Pictures!

So, once again I am uploading just a few pictures from Jordan and from our past trips here to give you a better idea of what everything has been like.

 Sarah, me, Claire, and Crystal at the ruins of Herod's fort Macchaerus

 Macchaerus

 The Treasury from the Siq at Petra

 Entrance to the Siq

 

 The Monastery at Petra

 Some of the carved tombs at Petra

 The ruins of the fortress Azekah

 Sarah, Janae, and I at the Zoo

 Inside our first mosque in Jordan

Caves at Maresha

At the Jordan River

Lemur Land at the zoo

You have no idea how slow the internet is here and how long these took to upload.  So, I'm going to stop here, but I uploaded a lot more onto my facebook, so you can check out some cool pictures there.  And I promise to blog again really soon for all of my many many fervent followers!

Arab Culture Night

Last week we had our Arab Culture Night in the Jerusalem Center.  Basically this involved all of us dressing up in "Arab" garb (genie pants, head scarves, etc.) and getting together for three hours of food and fun activities. 

Claire and I in our Arab garb

The first hour was super interesting.  We had two men from the al-Aqsa mosque (3rd holiest Islam site) come in and demonstrate the call to prayer for us.  They also did readings from the Quran and showed us how they prayed.  It was really fascinating to see the ritual involved in the prayers and the dedication that the Muslims show to their religion.  And it was really cool to hear the call to prayer and reading.  It sounds a bit like singing (although we were told it is NOT singing) and the men demonstrating it to us were really talented.

The second hour of the night we had our Arab feast.  They decorated the Oasis really nice for our feast, but admittedly the food wasn't that different than what we eat on a regular night.  We had chicken and fish and curry and rice and lots of salad and pita.  It was delicious!

The final hour or so of our cultural activity we learned some Arab dances from a group of students at a local dance school. Luckily the steps weren't that hard, because I am an atrocious dancer, and it involved a lot of kicking and walking steps and jumps, so it was easy to learn.  And we all had a great time!  But it didn't take too long before we became the teachers demonstrating American dance moves to the Arab students who were teaching us. 

 Sarah, Claire, and me at Arab night

The Arab night was great fun, so now we can't wait for our Passover Seder next week!

Journey to Jordan

     January 23-26 our whole group was in Jordan, and it was probably the most amazing place I have been.  I know I said that about Israel, but it's equally true here.  Jordan didn't feel anything like Israel.  It was a lot greener there with trees and grass!  I know that's a weird thing to be excited about, but I really haven't seen much grass since I got here. 
     And it had some really amazing sites that we got to visit.  The biggest being, of course, PETRA!  And Petra has to be the coolest place I have ever been.  You start off walking through this valley with some cool cave tombs and carvings here and there.  Then you walk down the mile long narrow valley entrance called the Siq.  We didn't even notice we were at the end of the Siq until we saw through the mouth of the Siq, the Treasury.  It was just the same view as you get in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, just the barest glimpse of it peeking through the narrow opening.  So of course we ran out of the Siq to see the Treasury. 
     The Treasury was amazing!  So tall and elaborately carved out of the rock.  It was totally mind-blowing.  But we didn't stay there long because we wanted to run up to the Monastery.  It took hundred and hundreds of stairs and at least 45 minutes of hiking, but we made it to the Monastery, which was just as fantastic as the Treasury.  It wasn't as elaborately carved, but it was much larger.  We had a great time wandering around and exploring Petra for the five or six hours we were there.  But it wasn't near enough, there were still thousands of other cave tombs we didn't see, and other smaller magnificent Treasury-like tombs we didn't explore thoroughly.  But we had a great time there and of course got the traditional camel ride in front of the Treasury which was a lot of fun (although I've decided that camels are not my favorite animals- not very pleasant and they smell really really bad).  And on the way out we got to ride "wild Arabian horses" and let me tell you mine was wild!  Not only did it try and bite three or four of the other horses, but it also tried to bite me everytime I steered it in a certain direction.  And it tried to take off with me on its back, and almost threw me to the side when I slowed it down.  So, all in all, Petra was quite the adventure.
     Another really neat place we visited was the ruins of the Roman city of Jerash.  And apparently it is in much better condition than a lot of ruins actually in Rome, it was pretty incredible.  There were long rocky streets with all sorts of buildings on the side and an enormous village square.  There was also an elaborate fountain and temples.  It was such a beautiful city.  I have decided that if I were to come from one of the ancient civilizations I would have to be a Roman.  And not just any Roman, but a wealthy one.  They had an amazing lifestyle with beautiful architechture.  I wish we still made things like they did, we definitely have the technology to do it although I suppose slave labor is no longer acceptable... But Jerash was a great place to visit.  And it was a bit weird to see in Jordan.  I felt like I had just traveled to Rome or somewhere else in Europe, I definitely didn't picture this as part of the Middle East.
     And another one of my favorite sites we went to on our last day there, the Jordan River Baptismal site.  The Jordan River is not very impressive these days, shallow and very muddy, but it's such a quiet serene area.  Thousands of people come there every year to visit the river where Christ was baptized.  And we got a chance to read the story from the Bible when we were there and sing some hymns.  It was a really beautiful experience, to sit there and think and feel the Spirit. That was, by far, one of my favorite places we have visited this semester.
  So, now in my opinion, because of this trip, everyone must go to Jordan at some point in their lives.  It's definitely been one of the highlights of my time here thus far: exploring and adventuring with friends in one of the most amazing places.

