Intermission.

I came home on Sunday, July 31^st, and had to leave again on Friday, August 5^th, meaning that I was in the country for a whopping five days. Originally I was just supposed to stay in Europe for five days and wander around, but somehow things didn’t quite work out that way. But this ended up being a good thing, as I was able to take a quick road trip (Wednesday to Thursday) to the Israeli Consulate in Chicago. When I was at the Consulate, which, based on the amount of security I went through, is probably the most secure place in the city, I met two nice Israeli women as I was waiting for my visa. I told them I was studying in Jerusalem for a semester, and the younger of the two (I think it was a woman and her mother), told me this: “If not for the Muslims, Jerusalem would be the most beautiful city in the world.” It was sobering to hear, and a reminder that my education in Jerusalem certainly won’t be limited to the classroom.

I left Friday afternoon for Frankfurt, Germany, where the second part of my international tour will begin. From August 5^th to the 19^th, I’ll be staying with a German host family, the Faßbinders, through something called the TANNER program, sponsored generously by Freudenberg, the company that my stepdad works for. I have absolutely no idea what to expect, as my contact for the program seems to have an aversion to responding to my emails. We’ll see what happens!