HOME!!

Hey everyone!
I just want to say that I am safe and sound!
Egypt was AMAZING and it made me lovee the
United States and really appreciate
Israel!
I now think of Israel as my home right now!
Egypt is a third world country and is really crazy.
I will write a more legitimate post soon but
for now this is what you get!!
LOVING LIFE!!

Sabbath

Hello world!!!
Soo today has been a fabulous sabbath. I love the sabbath in Jerusalem. I learned some cool things today!! One was from the Relief Society message. It said that when Joseph Smith restored the church to the earth he also restored the relief society. There was a quote by Eliza R Snow saying that while Relief Society might be a new term the actual Relief Society is an ancient institution. I never realized that. It makes me feel like the Relief Society is more important than I had previously thought, that it is not just an added thing for the women of the church. I also like that the visiting teaching message each month is going to be a selection on the history of the relief society. I am excited to learn more!!
Each Sunday is amazing here, it is the best feeling to sit in such a beautiful place staring at Jerusalem, pondering on the teachings of Christ. I really want to focus on committing myself fully and completely to my Savior while I am here. I want to learn as much about Him as I can. Tomorrow we are leaving on a trip! I am not really allow to disclose where we are going before we go butttt I am way excited!! I will definitely report when I get back so don't worry you will get the details later! So I am signing off for a week! Hello whirl wind adventure, no internet, and total exhaustion, I can't wait!!! Keep your eyes peeled for pictures in one weeeeeek!!!!

Friday

First off, I apologize for my boring post titles!! Maybe I should start naming them something random because then that is better than, "Update" or "Friday." We shall see if I decide to switch to something a little more creative. Sooo Friday... Today started off interestingly, the details of which won't be shared on my blog, but I am feeling better. So we will just skip over that and go to the good stuff! Or kind of good stuff ha. I went to class form 8-noon today, that is right, 4 hours of straight class! I made it through without falling asleep although I did stare at a picture of chicken and dumplings for the better part of ancient near eastern studies, I told you I have been obsessing over online recipe blogs, right? The boy sitting next to me, who has become me, Synthias, and Victorias Old Testament study partner, but who knows for how long (we can be a little overbearing) said to me, "do you always act like this?" hhmmmm... I replied: "Yes I obsess over things alot." Haha oh my gosh. Like I said, we will see how long he remains our study buddy.. So now you are getting an idea of what people think of me as over here in Jerusalem!! ;) So after that I went to lunch and then went to the library, put my laundry in and joined everyone in our massive garage, (I didn't even know the thing existed) for our humanitarian project. The music was cranked up and everyone was busy making hygiene kits. What is cool about the kits is that the supplies are bought locally, thus helping the economy and the kits are distributed locally too, thus helping out the people who need them. So it was really great. I got there for the last hour, there were only 2 hours, we made 1700 kits about. At the end we had a giant dance party of like 3 songs. It was soo fun! I let loose and had a lot of fun. It was cool because I have been pretty reserved while I have been here so it was nice for me to let go and let people know that I am not just a stiff collared girl, it just takes me a while to warm up. So I am getting there. I am now getting ready to finish my Islam paper so that I don't have to worry about it this weekend. Hope all of you have a great day!!!

Danielle

Procrastinating Paper Writing

A few pictures of the Jewish outdoor market and a pic of the stained glass windows in the Great Synagogue.

Pictures

Just a picture of me at the market; don't those strawberries look divine! And a picture of Synthia and I at the western wall.

Just a fun picture

Day of Exploration!

Hello world!

