It's crunch time. These past two weeks have been rather busy and the next two weeks are turning out to be busy as well. I so many papers to write that I'm not sure there are enough words in my head to fill up all the pages. I've decided to take a break from all my work and write a much needed update.

About two months ago I made a trip to Masada and the Dead Sea. It was a great trip except for the fact that we left at 2 in the morning to make sure we got to the top of Masada to watch the sunrise. Although it was way too early to be up, it was totally worth it.

After a two hour bus ride we finally started up the side of the mountain. Our destination? the ruins of Masada.

We made it! And now for a brief history of Masada. Not many texts have survived about what happened at Masada but it is believed to be the site of a Jewish revolt/resistance against the Romans. They held them off for quite some time, but with enough Roman soldiers anything is possible. When the Romans reached the top they found everyone dead. The Jews occupying the territory decided it was better to die by their own hands, than become Roman slaves.

Looking across the Dead Sea at the sunrise over Jordan.

Another picture from the top. Off in the distance you can see the Dead Sea and way out there is En Gedi. Trust me, the picture may not do it justice, but it was a long way down.

Swimming, or should I say floating, at the Dead Sea. Notice the man in the picture floating. No hands or feet required. You would probably die of all the salt and other minerals before you drowned.

Just a picture of the rocks on the shore to show the immense amount of salt build up.

Now, we jump six weeks forward to Thanksgiving. Don't worry, even though I was out of the country definitely made sure I celebrated Thanksgiving in style. By that I mean with three Thanksgiving dinners.

Dinner #1. Not too shabby.

Enjoying Dinner #1

Dinner #2. This time we had an actual table. Serve it up family style.

Cleaning dishes. Nice job David and Austin.

And although I don't have pictures, you'll have to trust me when I say that the very next day I had yet another Thanksgiving dinner.

Fast forward to the present. Christmas is just around the corner and I'm blessed enough to have my Dad and my sister visit me here in Israel. Not to brag, but yeah we're going to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. It should be a pretty good week with them here as long as I don't have too much work to do. Unfortunately, I still have three more papers and two exams to finish before I leave. Gotta love the end of a semester.

Hope to see you soon. Take Care.