Turkey Part 1 from Ashley

I have spent a lot of time today writing about Turkey. I haven't

finished because I have also been talking to people quite a bit and

did my visit teaching. I need to go to sleep now but I thought I'd send it to you to enjoy.

I made it to Turkey and back!!! Wow! It was a long trip that passed

quickly, if you can believe it. While there, I found it difficult to

keep track of the time and which day was which. Fortunately, the

itinerary we received had the day written down, otherwise the days of

the weeks my have had to be renamed to things such as: The day we

climbed into the Trojan Horse (at least the one used in a movie) or

The Day we Rode Innumerable Hours in the Bus with many “sickies” and two barf bag incidents. . . alas, I will used the days’ formal names.

And create additional names to describe in a nutshell the highlights

(or lowlights) of the day. All in all though, it was a fun trip!

Day 1: Sunday, 16 Sept. Jerusalem to Istanbul or The Day in the Airport

The day started out on a fantastic note; a workout and watching the

BYU/Utah football game. I’ll have to admit, I found the ending of the

game a bit comical, with BYU having 3 different opportunities for a

do-over after time had expired. In honor of the Utes, I wore a red

shirt that day. Ha ha!

Really, there isn’t much to report about this day for me. We got to

the airport really early and got everybody through security. I almost

didn’t make it; apparently I look nothing like my passport picture.

I’ve always said I would make a good spy since I can fairly easily

change the perception of my appearance with straight hair, curly hair,

glasses, contacts, and hair color. The dude checking my passport

asked for another form of identification. Fortunately I was carrying

my temporary driver’s license. He thought that looked a bit sketch

because it wasn’t a card, but I made it though. Interestingly enough,

the girl who checked my passport and the way back had no problem

deciding I was the same as in my passport picture. “Same pretty

smile!” she said.

When we got to Istanbul we were ready for dinner and hotel/bed. I

remember feeling like our dinner was a Sunday dinner type of meal with mashed potatoes and a meatloaf type of thing. And I remember wishing our tour guide would stop jabbering into the mic as we rode to the hotel. I just wanted to be there and not listen to random things a

guy with a strong accent was saying. I think I was tired from being

up early. I just wanted to look out the window at the many domed

churches we passed on our way in peace. I didn’t happen but I

reconciled myself to the fact.

Day 2: Monday, 17 Sept. Istanbul or The day of crazy touring (I don’t

have a great name for this day)

The first site we visited in Istanbul is the Hippodrome which was

built around 200 AD. Hippodrome is Greek for horse track and this

venue was used for public events like chariot races, horse races, and

civic celebrations. Some predict it would have held up to 100,000

people. Having read this little bit about it before I got there, I

was quite excited to see its remnants! I guess the little detail that

the level of Constantine’s original hippodrome was 6 feet lower than it

is now should have given me indication that I wouldn’t be seeing the

actual hippodrome, but it didn’t. When we were there, standing in the

middle, I was a bit disappointed to realize that only parts of two

stone pillars remain. First, the top third of a huge pink granite

obelisk from Thutmose III (from the Karnak temple in Egypt) which was

brought to the hippodrome in Istanbul by Emperor Theodosius around 390 AD. The second was the Walled Obelisk added around 10th century AD and originally covered in gilded, bronze plaques that have long since

been plundered. I realized here (and throughout the entire trip) that

I must improve my imaginative skills to create the grandeur of ancient

structures in my head otherwise I’d be forever disappointed in ancient

ruins.

