I miss...

…this.

But I'd be willing to say that this...

...is a pretty good alternative.

This past week, we took another trip to Tel Aviv! Way fun. :) The water was insanely warm and the waves were HUGE! We had a fun time swimming, playing some beach volleyball and soccer, and eating awesome gelato. It was sooo nice to relax after such a crazy week. Now I have to figure out how to get the pile of sand out from in between layers of my swimming suit...not quite sure how it got in there.

On Sunday, we watched Conference! So good, I just love having this every 6 months and always hear just what I need.

A group of us watched Aladdin the other night. It was so much fun to watch while living in this place! Some of our favorite parts included:

"Allah forbid!"

"A pretty necklace for a pretty lady!"

(Makes me 'miss' the shopowners in Egypt...)

"The Nile! Ask me for the Nile!"

Aladdin's genie pants!

The Pyramids and the Sphinx!

And Lizzie saying:

"I just got the chills!" 

Yep, we're gettin' pretty nerdy around here. We've even started cracking Old Testament jokes...I'll spare you on those.

Anywho, life is good here, this week has been a ton of fun! I'll put up another post soon with more pics! I hope you all are enjoying fall in Utah or wherever you are! I seriously miss it really bad, so enjoy it for me. Love you all!

When it Rains, it Pours!

What do you call two midterms, a 7-page paper, and 25 hours of class? 

4 days of not leaving the Center!

Holy Hannah, this week has been kinda crazy! We had midterms in Old Testament and Judaism and a paper due in Islam, all on top of our normal classes and homework. Somehow it always all comes at once. But now we're done!!! And that means WEEKEND! My tests went really well and hopefully my paper was okay too! Now, I can look forward to relaxing tonight (slash "Indiana Jones," surprise dance party, volleyball, and a good night's sleep), Conference tomorrow, a much-needed outing to the city on Sunday, and an awesome field trip to the City of David (including Hezekiah's tunnel!) on Monday! Everyone has been a little bit tired/stressed/weird this week. Ha. Here are some highlights, if you can call them that, from this week:

1. Arab Night! Complete with an interesting presentation, an amazing dinner, and some awesome Arab dancing lessons. We had two sheiks come-a father and a son-who have held this position for years. A sheik is a religious position held in the Islamic faith. They sang the call to prayer for us, they are two of the chanters that broadcast from the Al Aqsa Mosque here in the city, and demonstrated to us how they pray. The dinner involved many elaborately folded napkins, lots of roses, and delicious traditional food. The dancing was a ton of fun. It wasn't what I was expecting, the teachers were about our age and it was really upbeat and fun. Good times. :)

2. New cell phones! Our old ones were about 4 years old...our new ones have lots of minutes and 400 texts (to other students or to America). It was like we hadn't seen a working cell phone in years. It'll be nice to be able to shoot a text to a friend instead of running up and down the stairs trying to find them.

3. Cougar fights and feral cats...

4. Reciting the Islamic months and the 99 names of Allah...

5. Awesome songs including "Halleluya" in Hebrew and "Shephelah, Shephelah, Goliath's back!" in Ancient Near East (sung to the tune of "My Boyfriend's Back." All credit to Dr. Chadwick.)

6. Lots and lots of Judaism and Islam class time, complete with Professor Yarden's jokes. 

Q: "How many Orthodox Jews does it take to change a lightbulb?"

A: "Change?!"

7. Security guards that make fun of my last name...

8. The first rain of the season!!!! Don't worry that we were in class the whole time....but it was so exciting! We ate lunch on the patio today without baking like toasted cheesers! (NTM!) I'm excited. :)

9. People. I love everyone here. Here's a little excerpt from my roomie Miriam's blog. I think she said it perfectly.

"As I sat in the forum tonight, it hit me that we have become friends, and living companions, and support systems, and venting listeners, and studying partners, and alarm clocks, and clothes sharers, and dancing party starters, and sympathizers, and pumper uppers, and secret surprise party planners, and travel guides, and picture taking experts, and bad hygiene tolerators, and bluntly honest tellers, and blossoming romance watchers, and expert matchmakers, and blog followers, (and blog stalkers), and every meal with each other eaters, and shortening words talkers, and slow internet frustratees, and security lovers, and explorers, and teacher worshipers, and adventure seekers, and fanny pack packing experts, and straight up family."

