Notes from Jerusalem

Saying Goodbye

2009-04-22T16:26:00.024+03:00

Today is officially my last day in Jerusalem. Where has the time gone? I remember the day we got here, thinking there was so much time to go do and see everything. Yet here we are at the end and time has run out. Time is a funny thing, it prolongs itself when you need it to move forward and and then flies by just when you wish it would slow down. I guess the most important thing is that you don't waste the time your given, and not once minute of this last semester has been wasted. I have...

walked,

jumped,

sang,

slept,

studied,

served,

climbed,

danced,

read,

played,

posed,

pondered,

partied,

talked,

taught,

listened,

laughed,

and most of all loved.

The Keeper of Memories

2009-04-19T10:41:00.020+03:00

Ok so I have this ongoing thing with memories: no matter where I am I end up being the one in charge of keeping memories (who decided it was a good idea to put me in charge of things? seriously.). I am a hard core journal keeper, picture taker, and blogger (which has not been as good as of late, sorry!). It probably has something to do with a deep seeded fear of forgetting things. I want to remember everything and I know my pathetic brain won't let me do much, so I have to document. Anyways, as a result of this, I'm now going to embark on a journey through the past 4 months about people and places that I just can't bear to forget. I know there won't be enough time for me to include everyone, but maybe once I get home I'll throw some nostalgic posts up. Anywho, here are some of my favorite pics, in no particular order, that haven't yet made the blog until now...

Here is Shamra and I on our first field trip through the city at seven arches. Shamra was one of the first friends I made here and she was always there to support my ping pong needs when no one else would.

This was the day I discovered falafel. As you can tell, Alexis and I were thoroughly enjoying ours. The free pitas and non smoking building also might have had something to do with it.

Angie and I with our rockin hard hats at Beersheba where we happened to be in range of the rockets from Gaza. Luckily, we had those hats, because if some rockets had hit us, they would have saved our lives FOR SURE!

I will miss this when we leave...Miriam giving me hugs and nuzzling my ear like a teddy bear. Although when it happens in public places we do get funny looks. What's wrong with a little lovin?!?!

My dearest Moon and I outside the church in Tiberias. This girl has more soul than a shoe store and this picture captures her essence.

Richelle and I right before our hike up Mt. Sinai. Only a true friend would sing B*witched songs with me all the way up the mountain.

My high school chum Allison (ya titans!) and I falling of Tell-i-forgot-what-it's-called. I know it's hard to read in arabic, but I'll translate...DANGER!!! FALLING ROCKS!!! ONLY STAND HERE IF YOU ARE STUPID....check.

Kara (I call her RaRa sometimes because she cheers me up) and I at the Med Sea. We're going to run a half marathon together...someday. It's on the bucket list at least.

My peeps and I in the secret cave where we officially inducted ourselves into the hall of fame. 2 Legit 2 Quit Baby! Oh and.....that was awesome.

This was our informal talent show were Angie, me, the three Steves, Anne, and Whitney all performed "Luxormotion." While I did get to play Mama Pharaoh, my favorite part was Blunck's diaper.

I knew I'd have friends here when we got off the bus for a stop on our way to Egypt and made a zen circle. Good karma lasted the whole semester! Yeeah!

The day atop Mt. Hertzl where the offical VL club roster was formed. I am happy to say that I still maintain the chair of president while Aleni continues on as VP and Stephen as an honorary member.

Suzie, Josh, Moon, and I at Sambooki with the famous brownie surprise. Who knew such great joy could come out of a small triangle pastry?

A group of us composing the 8th wonder of the world...the human pyramid. Notice I'm the one looking about to crumple on the bottom. I proclaim myself the weakest link.

And of course I can't forget Stef...my better half while here in the Holy Land. Here we are at the beach in Tel Aviv where for once, we aren't acting like crazies.

Easter Sunday and So Much More

2009-04-13T22:48:00.019+03:00

Okay, so even though it's only been a few days, there has been nonstop action here at the JC and if I put off the blog any longer I know I'll get too far behind. So buckle your seatbelts and hold on tight because we're hitting a whole lot of action in this post...

First of all, I just have to write a little blurb about Aladdin because he really deserves a shout out. As most of you international travellers know, money changers are a part of life whilst living abroad. Here in Jerusalem, we have the superior services of Mr. Aladdin to assist us. This guy takes care of all the JC students money needs, and he does it all with a smile...even when we clean him out of shekels. He also has an entire wall dedicated to JC student notes, so if you ever find yourself in old city, you should pop in for a visit, because Aladdin is the man.

Fanning myself with the very last wad of shekels I could withdraw

Ok, so back to the action. Wednesday was another free day, so I finally went to visit Ein Karem, the place where John the Baptist was born and raised. While the experience was a little bit diappointing after the excitement of Galilee, it was good to get out and see some new sites. We got to roam around and explore, all the while hunting down the best deals for ice cream. The most thrilling part of the day was when we got lost in the hospital and had to surrender our sack lunches to hospital security because they weren't "kosher". Only in the Holy Land...

The Church of the Visitation where Mary and Elisabeth stayed

My favorite mural inside the Visitation Church

The supposed spring Mary stopped at while visiting the parents of John the Baptist

Thursday was our Herodian Fortress field trip to the West Bank, and I have to admit that this trip exceeded all expectations simply because the JC peeps are awesome. Even though it was freezing cold on top of the hill, or tell, or whatever it was, we still had a good time. Chelsea Owens made the trip there even more enjoyable while she entertained everyone with her violent camera abuse. Once we got off the bus and it was clearly not repairable, she proceeded to throw it down in front of unsuspecting students, who would then gape in horror. Then Jess Veater and I got to have a heart to heart discussion on the way home about our whole Jerusalem experience. Like I said, the people here make everything a hundred times better.

Chelsea and Kara V. showing off the pathetic remains of her broken camera

Anne, Carly, me, and Stefanie all bundled up on top of the hill

The separation wall that we pass each time we go to the West Bank

Sunday marked another highlight day here in Jerusalem with Easter. With services going on all over the city, it was tough choosing which ones to attend. However, the ones I went to really made the day worth it to me. A group of us headed over to the St. Augusta Tower Hospital grounds where we attended a sunrise service. Watching the sun come over the horizon as we sang Christian hymns and listened to sermons was amazing! The best part though, was when the pastor incorporated an object lesson with a racket and tennis ball. At one point, he attempted to a hit a ball gently into the crowd and ended up hitting the little wooden cross on the altar instead. It almost tipped over and you could tell from the look on his face he was fully ready to be struck down by the heavens. Awesome. After that we had some breakfast back at the JC and I proceeded to stuff my sweater full of food and smuggle it out of the Oasis since our sack lunches weren't looking hearty enough. Next we headed to the Garden Tomb where we all sung our little hearts out to Christian rock songs and praised Hallelujah as the sermons were given. The whole day was spectacular and I don't think I'll soon forget the experience of worshipping with these strangers. We all became united in our love for the Savior and it was phenomenal (can you tell I'm running out of superlatives?).

The breathtaking sunrise over Jerusalem on Easter Sunday

The pastor at St. Augusta just minutes before the tennis ball and cross incident...I almost died laughing

Me and my "food baby" walking out of the Oasis

Our Garden Tomb pastor who gave a great sermon, but the podium was my favorite

Finally, we get to today...which was the Herod and Essenes field trip. First we drove to Masada, which is the site where the last zealots (okay so they were actually the daggermen called the Sicarii, but minor detail) were defeated by the Romans in 73 AD. We hiked around, shouted out for the sake of echoes, and Miriam took the liberty of coloring my toe with yellow hilighter...which effectively disturbed the entire field trip group all day long. Then we were off to the Dead Sea where I opted to bask on the shores while everyone else got covered in mud and floated around in the water. I got many a dirty looks for my Palestine shirt, and a local Israeli even grilled me about it (clearly I took stupid pills this morning in thinking it was a good idea to wear a Palestine shirt to Israeli sites). Afterwards, we headed to the ridiculously crowded waterfall trail of Ein Gedi and then to Qumran, which is the site where many of the dead sea scrolls were found. Basically, everything has been so fantastic the last few days, that I don't know if I'll be able to leave this place after all.

Here's my "phalangical jaunditis" toe, pretty convincing huh?

Keri, me, Lara, and my Palestinian shirt in all it's glory, at the waterfalls of Ein Gedi

Valorie and I obviously doing something we shouldn't be doing...

Aleni, Jess, Chelsie, and Hayley looking very excited to learn about Qumran

Palm fronds, Field trips, and Museums, Oh my

2009-04-08T20:14:00.009+03:00

It's been an exciting past few days, I almost don't know where to begin. Maybe the beginning of the week will work. So, this past sunday was Palm Sunday. This means Jerusalem basically has an all day celebration. There are special church services everywhere and almost the entire city comes out into the streets for processions. Of course we wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, so all of the JC students headed out to the Mt. of Olives. It was such an awesome experience and we got to intermingle with so many different people! The best part was when Stefanie, Aleni, and I tagged along with a Polish Christian group who sang a variety of songs like Shine Jesus Shine. Smacking around palm fronds and cooking ourselves in the hot hot sun has never been more enjoyable.

Aleni, me, Stefanie, and our Polish friend Adam who taught us all the cool songs

The flooded streets atop the Mt. of Olives

The next day was our Christian field trip through all the churches of Jerusalem. We covered it all, from the church of the holy sepulchre to the terra sancta. It was great to visit so many different places of worship and feel the spirit and reverence in each one. My favorite was the church of st. mark where the older woman in charge of the church told us how the spirit translated language between her and a german man. I love listening to people tell stories, probably because I'm so bad at telling them myself. Haha.

Lauren, Miriam, me, and Eliza outside the church of the holy sepulchre

This is what was meant by the scripture about a camel fitting through the eye of a needle easier than a rich man being able to get into heaven. So me and the camel...pretty much the same size

Yesterday was a half free day and after debating over yet another sack lunch (I loathe the sack lunch) I was invited to visit the King David Museum. So our little group of five headed into the city and shopped on our way to the museum. It was a good review for our near eastern studies class and it was just nice to get out. Favorite quote of the trip was defintely Anne. I wish I had the picture to accompany it, but basically we looked at a display and Anne goes "Oooh! Photo-op! You be the headless one!" Awesome. We even made time to squeeze in a shave for the boys, who got a legit shaving job from a local.