The second location we visited was the Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet

mosque. This as a beautiful place of worship decorated with, you

guessed it, blue tiles decorating the inside. It has eight domes that

cascade down from the central dome. It is really neat. This was our

first taste of middle eastern mosques and it was interesting to note

that the insides are not decorated with pictures like we are used to

seeing in Cathedrals. Instead are used artistic calligraphy. I

really wished that I could read Arabic for the symbolism seems simple

yet deep. In this mosque, there are large tablets on the wall with

the names of the caliphs (the first “leaders” of Islam after Mohammed

and verses from the Koran, also artistically written. Arabic is such

a pretty language to look at, artistic in itself. I do wish I knew

what I was looking at. (My Arabic class is a bit of a joke. I have

learned just 2 words. Sukran: thank you. And Habibi: lover. (I guess

that’s not quite true because I learned the meaning of Noor too.) One

of the things I found most interesting was learning a bit about how

Muslims pray and why they do it that way. Perhaps you have seen them

bowing with their forehead on the ground. Well, our guide talked

about how the animals are obeisant to God on all fours. Well humans,

who have higher levels of reasoning, pray with 7 points of contact

with the earth (forehead, hands, knees, and feet) to symbolize their

humility before God.

After the Blue Mosque we went to Topkapi Palace. Here are housed all

sorts of treasures: parts of Mohammed’s beard, the walking stick,

guns, swords, and turbans his close friends wore, the 86 karat

Spoonmaker’s diamond. Oh, the also had displayed Mohammed’s tooth and sword, lots of elegant jewelry, and crazy impractical clothing. There

were tons of people here! So many! It was a bit unpleasant with so

many and it made it difficult to maintain our groups of 3 people,

which honestly was kind of pleasant since that rarely happens.:)

Next we went to the Basilica Cistern. I found this to be the

coolest site of the morning. It is a huge underground cistern with

336 pillars of support the Stoa Basilica above. Some of the bases

were used from other earlier structures. Two of them feature Medusa

heads, one is upside down and the other sideways. It was dark, dank,

and drippy. It felt cool just walking around down there!

After lunch we went to the grand bazaar. While there were lots of

shops, I didn’t find it super grand. Perhaps because one you got a

feel for the wares being sold, you realized they were pretty much the

same everywhere you went. However, here I did try Turkish delight.

Annie, Neil, Nicole, and I got a ‘sample bag’ and tried the various

flavors: lemon, orange, rose, coconut marshmallow, pistachio,

pomegranate, and chocolate pomegranate. The two pomegranate flavors along with the coconut were the ones I liked best. Turkish delight is a bit like dots covered in powdered sugar. I have had them before somewhere, though I can’t seem to place it. Has Ellen made them for her assorted Christmas goodie treats? Shawn went to town getting his souvenirs from Turkey, t-shirts, soccer jerseys, and Turkish caps.

Annie was surprised by this side of Shawn. She mentioned to me a

couple of times since we have been here that she is learning all sorts

of new things about her brothers because she is seeing them in

different situations, than she gets to see in the family situation.

After the Bazaar we took a boat ride on the Bosporus. This is the

Straight that passes between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul.

I think this may have been everybody’s favorite part of the day

because we could just enjoy the scenery, and water, and people without

having to run all over the place and combat the tide of many people.

We were tired after this big day!

Day 3, Wednesday 19 Sept: Istanbul to Canakkale

This was our first day in the bus and it wasn’t too bad at all. Our

morning stop was at the Gallipoli Battlefield Memorial. During WWI

there was a large battle here that resulted in half a million

casualties. The Ottomans had sided with the Central Powers (Germany

and Austria-Hungary) and were facing the ANZAKC (Australian and New

Zealand Army Corps.) Battle strategy was poorly manned by the Allies

and this resulted in, essentially, a stalemate. We learned about many

specifics of the battle, and because we were standing in the location,

it was easy to so why certain things wouldn’t work. It was my first

lesson in war tactics. Now, Australians and New Zealanders honor the

sacrifice of their country men and Turkish children learn about the

heroic deeds of Ataturk and the brave Turkish martyrs. It can be said

that the national identities of three countries-Australia, New

Zealand, and Turkey-were born here. I quite liked a quote from the

Turkish general, Kemal Ataturk, at the end of the Battle, “There is no

difference between a Johnny and a Mehmet. . .” as he described the

memorial there at Gallipoli honoring those who had fallen in battle.

