Tel Aviv

I've got to tell you about my trip to Tel Aviv last Sunday (we have church on Saturdays in sync with the Jewish Shabbat). We left the Jerusalem Center at 9 am in vans and headed to the Mediterranean which was about an hour drive. The beach was so absolutely gorgeous that it was all I could do to keep from running to the sand!

We spent a few hours playing in the ocean which was unbelievably warm. The Pacific has nothing on the Mediterranean! It was fun to see all the locals surfing the waves, which weren't as strong or consistent as the ones in California, but still worth riding. A few guys from our group rented boards and tried it out. Sure looked like they were having a blast!

A little after lunch time we decided to go explore the city. We walked past the big shoreline hotels and found a cool farmer's market there. They had everything from fresh produce to cleaning supplies to clothes and plenty of souvenirs! 

Naturally there were sunburns-galore the next few days, but it was so worth it! We had the best day there. 

The days are long and super busy, but we are having such a great time!

The Pools of Bethesda!

This week has been jam-packed with school, field trips, and exploring the city. Yesterday, we paid 5 shekels to visit the Pools of Bethesda. It was by far one of the coolest places I've been so far. We ran around the ruins and went underground to the giant Roman cistern that is preserved there. But my favorite part of the pools of Bethesda was singing in St. Anne's Church which is built on that property.

The church is built with absolutely fantastic acoustics. You whisper a sentence and the sound carries all through the chapel, blurring the words together. Our group sang hymns for a good amount of time in there, just so we could hear the sound of our own voices. It was GORGEOUS and I will for sure be back there.

As we were leaving, a priest there stopped us and asked about where we learned to sing. We talked for a while talking about the States (he was from the UK) and why we were all here in Israel. He thanked us for sharing our talents and we got a picture with him in front of the church before we left.

That day we also went to the legendary Omar's in East Jerusalem. The number of wood carvings and the variety he had there was really impressive. His explanations as to how to tell if a wood carving is quality or not may come in handy in the future. He is such a good salesman and it was hard to walk out of there without making a purchase! 

Misc:

Our group is leaving for Turkey on Sunday, and after our many hours of orientation today I am so pumped for it! 

We had a tour of the space underneath the Jerusalem Center for which we got to wear hard hats! Mostly it was lengthy explanations of the maintenance that takes place down there, but we got to sign our names with all the students who had stayed in the center! Don't mind that I spelled my own name wrong...

These are the leather sandals I bought last week. It took about the whole week and a few blisters to break them in, but now they are about the most comfortable shoes I own! Depending on how well these hold up, I may buy another pair before I leave for home. I LOVE THEM!

Day Out

Hebrew class was cancelled today because our professor, Judy Goldman, was sick. Sad for her, good for us. I took a bit of a risk by going out into the city during that time and consequently missed a few hours that should have been spent studying; I have no regrets!

Jerusalem is the best place to just wander around in. The streets wind all over and the streets beyond the Damascus gate where we usually enter looks pretty much like a crowded mall. You have your food court, shoe stores, clothing stores, souvenir shops, fabric stores, kitchen ware, pharmacy, electronics, and the list goes on.

You get your fill of shopping pretty quick in the old city because each shop sells pretty much the same things at the same prices as their neighbors.

My group decided to step off the beaten path and check out an Armenian Catholic church, "Our Lady of the Spasm," next door to the Austrian Hospice. The church was full of contemporary art made to look old in some places, and celebrating its modernity in others. The prayer room downstairs had the most gorgeous, subtle, golden cross I've ever seen. I wasn't able to get a picture, nut maybe I'll be back.

Our next stop was the church of the Holy Sepluchre. I absolutely love this cathedral. Within its walls are the claimed sights of Golgotha, the rock which Jesus the Christ was anointed on, and his tomb. We waited in line to see the tomb. The architecture of the building around the tomb was such that you had to bow to enter and bow to exit. Of course no one really knows the location of where Christ was laid before the resurrection, but the Church of the Holy Sepluchre sure did a great job of making it seem like the real thing.

The top of the dome in the Church of the Holy Sepluchre

One of the views from the top of the Austrian Hospice

The Western Wall

Today was my first trip to the Western Wall (wailing wall). I was absolutely astounded by what I saw there. I've seen pictures before of crying, wrinkled women slipping their prayers into the cracks of the stone. And yes, I did see this picture in reality, but it was more than that. 

The plaza was filled with military men in their green uniforms and huge guns slung around their necks. We proceeded past the men and funneled into the women's section of the wall. There was a hush and a warmness there that can only be described as the spirit of God. The women that were gathered around the wall poured their hearts into the stone, hoping that it would find its way to their Father in Heaven. I have no doubt that it does reach him.

A bit of a history lesson: The temple mount where the Dome of the Rock now stands was once the location of the Temple of Solomon and then the Temple of Herod. The location of the Holy of Holies within those temples is unknown, so the Jews of Jerusalem do not go on the temple mount for fear of violating a sacred space. Instead, they worship at the Wall which is the closest they can get to that Temple space without jeopardizing the holiness of the temple once standing. 

I put my own prayer in the stone asking blessings to my family and thanking God for his generosity. I didn't write my name on it, but I think He knew it was me.

   

The Holy City

I have been in Jerusalem for 3 complete days now! It took all of that time to get over my jetlag, but I am feeling ready to go now! 

So far, I have only gotten a brief overview of the city; we had a walking tour (4 hours long!) with our Ancient Near Eastern Studies professor, Professor Stratford, which opened my eyes to the beauty of the culture here. Its incredible to walk through the old city and see the sights there.

The people in the old city are all packed into such a small space. It is evident that the people who once lived in the city a long time ago were much smaller people; I had to duck to get through the doorways in some of the monasteries that were centuries old (and I'm only 5'6"!). The streets are crowded with tourists, merchants, worshipers, and pilgrims. What and incredible experience to see all of these cultures combining in one place!

Jerusalem is a holy city to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, and it has already proven to be a holy city for me personally! Our Sabbath day meetings take place on the top floor of the Jerusalem Center. In sacrament meeting, a wall of windows provides the most incredible view of the Holy City. I read the story of the atonement while in that room and gazed into the city where Christ lived and healed. The Mount of Olives is within walking distance from the Center. I feel so lucky to be able to live in a place where I will be able to see the place where many of the events found in the Bible occurred.

Gearing Up

It was a long hard road to get into the Jerusalem study abroad program. My nerves were barely able to handle the stress of the lottery system which decided who was accepted into the program.
But here I am; I can only think that someone divine was looking out for me, knowing that this trip is what I needed in my life.


 The challenge I face now is packing... and trying to figure out what I will actually need over there. I need all new clothes, new shoes, and these odds and ends that will keep me going over there. I'm allotted one checked bag and two small carry-ons which seriously limits the amount of stuff a twenty year old girl like myself would wish to take. 
The trouble I'm having with that is that I don't actually know what I REALLY need. How do I know what stuff on the packing list is bogus and won't do anything for me except take up space in my one checked bag? 


I suppose the answers will come as I continue gearing up. Today, I'm exactly two months away from our departure date.  I hope I'll be ready to rumble by the time August 28th comes around! I've got a lot more prep work to do;

 But honestly, I'm loving every second of it.