A Friday to Remember

When ever my friend Oliver would come over he would always say "Best and worst." We would then go around the room and tell our best and worst part of the day, and it always made for good conversation. I hope Oliver is still in Idaho when I get back. To follow Oliver's good idea...best and worst for the day. Let's start with worst... Tests. This morning at 7:30 I had Old Testament and we have quizes every few class periods. I am sad to say it, but I am not enjoying my Old Testament class at all. I have always struggled with the Old Testament, so I was hoping that my classes here would really help me pull some meaning out of it instead of make me wonder why it is even scripture at all. Our quizes are usually 40 questions long and becasue we all study so hard, our teacher has to make them trickier and trickier so we all don't score high scores. I definately bombed todays. I don't really care to know what every single person's name in the bible means, or the 5 names of the mountain that had little to do with anything...I want to know how all these weird stories can make me a more Christ centerd person! I can't wait until we get to the New Testament. After two hours of writing down every little trivial thing there is to learn about the geography of the bible, I went to my Judaism class for an hour and then I had Ancient Near Eastern Studies for an hour. We had our first test in that class today, and memorizing information about several thousands of years of the Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures is not something that comes easy for me. I think I did okay on the test, and have actually come to love studying history. It is beginning to make a little more sense to me. After lunch, we had two hours of our Islam class. Having been trapped in the center for more than two days without being able to step outside the walls, and studying like mad has made me a bit homesick today. I have been missing weird things, like watching TV with Mom and Dad on the leather couches in the front room. I especially miss being able to do something by my self. Wake up in an empty room. Drive myself somewhere. Not talk to someone for longer than 30 minutes.... Oh boy. I AM going to end up alone for the rest of my life. I enjoy my personal space too much.
Now for the best of the day: After class, all 80 of us went to the Western Wall for sunset/ the beginning of Shabbat for the Jews. It is an experience I will cherish forever. I have been to the Western Wall a couple of times now, but this was unlike any other time. Each side was packed with Jews, not the tourists I have seen the other times I have gone. Many of them were in their orthodox get up. The women we all dressed very stylish and very conservatively. They are absolutely beautiful women. The women's side is relatively quiet, but on the men's side, there was singing and dancing. I walked to the top of the partitian and watched the people for a good 45 minutes. A large group of soldiers came and were standing not too far from me. At first they all were pretty timid but then they all locked their arms around eachother in a circle and started singing and pretty soon they were bouncing around in a circle. They were all so happy and it was unlike what I was expecting from such a strict and conservative religion. With every Jew that any of us students have walked up to and started talking to, they have been genuinely kind in answering our questions. People from all over the world come to participate in Shabbat at the most holy place on Earth for the Jews. Many fo the boys from the center joined in the festivities going on with the men. As I was watching all of the people celebrating the start of Shabbat, I couldn't help but feel so satified that I was fulfilling a life dream of mine. At times I just want to go out and make a real friend with someone here, but it is hard to tell who is being friendly because they want our money. We have been taught to be so careful that sometimes I think we forget it is okay to be friendly and enjoy that we are here in the Holy Land with some pretty amazing people. This might be weird, but I felt so much love for the people I was observing. I tryed to imagine how Heavenly Father might feel about each one of them. I am sure he doesn't think about their position on the conflict going on over here. He loves them because they are his children. Going to the Western Wall helped snap me out of my bad additude and remember why I am here...to have experiences like that. It didn't matter what other student were around me,or what test I have on Sunday, I was at the Western Wall watching something so sacred to someone else and enjoying every second. It really is hard to explain, but I am feeling so fulfilled.