Mooch in the Middle East

My last post

2008-12-18T09:10:00.002+02:00

Well, the time has finally come. I am slowly packing my bags, and the feeling that I am really leaving is coming even slower. I can't believe a whole semester has already flown by. What a semester it was! I have 80 new best friends, 3 1/2 months of adventure, a good 5-10 lbs. more of me to love, and zero regrets! Half of the group has already left, and the rest of us don't leave until later tonight. It is funny how 40 feels empty. I am excited to go home (how I am exactly getting there is still a mystery). I will miss this place and I will miss having friends always at hand to laugh, cry, learn, and grow with. This city will always hold a little piece of my heart. Walking around the streets yesterday, I can honestly say I felt at home. Last night we had our final dinner and then an awards show with a slideshow. It is an amazing slideshow and I know I will want to pop it in the minute I get home. Be patient with me as I burst into tears every five minutes. I have come up with a solution. I need to join the millionaires club dating service so I can marry someone rich and they can fly me out here when ever I need a good falafle. So mom, what ever you and Brittani were searching for on the internet to get me for Christmas, it better be a plane ticket back out here or a rich husband. Just kidding. But some lypo and cute clothes would proabably help to catch one. Well, I better go back to packing so I can run out into the city one more time. Here goes the end of an adventure and the beginning of a new one. Here we go...

8 Things

2008-12-16T22:04:00.002+02:00

I am actually really excited Annie tagged me! Sorry, but I believe my list is going to top everyone elses. Just part of living in the Holy Land. Here are my 8 things:

8 t.v. shows I enjoy watching
-The Office
-John and Kate plus 8
-Americas Next Top Model
-What Not To Wear
-Little People Big World
-Project Runway
-CSI
-House

8 things that happened yesterday:
- I visited 3 of the holiest sights for the three major religions of the world...all before 10:30 am (Church of the Holy Selplecure, Temple Mount/Dome of the Rock, Western Wall)
-People watched in the Old City
-Ate my favorite bagel things on the steps of the Austrian Hospice
-Ate a waffle with Gelato on top
-Visited Lazuras' tomb
-Bought frankenscense and myrrh
-Shared a bag of pizza rings with little Palestinian boys
-Finished the book Pride and Prejudice ( I am now a woman)
-buckled a seat belt for the first time in over 3 months (it was a nice cab)

8 things I am looking forward to:
-Watching Pride and Prejudice to celebrate finishing the book
-Meeting my new little niece
-The festivities to celebrate our last night in Jerusalem
-Sleeping in my own bed in New Mexico
-Mexican Food
-Annoying eveyone with my millions of stories
-Giving Christmas presents
-my clothes at home

8thing I love about winter:
-Boots
-Cute, cute coats
-Starbucks Hot Chocolate
-Soup
-An excuse to pull out more blankets
-Christmas lights
-Mistletoe :)
-Christmas music

8 things on my wish list
-Peace in the Middle East
-The car industry to survive
-To feel like I look cute when I get back home
-Plenty of opportunities to share my experiences I have here
-An easy semester (I can wish, right?)
-A rich husband
-A life full of traveling
-To smuggle a Palestinian child home

Dead Sea

2008-12-12T18:55:00.008+02:00

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I have been trying to live up all of my last moments and the time is flying by. Finals are almost over and I am wondering how stepping back into the real world will go. I am getting excited to go home. I think having Christmas just arounf the corner is helpfull. Anyway, here are some picture of my float in the Dead Sea. This was definitely one of my favorite experiences of all time. I think it is my favorite body of water on Earth. There is no possible way for fish, or any other sea creature, to live in it. The water is clear and warm. The feeling of bobbing around was one of the oddest/coolest feelings. It was so much fun. Don't freak out, but I have now skinny dipped in the Galilee, Med. and Dead Sea. The Dead Sea was a little tricky. Ha!

Mom, you will like this story. As I got out of the dead sea and snapped pictures the water dried but I had salt all over me. As I walked up to the showers, I saw my professor Andrew Skinner. He commented on the salt all over my skin. With out thinking, I offered him a little taste. Right after I said that, the thought "Mom would kill me if she knew I just offered Andrew Skinner to lick the salt on me" flashed thought my head. Luckily Skinner is cool and he said, "I wish I had some french fries right now." If you don't know who Andrew Skinner is, Wikipedia or google him. The story will be a lot funnier.

Well, enjoy the pictures and don't count on hearing too much from me this next week!

Thanksgiving/ Fourth of July

2008-12-07T19:58:00.004+02:00

I am not going to lie. I woke up grumpy Thankgiving day. I didn't realize it until much later, but this was my first Thanksgiving away from home and I was feeling a little bit homesick. I was not looking froward to the long day of field trip travel ahead, but I was excited to see the Thanksgiving feast that the people at the kibbutz we were staying at put together. When I got on the bus for the field trip, our teacher let us come up and say something we were thankful for. As people began saying everything they were thankful for, it helped snap me out of my funk and get me thinking about all the things I was thankful for. I began a little list in my journal, and I really took my time and tryed to write down things I was really thankful for and not just things I love or miss. Here is the list:

Music-People who make me laugh- Friends- Compliments- How Unique God made us all- People who help me see situations differently- Having a Passion in life- Having friendships in my family- Sunsets- Sun on my skin- Hot Showers- Forgiveness- Having things to look forward to- The thankful game I am playing Justin, Marissa, Miranda, Dave, Christine, and Adam- My mom and how she laughs at me when she shouldn't- Pretty things- Cozy blankets- The sound of luaghter- Truth- The way children are the same all over the worlds- Confident and kind people- Beauty- The feeling of creativity- The opportunities and adventures I have been able to have- Holidays- Friendly Strangers- Journals- People who do little kind acts and never expect recognition- My friends who listen to me whine- People who know how to say thank you- A dad that still calls me Sugar- Change- Being part of a continually growing family

After the fields trip, we had some time to clean up and get ready for the festivities. We all met in the hall outside the dinig room and they opened up the doors and revealed the dinning hall decorated in red white and blue. It ooked like the 4th of July and Thanksgiving decided they wanted to be celebrated on the same day. We could tell they were trying very hard to give us our usual Thanksgiving food, but everything had a little Mediterranean twist. Instead of gravy, they gave us their equivalent of bbq sauce. The potatoes weren't mashed, but at least we had potatoes. When they brought out the turkeys, it was quite the dramatic scene. They turned off all of the lights, and each of the turkeys has fountain fireworks stabbed into it! Definitely a new Thanksgiving tradition I want to carry on. It was so much fun! We all clapped and cheered. After dinner, I called home and was able to talk to Talon and Annie and hear the great news. I am so excited for new Webb baby number...14 is it? Thanksgiving turned out to be even greater than I could have ever asked. And the day after Thanksgiving...no shopping, stricktly singing Christmas songs.

Too lazy to report

2008-12-06T14:35:00.022+02:00

Well, I am so far behind and I really don't want to take the time to sit down and try and catch up on two weeks worth of adventures, so I am posting a bunch of Galilee pictures. Enjoy!

Becca and me in Galilee.

Chelsey and me coming out of some ancient coffins in the tombs

Story Time! It was Nathan's birthday while we were in Galilee, and there really was no way to do anything nice for him becasue we were traveling all day, so I told everyone to look for wierd things throughout the day and give them to him. I found a half empty bottle of Vodka. I kind of felt bad packing it around all the churches we were visiting, but I confessed my sin in a confessional at one of the Catholic churches we visited, and then gave it to Nathan that night. This is me getting ready to give it to him. Needless to say, Vodka can make any birthday better!

My roommate Lauren and me picking up seashells on the shore of Galilee

Inside of a Mosque. I just loved that there were bookshelves inside.

Inside the tunnels of a castle in Acre

Rachel, me, and Miranda at the Bahai Gradens. Bahai is a odd religion that accepts all religions or anything that makes people good. They also believe in beauty so they have GORGEOUS gardens. I am reading Pride and Prejudice right now so This is what I imagine Pemberly to look like

The BEST apple I have ever had. We drove to a hill so we could see Syria. It was all farm country and we found a little stand selling apples for 2 sheckles (less than 60 cents)

Sign at Nimrod's castle. I guess anyone who lived at a castle named Nimrod would need one of these signs

Some of us got lost in Dan. The Hebrew signs didn't help. Niether did the deaf people we were following. I'm not joking either.

The Chapel ontop of Mt. Tabor. It is one of the most beautiful chapels I have ever been in.

Inside the church ontop of Mt. Tabor (Mt. of Transfiguration)

Me walking on water.

I lost a coin, so I swept the house until I found my coin. Once I found it, I invited all of the neighbors over so celebrate. Does the story sound familiar?

We were very close to the Golan Heights. This is the spot were Christ cast out the legion of devils

The Sea of Galilee

Beautiful alibaster window inside the chapel commemorating the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000

Loving Life

2008-12-02T17:45:00.008+02:00

I realize this post isn't about Galilee, But I wanted to post some random pictures I have of different things I have loved about being here that don't really fit into other posts. Enjoy the photos!

Oh the ugly outfits I wear! I love these girls with me. What did I do to deserve such short friends?
One word. Schwarma

A carriage ride in Egypt

Obsessed? Yes! You would be surprised just how many Special Education talks I have had with everyone here
I let Nathan borrow some of my (okay I stole them from Johnathon...sorry JD!) shorts. So I stole his pants and sported them. As you can see, boys jeans are NOT flattering on girls like me with junk in the trunk

The reason people don't like to take pictures with me

Fallen Rocks from the Second Temple Destruction. I love what I nerd I am about all this stuff now

I just got these pictures and I absolutely love them! These are some of the boys that helped us clean up the neighborhood

Notice the doll head stuck on the stick. One of the many reasons I love these boys!

A very typical photo. I love playing around with these boys!

Nov. 18... Galilee day #1

2008-11-29T17:21:00.004+02:00

The Chirch of the Annunciation

I love these field trips that we go on. They are like mini vacations throughout the semester. Every University really should adopt this policy. On our way to Galilee, we stopped at several locations first. Our first stop was the Ceasarea. To tell you the truth, I can't remember why it was important, but I do remember playing in the Mediteranean. Next, we went to Megiddo. This is where the battle of Armageddon is supposed to happen. It pretty much looked like every other ruins I have seen, but they were up on a hill and you could see the fields where the battle is supposed to happen. The last place we stopped before going to Galilee was Nazareth. Nazareth is a small little town. It was so fun to see where Jesus grew up. They have several beautiful churches commemorating where Mary was told she would be the mother of Christ. My favorite location we went to was the synangogue they believe Jesus got up an read in when he started his ministry and told his hometown exactly who he was. It was really neat to walk around the Church of the Annunciation and see the different representations of Mary that different countries had given to the church. I think what was most memorable about this day was the reality of Mary. She was not a Child Development major with loads of experience raising children. She wasn't much older than my niece Decota. She was young and brave. She must have been scared to death but her faith got her through the criticism of the people in the small town she was from. Things were not easy for her and Joseph. They were the definition of great, humble people. The Christmas story will have so much more meaning and feelings tied to it now that I have a better understanding of the reality of Mary.

Back from Galilee

2008-11-28T17:05:00.003+02:00

Well, If you haven't noticed, I haven't posted in a while because I was off prancing around The Galilee. We just barely got back from a long day of historical sites and a long bus ride, so I will try and get the journaling going as soon as I feel brave enough. Stay tuned for details and adventures....

p.s. I would just like to express how excited I am about Talon and Annie's baby announcement! I would like to take some credit for that. At my first trip to the Western Wall, I put a prayer in the wall that said, "bless that Talon and Annies prayers may be answered." Forget this morning and nightly prayer stuff. From now on I am going straight to the Western Wall.

The People I Love Most

2008-11-15T17:04:00.003+02:00

For some reason, my family has been on my mind a lot lately. I feel like every one around me is probably getting sick of me talking about all my siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, parents, and grandparents. Being so far away from everyone has really helped my realize just how much I love and appreciate everyone in my family. I don't care what anyone else says, I come from the best family. We all might be a little nuts, but we stick together. I have been so surprised as I talk to others to find out that my siblings ans I are closer than most families. I have never felt alone because I have always had a sibling watching out for me and making sure I knew they would fight for me if I needed it, lend their shoulder if I needed a good cry, or even just provide a good laugh if I hadn't smiled in a while.
The other day in my New Testament class, we were talking about the story of the the rich leader who sought out Christ to come heal his son. When he approaches Christ it seems like Christ is harsh with him, but really he was just testing his faith. The man sticks to his guns, and his son is healed. We talked about the humility and faith this father must have had to seek our Christ. He had wealth and had probably tried every other possible medical treatment. As we discussed this story, I couldn't help but feel my heart throb a little bit as I thought of the wonderful parents and spouses my sibling are, and all that they have done for their children and families. I have seen that kind of faith in my own brothers and sisters. I know I don't tell them enough, but they are my greatest examples and my closest friends.
Chanel has somehow managed to be my best friend and a mother figure at the same time. She has taught me so many important life lessons, and has never pretended to be anything other than herself. She is always encouraging me to be better and do better. She is constantly teaching me how to be a great mom someday, at the same time as she talks about make up, tv shows, and telling me stories of the little things that happen in the day that leave us rolling with laughter.
Brittani never ceases to amaze me. The woman can do anything and everything! She is the expert on finances, the lastest gossip, and she makes the best chicken noodle soup ever! She listens to all of us and our crazyness, gives loving advice, and never thinks anything less of you for makinglife so dramatic. She pays attention to the details and always makes me feel much more important than I am.
Chelsey shows a level of compassion I can only dream to have someday. I know I can escape to her house anytime life gets to be too much, and she will fill me with food, Dr. pepper, and a reminder that even if life is crazy, it sure is fun. Chelsey is possibly the only person who can wake me up to work out in the morning and I am actually excited about it. I know I will always have one person on my side as long as Chelsey is around.
I just might be Perry's biggest fan and I wouldn't have it any other way. He can make any moment in life more exciting, and is a great example of the faith I want to have. Perry has rescued me from some of my hardest moments in life just by simply offering to be a listening ear or inviting me over for a movie. I miss my lunch dates with Perry.
Andrew is the kind of man that are in short supply. If I have turned out good at all, I credit it to Andrew. He knows how to take great resposibility and never expect anything for all that he does. He is selfless and strong. It is a good thing his silent lessons leave a much longer impressions than the bruises from his toe pinches.
Talon has the softest, kindest heart of any person I know. We used to fight like cats and dogs, but I can't think of a better friendship than the one I have with Talon now. He always says he loves me at the end of every phone conversation. He has an enthusiasm for life that I admire. I always know I can count on Talon to find the excitement in a situation, whether it be staying up all night playing monopoly because we are too excited about Christmas or the new icecream shop down the street, Talon finds the simple joy in life.
John-D boy special Webb. I miss him every single day. He never thinks less of me no matter what stupid thing I do and tell him about. I only wish that my head could be screwed on as tight as his. I love it when he rolls his eyes at me pretending to be annoyed with me, but the little smile he doesn't hide eggs me on. Everyone who meets Johnathon knows he is going to do great things, and I am proud just to be his older sister. My favorite part in the Old Testament is that Jonathan and Michal are brother and sister.
I really could go on and on but I better not feed your pride anymore. I just had to make sure my family know that I love them!