Saturday Sabbaths

     One of the most interesting things I have found here in the Holy Land is that we have the Sabbath on Saturday. I am so used to going to church on Sunday that having a backwards weekend has been a slight adjustment.  It's weird that I can now go shopping on a Sunday and feel no guilt about it.
    But anyways, Sabbaths here are so amazing.  On Friday night we went to the Western Wall to celebrate the beginning of the Sabbath.  And let me tell you, we did celebrate.  I'm so used to church being a solemn affair where we try to stay more quiet and feel the Spirit.  So, it was a shock how loud it was at the Wall.  They were truly celebrating.  When we first got there and went through security all you could see was the top section of the wall and masses of people.  A bunch of us decided to brave the masses and oushed our way through the crowd to try and reach the wall. 
   It was a bit of a struggle, but eventually we made it up to the wall and were able to join many in putting a prayer in the wall.  Then as we backed out we were pulled into one of the many circles of singing and dancing.  Of course we didn't really know any of the words to the songs, but the dancing was easy to catch onto (a lot of it was simple clapping or spinning in a circle).  Adn we had a woman to translate the words of the songs to us.  I really can't describe it well enough, but I felt like it was just one big party.  And I realized that's more of the attitude I should have towards our Sabbath.  So many times I have been less than enthusiastic about going to church and listening to talks and classes for three hours.  However, the joy that these Jews had for their Sabbath was contagious and really inspired me to try and be a lot better about celebrating the Sabbath.
  Then today after church our group of 80 students all walked through Jerusalem to the Garden Tomb which is one of the most amazing places I have ever been.  It's right off of a busy road, but it's so quiet in the garden.  Many groups go through at one time to see the places that may have been Golgotha and the Garden Tomb.  I liked what our tour guide said: that even though that may have been the area of the actualy tomb where Jesus was buried, it doesn't matter because we don't worship the rocks or the hill, we worship the Christ. 
   There were lots of different groups there as we went through the gardens and we got to hear all the different languages they were speaking and hear the different songs and types of worship.  I thought it was really neat that despite all of our differences we all came to the tomb to celebrate the same thing, it's one places where different Christians come from all across the world to worship together.

Pictures

So, basically this post is just of pictures from the past few weeks in Jerusalem, since I finally found a place where I can upload them.  Although it's nowhere near as fantastic as seeing it for yourself, I hope these pictures come close.

