The Israel Chronicles

Playing Catch-up

2008-04-20T21:03:00.013+03:00

Wow, if you think I haven’t written in my blog for awhile, you should see my journal. I have precisely one month and a day unchronicled. Honestly, this will probably be my last post. Most of the Jerusalem Center students leave for home early Thursday morning. I’ll be traveling around Israel and Jordan with my parents for about a week and a half, but I doubt I’ll have internet access. That puts me arriving in Tucson on May 4, and man am I excited to set foot on American soil again. So here are some of the things that I’ve been up to lately… PS I finally saw Masada, which had been a life goal for me! The pictures weren't that exciting though, so I thought I'd save you the pain. Now for my next life goal...I'm thinking that I want to do grape stomping at a vineyard. Anyone have any other suggestions?

This is at a Franciscan cloister in the middle of the Old City. It's perfectly quiet and peaceful, and noticeably cooler than the rest of the city. It was so pretty. I decided that I want a cloister at my house!

These are the stones that the Romans pushed off the Temple Mount in the destruction of 70 AD to fulfill Jesus' prophecy that one stone will not be left upon another.

A desert oasis at Ein Gedi. We couldn't swim here unfortunately, but a little to the right of the picture there was a school of orthodox Jewish boys swimming complete with their kippas.

Me posing with a Dead Sea monster...

I got to float in the Dead Sea! It seriously makes you so buoyant it's ridiculous; it was actually hard to swim! We were told not to shave the day before because the water is so harsh. People who had cuts definitely felt the pain while we were in there.

I finally got to touch the Mediterranean again! It's been 4 years!

A view of the Mediterranean from Jaffa. Jaffa is cute city that kinds of reminds me of Vernazza, Italy.

This is at a place called Neot Kedumim. It's a biblical garden, meaning they have all sorts of stuff that they had during biblical times. I got to do all sorts of cool stuff, like herd sheep and goats, draw water from a well, and grind my own zitar (which is a spice that's put on ring bread and it's really good!)

Even though I didn't have a kitchen, for Conference Weekend some friends and I usurped a teacher's kitchen to make pancakes. They were delicious!

Galilee!

2008-04-06T21:37:00.015+03:00

Ok, I know I got back from Galilee awhile ago. I've just been lazy, and well....I still am. So here are the pictures with a little caption as to what they're about, but you'll have to stay tuned for the actual text. You'll take what you can get, right? ;)This is at Megiddo. It's actually called Har Megiddo in Hebrew, which is how we get our word Armageddon. Therefore, the impending doom pose.

On the Sea of Galilee!

Mt. of the Beatitudes. Mussolini built this church, which I thought was kind of ironic.

This is a synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus probably taught at this exact synagogue! And Peter's house is literally right next door.

At church in Tiberias! The branch building was dedicated about a year ago. Also, notice the skirt...it's from a shop in Tiberias. I haven't had new clothes in 3 months!

This is at a baptismal site on the Jordan. There were tons of pilgrims getting baptized, some even two at a time!

This was in the church on Mt. Tabor, which is the traditional site of the Mt. of Transfiguration.

At a bonfire our last night staying in Galilee!

This was a mosaic at the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Countries from all over the world sent in art depicting Mary talking to the angel. This one's from Paraguay (for Lane, naturally)

At the Bahai Gardens. The Bahai religion is a sect of Islam. The grounds were beautiful!

At Caesarea. That's the Mediterranean behind me!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T22:41:00.004+02:00

Happy Easter everyone! Today we had church and had the area 70 for Eastern Europe speak, so that was cool. The choir also sang an amazing song which the choir director (who plays the organ for the San Francisco Opera) wrote. Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Galilee for 10 days, but before we go we're attending a sunrise church service at the Garden Tomb. How cool is that? I'm really excited to be at the Garden Tomb on the day that Jesus was resurrected. I hope the Easter Bunny treats everyone well! I'll update you all when I get back.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