Finals, Field trips, and Feasts

2008-11-12T10:57:00.009+02:00

Sader Feast

Going down into the Grotto

In the Grotto. The star marks the spot where they say Mary had Jesus

I just love the Arabic on the coke bottles

Outside the Church of the Nativity...not THE star, but the moon. Would be cool though!

I realize that last post was a bit sticky, but it was mostly me taking out my frustrations on all the frustration over here. I really am loving everything I am learning! This past week and a half has been pretty amazing. Let's get the gunk out of the way. Last week we had our Old Testament final ( which was REDICULOUSLY hard), a midterm in Palestinian Near Eastern Studies, a midterm in our field trip class (we have to fill out a workbook on each field trip we go on and we were tested on questions from the workbook), and then yesterday I had my Hebrew final. I have loved starting the Testament and I absolutaly loved the little bit of Hebrew I know. Ask me to write your name for you in Hewbrew when I get home. We pass notes written in Hebrew all of the time now. This week I have two more finals and then we take off for Galilee next week.

Last week we had an Israeli lawyer come talk to us about the conflict over here and he took us to the seperation wall. I have been so lucky to be able to learn from the people they have come talk to us here at the center. This lawyer is pretty important although you would never know it by looking at him. He has already been contacted by the new president's office to be 'befriended' because of his high involvement with the issues over here. I don't know what it is about lawyers, but I really think I could sit and listen to them all say. Especially this guy. I envy their way with words and explaining things. I am sure there are many who would disagree with me, but law facinates me for some reason, and so naturally lawyers facinate me. I just need to find me a rich one and get him to marry me! Just kidding...but really.

On Friday night, our Jewish professor arranged for us to attend a Shabbat service at the synagogue he attends. It is definitly one of my favorite experinces of being in the Holy Land. I don't even know if I can explain it! The men and women sit on different sides of the room and are seperated by a thin sheet a material in the middle of the room. A Rabbi directs the services from the front of the room. At first it kind of bothered me that the men and women sit seperately, but I can see how it actually fosters a sense of unity between fathers and sons and mothers and daughters as they take their children to synagogue and teach them their roles. It also reinforces the differnt roles of men and women. Not that one is less than the other. Much of the service is sung, and it is one of the most beautiful sounds on earth. I was fortunate to sit behind a girl about my age and just on the other side of the cloth from a man, both of whom had beautiful voices. Even though I could not understand the Hebrew, I could feel the sincerity with which they read/sang the Torah. The people have always been more than kind when we have visited synagogue before, and this visit wasn't any different. Devout Jews do not drive on Shabbat , so families walk to and from synagogue together. It is actually quite amazing what a little walking can do. One of my favorite things to do is go walking with my sisters and mom. We could probably walk for hours, just as long as we get to be together and be talking. Some of my favorite memories here have happened while we have been walking around the city or walking from place to place. It really is quite amazing the feelings that walking fosters. After Synagogue, we had some Israeli folk dancing instructors come to the center and they taught us some Israeli folk dances. I thought about not going because I wasn't feeling well, but I am so glad I went. It was so much fun! We danced and danced until we were exhausted. Our intructor was a hoot. I suspect he is a little bit gay. We got a peek at his friut of the looms more than a few times.

On shabbat, I went to the Garden Tomb again. The Garden Tomb is one of my favorite places on earth. I love being with som many people from all over the world. I was walking around by myself and got stopped by a big group from India. One man asked to take a picture and I thought he wanted me to take a picture for him. Nope! He wanted a picture with me. Then, one by one, the rest of the people in the group lined up to get a photo with me. It was so wierd! I took pictures with families, couples, and old men. I was so confused! It was really funny. I met up with some people that had come to church that day and I was able to talk to them for a bit. They were in Israel for business. Turns out one man is the founder of New Skin. With him was one of his higher ups and his wife, and then two young people he was bringing over here to head up their division in Tel Aviv. The man that had brought him wife was a mission president in Georgia in 2003, so it was fun to talk to his wife about the mission president life.

On Sunday we had a Sader Feast, or the Passover feast. It isn't Passover, but our Jewish professor makes sure we are able to experience it while we are here. It was long long long, but definitly an experience worth having. I can't say I absolutley loved all of the food, but it is something that I am glad I experienced.

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Bethlehem. All of us students have been so excited to get the Christmas season going, and there is no better way than to visit the birthplace of the Savior. The trip was put together by our Palestinian professor who lives in Bethlehem. Our first stop was to a Palestinian 'think tank' where we were given an amazing presentation of the conflict. We were educated on the frustartion with the lack of mobility the Palestinians have and the control Israel is having on their lands and lives. The presentation had amazing maps to explain everything, but I am not going to lie, I was fighting my eyelids the entire time. All 80 plus of us were crammed into a little room, the light were out, and I had just eaten a huge breakfast. After our think tank experience, we went to Bethlehem University to talk to some students and get a tour of the University. The teachers at the University were all on strike, but the students came to talk to us anyway. It was so good to be able to interact and try and create as little of a friendship as we could with our peers in the West Bank. They told us about their frustration with living in refugee camps, having their land taken or disputed over, the struggle to get an education, and so many more issues. I was able to walk around the campus with a guy studying information system and we were able to talk just like any two twenty-something-year-olds would. After Bethlehem University, we ate an amazing lunch and then went to the the church plopped ontop of the Nativity site. It was hard for me to feel the sacredness of the location because of the other tourists and the fact that there was a funeral going on inside of the church. It was fun to hear our tour guide talk about how much he loves the Mormons. For once it sounded really sincere. He told us how we are so different from the other tourists because we aren't scared and love to be with the people. We are always smiling and he loves that. It was really neat to hear him say how much he loved us over and over again. After waiting in line forever to go into the grotto and then be quickly pushed out by angry Russian tourists, we went to the Shepard fields to have a sacred moment. My professor asked some of us to talk about specific people to talk about people involved in the birth of Christ and how they were testifiers of Him. I was the lucky one to get Herod. As I prepared, I struggled to know what to say about how Herod, the man who tried to kill the infant Christ, was a testifier of Christ. I finally came to the conclusion that is was his opposition that testified of Christ's importance to the world. As we sat on the hillside looking out at Bethlehem, it really was a special moment. I don't think Christmas will ever feel the same. It is like all my love for my experiences here have been channeled into Christmas. I am excited for the season, and can't help but feel more and more love for this place everyday!

The Plot Thickens

2008-11-12T10:30:00.002+02:00

To be completely honest, I never really expected to fully understand the conflict over here. I hardly understood why the Israelis and Palestinians were having conflict before I came. I have been lucky enough to learn one hundred fold more ethan I knew before coming here, and yet it is still only scratching the surface. I have also been fortunate to attend a university where I have both a Jewish and a Palestinian professor. They are both highly educated men and have been able to explain the conflict from as nuetral a standpoint as someone who is deeply rooted in the conflict could. We have had forum after forum from a number of government officials who have concentrated on the Israeli Palestinian conflict as well. We have been asked to write our own ideas on achieving peace for assignments in class. I have been able to mingle with both the Jews and the Palestinians. I can honestly say I love both people. It seems to be which lecture I have had that day and which part of the city that I am in that pushes my opinions one way or another. I have flip flopped back and forth a million times. I don't know if there is a solution. Yesterday we visited Bethlehem University which is in the West Bank. We were able to ask many of the students questions and hear their personal stories and how they have been affected by the conflict. Many of the questions we asked clearly showed our own frustration with what we as Americans feel. we want to help. We sympothize with both sides. We can see how optimal it would be for the solution to come internally from those who are at war with one another. There is such great hope over here that Obama is going to not only bring great change to America, but the conflict over here as well. I can't say I share that same hope in Obama, but I could be wrong. It is so important for the people to become educated about the conflict and for there to be resourses for both side to turn to, but they rely so heavily on America to provide this. I wish there was a way for me to see a way to provide nuetral involvement, but if you try and advance the medical aid or education on one side it is seen as supporting that side politically. No action is done without it turning into an analysis of who's side you are supporting. It really is quite frustrating for everyone invovlved and even those of us just watching. I only know of one person who is a solution to all conflicts, healer of all wrongs, and is the ultimate uniter. Unfortunately, Christ and striving to have Christlike attributes are not topics of discussion when the building of a seperation wall and the creation of suicide bombs are resorted to as solutions.

Life after Jordan

2008-11-09T14:08:00.004+02:00

Life has been moving along much too fast since I got back from Jordan. It is hard to explain the change in feeling. I officially hit my halfway mark here and am now on the "back nine". It really sounds funny to hear me talk about this as if it is my experience alone. It is as if I am experiencing everything through 80 pairs of eyes. All of us students are proabably experiencing the closest thing to Zionism as we will ever see in this lifetime. Even though I am just barely over halfway done here, I can't help but feel the bitter sweet realization that the end is coming. I am trying hard to cherish every single minute I have left. It has actually been a bitter sweet experience trying to soak every moment in. My love for the people around me, the experiences I have each day, and the happiness I feel at every second of the day are making me grow more and more attached to this whole experience. Not a bad thing right? I just hope when I get home I will be able to function normally and not annoy everyone around me with stories that all start with "When I was in Jerusalem..." If I ask two people to come with me to the store, just play along. I won't be used to being without the company of at the very least, two other people. There are many things I can hardly wait for when I get home:

Chips and Salsa

swapping secrets with my sisters

Laughing at my brothers even if they aren't funny to anyone else

Little hands wrapped around my finger and little voices calling me Mooch

Getting ready in the morning without haveing to say "excuse me" or "can I sneak past you?"

Mom listening to what ever stupid story I have to tell

Convincing Dad to get icecream and french fries even if it is much to late to be eating

As much as I miss these things at home, there are so many things that I will long for here:

Cobblestone walkways

Hearing the prayer call while I am saying my own prayers

Children in uniforms yelling "Hello!" and giving me high fives

Buying a pomagranite for 60 cents

Talking to people from all over the world and instantly being friends simply because we both love where we are

Sticking out like a sore thumb and loving it

Never knowing what time or day it is

Having time to look for the beauty around me

Being surrounded by some of the most beautiful, confident, kind, and hilarious people on earth

Well, I better get back to enjoying every minute, they seem to be slipping away faster

My last day in the Land I love

2008-11-06T18:45:00.005+02:00

Obviously not an ancient Mosiac...there is a website at the top.

The Church by the River Jordan

I can honestly say I was sad to leave Jordan. It was so comfortable there, and I really would have loved to have been able to stay there longer. For the last day in Jordan, we were able to stop at the River Jordan to see where Christ was baptized. I love being able to go to some of the New Testament sites. With so much of our time being spent studying the Old Testament this first half, I always feel a little bit more refocused when we talk about locations that were imoptant during Christ's lifetime. Before visiting the River Jordan, we stopped at more Roman ruins and a museum that held artifacts gathered in the area. It was a pretty amazing little museum tucked away on a hill. Once again, seeing the Roman scultures and artifact tugged at my heart strings a little bit. The view from where the ruins were was pretty neat becasue you could look out over the city and realize, Wow! I really am half way across the world and in a completely different culture than I was raised...and I love it! After the ruins and museum it was off the the River Jordan. Because of the "heavy" rains we had seen the day before, the river Jordan was pretty muddy. The river has actually shifted quite a bit from where it was located when Christ was baptized. The location that is traditionally said to be THE spot where he and John the Baptist carried out the baptism is not a hole in the ground surrounded by ancient churches that now look like pavilions. Down stream is a church build to glorify the location. There is a small dock just down from the church where you can walk out and touch the water. This might sound funny, but traveling as much as I have, I have gained an appreciation for the Catholic Church. I loved the little church that was near the river. The painings on the cielings and walls were beautiful. Can you imagine what the art world would be like without the Catholic Church? Let's just not even try. Anyway, it was a neat experoence, and I am SO looking forward to starting the New Testament this week and having the rest of my time here filled with learning about the Savior. I love life!

My crush on Jordan deepens

2008-11-06T17:10:00.005+02:00

Us dancing with the girls

The stadium that they literally had speakers playing Gladiator music playing. It was inspiring

How about a kiss of death?

Can I just tell you how much I love Jordan! The night that we arrived in Aman from Petra, a few of my friends and I walked around the streets near the hotel for a little while to get some fresh air. We felt completely safe and everything was so much more modern than Egypt and even Israel. On our third day in Jordan, our first visit was the mosque right next many of the government buildings in Aman. In order to go into the mosque, all of us girls had to put these cloak things on. We looked like dementors from Harry Potter. We listened to a short little rambling by our tour guide (I didn't like him much. Somebody taught him the phrase "kind of" and "something like this". I counted and he said "kind of " 26 times within 5 minutes. Anyone who has traveled knows how forgien tour guides are) and then we were able to take some photos. There was a womens part of the mosque som a bunch of us girls went in there to take some photos of us being Grim Reapers. Probably not the best thing to do in a mosque, but we couldn't resist. Then we went to a place called Jerash. Jerash are Roman ruins in Jordan. Jerash was a flourishing Roman city in the first century BC (thank you Nathan for that fact). We were given several hours to tour around with our guide and then take off on our own to take pictures. one of the best parts of being in Jerash was being there at the same time as a group of Muslim school girls. We went into one of the ampitheatres and they had a couple of men playing bagpipes and drums. The girls started dancing and a bunch of us girls were able to join in and dace with them. If we could only get the Palestinians and Arabs to have a dance party together, I am sure we could get a lot more done over here. It was so much fun to be in an anciet Roman city again. As my family can verify, I absolutely fell in love with Italy and Roman architecture/art after visiting Rome my senior year of high school. Seeing similar ruins in Jordan brought back a lot of feeling from my visit to Italy. After playing around Jerash, we were able to have a once in a lifetime experience. The church has a cultural center in Jordan, as well as a branch. We were able to go and meet with two of the first native members in Jordan. Both of these men had been Christian before becoming LDS. If they had been Muslim, then it would not have been possible for them to join the church. They were both able to get up and bear their testimonies to us. Even though they were some of the most simple tesimonies I have ever heard, they were also two of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard. It felt like the walls were about ready to burst the spirit and power was so strong. I couldn't help but get excited about thinking what it will be like once we are able to share the gospel with Muslims. They will be some of the most devote members the church will ever know. It was an exciting experience. Something else that was really exciting was the rain that fell after leaving Jerash. Once we got back to the hotel, I ate some desert for dinner (I am being so healthy over here!) and then some of us ran over to the pirated movie store to pick up some movies. Don't worry, it is totally legal in Jordan...reason 597 to love Jordan! I picked up a few and then we caught a taxi over to the mall.

