Vacation

Finals are over, and we're off to Turkey for the next week! This trip will be a nice change from the past month of intense academic work. I'll post pictures as soon as I get back!

Love,

Mark

Ammunition Hill

Ammunition Hill is a memorial to the Six-Day War, which took place in 1967 between Israel and several Arab nations (most notably Egypt and Jordan), and has contributed greatly to the current political issues of modern Israel. Studying the events surround the war has been fascinating, but this memorial really put it into perspective for me.

From left to right: Daniel, Kyle, Makara, David, Davis, Kyle, Mark

The site we visited was one of the entrenched hills held by Jordanian troops who were stormed and conquered by the Israelis during the second day of the war. The bunkers and many of the trenches are still intact. It would remind you of a WWI style battlefield. We visited while it was raining, showing what living in the trenches would have been like during the wet season...miserable, to say the least.

Love,

Mark

Yad Vashem (Holocaust Museum)

As one might expect, the Holocaust Museum was a somber field trip. Sad, but an experience I think everyone should have. It reminded me of my 18th birthday, which I spent at Auschwitz prison camp in Poland, where the greatest number of nazi executions took place. Not exactly the best way to spend your birthday, but definitely memorable. The events of the Holocaust have left a powerful impression on me.

Makara was kind enough to push me around most of the day.

"Grandpa Mark," as I am now known

I suppose I should explain what the wheelchair is all about. Two weeks ago I was playing frisbee, landed in a pothole, and busted up my right knee. I have had trouble walking since, especially down hills and stairs. The doctor thinks I may have messed up my IT band around my knee area (my ligaments seem to be fine). A week later, I got tendonitis in my left knee because I was favoring my left leg to reduce the pain I felt in my right leg. During this field trip, some of my concerned friends decided that instead of watching me hobble around, they would push me around in a wheelchair. I'm not gonna lie, I kind of hated being stuck in a chair all day, but it was nice to get off my legs (and comedic gold for my peers).

Everyone needs a solid wheelchair pic :)

Love,

Mark