewish state responsible for unjust conditions in neighboring countries, saying Israel's "impudence and shamelessness" help deny the region of advanced technology.

"Opposition to Iran's achievements toward peaceful nuclear technology is an example," Ahmadinejad said.

Iran is under international pressure to suspend its nuclear program and resume negotiations over a package of incentives offered last month by permanent members of the U.N Security Council plus Germany. The Islamic country could face punishment by the council if it rejects the package.

The U.S. accuses Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build weapons. Tehran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared only toward generating electricity.

Iran and Israel have been arch enemies since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, which toppled a pro-Western monarchy and installed an anti-West, pro-Palestinian clerical establishment in Tehran.

In April, Iran said it would give the Palestinian Authority US$50 in aid after the militant group Hamas won power in Palestinian parliamentary elections.

Iran threatened Israel in May that it would be Iran's first retaliatory target in response to any U.S. attack.

Last year, Ahmadinejad said the Holocaust was a myth and that Israel should be wiped out.

Mark and I just completed our second week of ulpan. I had a dictation test yesterday and a noun/adjective agreement test today. I think they went pretty well...we'll see. I have a reading test on Sunday!! I am definitely faster, but still not very good at all. Mark was supposed to have a test today, but they postponed it until Sunday. On our last tests, I got a 90%, and Mark got an 86%, so they both went pretty well - better than I expected at least. There were two "firsts" for me today (maybe more that I can't think of too): 1) I saw an albino man about my age - white hair, eyebrows, arm/leg hair, and very fair skin; I couldn't see if he had red eyes though :) 2) We heard gun-fire/weaponry of sorts for about an hour during class today. The campus is located on the top of Mt. Scopus and overlooks a number of towns - sound seems to carry pretty far here as well; I guess I wasn't that surprised since I knew what the newest developments were this morning. It is just a different experience to be within earshot of real gunshots (not "for fun" or hunting gunshots). Anyways, that is not meant to scare any of you the are prone to worrying, as they were still a few miles away, and the campus itself has a lot of security in place. On Sunday, they have a briefing of sorts on campus concerning the situation in Israel right now, so Mark and I will probably go to that.

This is our first real two-day weekend. It looks like we will be going to the Jerusalem Film Festival Tonight and then tomorrow afternoon for movies. They play about 20-30 different movies each day in 6-10 different theaters in the Jerusalem area. I have added a link at the top of my link list if you are interested - click on any movie title to read a description. Tonight we are going to see "The New Jews."

I am adding pictures of the park across the street from us, and the sunset that we see each night - it is quite beautiful. You will also notice a number of graffiti paintings by "rudes." I looked this up on the Internet today, and "rudes" is apparently one guy (maybe more) who is a graffiti artist in the Jerusalem area. They are stencils, and they look much more interesting than your average graffiti.

This is just a quick post to let you know that despite Israel's war front being expanded to the Lebanon border, we are doing just fine. Security levels have been increased, and there are many more police and helicopters around, but that is about the main difference that you see in daily life in Jerusalem (aside from further delays because of security). We are being careful - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never has and most likely, never will be easily solved. In part, things are reminiscent of the Six-Day War less than 40 years ago when Israel was at war with ALL of its neighboring countries. It is true that although they have tried to maintain a policy of not negotiating with terrorists, Israel (in the past) has released thousands of prisoners in exchange for a small handful or people or sometimes even just the corpses of dead Israelis. This track record seems to be hurting them now, as terrorist groups continue to kidnap soldiers, asking for thousands of security prisoners from Israeli prisons in exchange. I suppose Israel has to put its foot down at some point - perhaps it is now.

Well, we have survived our first week of ulpan! It was six days long this week! We leave our apartment around 7:50am and walk to school. Class starts at 8:30am, and we are given two breaks (30 minutes long or less depending on the day of the week). Classes end at either 1:45 or 1pm depending on the day as well (M/W or T/TH or Sun). We walk home from school, make dinner, take showers, and do homework most nights. Once a week, we have to go do our laundry in the evening, which takes longer than it did before now that school is in session. There were about six people in line ahead of us when we went last time - it was kind of a pain. Our general feeling so far...we are learning a lot, but the process is very long and hard. I feel especially at a loss since (up until one week ago), I had never read nor written a sentence in Hebrew, and now they expect me to be able to do that at a normal pace. Most all of the students in my class are either Jewish or have some background/classes that they have had in Hebrew, so they have had much more previous exposure. I am kind of intimidated by the fact that I have an oral and reading examination on Thursday this week, and it will probably be in front of the whole class, since that is how they do most things here. Mark and I both think that our tests went pretty well on Friday though. Mark is probably more confident than I am, but I will let you know the results when I find out. At this point, I am happy just to pass (which is not the usual response that you would get from me regarding school). I was the last one to finish the test, and I had to work through all of the break following the test just to get it done. Once Mark starts classes in Sept/Oct, I will probably start doing the city ulpan in Jerusalem because it it cheaper and focuses more on conversational Hebrew. However, I am learning a lot right now. Mark and I were invited to a young couple's house for lunch after congregation today. Luke (27) and Sarah (22) Miller have been here for a year - Luke is doing the same MA that Mark will be doing. They are from Canada and got married a couple of weeks before we did (Seth introduced us). Seth, Sarah F (whom we met at the IBEX picnic), the Millers, and Mark and I all hung out and talked until about 5pm this evening. We are hoping to do some traveling with them when we have breaks from school. We had Seth, Kristy, and Josh over to our apartment last night for dinner and a movie. We watched "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" in English with Hebrew subtitles. It was fun. I had the "Man of Constant Sorrows" song stuck in my head most of today. Josh spent the night on our floor, and went to Jerusalem Assembly with us this morning; he lives many miles off of campus, and buses stop running around 3pm on Fridays because of Shabbat (so we told him to crash here). That's about it. I totally forgot to take pictures last night though! Sorry! I will try to take more soon and put them up. We are going to a picnic with the Jerusalem Assembly Young Adults group on Monday night and on Thursday or Friday, we are hoping to either go see "Pirates of the Caribbean" or one the movies at the Jerusalem Film Festival that is going on right now.

