The First Day in the City

It's a hard, dry wind that blew in the evening of my first free day in Jerusalem, and what a day it has been. But you'll have to wait a bit, because I have to update you all on how it's been in the days before today.

We started classes on Thursday, and the first thing I can say is that there is a ton of reading. Like over 50 pages for one assignment. I'm so glad that I read fast, because I would be overwhelmed by my Palestine class alone. But the classes themselves and the discussions are amazing. I've only had three classes, but I feel like I've been stimulated and challenged already. These classes give back what you put into them, so I'm doing my best to stay on top of everything. Right now I'm actually ahead. :) So yay. 

The view from my balcony. The Dome of the Rock is on the left.
There were 3 fires in the city Saturday so there's smoke in the air.

Saturday is the Sabbath here, and there is actually a branch here in Jerusalem. It's mostly made up of the BYU students, but there are also families of people who came to work, students from Hebrew University, and tourists. I'm excited to get to know the members better. We have sacrament meeting in the auditorium, while looking out on an amazing panorama of the city. Needless to say, I was very distracted, but the spirit was also very strong the entire meeting. We talked about record keeping in Sabbath school (note: not Sunday school) and had a combined meeting since it was a fifth Saturday. The people that we have here at Jerusalem are all spiritual giants and very smart. It will be great to spend four months learning from them. 

Me in Orson Hyde Park. You can see the Dome of the 
Rock next to the tree on the left.

After church most of the students went to the Orson Hyde Park. It's a beautiful stone path the winds down the mountain on the Mount of Olives, maybe 10 minutes walk from the center. It's in that park that Orson Hyde dedicated the land of Israel to the gathering of the Jews, so it was very cool to visit. We reached the end of the park and were let out right near the garden of Gethsemane, so we decided to visit there as well! 

But not before we sang I Stand All Amazed. We like singing, but we aren't allowed to sing "Mormon hymns" in most of the sacred places we visit. So we sing on the street outside instead, which makes me sort of nervous, because we are not supposed to do anything overtly religious that might draw attention to ourselves.  

The ceiling in the church of All Nations.

The garden of Gethsemane, or rather one of the gardens because there are a couple scattered around, was a path built around a couple of ancient olive trees. They were beautiful, so old and gnarled, and it was a lovely thought to think of a whole garden full of them. The church of All Nations was part of this garden, so we stopped for a visit. I learned about the beautiful art of these churches in my art history class, but it is entirely different to see it first hand. The church of All Nations was built to reverence the Rock of Agony, which many revere as the stone where Jesus suffered for the sins of the world. The most fascinating part was the people who approached and bowed before it with such reverence, then stood to take a selfie with it. For me the most important part is that the Atonement happened, not where, but I'm learning to reverence the things that other religions hold sacred. 

Our group heading out for the first day in the city.
Emily, Me, Amanda, Emma, Cody.
Crystal hadn't joined our group yet.

The rest of Saturday was spent doing homework and planning for the free day. Sunday we have no classes, no obligations, and all day to do whatever we want. So Cody, Emily, Crystal, Emma, Amanda and I went into the city. We started with a trip to the money changers, because we all needed some shekels to spend. I took out a lot of money, so that I don't have to go back. We keep our valuables in a safe in the administrative offices, so I'll put it there and pull some for shopping every once in a while. 

First we wandered through Damascus gate looking for where we buy tickets to the rampart walk, where they let you up on the wall around the city and you can walk around. My group foolishly decided that I knew where I was going and should lead the way. I had no idea where I was going, but a large amount of this trip has been guessing where we go and when, and I seem to be pretty good at it. I lead us up and into the alleys, really just taking random turns. We ran into Abraham, a shopkeeper who told us where to go, but after he took us back to his shop and tried to sell us his expensive jewelry. Don't worry Mom. I will find you your widows mite. I know how to tell if they are real. :) 

Me over Damascus Gate on the rampart walk. It was so hot.

We went and bought our tickets, lathered on the sunscreen, and took off for our rampart walk. It took a long time, and it was very hot, but a cool way to start the day. We ate our lunches up above Damascus gate, just around the corner from the armed Israeli guard. There are Israeli police everywhere. Every citizen, male and female, serves for 3 years in the military in Israel. So they watch people with their hands on their machine guns, and if they think you look suspicious they can pull your aside, check your identification, and search you. I think that every person in the US who complains about being offended should come to Israel, because the US has it too good if you can sue someone for looking at you in a weird way. At least the police need a warrant to search you back home. 

