Day 2

Oh my gosh today was such a cool day! We had classes this morning, Old Testament and Ancient Near East. They were both really interesting and I can't wait to keep learning more. It's the kind of stuff that maybe wouldn't be so exciting except for the fact that when you look out the window you actually see the stuff you're learning about!!!! Then we had some free time so a bunch of us went to go exchange our money, but the place was closed so we broke off into smaller groups to explore. I got to see the Garden Tomb, but it was crazy busy with a bunch of European tourists so that will definitely be one I go back to. Then we went through the Old City. We found an open door (which we've been told we can go in until someone tells us to get out) and we found a cool roof with clotheslines and an awesome view. Lots of the places have really cool views, it's just hard to get access to them.


We went out through Lion's Gate. There was a really cool Arabic cemetery right outside the gate, so we walked through that. It was really beautiful- the tombstones were exquisite and there was such a pretty view of some of the gardens they've put in on that side of the wall.


We went to the Garden of Gethsemane, which is probably the most peaceful place I haveever been in my life. There were some other tourist groups there but everyone was quiet and the trees were blowing a little in the breeze and there were pretty flowers and it was just calm and really easy to feel a still spirit there.


Most memorable thing today: We walked around through West Jerusalem to get to the upper gate of the Center. While we were walking we came across this field with these kids riding horses, and then we saw some other kids playing soccer, so we all went in and played soccer for a while, and some people rode the horses (bareback) but I was in a skirt so I will have to do that another time. It was so fun, especially since we don't really get to interact that way with many of the people. The men freak out if you even glance in their direction and the women don't really look at you at all, so hanging out and laughing with those kids was a blast. They seemed like they were having lots of fun too, even though they were a little intimidated by the big guys on our team.


Funniest thing today: Some of the guys are creepers, and they'll say things like "hey beautiful" or "sweet face" or whatever. One guy was like, "nice eyes" in that creepy voice and one of the guys in the group turns around and goes, "thank you"! haha the man was surprised, I don't think he was quite expecting that response but he didn't say anything else after that!

Day 1

The flights here were crazy: Salt Lake to Denver to Dulles to Vienna to Tel Aviv. It was really fun though because I got to know the people on my flights really well, and it was nice not to have to be on a plane for 12 hours straight like the other group.

Today was the first full day in Jerusalem! We walked around and toured the city, got to see a couple of different buildings and go inside the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher. It was amazing! So much to see that it seems like 4 months will hardly be enough. We start classes tomorrow morning, and we already have a bunch of reading that we have to do beforehand. All of you will be surprised and impressed to hear that I have finished all of them already. Whether or not that enthusiasm will continue throughout the semester is still yet to be determined.

The coolest thing about the walk we did was going into the old city. Everything is so old, but then with hundreds of years of stuff built over and around it. It is all made of white stone, and there are hills and stairs everywhere. The ladies are all covered up in scarves and long coats. We saw some Israeli guards all decked out with big guns... definitely don't want to get on their bad side.

The Center is amazing- breathtaking view right off the patios outside our rooms, good food and great people. The staff are so great, all of the professors and service couples are so nice and friendly and they help us get really excited about all the things we get to do and see.

Miss you all, lots of love!