 The view from the balcony of my room at the Jerusalem Center

 The Western Wall right by the Dome of the Rock

L to R: Letty (one of my roommates), Janae, me, and Jen (my other roommate) at Dome of the Rock

 In front of the Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

Mt Scopus, the Jerusalem Center is in the top left corner, the building with all the arches

Overlooking the Shepherds' Field at Bethlehem

The Haas Promenade overlooking Jerusalem

The JC

I now feel that I have fully adjusted to life in the JC (Jerusalem Center for those who are unaware).  We have settled into a routine, or as much of a routine as is possible when we never do the same things for two days straight, and are all making friends and having a great time.  Classes are interesting, the food is spectacular, and Jerusalem is the most amazing city I have ever been to!
So, of course, I am going to try and make anyone reading this feel really jealous of me by telling you about my favorite things here.
1.  The people on the trip with me are wonderful.  Everyone is so nice and outgoing and friendly.  It's so easy to get into a conversation with someone and forget you just met them five minutes ago.  The friend making process is definitely accelerated here. We've been here less than two weeks and I have met all 83 people on the trip and know everyone's names and most everyone's hometowns and majors.  Plus, my roommates, Jen and Letty, are so cool. We've already had extensive roommate bonding.
2.  The Center is so nice.  It's an eight story center that's built into the hillside of Mt. Scopus.  It's a tiered center so the first five layers aren't stacked all the way on top of each other which means that we have to walk up a lot of stairs everyday, but that's probably a good thing since the food is so good. The Oasis Cafeteria is buffet style and you can eat as much as you want.  So they had to give us instruction on how to "not wear your food home with you".  Also, my bedroom is really nice.  There are four beds in our room, and only three of us, table and chairs, a desk, and we have our own bathroom.  Plus we have a nice terrace that overlooks the Old City, perfect for studying or relaxing once it gets warmer outside.
3.  The classes are great.  I have five classes right now: Hebrew 100, Old Testament, Ancient Near Eastern Studies (ANE), Arabs/Palestine/Islam, and Israel/Judaism.  All of these classes but ANE finish at the end of February and for the rest of the trip we only have ANE and New Testament.  And all the teachers here are great.  They know so much about everything they talk about and our Israel and Palestine teachers have really interesting opinions, especially on the conflict.  I have already learned so much and am excited for these classes for the rest of the semester.
4.  The location- living in Jerusalem is such a great experience to have.  I wake up every morning, go to breakfast, and just look out of the window and I can see the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Ascension, and so many other important historical and religious sites.  Last Sabbath (which is actually on Saturday) we spent the afternoon in the Orson Hyde Garden which is where Gethsemane was, and tomorrow a few of us are planning on going up to the Dome of the Rock for a while.  Plus, just walking around the city is fascinating.  People watching opportunities have never been better than they have here since there are people here from all across the world.  Everywhere you turn different languages are being spoken.  Apart from Palestinians and Israelis there are many many Russians, Koreans, Spaniards, Americans, and people from every country there is.   
5.  The traveling- We are going to so many other places while we are here.  On Monday we are going to Jericho, Thursday to the Negev, and next Monday through Thursday we'll be in Jordan visiting Petra, Amman, and other sites. We also have other lengthy trips including Turkey for a week where we'll go to many different sites including Ephesus and Troy, and Galilee for a week and a half.  We get to see and experience so much of the Middle East, or as much as is safe for us to visit and that we have time for. 

I am so excited for the chance that I have to be here this semester and to learn and grow both sprirtually and in knowledge.  My experience here has already changed me and I know it's something I'll never forget.  So, for the next three months all I want to do is experience as much culture as I possibly can and have the adventure of my life!