In his speech, he described how the “Jonny” mothers would be weeping

over the lives of their lost sons and how the “Mehmet” mothers would

be weeping for them too.

After lunch we rode a ferry across the Dardanelle to the Asian side

of the country and drove to Troy. For those intrigued by the

archeology, this site was quite impressive because the are 9 different

settlement layers in Troy. For most of us though, this place is cool

because we associate it with the cool story of the Trojan Horse.

Cliff Notes version of the story= Paris (price of Troy) kidnapped

Helen (most beautiful woman in the world and queen of Sparta) to Troy.

The Spartans send their entire naval force to rescue the queen.

After a 10-year war, the Spartans leave the Trojan Horse at the gate

of Troy. The Trojans (what were they thinking!?) brought the horse

into the city and have an all-night party celebrating ‘their victory.’

The Spartans exit the horse, beat the Trojans, and take Helen back to

Sparta. Amongst the remains, we saw the remains of a large ramp

leading to the Citadel. Is it the ramp?! Who knows. They wouldn’t

let us stand on it and there wasn’t a horse nearby, so it lost a bit

of the drama, but honestly, what can you expect?;)

Ashley: Turkey, reading, and speaking Romanian

I am so so so sorry I haven't been able to send you an email telling you about Turkey yet.  I really want to but I haven't even had time to write it down.  On Monday we had a field trip where we went to Jericho.  After that I looked at what I had going on this upcoming week and realized I have 2 papers and a test on the docket plus all my regular reading.  So I have been nose to the grindstone doing that.  Whoosh, we sure do have a lot of reading here.  Just to give you an idea, we are halfway through 1 Samuel, 400 pages of Old Testament reading, in one month.  50 pages/ class for Israel class, 50 pages/class for Palestine class (which are held 2 times/ week.)  And about the same for Ancient Near East Studies of which we have 3 hours/week.  I've stopped wearing my contacts.  Anyways, those aren't such great excuses to not write you for the past couple of days.

Say hello to everybody for me and give them hugs from me.  And pretend I'm giving you hugs right now too.  

I really enjoyed the Turkey trip.  Even though there were long hours on the bus, I quite enjoyed riding and watching out the window and seeing the scenery pass by.  Oft times I was reminded of Romania, but I've been saying that since I've got here, so I think really it is the foreign country feel.  But, I did run into 3 Romania girls.  We were in a resort type hotel in Ephesus and there were lots of people.  I ate dinner and all the students around me left and I was looking around for some of my friends in the group when I walked by a table and heard Romanian!  

As soon as my brain processed what I'd heard, I stopped mid-stride.  I debated going back, and decided to do it, turned around and approached them and said, "You speak Romanian!"  They were so surprised to find somebody else who speaks Romanian, and even more so because I'm not Romanian.  And they were so surprised how well I spoke.  (Somehow my ability to speak tripled in goodness since Sunday when I talked to the sister in the branch.)  They were really intrigued by how I'd come to learn Romanian and why I spent so long in Romania.   At the end of the conversation, they invited me to eat dinner with them the next evening so we could talk more. I met them the next night and we talked a bunch more.  Anyways, that was probably the best part of the trip.  There were some other really cool things too, and I hope to send you a more complete detail of the week soon.  It will probably have to wait until the Sabbath though.

Well, lunch is starting, has started, and I decided it would be good for me to get out of the Center with a few people before I get too stir crazy and grumpy doing all my homework stuff.  I've been throwing around a rampart walk idea to a few of the girls so maybe we'll do that.  And yes, I'll take pictures. I really am trying to take lots even though I have to constantly fight off the "sick of taking pictures" feeling which come mostly because everybody else is taking hundreds of thousands of pictures of the same thing.  Aahh, I'm looking forward to having a small adventure today.  