2008-03-20T14:02:00.007+02:00

On Tuesday, I went to Bethlehem! We had to pass through the Separation Wall, whose construction is very controversial, and then we went to Bethlehem University, where we toured the campus and talked to the students. I found out that the students totally condone the Palestinian terrorism, because they feel it is just reciprocation for what the Israelis have done to them. While they profess to be for peace, when they actually talk about what’s going on, it seems like they’d rather keep fighting than just take one for the team and try to negotiate for peace. It’s frustrating because although they were biased (who isn’t here?) they were probably right about Israel provoking them to action. However, how juvenile is it to react to the provocation? It’s like trying to police third-graders; you can make them stop getting back at each other, but it won’t be due to their own logic. It will be because you made them stop. I think that’s the only way that there can ever be peace here. If the US just puts both sides in “timeout” until they behave, then they will have to be civil to each other and then peace talks can start from there. It was really interesting hearing all of the students’ experiences though; one girl has to travel from Hebron to Bethlehem every day. This trip would usually take half an hour, but with all of the checkpoints she has to pass through, it takes two hours. A lot of passing the checkpoints has to do with the soldier’s moods, too; some days it’s easy to get through and other days you can be detained for 5 hours. I can’t understand their mentality though; they say they’re used to the checkpoints and that they would never move. If it was that hard for me to get to places, I would definitely move. It makes me grateful for the freedom I have as an American; I can really travel almost anywhere I want to without being harassed. Another thing that I found kind of depressing about the Palestinians was their total lack of optimism. They kept a hole in one of the walls of their building to remember when the Israelis sent 4 missiles into the university when it was shut down during the Second Intifada in 2002. They say that the missiles were just shot there to provoke them since they weren’t housing any wanted Palestinians. They’re just so negative about the past that it seems like they can’t look forward to the future, and it’s really frustrating to be an onlooker listening to them complain about how they’ve been wronged. I know they have been, but so have the Israelis. Both sides like to play the victim, which makes it difficult to differentiate between lies and truth on either side. I just hate it because if they would work for peace they could so easily achieve it, but it seems like both sides would rather sit and complain (and beat up on each other).

Going into the Church of the Nativity. The door has gotten progressively smaller since it was first built to keep animals, especially people on horseback, out of the church.
Later we went to Manger Square and saw the Church of the Nativity. It was so cool to finally see because before I came here I watched a documentary about Bethlehem and saw the church and learned about its history, and then I saw it!

This is where Jesus was supposedly born.

This was a cross hanging that covered a part of the church. I thought it was a little disturbing since there was a skull and crossbones in the bottom of the cross.

This was in a cave under the church. This light was a little weird too because the hands looked real in the light.

This is a courtyard outside the Church of the Nativity. It's really pretty.

Palm Sunday!

2008-03-17T12:22:00.006+02:00

Parading through Lion's Gate

Yesterday was Palm Sunday! Whenever I saw that written on a calendar before, it didn’t have any meaning to me. But now I know that Palm Sunday means a parade in the streets, with everyone singing and waving their palm fronds. It’s such a party! There were a few thousand people gathered in Bethphage, where the procession begins. There is a little church in Bethphage where they have the supposed stone that Jesus used to get on the donkey as he began His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. All of the students at the Jerusalem Center participated in the parade and we even got filmed and got our pictures taken by the AP. So look for me in the international news! It was also fun because everyone was speaking different languages, and one time we were singing “How Great Thou Art”, and a group next to us started singing with us in their own language. It was awesome to have that connection with them even though we couldn’t actually communicate with each other. Two hours (and less than a mile) later, I made it through Lion’s Gate to the church where they have Mass. I didn’t stay for that part, but it was such a fun outing!

Jesus' "stepping stone"

Yay for palm fronds!

Look at all of the pilgrims!

A Tour of the Jerusalem Center

2008-03-09T13:15:00.011+02:00

Enjoying a good book on the porch

Right now, we're in lockdown at the Jerusalem Center due to the shooting that happened last Thursday in West Jerusalem. Basically, we can't go anywhere. To keep myself from going crazy, I decided to give you a tour of where I live (ok, it did take a little push from my mom!).

The computer lab is usually really crowded. I'm glad I brought my laptop!

The view from the auditorium (where we have church). If you look closely or enlarge the picture, you can see the Dome of the Rock.

