Story Time

History class is the closest we get, as adults, to the story time of our youth. We can all remember gathering around our parents, grandparents, or other family members to hear, as Sam called them, the "Great Stories, the ones that really mattered". Now we're all grown up, attending college or university, in search of the career that will last us the rest of our lives. In this big scary world full of responsibility, debt, and stress, story time finds a way to stay with us. Welcome to the modern history class, where we learn about our past and our national mythologies. Depending on the lecturer, these classes can either be incredibly exciting or incredibly boring, but the stories stick with us either way. This semester, I am blessed to be taking three history classes, each being taught by an excellent story teller. My week begins with Modern Palestinian History and Society, taught by an excellent Palestinian professor. He's the type of guy that teaches you more through his personal stories than by reading off facts and dates. He has a wealth of knowledge about Middle Eastern politics; if a person is a player or leader in the region, he's either met them or taught them at some point. He's taught all of the current Palestinian ministers, is on first name basis with Palestinian President Abbas, and is very good friends with former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert. He met with Arafat a couple of times back in the day, and he was invited to Libya by Gaddafi to set up a university in Benghazi. He is committed to an accommodation with Israel and a two state solution, and he consistently has criticized his fellow Palestinians for both not knowing what they want and also for rejecting past plans put forward by Israel and the United States. He joked that for long periods of times it wasn't safe for him in the West Bank, because the Palestinians considered him to be a traitor and a sell-out and would have killed him if he showed his face there. The week continues with the Foreign Policy of Israel, taught by a man that looks just like Michael Caine and who was living in Israel during the War of Independence in 1948. He tells us stories of what it was actually like to live during that time, and the difficulties and near-impossible situation that the Jews faced. It is an absolutely fascinating story and a pleasure to listen to. The final history class I'm taking is called the Cultural History of Jerusalem, where we not only learn about the history of Jerusalem but also go out on field trips into the city itself to see what we're learning about first-hand. Today, we went to the City of David to see the Jerusalem of David's time, the capital of the kingdom of Israel. This is where the famous Hezekiah's tunnel is located (though we didn't go through that since the water is still very cold). The city at that time was little bigger than a modern neighborhood, the size of several city blocks. We went exploring through very small and constricting tunnels, made incredibly slippery by water dripping down from the ceiling. We learned what the city at that time was like and how it was defended when it was surrounded by taller mountains on every side. All of these experiences are absolutely amazing, and I am so excited to be able to take these three amazing classes taught by three excellent story tellers in the months ahead.