Let's talk about the mall for a minute. Can we say Heaven On Earth! It was by far the biggest mall I have ever been in! It was five stories high and stretched I don't even know how far! There was a bowling alley, laser tag, the world's cutest clothes stores! I am so sad they told us that we would hardly spend any money in Jordan, because had I known how amazing it was, I could have blown two fortunes in this mall! The people of Jordan are so friendly, and loved us, even if we did look pretty trashy compared to them. I absolutely had a blast and loved everything about Jordan. I would definitely go back in a heart beat and if I got the chance to move there, I would jump at it.

PetraFABULOUS!

2008-11-02T22:08:00.007+02:00

Petra. You ever heard of it? Think Indiana Jones, The last Crusade. Yeah. I totally went there. It was so dang cool! We woke up early in the morning (I really should stop writing that because we wake up early EVERY day) so that we could be the first ones in and have plenty of time to explore Petra. The walk in is pretty amazing and as soon as it opens up into the treasury you just want to take a million photos to prove you were really there. When we got to the treasury, there was hardly anybody else there, so we were able to take some good photos before moving further into the valley to see all of the other amazing things carved right into the face of the rocks around us. Because we were there so early in the morning and the sun wasn't high enough in the sky to peek into the canyon we were in, it was freezing! And by freezing, I mean, something like high 50's. I am becoming such a wuss to the cold. Idaho is going to be a blast! As we continued walking along, we saw massive tomb after tomb. The outsides were impressive, but inside it was just a large square room. The way the rocks formed and the scenery around us looked a lot like southern Utah. At the middle of our time there, we were set loose to explore where ever we wanted. Lots of people payed to ride a donkey up to a Monistary at the top of one of the cliffs. I decided to walk it and I was determined to beat the donkeys to the top. My friends Nathan and I hustled to the top and we beat everyone on the donkeys. It really wasn't that hard. I don't think the donkeys had eaten in a week and it was probably their fourth trip up the mountain. We got some great photos at the top, and then headed back down for lunch. Lunch was AMAZING! Fresh falafel, pasta, desserts up the wahzoo! After lunch a group of us ran up to what is called the cathedral. It looked pretty much like everything else in Petra. I did grab some dirt for Brittani from inside the cathedral. The sand was amazing. It is all different colors. I got Berto some purple sand. After the cathedral, I was planning on going up to the high place but the people I was with kept running the whole time, and let's face it, I did not want to run all the way up to the highest place in Petra. I joined up with my friend Sarah Jane instead and we checked out all of the jewelry being sold by the bedouins. Can you guess what caught my eye? Turquiose. It was dirt cheap. Apparently, the Queen had a program set up to help the Bedouins. In this program, she gets tons of silver and stones (like turquiose) imported and then she employs the women and men to make them into jewlery and then they sell them. I got a large strand of turquise for 10 dinar (about 13 dollars), a pair of earings for 4 dinar, and a beautiful pendent to put on a necklace. As if I don't own enough turquiose already...but I just love it! You can stick me in the Middle East, but I will still find a way to be South western. The time to head out of town came and a bunch of us girls started the walk back out. We had some extra time so we stepped off the beaten path and found some beautiful scenery. We loaded on the buses, drove to Aman where we would spend the next few days. The End.

Day one of Jordan

2008-10-31T13:07:00.003+02:00

These seats are in all of the Catholic churches. Don't we look so wise in them though?!

The mosaic in Madaba

Another bus ride, and another fabulous day in the life of a JC student. We loaded up on the buses early EARLY in the morning and headed on over to Jordan. After another miticulous dance through the border, we made our first stop at Mount Nebo. I guess this is the mountain Moses was trasfigured from. To tell you the truth, it was pretty boring. We then stopped at a church in Madba where a mosaic was discovered showing a map depicting the locations of holy Christian locations in the Holy Land. Next stop- lunch! They had salsa at all of the resturants we went ot in Jordan. No chips, but pitas got the job done. We were supposed to be very careful with what we ate and drank in Jordan, but I was willing to get the runs for a bite of salsa! (good news...I wasn't the least bit sick) After lunch it was then time to take a 4 hour bus ride down to Petra. The ride was long, but I slept for most of it. We are all becoming really good at bus travel here. When we arrived in Petra, it was dinner time. Man, I thought my life revolved around food before I got here, I was wrong! I always eat whether I am hungry or not becasue you just don't know what the next meal is going to turn out to be like. Once we finished dinner, most of us left the hotel to check out the the shops near the hotel. We found one called the "Rural Woman Bazaar." Why rural? We checked it out, gave the shop owners a good scare to have well over 20 young Americans flooding the store. When I got to the end of the road, I saw a few of my girl friends giggling together and I just had to be in on what was so funny. They took me over to a shop where one of the most handsome men I have ever seen was working. My friend Sarah Jane had him tie every stinkin scarf in his store around her head while we all smiled and batted our eye lashes at him. After we ran out of ways to flirt with him we met up with some guys to take some pictures. We were all laughing and taking a million pictures by a humongous picture of the king (which we later found out is illegal-oops!) when Saad (the shop keeper) ran down the street to take pictures with us. He hopped in line with the boys and all of us girls started snapping pictures as fast as the shutter would go. With all the laughing and excitement Saad was loving the attention. The boys tryed to explain what "putting out the vibe" meant and accidentally used the word sexy. Wrong word! Saad started ripping off his jacket and going abercrombie on us! We all yelled "stop stop stop!" and died laughing. We quit the photo shoot and the boys started walking back towards us. Saad latched onto David and started stroking his face and telling him how handsome he was. I am SO sure all the good looking men are GAY! What a waste. I quickly jumped in and grabbed David's arm and said, "Hey! He's mine!" We laughed the whole way down the street to Movenpick where we grabbed some delicious icecream and laughed for another good 30 minutes. Our teachers are always warning us girls about how careful we need to be about not getting groped, so the fact that only only person to come even close to being groped was big burly David, by the best looking Jordanian man in Petra. After laughing so hard my head wanted to pop, I decided it was time for bed to get ready for Petra the next day.

COMING SOON!

2008-10-30T18:02:00.002+02:00

Coming to a blog near you...Mikael Webb's adventures in Jordan.
I ablsolutely fell in love with Jordan and can't wait to tell you all about it... but I have to watch all the pirated movies I bought first.

Blogging with Becca

2008-10-24T12:29:00.004+02:00

Just when I think I know everyone and don't need anymore new friends, I make one. I have discovered my new entertainement in life...Becca. We only had one class this morning and then our Jordan orientation. Because it is a Friday, we aren't allowed out of the center until after 3, so Becca and I decided we were going to watch Emma and blog. I have been attempting to read Pride and Prejudice in the few spare moments I get. I have never read it, or any Jane Austin book for that matter, and even though I am that far in the book, it is changing the world around me. The notes in my journal come out sounding more like Elizabeth Bennett than me. I am already feeling more like a girl with the few pages I have read.

I realize I haven't put anything up in a few days so I will try and get cuaght up. First things first, do you likw how I have redone my page? I was getting sick of looking at the old layout and wanted something that flowed a little better with the pictures I was putting up. Okay, let's see what has happened since the Ramadan feast...

The end of Sukkot came and to celebrate the end, many of the Jews Participate in the Wacking of the Willows. They gather around the Western Wall and slap palm leaves or willow branches on the ground as a way to ask for rain. In order to see it, we had to be at the Western Wall at 6:30 in the morning. It was worth getting up early and making the 15 minute walk. I am suprised how well I have been getting up so early this whole time. It is probably because I love breakfast and the knowledge that I have a good breakfast waiting that gets me out of bed.

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Hezikiahs tunnel. I have been excited to do this. Brittani told me how much she loved it, so I have been been looking forward to going. It really was a blast. They are still doing excavation ont the City of David which is above Hezikiah's tunnel. We were able to look at the ruins. We wound our way down the hill and then went through Hezikiah's tunnel. As you walk through the water gets up to about my mid thigh, whick mean just baout every other girls hips. Yes, I am a tall freak here. It was such a blast to wafe through the water. Dad, that head lamp you got me in the BEST! After going through the tunnel, we went to the pool of Soloam. This is the pool where Jesus healed the blind man. It was really cool to see parts of the city that were really around suring Christ's tims, and to walk to the same streets he did. The streets from His time perios are much lower than street level today. The city just keeps building ontop of itself for years, so walking on streets Christ walks on means going below street level today. A couple friends and I went intot the old city to pick up some batteries and other things we needed. It was a very relaxed day, and I love being able to go into the city and feel at home.

The Kids that Shoot us

2008-10-20T15:38:00.003+02:00

Ben Yahuda street-da Girls!

Just a few of the trouble makers

My bud Muhammed

I am not longer as afraid of my own neighborhood. I am not going to lie. I was for a while. Especially at the end of Ramadan. It seemed like every little boy got a pellet gun to celebrate then end of Ramadan. As we would walk up the hill back to the center, they loved to use us as target practice. Yesterday we got the opportunity to face these little gunmen face to face...service project style. The streets and lots around the Jerusalem Center are always littered with trash. This semester, we did a clean up project to pick up the trash and interact with the neighborhood. A bunch of young boys from a school just up the street came to help. These would be the same boys that throw rocks and shoot bb's at us. Luckily I was jsut so excited to be able to be with kids, I forgot that little detail. When the boys came to help, they made their presence known. I began following a little cluster of boys around, hoping they would pay attention to me and take a liking to me. I think it worked. Before I knew it, they were carrying around a stick with a baby doll's head shoved on top, teaching me Arabic words. I'm not going to lie, we didn't do much trash picking up, we be sure had fun. One boy in particular stuck by my side most of the time. He was a hard little worker and I don't think I ever saw a smile leave his face. Even when the rest of us got into a water bottle fight, he smiled and kept right on working. His name is Muhammed. He helped me learn most of the other boys names, and laughed at me as I attempted to say what should have been easy phrases in Arabic, but my tongue and lips just couldn't form the right sounds. After three hours of picking up trash and sweeping the sidewalks, we all ended up in a dirt lot, playing games. The littlest boys were climbing all over the tall students, making them throw them in the air and give them piggy back rides. We all eventually made our way to a grassy, spider covered slope on the Jerusalem Center grounds. Muhammed sat next to me and shared half of his orange with me. the others were all throwing olives that fell off the trees above at each other. Little boys are so much fun! It was so much fun to watch all of us students interact with the kids, and to see how similar children are no matter what part of the world they grow up in. Even if we were dirty and smelly from rumaging through the dirt to pick up trash, it was well worth it to get on good terms with the little trouble makers, and now some of my favorite friends, here in East Jerusalem.
Later that day, a big group of us decided to walk over to West Jerusalem to check out the night life, look at all the sukkot outside the resturaunts, and grab a shwarma to eat. It seems like everywhere we go we turn into a specticle. A couple of the guys started arm wrestling, and before we knew it, there was a circle of people around us, cheering and taking part in the contest. There was every walk of life hanging out on Ben Yahuda street. There were hippies playing guitars, Othodox Jews eating out, and BYU students arm wrestling. It felt so great to get out of the center for a night and add a little change to our routine.

Big, Tough, and Wild

2008-10-17T18:45:00.006+02:00

Sometimes you just need to be with the girls. Even though there are like...3... boys here, some of us were in serious need of having some girls time. So what do girls do when they get together? You probably guessed it....SHOP! We tracked down a real mall here in town and set out to buy clothes to add to the wardrobe that is on a weekly cycle here. With all of the holidays going on here, we have been trying to go for a while, but there has been a holiday everyday for almost 3 weeks straight, so actually getting there when we are allowed out and when the stores are open has been tricky. As soon as the six of us girls walked out the gates of the center I was already feeling a little more in touch with my girly side. We were cracking jokes about boobs and and making fun of eachother like girls do when boys aren't around. The girls I went out with are not girls I have hung out with a lot, but I absolutely love them! When I have gone out with just girls before, I have noticed they are usually pretty reserved and cautious because they are contantly telling us how different the culture is here and how how even if we aren't flooseys, western women are just seen as easy. Our little group of six knew how to have fun and have street smarts at the same time. When we got ot the western side of the city and found the mall, it was like seeing a vision from heaven. It was an outdoor shopping mall with European clothes stores lining each side. As we walked into each store, it was very apparent we did not fit in. Here we were in our frumpy, touristy clothes scanning the racks for anything that cost less than and arm and a leg. All the clothes were much too expensive for my bank account, but it was still so much fun to even just look at and drool over clothes. We walked the length of the mall and only bought a few little things here and there. My friend Becca had the best purchase of the day...a little boys t-shirt with a bear on the front that said "Big, Tough, and Wild." Shopping here in Israel is wonderful because they don't care if you touch the clothes or pick them up to try them on. Most places I have traveled, the store clerks freak when you even stretch your hand out to touch something. We were cramming into dressing rooms and giggling at the ridiculous things we were trying on. The sun began to set and that is our signal to hustle home. We quickly ran to Ben Yahuda street to grab a gelato and then started the treck home. There were tons of soldiers out becasue it was a Jewish holiday. As we walked past a parked jeep full of soldiers, I decided to make my secret desire to get a picture with the troops come true. I stopped the girls, turned around, and went back to ask if they would take a pictue with us. Of course they would! One of the soldiers hopped out of another parked truck and ran over to me to say he wanted a picture with me. We took a group picture and then the one soldier started asking where we were from and all of that. Then he asked me how he was supposed to see me again. I told him he wouldn't. He asked if he could have my number, but don't worry, I didn't even know it and I wouldn't have given it to him if I did. As a last resort, he asked if he could give me his number so I could call him sometime..........Sure! I ran back to my friends with the cute Israeli troop's number written on my map. I got his digits! I got his digits! I'll never call him, but it made for a good end to the girls trip out.

Once we got back to the center, we had to quickly change and run up to the forum for a special presentation from the Arabic teacher. He brought two Muslim Shieks to demonstrate the reading of the Koran and the call to prayer fro us. We then went into dinner for a Ramadan feast. The cafateria was decorated with flowers and tableclothes and each of us were seated by ushers to our assigned seats. The dinner tasted pretty much like every other dinner we have everyday, but it was fun to do something out of the ordinary. After dinner we shuffled into the gym to learn Palestinian folk dancing. Anything to do with dancing you know I am going to love it. I was dying of laughter watching the boys attempt to prance across the gym. It was a blast! Best of the day? Getting the guard's number. *note: he is not in the above picture.
p.s. Is is odd that I never noticed their guns until I just loaded the picture?