The auditorium, where we have an organ! Every Saturday it accompanies us during church.

This is the entrance that all the visitors and tour groups use.

The Oasis, where we eat all of our mediocre meals.

My room. This was on a cleaning check day so that's as clean as it gets.

My bathroom. The floors are marble and they're FREEZING! Especially now that they turned off the heat and switched to A/C.

My bed is the one on the right. There are 4 people to a room-my other 2 roommates' beds are to the right of the door. Pretty nice digs huh?

The Jordan River and the Red Rock of Petra

2008-03-06T20:46:00.010+02:00

By the side of the Jordan River. Right before I took this picture a man baptized his 2-year-old infant. That would be the coolest to be baptized in the same river as Jesus!

My class and I traveled to Jordan for 4 days, and it was awesome! The first day, on our way to Petra, we stopped at the Jordan River and saw the traditional site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. The Judean Wilderness surrounding the river was sparsely vegetated, and a lot different than I had imagined. It kind of reminded me of Tucson because it was pretty deserty, but it had a little more greenery. We also went to Mount Nebo, which is where Moses saw the promised land from before he was translated.

On Mount Nebo

The first view of the Treasury in Petra from the canyons

Monastery in Petra

The next day was Petra! Our hotel was right near the entrance to Petra, so at 7:30 we started walking down the canyons to the actual ruins of Petra. As I was walking down the last canyon, I turned a corner and saw the treasury building in Petra. It was amazing; so ornately carved yet also so large. I honestly find Petra more amazing than the pyramids, which is saying a lot because I’ve wanted to see the pyramids ever since I was 8 years old and checked out every book in the library about it. There are tons of buildings in Petra, and in its heyday there were 30,000 people living there! I would highly recommend seeing this to anyone. It’s incredible.

On our third day, we went to Amman, Jordan’s capital city. We went to the old Roman city of Jerash, and it definitely reminded me of Rome. We saw lots of ruins and then went to a gladiator show! The costumes were pretty authentic, and they had gladiator “fights” complete with fake blood as well as a chariot race. It had a lot of history intertwined with the fighting, so I learned interesting things. Afterward we went to the branch in Amman and met the branch president and district president. I learned that the Church was given property in Abu Dhabi (which is in the U.A.E), but right now a refugee camp is on it, so before we can build a church there, we’ll have to relocate them. Later that night I went to the Mecca Mall and saw a movie! I haven’t been able to feel American like that for 2 months, and it was so nice.

At the Mosque

Roman ruins in Amman

Today we went to the King Abdullah Mosque and then the Citadel in Amman, which had more Roman ruins. It was a pretty low-key day, and we actually made it back to the Center in 4 hours, including border crossing time. Tomorrow we’re going to Eilat snorkeling, so I’ll keep you posted!

Crepes!

2008-03-03T00:25:00.002+02:00

Today the part of Jerusalem we live in was closed to students because of the protests going on as offshoots of the fighting in Gaza. So we decided to take a taxi to West Jerusalem (which is the nicer part) and went to a crepe cafe. It was really good! I think one of those would really flourish in Provo. I'll have to look into it... Tomorrow we leave for Jordan and we'll be gone for 4 days. I'll write again when we get back!

Hezekiah's Tunnel!

2008-02-27T20:34:00.006+02:00

At the 3-d movie they showed before we went to David's City

Today I went to King David's City. It was so fun! I got to see archaeologists at work and walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel. The story behind Hezekiah's Tunnel is really interesting, so I think I'll tell you all about it. Orginally, Jerusalem got its water from a spring outside the city walls called Gihon Spring. However, since it was outside the city, if Jerusalem were ever under siege they would be without a water source, so when Hezekiah was king, he had a tunnel dug to move it inside the city. He followed the prophet's council when he did this, and as a result was promised that Jerusalem would not be taken by the Assyrians, who were rumored to be coming to overtake Jerusalem. He said that not a single arrow would enter the city, which was a miraculous promise since that was one of the main ways the Assyrians usually took cities. Well, the Assyrians came and camped out. The next morning, they "woke up dead" according to the Bible. Bible scholars think that the black plague was sent upon the Assyrians, so many people died and the rest left.
Today, I walked down Hezekiah's Tunnel. It was definitely one of my favorite things I've done since I've been here! Basically, Hezekiah's Tunnel is a little bit wider than my shoulders and has water that goes up to my calves. It takes about 20 minutes to walk through, and it's so fun! It requires a headlamp which makes it more of an adventure. If you ever go to the Holy Land, I would totally recommend doing this.