So today was a long day! I got out of bed at 6:20 am, went to breakfast at 7, went to class at 8, and then left the center for a day out in Jerusalem at 9:40. Our first stop was the western wall for a Bar Mitzvah. That was really cool. We didn’t get to really get a great view of everything because it was on the only boy part of the wall but I put my camera over the fence and got a video or two. Something that was really cool to watch was all the family members outside of the wall who were waiting. I saw many young families taking pictures together and it reminded me of a baptism, how the mom and dad round up all the kids in attempt to take a family picture. It was really cute. After we saw that for a little bit we trecked through the old city and left through Jaffa gate so we could go to west Jerusalem. First we stopped at the shops in Mamilla; love it, then we headed toward this synagogue called the Great Syagogue. On the way to the synagogue we had pleasant converstaiton among ourselves, mainly about our engaged friends wedding. I loved hearing about all her plans. So excting. We stopped at a park to eat our sack lunches and then continued on to our destination. The synagogue was pretty, there were some amazing stained glass windows and the cutest house outside one of the windows. After that we headed to Ben Yehuda street, a great little shopping area in west Jerusalem. We got gelato here! Oh my goodness, delicious! Good thing it is far away or else I would be going there wayyy more than I should be. It was seriously the best thing; just sitting outside chatting in the warm sun eating a gelato in Jerusalem. Love it! After that we went strolling into some other shops and then went to the Jewish outdoor market. That was way cool! There were tons and tons of fruit stands and bakery stands and fish stands, etc. It was great! Such a fun feel to it, a lot of hustle and bustle. I was tempted to indulge in some of the dried kiwis, they looked divine, but I resisted because I just don’t know how I feel about eating stuff that people have fingered all over the place and that is just sitting outside for bugs to fly on. I am sure I will succumb to my cravings sooner or later. After the outdoor market we went and got hoodies for two of the girls in my group and after that we headed home. Ha not as easy as it sounds. We were pretty lost and so we went to a bus stop and hopped on a bus and asked if it went to where we needed to go (Hebrew University) and it didn’t. So then we asked a guy and he said none of the buses in that area went to Hebrew U. So we trekked down the street and called a taxi. The taxi driver taught us how to say 1-10 in Hebrew, no I n’t remember how to say them. I only remember two- stein, and three- shalosh. He told us he had lived in LA for 3 years fixing and selling cars or something like that. Also, he played us some music of his sons, who is a musician. It was an enjoyable car ride although it took like 20 minutes to go like 3 miles. It was soo long because the traffic was so crazy!! So I got back at 3:30. I relaxed till 3:50 and then headed to class. I think I will stay in the center tomorrow ha and the rest of forever. I had enough adventure for a few days!!!

The Sunset!

Just a few minutes ago we were ushered out of the library to view the beautiful sunset that was occurring outside. Synthia grabbed her camera and snapped a quick shot since the camera was almost dead, thus resulting in this slightly off skew, yet pretty picture. The sun was glowing pink, seriously. So pretty.

Reflections

-Right now I am really missing the U.S
-I miss price tags and knowing exactly how something costs, I can never tell if I am being told the true cost of something, like today when I bought pretzels
-I am having a food obsession at the moment; I have spent the better half of my day looking at an online site called the Smitten Kitchen. Look it up, you won't be disappointed.
-I am calling this summer the summer of Kitchen Love. (maybe) ha basically I want Grantler and I in the kitchen, at least once a week, trying out new recipes. The top of the list- brownie mosaic cheescake with chocolate cookie crust and chocolate ganache on top. I also am having a thing for dumplings at the moment.
-I miss being completely comfortable on the street
-I miss my Chandler, AZ smells
-I miss my mom. MOMMMM where are you?? If you are reading this I would like you to text me sometime today.
-I miss my chats with my dad on the phone. I predict I will not talk to him on the phone the whole time I am here, sadness.
-I miss roommate talk.
That is all.
Now a list of that I love about being here
-The Center- it is a palace and I love it, especially the library where I am currently stationed.
-I love people who are committed to their religion
-I love the view from the center, breath taking always
-I love waking up early because everyone else is doing it so it is easy
-I love studying the Old Testament every night
-I love learning
-I love making new friends and learning about the things that are important to them and also learning from them
-I love people that study with me who are smarter than me, I learn so much from them
-I love visiting ancient sites and realizing the reality of the Bible
-I love the references to the temple in the Old Testament, it makes me so excited to go there
-I love that being in Jerusalem and learning about the things that I am learning is probably some of the best temple prep I could be doing
Hope all is well with everyone. Miss you all!! Hopefully tomorrow I will have something really exciting to report on! :)