A view of the Dome of the Rock and the Jerusalem Center from the top of King David's Tower

Anne and I with the Emperor Hadrian who apparently gets a little grabby

Greetings from Galilee P.3

2009-04-03T18:00:00.008+03:00

Galilee concluded on a series of exciting site visits. On Wednesday we saw the likes of the Herodian Fortress...at least I think that's what it was called. I got to hang my legs off the top of it and pretend like I was a monkey climbing all over things that probably weren't meant to be climbed. We also visited Tell-Dan where the nature preserve made me feel like I was in Lord of the Rings. I was a little disappointed when the trees didn't talk to me. But the Winnie the Pooh tree (which has something inside the hollow trunk that looked suspiciously like its' namesake) almost made up for it. Practicing my hide and go seek skills for the next time the fortress is attacked.

Kara, Chelsea, Breane, Aleni, and me on the Winnie the Pooh tree...deep in the hundred acre woods.

That night was our closing bonfire, and after a series of sacriligious biblical skits (I was the fruit in the Garden of Eden just to give you an idea) the most elaborate prank of the semester was pulled on Moon. The boys all staged a mock trial for all the "offences" she had committed against them. Peanut buttered handles and stolen bedsheets just to name a few. It got a little too rowdy though once they took advantage of her being taped to a chair and smeared some rather bad smelling food all over her. Boys...nuff said.

Moon and I right before she was hauled to court. I think that grimace was in anticipation and she didn't even know it.

The next day was our trip home and it was mostly spent on the bus. We stopped and saw some amazing gardens along with some other quick sites and then headed back to Jerusalem. Spent the evening partying it up in the laundry room with ping pong and clothes cleaning. I also beat a certain someone (name witheld for the sake of their own pride) whom I have secretly been plotting against since I got here. Unfortunately, I began my gloat session before checking they had left the room first and lost whatever pride I had just scrounged up. Oh well, such is my life.

Chelsie (aka BB which stands for bonding buddy...it's a long story) and me in front of the gardens at Haifa.

Just to give you an idea of what it looks like when I gloat, back in the day when the sweatband used to be the trophy of choice.

Friday was our snorkeling trip to Eilat. While I didn't particularly enjoy snorting up salt water in the sea, it was good to get out in the sun (I FINALLY managed to sunburn myself since 10 days in Galilee didn't do the trick) and just chill. We even got to eat dinner at the kibbutz we visited on our way to Egypt. I swear kibbutz ice cream tastes better than anything else. Got home just in time to squeeze a group viewing of Hook (who's the shrub? Haha. Never gets old) before going to bed. Life here is just simply too exciting. I get tired just remembering it all.

Greetings from Galilee P.2

2009-03-31T21:00:00.000+03:00

I'm getting a little tired of playing catch up with these blogs, so these last two aren't going to be as exciting. My camera has also decided to no longer function properly as well, so pictures will no longer be as central either. Sad story I know. Anywho, shabbat in Galilee was really awesome. First our group got to stay on the kibbutz until late afternoon, so it was nice to just sit on the beach and bask in nature. In the late afternoon we finally headed out to our church services in Tiberias. On the way we stopped at another 'possible site' of Jesus baptism. The spirit of the place was really peaceful and our group had a good time singing hymns. The best part was Kara reading the baptism account in Hawaiian Pidgin though.

Warning: You may not be able to read this if you're not Hawaiian. Thank goodness Kara could translate it for us.

Moon and I in the Jordan River. If you look closely I am still wearing my Jesus sandals. Woot!

Once we got to the meetinghouse and started church, it finally hit me that I was in Galilee where Christ lived and grew up. It's funny how you can spend so much time in a place before realizing where exactly you are. Maybe I'm weird, but it took a little while for that fact to sink in. Church was amazing, and there was an incredible view overlooking the sea where we took lots of pictures.

Kara and I overlooking the sea of Galilee.

Sunday was spent inthe Jezreel Valley and then swimming at Gan Ha-Shelosha. Mt. Tabor was my favorite stop of the day. This is the mountain that they believe was the mount of transfiguration. They have a beautiful church at the top and some gorgeous grounds. We even got to watch a little part of a ceremony which was fascinating. The taxi ride to the top and then back was pretty intense as well. Try playing jello in the backseat of a van taxi with switchbacks every few yards. You haven't really played jello until you've done it on your way down Mt. Tabor. Swimming at Gan Ha-Shelosha was more of a sunbathing experience for me, but everyone else had fun getting warm in the natural springs.

A view of the church on Mount Tabor.

Some people in my group bathing in the man-made waterfall.

After another day of classes, we began our final days of field trips before heading home. The first day we went to upper Galilee where we saw...yep you guessed it...more ancient ruins! Climbed atop yet another tell, found some more blooming flowers, and finished the night off with a class bonfire where we learned all sorts of unknown facts about eachother. Let's just say secret talents and suppressed childhood memories were exposed. All in good fun though.

Moon and I amongst the flowers.

Miriam and I making sad faces. Maybe it's because Keri wouldn't give us a demonstration of her pole dancing skills. Or we were devastated by another one of Blunck's tragic childhood tales.

Greetings from Galilee

2009-03-26T18:00:00.000+02:00

So you'll be getting backlogs from Galilee for the next few days. If these interest you, feel free to continue jumping back as they're posted, otherwise you can just ignore them. :-) Basically the trip was awesome, but as always, it's really good to be back home. No more funny smelling Kibbutz soap or sack lunches with mystery meat, thank goodness. But we'll start from the beginning I suppose...

First, we began our trek north with stops at sites like Casarea Megiddo where we saw some (gasp) mroancient Roman ruins. The excitement over such a thing begins to wear off after the tenth time or so, but bless our teachers for trying to instill some historical appreciation in us. On our way out we got to make a quick stop by the Mediterranean Sea and dip our toes in the water. Those few precious moments in the sand made the day of bus ride worth it.

Kara, me, and Chelsea (now called Rainbow because of her communion with nature) at the Med Sea...literally jumping for joy

After that we went to Nazareth where we got to sit and sing inside the synagogue where it's probable that Christ taught in. There was a really awesome feeling, and all the locals around were so nice. The people here are seriously so amazing. Anyways, after that we finally rolled into our kibbutz at Ein Gev. While there were initial setbacks, like a lack of hammocks, clogged shower drains, and algae green water, we eventually got over it and grew to love the kibbutz life. The room I slept in was probably smaller than the average walk-in closet and I slept in the top bunk, but it made for good memories. Let's be honest, I got to stay on the beach of the sea of Galilee...I'm not really complaining. That night we had a rousing game of kissing rugby (don't worry, we play kiss on the cheek rugby) before retiring to our bungalows. Don't worry...I have videos for later.

A view of just one of the many killer sunsets over Galilee

The next day was our boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, and luckily a nice little tempest whipped up just in time for us. I got to sing Master the Tempest is Raging, on the Sea of Galilee, in the middle of a (albeit small) rainstorm. It was INCREDIBLE! Then we visited the remains of an ancient boat before heading to the Mt. of Beatitudes. The grounds were gorgeous and again, the spirit and peace of the place was spectacular. After lunch we went to St. Peter's Primacy and Capernaum. The weather was beautiful and there were brilliant colors and flowers everywhere. It was one of my favorite field trip days for sure.

Me, Alisha, and Aubri on our boat ride

Moon and I overlooking our "tempest on the sea"

Chelsea, Kara, and I oustide St. Peter's Primacy by the heart shaped rock

By Wednesday it was time to hit the classes, so we spent the whole day on the kibbutz. Of course it's not really a hard life or anything when you get taught on the beach. Not to mention we were fed pretty well too. Pita bread and hummus are quickly becoming a staple food. Worked on my tan, which turned out quite nicely...I am now brown almost beyond recognition with a stylish watch tan-line to boot.

Our next field trip was to Gamla and Qazrin. At Gamla we saw 'the city on a hill' and some of the most striking flower fields I have ever seen. Later at Qazrin we had the enjoyment of a '4-D' movie that was definitely oscar worthy. Mostly I just remember the narrator saying "Scandalous!" and thinking back to the Ashley's from the cartoon 'Recess'. I'm a simple mind I know.

Kara, me, and Miriam rockin our sunglasses outside of the waterfalls at Gamla

A group of us posing GQ on some ancient ruins in Qazrin...as usual

Once we got back from that, spent some more time on the beach playing ultimate frisbee. Oh and at some point I learned that I am not physically capable of throwing a football. So there you have it...at least part of it. More to come later.

Brain Dead

2009-03-21T01:34:00.007+02:00

It's official, my brain has stopped working. After two weeks of studying and finals, the state of cerebral activity is sketchy at best. Pouring over notes, quizzing my peers, and attempting to re-read an entire semester's worth of assigned reading put me in such a state. At one point I looked up from my Palestinian final this afternoon and just stared stupidly at the front of the lecture hall for at least 5 minutes. I could not for the life of me bring back into memory the things my teacher had lectured on a mere 24 hours before. The good news is that tests are over, and next week we are headed to Galilee! But first, I need to relate what has kept me sane the past few days.

Yesterday, after taking our ridiculously difficult Judaism final, a group of us headed to Ammunition Hill. This is the site where part of the six day war in 1967 was fought. While we had fun meandering around the hill and playing army with pine cones, it was yet another reminder of just how ugly war really is. So many of those who fought and died were my age. They had letters to family, pictures, and biographies of these young soldiers. Sometimes I think I have a pretty good grasp on reality, and then I go into war memorials. Some things will just never make sense to me.

The Israeli Flag just inside the Ammunition Hill memorial building that was signed by some of the war veterans.

Here's the golden wall with the names inscribed of those who died fighting in the war.

Coming home from that visit, I attempted to study for the last final, but found myself distracted by things like backward somersault competitions...which I apparently have a knack for. Of course just as with all things, the fun ended in injury, this time on my already bruised knee. And I somehow managed to get rug burn on the tops of my feet. Injuries are are just another talent of mine.

