So I'm combining a post about the Jewish Purim holiday (celebrated in Jerusalem on Tuesday) and the Separation Wall Field Trip from yesterday even though they have absolutely no connection with each other. Just bear with me as I begin with the Purim celebration. A group of us went to a Jewish synagogue nearby to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from Haman who tried to exterminate the Jews. As we all know, or I hope everyone knows, Esther interfered and saved the day! Men and women read each chapter of the book of Esther in Hebrew and every time the name Haman was said, everyone hollered and screamed with noise makers or any other annoying thing that causes headaches. It was fun for about 45 minutes until I started to get super tired and eager to get back to studying for midterms and finals this week(weird I know). Everyone dresses up in costumes like Halloween but the Jewish people don't celebrate Halloween at all; the customs are similar to our pagan holiday with lots of candy for the children and a lot of drinking for the adults. I didn't really have anything to wear so I threw a soccer jersey on from Egypt and wrapped a scarf around my head and then asked my roommates what I looked like. They both said Rambo right away so that was that. I seriously had no clue who Rambo was or who Sylvester Stallone was for that matter but whatever. It was a way fun experience! Yesterday afternoon we took a quick outing to go see the Separation Wall (which resides in our backyard). This barrier was built in 2001 by the Israeli government in an attempt to keep the terrorist groups out of Jerusalem. Essentially, it separated the West Bank from Israel. There is tons of graffiti all over the wall where people have expressed their sour feelings in every way, shape, and form. Let's just say, it's not so pleasant. It is really sad to see the people so divided and to see families being torn apart because I have learned to love both people. I pray for a solution to be met in the future but neither side is willing to compromise in order to form a two-state solution so who knows if it will ever happen. As of right now, the Palestinians and Israelis are living together peaceably (or should I say) tolerating one another to the best of their ability.