Random Cravings

Some foods I would love to eat right now:

-Cheese crisp from Nandos, with green chiles on top

-Chips and moms homemade Salsa

-A Pollo Fundido from Someburros

-Delicious lamb dish from Pf Changs

-Moms Green chile

-Moms grilled chicken with parmesan cheese on top

-A freckled lemonade

-A chocolate milkshake

-Dads clam chowder

-Dads Swedish pancakes

-RA Sushi- the seared Tuna to be exact

-Grandmas Banana Cream pie with the chocolate covered crust

-A cheese burger with sautéed mushrooms

-Grandmas Tuti Fruity Ice Cream

-A really chewy chocolate chip cookie

-A nice big piece of French bread with soft butter smeared on it

-Pumpkin chocolate chip bread with soft butter from the Great Harvest

People I would like to be eating these things with

-My mom- the chips and salsa

-Grantler- Pf Changs and Ra

-Kels- the Great Harvest and bread- we love carbs!

-My roomies- the cookies, yay for cookie overloads J

-Grandma and Grandpa- Banana Cream pie

-My sissies- the Milkshake

I am really wanting some of the above food. I love the food here, its great; but I definitely will rejoice when I get the chance to crunch a chip again.

Islam

So today I have not really done anything except go to Old Testament; which was great, eat food; which was also great, and do my Islam homework. A few interesting things about Islam.
1. They believe that Jesus is the son of Mary but not of God
2. They believe that his birth was miraculous.
3. When Mary brought him home he spoke to the people who judged Mary, saying that he was sent by God to be a servant of His on the earth.
4. They believe that he will bring peace to the earth when he descends again.
5. They don't believe he was crucified.
ETC
Just some interesting tid bits of what I am learning today! I am in the cozy Jerusalem center library and I love it. Its such a small little library, it is so great. So here I am, doing my school work. woot. Hope you all have a great day. Maybe tomorrow I will go out and have a fun story to tell :)
CIAO!

A few pictures

Here is a picture of the Judaen wilderness. A picture with me and the Judean wilderness and Jericho in the background and a picture of the north part of Herods winter palace. He had a north side on a hill then there was the Wadi Qelt (dried up river bed) then we were standing on the south side of his palace and then off to the northwest was another portion of the palace. It is impossible to get a picture of the entire thing, it is a huge property.

And they went down to Jericho

Today went to Jericho on a field trip!!! It was soo great, it is the 2^nd lowest city in the world. Jerusalem sits at 2700 ft above sea level whereas Jericho is 850 ft below sea level, we dropped thousands of feet in elevation within 15 minutes! It was soo cool to be in the valley and look over and just see this huge uprising of the earth, like a giant mountain range but then I realized that we were in this huge crack in the earth, that the mountain range was really just normal level. It was sweet. We got to see the remnants of Herods palace which was awesome!! Also, we saw the mountain that is traditionally thought to be the Mt. of Tempation, where Satan tempted Jeses while he was fasting. We also went to the ancient road that led from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was awesome!! The road overlooked the Judaen wilderness! I got some sweet pictures of that. Jericho was just awesome! And to be on the ancient road that Christ walked on was really special. Also, that road is where the story of the good Samaritan occurred, it is amazing to me that it still exists! We had a really nice devotional up there about how we need to get the big stuff done and be moving along but we shouldn’t stick to a schedule so much where we are avoiding doing nice things for people or cherishing the little moments. It was really applicable to me because here we are so busy and it would be so easy to just lock yourself in the center and just study but I know that I won’t get anything out of this if I do that. I need to take advantage of enjoying the small things like walking through the city or talking to a local or doing a humanitarian project. I hope I can always remember that lesson throughout my life because it is so easy to get caught up in every thing we have to do and to lose sight of the things that are most important. We also sang a few songs at the lookout, you look to the left and see Jerusalem and then to the right at Jericho and straight forward the Judaen wilderness. It was breathtaking. I always mark in my hymn book the date on the song we sing and where we sang it, I think it will be awesome to look back at my little hymn book and be reminded of my little experiences. We also saw Elishas spring!

