TIME STANDS STILL IN THE HOLY CITY...

It is now two weeks that I have arrived here, in the Holy City of Jerusalem. My days begin at the crack of dawn (credit is due to my biological clock), a breakfast in the refectory, followed by an early day at the office. We are preparing to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the enthronement of His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, the 96th Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, and to commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the creation of the Armenian alphabet. Religious leaders from the Christian communities of Jerusalem and the consul generals of the countries whose consulates are in Jerusalem have been invited. Of course, the members of the Armenian community will participate in these festivities.

Beside all of this, I am working hard trying to develop a problem statement for my dissertation. It is a challenge, but my advisor, Clara Chu is as close as my e-mail and continues to send me very sound advice. His Beatitude, with whom I meet every day, is my mentor and an excellent sounding board, who answers my questions with more questions. I feel that my days of learning from the best will never end.