Today was simply more failed attempts at studying. After having a rather conflicted internal debate over what my priorities should be, I decided to go to my favorite place in all of Jerusalem instead of stay inside and study: the suq. Thus, while my final grade will definitely suffer from lack of preparation, I have no regrets. Stefanie, Chelsea, and I stuck together and I spent my last few sheks on more dried fruit to get me through Galilee. We sampled tasty fruit, bartered with Jewish merchants, elbowed our way through crowds of people, tried on dresses over our awkwardly chunky clothing, and finished the excursion with a trip to the pita factory. Basically, the suq is better than Costco...which is saying alot because we all know I love Costco.

My beloved dried fruit in the suq that I will certainly miss once we go home.

Stefanie and I at the pita factory enjoying our complimentary pitas. Look at those machines!

The rest of the day was basically a JC-wide celebration over the end of testing...for awhile at least. Activities included around the world ping pong, a Weezer music listening party in the lounge (with Jayne, Heidi, and I singing along rather loudly), and yet another viewing of High School Musical 3 (which is quickly becoming the most popular movie of the center). However, we all know the real partying is going to start once we get to Galilee. Yee haw!

Making Friends with Monks

2009-03-18T21:29:00.009+02:00

Here I find myself again, procrastinating study in order to blog. It's really the only time I ever feel like doing it. Essentially, if it weren't for my tests, this blog would not be getting updated. Now there's a sad thought. Anywho, loads of fun to report this week despite tests of death. Last week after round one of tests we had an Israeli Folk Dance activity that was a little less culturally enlightening than planned, but fun anyway. Our energetic instructor definitely kept it real.

Here's the group and our instructor learning some "authentic" Israeli moves.

Following the dance we wound down with a little High School Musical viewing which I sang practically all the songs too. The poor people at this center have to put up with me singing those stupid songs all the time, but I just can't help myself. But the fun doesn't stop there! Once 9pm rolled around, it was time for Capture the Flag: Ninjas vs. Pirates. While the game wasn't quite as organized as most, and J.J. managed to capture our flag within the first 10 minutes of round one, we entertained ourselves anyway. Whizzing around corners like a ninja has awesome written all over it.

Sadly my camera is being retarded as of late, so you get this blurry picture of Sharon, me, and Josh showing off our Ninja moves.

Sunday was more class and test prep, but after lunch I got to go to the Gypsy center and help some of the Gypsy children with their homework. It was so neat to talk to them and learn more about their culture. I loved it. Explaining different words in English as we helped with the homework was also proved educational. Stefanie's charade describing "icy" was definitely a highlight.Here's Emilie, Chris, Anne, Stefanie, and I with the kids.

Chelsea's 20th birthday saved the evening from being totally lost to studying. After dinner we went out for dessert in West Jeru and ate the most delicious crepes I've ever tasted. We even tried to dance with some locals in the street, but they shunned us and turned the music off. Apparently our dancing skills are worse than I thought. The real party however, began on the way home when we were picked up by the most pimp taxi I have ever ridden. This taxi van had neon and strobe lights, extra bass speakers, and a flip down screen to watch music videos. So we basically rocked out the whole ride home and were sad when we finally arrived back.

Here is Chelsea the birthday girl in all her glory.

Monday marked the end of my love affair with.....Arabic. We met for one last time with the charming Mr. Ayman Jebara and took, quite possibly, the easiest final of my life. I will be forever in his debt for teaching me important phrases like Bukra fil mesh mesh (when hell freezes over) and the four different ways to say no (that's right, they need four different ways to tell you no). I will no longer be able to wait for my name to be called on the attendance roll as E-lice. No more falling asleep in the middle of his class and waking up to him muttering some Arabic swear word swiftly under his breath. And so I bid Arabic a fond farewell. Maesalame.

This is our happy little class with Ayman in the middle. He really did like us best I think. Except maybe Eliza haha.

Finally, we get to yesterday, which was our field trip to Bethlehem. We left early in the morning to get across through the separation wall and then proceeded to a lecture where I sat by Lindsey, who fell asleep with her sunglasses on and then woke herself up when she started to snore. Ah, how I love memories. After that we went to Bethlehem University where we watched a really well done film on the Palestinian Refugees. Then there was a panel of students that we got to ask questions. The whole experience on the campus provided me with some serious contemplations, and I left with some new insights on the current conflict. Next was the Church of the Nativity where Christ was supposedly born.

Jessica and I inside the great hall of the Church of the Nativity.

Unfortunately, I had one of my not-so-shining moments right after the above picture. A small group of us were waiting to go further inside the chapel when we began having an intense discussion on a sensitive subject. I recall chuckling softly at one point, but we definitely weren't being raucous or anything. So when the time came to move forward, a rather angry looking monk flew towards me and two other girls, literally forcing out of the hall. He then told us in no uncertain terms to leave the church. So there's one for the kids, I was kicked out of the Church of the Nativity by a real life monk.

Hayley, Kara, and I looking sad and penitent after being cast outside of the church.

Study and Play

2009-03-14T09:00:00.002+02:00

This week has been killer. I've spent way more time inside than is ever desirable for any human being. That's the one negative aspect of the Jerusalem Center...you have an entire community inside a building, so unless you force yourself outside you could almost become a cave dweller. Luckily, we started the week off with a field trip around Herodian Jerusalem. We got to walk on streets that Jesus would've walked and sit on the steps where he would've taught. It was pretty much awesome.

Lauren and I in an ancient hallway just inside the city wall of Jerusalem.

Our group on the steps outside where the temple would have been.

The rest of the week has been full of studying, tests, papers, and stress. Trying to squeeze an entire Old Testament class into a brief month and a half has proved rather difficult. However, we still manage to find ways to avoid study. This week was Jewish Purim, which meant everyone dressed up just like Halloween. So we went out on the town and observed some quality Jeru culture. Then we had another field trip to the separation wall on Thursday. Danny Seideman was our lecturer, and the entire experience was incredible. He really opened my eyes to some of the current issues, and the wall basically speaks for itself.

I'm super excited about the juggler behind me. He entertained us on the exciting streets of Jerusalem during Purim.

Here is the separation wall. A great big concrete mass simply dividing people frome eachother.

The Jordan Journey P.2

2009-03-12T21:15:00.001+02:00

Okay so I've been slacking lately, and since that seems to be my motto for everything as of late, this post might not be as entertaining (not that I am under the delusion of being really entertaining), but you can blame mid-terms for that. So for the recap, on our third day in Jordan we visited the Roman ruins of Jerash where we got to put a spoon in a column and watch it shake as we attempted to push it over. Then we proceeded to have a dance party in the roman theater, and finally watch an authentic live-action chariot race. It was some pretty exciting stuff.
Later on that day we made our way to the dvd store where all the crazy american students practically bought out the sad little shop. It was awesome. We also went to the Mecca Mall in Amman where we got a little taste of home in the multi-storied shopping center. We had fun hanging out in the arcade like teenagers and laughing in the bathroom at a rather entertaining butchery of the English language. On the way home we decided to carry on tradition and start up a dance party in the backseat of our taxi. Putting neon lights in the back of a car is ALWAYS a good idea, if you ask me.
Another point of interest was the King Abudllah mosque where all the girls got to dress up in questionable smelling black dress robes before entering. While I wasn't a fan of the robe, I really loved being inside the mosque and listening to the guide explain some of the deeper points of Islamic worship. Plus, all of the mosques here are breathtakingly beautiful.

Somewhere along the way we stopped at more roman ruins and then the Jordan River. Overall, Jordan exceeded all expectations and helped me further appreciate the Arabic culture. The people were awesome, the food was edible, and the sites were gorgeous. Basically, I love Jordan.

Of course the Jordan blog can't be complete without mention of what happened at the border. By now our group is getting pretty efficient at going through borders, but the process always seems to get longer. So this time, just like every other, I emptied my pockets and walked through the metal detector without a second thought. Unlike every other time, it beeped. After assuring them that I had nothing else on me and walking through the detector a few more times, I was sent to the side to await my fate. After waiting around for about 20 minutes and being body searched multiple times, it was finally determined that I did not, in fact, have a bomb on my person...only a very threatening and ominous underwire bra. Good times I tell you...good times.

The Jordan Journey P.1

2009-03-08T23:00:00.000+02:00

Okay so I'm a little behind on the times, but I'll try to hit all the high points of Jordan briefly. We're going to do it picture style though because I can remember better that way. So after pulling out of Jeru our first stop was Mount Nebo where the infamous Brazen Serpent resides. However, it was closed due to renovation or something. Sad huh? But there were some really need mosaics, which I always love, so it was worth it.

One of my favorite mosaics that I saw.

Here's Miriam and I atop the mountain with our matching black eyes. Twinners!

Angie, Valorie, me, and Richelle on the road to the Red Sea.

The next day was our much anticipated visit to Petra where we did lots of hiking, site seeing, and of course picture taking. Our stops included ancient ruins, a sacrificial altar (which we had way too much fun re-enacting), and a view from the end of the world! It was pretty much incredible. This visit brings my world wonder visits to TWO, all in a matter of weeks! I love my life.

Here's Lisa and I with an authentic Petranian (?) man. Kind of resembles a viking I think.

Stefanie and me in front of the treasury at Petra. Just like Indiana Jones...except no Harrison Ford...and it's in black and white because I am camera retarded.

Here's a group of us just outside one of the many Petra sites.

Lisa, Stefanie, Kara, Angie, Suzie, and I making our train in front of the monastery. Chugged all the way to the top of that mountain baby!

Rockin the Jordanian flag and the view of the end of the world!

And of course I can't leave out our signature picture of the visit....Petrified in Petra.

The Incident

2009-03-06T17:46:00.011+02:00

Okay so before I launch into my Jordan travels from this week, I need to dedicate a little entry. First I'll recap the day before "the incident", because that was an awesome as well. A group of us decided to again brave the rain and go to the Jewish market (they call it a suq) so we'd have goodies for the trip. The suq is seriously one of my favorite places in the whole city. There is tons of dried fruit, nuts, fish, candy, bread, etc. I was so enthralled I bought $10 worth of dried pinapple, strawberries, kiwis, and nuts. The people are always so friendly and it is really just a cultural experience walking through the streets in this place. I love it.

Moon and I in front of my favorite fruit and nut stand. Yummy.

