The Last Day

here is an awesome 360 pan of the students on the balcony of the center on the last day in Jerusalem!!!

http://www.360cities.net/image/byucenterstudentsfall2009

I leave tonight/ tomorrow morning at 2 am and I am 100% excited to go home for Christmas, and 100% traumatized to be leaving this place and these people. We sang " Each Heart that Touches us for Good" and "God be With you Till we Meet Again" yesterday and I totally LOST it both times.
today, however, was the perfect day. It was a free day and we were able to go out in the city. My goal goign into the city today was to make it one to remember for a lifetime, to typify my experience here. And it exceeded all my expectations! I really feel like had Christ gone to the Old City today, he would have done exactly as I had. It is the most amazing feeling!!! Here is the condensed rundown:
Nathan, Alison, Sarah and I went to the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock first thing this morning

Christmas Concert!

A man videotaped our Christmas concert and put it up on Youtube! Here is the link. I haven't been able to watch it, so hopefully it isn't embarassing. HA! it was really fun and an awesome experience to share withthe community. They were so grateful and it was powerful to feel the Christmas spirit with Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

http://www.youtube.com/ramitelaviv#p/u/9/ROEOzERY-8E



http://www.youtube.com/ramitelaviv

The dead sea take two!

Iseriously LOOOVVEEE the dead sea! Here is me, Nathan, and Sarah: two of my best friends. This is legit dead sea mud. it is BLACK!!!! soooo funn!!!!

Man of the Shroud- The Shroud of Turin

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

these pictures are off the internet and not mine- the internet can't upload them. sorry! you will have to hold your breath in anticipation for my own killa shots!

Today we went on a Christian churches field trip in the old city and I had a blast! I have been to most of these places aleady, but going as a group, with a purpose, with a professor who knows everything really made it worth while. (The church of the holy sepluchre is where all other Christian denominations venerate the crucifition, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.) It is one of my favorite places ON EARTH. Ok imagine a small Hogwarts: super old, kinda creepy, dirty, stone, random doors, balconies, pictures, crazy people, people in all sorts of robes and hats speaking all sorts of languages and words and making interesting sounds. It is dark in there with candles and intense incense smells. Golden things are hanging from the vaulted ceilings and there are random nocks, basements, and crypts. Yes it really is that awesome and exciting! It was originally built by Queen Helena in the 390’s, then destroyed in 1009, then rebuilt in 1049, then changed, added to, partly demolished, etc. aka AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOMMMMMMEEee.

Then we went to Herodian- Herod’s summer palace near Jerusalem. He literally built a mountain. It looks like a volcano and there are spiraling tunnels and cisterns throughout the coned mountain. There I bought my first magnum bar of Jerusalem(a DELCIOUS European icecream bar treat that everyone always buys here but I haven’t gotten one here yet-too many calories and sheckels!) it was white chocolatre and strawberry icecream. SSSSSSo good. American white chocolate has never quite done it for me, but Euro/ ME white chocolate is a different breed!

Abu Goush!

On our first day back after the Galilee (which I hope to later report on), a group of 12 of us got a taxi to Abu Goush, a suburb of Jerusalem, which houses an incredible Crusader Chapel, and best of all: the largest Elvis Restaurant outside of Tennessee. WOW i know. haha this place was SPECTACULAR. After passingthe gas station it was ajoined to and 2 epic, larger-than-life scupltures of the king himself, we entered THE Elvis Diner where I treated myself to a mightily delicious milkshake in an Elvis of Jerusalem souvenir mug. The experience was well worth the 25 sheckles! Afterwards, we found the Church of the Resurection, the Crusader chapel built in the 12th century. This place was incredible and we took full advantage of the acoustics as an good mormon would. There is just something about singing silent night in a vaulted, stone cathedral. There are surviving frescoes on the walls and the place felt like all churches should (and how many in this land don't).

Cats and Geckos!

Among other things, the city and center are crawling with cats and Geckos. Some cats are affectionately named, for example Diseasey, and others come and go. Recently, A big black cat gave birth to a liter of 7, all black but one grey. The cat has been learning some tricks lately and today she was the star of the lunch half-time show! She had caught a gecko and ripped off its tail. I have seen lizards' tails twist and twitch for a while after violent removal, but this one was OUT OF CONTROL. it was flipping and spinning, lashing and whipping, and driving the kitty crazy! She had the gecko in her mouth, then would go catch the tail,then chase back after the escaping lizard, then catch both with her paws, then fling one across the balcony. She was having a ball playin with her treat(s). It was NUTS! We watched, cheered, screamed, and gagged for a good ten minutes during this wild display.

