"Send someone to fetch us, we're in...

Saskatchewan!" Every see the Muppet Movie? There's a tremendous amount of name recognition here in Israel, honoring those who made great gifts to improve infrastructure, etc. Ambulances are labeled Magen David Adom (~Red Cross), and then underneath, CANADA or ENGLAND. It feels like every hallways at the university is donated by someone, as the buildings all bear the stamp of a family, society, or celebrity (like the Frank Sinatra cafeteria. Anyway, I found a lobby dedicated by the Jewish Community of Saskatchewan, and instantly Moving Ride Along snapped in my brain. Campus is full of surprises.
and Diversity! I already wrote about the surrounding Arab villages, but this Hebrew Immersion program (Ulpan) invites a variety of international students, as does the rest of the University. I spent my class today studying grammar with a girl from Bavaria, this after I switched from a class with a really tall guy from Warsaw and a woman from Belgium. It's not just neat that I can communicate with these people better through Hebrew than through English, but that I hear their accents in the Hebrew. It's very amusing to me.
The best example of international dialogue, so far at least, took place on Ben Yehuda St., a major shopping site for tourists, and the major bar/tavern/dance club district in the center of Jerusalem. Last Saturday night, my friend Jason (from Muhlenberg, fellow suite mate) and I were strolling, when we found a Korean Christian choir, singing in their native tongue. Now, one can easily assume that the majority of Israelis or visitors to the country would not have the faintest clue what was going on. Nevertheless, there was a considerable crowd of people surrounding the troupe. Many of which were taking pictures or video, while others were swaying, or simply laughing. One woman who looked American was using the music to take her to another place, as she had her hands raised like some of the singers. Another guy, who appeared Israeli, was bouncing on his feet like he was at a Dead concert. Jason and I exchanged many glances, but could not think of a better way to spend the evening. After the last song of the concert, one of the conductors/guitar players approached us, and asked us where we were from and what we were doing in the country. We discovered that he was studying Tanach (Hebrew Bible) at Hebrew U. Delightful! We told him how how much we liked his program, and all of these words were shared in Hebrew. Then, he changes to English and says that he and his group are praying for us and all Jews, because God loves us. We felt even better, that unlike so many events we attend that bug us for contact information or money, and never stop nagging us for more, this guy had no intention of selling us anything, had no desire to take us to a class or study group, but was simply happy we were alive. Jason has already seen him on campus, and I can't wait for my next chat!
On a side note, the inauguration, and especially the bits directed at the Muslim world, Sasha, and the recitation of the Shema, made it to the Holy Land. I know because I watched it live, packed in a third floor corner room with 50 other students. It was very cool talking to the Muhlenberg "delegation" that attended, following the event.