This afternoon me and a group of people went into Jerusalem to the Jewish quarter and saw this beautiful synagogue called the Hurva synagogue. It is renovated and newly built but still has the old wall on one part. It is beautiful! There were great views of the Jewish quarter up there and a great sunset tonight. I got to see tons of adorable roof top gardens and sitting areas which were really neat, I love the views I got from up high! It was getting dark so we had to basically run back to the center!! We were with tons of people though so I didn’t feel unsafe, just we needed to get back because were not allowed to be out past dark. It was a really nice day, I am happy and well, recovering from my sickness!!! YAY!

maybe the pics will upload this time!

Free day numero dos!

Hey all!! Today was our free day! Yay!! So I am sure you are wondering what I did for my day off, sooooo I will tell you! Today, I woke up early to talk to Grant, which was a great start to the day. After that I ate breakfast and thennn made plans to go out!! We decided to go to the YMCA tower which has these bells that you can play and our branch president is this huge musician guy, plays the organ like crazy, etc and so he is able to play the bells every Sunday for a half hour so today we got to go up there and some people who know how to play the piano in our group got to play hymns on the bells! It sounded really cool! And there was an awesome view of the city, so that was great. It was a cool instrument, like there were these bar like things sticking out that when you push it pulls down a string thing that is connected to the bells above the roof. It was sweeettt!! I got a video of it but I won't be able to post that, so sorry!!! After we were there for a little bit we walked down this street called Mamilla street. I wonder if Mamilla means posh because it was GORGEOUS. I loved it. Such a nice outdoor mall. I wanted to buy so many things because they had like Gap and North Face and all these labels I am familiar with. I was in heaven just walking in there because of the cleanliness and such. But then I felt bad because I am in Jerusalem not to be at home doing at home things but to be here experiencing Jerusalem things. I will be going back to the street though haha After we left Mamilla in west Jerusalem we went through the Old City and stopped at lots of shops along the way. That was way fun. I found some things that look sweet to buy but I am not going to for a little bit. I heard scarves in Egypt are the cheapest so when I go there I will buy some. If you have any requests for souvenirs, tell me!!! Now I am just relaxing until I do my field trip homework and then dinner and then more homework. Woot. Good thing is that I already did my Old Testament. Jerusalem is great. :)

Pics

SO here is a picture of the entrance of the garden tomb and here is a picture of Golgotha (the place of the skull). Notice how the side of the mountain looks like a skull. Under Golgotha is the place of Christ's crucifixion.

