Saturday, April 30, 2011

Oh Jerusalem!

I have made it to the Middle East..finally!  It was the craziest flight x 3, that I've ever had to go through.  However, thanks to modern day medicine (travel motion sickness patch) I made it in one piece.  When we arrived to the airport, we had to go through customs and declare that we were there to see the holy sites.  Security is really high in the airport, and a bunch of BYU students kind of stick out!  We were then met with our professors and a bus to take us to the beautiful Jerusalem Center.
That night I woke up at 5 am. to prayers being broadcasted throughout the city.  This chanting went on for half an hour plus.  JET LAG!  Jerusalem is 9 hours ahead of Utah, so my body is still trying to catch up with the time.



Me and my new roomies!





 I have officially fallen in love with the Jerusalem Center and the Old City.  The view from the balcony of our apartment is amazing.  You can see the Dome of the Rock and the old city with the many small villages around it.

Today (Saturday) is the Sabbath, so we had church which is held in the center's auditorium.  It was cool because people from tour guides joined us for sacrament.  After church we decided to go on a trip.  We ended up going to the Garden of Gethsemane.  The garden is fenced around, and there is a church right by it.  The olive trees were so beautiful, and the grounds were well groomed.   It was cool because people from all different faiths were there, and the respect for this site was so special.  Here are some pics:













Thursday, April 28, 2011

Slow internet, and a very long flight.

So I made it to the Holy Land in one piece!   Our flight schedule was from SLC to Dulles, Dulles to Vienna, and then Vienna to Jerusalem.  What a crazy day and a half.  I still don't really know what today is, or what the time change is.  All I know is that I'm exhausted even though I slept hours on each leg of the flight.  Actually on the flight from Washington DC to Vienna, we had to wait for 1.5 hrs on the plane before taking off.
When we arrived at the final airport, a bus picked us up and we drove to the Jerusalem Center.  After dinner in the "Oasis Cafe" in the center, we had a tour of the building, and many orientations to classes and schedules.
Tomorrow we get a tour of the city!
Also the internet here is ridiculously slow, so we will see how many pictures I can post tomorrow.
If any of this is not making sense, I blame the jet-lag!!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Let this Journey Begin!


It has been a long waiting process, but I'm finally leaving tomorrow. However, this includes having to wake up at 4 a.m to get to the airport tomorrow, and seeing if my suitcases are under the weight limit (have a strong feeling they won't be!).

Today my mom and I went to a four hour orientation in Provo to listen to the cram course in how to dress, behave, and stay safe in Jerusalem.  I am so blessed to have this opportunity to travel to the many Biblical sites with 80 wonderful soon-to-be friends!

So the next days will include 16.5 hrs. in a airplane not including layovers in the airports, and a major time difference to work out!  Thank goodness for travel motion sickness medicine!!!!!
The Jerusalem Center on the Mount of Olives

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Its been a good year (of school) folks!!!

To end the year in a orderly fashion, we as roommates (Chelsea, Ashlyn, Serena, Jenessa x2, and Kirsten) celebrated by going to a fantastic place known as Earth Fruits Yogurt.  This year has literally flown by, but I'm so grateful I was able to spend it with these great girls!  After many awkward pictures/videos and quoting stupid things each of us had said during the past two semesters, are year together was complete.

Some of my favorite moments:
1.  When the couch ate the cellphone.
2.  Scaring Chelsea (daily occurrence)
3.  Jazz fingers
4.  Jenessa Smith opening her mission call
5.  Cafe Rio
6.  Singing Celine Dion at midnight
7.  "Over Analyzing" together
8.  Learning how to be good at quoting movies
9.  Having to tell time off of an Algebraic clock
10.  Conversations that started when trying to have roommate prayer together at night!