Two days of Humility

2008-10-15T17:30:00.005+02:00

I haven't written for a couple of days, so I will sum up two pretty amazing days in one post. On Monday, after classes were finished, we were able to use the oil presses on the grounds of the school to press the olives we have been harvesting. Before we went out to press the olives, we gathered in the forum to have a devotional on the significance of olive trees, olives, and the olive pressing process. My Ancient Near Eastern Studies professor, Andrew Skinner, gave the devotional. I know some of you may know who Andrew Skinner is but for those of you who don't, I will tell you a little about him. In short, he is a historical Genious. Ask him anything and I can guarantee he knows it. He has written numerous religious books, has been on the correlation commitee for the church, and well, I really could go on and on. The point is he knows his stuff and gets his point across eloquently. I feel so lucky to be in such close proximity with men as great as him, and love even more that he is so down to earth. During his devotional, he taught us about the importance of the olive tree in biblical civilizations and how they used it. He then taught us the symbolism in the many parts of the olive tree and the crushing process to get oil from the olives. He spoke about it with great respect and in a very sacred way. He promised that we would never look at an olive tree the same, and I hope I will always see the great symbol it is. We then were able go outside and use the three different pressed the center has to crush the olives and harvest the oil. It really was a once in a life time experience to take part in.

Today we took a field trip to the Holocaust Museum. I have been so excited to go. I remember being facinated by the Holocaust and WWII when I was younger and reading any book about it that I could get my hands on. I listened to the tape Dad gave me of the Diary of Anne Frank when I would go to bed at night. I also remember renting a documentary on the Holocasut once, not knowing how graphic it would be. I remember turning it on in Mom and Dad's room, and sitting on the floor in front of the TV, excited to see real footage of the liberations of the concentration camps. It wasn't long before I turned to movie off in tears because the skeletons limping across the screen did not resemble any of the people I had imagined as I read and reread the books from the Holocaust. As many of us students talked about the field trip coming up, my excitement grew to become reaquanted with something that had stolen my attention for so many years.

When we arrived at the museum this morning it was raining. The first rain we have seen since coming here. The rain seemed to fit with the events of the day. Upon entering the museum, you can tell every last detail was well thought out and everything was placed in a certain spot or hung a particular was for a reason. The first diplay is of pictures found on many of the Jews who died right before their camps were liberated. The pictures they held were of their families or people they loved before the nightmare of the Holocaust began. As you walk through the museum, it is set up into periods of the Holocaust, starting with the book burnings, and weaving it's way through the ghettos, to the work camps, all the way to the liberation. Artifacts were displayed with care, videos showed actual footage, photos and drawing helped to illistrate what happened, and more information than I could possibly take in on one visit was available. It took us three hours to walk through relatively quickly. It was amazing how quiet and attentive our group was the whole time. While much of what was presented was startling and hard to swallow, it was also very humbling. As we were walking out of the main part of the museum, one of my friends asked what the right word would be to describe what we had just seen. How do you describe something like what I had just seen. Words kept running through my head as we visited the Memorial and the Room of Names that holds all the names they have been able to find of Holocaust victims. The one word I have finally settled on is Sobering. Our last stop in the museum was the children's memorial. It was a memorial made to pay tribute to all of the children who died in the Holocaust. The family who sponsored it had a two year old son that died in the Holocaust. As you walk into the memorial, a sculture of his face is imprinted into the wall. I had been pretty proud of myself for keeping it together throughout the whole museum. Even when our tour guide told us that the first people the Nazis tried to eleminat were those with mental and physical disabilities (they managed to kill 70,000 before the Catholic Church stepped in stopped them) I kept my composure. As soon as I walked into the children's memorial and saw the sculture of the little two year old boy I lost it. His chubby, round cheeks and sly little grin reminded me all to much of my little Asher boy. I tryed to fight the tears, but the whole experience had been pretty emotionally tolling. I hate crying in front of people. I can count on one hand the times I have shown what a bawl baby I am in front of people. Inside the memorial, the names and ages of children are said over a sound system, and mirrors and windows with little lights that look like candles cover the walls. As I walked out of the memorial, I managed to regain my composure and I don't think many people noticed my puffy red eyes. As we walked out of the museum, the sun was shining. My religion teacher came up to me and said, "Did you notice the weather? It was raining when we got here, but now the sun had come out." He must have known I was struggling a bit because then he said, "It just goes to prove there is always hope." It really was a sobering experience, and even though I am still feeling a little drained from the whole experience, I would love to go back again because I feel like I only scratched the surface of all that there was to see. I am grateful for the Olive Crushing experience I had just a few days prior to help me understand and remember times in my own life where I have been able to use the Atonement. Christ really did suffer. He knows all of our aches and pains. He loves all of us individually. It is that knowledge that gives me hope on the rainy days.

Here Sheepy Sheepy!

2008-10-13T14:14:00.007+02:00

Cooking my Pita
Patting out my pita with my friend David

Crushing up my spices

Herding my little flock

Yesterday we had a fun field trip to the Biblical Gardens near Tel Aviv. Margo had told me that this was one of her favorite things to do when she was here, and if Margo likes it, I knew I was going to like it too. They created the gardens to help people understand the different plants, anilmals, and landscapes used in the bible and the symbolism behind them. It is so much easier to understand the irony or symbolism of different parables involving things that are not part of our everyday life today, but were in the times of the Bible of you can actually see and handle them. We first talked about almond trees and how they are the first trees to bud at the end of the winter season, but that it takes them 6 months to prepare for this. After learning about almond trees, we went to try our hand at sheep herding. There were actually sheep and goats in the flock we were supposed to herd. I say "supposed to" becasue my group didn't do so well. It was kind of like a little obstacle course thing that we had to take the flock on in seven minutes. My group was supposed to seperate the sheep and goats and take them to the fig tree, then to the fake watering hole, and then to a little area in the corner of the fenced off area. We were trying to hurry and do it all in under seven minutes and we were running too fast...and all our sheep and goats ran right into out imaginary pond and drown. Oops! After we all got a chance to herd the sheep around we gathered around to talk about the symbolism of being a shepard. We talked about the different things that helped us herd the sheep. It was easier if you were behind the sheep prodding them from the rear. You had a view of where they were going and what direction you wanted to move them in. The sheep responded best to nudged and by talking to them. They also were easliy distracted. One would see a leaf and stop to smell it, so they all would. There is always a leader within the herd that the other sheep follow. The shepard guides that sheep, and the other sheep will follow it. There was so much more symbolism with sheparding than I had ever thought there could be. It really was a fun and neat experience. We then went and gathered all sorts of berries and herbs while walking to another pavilian. Our tour guide then talked to us about the symbolism between hysop and cedar trees. Hysop is oregano and grows out of the rocks. It is just a little plant that smells delicious and was used for medicinal and cooking purposes during the Biblical times. Hysop is representative of humility and is used as a symbol of this on many occasions in the Bible. Cedar trees are representative of pride because they are large trees here. When King Soloman became prideful, he had outlandish amounts of Cedar trees brought in to build his palace. After realizing his pride, Soloman asked to be cleansed with hysop. Before learning these things I never would have understood the symbolism in this story, but now I do. After talking about many of the bible stories that involve these two plants, we ground dried oragano up with some of the other herbs we had gathered to use later. We then were able to visit a Torah scribe and see some 200 year old Torah scrolls. At lunch we all sat around and ate our sack lunches, and then they taught us how to make pita bread. We got to make our own pitas and then eat them with olive oil and the oragano we had ground up. It was delicious! I am craving it right now! After lunch, we talked about the importance of milk and honey in the promised land and got to see what a Kosher Sukkot or booth looks like that the Jews still stay in today for their Sukkot holiday. They stay in these booths for 8 days to remember their time in the wilderness and appreciate all that they have in the land of milk and honey. We also talked about why the Jews drink wine to celebrate the harvest, so we all toasted and drank wine to really feel a part of the experience. Okay, it was only grape juice, but we can pretend. It really was a fun field trip and I learned a lot. I also put rocks in a boys backpack all day long and he still hasn't found them. I can't wait until he figures out he has been packing around rocks this whole time!

My week late conference

2008-10-11T15:50:00.003+02:00

I don't know if anyone else has ever felt like certain talks were written especially for them, but I felt that with almost every talk we watched today. I have felt that a select few lines in talks were meant for me to hear, or a certain lesson in Sunday school was a subject I was supposed to hear, but I have never felt a whole session of conference was prepared just for me until today. I know I am hearing it a week late, but it is amazing how much that week has helped me figure out for myself what I was wanting to gain from conference. Before I came to Jerusalem Dad gave me a blessing and in it I was blessed that I would know what I direction I should go would be made clear to me while I was here. I didn't think I was wondering what I should do so I was a little confused by why I was told that. When I came here I began to worry that maybe I had made a wrong choice somewhere in life and I was way far off from the path I am supposed to be on. Not that I was worried about being wayward, or that I have been jumping off the deep end or anything, but with the economy tanking and the end of college coming, I was beginning to wonder if my dreams might be taking me in the wrong direction where I came home to Mom and Dads basement everynight. As conference rolled around, I got excited to hear Elder Worthlin talk because he is my favorite and he just has such a simple yet powerful way with words. When he was the first speaker today I was so excited and knew it was going to be a good session. I think I may have pulled something completely different out of conference than everyone else, but I can say without a doubt that I am not pointed in the wrong direction. My 5 year...heck, even my 1 year plan is still hazey, but I know it is going to clear up as I go. As I am looking back on my notes right now, I can see that the subject of the talks really didn't have anything to do with what I learned, but that is the great thing about personal revelation! It comes when you need it, if you are prepared. You are probably wondering what it was that I learned... I am quitting school and becoming a dancer! Just kidding. Quite the opposite. Working with kids is where I need to be. Not a mission. Not passing drinks out on an airplane somewhere. I am meant to work with children and their families. I really might be on the borderline of over obssesive about it. I was talking to a girl here just the other day about it. She is an elementary ed. major so I was excited to talk education with her. She stopped me and said, "I am only majoring in el. ed. becasue it is a good degree to have. I hate working with kids. I don't want anything to do with teaching. But it is always a good fall back plan." I wanted to whop her in the head! I would never send any child to her classroom! I wanted to tell her she was a disgrace and and that she had better rethink life real quick. I held my tongue and decided maybe I could point out some other career options that would be better and would keep her far away from children. I don't think it worked, but I have 3 more months to convice her to do something else. Well, dinner is calling my name, but I just had to write down how blessed I am to constantly be reassured in the gospel. How does anyone get through life with out it?

A Friday to Remember

2008-10-10T19:28:00.002+02:00

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.

Dome of th Rock

2008-10-08T22:15:00.007+02:00

It took a lot of work to not get any asains in this picture
My secret society friends. Ask me about it when I get home

Some of us rushed over to the Dome of the Rock the other day right after breakfast. It is only open in the mornings and we have class most mornings so on the days we get a morning off, a lot of us students go there. The Dome of the Rock was much smaller than I had expected and other than a bunch of asain tourists, we were the only others ones there. Here are a few pictures from the quick trip to the Temple Mount...

Yom Kippur/Olive Picking

2008-10-08T15:45:00.005+02:00

Nathan, me, and Andrew getting ready to go to The Great Synagogue

Appartenly this is holiday month for the Jews. Just last week they had Rosh Hashanah (their new year). On Rosh Hashanah several of us went to the Great Synagogue and took part in the services. We had to dress very modestly (floor length skirts and elbow length shirts for the girls, and the boys had to wear kippas ) and once you are in the synagogue, the men go in one way and the women another. I did not know what to expect at all, so it was really interesting to just jump in and experience it. The services were held in Hebrew, of course, and The Great Synagogue is one of the few in the world that has a choir that sings all of the scripture that are being read for the services. The rest of the worshippers follow along in the Torahs and rock and sway back and forth as they read along. I am not quite sure why they do it, but they do. I just stood in the back and listened as the choir of all men, and occassionally one young boy, sang beautifully. After about an hour of watching the service, me and a few of the other students snuck out. The streets in West Jerusalem were absolutely empty. It was so weird walking around the usually busy streets. Only one store was open...McDonalds. I got me a huge hamburger and fries and I have never been happier with McDonalds. Rosh Hashanah happened to fall on the last day of Ramadan as well, so the Muslims were celebrating that day as well. We walked through the Old City on our way back home, and it was like it was a completely different city. There weren't near as many vendors, and the were tons more young people out walking the streets. Everyone was all dressed up. Something they must do for the end of Ramdan is give their children play guns. All of the little kids were pointing their pellet guns at us and either pretend shooting us, or really shooting us with pellets. I now understand why so many parents won't let their children play with toy guns. It was kind of scary to see all these little Arab children with guns that looked so real, even if they were just toys. That night it was like the town never went to sleep. Music was blasting, lights were everywhere, and parties were definitely going on. I wanted to go check it out so bad, but couldn't for some obvious saftey reasons. The week from Rash Hashanah on has mostly been a bunch of school work and a few field trips, but tonight is the eve of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. Luckily we had our Jewish class today and our Jewish professor dedicated the whole 2 hours to educating us about Yom Kippur. At the end of class, he played a song for us that they will sing in synagogue tonight for the holiday. He got choked up and it was really neat that he would share something so sacred to him with us. I love it here! I am so blessed to be able to rub shoulders with all of these people and learn from them. After class and lunch, they hauled all 80 of us students outside and had us pick the olives from the trees lining the street to the Jerusalem Center. It ended up being a lot of fun and I think I threw more olives at people than I picked. We will pick more tomorrow, and then later this week we are going to press them to make our own olive oil. Today we are not allowed out of the center because...well, I don't know why...but I am kind of sad because I really would have liked to have headed over to West Jerusalem and gone to another synagogue and seen the city on Yom Kippur. I am sure we will find something exciting to do around here.