Pumpkin Hour!!

this is the outside of Damascus gate, but I have never seen it this abandoned. Multiply the number of people by about 14 and that is the least crowded it gets.


SO we are not allowed in the Old City or West Jerusalem after dark, so come 4:12, you will see groups of mormons sprinting through the city, out Damascus gate, down the hill, and back up the hill! It is rather comical and we are known for it throughout the city; no one is surprised and we are cheered on by the various shopkeepers. To make it even more amusing, and frustrating, there are always thousands of tourists/pilgrims lining the Via Delorosa (the Christ crucifixtion walkway), gathered around a preacher or tourguide. We plow our way through like any good middle easterner (it has taken some time to learn that trick!), but there is also always carts stacked 8 feet high with Pitas, dome of the rock alarm clarks, cinnomon sticks, or hundreds of other things. These carts don't stop either! I bet the death toll by goods-cart exceeds that of any other within the Old city. Welcome to Jerusalem!

Just call me Guru

I have been an exercise buff for years, and I have found my calling! I aspire to be an aerobics instructor of some kind. You think I joke, but nay! I have even started a little following here... Yoga! 6:30 am, every day! I promise you a flawless downdog in 3 days. Bring your smile and tuck in your shirt! It is a blast and even Enya with her Orinoco Flow joined us this morning!

Halloween!

Panoramic Pictures!

My teacher took amazing panorama pictures. I am in lots of them!
http://www.360cities.net/image/abdullahmosque
check it out!

Jerash

Jerash, Jordan is the best preserved Roman city. It was one of the ten cities of the Decapolis and was a major urban center during the turn of the millenium. It was incredible to walk down the Roman, paved walk-way, which was half a mile long, and pretend to be a Roman noble. Passing fountains, shops, and hundreds of sky-high columns. I loved this city, especailly the reinactment at the hippodrome... The hippodrome is where they used to have fights and chariot races! They partly restored this one, which is a mini mini-version of Circus Maximus (but still sat 15,000 people), ir order to do these reinactments and beleive you me, that was the best $10 i have ever spent!!!! They had a roman legion come out and do weapons drills and prance around, then had gladiator fights where the audience determined the ultimate fate of the loser: " La mort! La Vie!" as the little french boys were chandting and screaming behind me. Hilarious! One of the gladiators was a BIG boy struttin around in a little skirt down in the sand and i obviously took an instant liking to him. haha i whistled and yelled at/for him and in return, he would raise his sword at me and flex his pecs, sending them a'bouncin. HAA!!!!! I nearly died. Afterwards, I took a picture with him. He said "Can I see you later? Come closer? Green eyes? Goddess. Can I see you later?" haha i swear those are the only english words they teach these arab boys.
I also got a ride in a chariot, nearly trampled by said chariot driver, and a jumping picture with a hord of old, armed Arabs :)

Petra!

Ok if anyone told me they had one day in the Middle East and asked what they should do, I would say, without hesitation, to GO TO PETRA! It is the most amazing city! Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade shows the treasury of this city, huge pillars and sculptures carved into the rock cliff face. Petra is sooooo much more than this though! There are dozens and dozens of tombs, temples, buildings, caves, etc carved into the rock everywhere in the canyon and valley. Various niches and shapes carved into the walls. It is soooo cool! One of the best parts is you can just hike up and around the mountains/valleys and just find these things everywhere! Egypt was amazing, but you really felt like a tourist. Here, I felt like an adventurer, or a Persian Princess on my white horse too to visit the Nabateans in my silky, gem encrusted outfit. AH!!!! The structures were built by the nabateans between 600bc-200ad and in their later years they had a lot of Roman influence. Consequently there is a huge ampitheater, originally Nabatean but expanded by the Romans, reinactment markets, and all kinds of stuff.ah. I can't even express how awesome it was, especially since I'm pretty sick of relating all the stories. On the way back up the canyon, I got to ride a horse! I asked the horse leader for the reigns and he let me just take off through Petra! Petra=Exceeded Expectations. Pictures to come!

Elder Holland came to Town!