Walking through the tunnel. This was at one of the deeper spots in the tunnel.

This was an "after" picture. Our pants are pretty wet!

The Pool of Siloam. This is where Jesus healed the blind man by putting the clay on his eyes. It's also where Hezekiah's Tunnel ends. The Pool used to be full, but since they started regulating the water it's been empty.

Spelunking in Zedekiah's Cave!

2008-02-23T18:17:00.006+02:00

On Thursday we only had 1 class, so I basically had a free day. I decided to go to Zedekiah’s Cave with a few other people, and it was so fun! Apparently Zedekiah’s Cave started out as a natural cave, but by the First Temple Period, it was used as a quarry; the stone was even perhaps used as building blocks for Solomon’s Temple! It’s been quarried out a lot and it goes down really deep. There were lots of signs that said “No Passage” or areas that had chains to deter exploring, but there was a certain section that didn’t have any warnings yet was off the trail. Well, we took the lack of chains to mean that we could go there, and it was so worth it! We crawled through tunnels and ended up in a small chamber that had water dripping in it, making new cave formations. I’ll definitely be back there soon!

This was in the hidden chamber. Don't we really look like we fell?

An Earthquake, Snow, and Breakdancing Jews

2008-02-20T18:58:00.014+02:00

Jews breakdancing to a dreadlocked jazz-playing saxophoner. You don't see that every day!

Hello my loyal readers! Sorry it’s taken so long for me to update…I really don’t have a good excuse but I resolve to do better. Since I last blogged, I’ve seen quite a few things:

We went to Jericho and saw the excavations of the walls. These aren’t the walls that fell down when Joshua besieged them, although at first the archaeologists thought they were. In fact, these predate those famous walls by a few thousand years. However, the walls that probably were Joshua’s walls have been carted off as rubble and probably will never be found again.

Some walls in Jericho. I learned that not only is Jericho the oldest continuously occupied city in the world (since 10000 BC), it's also the lowest city in the world.

Next we went to a monastery on the Mount of Temptation, where Satan tempted Jesus after 40 days of fasting. Quruntal Monastery was so cool because it was built into the side of the mountain! Inside one of the chapels they have what they believe is one of the rocks that Satan asked Jesus to turn to bread. The view from up there was amazing, and the Dead Sea was so close!

View from the top of the monastery

Inside the monastery. On one side is the rock of the mountain, and on the other is the living quarters for the monks!

We went to the Bell Caves, too. A long time ago the residents used to quarry rock from here and they eventually made caves in a bell shape. They were really large and airy. We were singing because the acoustics are so good in the cave, and it must have woken up the bats, because one of the girls in my group had a bat poop on her! Later we went to different caves (I can’t remember what they’re called), but I got to crawl through a long tunnel into a deep cave where the Greeks used to keep doves. I love spelunking!

At the Bell Caves

On another field trip, we went to the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath. We each got slings, and after seeing the fight reenacted, we got to practice throwing stones with them. It was so fun!

I didn't do very well with my slingin' skills. I need a little more practice. But I sure look fierce!

I have also been privy to lots of odd natural occurrences lately (well ok, two). On Monday I was sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch when all of a sudden the table started shaking. At first I thought it was maybe just some construction, but the shaking went on for about 30 seconds or so, much too long for that. It was an earthquake! And yesterday, some of our classes were canceled because of snow. I never thought I'd have another snow day after living in Connecticut, and especially not at college in Jerusalem. But even the slightest amount of snow shuts down the city, and as a result I had a pretty relaxed day (which was nice for a change).