Anywho, sorry I don't have anything more exciting to report! My next one will be better...I hope. Haha, it's been a good week though. I've learned lots. The information we learn in all of our classes and on field trips is really starting to come together and make sense. I absolutely love learning about the history here. I'm so happy! Hope all is well with all of you! :D

Conference, Luau, and the SHEPHELAH!

Hope you like my name update. I thought it was genius. Hahaha jk. K, weird. There are 4 Megans here and the other day, I found out that one of them has the same middle name as me! Megan Elise. So now we are the Megan Elise/Ellices. These last few days have been absolutely amazing. I love love LOVE conference. We watched the first session 'live' at 6 PM on Saturday. We watched the afternoon session at 10 AM on Sunday. We'll watch the other two next Saturday during our normal church time with the rest of the branch.

Yesterday, we had a birthday party for Tashara! Her dad is one of the teachers. It was a luau! Complete with hula/haka lessons from the kids, "Waka Waka" dancing, and LIMBO!

This has to be one of my favorite pictures. Alexia is my bud, and I jokingly asked her if she could give me a piggy back ride. She said yes and she wasn't kidding! My feet are completely off the floor. You can tell that I was a little bit nervous haha! Love this picture. :) These kids are hilarious!

Today, we had a field trip. So awesome! We were out for 10 1/2 hours visiting a bunch of fortresses in the Shephelah, the hill country in the middle of Israel. It was a looong day, but it was way cool. Lots of 'tells,' we're getting used to those. It was really neat to visit all the excavation sites and learn about the cities and their various purposes throughout history. We got to visit the valley of the David and Goliath battle, complete with slingshots. I'll post pics and tell you more about it later. This week is gonna be rough....2 midterms and a big paper....but it will be good! Well, I better start studying. Love you all!

10 of My Favorite Things.

Hey all. :) Just thought I'd put up a random, quick post to let you know a little bit about what everyday things are like over here. Hope you enjoy! 

10 of My Favorite Things

1. The View of the Old City. Love looking over this each time I look out the window and each time we eat a meal on the patio.

This is our balcony, which overlooks the city. Awesome! Love my roomies. :)

2. Holidays! We've been here for a lot of the major Muslim and Jewish holidays, including Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Their holidays last so long. I wish the holidays in America lasted for days/weeks/months. It's awesome. Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, just ended. On the last day, known as Hashanah Rabba, we woke up early and went to the Western Wall. It was really neat, it was packed with people waving their lulavim and etrogs. I love when our teachers point out the holidays in the scriptures. We read John 7:37-38 in Dr. Chadwick's class and he explained that it was talking about Hashanah Rabba. How sweet to read about a holiday on the day it was actually being celebrated. It was really cool to understand what it is talking about, to learn that they pray for rain on that day which prompts Christ's mention of Him as the living water. Ah, I love being here and learning about these things!

3. Genie Pants. I might come back to America and wear these every day. They are unbelievably comfy.

4. My Chacos and My Fanny Pack. Two things I never thought I would wear have become my best friends.

5. Water! Before I came here I could not drink a glass of water without ice. Now, I have become quite the fan of warm water. As the beautiful, brilliant Mickell says, "Dehydration is not a joke."

6. Shopping in the Old City. I could spend all day in there! I love the colors and the smells and the sounds...the compliments (at times creepy) and the 'insults' ("I am NOT Mormon. I drink coffee and tea every day!") It's so fun to explore, find new places, and just get lost!

The shopowners are the greatest.

Shaban loves the JC students. He always has warm pita bread or a cold drink of juice for us when we visit him.

Abraham is another one we like to visit. He is an awesome jeweler-yay for pearl rings!

I also don't mind runnin' into these guys in the city. Ha, jk. :)

7. Food!

Candy! They have tons of these shops in the Old City. 100 grams of candy for 3 shekels! Who knows how many hands have touched it and how many flies have landed on it. Yummm. :)

Zatar! A yummy spice that is really tasty on warm bread. 

Here we are making our own on a field trip! The Hebrew word for it is hyssop, which is referred to a lot in the Bible.

Pomegranates! We have pomegranate trees at the center and they have pomegranate juice all over in the city. Definitely different, but way good.

Pita Bread. With anything and everything inside. Especially Nutella....:)

Qatayef. A yummy Ramadan treat. :)

This one's for you AJ. They have Fanta everywhere, and I think of you every time I see it.

Kit Kat Hazelnut. My new favorite candy bar. Yes, I bought 4.