SO yesterday I had a really awesome, really hard, really rotten day. But it was LIFE ALTERING! SO Elder Jeffrey Holland came into town... and the place was in a bit of an uproar. But first, the beginning of the day. (O and background; I have been in charge or organizing a trip to a cool cave and the churches/birth place of john the Baptist and it has been quite the undertaking. NOTHING went right in the planning of it) ok I have made a goal to do my scripture study in the morning, the early morning, every day before ANYTHING. Breakfast, working out, class, you name it. So obviously I have not been getting a ton of sleep, but it has been so rewarding. So Sunday rolls around and it didn’t occur to me to do my scripture study in the morning because I was going to church you know. BIG mistake. I just felt like I had a rock on my soul throughout the entire meeting. I was trying so hard to feel the spirit and be teachable and to listen, but every time I had a cool spiritual thought or insight, someone would come up to me and say how they decided not to go on the trip I was organizing and were super rude about it, even though they were the ones who had previously committed to going. I was really stressed about it and it made me so frustrated! I wanted to have an amazing spiritual day! It was even the day of the primary program. Ha-ha hilarious. 14 kids in the primary, and it was everything a primary program should be. Loved it- when the kids sang "Families can be together forever" and "I love to see the temple", it made half the audience bawl- myself included. I’m so excited to have a family. Not in a rush- just excited ;) .So the rest of church was like that: almost spiritual high, then a crashing stressor. Bah! Then came dinner. I walked up to the line all nonchalantly, and was told that elder Holland would be joining us for dinner. What?! Ah! ha-ha we all kinda freaked out. It was like the Christmas anxiety you know. Like "SANTA!!! SANTA'S COMING!!! SANTA! I KNOW HIM!!!!!" but when he walked in the room, this beautiful peace distilled over everyone and even though the room completely revolved around him, it felt calm. Neat experience. Then we had a fireside where he spoke. The beginning musical number was a rendition of "Master the tempest is raging" (which is one of my favs ps) and was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MUSICAL NUMBER EVER. It was seriously haunting. We have some of the most talented people here I swear. Then after Elder Porter (first quorum of the 70), his wife, and Patricia Holland spoke, Elder Holland hit the podium. Literally. One of the first things he said to us, after kissing his wife's hand and publically thanking God for her existence and daily effect on his life (so sweet), was "Don't you dare go home the same person." his talk stemmed from two things: 1- the scripture in Luke from the end of Christ's sermon on the mount when he says 'be ye merciful, even as your Father in Heaven is merciful. IN all the other accounts of this, the apostles say he said "be ye perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect". Elder Holland then took this to mean that perfect and merciful are synonymous, giving us a conceivable goal and reality of perfection. Wow. k then 2- he took " the most powerful day in the entire BOM", where Christ visits the Nephites and talks about how, when he told the Nephites he was going to leave, the Nephites' eyes welled up with tears as if to beg him to tarry. Christ's "bowels were filled with mercy and compassion".
Some powerful conclusions were: MERCY ALWAYS TRUMPS JUSTICE, and we must all be a little more merciful: say thank you one more time, say I love you one more time, one more kind word, one more smile. It was amazing! I recorded it, but the recording isn't the best. O well! Then after, I got to give he and his wife a hug! Special experience.
O and the field trip thing I was in charge of today turned out fantastic and I know it was 100% by divine intervention. Phew!

Yad Veshem: The Holocaust Museum

Today we had the amazing opputunity to visit Israel's Holocuast Museum and it was an incredible and HARD experience. The museum is impressively well done; just the architecture of the building holds so much meaning. It is a triangular underground tunnel, cutting through the mountain. You can see the exit, but must navigate through all the side rooms in order to reach it. I have never felt the way I felt today walking through this museum and witnessing the rise of the Nazis and anti-semitism, then the start of WWII, deportation of Jews, and their evental extermination. 6 million Jews were massacred in less than four years, 1.6 million of them were children. I felt so wretchedly heartbroken and I can't even bring myself to talk about some of the graphic images and stories I saw and heard. It scared me so bad to SEE what evil mankind, my brothers and sisters, are capable of doing to eachother. The power of satan and interesting paralleles to the way he and the nazis work were frightening. It really was a tramautic experience, but I'm so glad we got to go. I think it is so important to know what men without love will become. We need to be aware of these evils in our society, which are alive and well, and take measures to erradicate them. In a very confusing way, it was also good to feel anguish- it reminded me how soft my heart has become and how much I want to keep it that way. Two of my favorite quotes from the exhibit were said from indivduals who risked everything to help a jew: "I do nto know what a Jew is, we only know what human beings are" -(Pastor Trocme)
"I know that when I stand before God on judgement day, i shall not be asked the question posed to Cain- Where were you when your brother's blood was crying out to God?" -(Imre Bathory)

It is also interesting to note the way the Palestinians have been treated by Jews here in Israel. Why does the world not remember?

Joke is on Becca!

The security guards here at the center are BIG jokesters. We are always playing little tricks on each other and goofing around! The other day, my good friend Becca went up to the security office to ask them a question, and when she walked in the door, she saw him duck behind a desk. She paused for a second, then saw him come up and go back down quickly. She laughed and said, tauntingly, "Hey!...Are you hiding from me? I see you-" then she looked down and saw the prayer rug he was kneeling on. He was totally praying! Haha! She turned bright red and high-tailed it out of there. I will never let her live that one down! Needless to say, it has been a bit of a cultural adjustment for us all, being sourrounded by other kinds of very religious people.