The vacation feeling is gone

2008-10-06T21:37:00.004+02:00

I don't know why it hit me today, but I am sick of all these people. Okay, not all of them, but pretty close. And if any of my fellow students are reading this, I am sorry, but I am sure you are sick of my face too. Maybe it was the fact that we had an all day field trip again today, and the thought of spending one more minute on a bus was too much, but I was feeling especially anti- social. Luckily one of the nicest, and hardest people to ever hate, sat next to me on the bus. The first few stops on the field trip were to places I can't even remember the names of. I guess I should learn them because I know my Old Testament teacher will quiz me on them on Thursday. I know this is terrible, but I am really liking the Old Testament less each day. It is so wierd. After a few stops to places that are briefly mentioned in the Bible and have no significant meaning, we finally stopped for lunch. You probably guessed it, but after lunch I was feeling much happier! After lunch, we went to some caves and climbed around for a while. It was a blast! The boys were having to help pull the girls up a tiny wall. Being the Webb girl I am, I didn't want help. But I allowed them to do their manly duties and give me their hands at the top. When you get to the top f the wall, you have to scoot out backward through the "birth canal". You seriously have to put your arm above your head and scoot with your feet to get through. It was a blast! We all came out caked in dirt, but happy as ever. After playing in the caves, we finally went to a location I knew has some significance... The Valley of Elah, where David slew Goliath. We practiced chucking rocks with sling shots, and I have come to the conclusion throwing them is much easier. I loaded my pockets full of rocks to bring home to Dad (his one request) and then made our way to the top of a near by mountain to look down at the valley. The field trip ended up being great. We got home just in time to eat quickly, load up into taxis, and go to some of the local branch members homes for FHE. We don't know Jeusalem outside of the Old City very well, and I guess our taxi driver didn't either. He dropped us off at the wrong place and then took off. The member ended up having to come find us and pick us up. When he pulled up in his big Yukon with XM radio playing, I could have cried I was so happy to see something that felt like home. The family that had us over for FHE is from Arizona, but the father works for the Department of State. His wife is hispanic, and for dessert she made us homemade chips( she actually made the chips) and salsa. Praise Heaven Above! I have been CRAVING chips and salsa for weeks. I could have kissed them I was so happy. They had two bright little boys who stayed up and played games with us. Going to their house really was a blessing. All day I kept thinking about how much I missed just being around kids. I spend my days at school in Idaho studying about kids, and when I am at home I get to love on the nieces and nephews, so it is hard to not have any contact with kids for this long. Just being able to sit on the floor with the boys and have them be on my team for the game made my day. Even grumpy days are good ones in the Holy Land

Hiking Sinai

2008-10-05T13:39:00.003+02:00

All 80 of us students on top. This was our 'silly' picture
1 .a.m. Bang Bang Bang! "Good Morning! Prepare for your departure." I don't believe I have ever been less excited to wake up. Those hotel men came and woke us up WAY to early. I rolled out of bed, put my jeans, jacket, and headlamp on, and I was ready. I easily could have slept another 40 minutes and been fine. Because we had time to kill, my roommate and I went and layed by the pool and looked at the stars. We eventually went and picked up our sack breakfast (3 rolls, a hard boiled egg, and a bag of chips). As many times as I have eaten crap at 1 a.m. I couldn't force myself to do it this time. A short drive later, and we were at the base of Sinai. I had been a little worried about this hike because, well, exercising is not something I perfer to do in my spare, or for that matter, structured time. I was surprised at how many people got up this early to hike up to the top of the mountain. As we made our way up, all the bedouin men kept trying to sell us camel rides. Camels are smelly, grumpy animals. I got snapped at by three just on the way up. Right as I started the hike up, a girl from my group named Heidi came and asked me a million questions and we ended up talking the whole way up. She is an exercise science major so she totally loves this kind of stuff. I don't think she knows it, but she kept me going at a good pace and made the trip up fun and short. After about 2 hours of hiking, 750 steps, 2,285 meters, and one bag of pretzels later, I made it to the top. It was still dark when I reached the top but I found some of my friends and sat by them. Just as I was sitting down, my friend accidentally spilt her water bottle on a European couple snuggling below her. He kept yelling and yelling at her saying "You must understand, you need to be careful! You need to put the lid on your bottle! You must turn your lights out!" At first I thought it was kind of funny, but when he didn't stop after 5 minutes, I was getting annoyed. Then my friend came by me becasue she was embarrased and felt bad. The Webb blood in me began to boil. The headlamp dad got me was the crown jewel of the hike. It illuminted the whole path and blinded anyone looking in my general direction. Just to irritate the man more, I flipped my headlamp on full power and looked right at him. This sent him into another bout of complaints. I just laughed. Then another one of my friends nudged me and said "Mikael, be nice." To this I replied "Moses would just drop it is someone spilt water on him." then the guilt hit me. I was in a holy place, on top of the mountain where the ten commandments were recieved, and here I was being spiteful. I turned my head lamp off, apologized, and decided to just let it go. For the first time since coming over here, I was freezing. We all were. It was also the first time we could all snuggle up and not feel guilty. You would think none of us students had ever had human contact before. Since we are not allowed to even give high fives in many areas, let alone hug, snuggling for warmth was so much more than snuggling for warmth for many. Then the sun began to rise. It was absolutely beautiful. If there were one thing i could change, it would have been less people up there. After the sun rose, our religion professors talked to us for a few minutes concerning the importance of where we were and what mountains represent. We sang a few hymns, and then made our way back down the mountain. A group of us started talking to some Kenyan's on the way down. They were very kind and it was so fun to become at least a little bit familiar with another culture. When we got back to the hotel, we were allowed to swim for a while before loading up for the long drive back to Jerusalem. And a long drive it was. Although I was not ready to leave the adventure of Egypt behind, I was ready to step back into a modern country again where I can drink from the tap.

Mosque

2008-10-04T18:22:00.005+03:00

The Citadel

The last day in Cairo. I really was not excited about the end of Egypt coming soon. As gross and grimey as it was, I was loving every minute of it. On this day , we went to visit several Muslim mosques. The first one we went to was the Citadel. It was beautiful on the outside and inside. There were carpets lining every inch of the inside, and we had to take off our shoes when we entered and hold them as we sat in a circle and listened to our tour guide tell us all sorts of facts I can't even remember now. After the Citadel, we went to another mosque where we were the only people there. We got to climb a little tower and look out over the courtyard and the city below. It really was a sight to see. Before I knew it, we were back onto the buses adn driving towards Mt. Sinai. I tryed writing in my journal on the bus ride, but the only sentence I could write before getting frustrated was "If this bus wasn't taking to me to exciting places, I would burn it to the ground." One loooooooong bus ride later, and we were at a dirty little hotel just below Mt. Sinai. We knew that we would be getting up to hike up the mountain at 2 am, but there was just too much fun going on to go to bed. There was a little bedouin tent on the hotel grounds selling all sorts of fun trinkets and playing music. A bunch of us went down there and hung out with the bedouins. They had pillows to sit on and drums to play on, so we had fun playing around. My roommate and I finally went to bed around 10 to try and get a few hours of sleep before the big hike in the morning.

Mummies!!!

2008-10-03T15:06:00.005+03:00

I know I only have one picture of this day, but that is seriously all I took this day. If you could have seen how gross we all were you would thank me. After being woken up at 5 am on the train to eat breakfast (which I did not touch) and get get off the train at 6, we went back to our hotel in Cairo to eat a real breakfast, attempt to clean up in the hotel restroom bathrooms, and have sacrament meeting. We weren't allowed to check into our rooms until much later, so it was going to be another day without a shower. Although it was Friday and none of us had church clothes, we were able to shut ourselves in one of the hotel's dining rooms and have sacrament meeting. For Islam, the holy day is Friday, and since were were in a Islamic nation, we held our holy day on Friday as well. At first it was hard not to laugh as I looked around the room at the scraggly bunch we were, and when our doctor/branch President got up in his t-shirt with Egypt embroidered across the front. But when there is a spirit of sacredness and respect, the spirit is present. Several of the students had been asked to prepare talks ahead of time, and we had an excellent sacrament meeting. I think that this is the first time I have had something other than sliced bread for the sacrament. We had pitas. Some of the cooks and servers peeked their heads in and watched with curios eyes as this loud group of haggered American tourists came together to worship for an hour. It really was a fun and neat experience. After sacrament, we loaded back into the buses and went to Egyptian Museum. There were so many amazing things to see in the museum, but because of poor management and the way it is run, it is difficult to really enjoy and see it all. The building is dark and definitely not air conditioned. Tourists are packed into every available space. There are not many labels on any of the artifacts, so you really have no idea what you are looking at. We did have a tour guide taking us around and showing us some of the most important things, but my headset broke when we got there so I couldn't hear her. We were allowed to wander around on our own after our tour guide was finished talking, and most of us payed extra to go into the mummy rooms. I believe there were somewhere around 22 mummies. This was definitely my favorite part of the museum. All the Pharaohs we had been talking, learning, and even joking about in our free time (yes, we are that nerdy here and it is okay) were right there before me. One of the most surprising things was how nice their teeth were! I wish we would have been allowed to take pictures so I could show you. After the museum, we went to the Cairo Bazaar to do some more shopping. I didn't know it was possible, but I did not want to shop. I don't think any of us did. We were gross, timred, and hungry. Most of the shops were closed anyway because we got there just as the prayer service in the mosque just outside of the shopping area was beginning. I did find a ton of Egyptian turquios that I fell in love with. Everytime anyone sees turquios now, they come find me and show me. They have tons in Egypt! Next on the to do list was eat at the hard Rock Cafe. I was looking forward to a good ol' burger and fries for days! Unfortunately, we got the wrong waiter. He couldn't get our drink orders straight, and even though our teachers had called ahead of time and arranged for each of us to have burgeres, our waiter somehow forgot my table and never brought us food. We kept waiting and waiting, and pretty soon I looked around and noticed everyone else was done with their food and I hadn't gotten mine yet. Then the music got real loud and all the waiters came out and started dancing for us. I was NOT a happy camper. One of the boys at my table tryed to tell another waiter, but he was too busy dancing to care. We had to go tell one of our professors and he had to get the manager before we were given the time of day. I decided to suck it up and join in the dancing until my food came. I tryed to shoot the dirtiest looks I could when our waiter came to tell us they were making our burgers, but everyone else at my table was so nice about it I felt bad. After lunch, we were finally allowed to go back to the hotel and check in. As soon as we could, we all got in our swimsuits and jumped in the pool. It was so hilarious to watch all of the other tourists watch us. One man could not stop laughing at our game of Marco-Polo. Before long, the boys were contructing human towers in the pool. My first thought was, "They are going to make us stop soon. This is such a liability hazzard." And then I remembered... we were in Egypt! All the tourists had their video cameras and phones out taking pictures and video. Somehow, with the combined power of boys and girls, a group of students built a tower five people tall. We were all screaming and cheering while everyone by the poolside laughed and watched the crazy Americans. I am sure we were a sight to see. When the pool closed, we all went back and showered and decided we were all going to dress up in our newly purchased Egyptian clothing for dinner. At dinner we had a blast taking pictures as we walked in, and pretending we would actually wear these clothes again after that night. Some of us girls even did the dramatic eye make up and tryed to look like the Egyptian beauty Queen Nephertiti. Too abd everybody doesn't know I really am Nephertiti...reincarnated.

Temples and Trains

2008-10-01T18:11:00.009+03:00

My Egypt roommate Rachael and I in our disgusting train car

Luxor Temple

A scarab beetle carving at the Karnak temple

At the Karnak temple

This day began with a boat ride up the Nile to Karnak temple. Once again, an amazing structure build by genious means. The Egyptians new how to make everything so much larger than life, and somhow much of it is still standing thousands of years later. Everything from the pillars and columns. Once again, there was temple symbolism all over their carvings in the walls. After the end of tour, we were given some free time to run around and take some pictures. We then took carraiges (yes, those are still a highly used form of transportaion here) over to Luxor temple. Luxor temple was not quite as big at Karnak, but just as impressive as all of the other buildings we have visited. Outside of the Luxor temple there are rows of Shpinx creating a path towards Karnak temple. Back when the temples existed in all of their glory, they were connected by a two mile walkway of Sphinx. How fun it would have been to be able to walk that past! There are now buildings and homes blocking the connection between the two. One of the strangest things to see in both of these Ancient Egyptian temples were the signs of Early Christian influence. The faces of many of the Egyptian writings were chipped off by the Christians and paintings of Holy scenes were painted up alongside all of the Egyptian writings. In Luxor temple, There is a mosque and signs of where a Christian church was built inside. it contains three major civilizations places of worship. After Luxor temple, it was back to the hotel for free time. I didn't feel like battling the Bazaar again, so I stuck around the hotel. As evening time came, we all gathered in the hotel lobby and socialized until we got on the buses that took us to the train station. As soon as we ariived at the train station, I knew we were in for an undesired adventure. The only train I have experienced before is the train in Durango. A short, clean, opren train car for a scenic ride. This train looked like it had been to Hell and back one too amny times. As we loaded into our sleeping traincars, I have never felt so out of my comfort zone as when I tryed to figure out how I was going to ride all night in this train back to Cairo without touching anything. You know your in trouble when the bar of soap in the sink says "Good Luck". My hand sanitizer bottle went from about half full to almost empty by the end of that train ride. Luckily for me, I has a roommate that was as free spirited as any person could be, and she made the stay in the train as little of a fuss as possible, and kept me laughing the whole time we were awake. Because we has been kicked out of our hotel rooms earlier in the day and had to ride the overnight train, all of us looked like train wrecks. No showers and a night on the train from hell can do that quickly.