Today we went to the Yad Vashim Holocaust Museum. I’ve been to a couple of these. They all seem to have the same presentation, but I enjoyed this one because we had a tour guide who told us stories of some of the victims and survivors; it made it a lot more personal. One cool story was about siblings (a boy and a girl) who were separated as they went to concentration camps. They both survived, and one went to Canada while the other went to Israel. They’d both heard from different sources that no one from their village survived, so they didn’t look for anyone from their family. Last year, the woman’s grandchildren had to do research on their genealogy and they knew that all of their grandmother’s family had perished in the Holocaust, so they looked on the Yad Vashim website to find records of them. Well, they found a testimony from their grandmother’s brother that said she perished in the Holocaust. They found out his information and they reunited after 65 years of being apart! I thought that was incredible.

Well, that’s about it for now. I promise I’ll do better keeping you updated from now on!

Things I Miss About America

2008-02-06T18:32:00.000+02:00

As I have almost reached my one-month mark abroad, I have to pause and reflect on my time here. I've loved every minute of it, but there are definitely some things that are less than stellar here. Therefore, I have come up with a list of things I miss about America:
1. Lane, my family, and my friends
2. Free toilets with toilet paper, paper towels, and soap
3. Mexican food
4. The ability to have more than 7 choices of what to wear each morning
5. Understanding what people are saying
6. TV!
While most of these things are not important to my survival, they do make my life more enjoyable and so I'm counting down the days until I can return to indulge in these pleasures!

Egypt and the 10 Plagues

2008-02-04T17:21:00.000+02:00

Sunset in Luxor

This sign was in my room on our overnight train from Luxor to Cairo. You can enlarge it by clicking on it-you HAVE to read it

I just got back from Egypt! It was awesome to see so many of the world-renowned archaeological sites I’ve been hearing about my whole life. I saw the pyramids, Hatsheput’s Temple, and King Tut’s sarcophagus. I also went on a carriage ride (I got to drive for a bit!) and went shopping at a famous bazaar.

Even though I got to do tons of fun stuff, I still experienced a little taste of what the Egyptians might have endured when Moses sent the plagues on them. On our first day in Luxor, I came down with the flu and so I had to stay in. The next day I decided to go out even though I wasn’t feeling totally recovered. As we went in Ramses IV’s tomb in Valley of the Kings, I started feeling faint, and about 2 minutes in I flat-out fainted! Needless to say I didn’t get to see the other tombs planned for the day. The day after that I inevitably caught a cold, which I maintained until the end of our Egypt trip. Oh well, if you’re going to get sick in a country, it might as well be one where there’s a history for you to follow!

Me at the reins in the carriage

Zhoser's pyramid (the first pyramid ever built in Egypt)

My one hookup in Egypt. I know, he's pretty old.

The pyramids! Well, one of them. It was one of about 4 rainy days that they get every year. Go figure it would happen to me!

A Visit to the Beauty Saloon and to See Marc Chagall

2008-01-25T16:22:00.000+02:00

Who wouldn't want to go to the "Beauty Saloon"? I know a lot of people who would really enjoy that experience. Also, I'm a little confused since there are books inside...

So as you've probably noticed, it's been a few days since I've posted anything. It's not that I haven't wanted to, just that I haven't had ANY time at all! Which is weird, because I didn't go out and see lots of sights. I guess schoolwork is finally catching up with me. I went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Knesset, and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls (we weren't allowed to take pictures at the last 2 places though-sorry). The Knesset is the parliament for Israel. It was really cool to see, and there was tons of artwork by Chagall so I enjoyed it. We're leaving for Egypt on Sunday for 8 days, so my next post won't be until...Tuesday? I think it'll probably be around then. Until then, here are some pictures from that past couple of days to tide you over.This is a picture of what Jerusalem would have looked like during the Second Temple Period.

This was in a cistern underneath the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was really cool because it's a huge cavern filled with water and it's really echoey ( I have no idea how to spell that).

Just a picture in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It's kind of blurry because it's so dimly lit, but I didn't realize it until I got back.

So Yeah, I Was on the History Channel!