Well, this morning was quite an adventure. We showed up early to campus to find out where our classroom would be. Upon entering the building, we checked the schedule and found out: 1) that Mark and I were placed in different classes and 2) that Mark's registration was "incomplete." We went up to the room for registration, and there was a huge line of students that hadn't registered (on time) at all. We ended up having to wait well into our class time only to find out (after Mark was finally called) that his registration WAS COMPLETE, and it must have been a mis-print. We went to the Hebrew Language Classes room and talked to two different people about being put in the same class. It turns out that even though Mark and I are both at level Aleph (beginner's), there are sub-sections of this level depending on how far along you are. Since Mark has had two years of biblical Hebrew, he is ahead of me (I have had nothing.) In the end, we realized that we really would need to be in different levels. They also discovered (by informally re-testing us) that Mark should really be placed in Aleph 7 instead of Aleph 8. I was told to go to Aleph 4. I got to class (late, of course) and very quickly realized that this class was way ahead of me. By the break time, I was completely overwhelmed and went back upstairs to the Hebrew Language Classes room and asked them to put me in Aleph 3. They wrote me a note, and I returned to the Aleph 3 class after break. This class was MUCH BETTER. I definitely felt like I could handle 3, so I am glad that I made the switch. In addition, Mark and I both happen to have friends from TMC in our classes! I am in Aleph 3 with Josh Clutterham (more of a friend of a friend at this point - but we will get to know each other better), and Mark is with Kristy Briggs, one of my good friends from the English department at TMC. I was very excited that she was here (even though she will only be here for a month). I am trying to convince her to just stay at Hebrew U and do her MA there, since she wants to do languages anyways. All in all, we ended up in the right place, and it was fun to have people that we know in both of our classes as well. Also, we are planning to have a little get together with Seth, Kristy, and Josh on Thursday night. That should be fun. Well, my time on the Internet will be a bit more brief from now on. We got a wireless router today, and it took me a while to set everything up and reconfigure it, so that it would work. All of that to say, I still need to get to my homework! There will probably be less pictures for a while too, since we are not really traveling around now, but I will try to take some on Thursday!

We had a pretty low-key day yesterday. We decided to stay around the apartment since we were tired. I did a lot of stuff on the computer, including switching our primary email to markandaubrey@gmail.com and learning (by trial and error) how to make my own awesome website that will mainly be a photo gallery with a link to this current website (with all of my usual news). Anyways, it is a lot of work, and I felt like I was on the computer most of the day. I also finished "Lord of the Flies," which I never had to read in school (but everyone else seems to). I liked it a lot - a very good representation of our evil human nature and how social and/or moral pressures/laws give some stability to societies. It is also a whole lot of grace that keeps the world from looking like total chaos most of the time. Most people ask why God allows evil, but I thank Him that He supresses much of it, so that we can lead semi-normal lives. On that note, today was Shabbat, and we attended Jerusalem Assembly (where Mark has gone before). I liked it a lot, and we are planning on making it our "congregation" (as they say here is Israel). Meno, the pastor, is a very animated and amiable person. He did not preach today, but he translated the speaker into Hebrew, and watching him say in Hebrew what was said in English was a very fun experience (accompanied by all of his hand motions). One of the unique things about this congregation is that Meno preaches in both English and Hebrew - he translates himself in the same service (one service). This will also be very good for our Hebrew-speaking skills. It was fun to sing all of the songs in Hebrew. I am very musically-minded, so I am hoping to pick them up quickly. We met a number of new people today (mostly our age). A lot of them are just here for summer classes at Hebrew U, and then they will be heading home. However, we met and talked (for a while) to at least a half dozen singles that are regulars at the congregation, so they will be around. I have added a link to the Jerusalem Assembly on my links list (to the right), so you should check it out!