After lunch we wanted to go somewhere cool, so we checked out Zedekiah's cave. It's a huge cave that stretches out under the city where people mined out limestone for centuries. Supposedly Solomon used the quarry's limestone to build the temple. It was really fun to wander around in the cold, and we found the first public restroom I've seen in Jerusalem. We talked to a woman from the military who needed to use the restroom as well. She only has 2 more months, and then she is going to study Psychology. Cool right?

We finished at about 1, and we had already been in the city for 5 hours. Wow! It was really hot. We decided to quickly visit Ali Baba's souvenir shop, which was run by a man named Shaaban and his son Omar. They have been serving BYU students for a while, so they give us presents, advice, and let us use the bathroom along with a student discount. The problem is that we could not find it for the life of us. But we eventually did, and Shaaban made all the girls in our group rings out of wires and beads while Omar gave us the tutorial on shops and souvenirs. Mom I found your t shirt, and you are going to love it! I bought two scarves, because I have a scarf addiction that can't be restrained. And they cost about 5 dollars each, or 20 shekels. Discounts are nice. I'll probably go back and buy another one. Dad and Josh, how do you guys feel about knives? 

Poor heat exhausted Jenna.
We decided to walk back instead of taking a taxi or a bus.
Cody carried my backpack, Emily gave me some wet tissues
to put on my forehead, and Emma let me borrow her hat.

On the way back I started feeling really sick, and by the time we got through the gate and around the corner I was dying. I had to go lean over a railing and try not to loose my lunch, and my dear group waited for me and gave me water--I drank my entire two liter bottle-- fanned me, and put wet towels on my neck. Classic heat exhaustion. Garments are wonderful, but my body was just not used to the extra heat. I had to stop 2 times more on the half mile trek back to the center, and I'm pretty sure Crystal was afraid for my life. 

Apparently I looked like I was about to faint. All I know was that I felt awful, very nauseous, and I was so sweaty. Like you could wring me out. I took a cold shower and a nap when I got back to the center, and drank a lot of water. I'm still feeling shaky though, so I might go to bed early tonight. 

But it was so fun. We didn't try to go a lot of places, because we have 3 more months and a lot of field trips to go. The old city is full of so many amazing things. It smells like smoke, because everybody smokes, and a lot of food stands smell either disgusting or amazing. My favorite were the places selling dry spices, all in tall piles like colorful sand dunes. There are a lot of shops for baby clothes, and t shirts that try to be American but aren't quite right. West Virgenia, eh? The shopkeepers recognize us on sight, and will yell things like "Mormons!" and "Go Cougars" and "BYU how are you" at us. It's funny, but also comforting, because they don't treat us like regular tourists. A lot of the shopkeepers will grab your arm and drag you into their store, but they know not to touch us. Which is nice, because I would get amazingly jumpy if random guys tried to drag me into their stores. 

We have a field trip tomorrow to the overlooks, where we are going to look at the city I guess. I can't wait until we travel a bit further. Egypt is in 2 weeks, and I'm excited for that. We'll fly out and stay for a week, half in Cairo and the other half in Luxor. Our first language classes and our Israel class start this week as well, so a lot to look forward to. 

I love you all, and I miss you all. I hope you are doing well in Provo! 

Love you lots,

Jenna 

Hello Family!

I am writing this while waiting for my plane for Jerusalem, but fear not. Jerusalem based content is forthcoming. Just…later. For now, let me update you on how my trip has been so far.

Mom and Dad, when you dropped me off it was with Paige and Courtney. They are very nice. We went through security with minimal problems, other than Courtney’s bag getting hand check because she is a very dangerous person. So yeah. We went and sat by the gate, talked and met the new people as they trickled up. I don’t know how I am supposed to remember all these names, but I’ll list as many as I can: Courtney 1, Courtney 2, Josh, Sam, David, Bryson, Kam, Rebecca, Kayala? (I know her name but I cannot spell it), Amanda, Emily, Brittany, Chelsea, Mia, Aubrey, Mary…Yes.

Courtney’s dad somehow brought her like 5 Rancherito’s breakfast burritos, which she proceeded to share with her dearest friends, i.e. me. J We cut them in half and just passed them around. Always bring food to gatherings of college students. It makes instant friends. We boarded our plane for JFK after waiting about 2 hours.

Delta just has this feeling about it that makes me not like it. I’m used to the high-tech Korean Air I suppose, but 4 hours was a very long time. But I watched a movie, read my book, talked to my seatmate (Paige), and generally survived. J I still think that the average Delta passenger deserves more than a 2x2 package of peanuts to tide them over during that time without being charged absurd fees. Delta obviously disagrees.