First Days in Jerusalem

     So, it has finally happened.  After applying in July, a month and a half on the wait list, and 3 months of eager anticipation, I am finally here in Jerusalem!  I am going to be here for the next three and a half months, til April 19, studying in the Holy Land.  I am staying in the beautiful BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies on Mt. Scopus on the east side of Jerusalem.  My group (of about 80 students) got here yesterday after over 24 hours of exhausting travelling and already we have done a lot.
     Yesterday we had our first official orientation and tour of the amazing 8 level Jerusalem Center and its gardens.  I am staying on the fourth floor, with most of the other girls, in an apartment with 2 other girls (instead of 4 people like most other rooms have). 
     After orientation we had meetings with two of our teachers and classes for this semester.  While in Jerusalem we take 15 credit hours of classes.  I am taking Hebrew 100, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Old Testament, New Testament, Modern Near East Studies from a Palestinian point of view, and Modern Near East Studies from an Israeli point of view.  So, I am going to be super busy just handling all of my classes, and still going on amazing field trips and getting a chance to explore the city and surrounding areas.
   Today, we were all incredibly jetlagged and had to wake up super early to get a start on all we had to do.  First I was woken up at 4 by the Muslim call to prayer which happens five times a day and is played on speakers across all of East Jerusalem so all the Muslims can hear it.  But we didn't have to actually wake up for the day until about 6am when breakfast started.  And by 8:30 we were out the doors and on our first field trip being guided on our tour of Jerusalem. 
   We entered the city at Damascus Gate and were immediately surrounded by loud noises and masses of tourists, shop owners, vendors, and tons of other people.  We walked along the main El Wad Road for a while stopping off at a few places including the Austrian Hospice, overlooking a section of the Arab Quarter, and a few other small churches. 
     Then we turned onto the Via Dolorosa which is the road many Christians believe that Jesus took when walking down from Gethsemane into Jerusalem before his Crucifixion.  There were so many different groups of Christian tourists on the road that led to the Chruch of the Holy Sepulchre.  They had 9 or 10 small sites on the way that they believe were significant in Christ's walk down the road.  At the end of the road we ended up on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre before walking down the stairs inside the building.  The Church is really interesting because so many different sects of Christianity all claim it as an important site to their church and want to worship there.  So all these different groups have built their own little chapels or other small areas of worship for the members of their church to visit and pray.  So it's pretty interesting to see all the different styles of decoration and ways of worshipping.  When you reach the lower level of the church you come into the room where they believe Christ was actually crucified.  And there is a hole in the ground where they believe Christ's cross could have been placed.  So people wait in long lines to put their hand in the hole and light a candle at the end.  Exactly beneath that hole is where they believe that the bones of Adam were buried, making the site even more important to Christianity.
     After leaving the church we walked along the Christian Quarter, past the David's Tower Museum, and out of Jaffa Gate into Western Jerusalem/the new city.  It was so interesting leaving the Palestine area and entering the Israeli's land.  In Old Jerusalem it was very loud and very crowded.  It was I though Jerusalem would be like- old white rock buildings with small shops lining the streets and open markets and stalls everywhere.  And of course, many of the women are dressed in the Burkas and many men are wearing the kafiyahs (head scarfs).  But as soon as we got into Western Jerusalem it got a lot more quiet, and about fifty years more modern.  All the buildings look newer, the streets were clean, not as many tourists were around.  And it was just a more modern area.  We walked around ther for a bit before heading to the buses to come back to the Center for lunch. 
     When we got back we all had about a hundred pages of different readings for Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies classes that start tomorrow so we started on that.  And of course, that caused me to fall asleep for a good two hours (the jetlag, naturally, didn't help either).  After dinner we played the traditional get-to-know-you games of Two Truths and a Lie, Never Have I ever, and missionary tag.
     I feel like I have already gotten to know a few people fairly well and everybody is so friendly that it is pretty easy to make friends.  I am so excited about what the next few months will bring and all the various trips we will go on as well as all the different topics we will study.  Unfortunately, we are not allowed to post pictures on our blogs because apparently the internet here doesn't have that kind of capacity.  So, there won't be any up here for a while.  But for anyone that wants to get a general idea of everything we are seeing and doing, my Old Testament teacher and his wife keep a blog of all that we do.  Feel free to check it out at http://huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com/.  Most of it is about their past experiences, but they said they will update it as we go out and do things.
     But for now, we are just going to hang around the center and start our intense studies of the religion, history, and culture of this wonderful area we can call home for the next semester.