Valley of the Kings

2008-09-30T13:30:00.009+03:00

Funerary Temple of Ramses III

In the Valley of the Kings

Valley of the Kings

Yes, the fanny pack is cool. So is the valleyof the Kings. I already want to go back and visit it again. We rode these little cart things up the valley and then unloaded to file through several of the tombs found in the valley where the great Pharaohs were layed to rest. I can't even believe how great of shape they are in. The carvings on the wall and the paint that decorated them are still bright and visible. I played ancient Egyptian historian all day as I tryed to look at each of the millions of pictures that covered every free space of wall. I tryed figuring out what was happening in the picture and what it was communicating. I wasn't much good. I suck close to my friend Nathan who has a gift for seeing things much differently than I ever could and explaining it so it makes sense to me. One of my favorite parts about each tomb were the beautiful blue cielings with gold stars painted perfectly in rows. I would love to have an Egyptian themed room someday that reflects many of the things I loved about visiting Egypt. The last tomb we visited was the tomb of King Tut. Tut really wasn't that important of a pharaoh becasue he was so young and his reign was short, but the discovery of his tomb was important because it was undiscovered by grave robbers so it was just the way it was meant to be when he was placed there to rest. It was much, much smaller than I expected, but exciting none the less. His mummy was displayed near hte entrance of the tomb. In most of the tombs I went into that day, we were rushed through and pushed along so that other tourists could file through. We happened to come to tut's tomb at the right moment because nobody else was pushing to get in so we were allowed to linger for a few more minutes. Tut's mummy was small and he looked like he was a short man. I would put up pictures but we were not allowed to take camers in any of the tombs, so pictures outside of it will have to do. As we walked through many of the tombs, the guys who have all been on missions kept pulling eachother to the side and pointing out "ah ha!" moments as they saw pictures dipicting things they have learned in the temple. It looks like the Egyptians had a larger portion of the truth than we may think. I loved seeing the connections between what I have been learning in my classes at the Jerusalem center and seeing these amazing structures and writings literally THOUSANDS of years old in real life. After the valley of the Kings, we visited the funerary temple of Ramses III. His funerary temple was breath taking! The statues, the pictures carved into the walls, everything, was larger than life. As our tour guide took us around the temple, he kept pointing out scenes dipicting the final judgement as the Egyptians understood it. It was amazing much of the truth showed up in their altered version of the gospel. I am sure I didn't understand it all well as those who had been through the temple, but I would watch their expressions and snap pictures of what ever it was we were looking at when their eyes would get wide and they would look around to see if any one else had made the same connections they did. I will understand someday. I was amazed that I could get the reaffirming feeling of the spirit of how true the gospel is is a several thousand year old Egyptian temple, but if that feeling can come to me when I am on my knees next to my bed or when I am in the middle of a tough trial, I guess it can happen in an ancient Egyptian temple. As we came to the bcak of the temple, our tour guide pointed out that the elevation of each room in the temple got higher and higher the further we entered the temple. All of us let out a unanimous "Oh!" I am sure he was wondering why that was so amazing to us, but for having no idea about our beliefs, our Egyptian guide did an amazing job of pointing out the reflections of the truth of the gospel throughout the funerary temple of Ramses II. We then went back to the hotel for a some free time and then those of us who wanted to pay 10 more dollars go to go on a boat ride up the Nile and then on an hour long ride on camels. My camel's name was Michael Jordan and the young boy pulling my camel along kept telling me not to forget him at chirstmas. I think that was his way of hitting me up for money. That evening we ventured our way into the city and braved the bazaar. I have never been to a marketplace as aggressive as the Luxor Bazaar. The vendors all yelled to us and would not take no for an answer. I ended up buying a couple of pointless things just becasue the bartering for them was so much fun. It was fun to get back to the hotel and compare our spoils of war and how much we all overpayed for the same things. It was then back to the pool for another night of acting much to young but not caring because it was too much fun.

The day of the Pyramids

2008-09-29T22:47:00.007+03:00

It is hard to see, but it says Hi Family!

September 23rd. The day of the Pyramids. I don't believe there is any better way to start out a day than going to the pyramids. The first pyramid we visited was the Great Pyramid. It is huge! How did these people build these things!? I am continually amazed with how innovative and unique the Ancient Egyptians were. There was a smile plastered on everyone's faces the whole day. I have always imagined myself going to these far off locations around the world, but when I actually get here, it is hard to get myself to believe I am really there. Egypt! The Pyramids! How many books did I read about this when I was a kid? I don't believe there is anything as fun as fullfilling a childhood fantasy. After snapping pictures in front of the great pyramid, we drove over to the second pyramid. We were able to actually go inside of this pyramid. In order to get into the pyramid, you have to duck down and walk up a small shaft with not ventilation. I usually don't get closterphobic, but I was fighting the feeling of panic as I took deep breaths trying not to inhale the sweat from all the other tourists climbing in and out of the small shaft leading to a opening within the pyramid. Inside the opening, was an empty tomb. There were no decorations or signs that a great Pharaoh had once been layed to rest here. Grave robbers had erased any trace of that long before. Just a few minutes inside the small room within the pyramid was good enought for me and I crouched my way back out. As my friends and I came out of the pyramid, we hurried to a find a camel to take pictures on in front of the pyramids. The man selling his camel serivces told us it was only 5 dollars so we jumped at the chance. We rode the camels around for a while and had a photo shoot. We realized it was time for us to get back on the bus so we attempted to get off, pay, and then jet. I purposely only brought 5 dollars with me so there was no possible way for me to pay anymore. Two of my friends had a hard time getting away without feeling guilty, so the man sucked 25 dollars out of them. I handed my five over, said thanks, and then took off. After running as fast as we could back to the bus, we drove over to the Sphinx to fulfill yet another life dream. I should have tryed a little harder to look good that day considering all the Kodak moments of the day, but when you can't drink the water, you have to lug a weeks work of clothes around in a small bag, and the heat melts every ounce of makeup within seconds, it is near impossible. After the Shpinx and the pyramids, we drive to the museum that has the staue of Ramses II. It is massive and all cut from one stone. Then it was over to the step pyramids. These were the first pyramids to be built, and although they don't look like the pyramids we usually think of, they were the steping stones to the Great Pyramids. We then were able to go to a tomb and look and touch (which I later found out we weren't supposed to do) all the of ancient egyptian hyrogliphics. Much of the paint that was originally on them was still there. It was absolutley amazing to be so up close and personal with the ancient writings I stared at in the pages of books as a child. By this time it was later afternoon and we were all starving. We loaded up and made our way to one of the most authentic resturants I have ever eaten in. The walls were sheets stretched across poles surrounding the rows of tables and chairs. The pitas were hand made by a woman covered in soot across from out dining. The food was delicious and the company great! The bathrooms were a different story. As you walk in, there is a girl with small squares of paper towels. You tip her and she hands you one. While still braving the small stalls, I heard my roommate and the girl distributing paper towels giggling as my roommate shreaked and jumped out of the way as the sink shot water out at her. My favorite moments in forgein countries are moments like these when people connect regardless of language, religious, or cultural differences. We all sat in there and giggled for a minute before saying goodbye. After our late lunch, we battled traffic to the Cairo airport where we boarded a small plane that took us further south to Luxor. Our hotel in Luxor was more than we could have hoped for. It was a five star hotel with each of us staying in rooms that were located in bungalows around the pool. Small shops lined the walkway from the front desk t the pool. The hotel was literally right on the Nile. The staff was more than accomodating for us and let us swim until all hours of the night even though the pool was supposed to close at 5 pm. As soon as we could, we all jumped into our swimsuits and hopped in the pool. I don't believe I have ever laughed as much as I did that night. All 80 of us students reverted back to 8 years old. We were playing games and laughing about absolutely nothing. We all attempted to be quiet, but it is just to hard when you are having so much fun. Our teachers came out and sat by the pool and laughed right along with us. There were people trying to build human towers, synchronized swimming, and games of pure imagination going on. I laughed so much I had to take two advil to relieve the headache I got from smiling so big.

Third World

2008-09-29T14:30:00.004+03:00

September 22nd. The day of the bus rides. We left the Kubbitz in the morning and drove 15 minutes to the border. We had to unload all of our things and walk through a million Israeli checkpoints to get out of Israel. As soon as we left the Israel border crossing station, it was apparent we were in a different country with a different standard of living. The guards in Israel were all young, well dressed, carrying massive guns, and interested in security. The guards in Egypt were all middle aged, unshowered men, more interested in being friendly(especially with a bunch of yound Ameircan girls.) We had to wheel our luggage down the road to the Egyptian border and go through security and fill out paperwork in a building that hadn't seen cleaning supplies in years. We then loaded up on our new, well, new in a past life, buses. I was a little worried about touching anything and just kept telling myself that no matter what, I could enjoy this bus because it was taking me to the pyramids. In Egypt, each tour bus has to have a armed body guard traveling with them everywhere. We also had our agent from the travel agency with us. It was a packed bus with smaller seats, little air conditioning, and a long drive ahead. I don't know if deoderant is not common knowledge or what, but America should really promote that around the world. The bus driver, the travel agent, and our securtly guard were all stinky! The bus drive to Cairo was 8 hours long. It possibly could have been shorter, but my bus broke down twice so we had to stop while the bus driver patched things up and got on the road again. It was more dirt and nothingness with men on camels every once in a while. As we approached Ciaro, it was very apparent we were entering a place like no other place we had been before. There were 6 lanes of cars crammed into 4 lanes. Camels and donkeys carrying people cruised along the side of the road. The city looked like a bunch of projects or ghettos stretched form miles on end. None of the buildings were finished, making it easier to add more stories if more space was needed. There is somewhere betwenn 17-20 million people living in Ciaro! The best part of the drive was seeing the pyramids right there in the skyline. It looked like they were right in the middle of the city! Oh wait...They were! All the miserable hours on the bus were worth it. We rushed to the hotel, cleaned up, and then sprinted off to the pyramids to watch a sound and light show. They lit up the pyramids and had lasers showing pictures. The show told the history of the pyramids and truthfully, resembled an old british documentary. It was exciting to be so close to the pyramids, and was a great way to get pumped up to see them them next day.

To the border

2008-09-29T13:30:00.008+03:00

Kibbutzin it up!

True or False?

Like you would like to wander around this for 40 years either

Walking down into the well in Beersheba

Our first day of traveling didn't actually land us in Egypt that day, but we able to stop and see some amazing things on the way. We woke up bright and early and were on the bus by 7 am. Our first stop was in Beersheba and the Zin Wilderness outlook. Beersheba is where Abraham dug a well. NOt quite sure why that is important, but I'll figure it out. At the Zin Wildreness outlook, we were able to look out over the absolute baren land that the children of Israel spent most of their wandering years in. As we drove to these locations, I couldn't help but note how strikingly similar it looks like New Mexico. I was pretty sure for a while there that they had played a trick on all of us. We had to be driving from Shiprock to Gallup. They were only telling us that we were in Israel. We really were just on the rez. Then a sign with Arabic and Hebrew would sneak up on the side of the road and I would really believe we were in Israel. As we were looking out over the Judean Wilderness, I came to the realization that if I had been one of the Children of Israel, I would have given up after about 3 hours and headed back to Egypt. It was SO hot. I can understand why they just were unhappy and complained instead. After a quick lunch near Ben-Gerion's grave, we hopped back on the bus and went to Avdat. We were all so excited to just get to Egypt we were all wondering why we were making all these stops. None of us had a clue what Avdat was. We unloaded from the buses, squeezed 80 plus of us in a little room (with no air conditioning) to watch a horribly made video on an ancient nomadic people that placed roots where we were. They became successful traders, pottery makers, and booze drinkers. After the movie, we were all wondering why we stopped to come here. Then they drove us to the top of the hill and let us loose. There were ruins and we were allowed to walk through them, check them out, and play. It turned out to be one of the funnest parts of the day. There were millions of cool pictures to be taken, and beautiful views all over. There was one spot where there used to be a building but all that was left was an archway overlooking blue sky and miles of untouched desert. I grabbed one of my friends and we attempted to take fake engagement photos. They are not great because it was so spur of the moment. Everyone was still in the awkward "do I put my arm around you when we take pictures" phase at this point in the trip, so engagement photos were hilarious to take. It turns out we started a war, and now there are a few of us having a contest to see how many cool fake engagement photos we can snap in the world's best locations. After the ruins, we drove to the Israeli-Egyptian border and took a tour of a Kibbutz. A Kibubutz is a community of people who all work together and share all their profits equally. At this particular Kibbutz, they farmed dates, had a dairy farm, and raised horses. It was kind of odd. We then drove a short distance away and stayed the night at another Kibbutz. We got to the Kibbutz in the late evening and none of us were ready for bed. Having been stuck on a bus for a good part of the day, the creative wheels started turning and pretty soon most of us students were playing games and entertaining eachother. A few of our professors came out and joined us. I absolutley love the professors here. They are so down to earth and you can tell they are enjoying every minute as much as we are. After staying up way too late talking out on our front porches, we decided it was time to turn in and get some sleep for the next day's journey into Egypt.

Back from Egypt!

2008-09-29T13:18:00.003+03:00

I am not sure how I am going to format all the adventures I had in Egypt, but I have a feeling it will be a bunch of new posts so the pictures can coincide with the days. I want to get as much as I can on here as soon as I can so all my thoughts and feelings are fresh. Egypt was a blast and it still is hard to believe I was able to see all the things I saw. It feels like I have become a marathon traveler and I don't know how our professors do it! They have every minute of everyday plan, and they know how to direct our herd of 80 students better than should be humanly possible. I loved this trip for so many reasons, but I think one of the greatest things to come from it were the fullfilling of dreams, and the bonding that happened between all of the students. I am continually amazed at the caliber of people I am surroundfed by and have felt inadequate at times to be lumped into a group with them. There are so many intelligent, kind, and down right fun people here. Each minute of everyday is filled with a new adventure. Let me share my adventure of Egypt with you.

P.S. DISCLAIMER: You will see a fanny pack in many of my pictures. They are standard issue. Don't make fun. It is actually a lot more useful than you would think. ha ha! I love looking like an absolute dork and the fanny packs we all wear only help out the image!

To Egypt I go!

2008-09-20T17:52:00.003+03:00

Tomorrow I leave for Egypt and I can hardly wait! Is it really possible for one girl to be fulfilling so many dreams in such a short time? The 8 day trip will be a little nuts, so I won't be able to get on and blog about it for the week . I know, I know, how will you all live! Just so I can make you jealous, and so you can know what I am up, I will give you my itinerary. We load up on the bus at 6:30 tomorrow (the only times I wake up that early are when there is food or traveling invovled). We will be going to Tel Beersheba, Wilderness of Zin overlook, Be Gurion's grave, and then stopping at a Kibbutz to stay the night. On Monday we will get back on the bus, and go to Cairo. Tuesday is going to be my favorite Tuesday of all time. That day we will be going to the Giza Pyramids, Sphinx, Saqqara, Memphis, and then a papyrus factory. How we will do all that in one day, I don't know, but I can hardly wait. That night we will take a flight to Luxor and stay in a five star hotel. Isn't life rough! let's just hope they are using the American star system and not Egypt's. On Wednesday we will be going to the west bank of the Nile temples and tombs, the Valley of the Kings, and the Funerary Temple of Ramses III. That afternoon I will be going on a Camel Safari! Thursday we take a carraige ride to Karnak Temple and then over to Luxor Temple. That night we will take an overnight train back to Cairo. We are not allowed on the club-car on the train, but I plan on creating my own club car. On Friday we will be having sacrament meeting becasue Friday is the holy day for Muslims. Then we will be going to the Egyptian Museum where we get to see a bunch of mummies, then to the Ibn Tulun Mosque, then the Anderson Museum, then to khan al-Khalili, and lasy but not least, Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe! Our professors know how to party! JK. I don't know what half those thing are I just listed, but I will find out! On Saturday we will tour Citadel and then head off to Mount Sinai. On Sunday, we will get up a 2 am so we can hike up to the top of Sinai for the sunrise. I am not going to lie, I am not too excited about the whole hiking thing. I am sure it will be amazing, but I have a hard time thinking happy thoughts in the morning anyway, let alone while I am hikinh up cliffs. After the hike, we will return to the mother land...a.k.a. Israel. Whew! Wish me luck! I am hoping I can get through the week without any stomach problems.