Herding Sheep on the Shephalah

Today we went to a bible lands garden thing where they grow all the plants in the bible and show us the various daily processes like making bread, cooking, sowing, reaping, grafting, etc. He had us attempt to herd some sheep/goats. It was pretty hilarious; those are HILARIOUS animals. We didn't do so well... then the guide taught us how as well as a HUGE lesson on shepards, on leadership, and, in my opinion, on Christ: Shepards lead from the back. They see what is before, around, and behind the sheep. He knows the sheep and is responsible for them. There is always a lead sheep/goat and, interestingly, it is always a female. The Shepard has a special relationship with this sheep and trusts her to listen to him, even though he is behind. The sheep know his voice. There is a "legend" like story about Moses when he was a shepard: he was herding the sheep when he discovered one gone. He left the herd and found the one sheep drinking from the stream. Instead of yelling, scolding, and punishing the little sheep, he put the little on his back and said, " I am so sorry. I did not know you were thirsty". This can be equated with parents whose children who stray... He also told a story about a 600 head herd in Jordan that happened last year. The herd was grazing among the cliffs (cliffs are everywhere around here) and the lead sheep lost her footing, falling off the edge and to her death. The other sheep trusted their lead sheep so much, they all jumped off the cliff after her. None survived. How well do we trust and follow our leadership?
Super cool eh? i am blessed with new insights every day! BAH! i can barely keep up with them!!!!!!

The Dead Sea!!!

Today, I organized a group of 14 girls to go down to Ein Boqaqe to hike and swim in the dead sea! It was incredible. We hiked up a wadi (stream bed) and found these series of waterfalls and pools. It was lush and beautiful right in the middle of the nasty arid Judean wilderness! The Dead Sea is the most incredible thing ever- but tastes worse then the nastiest Ocean Barf I have ever experienced. NASTY. I felt like an astronaut! You float!!! WOW it is like swimming in oil. We got the special mud and did a mud skin treatment. So fun. And, true to form, I can cross one more thing off my bucket list: swimming in the Dead Sea- the lowest point on earth!

My random favorite things now!

1- I LOVE my head lamp flashlight. I almost didn't buy one, but $15 at walmart has brought me so much joy. Caving is 100% amazing with a headlamp!
2-Candybars. I have never loved them before, but now i'm a little obsessed. There aren't really baked goods here, so those are THE thing. O dear I hope I break this habbit!
3-Pita bread- breakfast, lunch, dinner, desert: Legit pita bread makes the whole world better.
4-MAIL!!! O wait. that was already a favorite thing. and I haven't gotten any here. hm.
5-The scriptures! They already were, but now the Old Testament has entered my heart. :)
6-My pink plastic, 25 cent headband. With my hair in the between, awkward stage, it has been a life saver because my hair is SO frustrating when it won't stay out of my face! Espcially when i sweat buckets everyday walzing up and down these steep hills.
7- Fanny pack- i wish I could bring these back to fashion. They really do rock and are 100% convienient.
8- MY CAMERA!!!! I have developed this obsession with photography and I take tons of artsy pictures and lots of them turn out darn good if i do say so myself. My dream is to have a great camera. Like a canon Rebel or m11 or something. sigh. but my little cannon sureshot has done some amazing things!
9-Sweet potatoes. the cafeteria is so good here and makes the most delicious sweet potato soups, sweet salads, salty salads, fries, cubes, you name it. so good. there are no words.

Hezekiah's Tunnel

So today we went on a field trip to the City of David! In other words, the orginal Jerusalem built when King David conquered the Jebusites and established 'Jerusalem'. There are all kkinds of ruins and things are clearly seen! I stood where David would have when he saw Bathsheba...and of course we re-inacted it as acurately as possible :) In the city of David, there is the pool of Siloam, Hezikiah's tunnel, and Warren's shaft. Ok, sorry for the history lesson, but if needs to be explained! K Warren's shaft was a passage way from the city on the hill to the stream i nthe valley. In fact, the Jebusite city fell becuase Joab climbed up through this water shaft into the city! In order to keep that from happening again and to protect the water source, King Hezekiah dug a tunnel bringing the water from the Gehon spring right into the city. This tunnel is over almost a fourth of a mile long and goes through the mountain limestone!! We got to climb through this tunnel, hunched over and flooded. We got soaked up to our wastes and a few people dropped their flashlights, but it was stupendous!Super neat!

Some of my fav pics

Camel anyone?

