Pilgrimage

I am the type of person that gets bored and fidgety when we have to sit still and listen to a teacher lecture for hours, or more than 15 minutes. I like when we move around and when class is interactive, so I really enjoy Jessica's teaching style and the way our religion class is taught. Last week on Thursday we took a mini-pilgrimage around campus for class, and I really remember more that way. We started with the ritual cleaning of the body, by washing our hands just outside our classroom door. Next, we found that the first and last part of a Hajj is the Kaaba, and we walked around it counter-clockwise, seven times; just like they do on an actual Hajj. We walked to our school's learning center to run between the hills looking for water, just as Hagar had done for Ishmael in the desert. Then Jessica provided us with bottled water to make it more accurate. After that, in a normal Hajj they go to the top of Hira, a mountain near Mecca. We went to the science center, the highest point on campus. This is where the Muslims go for judgment, and some believe that what you are wearing when you go to Hira is what you will be wearing at the end of the world. After standing on the mountain all day the Muslims look for 49 stones to throw at three pillars, symbolic of the meetings with the devil and temptation. We had ping-pong balls and the oblisic in front of the learning center, but it was the same concept. Last, they sacrifice a lamb, but we ate chocolate instead, and I liked that better. I don't want to sacrifice an animal, and I know we have vegetarians in our class who really wouldn't want to do that. Overall, it was a fun experience and I learned a lot from it.