Here Anne and I are posing in the middle of the suq. Clearly we enjoy making a spectacle of ourselves.

Enjoying ice cream at McDonald's where the kids meals have toy cell phones that play "Barbie girl". This is Nycole, Heidi, Kara, me, and Moon.

Later on that day I found myself in our gym again playing that crazy sport of body ball. Now first of all, I have to admit that just a few hours earlier in the day I looked at my multi-colored fingernails and thought, "Gee, I should really cut those soon." But of course I ignored that still small voice. So, I'm in the gym playing and all is going well until Miriam takes a ball to the face and gets a little hit in the eye. Being the sensitive friend that I am I yell "Suck it up Miriam" and continue playing. Kharma comes back to me later when I take the exact same hit to the face from Bryan. My first thought was that I just got the wind knocked out of me and my eye would only be a little sore, but then the blood started oozing and I knew I was in trouble. So I ran to the bathroom laughing the whole way and Haley helped me mop up the mess. For pure entertainment, here's the pics....

Just pretend like this was actually taken at the moment of impact. Note the terror in my eyes and face.

Me as the battered wife and Bryan as my abusive husband trying to make amends. See that bruise on my arm? Abuse I tell you!

After I forgave him and we decided we could make it work.

*Disclaimer* My black eye was not in any way, shape, or form Bryan's fault. It was pure stupid on my part.

The Top Ten Best Things about the Jerusalem Center

2009-03-04T09:00:00.001+02:00

10 - Every day, five times a day, the call the prayer permeates the walls of the building and rings out with perfect clarity, usually just in time to wake you up from a nap.

9 - Every meal is prepared by friendly and talented chefs (who are always giving you an extra scoop of whatever they're serving even though you really can't eat it) and then the food is enjoyed in the luxury of the lovely oasis cafeteria.

8 - Each week you turn in your bed linen and towels which are then exchanged for a wonderfully new and clean set that usually still smells a little like bleach (let's be honest, this is a dream come true for me).

7 - The ping pong table is conveniently located in the laundry room so that you don't have to take time out of your busy day to schedule a match in, simply put in a load and get your ping on.

6 - There are secrets everywhere, more specifically, there is a secret room where hundreds of JC-ites have permanently made their mark on the historical building. Don't you wish you knew where?

5 - Every night is a party, whether there's a movie to watch, a game to play, or a flashdance to attend, the JC has always got something going on to convince you that homework isn't really that important.

4 - The shekel shaq is open daily from 8:30-10pm (except shabbat of course) to satisfy your need for essential things like popcorn, magnum bars, and my personal favorite, snickers.

3 - Everywhere you go there are windows with amazing views of Jerusalem. When asked what would happen if the students were distracted from their studies by this, one director replied "Then they will be poets."

2 - There are only a few flights of stairs between where your bed and class, which means sleeping in until literally the last moment possible is a very wonderful reality.

1 - You get to spend all of your time doing things with 78 of the most amazing people EVER!!!!!!

Distinctly Jeru

2009-03-02T09:00:00.000+02:00

So, I've decided that you get to have a photographic tour of Jerusalem while I'm gone in Jordan for the next few days. None of these have people in it, so if that's what you're looking for you better just quit now. However, if you have an actual interest in some of the sights around the Holy Land, here they are.

A view of the Mt. of Olives

The Knesset in all it's governmental glory

A menorah monument outside the Jewish Quarters

The beautiful Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Amongst the rubble still left at the Pools of Bethesda

The Dome of the Rock

The astounding Church of All Nations

One of the incredible mosaics from Dormition Abbey

The Garden of Gethsemane

And of course the beloved Jerusalem Center on Mt. Scopus

Seder It Up and Some Rain

2009-02-28T23:25:00.009+02:00

Alright, so I got a little lazy the past few days. I'm just starting to feel like this blog is a chore now. But I will express my sincere thanks to those who are still bothering to read it. My google analytics tells me the page average is a whopping 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Apparently I'm not entertaining enough for a whole 5 mins. But on the bright side, at least it leaves something to aspire to. So, the last few days have been rainy and cold. But that hasn't stopped the action in the JC. Thursday we had our Passover Seder dinner, and it was one great big cultural experience for sure. We got to sing songs (albeit very off key), chant Hebrew, eat things like parsley dipped in salt water, and drink wine...okay so it was grape juice. But overall, it was a very educational and enlightening evening.

Carly and I sporting our Passover books that always seems to confuse me because you have to read right to left.

Here I am participating in Urchatz, which is the washing of the hands in the Seder ceremony. Can you tell how excited I am? For real though...

Mike and Jeff showing off their Jewish rap skills. All I remember is something about "He-be-brewing".

Yesterday a group of us braved the city in the cold rain and took a taxi to the far side of West Jerusalem where we shopped in a boutique. We also visited a bookstore next door to it where I indulged my book buying habits and bought a copy of Mrs. Dalloway. Maybe next year I'll give up book buying for lent, because it's becoming a rather pricey and weighty problem. Oh well. Oh and my chocolate lent fast is pressing forward, but not without great sacrifice. I've had to convert to hot milk instead of hot chocolate. Hard times I tell you. But anyways, our adventure in the rain yielded some good times.

Here's me, Moon, Richelle, and Lauren waiting for our taxis in the pouring rain. I think Lauren got thirsty.

This was in the bookstore. Living proof that the world is going to pot. You know it is if Twilight can be bought in Hebrew.

Chelsea, Miriam, Lauren, Moon, and Richelle holding up their prized boutique purchases. What's that face about anyway Moon? Maybe she was confused she just spent $15 on a leather post-it pad.

Anyways, after that adventure and some dinner, we started a game of what's been dubbed "Body Ball". I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy playing. I'll give you the gist though. Imagine 10 college age students running around a gym with a giant exercise ball and two goals. Add some awkward sound effects, massive body/ball collisions, and a whole lot of laughter, and that's pretty much our game. Of course injuries have been sustained by multiple peoples, but it hasn't stopped us from playing as of yet.

Finally, today was another amazing Shabbat. It was district conference for all the Israel branches, so we had a full auditorium. The speakers were fantastic, the music was incredible, and the view, as always, was breathtaking. I think I'll miss church in the auditorium most when I go home. After our 2 hour session, we had a leadership meeting where we learned about alot of the humanitarian aid things going on here in the middle east. It was really neat to see all the things the church is doing and I think it made a big impact on alot of students and members alike. It also helped me recognize the power one person has to make a difference. So, that's been the week in a nutshell. Monday we are headed to the land of Jordan, but I'm going to try and put some pre-blogs up before then since the blogging work is never really complete. So have a wonderful week!

Lent, Museums, and Tunnels

2009-02-25T13:18:00.012+02:00

Today is the first day of Lent and in an effort to acquire more culture in the Holy Land, I have decided to participate. So, in order to make myself more accountable, I am announcing to the blogging world that for the next 40 days, I will be giving up chocolate. I'm not gonna lie, this is kind of a big deal. My name is Elyse and I am a chocoholic. While I anticipate hard times ahead, I think relinquishing my daily cup of hot chocolate will prove most difficult. Thus, any support you have to offer whether through comments, emails, letters, or high fives, will be highly appreciated.

In other news, yesterday I took a trip to the Biblical Lands Museum where I actually knew the context of some of the artifacts thanks to the excellent tutelage of Dr. Skinner and Bro. Wilson. Favorite displays included 'weaponry through the ages' and some incredible mosaics. I was highly tempted to purchase a 'build you own mosaic' from the gift shop, but then I remembered I'm approaching a state of poverty so I saved myself the sheks. I did however, get to bond with some of my favorite people.

Here is Jayne, Nycole, Kim, Suzy, Kara, Teri Ann, Jessica, and I. Of course I have to give props to Miriam who is behind the camera, but no less loved or important.

Here I am making my mark on history among other homosapien handprints, note the sweet nail polish.

Today was yet another field trip, and I have to use my signature phrase...that was awesome. First we got to watch a sweet 3D movie that gave us the lowdown on Hezekiah's Tunnel and the City of David. Then we embarked on our trip down the tunnel. Sloshing around in our jeans and singing disney songs almost all the way down, experiencing history with this group is anything but dull. However, the pictures can tell the story alot better than I can.

Me being so excited to make the descent into a wet and narrow tunnel. It rocked my world.

Richelle and I in front of the millo in the City of David. Brother Huff also informed us that there used to be a toilet in this dwelling. That's history for you.

Here's Janay, Richelle, Aleni, and I striking a pose. JJ, Josh, and Jeff also felt the need to be included. Posers.

This is Jennifer, Ali, me, and Aleni after emerging from the tunnel in all our glory. We're pretty much amazing.

Business as Usual

2009-02-23T14:52:00.006+02:00

Alright so I've been getting a little lazy as of late, but blogging just takes so much time. I'd rather waste my time other places rather than glued to my laptop. Anywho, life is business as usual at the JC. Old Testament class got a little dull the other day though, so Moon spiced it up with a little picture. Here was the finished product. My favorite part is the head bandage personally, but judge for yourself.This also reminded me of another important point. I finally had to make the transition from my favorite black ink pen to the blue. It was rough, but all for the better. We'll see if the reprecussions are manifested in my test scores after studying two different colored inks. Hard life huh? Let's see what else...we had an amazing storm on Saturday that provided an incredible backdrop for sacrament meeting. Although choir practice was pretty amazing too since we sang "Master the Tempest" as rain was beating down on all the windows. Then a patch of sunlight shined (is that proper tense? hm) through for just a moment. Things like that just bring life back in to perspective you know? So, shabbat had some great talks and then Valorie convinced me to go to the Spanish sunday school...which was brilliant. I really need to brush up on the espanol though, it's not quite like riding a bike. That night after another intense game of extreme signs, I hung out with those crazy girls from 410. Give us some fiber bars and incense and let the good times roll. Here's Richelle, Miriam, and I showing off our bars.Yesterday was a free day and we braved the cloudy day to visit an Italian Jewish Museum in West Jerusalem. While it wasn't the most impressive museum to date, the crown and circumcision chair made it worth the trip. After that a group of us headed over to a store called American Apparel where I learned how I should be dressing...seeing as how I'm American. What do you think?Of course I can't forget to include a picture of the brownie surprise which has single handedly destroyed all hope for a healthy lifestyle here in Jerusalem. You may judge, but I don't think I'll be able to remember my days in the Holy Land without thinking of these delicious little pastries right alongside things like the wailing wall and the dome of the rock. Plus, when I come home looking like a teletubbie, you will know why. Today has been a beautiful sunny day and I finally got the chance to visit the Dome of the Rock. I can't believe I've been missing out on it this whole time because the entire place just has the coolest feeling. There's such a peaceful feeling and it really is gorgeous. Sometimes I just wish I could just make the world stop and imprint on my memory the things I get to see here. Unfortunately, life doesn't work like that...so we have cameras instead. Here's Anne and I in front of the Dome.