One of the afternoons in Luxor we took a Faluka (sailboat) ride accross the Nile and met with a camel "caravan"! We all saddled up and took a camel ride down a path adjacent to the river Nile!!! We each had a camel leader, all under the age of 17. My guide was 13 year old punk named Mustaf. These boys were hilarious! They would hand us the reigns, then run down the line to a buddy and get a cigarette or a sip of beer or something. All the men (shop keepers, security guards, kids, you name it) try their darndest to flirt with us, perhaps in the hopes that one day they may score a wife and ticket to America, but it is rather hilarious and obnoxious. If I only had a dollar for everytime my eyes were beautiful or i was more beautiful than Cleopatra! These kids had it down to an art. We rode right at sunset and it was beautiful- right out of Arabian nights- incredibly romantic. Maybe if Mustaf had a few more years under his belt.... Just kidding!
Apparently i was a natural at camel back so Mustaf told me to sit like an Egyptian; cross legged atop the camel. I was all over that, espcially after he handed me the reigns. He smacked the camel's rear and off we went- me bouncing comedicaly up and down on the camel. What completed the picture was the fact that I was wearing a skirt that was billowing in the Egyptian breeze. ha! ops... I would have worn pants, but the only pair I brought had a whole the size of a watermelon in the crotch from doing an ultimate punch of the pyramid. Totally worth it! All in a day in Egypt!

LUXOR-THEBES

O and on eating- we were advised to not eat anything that wasn't hot and cooked. We could only drink bottled water and drinks.
Ok We took a plane to Luxor from Cairo and checked into the Sheriton Hotel overlooking the Nile. HOLY COW. the NICEST hotel I have ever been in! It was beautiful! as fun as it was to share a room with two friends, it would have been so much more fun to share it with someone else... So romantic. We had a balcony overlooking the nile- even pictures will not do the place justice.
We hit the valley of the kings in the first morning. I saw Ramses 9, Rames 4, Horemtep, and Tutenkamen's tombs. holy cow! it is unreal how well these places are preserved. The valley of the kings is incredibly narrow- all the tombs are literally next door neighbors. The tombs are hewn from the rock and many go hundreds of feet into the rock with all sorts of chambers, passageways and tombs. My favortie was Horemteps. He died unexpectedly, so his tomb was not completed before they had to seal it up. consequently, you can see the process they used to create the tomb and the hieroglyphs and the paintings. it was incredibly! It put personality into the dead culture. You could see the sketches on the walls, then the fine chiseling, etc. This process could be witnessed in room after room. The granite tomb inside is massive- well over 8 feet tall and 12-15 long. The wealth of this ancient nation is unfathomable, but in contrast, the poverty of the nation now is undescribable. sad! King Tut's tomb is really small, but his mummy is there! I saw king tut! he is very small- 4 foot somethin small. There were only 2 main rooms in his tomb but the wall hieroglyphics were vivid.
We next hit up the temple of Hatshepsut and the pit tomb 33 where the mummy containing the papyrus of Abraham wrapped around his chest, was probably found. We had a really intriguing mini-fireside there. From Hatshepsut's temple, the contrast between the fertile land of the nile and the sourrounding desert is apparent. You can literally walk 3 feet from lush to arid. No wonder the obsession with Nile life and fertility in the culture! The Nile basin and flood plain are GORGEOUS though. I didn't quite expect that, but is is the most fertile land on earth.
We got back in time to go out on the town!! Driving in Egypt is very different than anywhere else I have seen. Rome driving was insane, but now through in HUGE buses, donkeys, carriges, pedistrians, camels, street vendors.... ha it is comedic. We had to go out with at least one guy and good thing they told us that becuase it would have been a nightmare otherwise. The street vendors are desperate sharks who live dollar to dollar. It takes so much energy to enter a market, a shop, or even to walk down the street. Vendors will follow you for streets yelling in your face, saying lewd,rude, or hilarious thing, grabbing your arm, etc. Luxor was just as bad as cairo, which makes sense since 50% of the coutry's income is tourism, and the literacy rate is 49%. yikes. Little children swarm around Americans and beg for money with their beautiful eyes and scrawny arms. It breaks my heart! My friend gave one such little girl a granola bar. She looked at it, then threw it on the ground and held her hand out for money instead. This country has serious problems.
One night in luxor, we crammed 8 of us into a little horse drawn carriage and headed for a market. we were taken on quite the ride! How do millions of people not die every year from traffic problems?? No idea.
We also saw Karnak and Luxor temples- the number one thing I was looking forward to. These 4000 year old structures are massive. detailed. preserved. AWESOME. Sorry my descriptions are lacking a bit... i will add pictures that will help!