Another great Sabbath

Hello everyone! Wow! Today has been amazing. First off, I gave a talk in church, yay. The best part of my talk, for me, was being able to sit on the stand and look out at the sea of amazing people. I had this overwhelming feeling come over me. I thought about how beautiful each and every person in that room was, not because of nice facial structure or pretty clothes but because of the divine potential we all have. The spirit testified to me that we have divine potential, that we come from a Heavenly Father and that each and every one of us is amazing because of that. We are amazing because of the spirits which reside in our bodies which make us alive and full of emotion and full of the desire to do good. That was such a wonderful experience for me. Also, a musical number, a piano piece was played and I felt the spirit soo strongly. My heart was thumping so hard. It was so wonderful. I have really gained an appreciation for music here. I just listened to the choir practice today because of my throat and I really enjoyed it. I am so glad that breakfast is from 8-9 and we have to be in sabbath dress because then it makes it so easy to just go listen to the choir or participate for the hour before church starts.
After church today we went to the garden tomb, it is a beautiful place. The garden tomb is right in east Jerusalem, the city is hustling and bustling right outside of it but inside it is so peaceful and calm. You forget that a city full of thousands of people is just a stones throw away. The enclosure has beautiful gardens and nice separated seating areas for all the different groups. After we got an introduction explaining the garden tomb, after we saw Golgotha, and after we actually went inside the tomb we sat down in a secluded area as a group. In our group we sang a few hymns and some people shared their thoughts and their testimonies. It was wonderful, our first spiritual meeting (outside of church) that we have had as a group. I really enjoyed it. I am surrounded by so many amazing people here, they all make me want to be better. I know that I can learn so much from all of them. I am so thankful for my time in Jerusalem. I miss home and I miss Grant but I will be able to bless the lives of those that I love most a hundred fold more now than I would have been able to if I hadn't had these choice experiences. I love the closeness I feel to my Savior here. I love this place and I can't wait to learn more so I can go home and share what I have learned here with my loved ones.

Pics and an update!

So today we went to the western wall, a holy place for the Jews, to watch the Shabbat worship. It was cool. There were tons of people all praying at the wall and also they would form circles and dance and sing songs. The picture with me and another girl in front of a wall was taken at the western wall a few days ago. The sabbath for the Jews, at least for the Friday night service is celebratory, it is completely acceptable to dance and sing songs and be happy. I got to touch the wall and that was really cool. It is an amazing structure which dates back to the time before Christ. On our way to the wall our professors walked with us and they showed us this excavation site that was built before even Christ was alive. It is so mind boggling. The one thing I am so thankful for is that I, as an LDS person know that Jesus Christ is my savior, that he is the Son of God, that he is divine. Muslims and Jews don't believe that Christ played this significant role, they don't see him as the literal Son of God. There are many similarities between Jews and Mormons but then there is this huge difference; the lack of Jesus as the redeemer of all mankind. I know that Jesus is my Savior, that he set the example for me, that he was killed and resurrected for me and everyone else on the Earth. I am so thankful for that knowledge. I love Jerusalem. It is an amazing place. It is so crazy for me to think that I am actually here, where the Bible took place. I often think of home, I always miss Grant, but I know that me being here is shaping me in ways that I never would have been able to be shaped if I were at home. I am learning wonderful things and having sacred experiences. I will never be able to replicate this experience so I need to embrace it while I can. Some people were telling me how their friends didn't get into the program and they had diligently prepared and had desired to come for a very long time. It made me feel so bad and ungrateful. There are people who wanted this trip more than I did and I took that experience away from them. After having those thoughts I had to re direct my thoughts and realize that Heavenly Father has his hand in all things, He would not have sent people on this study abroad if they were not supposed to come. I know that I am supposed to be here and while I yearn for home I know that soon I will be there and Jerusalem will be a memory forever ingrained in my heart and mind. I am going to learn as much as possible while I am here and I am going to create as many amazing experiences while I can. I will. I love you all, thank you for your ongoing support. The page views I see everyday make me want to update my blog so thank you.

A few pictures!

Sick in Jerusalem

Hey all!
So the last few days have been rough here in Israel!
I have been so sick!
A crazy sore throat, tons of sneezing, runny nose, stuffy head, the works.
I am feeling better today, I got to sleep for 8 hours last night so that was great!
I am going to go out in the city today and see something great so I will
report back on my adventure!
We have been doing a ton of classes the last few days!
I have been learning a ton about Judaism, Islam, and the Old Testament.
It will be great to be educated on those things. Last night we had a speaker
come who is Palestinian Christian. He talked to us
about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, it was really interesting but
definitely skewed because of his background but that is what it is supposed to be.
We get to hear all of the different sides of the issue so I don't
think we will ever hear a neutral voice about the matter.
We saw Gibeah and Gibeon on Monday, that was awesome. It is so cool to
read stuff in the bible and then know where the places are they are talking
about, it helps me understand the bible so much better!
We also got to look out in the distance and see Bethel, where Abraham built his altar.
It was cool. I will talk more about it when I have more time.
Hope everyone is great, I miss you all!!!
Thanks for reading!!
:)

Jerusalem Free Day!

