A Bus In Jerusalem

I have heard a person sees what is behind their eyes.

I filter what I see through stories I've heard, experiences I've had, and the sympathies and prejudices that result.

I don't really know what I am seeing. It is all too new, too foreign.

I am on a bus - it is the first thing I am doing in Jerusalem.

A man comes by and checks my ticket. He does this with each passenger. I stop paying attention to him.

I hear rising voices, and look to see the man stopped in front of a woman in a hijab. He is saying something to her. The woman is holding up two tickets. She says something back, waving the tickets. Through my eyes, the two are yelling at each other.

A soldier appears and stands beside the man. He begins to address the woman.

The woman stands. She holds her tickets in front of the two men. The man takes out a booklet of paper and begins to write. The woman becomes more upset.

The solder, who cannot be older tan 20, steps between the two and says something to the woman. He seems calmer than the others. He also has a large machine gun around his chest.

A child who had been sitting with the woman stands and moves between her and the soldier. He nudges the machine gun with his small hand to make space.

The bus stops. The man pushes the woman off and spits at her. She begins to leave. The man yells at her, holding up the sheet of paper he had been writing. The woman again holds up her tickets and says something in return. The soldier has her by the arm.

More soldiers come. They stand on the side of the man. A few people standing at the bus station begin to gather behind the woman. Keith and I walk away.

I see far more behind my eyes than in front. I do not know what happened or what was said. I filter what I see through stories I've heard, experiences I've had, and the sympathies and prejudices that result.

Finland

Keith and I debated the word for it. Lucky, blessed, honored, privileged. For the purposes of this post, I will stick with the word lucky. I feel so lucky.

Six years ago, Keith and I traveled to Cambodia. By chance, we caught a taxi with another traveling couple.

 
One of the great things about travel is that you get to meet people, and the new experience is broadened further through the lens of other travelers.

This particular chance connection was especially lucky. I know someone who explains it this way: In the beginning, there was a collection of pots, and these pots fell to the earth and broke into many pieces. These pieces became people.  Now we wander around the world, full of people, and occasionally find someone who comes from the same pot - and there is an easy connection. That is how it is with Antti and Maarit.



Antti and Maarit told us about Finland - about bleu cheese sausages and saunas - and planted a seed in our mind that set such deep roots, we knew we would have to visit. Our opportunity came unexpectedly with plans to visit Israel. It turns out that traveling to Finland first is more economical. And so, with about three weeks notice, we emailed our friends to let them know we would be 'in town', wondering if we could visit.

Their reply was immediate - You are most welcome, no need for a guesthouse. And as is often the case when we travel, we were humbled by hospitality ever since.










I cannot tell you just how fortunate we have been in their hospitality. Whenever you travel, it is best to stay with someone from the country. You see things in a more authentic manner. With Antti and Maarit, we not only saw the big city of Helsinki, but also their home region of Savonlinna.

The town is home to a Swedish built castle when the boarder between Sweden and Russia was less certain. Steam boats sit in the harbor and give tours around the lakes in the day, and work as a hostel at night.

You only get to know a little about someone when you meet them during travel, since everyone is out of their context. For example, we had no idea that our friends were such skilled chefs!



 Each meal has been traditional Finnish, and very new to us! Karelian pies, smoked vendace, cloud berry jam, salmon soup, emmental cheese, Salmiakki and Koskekorva. Attempting to list the menu does our hosts a disservice.

Now let's really talk about lucky.

We heard about Finland's saunas and lakes. We knew our friends were taking us to a family cottage (built, in fact, by Maarit's father). We knew this made us very lucky. We had no idea what a treat we were really in for.

On a peninsula, we were surrounded be glittering water in Finland's midnight sun. Tall birch and spruce trees hug the cottage and offered us shade, good smells, and beautiful scenery. We heard coo-coo birds, and kept our eyes peeled for moose and fresh water seals.

Set amid this paradise was a comparatively unassuming building. A long boardwalk led from the a peer in the water to the structure's doorstep.

Walking up the steps, you smell the deep aroma's of smokey wood. Inside, there is a stove and second level of benches.

At about 160 degrees F, the sauna was perfect. A pale and large wooden spoon allows you to throw water on the stones sitting atop the stove. This sends up a cloud of steam that burns your lips at first. Then it is as though a release valve is hit, and tension pours through your skin, collecting in water droplets at every surface. You go limp, like a lion cub held by the neck in it's mother's jaws. There is nothing like it.


The practice is to warm up in the sauna, jump in the lake, return to the sauna, return to the lake, and repeat. The lake is also a treat. Even late into the night, there is sun, and you can see the steam rising from your body in the cool water. All the sweat is washed away, and you feel cleansed. Fresh.

We tried three different saunas while in Finland - smoke, wood-burning, and electric. Each a treat.

We are so thankful for the time we had with our friends, experiencing the joys of their country that they shared with us six years earlier. They were not exaggerating. It is a wonderful place.

For a little more of the experience, consider these musical introductions:

• The Finnish winners of Eurovision
• A throw back
• And the really good stuff

We are now in the Copenhagen airport, awaiting our flight to Israel.

State Side

Family, Friends, Community, Colleagues, and Mentors:

Thank you for your interest.

Keith and I have been in the habit of sending weekly email updates whenever we travel, but we are changing things up. This time, we will post periodically on this blog. You may check in whenever you are curious to see if we've posted, or you may sign up to receive email notifications whenever we post.

These travels are just the opportunistic leeches on the leg of something much larger in motion. Keith and I, along with several close friends, have the opportunity to live out some of our dreams on 1400 acres of land in the mountains of West Virginia. It was a difficult decision to leave close friends and great jobs.  We are trying to reframe this as a 'leap of faith' and not a 'dumb decision'. Through either lens, we made the move last week.

Since then, we have been slowly moving things into our new home, which in this community of several houses, carries the endearing title, "Homestead". Vivian Heading, a founding mother of the community, once wrote from her home overlooking Homestead, of another family moving in:

The Reincarnation of Homestead

by Vivian Headings, June 14, 2003

Surrounded by encircling woodland

In the emerald clearing Homestead stands

Origins lost in unrecorded years.

I have known a few of Homestead's incarnations. 

The first I knew was Bill and Mary Jones. 

Mr. Jones it was who told us, 

"This lace has a year-'round spring". 

A year-'round spring!

And year-'round Mary would go daily

to the spring to carry water

From the big old cast-iron bathtub,

shuttered habitation of salamanders.

(Mary, did you miss your daily amble

when at last we piped in water?)

Jay and Marilyn and their children

there lived lightly on the land

little children running leaping

through the woods like merry fawns. 

For Jerome it was a refuge

and a kindly healing place; 

and for James, a summer refuge

from the world of Academe. 

Then a young man led by longings

Began his life there, and had visions;

fairer dwelling, using the best of old.

Rough-hewn beams, stout pine for walls,

revealed and restored,

set in the safety of the earth itself. 

you opened up the roof to light the sky,

you set discarded jagged fragments, bright and somber,

 in their matrix, making

surprising beauty across the seasons. 

And so with vision, skill and patience,

and hope, frustration, pain, and delight,

and a little help from friends

was homestead readied for reincarnation. 

Surrounded by encircling community

rooted in its sacred call

now tend the fire, work, love, and sing

Your thanks for grace's ever flowing year'round spring.

In the midst of moving, Keith had an interview for the Spiritual Life Coordinator position at Shenandoah University. He was offered the job yesterday, and accepted. He begins in August.

We are now at my parent's home, celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary. We fly out tomorrow. Hope to post again from Finland!