Playing Catch Up

2009-02-19T16:39:00.009+02:00

Sometimes I think, hey, I should catch up on my blog...so I go to my usual spot outside the forum where everyone knows I like to hang out. I should make a sign that says "Elyse's Outlet" on the bench by where I always sit. When did I become so predictable? Bleh. Not the point though. So I go sit down, upload my camera pictures, and then stare blankly at the screen wondering how on earth to put into words everything that goes on here. But it's impossible. I think that sometimes I am under the mistaken impression that just because I am an English major, I should be able to convey exactly what I need to through words. But let's be honest, I don't command the English language that expertly quite yet. Oh well, hopefully it'll live on in my memory years from now when I'm living my dull life back in Provo. Remembering days where I got to spend my time sitting inside a mosaic duck.

So, back to Jeru then? Monday resulted in more failed attempts at homework, a quiz that I managed to luck out on with only an hour of studying (why does that keep happening?), and finally crashing and burning after 2 days of lousy sleep. I went to bed at 8:30pm and slept until 6:30am. Tuesday we had more classes and a group of us decided to reward ourselves with some brownie surprise after finishing our Egypt papers. Oh and I can't report on Tuesday without mentioning the committee meeting. All of the committee chairs had a meeting with our new director Bro. Kent Brown. Suffice it to say that words were said and it provided a memorable experience for all parties involved. Although Stefanie and I couldn't discuss it for the rest of the day without getting riled up about it. Next time that happens I'm just going to my room... On a completely different note, yesterday was our visit to Yad VaShem. I can't even begin to describe the course of emotion that swept through me as we walked through this Holocaust Memorial. Devastation, bewilderment, sadness, frustration, heart break, and hope. The things that hit me the hardest were the shoe display and the children's memorial full of candles. This quote by a Danish pastor also struck me as poignant, "I do not know what a Jew is, we only know what human beings are." I hope I never forget that visit.After the memorial we were taught by our Jewish MNE teacher and visited some other sites. Came back to the center for dinner and more class. Finished the night off with a volleyball tournament where sadly, the powerhouse team of Jessica Ralphs, Matt Morgan, Chelsea Bigney, and I, took a loss in match 3. But we still have some pride...Uzi Forever!!! Today had been a whirlwind of adventure following a rather long hour of Old Testament (it's okay Bro. Wilson, I forgive you for keeping us 20 minutes late in class). First we went to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene which was beautiful. Here's our group right after taking the "scenic route" down the mountain on our way.

Following those expeditions we visited some tombs, got lost in the city, ate some falafel, and walked to the Pools of Bethesda. While there weren't actually any pools, we did get to sing in the chapel which had the best acoustics out of all the chapels we've visited thus far. It was incredible. We also got to chat with one of the priests who was from Ghana, spoke French, and knew Mormons by sight. And for your final viewing pleasure, here's a sight of Bethesda.

Too Cool For School

2009-02-15T23:36:00.006+02:00

So, it is nearly midnight and instead of studying for a midterm tomorrow I am wasting time doing handstands, singing nacho libre songs, and losing leg wrestling matches. Let's be honest...I'm just too cool for school. And I did pretty good on my religion midterm, so I feel a little justified in slacking off. Well, except I've been doing it for over a month now. Someday I'll care, maybe. Anywho, we'll recap the last few days for those of you at home. Last week we had an amazing talent show where I had the opportunity to behold the magnificence of my peers. Seriously, there are some crazy talented people around here. I wish we had talent shows everyday. Friday was the midterm of death for Bro. Skinner's class and I uncharacteristically spent a 5 hour cram session with a group of people. This is a little taste of what the session yielded....
That night we unwound with a friday the 13th dance party. Getting our crazy on together is always a good time. Not to mention the occassion to wear absurd amounts of makeup and scary/weirdo clothes is a sure fire way to have fun. What a good looking group we are. We also continued a secret JC tradition after that...but that's another blog altogether. Although I will say that pantsing Miriam back definitely felt good. And, "That was awesome."

Saturday was another great shabbat as usual and I'm always amazed by the incredible testimonies and examples of the people here. I love hearing them speak, teach, and perform, and just learning from them. I can't say enough how much I love these people!

Today was another free day, and it was well spent with a visit to the Israeli government headquarters called the knesset (just say it out loud, like kin-ess-et...fun huh?) where they had some awesome art. A triptych tapestry, some incredible mosaics, and a magnificent olivetree/bronze sculpture made the experience worthwhile. However, they were lame and didn't let us take pictures inside, so you have to live with this picture of me and a menorah star outside the knesset. Moon also found in entertaining to physically harrass all of the girls in the group throughout the knesset tour. Thanks for the memories Moon.
In other news, sleep deprivation has reached an all time high and it seems my scholastic motivation is in direct correlation...at an all time low. Yet I somehow manage to find the energy to play extreme signs, sing along to disney movies like aladdin, and play absurd amounts of ping pong (shout out to Stefanie who beat me today!). I think I might be regressing back into idle adolescence. Or perhaps I never left it...

The Great Blogging Problem

2009-02-10T15:47:00.006+02:00

So, I have a confession to make. I recently succumbed to the temptation of google analytics and now know just how under-appreciated my blog is. Not to mention the lack of comments I’ve had in recent weeks. Therefore, I will be blogging less frequently in order to punish you all…just kidding. Kind of. Actually, I really just need to quit wasting so much time on the computer formatting the stupid blog. So you’ll have to take whatever I can give you.

Anywho, the last few days have been just as crammed full of excitement as the past month. Shabbat on Saturday was awesome and we had the profound privilege of hearing a fireside by the Presiding Bishop of the Church, H. David Burton. We also got in some hard core choir practice, which has been lovingly dubbed “Squire Choir.” But seriously, Sister Squires is a champ for putting up with all of us. Sunday was spent between classes, singing in a cistern, visiting the Coptic church, and of course more shopping. Here’s a group of us on the stairs of the cistern and the other one is outside the Coptic church where Stefanie pretended to be mad at me (a fiasco regarding a nice note that apparently didn’t have enough obvious sarcasm) while Ryan... just posed as himself.

Yesterday we had yet another field trip. Every time we go on a field trip I think it can’t be better than the last, but then it is. This time we visited the sites where biblical stories like Samson and Delilah as well as David and Goliath took place. We also got some contemplative time at the top of the Elah Valley. It was amazing to just look over the valley and imagine all of the history that has occurred here over the years.

The highlight of the day however, had to be the Micah caves. Here we got to climb through some crazy tunnels and basically pretend like we were in Indiana Jones. It beat the Disneyland version hands down. Brother Huff was our valiant leader who not only led us through the caves, but gave us a serious info download. The man is a genius. Here he is teaching us about the wine presses and the last one is Richelle and I showing off ourdirt after coming through the “birth canal” tunnel.
Today has been a catch up on homework (which I’m always behind on) and laundry day (which is clearly necessary after the caves). Although with all the things I have to do I still manage to play ping pong. Unfortunately, word has gotten out that I play every day so now people are under the impression that I’m really good. That would be a negative. Oh well, I’ll live it up until I embarrass myself as usual. It’s good to know some things never change.

A Good Day

2009-02-06T23:12:00.004+02:00

You know you're having a good day when the last thing you ate is a magnum ice cream bar and you get to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. Seriously, the JC knows how to treat a girl. Let's see what I've been doing for the past two days... Yesterday was spent on yet another field trip. This time we got to traipse through the west bank and see some real live biblical sights like Jericho. We even got to blow a horn just like Joshua. Later we climbed up a mountain to see the beautiful Quruntul Monastery (i think that's the name anyway). Here's Angie (who I consequently learned a WHOLE lot about on the bus ride there playing the 5 second random fact game) and I overlooking the valley and sporting our scarves. The field trip was followed by a much deserved nap and a cram session for our old testament midterm. I forgot how much I hate fill in the blank questions. Curses to whoever invented midterms. Today was a return back to academia with 6 long hours of class. Luckily, it was supplemented with ping pong, volleyball, and ice cream. Here's Chelsea, Carly, and I showing off a little desire. At least that's what the wrappers called it.

The Jeru Zoo

2009-02-04T23:10:00.006+02:00

Today was a glorious free day that I took full advantage of. After getting a whopping 8 hours of sleep I woke up chipper and bright, ready to take on a day of play. I even made it to the Oasis with enough time to eat a full breakfast instead of sneaking a roll as the door closed. Made it all the way to the Jerusalem Zoo, despite the fact that the taxi robbed us of 10 shekels a piece. But I'm not bitter or anything...especially considering mother hasn't deposited my check yet (hint hint mom). It's all good though. So, the zoo was pretty much awesome. I fell in love with a three-legged leopard...and a prairie dog. Just look at them!

Seriously, I'm adopting a praire dog when I get home. Anyways, there were giraffes, elephants, tigers, meerkats, kangaroos, snakes, and a whole lot of birds. I've never had so much fun at a zoo. Of course that may or may not be because I've the awesome company. Here's us posing with some bear statues that had a warning sign on it about the metal being very hot at specific times of the day. I love that society is pathetic enough to need a sign for that.

Anyways, after the zoo we hit up the Israel Museum where Lauren, Nycole, and I had some special "bonding" time. Listened to the brilliance of Bro. Skinner for awhile, and then split home where I had every intention of doing homework...and didn't. Played some ping pong, checked some email, reviewed for a test, went to choir practice, and then hit up the Egyptian dance party. I know you all thought I was exaggerating when I said it's like a party everyday, but I wasn't lying...