Today I go to go into the city again!! Oh my goodness!! Today was way better than the first time we went, I loved it. First we walked up to the money changer office in east Jerusalem. Alladdin was the owner and he was great. Many students before hand have gone there and so we have a great reputation with him. He gave us falafel and pita bread and coke. It was so fun. We chatted with him for a while and then headed up the wall to the Damascus gate where we found some of our friends. We decided to do this wall tour where you go and walk on the top of the walls surrounding the old city basically. It was so awesome to see that view of the city, it made me want to go into the peoples houses. It was sweet to see them actually living their lives. So we did that then went to the place of Marys birth. That was cool. And then we went to the Jewish quarter and saw the wailing wall where the Jews pray. They pray at this wall because it is the closest thing to the temple mount where they aren’t really allowed to go because it is owned by the muslims. The Jewish believe the Holy of Holies to be under the Dome of the Rock and so that is why it is so important to them. So when the wall was built they just went to the wall and wailed because they weren’t able to get to the Dome of the Rock. So we were there and then this girl approached us, she looked our age and asked us what group we were with and stuff. We found out she was from Indiana and was in Israel with this certain group called Birthright. We asked her a few questions about Judaism and then she asked if we wanted to go with her into this tunnel that is underground that goes to the waling wall. We said yes, of course! So we got to go in for free because she is Jewish and going in there to pray. We went in there and saw the wall portion where the women were praying, the men were below, and then we walked the way we came in. We stopped walking and she started chatting with us about her religion. It was amazing. We asked questions and she would just answer with such enthusiasm. She just started practicing Orthodox Judaism about 3 years ago in college. She explained to us some of the different aspects of being an Orthodox Jew. A few things to note. They believe that women connect with God easier, like a woman is more sensitive to things of the Spirit so she can pray alone. Men have to pray in groups of ten because they need all that strength to be able to connect with the Lord. There is more to it, but that is the gist. Also, we learned that men and women do not touch each other until after marriage. So while dating they don’t even hug or anything. Also, the don’t use electricity from sundown on Friday to sun down on Saturday (their Sabbath). They have so many similar beliefs to us. The whole time she was talking she would say things that I wanted to be like we believe that too, but we signed a no proselytizing agreement so that won’t be happening. It was really valuable though because instead of trying to form my next sentence on how to connect her religion with mine or trying to think of things to say about my religion to her I just listened. It was so great. I am here to explore religions and broaden my horizons, I feel like the no proselytizing agreement really helps with this so I am glad it is in place, no matter how much I really want to tell people about the fullness of the gospel. Some things that she said totally paralleled the things we believe in the gospel. Like she told us that they believe that their bodies are temples so that is why they have rules about what they can eat and rules concerning chastity. Also, she said that two things that made her want to pursue being an Orthodox Jew were the fact that the men were praying together on a Friday night, instead of partying and also because of the emphasis on families and the respect the children give to their parents. It reminded me so much of LDS people. Our men devote so much of their time to their religion, as do the women and our religion is all about families. It was so wonderful to here the things she was saying. I really enjoyed it and am so thankful for that enriching experience. I love the city of Jerusalem. It is beautiful and the people there, for the most part, are so dedicated to their religion. They are examples to me and I love learning from them and more about them. I feel like I have already learned so much already and cannot wait to learn more!

The Sabbath!

