19 January, 2013

How do I put down on paper the chaos I feel inside my head? | A Street in a Strange World

How do I put down on paper the chaos I feel inside my head? | A Street in a Strange World: Two years ago, I was blessed enough to get a chance to travel to Al Quds (Jerusalem), one of the holiest cities in Islam, during a Winter Study course at Williams College led by our Jewish chaplain, Cantor S. Ten people were selected to fly to Israel; of them, three were Protestants, one Catholic, three Jewish, one Sunni Muslim, one Shia Muslim, and one atheist. Surprisingly, the city was a wonder and a shock to each of us.

It was one of the most intense, memorable, gratifying, and traumatic experiences of my life. I haven’t had the chance to tell many people about it, so I decided to upload my response from the trip, written right after I came back from Israel, in case people are interested in reading it. Needless to say, I am still just as confused about my experience as I was two years ago.