2008-01-20T19:33:00.000+02:00

A view of the Jerusalem Center

It seems like even though I post an entry every few days, so much happens that I have to catch everyone up. Saturday after church I went to the Orson Hyde Park and Garden of Gethsemane with some friends, and it was really cool, although not exactly what I expected. I was thinking that the Garden of Gethsemane would look rather like it does in the paintings with Christ in them, but it all looks relatively new. I'm not sure exactly why, but there's this separate little garden that's different from the main touristy one, and if you tell them you're Mormon, they unlock the gate and let you in. It was pretty cool to be a VIP, especially when I saw other people glancing in and wondering how we got in there.

The "Mormon section" of the Garden of Gethsemane

This cat just jumped up on my bench while I was reading my scriptures in Gethsemane. I guess we're buds now.

Today I had class until 12, but as soon as we were done, I headed out to the city. My group and I were looking to go to the Temple Institute, where the rather extremist Jews are showcasing all of the items they have ready for when the Third Temple is built on the Temple Mount. We did eventually get there, but as we were walking to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, we saw some people filming something, and so we stopped to see what it was. The History Channel was doing a special on Judas Iscariot and were interviewing passersby about their views on him. It was basically a debate between this guy who started a new religion worshiping Judas and whoever wanted to take him on. I am terrible at arguing, so I didn't attempt, but a girl I was with did, and so I'm definitely in the background of the shots for about 10 minutes. I don't know how much they'll use when it actually airs, but look for me sometime in the spring!

Finally! A picture of the Western Wall!

The Golden Menorah that the people at the Temple Institute had made for whenever the Third Temple is built. They're really prepared.

This was the TV show being filmed. The guy in the plaid pants was the founder of the Judas religion, and the people surrounding him were being interviewed. I was definitely in the background :)

Picasso! And Great Views of Jerusalem

2008-01-18T13:06:00.000+02:00

The Tower of David

Amazingly, the Dome of the Rock has not been the highlight of my trip to the Holy Land thus far. On Wednesday, we didn't have any classes so we all went out in the city for the whole day. I went to David's Tower, which had a fabulous view of the Old City, a Jewish market, and my favorite part...I got to see famous art for free! Kind of on a lark some friends and I decided to walk around West Jerusalem, and there was this art museum called the Ticho House, where an artist and her husband used to live. Inside there were 3 Picassos, 2 Renoirs, 2 Matisses, and a Warhol as well as a photograph of Kate Moss. I was so excited to stumble across this unknown house full of original, famous art! That's my favorite part of traveling. After that, we went to an Ethiopian Church nearby. It was completely circular and had all sorts of interesting paintings of fanciful creatures.

The Jewish Market. All of those are spices!
The only Picasso I could sneak a picture of ;)
A street performer on Ben Yehuda Street

On Thursday, we had a field trip where the classes went out on mountaintops and saw Jerusalem from different angles. We were at the Augusta Victoria Tower and could see the Dead Sea and Jordan from the top! Apparently, it is highly unusual for you to be able to see that far away. We also got to sing hymns in the actual church, which was so cool. I saw Bethlehem from far away and the wall that surrounds it now, and as I was looking into the distance at one place I saw what I think might have been a rocket. After reading the news I came to that conclusion because Gaza is relatively close and they were having a feud yesterday. Don't worry though; I'm safe, and nothing has ever happened to anyone at the Jerusalem Center. It's just so weird to me that I can see a "war" going on just a few miles away from where I live.

From this picture, you can see the path the Jesus took on the last day of His life. It starts on the left, where it is thought that He ate the Last Supper with his disciples, and then ends up on the right at the Garden of Gethsemane.

The view from the Augusta Victoria Tower. The white that you can see underneath the mountain range is the Dead Sea, and the the mountain range is Jordan!

The Temple Mount!

2008-01-15T21:25:00.000+02:00

When I was watching a documentary on Jerusalem with my family, Dave told me to look at the top spire of the Dome of the Rock so I can compare it in person . I saw it Dave!Me and my roommate Lisa. We wore head scarves to increase our chances of getting into the Dome. However, it was to no avail. I guess my blonde hair and blue eyes gave me away.

