What Have I Gotten Myself Into?!

Ok so classes in general... are going to kick my butt!!  The readings are so long and they all blend together in my head because they are all about the same time period and the same piece of land and there is very little that doesn't overlap in my classes.
But before I talk about classes let me just tell you my awesome morning!!  So I got up at 5am... crazy I know, and I went and did some yoga and then I rowed a little bit... ok so I used a resistance band but its pretty much the same thing and I was proud of myself for figuring it out.  Then the JC was showing the BYU football game live!  It was so amazing to think that for about 45 minutes in my day I was watching a football game that was being played on the other side of the world.  Think about it.  So then I went back and showered and ate breakfast and then we get to classes...
So today we had double hours of two classes today, we decided it was like having a double potions class followed by a double transfiguration class... yeah we are Harry Potter nerds!
Religion wasn't so bad I knew and understood everything he was talking about so that was really nice... and it sounds like I got the easier of the two religion teachers for the most part, love Judd!
But then I went to Ancient Near East History... and I fell apart.  I was tired from getting up so early.  That class is only three credits, but it pretty much combines all of the geography, history, and archaeology that deals with the Holy Land so it should be like a nine credit class at least, I think. 
So after those miserable last two hours we had lunch and then had two meetings, one for security so we could finally leave the city and then one for our committees, I'm on the humanitarian one.  I felt so bad I am so interested in all of the service opportunities we had while at the JC but I was SOOOOOO TIRED!!!  So after that meeting I decided to not join everyone else who was going into the city (because most everyone else's meetings ended early and so most kids could go sleep for an hour before we were allowed into the city) and I went back to my room and napped til 4:30 I feel so much better! 
So now I am here in the computer lab, I read some homework for the field trip on Monday and then decided to write this!  Not sure what the rest of the day will bring but I hope its pretty low key.
Tomorrow is Saturday but here in the Holy Land that is our Sabbath and Sunday is our "Saturday".  So I am going to be super cool and I think next Sunday I will head up to the beach in Tel Aviv and BUY some CAFFINATED beverage :p  Crazy Mormon I know!

Off and Running!

So today I got to take a quick tour around the city of Jerusalem!  It is absolutely the most amazing city ever, and it’s so eclectic!  So we walk down Mount Scopus (where the Jerusalem Center (JC) is located) into the Kidron Valley and on our way down we passed a hospital, it looks nothing like a hospital in the United States, it’s pretty much an old rundown building with a couple of rooms, and that is where women deliver their babies!  I hope I get a chance to do some service work there. 

So we kept going and started to walk up the other side of the Kidron Valley. 

As we looked over the valley from the other side we could see the Hebrew University that looks a lot like the JC (we share Mount Scopus with it) and also the Orson Hyde Garden, which actually leads to the Garden of Gethsemane!  Crazy I know, the Garden of Gethsemane is barely a 5-minute walk from where I am living for the next 4 months! So we continued on and after another 2 minutes we had reached the Gate that led to the Garden Tomb, which is where many believe Christ’s body was buried for 3 days before he was resurrected.  We didn’t get to tour anything today, but hey I have 4 months to do it all!! 

So we walked through East Jerusalem, which looks very rundown in an American’s opinion but I like the feeling its different, and I like different.  We ran into a bunch of different vendors who were so excited that the Mormons were back in town.  And Brother and Sister Condi if you happen to read this I met Jimmy today!!  I told him I knew you and he was so excited!  I will have to go back and visit him.  So finally we got to the Damascus Gate where we entered the Old City, and it was like hopping in the Tardis (for all you Dr. Who fans) and going back some 2,000 years!  Although I was still reminded I was in the 21^st century because there were fake designer bags hanging everywhere for sale :p  We walked through the tiny streets and past all of these vendors.  We stopped for a bit at an Austrian Hospice to get a little peace and quiet.  We were able to go up to the roof and see everything we had walked through so far, and boy it didn’t feel like we had walked very far but we actually had!  We got to see different towers that were built by different churches hundreds of years ago as their followers began to take pilgrimages to the Holy Land.  As we went back down to the street we stopped for a second to look inside of our first church that was located in the Hospice, and the detail and the care that goes into each and every church is amazing!  The murals and the overall workmanship must have taken years!