I hit on a gay man

2008-09-18T13:53:00.004+03:00

Perry! I was so happy to see you at the beach! (p.s. This is NOT the gay man I hit on. I named this one Gilligan. He has a captains hat)
My roommates Lauren and Angela. I love them!

The Western Wall

Before I tell you about my Tel Aviv trip, I will back track and cover the days before that. On Monday I was able to go to the Western/wailing wall for the first time. I was planning on staying in and reading, but when I heard a group was going I grabbed my stuff and took off with them. I figure the best education doesn't come from books. I was so excited to see it because it is a place I have always wanted to visit, and since our field trip got canceled the other day, I have not been able to see it. The western wall is the only thing left of the second Jewish temple. It is the holiest place on earth for Jews. The wall isn't actually a wall of the temple, but a retaining wall that held the temple. There is absolutely nothiong left of the temple, so it is this the wall that the Jews come to pray at and read scripture. There is a divider along the wall seperating the men's side from the women's. The women's side was packed. I wrote a little prayer on a piece of paper and walked to the wall to add it to all the prayers from around the world. I had to wait a while to get close enough to touch the wall. As I tryed to stuff my little piece of paper into a crack in the wall, I knocked down about 20 other prayers. The only picture I have of me at the wall is when I am turning around after making a mess of a sacred place...nothing new in the life of Mikael. After visiting the wall, I went with a few girls to go into the old city to try and find some skirts and sandals to wear. I only brought church skirts becuase, well, I thought that was the only time you wear a dress. Wrong. Skirt are SO much better to wear here because it is so dang hot and sweaty! Anyway, What I learned from that little outing into the old city was to never go with those girls again. I know Dad hates it when I say mean things about some of Heavenly Father's other children, but these girls were stupid! Sweet as sweet can be, but just plain stupid! I thought we were either going to- A. be shot because they were so rude to the shop keepers or B. get run over. I don't know how many times I pulled them out of the street because they kept wandering out into the middle of the road. Lesson learned.
That night we had a forum given by the leader of the American Jewish community here is Israel. He is pretty far up in the government. He talked about his view of the Israeli-Palistinian conflict as well and information just coming out about the whole Hezbolah incident last year. It was so interesting to hear his thoughts on the war in Iraq as well as see how different everyones views are on this conflict. I was just talking to one of the guys here about how each of our teachers talks to us about this, but they all have such differeing points of view. It is hard to get a clear picture of what really is going on and how to start moving towards peace.
Yesterday just about every student went to Tel Aviv for the day to hang out on the beach. We were all suprised with how beautiful the beach was and how warm and clear the water is. We were a funny group of tourists to behold. 80 students modestly dressed, having the time of their lives. Aparently Tel Aviv is the gay capital of Israel and the beach we were on confirmed it! You are probably wondering about the gay guy I hit on, aren't you. Well, this tall drink of water was strutting down the beach and I spotted him in the distance. Was he wearing a speedo? Yes. But he made it look good! All the other girls started giggling as he came down the beach, but I decided I was going to try and outdo them all by hitting on him. As he came close, most of them looked away (probably out of embarresment for him and his outfit). I got eye contact and smiled real big at him. Unintentionally, I started swinging my arms while still giving him googley eyes. Bad idea. I had been playing in the sand and had dirt clods in my hands. One flew out and pegged him in the leg. He turned around, gave me a funny look, and started strutting away. Oh well. Proably gay anyway.
We all stayed in Tel Aviv until the late evening before returning to Jerusalem. It was good to get out and see a different part of Israel. A few kids left their bags on the beach to go take a night dip in the Mediteranean. They got all of their stuff stolen. It was a good reminder to the rest of us that we really do need to be more careful. It was a fun day and I hope we get to go back to the beach before it starts cooling down too much. So far Brittani has been right about how much fun this place is!

4 minutes to save the world

2008-09-17T07:25:00.002+03:00

I only have 4 minutes before class starts and I realize I haven't written in a few days so I will just add a couple of lines to update you all. On Sunday I was sable to go see the Western Wall for the first time and add my own prayer to the wailing wall. I will want to go back again becasue it was packed when I got there and I wasn't really able to sit and enjoy it. I got some leather sandals and have been trying to break them in, but they are breaking my feet in is how it seems to be going. Yesterday was a crazy day packed with classes, Egypt orientation, and a forum. We leave for Egypt on Sunday and I can hardly wait! The man who spoke at the forum was amazing, and i will have to tell you more about it later. I have to run to class, now and then it os off to Tel Aviv for a day at the beach! p.s. I tryed calling several family memebrs yesterday. Mom and Chelsey were the only lucky ones to pick up.

Isaiah Scrolls

2008-09-14T18:08:00.003+03:00

Today was a "free day" where we don't have classes. We usually have classes 6 days a week, but this week we got today off. Because there were no classes, the center organized a trip for those of us who wanted to go, to see the Isaiah scrolls at the Israeli museum. For any of you who don't know what those are, they are the oldest biblical records as well as the largest scrolls found not too far from here. They are part of the dead sea scrolls. The Isaiah scrolls have not been seen for forty years because they want to preserve them, but they brought them out for a short period in the museum and they will be returning to hiding in two days. One of my professors (Andrew Skinner) is one of only a few historians to have direct contact and has worked with these scrolls. Is it possible for one person to experience so many great things all in such a short time? At the museum there is also a scale model of Jerusalem before the temple was destroyed. It was neat to see what the city I have been walking around in for the past week and a half used to look like and where it got it's original shape.

After the museum, a big group of us was dropped off in Ben Yahuda street to go explore the western side of the city. Some friends and I ended up back in the old city but in a different section than I have ever been. It was the most empty I have seen the streets becasue it is Sunday. My favorite part of walking around town is when we come across a residential area and the children are running around everywhere. They are all so cute! The curls that the Orthodox Jewish men wear are not flattering, but the little bos working on growing them aure are cute. We found a set of stairs leading to the roof tops of the old city. It was like a completely different world. There city has such diversity and just going up one level reveals a whole different world. Somehow a boy with a donkey was riding around up there. On our walk home, we came across a chapel on the Via Dolorosa. It was the Sanctuary of the Flagellation. When we walked by and I read the sign I could not stop laughing! Wow! I know they build a church over just about any sight that is important, but who was important enough to fart and get a chapel build for that! At first I think my friends were trying to be mature about the church name but when I couldn't stop giggling I think they found the humor in it. It is really supposed to be the place Christ was crowned with a crown of thorns and got the cross, but my religion teacher told us that it probably isn't. I know, I need to grow up, but I think they could have named it a little better.

Shabbat #2

2008-09-13T17:49:00.003+03:00

I have been here less than two weeks, but it feels like so much longer than that! We had our second lockdown at the center since I have been here. Apparently if the Israeli police blimp is out, there is danger in the city. During Old Testament class, the police blimp came out. I was so sad because we were supposed to be going to the wailing wall that evening, but the field trip got postponed until after Ramadan in over and we get back from Egypt. Having to stay inside the center for the night ended up being a blast. My roommates and I actually had time to just sit around and talk girl talk for the first time. Because we couldn't leave the center, we had to get creative. We watched 'What about Bob', and then got a game or sardines (it is like hide and go seek but backwards)going. The game was my idea and I am proud to say it was a big success. By the end we had a big group of people playing and it was fun to run around the center and play. I actjually really loved yesterday because I feel like I really got know people better than if the day had gone as planned.
Today was my second Shabbat here in the Holy Land and it was great one. For some reason I volunteered last week to teach Relief Society this week. I guess I miss everyone looking at me. JK. I don't know why, but church just seems to fly by here, but seems eternally long everywhere else. A girl gave a talk in Sacrament today and told her conversion story. It is pretty amazing. Her mother is Muslim and her father is Jewish. Her parents divorced and she had to live with here dad and step mom. They didn't want her having anything to do with Christianity. After searching a long time she joined the church and they found out and disowned her. She hasn't talked to them since. People like that amaze me!
After church a group of us went to the garden tomb before dinner. This has been my favorite place I have visited so far. It was the first place that there was reverence and you could actually image how the place looked in Christ's time. The tomb as well as the natural environment were still there. There wasn't a shrine built on top, adn then a chapel on top of that. It is amazing the difference in the feeling going from the street into the Garden Tomb. Other than the evangelicals shouting praises in the seating area behind us, everyone was revatively reverent and in awe of where we were at. I am continually amazed at how much Christ did for us. I have now been to the two spots where the two most important things that happened for mankind happened, the garden of Gethsemane, and the the Tomb where Christ conquered death. Without the resurrection, the Atonement would have been useless, and without the Atonement the Resurrection would have been meaningless. Would it be okay if I just stayed here forever? I love going from one amazing place to another, and being told "Hello! Welcome! You are beautiful!" from all the men on the way. ha ha!

These boots were made for walking

2008-09-11T22:20:00.005+03:00

Recognize this building?

The girls who went on the the wall tour. We made the boys take the pictures

I have never walked so much in my life! I went to the old city with a group and we walked about half of the wall around the city. It was cool to see the city from a different view. I had my first nervous moment since being here. We were walking along the wall and at the bottom of some steps there was a man leaning over the wall talking to people below. As I got closer, I noticed he had a gun and was yelling into a walkie talkie. I thought to myself, "Great, I am going to witness my first murder, and then they are going to send us home." After we all passed him, he ran down a set of stairs and into a house. Wierd! Nobody died, so we kept on with our tour of the wall. After walking around on the wall for a few hours, we went back to the center and I met up with a couple of other girls and we headed back to town. This time we went to the west side so I could help a girl find a pair of sandals. It is about a 30 minute walk to the western side of the city, and when I say it is an uphill walk both ways, I am not kidding. I don't know how this city makes that happen, but I swear it is uphill no matter where you walk. I have my first farmers tan, and I am quite proud of it.

This Sunday was are going on a field trip to the Israeli Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. One of my professors just so happens to be one of the few scholars who has handled and traslated them. He gave a forum tonight on them. it was interesting to see how even the Dead Sea Scrolls testify of the truthfulness of the gospel. They don't day anything about Joseph Smith or anything, but there are things that the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed about translating and history that Joseph Smith could not have known. After his lecture I ran to the concert hall and watched some of Israels most famous Guitar players perform. It was a father and his two sons. I never knew someone could move their fingers so fast! It was amazing! Tomorrow We are going to the western wall, also known as the wailing wall, for a field trip. I can hardly wait! Tomorrow at sunset it is the beginning of Shabbat so it is an awesome time to go. It is a dream come true for me so I can hardly wait.

Synopsis of my day: Walk along the walls built before America was born, listen to a lecture by a world famous historian on a project he personally took part in, and then mosey on up to a free concert featuring world class musicians. What is a girl to do with herself!

First Field Trip

2008-09-10T23:23:00.003+03:00

I just really liked this door and wall in the synogague/mosque

Today was our first field trip. We drove around to different locations around Jerusalem to try and get a better uderstanding of the geography so it will help us understand the scriptures better. One 7 hour long geography field trip later and I still don't know which way in North. I was able to see some pretty amazing places though! We went to a church build by the Germans to house people coming on pilgramiges to the Holy Land. It is a gorgeous building with amazing artwork everywhere! I never imagined that the chapels here could compete with the ones I saw in Italy my senior year, but I think some of the ones here are better. We also stopped at a church that was later trasformed into a mosque, and now has a synogog in the basement. Probably one of the few, if not the only, places where both the Jewish and Islam faiths comes to worship. There were ancient ruins all around it. Ruins here are everywhere so they are no big deal to most people. A bunch of Orthodox Jewish school boys were at the church as well and they were running around the ruins playing. Which reminds me, I must look Jewish becasue twice already I have had Jewish people come up to me and speak in Hegrew and then act suprised when I say "Sorry I don't understand." I know, it's my big shnoz, but I don't think I look Israeli.
One of the funniest things to happen to me while being here, is I was somehow got put on as the Chair for the Linen and Mail exchange commitee. Mom knows how good I am at that! Today was out first linen exchange day and it was actually a lot of fun. I have fun commitee so we had a lot of fun seeing everyone come through. We decided to make a secret note box and we will hand them out on Shabbat. I hope I get one! I already wrote myself three, but maybe someone else withh write me one too! JK. Other than that it hasn't been too much of an eventful day. No shopping today Chels! Next adventure... my bus buddy Mitch and I are going to figure out how to kiss on the bus to Egypt without anyone noticing. Oh just kidding mom! But it would be fun...

Meet Modern Jerusalem

2008-09-09T23:30:00.005+03:00

Some of the friends I spent a night on the town with

I am extremely ticked off at my New Mexican education. I know NOTHING about history! I had my Modern Near Eastern Studies classes again today, but I think they might have been teaching in Hebrew and Arabic the whole 4 hours becasue I only understood what they were talking about when they said class was over. Here is what I have gotten out of class so far: Every country to EVER exist has ruled the Middle East at one point in time. That, and Jews don't know who or what they are.
After classes, I decided I better stay in and study since my years getting donuts and breakfast burritos for all my history teachers instead of actually learning something in class, did me no good. After dinner, I got together with a group of kids and we walked over to the Western, or Jewish, side of the city. It is like a completely different city over there! It is modernized and there were tons of great shops I am definitely going back to shop at. We stopped and got Gelatos, and that made my day! That and dancing with the hobos in the street. There were some people playing their obviously homemade CD's on the street, trying to sell them. Some homeless men walked over and started dancing. It looked like fun, so I convinced two of the guys with me to go over and join them. As soon as we joined in, they shut the music off. We must have been terrible dancers. It was a fun night, and it was good to see another part of the city.

