Day 3 March 3rd

Day three March 3rd

To be honest I do not know how March second passed all I know is that today is allegedly March 3rd. Last night was the first time I had slept in an actual bed in 48 + hours. I will never again underestimate the value of sleeping in a bed, because I can from personal experience tell you that the tile in the Italian airport is a very uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, or that sleeping on a coffee table in Atlanta is also very uncomfortable. (Don’t ask)

So I must assume that somehow that in passing time zones that March second slipped away. No matter, today is March 3rd and I start my first day of pilgrimage. Jaleh had mentioned that the breakfasts at the Dan Gardens hotel in Haifa were authentic and not American. She was right and boy am I pleased about that fact. It was good. There were no scrambled eggs and sausage that accompany an American breakfast. Instead what food greeted me was lebni, and vegetables in marinade, and feta but if I were to mention everything it would take forever

...... Sometime later…. Now it is almost 1:30 and I have become a registered pilgrim or someone who travels to the holy land on a pilgrimige. Everyone at the pilgrim reception center has been very nice and every one says Allahuapah which in Arabic means “God is most glorious”. It is a greeting as Salaam is in Hebrew.

I have met several people some of the friendliest and forthright and willing people I believe I have ever met in my life.

One thing that I noticed while out buying lunch at a small market was how nice the people are here. They smile at you and say salaam and when they say that greeting, they don’t only say it they actually mean it. Their smiles are genuine and they don’t stop at the eyes they come from the soul as if they care… For example the lady at the small market was not well off and that was apparent, she gave my brother free candy even if he could not eat it because he is allergic and he did not understand that the woman was being kind she tried hard to reach out.

Again sometime later…….

I saw the gardens and the shrines for the first time (from the outside) the beauty was not only in the landscaping and the architecture but in the awe and the love and understanding that tends to radiate from holy places. As I am writing this last bit I am sitting at a table at the Pilgrim Reception center to find out what will happen next...