Oh, and let's not forget that almost every person has been converted to the magnificence of what I like to call "the brownie surprise". This is a flaky pastry filled with something akin to brownie batter. Basically, all hope for a healthy lifestyle is dead to me now. I crave them at all times of the day, and since we're all obsessed with food here (it's a main topic of conversation at all times) there's no point in denying it. My roommate Jess brought me one home tonight, and I literally kissed her. That is roommate love. Anywho, I'm still backlogging on Egypt, so if you get bored, keep checkin up on those 10 days I went missing.

Back in Jeru

2009-02-02T01:02:00.003+02:00

I really can't believe I am still awake enough to write this blog, but we are going to do it anyways. I have officially returned from the land of Egypt without any injuries or diseases...that I know of at least. It was quite possibly the most intense 10 days of my life since I got here, but completely worth it. I wish I could give you all a full description of everything, because it was brilliant. But alas, I don't have enough time to blog and you don't have enough time to waste reading it. So again, I will attempt to sum it up. But it's probably going to take a few blogs to recap, so I'll be doing back-posts. I'll work my way backwards, so just bear with me y'all. Just in the last 24 hours (which I've been awake for...straight up) I've got enough to fill a post. First, just imagine waking up at 2:00am to hike Mount Sinai. Bundled up in sweaters, scarves, and any other clothing we could fit on, our group of 78+ students and faculty began the hike up. It was cold, dark, and starry. The first half was pretty decent, but altitude sickness started to kick in for the latter half and I found myself gasping for air just to keep my water down. However, through reminiscing about elementary school teachers, singing B*witched songs, and listening to Richelle's superior storytelling skills, everyone made it to the top. Then came the hard part. Pretty sure it was cold enough to induce frostbite on top of the mountain. So we huddled together in tight groups, sang some hymns, and watched the sunrise together. This really is what made everything worth it....

The trip down the mountain was infinitely more pleasant. Stefanie was fully convinced her finger had fallen off, but I wouldn't let her take her gloves off to look until we were almost all the way to the bottom. Turns out I was right, although I have to admit I was a little concerned. We spent some good time bonding on the rocks and cheering as everyone made their descent. Here is Priscilla, Stefanie, me, and Moon looking happy to be at the bottom.

The Mount Sinai adventure ended and we returned to our hotel where a small group of us basked in the sunlight by the pool while getting down to what I like to call "the dirt" of things. It was some pretty juicy stuff, and I have to admit that I gained some new perspective on things and people. I'm always happy to discover that my first impressions are wrong. Anyways, the lounge-fest was followed by a lunch of sorts and a whole lot more of bus time. The highlight came when we got to stop by the kibbutz (this explanation will come in a back entry) for dinner. Our dinner crowd got a little rowdy, especially when Richelle blew chunks of rice and Steve came over to share a mission story about a baptism, a tongan, and some VERY large pants. This was followed by a mad dash to the ice cream stand where we were more than happy to devour our delicious Kibbutz desserts. Can I just say that I love these girls? Because I really do. Anywho, the night finally concluded with our return to beloved Jeru. Now we can again shower with real shampoo, use bathrooms without fear, and eat salad until our hearts are content. Thank goodness for the Holy Land.

The Final Highlights

2009-01-30T23:00:00.008+02:00

Since there's just too much that's gone down in the last few days you are just going to have to deal with the reader's digest version, so bear with me. Yesterday we hit up the Karnak and Luxor temples, which really were incredible. There is so much history crammed into those places that it blows your mind. Here's a view of the Karnak temple, and it really only shows a sliver of what's there.
The Luxor temple was equally astounding, and I finally got to apply some of that art history knowledge from high school. It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside when something from high school proves useful. After the temple expeditions, a group of us went out to the Bazaar again...this time with Bryan as our bodyguard. We even made friends with a kid who worked at our hotel and took a ride on the little community buses just like locals. We were legit baby...2 legit 2 quit haha.

The end of the day was quite possibly one of the lowest points of my life here in the Jeru program. We spent the night on an overnight train and I actually slept in a bed that's been used by who knows what. I couldn't have stomached it had I not been under the influence of benadryl. This was my face before the drugs took effect.

Today made considerable improvement with the Hard Rock Cafe. Aside from eating the most delicious burger, fries, and chocolate pudding this side of hemisphere, we also got to rock out with the Hard Rock Cafe crew. Here's Stefanie and I lookin REAL hard core.

Another day found us at the Muhammad Ali Mosque where I saw some of the most beautiful lights and windows of my life. I love that it you can feel the spirit in sacred places of different religions. It just makes God all the more real. Here's a group of us just outside the mosque. Basically, I love Egypt!!!!

Kings, Camels, and Bizarre....I mean Bazaar

2009-01-28T23:00:00.011+02:00

Life in Egypt just doesn't slow down. Today was spent between the Valley of Kings (where I saw King Tut!), a few ancient temples, and my personal favorite...the camel safari! There is some incredible symbolism in the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and I found myself wishing I knew more about the symbols in our own LDS temples, but all in good time I suppose.

On our way to the camel safari I snapped a few pictures of the Nile from our felucca, which is consequently gorgeous and disgusting all at once. The camels were pretty great, and I got to learn about the local village of Barad. The camel ride must have been inhibiting my brain function though because I ate some sugar cane handed to me by a local. Oh well, no parasites so far.

Finally, we finished the day off with a trip to the bazaar. This was definitely the most culturally shocking experience of Egypt by far. Walking down the road shopkeepers come out ready to weasel every egyptian pound they can out of you. Everyone wants a piece of the gullible white kids. It was definitely a different way of shopping. Overall though, a good learning experience. The best part of the day was this sunset though.

Pyramid Play

2009-01-27T23:00:00.009+02:00

Today was yet another experience overload. We did and saw so much that it would take me forever to recap it all. Firstly, started the day off right with an arm wrestling match against Stefanie. Unfortunately we were both too lame to finish and had to call it a draw. But for a few seconds there I felt like I was kind of famous. Haha. The rest of the day was spent bus riding all over Cairo. The first stop was just one of the seven world wonders, dun dun dun, the Giza Pyramids. I remember studying them intensely in Mrs. Brough's 10th grade world history class. This lady had a mummified cat in her room, so you can imagine her enthusiasm about pyramids. She'd be so proud to see me now...

Our next stop was a papyrus store where the majority of us spent way too much money on overpriced papyri. I couldn't afford the egyptian calendar one that I wanted, so I took a picture since it was free. :-) Got bored waiting on the bus after and decided I needed a picture with boys in them since no one believes I make friends with guys. Here's Jacob and J.J., what studly men eh? Then we headed to Zoser's step pyramid and ruins next. There was some incredible hieroglyphics and columns, but Moon, Jess, Stef, and I got too distracted attempting to pose as cingular bars. Who's idea was that anyway?

Kickin It In Cairo

2009-01-26T23:00:00.007+02:00

I'm so tired and dizzy that I'm pretty sure I could sleep for days. But the Jeru Program doesn't stop for sleep deprivation. Most of the day was spent on the bus, but don't let that deceive you. The Mark bus kept it real with catch phrase, big booty, and my new personal favorite, contact. Definitely the most entertaining bus ride I've ever been on. Border control was a decently speedy process, and we even snuck a contraband picture by the Egypt sign. We are such rebels. By the time we got to our hotel in Cairo, we were pretty starved. Scarfing down food, I decided that I was thirsty enough to pay $2 for a bottle of water since you can't drink anything from the tap there. So here's me showing off my water bill. The best part came after dinner when we decided to spice up our dull hotel with the biggest dance party the Oasis Hotel has ever seen. Bell hops were taking pictures of the crazy americans, chinese hotel guests were looking at us disapprovingly, and we even got one of them to join the party. While sever dehydration was almost certainly a problem since there are no drinking fountains, we found enough energy to party it up anyway. Every day is a party with the Jeru group.

Viva La Egypt

2009-01-25T23:00:00.014+02:00

Today has been one long dizzy ride, and we're only halfway there. There were so many historical sights we stopped at that my head is still spinning. It was still a good time though. We had the privelege of wearing hard hats whilst in Beer-sheba, which was consequently in missile range from Gaza. Then we stopped at a national park (the name escapes me) where we had WAY too much fun taking pictures. Here's just a taste....

Lunch was spent looking out over the Wilderness of Zin, which was basically incredible. Standing at the overlook makes you feel like you're about to be swallowed by the world. The second one is of me and Sharon, who is pretty much hilarious and amazing all wrapped into one. Oh and I got pretty tight with the national park mascot as well. Look at me make friends!

The culminating event of the day however, was definitely the kibbutz. A kibbutz is a predominantly Jewish community that basically lives like a zionist/socialist lifestyle. Everyone that works, eats, sleeps, and helps provide for the community. Once they explained it to us and layed out a wonderful feast, we stuffed our faces. Now everything is always "In the spirit of Kibbutz" when we share things. They also have a strange affinity for cows at the kibbutz. Everything smells like cow and there's cow statues all over the place. Needless to say, we had a little too much fun. We finished the night off playing a seriously intense game of electricity with at least 40 people and yet another dance party. Overall, way too much for one day.

So Long For Now

2009-01-24T18:07:00.000+02:00

So this is going to be the last post for a week y'all. I've got a week of Egypt ahead of me, and unfortunately internet connection is looking sketchy. I know you will all die of boredom without my updates, but just hang in there. I'll try and make this post extra entertaining...which means pictures again. But first, I've just got to hit the highlights of the past few days. This week we did so many cool things. It's amazing how much time you can spend not doing homework with the belief that you are still going to pass. I guess we'll see how that works out for me by the end. Anywho, Wednesday we got to go to the Kotel Tunnels, which are beneath East Jerusalem. It was incredible to see walls built by these Jews still standing, albeit the Romans crushed a good amount of it. I felt like I was on Indiana Jones at Disneyland, but way better because there was no cheesy Harrison Ford dummy narrating the adventure. We had an AMAZING tour guide who basically couldn't give us enough information. I loved every second of it. Then we got to meet back outside the wailing wall, which is not to be eclipsed by the tunnels. This is the place where, for hundreds of years, Jews have gone to worship since they are not permitted to pray any closer in the city. Basically, it's incredible.