Falafel! Soooo good. :) 

The food at the Oasis Cafeteria. We eat like kings and queens for every meal. Favorites include pomegranate, hot chocolate, and bread with halva, peanut butter, or chocolate...or all three. :) 

Wow, lots of pictures of food. Good thing I have Miriam to wipe ice cream bar off of my face!

8. FedEx. 'Nuff said.

9. Doing homework. Yesterday, that consisted of going into the Old City and visiting awesome sites. Okay, it's not always that exciting, but it is so much fun to learn all of this stuff. :)

10. The Spirit here. I love it, really, I know that these things I am learning about are true. Here I am in the Garden of Gethsemane. These places are real! And I know my Savior is too. :)

Anywho, not too much to report today. Lots of class the last few days, getting caught up after Egypt. Spent some time in the Old City...watched some movies...'studied', etc. The other night, Tariq, one of the head security guards had a conditioning class for us. Ah! My legs! Haha, it was seriously awesome.  Now I'm just discovering how easy it is to choose blogging over writing a 7-page single-spaced essay on Islam. I'll write more about the last couple days lata. Ah, I seriously am so so blessed to be having these experiences. I am so happy, life is so good! I hope all is well with you, I'd love to hear updates from you! Meggers135@gmail.com! Love you all. :)

"Do you believe this? Yes or not?"

Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken so long to post, it's been crazy! But we finally got over to Hebrew U to use the fast internet! So here I go! Might be long....read what you want.

EGYPT!

 Holy Hannah, SO incredible! We got home Sunday night after a crazy insane 8-day trip. We were constantly on the go. I took 1,900 pictures...pathetic, I know. James informed me that that is a picture every 4 minutes I was awake. Ma bad...We got to see and do so many amazing things. I don't even know where to start! How about with Day 1?

We left on the bus early Saturday morning. We made a few stops that day. First, we stopped at Tel Be'ersheva where we saw the ruins of an administrative center dating back to King Solomon's time, including the remains of an Israelite Temple. Then, we stopped at Tel Arad, where we saw an old fortress, also with a temple, and an Early Bronze Age settlement. That evening, we made it to the Kibbutz Keturah, a Jewish community where we would be staying. Our guide took us out to the desert near the Red Sea, where we got to play in this HUGE sand dune! It was the coolest thing ever. Haha, definitely one of my favorite moments. After we played for awhile, he gathered us together for a little spiritual activity. We had some time to just sit and think. I can't believe how quiet and peaceful it was out there, so easy to feel the Spirit. He gave us each a paper with a scripture from 1 Nephi on it, keep in mind he is Jewish, about how they wandered in the wilderness near the Red Sea on their way to the Promised Land-that's where we were!!!! It was incredible to read this and think that they could have traveled through that place or somewhere very close. It was a really neat experience. I love it when our teachers tie in stuff about the Book of Mormon. That night, we had a barbecue and a pool party, complete with chicken fights and underwater pictures, at the Kibbutz. Kosher burgers on pita....Mmmm.

Ally, Meg, and Miriam at Tel Arad.

Pool Party!

The next day, we left early for the Taba border crossing. LOTS of security. It took us about an hour to get through to EGYPT! and then we set across the Sinai Peninsula! Lots of driving this day...as we drove underneath the Sinai Peninsula, they announced we were in AFRICA!! Woohoo!! 3 continents in one month. Our first glimpse of the pyramids was way exciting. That night, we made it to the Oasis Hotel in Giza. Kind of a bad start....after hours of orientation on how to stay healthy in Egypt that could make anyone paranoid, my roomie Chelsea and i brushed our teeth in the tap water! After panicking a little, taking some Pepto, and drinking a Coke at dinner, we calmed down and were completely fine. Ha, it was hilarious. We then headed to the light show at the pyramids! So cheesy, but so awesome. 

The next day, we met our tour guide, Islam. Coolest guy ever. He was with us the whole time we were there, and I think it’s safe to say we were his favorite group eva. He named us “Group Tut” (pronounced “Toot!”) I will forever hear his voice in my head saying, “Come on lazy Toot!” “Do you believe this?” “Yes or not?” So we set out on our adventures! First, we went to the pyramids! Holy cow, these things are huge! Who would have thought I would get to visit them in my lifetime. We got to go into the middle one, the pyramid of Khe’fran, who reigned in the 4^th dynasty. We got to get into his tomb….crazy stuff.  That day, we also visited Sakkara to see the stepped pyramid of Djoser. I won’t go into detailed history on all this stuff, google it :). We visited a few other places as well. That night, we had a flight to Luxor, where we stayed in the beautiful Sheraton!