Ashley

Ashley - Week 2

Sunday Sept 2]

Today was Saturday for us. It was the first whole day we had

opportunity to spend the whole day exploring the Holy City. And what

did I do? I studied the whole day. Which sounds kind of lame, except

that I tried to keep in mind that I am reading in the Old Testament

and am sitting in the same area that so many of those stories and

events took place. With that mindset, I quite enjoyed my readings. I

got ahead in my reading for that class, which is a good things because

we start 3 new classes this week and HW already seems like a lot. I

have a test on Friday in NES. Wowza!

I have been hit by jetlag the last couple of days. I have thought

that I had been doing so well. But apparently not. Yesterday around

3:00 pm I was so tired that I feel asleep while reading. When I

awoke, I felt like I needed a nap for just a half hour. So I asked

Annie to wake me. But she ended up falling asleep and I ended up

sleeping for 3 hours. We have been studying a lot. The schedule is very top heavy; by

mid-October we will have finished 4 classes and will only be doing 2

the rest of the time so there is a lot going on. I'm enjoying classes for the most part, especially the religion

classes. My ancient history class isn't my favorite, but every class

can't be your favorite. At first it was hard studying because all I

wanted to do was explore but as soon as I 'resigned' myself to the

understanding that this is an intensive study semester, it's been OK.

Plus, I realized that it won't be like that the whole 4 months.

Exercise has gone well. I have been at the gym by 5:30 every morning.

We usually work out for about 1:15 and I try to make sure that to

maximize the time we have. My two workout buddies are Annie and

Steisha. They are pretty good workout buddies. I think I've been

working them pretty hard:) Annie is doing well. I think she feels

about the same way I do about the school and people stressing. Neil

is doing well too. He is making friends and keeping people laughing. Shawn is doing

well too. He studies lots and lots and lots. H e's doing great. Since he studies so

hard, he makes good comments in class.

Monday Sept 3

Today we went on the Jerusalem overlook field trip. I need to recount

the different places we went, probably with the aid of my notes, but I

feel so tired now that I’m afraid that I’m going to fall asleep like

I did last night and not write anything of quality. So I’ll wait

until tomorrow to ensure quality. Yeah, I think I’d better turn in.

Tuesday Sept. 4

For the first half of this semester, we are studying the Old

Testament. There are some crazy stories that seem to make no sense.

Sometimes when I read the Old Testament, I wonder why we count it as

scripture seeing as there are many stories and happenings which don’t

seem particularly inspiring. Usually, as I study and listen to my

teachers, that seems to lessen, as appears to be the case with some of

the stories we have been talking about lately.

Much is taught and discussed about the Abrahamic Covenant and its 3

main promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I don’t think I have the

greatest understanding of the implications of this Covenant between

God and these ancient Patriarchs. But I’ve learned a few things.

First off, it is important to remember what a covenant is: an

agreement between an individual and God in which God sets the terms.

Abraham is promised that if he obeys God’s commands he will be blessed

with: 1) Priesthood, 2) Posterity, and 3) Lands of Inheritance.

Sometimes I wonder what the big deal is about specific land. But in

reality, these blessing extend far beyond the physical and into the

spiritual in the eternities. Abraham himself even wondered how he was

going to inherit the land that was already occupied by another people

(JST Genesis 15: 9-12) but the Lord teaches him that the promise

extends beyond death. We have been taught that the earth will

eventually become the Celestial Kingdom. But the most important

realization about this Covenant for me is that it is a covenant of

family, of the celestial marriage. It is the covenant of exaltation.

So when reading these odd stories in the OT, it helps me to remember

that these stories are about families, eternal families. And oft

times they are about struggles and challenges facing families in

ancient times.

One such story is the casting away of Hagar and her son Ishmael.