Not to be outdone by the tunnel field trip, thursday afternoon was spent catching sights in East Jerusalem including Dormition Abbey with the Tomb of Mary and a Holocaust Memorial. Annie was our fearless leader, and we had one of the most productive sightseeing days yet.

Finally, we got an 'almost' free-day on friday. After one class, we headed out to West Jerusalem where we had a great time elbowing our way through markets. The market was packed full of people, food, and culture. I loved it. I even found myself a bag of pretzels for 7 shekels to go with my newfound love of Nutella...which is definitely bad news for my health. Oh well.

The festivities of the week ended with more hookup board drama, a secret oath between 5 girls, and my personal favorite...being pantsed (is that even a verb?) by Richelle. After a life like this, I just don't know if Utah will ever be able to cut it again. Except for the fact that I have some of my favorite people there. So no worries, I'll be coming back. ;-) In closing, here's a picture of some more amazing people that I love.

Can Somebody Get Me a Visual?

2009-01-22T22:40:00.000+02:00

I’m not even going to lie, I am jamming to the High School Musical 3 Soundtrack right now and loving every minute of it. One of my last purchases in the states before I left the homeland. Gotta keep my priorities straight you know? Anywho, today is an exciting day for all of us. First, because I had a basically awesome day. Second, because….drum roll please….you get pictures!!!! So be prepared for some visual stimulation....

The following escalator can be found in the Vienna, Austrian airport, and basically sums up the trip here. Quite possibly the longest voyage of my life. As for the cigarettes, well I'm pretty sure Austrians just think people shouldn't smoke, so they require death warnings on the packages. Why doesn't our country do this? Brilliant!

While the trip here was less than pleasant, the party started once we got here. The first few nights were spent in the ping pong room playing around the world. As you can see, we take it very seriously. The second picture is our rockin dance party at the shekel shaq...which is really just a junk food bar. But still good.

Hold onto your hats, because here's a re-cap of some amazing sights I've seen since I got here. We go on field trips about once a week, so you can be jealous. :-) Here we've got a view of the Benjamin Plateau where we froze our butts off getting the low down on the history of it. Next is the Nabi Samwil Church which had some of the most beautiful ceiling paintings I have ever seen. The third is a picture of the Garden of Gethsemane, which was pretty much beyond words. Finally is the church of all nations, which is right beside the Garden and also had some amazing art and sculpture.

And for the grand finale, I'm going to introduce the amazing people that put up with me here in the JC. They are seriously the coolest people ever, and I would not be having the time of my life without them...

Here is Stephanie, and although we cannot be "best friends" we can be "dear friends". Apparently we've gotten tight enought that everyone thinks we knew eachother before we got here. But when you're playing ping pong every night, fixing eachother's life problems, and single-handedly creating social classes among 78 people, you tend to get close. On the bottom we have Shamra, who I like to call Sham-a-lama, just because it's fun. She is riot and also has a deep seeded obsession with ping pong. Recently we've taken to eating dinner together where I get the dessert on my tray and she eats half of it...off my tray...because she's "not allowed" to have dessert. Yeah doesn't make sense to me either.

Meet Jayne, who knows how to have a good time and make friends. She is one of the sweetest girls I know, and I can always count on her for a good chat. We share a mutual love for Weezer and obviously has some serious dance moves. The girl with the awesome hair is Moon, who's the craziest, coolest, most loving person ever. She really does just love everyone, and is a walking party. Seriously, if I'm ever bored, I know Moon's got something going on and I can hang with her.

Next is Richelle. We got tight on our first field trip when I demanded to know her life story and I got it...in about 7 different parts in between geographic lectures and sightseeing. She is amazing at photography and I love giving her hugs. She makes me happy. Finally we have Miriam, who is a self admitted serial flirt, but not the bad kind lol. She is one of those girls that has everything going on. Smart, funny, cute, friendly, and an awesome girl. Not just anyone can pull off that face and make it look good.

Now just so you all know, this list is non-exclusive and in no particular order. I have many more friends and even more to make. I fully intend on making everyone my friend by the end of this 4 months...whether they like it or not. Haha. But obviously I've got some work to do. So for now, I hope you've enjoyed this trip down photograph lane.

Productivity Wanes

2009-01-20T15:23:00.000+02:00

I don't think I'm capable of writing a blog unless I have incomplete homework hanging over my head. That's just life. Meh. Anyways, the last two days haven't been too exciting...well as dull as you can get in the Holy Land anyway...which almost beats exciting back in Provo on any given day. So, sunday was our first full free day in Jerusalem. It was pretty exciting, for everyone except me that is. I chose to spend the day doing laundry, catching up on homework, and taking a nap. Slacking off can only go so long before it becomes apparent my grades are going to suffer. That was the price I had to pay. Anywho, yesterday was spent between classes and yet another long shopping trip with a group of girls into the old city. Apparently I'm the shopping guru because everybody likes it when I tell them to buy (or more commonly NOT buy) things. But let's be honest, the fact that my bossiness is being welcomed by others is kind of a foreign concept to me. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon enough and we'll be back to the "Yes Elyse, we know you have an opinion but we just don't care." Then the world will be right again. Let's see what else...oh my new name is E-lice thanks to my arabic teacher. However, I now know how to say hello (marhaba), goodbye (maesalame), and three different ways to say no. My personal favorite is the clicking of the tongue (I love this country). I plan to combine it with an upwards head nod and raised eyebrows just to get the "no" across the next time I'm proposed to by a local. Why can't men from my own country every propose marriage? Seriously! It's all Jamaican/Ecuadorians and Middle Easterners. But my life is hard like that. Lastly, I just can't post another blog without relating the juicy gossip the hookup board has brought upon the JC. It all started with Richelle, Miriam, and Moon's spare corkboard in room 410. Throw in some stick figure pictures, thumb tacs, and a room full of girls....you get drama. Now an online survey has been established in order to place votes on which people would be the best hookups. But considering there are only 17 guys and 62 girls, the guys have some good odds while the rest of us girls are doomed to loser-ness, or should I say permanant peon status? Like I said, my life is hard. Anywho, tomorrow we are taking a tour of the Kotel tunnel, and I anticipate good things. Not to mention we have the Egypt trip 4 days. Woot! So right here and now I'm vowing to upload some pictures before then, because apparently nobody follows the "no uploading pictures" rule around here anyway. I am such a rebel.

Heavy Dose of Insomnia

2009-01-18T12:34:00.000+02:00

Right now it is almost 3am and I am still not feeling sleep coming on. Sometimes insomnia really sucks....unfortunately I have a pretty good idea of the cause, and it's not going away in the near future. I've already been caught red-handed by building security walking around with flashlights. Luckily they have mercy on insomniacs. Anywho, today was another awesome Shabbat. Church was amazing, choir singing and all, and we even got to visit the Garden of Gethsemane along with the Church of All Nations. (Don't worry mom, I'll drag my lazy butt up to Hebrew University to upload the pictures soon enough) It was so neat to walk down the Mount of Olives through Orson Hyde Park and then into the Garden. It was just a small gated off piece of land with olive trees, but still amazing. They church was gorgeous too. The interior is beautiful, but unfortunately it was too dark for any pics. So even though we had to climb a killer hill back, it was infinitely worth it. I love walking around this city. But of all the places I've been so far, the chapel here in the JC is still my favorite. There's just something about sitting there in silence and looking over the whole city through our huge semi-circular windows. Oh and the rain, I love that too. When it rains, it pours...just the way I like it.

Among other things, the past two nights we've inducted a new tradition amongst our group, something I like to call Extreme Signs. You may have played signs before, but nothing beats this. Imagine at least 40 people crammed into a deformed circle and making the most absurd hand/face/body gestures while trying to evade the middle person's touch. Tonight's game included a tug of war where I ended up alone in middle, and on my backside. For some reason the day can't end without me somehow embarrassing myself. But at this point I have no shame, so it's all good. I also busted out my purple genie pants that I bought in the city. They were well received and as a result, my permanent hand sign is the genie in the bottle. I've also officially mastered all 78 students first (and i think last) names. So now I can successfully pretend to be everyone's friend without them really having a choice. I'll just walk up to them and be like "Hey So and so, how about that Islam class today? What's for lunch? What? You want to sit by me because I'm so cool?" Haha ok that wouldn't really happen, but knowing names sure helps.

Well, before I sign off for bed, a quick shout out to Kellie, who's "I miss you" playlist inspired this post ;-) You are awesome. Bet on it!

A Little Educational Post Please

2009-01-16T20:16:00.000+02:00

So I've realized this blog is often about the people and all the goings on in the JC, so from here on out I'm just what I am. First, yesterday was class as usual and then we got to go out into the city again. I went with a group of girls this time, and we spent waaaaaay too much time and money shopping. It was good though, and I got a chance to talk to some of the merchants who are really so good to us. It's so funny because everywhere we go people know we're "the mormons." I've been abroad before, but never so labelled. It's interesting. It's kind of funny too, because everyone knows the mormons are honest and conscious of morals. We also got a lecture on the dead sea scrolls from Bro. Skinner, and that was cool. Learned a ton of stuff about the ancient civilization of Qumran and loved every second of it.

Today was a little more intense. We had 4 straight hours of class (which I can apparently no longer handle) where I starved since I thought it was a good idea to sleep in and skip breakfast. Then I made the even smarter decision of eating a chocolate candy bar prior to lunch. I'm sure my dad is cringing at the thought lol. After lunch I should've gone straight to homework, but my self discipline is getting worse and I played volleyball for almost 2 hours and yes, I got hit in the head again. It was epic this time though because I was on the receiving end of a spike that hit my forehead so hard it almost bounced to the ceiling. And it knocked me down. Good times. Anywho, after that was the real treat. We went to another mini lecture by Bro. Skinner about the Western (wailing) wall and then walked down to wall itself. It was really cool to see everyone all dressed up in their Shabbat best and reading the Torah. I ended up sitting by a giant golden menorah and listening to another boy story. I've decided to becfome a story collector. It really is awesome.