So when we landed in JFK, we were on our own. No adult supervision. I’ve heard a rumor that we are actually considered adults, but that’s ridiculous. So the majority of us stood around for a couple minutes with everybody asking each other what we should do. I took control of myself, and went to the bathroom. Real leadership abilities right there, I know. Eventually a group of us took a shuttle over to the other gates, and we got some Panda Express for food. We played Ligretto, and I am sorry, but Aubrey Glazier and I killed it. No contest, even from the girl who brought the cards. Ligretto champ, right here.

A group took off to the city after they got off the plane, which is actually about an hour and a half away. Everyone is covertly wondering if they will make it back in time. There’s been talk of calling them, but no one has each others numbers, although it seems like everyone brought their phones. I feel both out of touch and incredibly proud of myself for leaving mine at home. Kudos to me. But mainly we are just chilling, waiting for our plane to board.

I’m deciding whether to try and stay awake the whole flight, which will give me a record 36 ish straight hours awake, or to just let the chips fall where they may and sleep when I can. I’ll update you on the results of this decision later.

Update: April 28

I’m here! In Jerusalem! Alive and well!

We’ve finally been given some free time, which is the first we’ve had since we arrived. The result of my decision was to try and sleep, which worked as well as can be expected on a plane. So basically none. By the time we made it to the Center it was 7, and I’m pretty sure I was dead on my feet. We met in the auditorium, and we were officially welcomed to the center! There is one family here, and all the kids welcomed us outside with a sign that said welcome home! I almost cried, because it struck me that yeah, this is my new home. J

After the welcome we met with our OT teachers, and then our Ancient Near East professor, who talked forever. A room full of 80 dead tired college students, and I’m pretty sure no one remembers what he said. I know I don’t. Then they had the bright idea to drag our tired souls up and down the 8 floors of the building to show us all we need to know. It’s really beautiful. All the floors are marble, and you can look down the stairs and see the bottom door from the fifth. My room has a little balcony that we share with the apartment next door and we all went out there last night and looked at the amazing view. I’ll take some pictures and send them ASAP.

My roommates: Amanda, Brittney, Jessica, me.

My roommates are named Amanda, Brittney, and Jessica. They are pretty nice, and we all unpacked our suitcases together last night. Amanda’s suitcase was left in New York, but she had her carry on with some of the most important stuff, so she can survive until it arrives in Israel. After it hit 12:30 and they were still up I just went to bed. I must have slept really deeply, because I missed the 4:30 call to prayer which woke pretty much everyone up. We live right across from a Palestinian neighborhood, so they broadcast the call to prayer every day. Very loudly every day. Here's to hoping that I sleep as deeply tonight as I did last night.

The food here is interesting. I’m still adjusting to the flavors, which are new to me. I like them I think. My stomach has been a little less fond of them, and really anything. I think I’m just not used to eating so regularly—college life really ruined my eating schedule. It's a lot of steamed vegetables, potatoes, and meats. Everything is covered in curry powder, so I'm comfortable there. :)

Today we had many orientations, but the real highlight was walking to the old city! For the siblings, Jerusalem is made up of the old city, which is the Jerusalem that Christ knew and that many people have destroyed, and it's surrounded by the new Jerusalem, which is full of neighborhoods and colleges and hospitals and cemeteries and many cats. We live up on Mt. Scopus, which is west of the old city. I live about 5 minutes away from the garden of Gethsemane. :) We, along with our JC security guard, walked up to the old wall and over to a side street, where a couple shop keepers were there to welcome us to Jerusalem with their business cards. :) They know our schedule quite well. We ate some delicious bread, and then entered through Damascus gate into the Muslim quarter. It was so packed full of souvenir shops that you couldn't walk in a straight line, but also devoid of people. I'm sure it will be much busier later. We stopped in the Christian quarter, the Jewish quarter and the Armenian quarter, but didn't sight see or take pictures (sorry Mom!). This was mainly a here's where everything is and here's how to get back, and our first free time is on Sunday. :) Pictures soon. I can send them online, but mainly late at night so I don't clog up the bandwidth when people want to use it. 

We've been oriented many times here, and I've caught a nap in between each one. I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes focused on anything for more than 3 seconds. But I am doing well, feeling a bit better after a nap, and loving it so far!! 

Lots and lots of love, 

Jenna