Jumpin Jerusalem

I'm alive!!! :) I somehow just navigated my way through a few Hebrew websites and broke into the blogging network...fantastic. Things are going great here. It's almost 11:00 PM, and I'm wasted tired. We just got back from a quick trip into the newer, "touristy" part of the city, and it was a hoot. We took some sort of taxi-bus there, and the driver blared his Israeli techno music so we could all dance around. It was awesome, and only cost us about $2 for the ride. While in the city we found a beloved McDonald's, and an amazing gelato shop around the corner. We just kinda hung out and toured the area, watching the street performers and loving every minute of it. I also bought myself a second pair of jasmine pants, but this pair isn't sheer like the previous purchase. :) I'm learning quickly here.

The Center is great and has a fabulous view from the back. We each have our own balcony coming off our rooms, but we don't use them much because apparently they're infested with "migrating viper snakes". Definitely not my idea of a good time. Anyway, the city is unreal, and I've done nothing but take pictures and laugh. I've got some really great friends here already, so that makes it all the better. We've gone on a few field trips, and have another one tomorrow morning. Breakfast opens at 6:00 AM, and the buses leave at seven! Needless to say I'm not getting enough shut-eye, but I'm surviving nonetheless.

The schoolwork is a little much, but somehow we all seem to be getting most of the reading done. Ali, you were right when you said you practically lived in the library! My goodness... although I'm still not sure how you managed to go into a guy's bedroom. It may have been different back then, but we're on separate sides of the building...so it'd be hard to mix that up. ha ha. I laughed when I realized that, but oh well. Anyway, I wish we weren't taking classes, but the information is really interesting. I love the culture here.

Well - I think it's about time to turn in. I'll post pictures for sure, and try to update as often as possible. Hope you all are doing well. I miss you, but don't want to come home. I love it here. :) Shoot me an email with any requests of something you'd like me to pick up for you. Talk to you soon.

My first legit stamp in my passport...I was loving it. Plus, that meant I was done traveling, which I couldn't have been happier about at that moment. Airplane food is terrible.

This is a little wall right when you exit the center, so you can kinda see the view we've got there. These are my three great friends, Tricia, Paige, and Lisa. We're all kindred spirits...I swear.

Did I mention I got pooped on by a bird for the first time...? Just what you want on an extremely hot day, on a field trip in the middle of nowhere when you can't change. It was a great experience for everyone around. Gotta love Sister Draper's face in the background.

Getting kissed by a camel. This is normal here, right? Ha ha. Apparently this man taught the camel to kiss. As far as I'm concerned, all he did was stick his lips in my ear, along with a few teeth. Weird... We all stunk after this happened.

Heading into the Garden Tomb this past Sunday...

Can you believe we were really there? I'm sure we'll be visiting multiple times in the future, but it was really great to see. Such a cool place.

The Jasmine pants in the flesh! They are the most comfortable (and see-through) things in the world, and I can't wait to wear them back on BYU campus. :)

This is the wall surrounding the Northern part of Old Jerusalem. We did a tour called the Rampart Walk for about two hours, and saw some great things. Definitely a different world out here. We found a cat with a mustache (no joke), so I'll have to post that later. Oh yeah, there are stray cats here everywhere...kinda creepy.

During the Rampart Walk...if you look hard you can see the Jerusalem Center in the background.

Home sweet home!!! I didn't actually eat here, but it's comforting to know that if I ever get sick of the "wonderful food" in the center, I can take a taxi here. :)