Hey all! SO today I took some pictures of the Jerusalem Center but I can’ t post them yet, just hold on a bit longer, I am hoping tomorrow I get to go to the Hebrew university and do that. So today we had church and guess what?? I sung in the choir! I am really glad I did, even though my singing abilities aren’t super amazing. It was great to just fill 45 minutes of my morning before church singing about Christ, all while looking off into the distance at Jerusalem. I loved it. I think I will continue to do choir, only stand in the back this time, I stood in what I thought was the back and then we turned around and then I was front row ha I am sure the conductor could heart my not perfect voice cause he kept looking at me! So that will definitely change next time. So we had sacrament meeting in the room I told you about previously where we look out at Jerusalem and if was soo cool to be able to look at the place of Christ’s ministry while I renewed my covenants. It really helped to focus my thoughts on Jesus Christ. I feel so privileged to be in this place, it is so beautiful. The Jerusalem center is like a posh hotel but better. We have everything here. Seriously, its so fun to eat, sleep, study, attend church, etc all in the same place. I also am loving having the Sabbath be on Saturday. Its so nice because then you do church on Saturday and then can do whatever else the rest of the weekend. It is good. The weather is like rainy and cool right now and I really like it. I don’t think I will be too excited when it gets super hot. It is crazy for me to think about how cool it is right now and how ward it will be when we leave, Well I hope everything with all of you is well! I miss everyone in AZ and everywhere else. I realized how much I really loved my roommates being out here, they are the best girls, so inclusive and kind. I was so lucky to live with such wonderful people lsat semester. Girls, if you are reading this, know that I am thinking about you! I wish you could all be here with me, it would be the biggest party ever. I am going into the city to tour something tomorrow, I will blog again tomorrow night!! Cross your fingers for pictures!!!

Finally in Jerusalem!!!

Hey everyone!! I am sorry it seems like it has been soo long since I last blogged but really it has only been like 4 days! Life is moving way slow for me right now, it seem surreal. So I am actually in Jerusalem. WOW. It is beautiful countryside. The buildings are all made of white limestone, I love it!! It really looks gorgeous! We landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon and we drove through the dark to Jerusalem and it was so pretty seeing all the hills lit up with houses and stuff. There are tons of rolling hills here and it is nice and green! Its very beautiful. So yesterday we went to the city of Jerusalem! It was awesome! We walked down this hill from the center and then walked back up this other hill to the corner of the wall that surrounds the old city. We then kept walking and went through this merchant area of east Jerusalem. Mostly Arabs and Muslims live in east Jerusalem. We then entered the old city through Damascus gate, this gate is huge! Its not an actually gate just an entrance in the wall. You walk through this tunnel and on each side are merchants selling tons of things and then you walk out into the old city. The old city is basically narrow ally ways full of little shops. It is crazy!! So packed! 30,000 people live in the old city! I couldn’t believe it! Every where you go you are surrounded by tall shops with apartments on top. Mostly Arabs and Muslims live in the old city too although there is a Jewish quarter. We visited the church of the holy sepulcher and that was crazy. There were sooo many people there! Like crazy amounts! There were tons of people rubbing scarves and kissing and kneeling at this stone that is believed to be the tablet that Jesus was prepared for burial on. it was a little odd but it was also really interesting to see how intensely these people praised Jesus at this stone. They really have a firm belief in Jesus Christ. So after that we walked some more in the old city and we left through Joppa gate, putting us in West Jerusalem. West Jerusalem is populated by mainly jews. It is the modern Jerusalem. It is so clean and spacious and in order. East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem are like night and day! It is crazy. They are both awesome but I will admit I felt safer in West Jerusalem, it was less crowded and just cleaner. There was this one shopping street that looked exactly like a street in Germany, very European. I would show you picture but 1- I haven’t taken any yet ha and 2- I can’t download pictures at the center, I have to go to he Hebrew university for that. So hopefully this weekend I will take pictures and then post them to my blog. So we started school today and let me just say, I am in for a tough semester! But I am going to love it. I am so excited to become a scriptorian and really know my old and new testaments. We had a 20 chapter reading assignment due today and so a group of us read it all together and took all our notes together, making a summary, talking about the locations, people, and doctrinal teachings of each chapter. It was awesome. There are some really smart people here and their insights are great. Even I, as I study with others am able to understand the scriptures so much better. I am loving old testament. We also had ancient near eastern studies today, that class will be a challenge! It is an archaelogy, history, and geography class combined into one! Holy Cow!! The geography is going to be challenging but I am excited to learn and get better at learning about it. I won’t go to my other classes until Tuesday so I will definitely report then how they are. The Jerusalem center is great. It is such a beautiful, well kept building. There are like no rules here! (ok there are tonnnsss of rules about the dress code, leaving the building, being out in Jerusalem, and not bringing food out of the café but other than that, inside the building pretty much anything goes) It is like our huge house! Everything stays open all night, except maybe the gym? I don’t remember but you can go anywhere in the building whenever. Its so nice that we aren’t locked in our rooms at night or whatever. Its so great. And the people who teach here have kids who just run around and do as they please, its awesome. Also, the big concert hall and the place we have sacrament have this beautiful organ and it faces Jerusalem. This doesn’t matter much except for the fact that the whole wall that we stare at is basically just glass. Huge windows with views of the city. It is beautiful. I can’t wait to take the sacrament tomorrow and look out at the land that he walked on and taught in, where he sacrificed his life for me and you. I am happy here. Eveyday gets better. The first few days I struggled, I missed Grant so much and I wanted to go home but I am doing well now. I got to talk to him on the phone today and that was a treat! I know that being in Jerusalem and learning of the things of the Lord will make me a better person and more knowledgeable of the gospel and doctrines that I know to be true.

