Olive Picking

This past week we harvested the olives on the Jerusalem Center grounds! The time for harvest is marked by the first rainfall, and while it hasn't been rainy, we did get a little sprinkle a few weeks ago. So... OLIVES! We have tons of trees around the center, so we all split up into groups to pick them off the trees. I felt so lucky that we were able to do this, because no other semester is able to, only the Fall students. Yet another reason I am so happy that I decided to come this fall. We picked the olives this week, and next week we are going to press them into oil using the different presses at the center. Picking was fine. It was super exciting to start out with, then as we got more and more dirty and our arms got tired, I was kind of glad to be finishing up. But I really am glad that I got to participate. Just a work to the wise: olives are nasty right off the tree. Don't eat them. We were told this before, but of course we all had to try it out and see what the big deal was. Ya, that was not worth it. They are so bitter and strong! The juice was almost numbing, that's how strong it was. So just be patient and wait til they've been brined. You'll thank me.