ISRAEL!

overlooking Bethlehem

I'm in Jerusalem, Israel.
You might think, well Donata just didn't seem to get enough from one year in Italy/ Europe.
But let me tell you what has brought me here.
When I look back, now I understand why
there was something holding me back from applying on exchange to Australia for the upcoming year.
This idea of going on exchange was so appealing, but when I looked at
my intention it was rather selfish- only to escape the reality of life in Canada.

However, when i had let go of that plan,

within a day or so, there was something even BETTER.

only because I sacrificed one weekend away from home to attend a conference,
where I met a guy who shared about this unique opportunity to participate in summer courses at Hebrew U
It gets better, the Canadian Friends of Hebrew U even grants scholarships for these summer courses.

If I continue backwards, I was fortunate to attend this conference called, "Mediterranean and Cities," in Florence, Italy last year, which was an incredibly turning point in my year off (read here).
Even further back in the past, this interest all started when I was given the topic of Middle Eastern conflicts in my 2nd-year Geography class.
I literally had no clue as it what was happening there and out of all the topics, that was what I was given.

So "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards," once famously said by Steve Jobs to the Stanford graduating class.

how TRUE?

but often we'd rather continuously and unfailingly look into the future, 

when we forget that we live in the present. 

Now, I'm currently enrolled in a course called, "Coexistence in the Middle East," at Hebrew U in Jerusalem, which serves as an interaction to the challenges and complexities of coexistence in Israel, where civilizations, religions, nations and ideologies converge. Now my intention is rather not something selfish to travel the world, but rather a deep passion and an unfailing desire to work towards not just my dream, but that of millions others...

"that they may all be one." (Jn 17: 21)

John Paul II once said, "if the Mediterranean can find peace, then the whole world will be at peace."

Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount,
where once stood the 1st and 2nd Jewish temple
built for its comparison to the Christian`s Church of the Holy Sepulchre

mmmMM: rice with Arab spices beans
and beef with roasted almonds on top

Liana and I
my friend from the Old City of Jerusalem
(met in Italy last year in Loppiano)