Day 1 - Mob 1

I had a safe and unremarkalble flight to Israel.  Austrian Airlines was lovely, but for me, there is no way to make these long flights pleasant.  That Austrian Air has not been lured into flying the ubiquitous jumbo jets, helped a great deal.  Immagine my surprise at being seated on a plane that sat only five across instead of the eleven or twelve across which I remembered so vividly from the flight to Peijing last fall, and it was an aisle seat, too.  The transfer in Vienna was so routine as to be boring, and the arrival in Tel Aviv remarkablly untroubled, with smooth sailing through Israeli customs, probably, but not certainly helped by the previous Israeli visas already stamped in my passport.  Even the sherut ride to Jerusalem went better than preivious journies. I somehow merited being the second person dropped off instead of the very last, as in previous encounters.

The 4:30 pm arrival at Saint George's was made so much sweeter by the greeting I received from Azzam Bassa, the Housekeeping Super, who welcomed me back, snatched my luggage and had me ensconced in my room in minutes.  A quick unpack and shower, and I was ready for the first event of the course, dinner at Saint Geoorge's Guest House, followed by the usual "orientation" event, overseen by Bashara Khoury, all round fixer, arranger, guide and welcoming old friend from previous courses.  I was disappointed that economical considerations had caused the Saint George's kitchen to close, meaning that all meals would be served at the Guest House instead of the dining room, but I was quickly reassured by the sight of Joseph, last name unknown, who has moved over (up?) to become the chef at the Guest House, which means that the same familiar middle eastern cuisine will be a memorable part of this trip, also.

I fell exhausted into bed at 9:00 pm, and almost slept through breakfast on Saturday, but managed to eat enough to to sustain me through the first of the course-scheduled liturgies.  It was the Orthodox celebration of the Raising of Lazarus.  Our participation was to be part of the procession, in modern day Bethany, from the enormous and jam-packed mass at the local church to the "actual" tomb.

   The procession to the Tomb was orderly, if not particularly pious, and the arrival at its narrow, nearly inaccessable entrance was truely joyful and predictably congested as many of the participants tried to gain entrance to the Tomb as the proper act of conclusion for the celebration.  Thankfully, I had been in Lazarus' Tomb on a previous trip, and felt no need to repeat the dauntingly steep and clostraphobic experience under such contested conditions.  I did find it somewhat amusing to see that there were two burly bouncers, regulating traffic into and out of the Tomb, a necessary precaution, I'm sure.  I think that I am unlikely to see such a sight, again, and I had to wonder what Lazarus would have  thought about so many people trying to get into the very death chamber from which he was miraculously and joyfully released.  What can I say, these thoughts come upon me, unbidden!

Returning to the College, I had time for a quick run into the old city, just to be reminded of the incredible vitality that is part of that experience.  A return visit to the Saint Anne's complex, which occupies the site of the Pools of Bethesda near the Lion Gate, brought back wonderful memories of previous visits.  Dinner in the Guest House, a very long, but interesting "seminar" with an indigenous Rabbi on the practices and meanings of Passover brought day 1 to a close.  This time I made it to 10:00 pm, before falling into bed, exhausted but satisfied!