 

The view from our balcony! The Nile and Valley of the Kings :)

The next day, we visited the Valley of the Kings! So cool! We got to visit the tombs of Tutankhamen (AKA King Tut), Thutmoses III, and Ramses III. They were awesome. Then, we visited Queen Hatshepsut’s temple, also way cool. 

Later, we took a felucca ride from right outside our hotel and across the Nile to ride CAMELS! WOOHOO! Ha, it was so so so SO awesome.

Later that night, we had free time! We took a carriage ride to this little market. Wow, this was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was a real eye-opener riding through the streets of Cairo. It was really sad to see the poverty that exists there. It was an interesting experience that a lot of tourists don't get to see.

My Egypt roomie, Chelsea!

Ahmed, coolest kid EVER!

Me with Omar and Rambo!

Our carriage driver, Mohammed.

 

The next day, (ok, sorry I keep saying this, I completely lost track of time while I was there) we took a boat up the Nile to the Karnak Temple and then took a carriage ride to the Luxor Temple, which were both incredible. Holy cow, I don’t think I’ve ever had so much information hammered into my head in a week’s time. Egypt has such an interesting history! By this time, we were all exhausted. We would sit down on the bus for 15 minutes and I would be fully dreaming by the time we made it to our next stop. Hahaha, so funny. My feet hated me, but it was so worth it. That day, we took a trip to the Souk, the market in Egypt. It was a lot like the Old City, only the shopowners were WAY more aggressive. Don’t worry, Mom, I could have come home with an Egyptian husband, but I decided I would just get a bracelet. That, night, we took an overnight train back to Cairo-SO fun! The food was definitely not food….and who knows how many people had slept in the bed, but it was a really fun experience.

You can call me Captain Meg.

"Meg, when you die, can I mummify you?"

Luxor Temple :)

"It's beautiful, I love it." "I love you."

Okay! Next day! Made it to Cairo on the train. We visited a few places, including the Egyptian Museum, which is very famous for its collection. It was so neat! We got to see all the treasures that were found in King Tut’s tomb, including his golden mask. My favorite part though, I think of the entire trip, was the mummy room, especially the mummy of Ramses II. Holy cow, what an incredible experience. Ramses II was pretty much the most powerful and memorable pharaoh of Egypt and was most likely the pharaoh of the Exodus. This means that I got to look into a face that Moses looked into as he worked to free his people. It really was such a neat experience for me. We had been to so many places and seen so many artifacts that showed the history of this amazing place, but to actually see the people was an indescribable experience for me. :D We had a yummy meal at Hard Rock Cafe and then spent some time at the market.

 The next morning, we visited the Mohammed Ali Mosque, which was really neat. My favorite part was hearing Islam, who is a Muslim (ha), talk openly about his religion. It was really cool to hear him talk about what he believes and what he does each day to show his commitment to God. Loved it. Then! We had an...interesting KFC box lunch on the bus and then headed for the Sinai Peninsula. We made it to the Morgenland Hotel and got a few hours of sleep before our wake up call at 2 AM. Then we hiked Mt. Sinai!!!! So coooooool! We watched the sun rise and had an awesome devotional by the amazing Brother Judd at the top.

Jake likes to jump into pictures.

Mohammed Ali Mosque

Me with Islam. What a cool guy :)

Hiking down the 3,870 steps.

  After swimming, showering in the dark with shampoo that was probably not shampoo, and getting locked in the bathroom, we headed back to Israel!!! The bus ride home included a dance party, inspired by Dr. Christine and our other leaders, complete with the "Waka Waka" dance, our center theme dance that we do in front of some the places we visit. What a blast haha. As we drove into the city listening to “Jerusalem” by Matisyahu, I realized how happy I was to be HOME! Here are some things I missed about Jerusalem:

1.     Clean bathrooms that you don’t have to pay for and that provide toilet paper.

2.     Fruits and veggies! No more eating meat, potatoes, rice, and bread for every meal.

3.     Being able to drink the tap water! 

4.     Having my own bed for more than 2 nights in a row.

5.     Seeing the city every day :D 

There ya go! Sorry it's kinda' crazy...just wanted to get it all up. Ah, I seriously am so blessed to be here. I am so happy and am having the experience of a lifetime. I feel so at home here. And to those of you who have been watching the news, don't worry hahaha. There were some riots while we were in Egypt and one the other night that we watched from the balcony, but things are okay. Life is so good :) Love and miss you all!