Giza

On the way to Egypt, we stopped in lots of biblically and culturally significant spots. You know how it says that the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years?? ok remove wilderness from your mind and instead think of mars with oxygen, or better yet, Hades wasteland of death and despair. The Zin desert/wilderness is amazingly hot and awful- and i was in the bus for the greater part of it. ha. We stayed at a Kibutz (a socialistic Israeli agriculture commune society) becuase it is about a 12 hour drive to Cairo. Approaching Cairo, we saw thousands and thousands of empty, half built buildings. They look like abandoned cities that have never been lived in. Just half built and abandoned. Seriously miles and miles of these lining the roads as far as one could see. It was really bizarre and ghostly. Once we entered Cairo, nothing changed. no building is finished and 99% of it lookes like crap. ha. I asked our guide a few times why on earth it is like that and he said it is a cultural thing here in Egypt to build as much as you can with all the money you have becuase metal, cement, etc are just getting more expensive, so you build your level to live in, then as many levels above as you can for your sons and their families, until you run out of money. Everyone does this, making the country look like a trashy construction sight with homeless people living in some areas. hmm.
The pyramids can be seen all over Cairo and Giza (which are seperate cities) and loom in the hazey distance. When we first caught side of them, everyone in the bus went crazy. the pyramids!!! they exist! they weren't a hoax! To be honest, I teared up a little. This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. I was the little 8 year old girl who would go through National Geographics and cut out everything having to do with Egypt and make posters. After checking into our hotel "The Oasis" (the name fits the place believe you me! it was beautiful), we hit the sound and light show on the pyramids and sphinx. Even though it was a lame show, it got us so excited for the next day!
We had to wake up early in order to get in line to get tickets to go inside the largest pyramid! Apparently Americans are the only people in the whole world who really stand in line. You don't understand. Lines in the middle east are not obligatorialy, and not necesarrily even an option! our guides kept yelling at us to kick people out of the line, be rude, and squish in. As a result, we have all become much ruder line standers! :) After forever (Egypt has had 6000 years to perfect the art of Beaurocracy and boy have they), we got to climb up indside the 400 foot pyramid! THEY ARE MASSIVE. One block is a little shorter than I am. There are lots of blocks. There is not much to see inside, and someone claustrophobic would have a rough go, but it was fun to lay inside of Pharoah Keops' stone coffin. hehe it was my idea and after everyone did it too. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but i'm sure imagination would do better in this case anyway.
We explored the sphinx and necropolis too. Prof Brown (the most expert man on every subjuct i have even known) talked to a small group of us about the relgion of Egypt. It sounds foreign and kind of bizarre, but really it hits very close to home. He spoke about the cleansing and purifying process the Egyptians had and how concerend they were with moral worth and ethics and the importance of imortalilty and eternal life. They built these grand edifices, the pyramids, as a visual reminder of what they needed to be aiming for. He put many ideas in my head concerning all that; gaining this perspective really set the tone for the whole trip and made it worthwhile on a completely new level.

Back from Pharoah Land!

Ok after 8 days I returned home! It is strange that the Jerusalem center is now home... I miss my legit home and family, friends, puppy, etc, but I really feel like i'm supposed to be here- especially after the amazing adventures in EGYPT!!! I guess I will just go through site by site...

Next stop.... PHAROAHS

I'm headed to egypt for eight days!!! we are leaving right now!!!!! Just thought i would brag for a second there... the top concerns are heat, diarhea, and dyhydration...we'll see how I fare...

Cave Slugging!

On our field trip today, I had an EPIC ADVENTURE. We went to "Micah's Cave" (so named because Micah was born in a town nearby) about 30 miles south west of Jerusalem. It was the last stop on our awesome, but tiring, day-long field trip, so when we first got there, not knowing what we were in for, we were not super stoked. Three seconds in, however, and I was JAZZED. We crawled (army and hands-n-knees) through maybe a 30 foot tunnel into a larger room carved into the chalk/limestone, then could pick a variety of side rat holes to explore! I was the leader of our little adventure group and led the way through dozens of winding, twisting, tight, birth canal-like tunnels. They were SO small! There were spots where my shoulders barely fit through while I simultaneously ate a spider web and hit my head on the ceiling. It was the coolest (can i say that? i think yes.) thing I have done here. EPIC.