New York

Oh dear.
So I just wrote this whole post already and then I tried copy and pasting something
and then my post got deleted.
GRRR.
That's ok I only have like
3.5 MORE hours in the airport.
So any who.
The titel of this post may be misleading.
I am in New York! Yay!
But I am only in the JFK airport, not yay.
We didn't even get to fly over the city, that was so depressing.
I mean I am in New York City yet I can't even
go outside nor did I get to fly over the
big high rise buildings or anything of that sort!
It is just unfair.
Haha
I am going to Jerusalem, ya.
So I guess I should stop complaining.
So our flight from SLC wasn't bad at all; I just watched some TV and read my great book
and that was that.
I decided not to sleep so that I will sleep well
on my flight to Tel Aviv.
I hope that plan works!
Also, I got to sit in the back of the plane which was Grrrreeeattt!!!
I didn't feel rushed at all to get my carry on into the space nor did I feel rushed to get off the plane.
I loved it.
I hope I have such good luck this time as well!
I cannot believe I am in NY on my way to Israel.
It feels seriously surreal.
I am like what the heck??
The whole time I was on the plane
I was just thinking to myself like what in the world
am I doing???
This is total craziness.
Oh guess what??
Random fact!!
So the Jerusalem center was the most
expensive building the church had built up until
the San Diego Temple.
WHOA.
That is crazy.
I guess the building has the same quality
as that of a temple.
It will be so awesome to see.
One of the girls on my flight said that some of her friends said
that living in the Jerusalem center was
like living in a palace, that
when they had gone to other hotels they didn't even compare.
I can't wait to see it for myself!!
Well wish me luck for my 10.5 hour flight!!
Thanks for reading :)

Officially Beginning!

Hey all!
I am back in Utah, all packed and ready to go to Jerusalem.

Tomorrow I have my orientation meeting for 4 hours and thennnnn
I AM OFF! (Tuesday morning)

Tonight I left my family and Grantler and it was so sad.
I didn't cry though, I think that will happen
when I am feeling
bored and lonely.
I will be ok though because I will
come back from Jerusalem a better person, I know it.
This trip is needed and will be a great asset to my life and to the life
of my future family, it will be great.
So from now on you blog readers will be getting
exciting updates concerning my travels throughout Israel and Egypt.
I hope that you will enjoy reading about the things I learn because I am excited to share them
with you.
Thanks for all of your support and well wishes, every kind
word has meant so much.
Thank you.
Let the journey begin!