My favorite was when we went to the Holy Church of the Sepulchre, which is run by three different churches, which is of course just asking for argument and contention, so the key of the church is actually owned and used by a single family that is not member to any of the three churches and the key is passed down from generation to generation!  The Ethiopians, the Greek Orthodox, and something that starts with an “A” but I am totally blanking out… well they operate the church.  Anyways within this church there are so many different things!  There is a marble slab that many believe is where Christ’s body was prepared.  There is also a hole in the ground, which is supposedly in the same place where the hole was dug for Christ’s cross when he was crucified.  Finally, they also have a tomb in the church where others believe is the place where Christ was laid for 3 days before he was resurrected (so there are 2 places in total where people believe Christ laid for 3 days). 

Even if these people were wrong and Christ’s body was somewhere completely different… I don’t think it really matters.  What matter is the fact that millions of people love their Savior so much and will do anything they can to come closer to Him.  It really hit me today that it truly must have taken divine intervention for such a humble shepherd like Christ, who taught simple obedience and kindness, to have such an awesome effect on the world for thousands of years after his death.  His Gospel is true.  I know that I am living for the next 4 months in a very holy place that holds the respect of most of the world.  I can’t wait to be able to spend more time in this city, to walk where Christ and his disciples walked, or to kneel where Christ was crucified.  My life in general… is truly about to be changed!!

And We're Off!!

So my life in general in Jerusalem… is going to be awesome!!  But lets start at the beginning.  So my grandpa drove me to the airport at 5am in Provo, Utah on August 28, and I met up with my entire group of 82 students to head for Jerusalem! 

Well I started the trip off pretty badly I was an idiot and left my water bottle out by the chairs at the gate so after getting settled on the plane I pushed past an entire line of people in between the seats to get off the plane and grab my water bottle.  Of course I don’t find it so I just decide to accept it and get back on the plane… only the door to the plane is LOCKED!  So I ran around trying to find someone to open the door for me, after like 5 minutes I get a lady from another desk to run over and unlock the door… thank goodness they were still boarding people!  Luckily the boy sitting next to me at the gate, his name is Michael (one of the few people I actually know on this trip), well he had grabbed my bottle!  So all was well and I got on the plane in Salt Lake City and we flew 4 hours to JFK airport in NYC!

So in NYC we had a 5 hour layover… sounds painful but it really wasn’t.  I called my family and Blake and went to dinner with some of the kids on the trip with me I went with Holly, Michael, Mikele, and Erin (and that’s about all the people I know on my trip so far) we all get along well.  Well then we had to go through security to get on our DOUBLE DECKER PLANE!! 

My mind was blown!  While I waited I said goodbye to Blake one last time (third time’s the charm) its probably the last time I’ll hear his voice for quite some time… sniff sniff. 

Well I got on the plane and Michael sat right behind me so that was awesome we chatted it up.  We had dinner on the plane, absolutely nasty stuff, but I watched J. Edgar Hoover and went to bed and I actually slept 6 hours!!  Well I woke up to find that my ankles are now the size of like softballs… don’t know how that happens but apparently its common? 

Well I walked around and ate breakfast (also DISGUSTING) and watched Contagion, which was the dumbest idea, it makes you not want to touch anyone or eat any food you don’t make yourself. 

Well I finally touched down in Tel Aviv at the Ben Gurion Airport at 2 o’clock in the afternoon after a 10 hour flight!  Customs wasn’t bad at all actually it took like all of 5 minutes to get through AND get my bags so I was happy!  So then we all drove in two buses to the center and I was the first student to spot the center way off in the distance… 10 points for Abi!!  I also got to catch my first glimpses of the Dome of the Rock which is absolutely breathtaking even from miles away, I can also see it from my apartment, but no big! 

Well I am now here at the center after unpacking, showering, eating dinner, and having some class orientations and it is 9:30pm!  And in the past 72 hours I have had 6 hours of sleep so I am kind of pooped. 

I have to apologize for future posts because they probably won’t be this detailed seeing as I actually have to start doing homework soon, even though this feels like vacation I am sure my professors have no intention of letting me have a vacation!

I love you all!  Good night!!!

PS- Just a cool factoid that will probably constantly confuse me this whole semester…

Crazy Time Differences

In Provo, Utah it is 12:39pm

In Pittsburgh, PA it is 2:39pm

And in Jerusalem, Israel it is 9:39pm

WOAH!!!