They're not Gay after all

2008-09-08T21:27:00.004+03:00

Pictures: 1. My roommate Lauren and me with one of the not gay guys. He overheard me tell Lauren I thought he had a nice toosh. Now he doesn't talk to me

2. just outside The Church of the Holy Seplecher. This would have been a way cool picture had I noticed the guy walking through it and waited til he left

3. A dome just about the Shrine build over the tomb most Christian faiths believe Christ was buried

Just when I don't think I can love this place anymore, I do. Today I had Old Testament and Hebrew and then it was off to the city for another day of fun. But before I jump into that, let me explain the title of the blog. There are 25 boys and 55 girl here. Of the 25 guys, two are engaged and one is here with his girlfriend. That leaves only 22 boys to got out into the city with for 55 girls. (It is safer if you take a guy with you and you have to have a guy for some parts of the city) There is a group of guys that when I first met them I thought, "These guys seem like a lot of fun. I bet we end up hanging out a lot" Then, as each day came, I noticed a little trend. These boys sit together at each meal, class, and meeting. They walked everywhere together. And there were never girls with them. They probably handed toilet paper to each other under the stall. It was kind of making me mad that here are all these fun girls to hang out with, and these boys decide to ignore them and spend every waking moment with boys.
Today as I was looking for people to go into the city with, I invited myself to go with them and brought a couple of girls along. We ended up having a blast! They had the route all mapped out, books telling about the sites we went to, and plenty of jokes to keep us all laughing. I have come to the conclusion, they are probably not gay. We went to the Church of the Holy Seplecher first. I took some cool pictures but I won't be able to post them for a while because we aren't supposed to upload images, but I just do it anyway. Then we went to a cafe and go falafels (spelling?) On our way out of the old city, we tried some pastries and then split up because some of the kids had to get back to school for Arabic class.
Those of us who stayed went and found the olive wood shops to see what kind of things we could get. The famous Omar wasn't in his shop when we went by, so we went to try and find Jimmy who owns another wood shop that all the BYU kids love. Jimmy found us. It is so fun to have the people run out of their shops, or in Jimmy's case, hop out of a moving car, when they see us to make sure we are headed to their store. He took us in and showed us all of his beautiful nativity sets. He loves the business we bring him, so he gives us killer deals. A medium nativity is about 45 dollars for the BYU students. I found an opal ring I loved and asked him how much it was as we were leaving the shop. He stuck it on my finger and said, "You just pay me next time you come in." I of course refused and payed him 50 sheckles (a little less than 15 dollars) for a beautiful opal ring. He gave us oil lamps as a gift on our way out, and business cards to give to the other students. I love the people here! After that we went over to Hebrew University to see what it was like. I have to say I like "The Mormon" University better.

My Maiden Voyage/Poop for Brains

2008-09-07T21:54:00.003+03:00

Demascus Gate

Today was the first day of Modern Near Eastern Studies-Judaism, Modern Near Eastern Studies-Islam, and Hebrew. I have felt pretty stupid before, but man was I lost! Here is how much I know about the tribes of Israel... 10 are lost. The end. And Islam? I've got nothing. All those hours watching the news have done me no good. The classes are interesting and it is fun having an Israeli and a Palistinian as teachers, but I guess they figure we all know a little bit about each of their histories. Once again, I don't plan on being the star student, I just plan on surviving. Hebrew class was a lot of fun and my teacher is great. She taught us a song and we are starting to learn the alpha bet. Guess what the first to letteres are. Alph, and bet. No joke!

After classes were over, I got together with a couple other girls and we went into the old city to do some shopping. Everywhere we went, everyone was saying "Hey Mormons!" Don't worry, they love us... as long as we don't get in their way while they are trying to drive. There are several shop owners who LOVE the BYU kids, and give us killer deals. There is one shop where everyone goes to get their monet exchanged, and he only charges a 1% fee. It was my first time being able to wander a round the old city and it was a blast! I bought snacks and some other things I needed and then just checked out all of the other stuff to scope out what I want to buy when I leave. Any of the shops that do a lot of business with the Mormons always give us a cheaper price. I was looking at some leather sandals and asked the guy how much they were. He said 50 sheckles (about 16 dollars). He then asked if I was Mormon and then said "For Mormons, 45 sheckles." Another shop owner searches for us in the market and walks us all around to the different shops, as well as his. It was so much fun. I stopped in one shop, and I don't know where this kid came from, but he talked like a Palistinian surf bum! He had a perfect American accent, and he kept telling us about his "rad purses" and the "radical prices" he was going to give us. I was trying hard not to laugh, but I couldn't help it. Then his dad came over and they started with the Mormon talk. They said they could tell I was Mormon because of my smile...Oh Please!

After a couple of hours of looking around, we went back to the center so we could make it in time for dinner and before sundown. We aren't allowed in the Eastern side of the city past dark.

After dinner, I was able to go to an amazing concert here in the Jerusalem Center, They put on a free concert every Sunday. Today was a quartet with a flute, chello, viola, and violin. The musicians were unbelievably good! I asked the senior couples who run this place if there is some way I could just move in here permanently.

Other than feeling completely lost in classes today, it was another wonderful day in the Holy Land.

My First Shabbat

2008-09-06T17:06:00.003+03:00

Today was my first Shabbat (sabbath) in Jerusalem. Even though it is Saturday, it still felt like Sunday. I kept having to try and convince myself I am really here all throughout sacrament meeting. It is hard to pay attention to the people talking when the large windows behind them overlook the beautiful city. As I took the sacrament, I couldn't help but smile becasue as I was trying to think of all the Saviour has done for me, and the covenants I was renewing. I realized I was just a short walk away from where those sacred events happened that allowed me to make baptism covenants. I loved the testimony meeting. It was just like every testimony meeting should be. Everyone testified of Christ, and each testimony was simple and short, yet powerful. The Gospel is so simple. I think that is what I love about it. There doesn't need to be frills. I think Elder Worthlin is a great example of that, I love his talks because he knows how to say things so simply, yet you can feel the power of what he is saying.
After church, a group of us desided we were going to find the Garden of Gethsemane. It was our first real opportunity to break out of the University and go explore on our own. We walked up the hill and came across an lookout point with a beautiful view of the city. And waiting at the top was a camel! Of course, it is also the one time I forget my camera! A little boy came up to me and handed me a bunch of olive tree leaves and then walked off. I just kind of laughed and didn't think much of it. Then he came back to me and said "I love you. Give me money" I laughed, told him I loved him too, and then handed him back the leaves. He shoved them right back and said, "I love you. No mom. No dad. Give me money" I tryed ignoring him, but like most other boys who have something on their mind, he didn't notice.
Our group eventually made it's way down the hill and into a garden where Jesus supposedly sat and looked over Jerusalem and cried while saying "O, Jerusalem. O, Jerusalem." We were supposed to pay to get in, but the man who watched over the garden let us in for free becasue we were dressed modestly. At least that what all the other kids thought. It was really because he heard I was coming. Oh just kidding. After spending a few moments here, and discovering that I was already soaked from head to toe in sweat (YUCK!) we made our way down to the Garden of Gethsemane. At first I was having a hard time getting into the mood (that sounds awkward) and really feeling the spirit of how sacred this place should be. The grounds are well kept and there is a beautiful Catholic Chapel on the grounds, but I could hear the traffic just outside the wall, and was being distracted by all the German tourists walking by in their matching yellow hats. Then as I stared at the twisted trunks of the olive trees, I realized it didn't matter if I didn't have an life changing feeling while I was in the garden, I have already felt the Atonement is real. It has been when I have needed it to get me through a rough trial or bring cleansing from a sin that the Atonement felt the most real to me. I don't have to be in the Garden to know it is real. I did feel blessed and in awe that I was standing in the same place that the Savior performed that act for me, but it is when I put it into use that I truely feel it's power.
Finally it was time to head back to the Jerusalem center and get some grub! I was also regretting trying to look cute and where my cute brown leather flats that matched my outfit perfectly. Forget it! These blisters are not worth it! I got back to the center, ate more food than I thought was humanly possible, anad drank my own body weigh in lemonade. Oh, and don't tell anyone, I also snuck two desserts.

Day one in Jerusalem

2008-09-04T22:56:00.004+03:00

The view from my room

What a day! I hardly slept last night because of jetlag, but my 3 hours of sleep somehow have carried me through this amazing day. We had more orientation and then went on a walking tour of the city. How in the world can I describe Jerusalem to you?! I live on the Palinstinian side of the city, which is not exactly the most well kept part of Jerusalem, but amazing none the less. As we walked along, we were told which sides of the street we are allowed to walk on, and which ones are forbidden. We walked into the old city through Demascus gate and wound our way through all the vendors and shops. Everyone knows the BYU students here. I am not sure if it is because they like our business, or because we love them so much. They sure know what the "the young Mormons" like to here. "You come to my shop! I have carvings of Nephi, Lehi, and the Liahona. My liahonas works!" "Here BYU. Take my card. I do business with you becasue I like you eyes." They know how to business alright. We have been told over and over again how modest we must be in order to not get ourselves into trouble. I even felt a bit immodest walking around in my elbow length sleeves, one size too big, t-shirt.
I can't quite believe I am really experiencing this. We went into the Church of the Holy Seplicure (where most other christian faiths believe Christ's tomb is) and was so amazed at how sacred this city is. Even if all of the sites I see are not sacred to my religion, they are still sacred. I also can't help but notice how beautiful people are all over the wolrd. These two feet have been a few places, and the one thing I notice everywhere I go is how beautiful and unique people are in each country. Middle Eastern men are not used to women looking them in the eye, and we have been told to try and avoid eye contact so we don't send the wrong message. I am not going to lie, it is harder than you would think to not look at people and smile back when you know they are watching you. Don't think I am trying to seduce and men over here, but seriously, who doesn't like to be stared at every once in a while. Ha ha! One of my favorite parts of the tour today was watching our school security. Yes, we have our own security squad. They kept appearing out of nowhere and directing us in the right direction. These guys are good!
Once we walked through the Palistinian section, we then left the old city through Japa gate and went to the western, or Israeli section. Let me tell you, it was like enterning a completely different country. It was a lot more clean and modern than what we had just spent several hours walking through.
Once we got back the the Jerusalem center, it was lunch, more orientation, and then a short break before dinner. I walked out on to the balconyoutside of my room and took a picture of the view. AMAZING! I overlook the old city as well as the Dome of the Rock and a thousand other historical buildings. Tomorrow was suppposed to be our first day with free time to go explore the city on our own, but we have been informed will will be having out first lockdown. This week is the first week of Rhamadan, the month of fasting for the Muslims. Friday night apparently is party night becasue thousands of Muslims will be coming into town to worship and then break their fast at sundown. The streets are supposed to be packed with people praying, and then partying. We aren't allowed out of the center because their leader will be talking before the celebration, and his speeches can become politically charged, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to have a bunch of American kids wandering the streets overflowing with Muslims that just heard how terrible American are. I am going to be Candian for the next few months.
Well, I am going to go to bed now so I can get some sleep before the Muslim call to prayer blasts through the air at 4:00 in the morning!

I MADE IT!

2008-09-03T23:17:00.004+03:00

Yes, it is true, I survived a flight, trapped on an airplane with 40 other Mormon kids for 24 hours. It wasn't so bad and I really like most everyone. I was having a little trouble being as... perky... as everyone else, but I have a feeling the bubbles everyone else has coming out of their ears will die down in a few days. My roommates are all great girls and we will have a lot of fun together.
You wouldn't believe how beuatiful this place is! I don't know if it is because it reminds me of New Mexico a bit, or just because it is The Holy Land, but I am in love! The Jerusalem center is definitley one of the most amazing building I have ever been in, and am blessed enough to live in for the next four months. I just can't believe how beautiful everything is. I wish I could be sharing this experience with everyone I love, but I guess I will just have to tell you all about it instead ;) I already knew one of my professors because he taught in Idaho. Thankfuly he remebered me and I already know I am going to love his class. He is here with four of his children who are all way cool.
This jetlag is a killer. I was sleepy all day, and now that it is time for me to be going to bed, I feel great! I also am STARVING, and for any of you who know me at all, that is not a good thing. I should have eaten more at dinner, but with all that airplane food still in my system, it was a little hard. It is very rare for me not to have food stuffed somewhere in my purse or backpack, but with security checks and all, I thought it would be too much of a hassle. If I get sent home soon, it will be because I tryed to break into the kitchen...

I'd rather fall on a cactus than pack

2008-09-02T04:58:00.006+03:00

Well, tomorrow is the day! I am leaving for the Holy Land! (Today as orientation we learned that is a politically nuetral word) Getting all my CRAP there will be a trick though. The airline allows us two check-in bags, but the school is only allowing us one. I have packed, repacked, weighed, and weighed my bag again, but I just can't win. My carry-on is a whole other story and I am hoping they won't notice how GINORMOUS it is and the fact that I will also have my turtle shell of a backpack on my back. I am going to pray really hard that all of the flight personel still have crusties in their eyes tomorrow and I sneak by.

If you can't tell, the picture is me with Cactus spines in my hand. I really would rather pull those out again than think about all this packing stuff.

Other than the whole checking in, getting on the plane thing, I can hardly wait! I met my roommates and they seem like a lot of fun. The other kids I have met look fun as well and I just want to get over ther already. For all of you who keep saying "Maybe you'll meet your husband on the trip!" Wrong. 25 boys: 55 girls. The odds are not in my favor, and I definitly need as much help as I can get. I'll just be happy if I don't poop my pants in Egypt. Apparently we live on packaged food when we go there because stomache issues are the thing to get there.

Well, keep me in your thoughts and prayers these next few days. They will be exciting, but pretty tiring as well. Thanks Mom and Dad for this opportunity. I know I don't say it enough.

Planning my Funeral

2008-08-26T06:17:00.002+03:00

Preparing for my Israeli adventure has kind of felt like planning my own funeral, and suprisingly, it is a lot more fun than you would think. I went to the bank today to get my accounts all in order for my "departure", talked to the Verizon people about ending my service, and I have been sorting through my possessions to figure out what few things I can bring. Doesn't it sound like I am dying? Don't worry, I don't plan on doing that any time soon.
But just to be on the safe side, if something...tragic...were to happen, here are my requests:
1. A slideshow with pictures of me
2. A Mikaelimony meeting. Everyone tells their favorite Mikael moments (this could either be really short or really long)
3. Potato casserole and Dr. Pepper will be served at the funeral dinner
4. I already promised my roommate Andi my turquoise, but I would like to be buried in some of it. And a really cute pair of shoes too. Don't cover those up. And my New Mexican blanket! I cannot go on a trip without it.
5. A couple bags of ice would be helpful. I figure if I sell some ice water where I am going, they might kick me out

Test Drive

2008-08-22T09:08:00.003+03:00

I am completely new to this blog thing. All of my sister-in-laws as well as about every other person in this world have a blog, but for some reason this scares the crap out of me. What if I do it wrong? What if my stories aren't as funny as Stephanie's? Will anybody even read it? Well, I have never had trouble speaking my mind before, so why should sharing it on a blog be any different.

I have been searching for what seems like hours for the perfect template but haven't found the perfect one yet. This one will have to do. I am sure it will change every 15 minutes for the next month. So have patience with me as I figure this new blog world out.

Oh, and one more thing! Why I am even making this blog- because my life is fascinating, that's why! Just kidding. In a little over a week I will be shutting down the cell phone and boarding a plane to Jerusalem for a semester. I would like to think people will be interested in all that I am learning, seeing, and doing while I am there, so this is my way to stay connected to you! As soon as life gets exciting, I will start trying to write each day and add pictures so I can share this once-in-a-lifetime experience with those I care about (and any eligible bachelors they may know).