The Longest Post Ever.....

Okay, you guys are going to have to bear with me. I finally got the chance to upload pictures (special thanks to Meg!), so I have a TON of updating to do. These last couple of days have been amazing. We finished our finals!!!! We took two on Tuesday. I don't think I've ever had so much information shoved into my head at one time. Holy cow. People were going a little crazy....but everyone is so much more relaxed now. We had a much needed Halloween party that night which was a blast! More on that later. Ok, here are the pics! I hope you enjoy!

Eilat!

 

 

Kylie and I were twinners :)

Lexi, Meg, Mickell, Kristi, and Ally hangin' out in the Red Sea!

Snorkeling in the Red Sea!



"Village Beach"

Havin' fun at the mall in Eilat. This is the closest to America I've felt since I've been here haha.



People love asking us to take pictures of them...usually it's so they can ask you for money, but these guys just wanted me to take their picture...? The people here are way funny.

Seder Meal/Celebration

It was a lot of fun to go through the traditional Passover celebration with our Israeli history teacher, Ophir. Lots of reading, singing ("Let my people go..."), drinking small glasses of grape juice, reciting prayers, eating bitter herbs, and rapping. Yes, rapping. It was quite the evening! Thought I'd make a little collage so I can get more pictures on. 





Yad Vashem Field Trip


We took a field trip to Yad Vashem, a Holocaust Museum, and Mt. Herzl. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. It was hard to take it all in and to believe that these terrible things really happened. I am so grateful for the freedom and safety that I enjoy. We couldn't take pictures inside, but here are a few of the monuments on the ground, commemorating some of the people and events of that time period.






This is our teacher, Ophir, giving us the history of these monuments.





Meg got a little bit tired of listening to so much Jewish history...

Olive Picking and Pressing!


 We are lucky to be here in the fall, because it's olive season! There are a bunch of olive trees and olive presses on the grounds, so we got to put them to good use! It was a lot of fun to see how olive oil is made using various presses. It was also cool to talk about the symbolism that relates to Christ's Atonement. This was a lot of fun. (Note to self: these olives do NOT taste like the ones Grandma has at Sunday dinner....)






Cold Cut Fridays!


 

Don't make fun of me, this is our favorite lunch. It's a big deal here. Best. Bread. Ever.
 
Garden Tomb


 
  
I love this place. :)


Israeli Folk Dancing!

...With Boaz Cohen! Hahaha what a treat.

Bethlehem Field Trip

This field trip was a ton of fun! We started out at some building...I have no idea where we were...but we heard a presentation on the conflict from the Palestinian side. As you can see, I was very intrigued...

 

In my defense, I had gone to bed at 3 the night before (stupid homework). And I was clearly not the only one!

 Next we went to Bethlehem University, where our Palestinian history teacher, Adnan is a professor. He was so excited for us to see where he gets to teach and to get to meet some of the students there. It was interesting to hear their viewpoints on the conflict and other issues. Bethlehem is located in the West Bank, which causes difficulties for those that have to commute from areas outside of it, such as Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip.

 It was so much fun to mingle with the students and to see the diversity that exists there. The student body is 80% Muslim and 20% Christian. This was a nun from Jordan and a Muslim from Jerusalem. They were so nice!
 

Yay for camp shirts! Typical Jerusalem attire...

Next, we stopped for lunch at the Tent restaurant. It was a ton of fun! They had the best wheat pita with all kinds of things to eat it with...such as hummus...and SALSA! Oh my, I have missed salsa. KT and Aim, Chili's chips and salsa as soon as I get home?!

 

 

Meg, Brandt, Justin, and Kim with our professor, Dr. Musallam. 

Next! We made our way to the Church of the Nativity. One of my favorite parts of this field trip was just walking through the streets of Bethlehem on our way to the church. They were really neat with so many colorful doors and hills and markets. The church was also really cool! It is the longest standing Christian church in the world, originally built by Constantine in the 4th century AD. (Wow, quick retard moment. I just asked my friends what year this was, just to make sure I got it right, and I said "4th century, right? Wait, AD or BC?" Meg, pretty sure they would not build a church on the place Christ was born BEFORE He was born. Cut me some slack, I've got lots of dates running through my head haha!) We had to wait almost 3 hours to get down into the grotto where they believe Christ was born. Our teachers were saying this was the longest wait they've ever experienced, and the church was under construction, so there was scaffolding everywhere. We were packed like sardines into this little church with a bunch of tourists. It was lots of fun though, we always find ways to entertain ourselves. :) 

 This is the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. Didn't get to spend any time there really since there were about 80 billion people trying to get through. It reminded me of elementary school after gym class when the teachers would take the class in a line to get a drink from the drinking fountain...and they would hold the button for 3 seconds for each kid. "1...2...3..." *off*. And you're still dying of thirst but no one cares...that's how it felt. Very rushed, but it was still neat. :) It was interesting, though, how much closer I felt to my Savior right after this when we went into the neighboring Catholic church and sang Christmas hymns. I love that our gospel is like that, we don't need to be in amazing, significant, elaborate places to be able to feel close to Him. Doesn't hurt, though. :)

 Funniest FHE Ever....