After wanting to see the Dome of the Rock pretty much ever since I've seen pictures of Jerusalem, I finally went today! It was astounding to see in person. The guards are very careful about how many people they let on, and they have specific hours for visiting. I walked up the scaffolding to the top of the Temple Mount (which is located above the Western Wall), turned the corner, and there was the Dome of the Rock! It was so cool to see it in real life. The tiles are so ornate; the mosque is beautiful. We tried to go inside, but they wouldn't let us because we haven't converted to the "true religion".

Busy Days...

2008-01-14T09:14:00.000+02:00

This picture is kind of compliments of my family because they got me an awesome camera for Christmas which takes panoramic photos. Not too bad for my first one, huh?

My days in Jerusalem are jam-packed with activities. Every morning we wake up at around 6 because we have to eat before classes, which start at 7:30. It's really tough because I'm not really a morning person. On Saturday (the Sabbath), I went to the Garden Tomb, where Jesus was buried. I went on a tour there, and the tour guide pointed out what scholars think is Golgatha-it's right next to the Garden Tomb! As you probably know, Golgatha means the “place of the skull”, and I always assumed that just meant that’s where they put the people they were crucifying. However, our tour guide told us that the rocks are actually in the shape of a skull.

This is Golgatha. You can kind of make out 1 eye, but the other one crumbled after construction of a nearby minaret (where they do the Muslim calls to prayer) and a bus depot. Also, the mouth is no longer visible because of the bus depot below it. It's crazy what they do to the historical sites here.

On Sunday, we had classes, which was so weird. After class, I went out and walked around the walls of the Old City. The views were amazing. People actually live right up to the walls, so as we were walking, we would see people on their roofs and talk to them. We walked by a school, and there were some little boys sitting on the steps. As I was walking up the steps, one of the boys pinched my butt! I was warned about this in my orientation, but I didn’t really expect it from 10-year-olds. After we got done walking the walls, we ended up right by the entrance to the Temple Mount, where Dome of the Rock is located. We talked to a guard who said that it’s open for a few hours every day, although not when we were there. I’m so excited to be able to go up there because it’s been closed to visitors since 2000! I’ll definitely be taking a ton of pictures.

Today I started my Arabic class. I won’t be learning much in the way of writing the language; the class is only 1 credit hour so it’s more about learning conversation and customs. My teacher is amusing so I’m sure it’ll be an exciting semester with him. I also went to the Rockefeller Museum, which has artifacts from ancient Jerusalem and the surrounding area. There were all kinds of sculptures and frescoes, and the best part-there was gorgeous jewelry! I wish I could have taken pictures but it was prohibited. Tonight we have FHE, and I’m a the “mom”, which means I’ll be in charge of the activities. Anyone have any ideas?

The Old City Walls and part of the view. Amazing!

My First Post!

2008-01-11T07:50:00.000+02:00

This is the view from my room...Aren't you jealous?

Well everyone, I decided to make a blog so you can check on my progress in Israel. After traveling for over 24 hours, I finally arrived in Jerusalem at 5:15 pm (their time). The Jerusalem Center is on Mount Scopus, which overlooks the whole city. It's an amazing view of the city. So far we have toured around the city and have seen (from far away) the Mount of Olives, the Garden Tomb, and Orson Hyde Park. We'll actually go to them later. Today, we went to the Western Wall for Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. There were hundreds of Orthodox Jews dressed all in black with their hats and long locks of hair at the wall praying and welcoming the Sabbath. To them, the Sabbath is a celebration, and they sing and dance. It was really fun to see. I would have taken pictures, but Jewish law prohibits any work on the Sabbath, which includes electronics working (my camera would have to "work" to take a picture). When I go back on a different day, though, I'll take some pictures. Ok, well I WAS going to post some pictures, but the internet up in this joint sucks so it's taking forever. I'll do it tomorrow when I don't have anything else to do (Saturday is the Sabbath here for us too!)In America, vending machines sell candy. In Vienna, they sell rocks...

My closet is so small, it's sad. What's even sadder is that I don't even have enough clothes to fill it up! I don' t know how I'll survive 4 months with a week's worth of outfits.

The courtyard leading into my room