As for the silly social stuff that is ever pervasive here...I'll just hit the highlights. 1) A few days ago I was officially labelled as one of the popular peons. What is this you ask, well, according to Stefanie, it is one who lots of people know but does not have "ritzy popular" status. Now we've started a revolution where everyone has to be on a side...Ritzy or Peon...judge for yourself which you choose. But we all know where I stand now. 2) Yesterday at dinner we had an almost fiasco that officially made it into the JC Hall of Infamy. Stefanie wasn't brave enough to tell it in her blog, but I'm all over it. Stefanie and I walked up to Moon after clearing our trays (our cafeteria seriously feels like high school) to chat for a minute. Stefanie is holding a glass of water that comes dangerously close to spilling on Moon. Then she asks "What would you do if I spilled this on you Moon?" and Moon replies "Do it and see." Now me, thinking I'll take Stefanie down the path that rocks, smartly quip "She won't do it, she's not brave enough." Two seconds later I'm wide eyed and backing up as a drenched Moon jumps out of her chair, grabs some food, and stuffs it into Stefanie's face. Visions of an Oasis-wide food fight flashed before my eyes...but luckily Stefanie just ran away and the only reprecussions were one of the faculty's wife's almost having a heart attack. It was all in good fun though. My life never has a dull moment around here.

Weezer, World Domination, and Whatnot

2009-01-14T22:48:00.000+02:00

First of all, let me just start with a little anecdote. Earlier today I was attempting to do my homework when I was happy to be interrupted by Jayne. We talked about alot of things, but among them it came up that if she could meet any living person it would be Rivers Cuomo. This is the point when I knew me and Jayne were suppposed to be friends. We bonded over the fact that Weezer is the soundtrack of our lives, and she even went to the extreme of avoiding listening to any of them while coming out of a breakup...just so Weezer wouldn't be tainted. Awesome. Anyways, the reason I tell this is because right before I started this post, I was feeling a little grouchy and brain dead, but of course I pop the ipod in, tune into some Weezer and bam, I'm back. Haha.

So, highlights of the past two days...where do I begin? Went to some more class yesterday, yawn. Took a nap though, so that was good, especially since I spent the previous two nights awake past midnight getting some juicy boy stories (my girl bonding boy stories is already up to 4 for the week!). Played some boggle, which I thankfully still dominate at, otherwise my ego would be the size of a peanut by now because I've lost at almost everything else since I got here. We all know how much Elyse feels the need to retain her world domination of boggle. :-) Let's see...oh here's a good story...well I'm kind of ashamed...but that's not going to stop me now. We had a guest lecturer yesterday and instead of just skipping (which really would have been more respectful) I went and sat in the back row with Miriam, Moon, Jake, and Stefanie where we played pictionary telephone for an hour. I really do feel bad I didn't listen, but things like the byu cougar looking like a t-rex and something about hands down, kind of made it worth it.

Today was our field trip day around Jeru (this is my new loving nickname...vote via comments if you think it's blasphemous) where we went to about 5 different sites and discussed how the related to the old testament. The best part was defnitely singing Nearer My God to Thee at the Nabi Samwil mosque/synagogue though. Wow. So after that took most of the day, I forced myself to do some homework, eat dinner, and then play ping pong again. Unfortunately I made the mistake of inviting other people to Stefanie and I's match...so it turned into a whomping session (which has officially been defined as a win margin of at least 10 pts) where one guy pretty much took us all down. Vicious.

Yep, so that pretty much covers it...well not really...but I'm tired. However, before I get some much needed sleep, I'm giving a holla to the peeps reading this. Thanks for taking an interest in my sad little life, and I miss every single one of you mega much. Don't think just because I'm having a good time that I've forgotten you! So here I am, sending some love all the way from Jerusalem, from me to you! <3>

HALLO!

2009-01-12T18:43:00.000+02:00

So even though I only have 15 credits here and no job whatsoever, it still feels like I run from one thing to the next...granted they are things like taking a nap, writing emails, reading, and going to the old city. But still. Anywho, life in the JC is just hunky dory. Yesterday was pretty exciting though. We got to go out on the town by ourselves (aka in groups of at least five) and experience Jerusalem. Unfortunately, my group's sense of direction (alas my own internal compass failed me) was a little off and we ended up at the end of a sketch alley trying to find Jaffa Gate. Then we were suddenly surrounded by 12 year olds shouting "HALLO! HALLO! JAFFA GATE? DIS WAY! YES DIS WAY" It was pretty intense, and they were pretty persistent, but we decided to follow back the way we came and avoided disaster. We also had our first Jewish and Palestinian classes yesterday. Our Jewish teacher Ophir Yarden is the bomb. He's bald and wears a kapa (?) which he has to tape to his head with double stick tape (yes we asked lol). Our Palestinian teacher is...interesting. His name is Adnan Musallam and he likes interpreting names. Last night we had the grand opening of our snack bar, loving called the Shekel Shaq. This was accompanied by a wicked dance party where we all know I got my awkward groove on. I'd like to think that Jayne, Stefanie, and I singlehandedly got the party going on. After that the hard core people went down and played ping pong (while i conveniently finished my laundry in the next room). By the time I went to bed my whole body ached. Today hasn't been quite as exciting. Although we did have Arabic for the first time today. I learned a total of one word, Shukar, which means thank you. Our teacher is pretty much the funniest guy on the planet. Seriously, I love the faculty here. There is so much diversity and good vibes going around, I'll never be bored. So basically, life is literally a party everyday...like one big sleepover with 78 people. It is awesome. Peace!

A Day in the Life

2009-01-11T01:50:00.000+02:00

Hello Hello! So I decided I needed to blog rather soon in order to get the sour taste out of your mouths that I left in the last blog. Too much whining. Instead, I'm going to give you a little day in the life of segment to show you just what an amazing time I'm having.

5AM: Wake up to the beautiful sounds of the Call to Prayer, which lasts about 10 minutes, and then I promptly roll over and fall back asleep for another hour.

7AM: Go to breakfast in the Oasis (our cafeteria) where I am fed delicious food that I do not have to prepare.

8AM: Attend Old Testament where I get to learn all the amazingly cool things about the bible that I've always ignored.

10AM: Attend Near Eastern Studies where I'm taught by renowned (and awesomely sarcastic) scripture scholar Andrew Skinner about the history of the Middle East.

11AM: Endure yet another orientation to go over rules and security checks, which as of yesterday, restricts us from actually entering the city since demonstrations were going on all over the city against the missile attacks from Lebanon on Northern Israel .

12PM: Go to the Oasis for yummy lunch where I have to restrain myself from eating multiple pitas filled with peanut butter and honey.

1PM: Attend a committee meeting that I am the chair of, where we discuss what we'll do to fulfill our job as the keepers of "Memories".

2PM: Play ping pong for over an hour and get my butt whipped 5 times by Stefanie and Mike.

3PM: Attempt to start the reading assignment on Judaism that is a daunting 75 pages long and is required by Sunday morning.

4PM: Abandon thoughts of homework to play volleyball in the gym where I sufficiently embarrass myself as well as get hit in the head with the ball.

6PM: Again go to the Oasis where I stuff my face full of food and try pistachio ice cream for the first time in my life.

7PM: Attend the Five Pillars of Islam video in the Forum where I struggle to stay awake for the next 45 minutes and take in some real cultural learning.

8PM: Find myself in the ping pong room yet again, where a large group of us play around the world ping pong with the winner taking the honors of wearing a sweatband.

9PM: Have a history lesson of my new friend Stefanie's life, and then proceed to tell mine, although her's was much more interesting.

10PM: Squeeze in a little more Judaism reading and scripture study before calling it a night and going to bed.

So that's pretty much going to be my life for the next four months, with a couple variations and field trips. Jealous much? Just kidding! But seriously, I am having the time of my life and count my blessings every day that I was lucky enough to get chosen for this program.

Travel Trials

2009-01-08T13:29:00.000+02:00

So I have officially arrived in the Holy Land everyone! It was a harrowing journey, but the important thing is that I got here. But let me just give you an idea of what I had to endure. First, out of SLC we had to sit on the runway for at least 45 minutes, and then go back to refuel before we could take off again because we'd been idling so long. By the time we got to Chicago we were almost an hour behind schedule, as a result we had to run half way across the airport just to make our connection. When we finally got into DC we got to rest for about 30 minutes (and scarf down some exorbitantly priced airport food) before we boarded for Vienna. After a long flight of 9 hours, we arrived in Vienna Austria. Spent a little over an hour in that airport before boarding for Tel Aviv. When we arrived in Tel Aviv, I had the wonderful experience of watching the conveyor belt rotate at least 30 times before giving up hope on my luggage. Myself along with 4 others, had not gotten our luggage. So we had to go report it at lost and found where (this is just priceless) they took our information down and handed us a "survival kit" complete with a extra large white t-shirt, mini toothpaste and toothbrush, and cotton balls. Of course that made it all better. As long as I've got me some cotton balls, I can live in a foreign country without my luggage for who knows how long!!! Can you tell I'm a little bitter? Luckily, I had the sense to pack a few extra things in my carry on bag. Unfortunately, I will be living in the same pair of pants until they find my suitcase. Meh. So, for those of you keeping up with the math at home, travel to Jerusalem totalled over 24 hours straight. Not to mention I hardly slept at all on any of the plane rides. Bythe time we got to the center, I was in a zombie-like state. Today I'm now operating on 6 hours of sleep...combined with the 3 hours I got between flights...for a grand total of 9 hours sleep in 3 days. However, aside from all of this, the Holy Land was well worth the trip. Everything is beautiful, and the view of the city from the center is breathtaking. Everyone I have met has been very friendly, and the staff is great. To my great dismay, the food is rather tasty. I had hoped that I would find the food unappetizing and thus give myself a 4 month diet. But alas my plan has been foiled! So, now that I've whined for long enough to make me feel better, I'm off to take a much needed nap!

And So The Adventure Begins...

2009-01-06T09:08:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone! If you're reading this blog, it probably means I told you to because I'm too lazy to write emails constantly, and this way you don't have to hear about my travels if you don't want to. Everybody wins! Anyways, the first adventure of my Jerusalem experience began with a long and rather dull 3 hour lecture about odds and ends of the trip. I won't bore you with the details, but essentially we had it drilled in to our heads that our clothes, language, and actions must be culturally sensitive to the people of Israel. So, I invite to embark with me on a four month journey to the Holy Land where we learn together just what it's like to live on the other side of the world!