Here are the essentials of the story. (Full story can be picked up in

Genesis 16.) Sarah and Abraham had been married for a while and Sarah

hadn’t born any children. This was distressing to both of them

because of the promise made in the covenant of seed as numerous as the

sands of the sea. How could that be when you didn’t even have

children? Sarah offers her maid Hagar, who was an Egyptian (that will

be important later) and gave her to her husband to be his wife. Hagar

conceives and has a son, Ishmael. Fourteen years pass and Sarah

miraculously conceives and has a son, Isaac. When Isaac is weaned

they have a great feast. Oft times in antiquity, great feast

commemorate a sacred event, like a baptism, so this was a big deal.

Well, during this feast, Sarah sees Ishmael “mocking.” Although we

don’t know exactly what this entails, we do know that this was so

offensive in the sight of Sarah that she says for Hagar and Ishmael to

be cast out. From another confrontation with Hagar, there is a sense

of some tension between these two wives of Abraham. However, Josephus

recorded that Sarah loves Ishmael as her own son. Needless to say,

they get sent away from the clan and almost starve but end up making

it to safety and eventually heading to the land of Egypt.

Don’t you find it semi-troubling that one of the greatest prophets

cast away one of his wives? And that Sarah, one of the greatest

matriarchs, would be so heartless as to send away one of her sisters

and her step-son. It doesn’t seem to fit. But the connection that

seems to make sense in my brain has to do with the covenant. This

covenant of eternal marriage. First off, D&C 132 lends to the thought

that Hagar had entered into this covenant; she was sealed to Abraham.

Reading these chapters closely reveals an interesting change in the

words used to describe Hagar. Initially she is described as a maid.

Once this mocking incident has occurred, she is referred to as a

bondswoman. This could denote a change of status of Hagar. Further,

Sarah refers to the covenant as a reason for why it was not longer

acceptable for Ishmael to remain with the family. She did not think

him fit to be an heir with Isaac. And it isn’t because he was a

second rate son or wasn’t truly born into the covenant. The covenant

is open to anyone willing to enter and keep the Lord’s commands, this

adoption into the covenant is very real. Quite possibly, Ishmael was

no longer living in accord with the laws of the Lord. The change in

Hagar’s status may also indicate that she too was no longer living the

law, and that possibly she wasn’t living the law of eternal marriage

anymore. After she is cast out, she returns to her people, the

Egyptians, to find a wife for her son. This could possibly reflect a

returning to her prior beliefs, habits, etc.

The thing is, we don’t know. The story as we have it now, is

incomplete and lacking details that would clarify. And while this

provides a great example as to why we believe the Bible to be the word

of God as far as it is translated correctly, we can still find

relevant examples and thoughts applicable to us now.

• While Abraham and Sarah were eventually exalted, they were very real

people living life. They had hard choices to make. They had an

interesting family life. Their family didn’t fit into the

‘traditional family’ mode.

• God loves all of his children. He doesn’t leave them out to perish of thirst.

• Pay attention to the little details.

Wednesday 5 Sept.

Today marks one whole week in the city. It is interesting the

difference one week makes on the way I perceive the city. Upon first

arriving here, it felt like the buildings were made of cardboard.

Now, that doesn’t seem to be the case and the city is becoming more

defined in my mind. It is very interesting the change that

acclimation and a little bit of knowledge add to perspective.

Sabbath 8 Sept

Today is Disctric Conference instead of our regular branch meeting.

I really thought there would be more people than there were, we didn’t

fill up the nice forum but I suppose I overestimated who were going to

be here. Apparently, 2 members of the Seventy are going to be here

this week. Maybe we will get to hear from them! I learned that Elder

Holland made a surprise visit last semester. How crazy, to walk into

the cafeteria and see Elder Holland eating breakfast in his street

clothes with his family!

