Hey all!

I am in Jerusalem right now. I got into Tel Aviv around five in the morning ( 3 am London time) and took a bus right to Jerusalem. I am not sure how long it took because I slept through most of the ride. It was kind of a rough trip because I flew out a ten thirty London time- so it was an over night flight- but it was only 5 hours so it wasn't really enough to get any sort of rest. I came and crashed at the hostel here- first on the floor couch thing that they had because my room wasn't ready ( the owner came over while I was sleeping and put a sheet over me- which was so nice I thought) and then I moved up to my room and I slept away half the day unfortunately. However many hours and a few prayers to Allah later ( you can hear the 5x a day prayer broadcast throughout the whole city- this happened in Morrocco too by the way) I got up and got myself a falafel sandwich and some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice that they squeezed right in front of me. Pretty great. Then I was confronted with some pretty intense sales men - however I am getting better at the whole thing- and am starting to have fun talking to salespeople while still hanging on to my purse- and it's contents.

I was reading my Lonely Planet book about Israel and I thought I would share an interesting concept with you that I read in it. Basically it is about this phenomenon called the "Jerusalem Syndrome" and ( I quote) :
" Every year tens of thousands of tourists descend on Jerusalem to walk in the footsteps of the prophets, and a handful come away from the journet thinking they ARE the prophets. This medically recognized ailment, called the Jerusalem Syndrome, occurs when visitors become overwhelmed by the historical signifigance of the holy city and come to the conclusion that they are biblical characters or that the Apocalypse is near. " -Lonely Planet

Apparently this can be pretty serious and people will burn things down and stuff because they thing it is part of their holy mission- many times affecting people with no previous history of mental health problems at all. There is even a psychiatric ward nearby that deals with these patients.

What crazy people. Thankfully Messiah Rebecca has just arrived to guide the masses away from their lunacy.

Anyways Messiah Rebecca is pretty tired- so she is now going to sign off.

But she shall return..... tomorrow.....

http://rebeccasworldadventure.blogspot.com