Sorry guys that I haven't posted in awhile but I have been super busy this past week. We are always scrambling for time here. We work out around 5:30 am then breakfast at 7 and classes at 8. We have class for about 4 hours a day and then it is free time. Our teachers feel the need to give us enormous amounts of reading. We have a list of around 100 sites that we have to see while we are here so we try to go out each day and see everything. So after walking around the town I am so exhausted, when 10 pm rolls around I want to go to bed.
We went to this open market the other night, it was hard to find but it was in this little alleyway and then opened to a huge market. It was filled with delicious bakery goods, candies, and fresh fruit! I got my first falafel at this place and it was so good! I had never had a falafel before but it is very similar to a gyro or kebab but it is filled with these green balls (who knows what it is made up of) but it is dang good. We also try different baked goods that we have no idea what they are but they are always quite delicious.
Last night we went to West Jerusalem and get our first exposure to the nightlife. W. Jerusalem is very modern and a really nice part of town so we got some gelato and soaked up the culture. We are not allowed out at night in majority of Jerusalem because it is to dangerous but West Jerusalem is safe. We also got to take our first ride on the buses here and let me tell you that it is one million times better than any experience I had in India.
The other day I went to the Dome of the Rock and it was so amazing! It is only open for a few hours a day so we had to wait outside for a bit before we got to go in. While sitting out there we saw a few orthodox Jews that we protesting (we think) but they were sitting right outside and the security guards were trying to kick them out. It was a little nerve wrecking watching them fight but I guess that comes with the culture here. According to the Torah Jews are not allowed to go inside. We are not allowed inside of the Dome either but apparently if you pay them enough you can get a peek inside, so I guess we will see how much you have to pay. Or you could lie and say your Muslim, but we decided that we would probably get struck down by lightning if we lie to get into a holy site.
So apparently Mount Scopus (the hill that we live on) is a migratory place for Vipers.....yes, the snakes. After we learned this Lindsey was opening our back door to our balcony and she screamed and scared all of us. She immediately thought viper but then it turned out to be just the curtains. Easy mistake.
Tonight we go on a field trip to the Western wall! We are both really excited, friday nights are the beginning of the Sabbaths here so a lot of people come into the city to pray. We are not allowed to take pictures though because according to their religion they are not allowed to do work or use technology on the sabbath so we can't take pictures.The sabbath starts friday night at sun down Dad, I will go and hit my head on the wall. :)
We had a guest speaker the other night by the Minister of Israeli Foreign Affairs and he explained part of the history of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. When I say part it is because he gave a very biased viewpoint of what is going on. It idealized what the Israelis have done and emphasized that the Palestinians will not talk at all. But I still really enjoyed what he said though and it was really informative. I LOVE my professors here especially my old testament teacher. It is amazing to learn the stories and then connect it to where we are and what we have seen. I have learned some basic phrases in Arabic like:
Keefek :how are you
Mabsut or mabsuteem: Hello
Shukra: thank you
After each class my throat is always so sore because we have to practice speaking the way they do which really sounds groggy.
Our Islam and Judaism classes are really interesting but sometimes they talk way over our head so we are trying to adapt to it and understand everything that they are saying.
I just got my calling for this ward and I am Relief Society Newsletter Editor. I can handle this. But it is actually a really cool calling because half of the branch members in Jerusalem can't come to church because they are behind the dividing wall and they are not allowed to cross the border into jerusalem. So the newsletter is the way that we give them their information.
Well I love you all and hope that all is well!
We went to this open market the other night, it was hard to find but it was in this little alleyway and then opened to a huge market. It was filled with delicious bakery goods, candies, and fresh fruit! I got my first falafel at this place and it was so good! I had never had a falafel before but it is very similar to a gyro or kebab but it is filled with these green balls (who knows what it is made up of) but it is dang good. We also try different baked goods that we have no idea what they are but they are always quite delicious.
Last night we went to West Jerusalem and get our first exposure to the nightlife. W. Jerusalem is very modern and a really nice part of town so we got some gelato and soaked up the culture. We are not allowed out at night in majority of Jerusalem because it is to dangerous but West Jerusalem is safe. We also got to take our first ride on the buses here and let me tell you that it is one million times better than any experience I had in India.
The other day I went to the Dome of the Rock and it was so amazing! It is only open for a few hours a day so we had to wait outside for a bit before we got to go in. While sitting out there we saw a few orthodox Jews that we protesting (we think) but they were sitting right outside and the security guards were trying to kick them out. It was a little nerve wrecking watching them fight but I guess that comes with the culture here. According to the Torah Jews are not allowed to go inside. We are not allowed inside of the Dome either but apparently if you pay them enough you can get a peek inside, so I guess we will see how much you have to pay. Or you could lie and say your Muslim, but we decided that we would probably get struck down by lightning if we lie to get into a holy site.
So apparently Mount Scopus (the hill that we live on) is a migratory place for Vipers.....yes, the snakes. After we learned this Lindsey was opening our back door to our balcony and she screamed and scared all of us. She immediately thought viper but then it turned out to be just the curtains. Easy mistake.
Tonight we go on a field trip to the Western wall! We are both really excited, friday nights are the beginning of the Sabbaths here so a lot of people come into the city to pray. We are not allowed to take pictures though because according to their religion they are not allowed to do work or use technology on the sabbath so we can't take pictures.The sabbath starts friday night at sun down Dad, I will go and hit my head on the wall. :)
We had a guest speaker the other night by the Minister of Israeli Foreign Affairs and he explained part of the history of the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. When I say part it is because he gave a very biased viewpoint of what is going on. It idealized what the Israelis have done and emphasized that the Palestinians will not talk at all. But I still really enjoyed what he said though and it was really informative. I LOVE my professors here especially my old testament teacher. It is amazing to learn the stories and then connect it to where we are and what we have seen. I have learned some basic phrases in Arabic like:
Keefek :how are you
Mabsut or mabsuteem: Hello
Shukra: thank you
After each class my throat is always so sore because we have to practice speaking the way they do which really sounds groggy.
Our Islam and Judaism classes are really interesting but sometimes they talk way over our head so we are trying to adapt to it and understand everything that they are saying.
I just got my calling for this ward and I am Relief Society Newsletter Editor. I can handle this. But it is actually a really cool calling because half of the branch members in Jerusalem can't come to church because they are behind the dividing wall and they are not allowed to cross the border into jerusalem. So the newsletter is the way that we give them their information.
Well I love you all and hope that all is well!
Oh Katie, What excitement and interesting stuff going on for you! I cannot imagine living 10 minutes from the Garden of Gethsemane or seeing the Dome of the Rock from your million dollar view!! Enjoy it all!! I am surprised that they are so nice and friendly, where in France they are not so nice to Americans. Have fun and be safe!
ReplyDelete100 cites during your stay there!? wow!!! and way to go for working out in the a.m. What do you guys do to work out? That's a weird question I feel, but I'm just curious since I'm guessing you don't have a gym there (or do you?) and I don't know if it's safe to go running by yourselves that early in the morning. k, fill me in :)
ReplyDeletekeep having fun! sounds amazing!!!