Wailing sirens and the Wailing Wall

Yesterday as a big group field trip, all 82 of us plus faculty treked to the western wall at sunset to see the devote welcome in Shabbat (Sabbath, today, saturday). En route, we were passed by many police cars and ambulances, but we didn't think much of it; Jerusalem is prone to car accidents. I have already witnessed two and have seen the aftermath of probably5. Anyway so we get to the wall, walk in and see lots and lots of people: modern, tourists, orthodox, conservative, you name it! I was expecting a slightly melancholy group mourning the loss of their temple but that is opposite to what I witnessed. Kids were dancing, people were singing, families were hugging- it was quite the party! we went over to a group of girls who were standing in a circle singing and dancing. Without hestation, the girls/women welcomed us in with open arms, grabbing our hands and teaching us the words to their Hebrew songs. I have never felt so readily welcomed in my life. It was amazing! We danced and sang with the group for a while, then headed over to the temple wall itself to observe the festivities. The joyful atmosphere permiated the entire plaza. It was an inspiring experience!
At the preappointed time, we met back up with our group near the entrance and were told the reason for the sirens earlier in the evening. There had been a shooting and two Palestinians had been shot and wounded in the neighborhood right outside of Dung gate, right outside the western wall plaza. Ah! So instead of walking back, the center bused us home. While waiting in the two buses for everyone to be loaded, the professors did a head count and came up with 81...we walked in with 82.... It was more funny than anything; the kid missing is the one you would expect to be. The kinda quite, super funny, suprisingly adventurous, and totally oblivious one of the group! Bless him. Well we all took the buses back while security stayed and looked for him. He, however, beat everyone back. He had taken a taxi home when we couldn't be found! Officaily a successful night.

Under the Jerusalem Center

So for those of you who don't really know about the Jerusalem Center, let me give you a brief picture about how incredible it is. It is on Mount Scopus, overlooking Jerusalem. It is 8 stories tall, goign down the side of the hill so there is no elevator access; instead there are 150 stairs ( I tend to count them). It was built with THE BEST materials from all over the place Italy, Africa, bla, bla, etc. k and it cost over 20 million to build... in the 80's. It is the single most costly project/building the church has ever built, excluding the new conference center in SLC. WOW. we went on a tour underneath it today and it was pretty neat! There is open space all under the center for maintenance, possible additions, pipes, etc. We got to write our names on the wall down there too, in hopes to get grafitting out of our system before we go too many places around the middle east. Ha!

HEBREW 101: For MI Padre's sake

K dad so you have asked me about 7 thousand times if Hebrew is spoken nowadays, who speaks it, what they do with new words, etc, and I finally have your answer! I had my first day of Hebrew 1 today and learned that Hebrew WAS a dead language and was only learned to read the Torah, etc, but was resurected and now modern Hebrew is the national language of Isreal (as well as Arabic) and very wildly spoken. Beni Hudi (sp?) was the main mastermind of resurecting the language. They come up with new words by using roots of words. The entire language is based off of roots. So for example, the root word to think (taken from ancient Hebrew) is used to create the word for computer. The whole language was built this way! BAM dad. Never ask me again. :)

First Field Trip

on top of the church/synagogue/mosque at Samwil! (prophet samuel's tomb)

this is modern day bethlehem in the background and the closer hill is probably where the shepards were :)

on top of the city wall near Jaffa Gate west of the city

Today we went on a fieldtrip exploring the surrounding area of Jerusalem. I am learning all kinds of really cool things and finally getting a real setting to place my scriptural knowledge. The Augusta Victoria Tower on top of mount olives is an amazing church. It is Byzantine style: decorated with elaborate, sparkling mosaics of Christ, and is made of Pink marble and Limestone. BEAUTIFUL. We got to climb to the top of the tower (a blessed 223 steps) to see the city and get a visual of the Judean wilderness/ Valley of Jordan, and the whole Jerusalem Panorama. HOLY BLEAK. I would rather die than be lost in that wilderness. Believe you me; the picture in the back of the bible does NOT do it justice.

We saw the city of Bethlehem from an overlook and I learned something super neat. It is speculated the lowly shepherds guarding the flocks by night the night of Christ’s birth where Levite shepherds tending the unblemished, first born sheep that would be used as sacrifices for the temple. They were priests; they knew the signs and knew Christ. Bethlehem is super huge by the way, and always has been large. Not the tiny village we all always picture.
Jerusalem and the surrounding area is HUGE. The neighborhoods and cities never end! They dot the landscape as far as the eye can see; and literally dot. They are all built on hill/mountain tops and most are very separate.
We also went to the prophet Samuel’s “Tomb” in Samwil, South of Gibeon and north of Jerusalem. There is a tomb marker/monument in the basement of the building built by crusaders (1100’s ish) and people go in and pray and worship. It is a half buried cylinder. Very interesting. Although I don’t agree with most of the devote people here, it is awesome to be surrounded by devote individuals! I’m used to being one of the few who live their religion. I have great respect for these people.

FOOD!