Let's just say it had to do with a hilarious email and a snail that estivated (which is kind of like hibernating in the summer) for 6 months, came back to 'life', and died 24 hours later...

Last Day as the Judd Class :(

We will miss having you as our teacher, Brother Judd!

Fun Day on the Temple Mount and in the Old City!

A great day with Meg and Amy getting a lot of homework done. Our teacher, Chadwick, gave us an assignment to visit about 50 different sites in Jerusalem and then write a paper on some of them. Best assignment ever. :)

My first time on al-Haram al-Sharif!

Wouldn't let us in...strange. ;)

Writing our names in ancient Hebrew at the Ariel House...after the awesome 3D movie. "Oh Jerusalem, how could I ever paint you?"
 

Falafel?...or postcard?
 

Oh man.
 

Our dear friend Theo from Holland that we met on our tour of the Hurva Synagogue. We had a lot of fun getting to know him and even 'impressed' him with some 'serious' Dutch (thanks to "The Best Two Years.")
 

The Burnt House! House near the Temple Mount that dates back to the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans. We got another awesome movie at this site.

Just a little display of Lachish at the Ariel House. Cool because we've been to this actual site!
 

This is completely normal. Walking down "Meat Street" is quite a treat...One word: stinky! There are full on animals hanging in all the meat lockers...with bins of kidneys and brains and everything you can imagine. Not gonna' lie, I'm definitely a fan of American grocery stores.
 

This store is more like it. :) Love me some gummies.

 
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure!

This was seriously so much fun! I know I already blogged about it...so I won't really say any more besides it was fabulous. :)

Evening in West Jerusalem! 

AMAZING crepes!

Party Bus!

 Herodian/Shepherd's Field Field Trip!

The Herodian is a fortress and palace built and used by Herod the Great in the 1st century AD. There are some really cool ruins to see there! We got to visit the palace at the bottom of the tel, complete with a HUGE swimming pool and Roman baths. We could even still see some of the little tiles on the bottom of the pool! Then, we made our way towards the top, stopping at Herod's tomb on the way up. A big fortress would've stood on top of the mound, so we got to see a lot of those ruins. More bath houses, cisterns, all kinds of ancient stuff like that.

Diving into Herod's pool!
 

Just washin' our hair in the bath house...
 

Sometimes, when I'm a bad roommate, Miriam threatens to throw me in the cistern.


Next, we went to Shepherd's field, overlooking Bethlehem! We had an awesome musical program and testimony meeting and we had some alone time. During this time, a few shepherds with a huge flock of sheep came walking through. It was really neat. It was a great night. :)
 

Meg and Jamesy.
 

Meg and Nataly, since we are twinners, right Nataly?
 

"O, Little Town of Bethlehem" :)

Necessary Study Break/Trip to Crash Corner

Monday was a rough day. Pretty much all we did was study...no joke. Let's just say I'm glad it's over. So, Tahna, Miriam, and I needed a little break. We walked up to 'Crash Corner' on the top of our street to get some treats and just get out of the center. Good times.

Just had to put this up, cause I think it's so cool! We saw this on our walk up as we were reciting the Islamic months and the names of Allah and it made me happy.
 

Awesome produce stand, complete with cauliflower the size of my head and dragonfruit. What more could you need?

Candy :)

Sometimes...people ride through the streets on horses.


Surprise Party for Brother Judd!
 

Complete with cake and an amazing original song by Tessa.

Halloween Party! 

Our Halloween party started shortly after our Islam final. It started with Trick-or-Treating! The kids here came around to our rooms and we gave them candy. :) Just in case you don't know how Trick-or-Treating works....ha. Then, we had dinner and a carnival! Complete with apple bobbing, a cake walk, a fish pond, vegetable/fruit carving (pumpkins here are very rare and expensive-people got SO creative!), and face painting. People were SO creative with costumes, I was so impressed, especially considering the fact that we don't have many resources here...but pretty sure a lot of the costumes were only funny because we're here...for example! Haha people dressing up like each other...the Red Sea and the Dead Sea...a potsherd...Shishaq, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar...etc. But it was totally awesome.

Andrew, Charles, Jordy, and Robert. We had a blast dressing up like these guys. People kept thinking we were them all night and i got first place in the funniest costume contest haha, so fun.

Me with the real Robert Buss.

Anywho, that's all! Ha, 'that's all.' Life is good today. :) Love you all!