The cafeteria here is BOMB. They cook it Middle Eastern style, but stick to things we would recognize. I love the bizarre combinations that seem to work INCREDIBLY well. For example, last night there was chicken curry as an option: kind of strong yellow curry with dried apricots, apples, and walnuts in it.Yum. I had the most delicious sweet potatoes a few days ago too. Tasted like apple pie. AH! I’ll look into getting some of these recipes…

First days in the city!

Sorry i'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures without overloading the internet here ... I'll get some up here eventually!
OK! JERUSALEM!
Yesterday we did a walking orientation of the city to wet our palate to this amazing city! The Jerusalem center is NE of the Old city on Mount Scopus, close to the Mount of Olives and therefore on a hill. The old city of Jerusalem is on another hill across from us on the other side of the Kidron valley. And let me tell you these are SERIOUS hills! The Muslim side of town (the east where we are) is significantly dirtier and more conservative than the west side of town (the Israeli side) and not quite as safe.
Today we couldn't enter the city until after 3pm because Friday is Muslim Sabbath! So I waited till then to enter with my new super good friends Kate and Sarah (we have to stay in groups of 3 or more). We did not take into account that every single Muslim in Jerusalem proper would still be in the city and attempting to get out ... AH! We spent close to an hour in Damascus gate, fighting the crowds and attempting to enter with many others while hoards were swimming to the exit. We all got pinched and pressed into but nothing serious. We watched all kinds of people get pick pocketed too! These little children are super cute, with SUPER little hands! Watch out! After almost suffocating, we joined the throng outside-bound and tried to find a new route under the direction of our new friend "Peter", a Muslim high schooler who has lived in the states and knows "us Mormons" (that is what everyone knows us by here and the majority of the people love "the Mormons"). He hung out with us for like an hour and a half! Teaching me Arabic words and showing us shortcuts through the city! I feel bad for letting him down though; when he asked when he could see us again, we couldn't really tell him anything, or where we would be, or our cell numbers or anything. The kid felt totally rejected! Nice kid though. He went with us to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher-kinda crazy building. It is like 20 different churches in one! Complete with creepy statues, altars, people, and smelly crypts. My mom told me there were all kinds of 'interesting' worship going on there when she visited, but everyone was quiet and reserved while we were there. In fact, for some reason, when Kate, Sarah, and I explored the bowels of the church, no one else was to be found. It was super creepy! The dank, rotting smell, shadowy darkness, and millions of tiny crosses carved into the stone walls. We were surprised to find one of these little chapels unchained, and I, like any normal Price kid, snuck behind the stone altar and much to my imagination's wellbeing, found a passageway of death complete with drop off stairs and nasty odor. Hmmm.
We also went through the Jewish quarter to the West wall of the Temple, or the Wailing Wall. Much to my disappointment, there were no intense displays of devotion. It was cool to see the original wall of Solomon's temple and the worship that occurs there daily. Although many of the sites I have seen thus far do not hold a religious significance to me personally, it is really warming to see how these landmarks touch the hearts of other religious individuals. When I see something super weird, it is refreshing to turn around and see others around me with tears in their eyes, in the midst of personal worship. Although I may not understand or agree, their devotion is admirable; I could probably take a lesson from them!
The food here pretty much rocks and the weather isn't too scorching; in fact, the nights are kinda chilly! We had classes for the first time today; YIKES!!! Goodbye GPA!!!! Everyone gets along great and there are so many fun people! It doesn't really occur to me to miss home or much of anything. I'm so busy, distracted and fulfilled here! Minus the fact we aren't allowed to touch anyone. Haha o well! Hopefully I'll survive

Orientation and Up, Up, and AWAY!

At orientation, we were issued super-cool BYU Jerusalem center backpacks, a few books, and a nametag, then corralled into a "No Food or Drink" auditorium for over 3 hours. blllaaaaaaaa. I suppose the information was necessary, but Prof Curl, albeit brilliant, was a tad harsh in his explanation of his expectations, "If you wear a tight shirt, you WILL go home," "If you wear the wrong shoes YOU WILL GE A PLANE TICKET HOME" were among the threats. YIKES! Some things were a surprise, like the banning of hoodies because some people apparently bury themselves inthe recesses of their sweatshirts, but on the whole, we were thoroughly bludgeoned by understandable rules.

4AM came with mixed feelings. First of all, I was headed to JERUSALEM! THE HOLY LAND! MY journey was underway! On the second hand, it was 4 am. Third of all, there was a plethora of misery between me and that great city. ..aka a layover in Denver, a layover in DC, a layover in Vienna, and a bus ride to Jerusalem.
There are 60 girls and 22 boys in the program; plenty of friends to be made and more than enough fun to be had! Everyone seems awesome and this time together, tired, stinky, and loopy, has been great for bonding. Jerusalem here we come!!!