This week we had some fun things amongst some serious studying. We

had a tour of the under the JC. I’m not sure the technical words to

describe what it is, but the JC wasn’t built directly into the ground;

essentially there is a level beneath each level used for pipes, wires,

expansion capabilities, storage. We had a tour of that and they

explained to us a bit of the forsight that went into building the

Center. It was neat. There is a place where students can write their

names. I think everyone likes being able to do a little bit of

graffiti

On Thursday, in order to avoid head explosion from too much studying

Annie and I went exploring for a few hours in between classes. We stopped

for lunch and I ate a Shrak-a variation of a shoarma or shawarma as

they write it here-and stopped at Omar the Olive Wood carver’s shop.

People are so excited to get their souvenirs and he was fueling the

fire by informing all the students to get their nativities now because

tour groups will come through and buy him out because it is nearing

the Christmas season. He is probably right to a point but I laughed

on the inside as I watched his sales tactics work on so many buy-happy

students. He has met four prophets and numerous apostles. Maybe you

met him, Mom.:) Anyways, I remember you saying something about

nativities before I left but I can’t seem to remember what . . . maybe

you could refresh my memory. After we left Omar’s we went to the Old

City and I stopped at a shop to see if I could get a battery for my

watch. After a long search, the shop owner found one! But, as he

snapped the back of the watch back on, another part broke and the band

part became disconnected. A small part had broken. So after another

long search, which was futile, we had to run back to the center so

Annie could make her class. So now I’m looking for a cheap watch the

new time I go into the center.

Yesterday, Friday, was the Muslim holy day. Because we live on the

East side of the city which is the Muslim quarters, we need to stay in

the center until after 3:00pm because Friday after prayers is when

conflict would break out if it were going to. We finished classes by

noon, and I was relieved that our test was over so people would stop

having stress attacks because of it. I had a meeting with the Branch

President to receive a calling. Relief Society Greeter. After dinner

though, we went to the Friday night prayers at the Western Wall. This

is how many of the Jews welcome in the Sabbath. It is a party! The

men chant their prayers and sometimes form dance circles. People are

pretty happy and excited, well, except for the people immediately at

the wall who are crying while they slip their prayers in cracks in the

wall (like they do at Juliet’s balcony in Letters to Juliet). A group

of us talked to a lady from New York who has moved here to Jerusalem

and she told us that Shabbat dinner is a nice meal (like in courses)

and the hosts are always very welcoming of guests, people who might

not have a nice Sabbath meal. That reminded me of you home; we so

often invite others to Sabbath meal who might not have a nice meal

otherwise. I found the atmosphere really neat.

Today, we are going to the Garden Tomb. That is the place that you

see President Hinckley in front of as he shares his testimony of the

resurrection of Christ. Although it isn’t too much in agreement

archeologically that it is actually the place where Christ was laid,

it still has a special feeling to it that many don’t find at the

church of the Holy Sepulcher, a place that has greater possibility of

being “the place.”

Ashley

(Ashley) WARNING: Contents contain much detail and require long time to read!

Tuesday Aug 28
            After saying goodbye and continuing the progression of getting to the correct gate, the Reed’s and I met Steisha.  I quickly learned she is also a returned missionary and she served in Croatia.  She is very energetic and the type of person with whom I find it easy to exchange humor with.  She is also one of those super bubbly people (a bit like Sora McKnight) who is happy to meet everyone.  There were some fresh Elders behind us in line and she was so (and almost embarrassingly) excited to talk to them.  She was also the perfect person to have around when having hang-ups at security.  In SLC, I got the pat down treatment.  “What’s in your pocket?” “Um, nothing? Oh, feminine supplies.”  “Take them out and wave them in the air!”  Yikes.  And then in JFK, “Don’t put that in!  Don’t take that out!  Empty your pockets!  (I was ready for that one!) Quick, quick!  Take off the belt!”  AHHH, those people were intense!  But fun to laugh about once you got through OK and with all of your stuff.
            The plane ride to JFK had nothing really special to remember.  It just happened.  Oh, something I found strange though.  I remember not feeling too fondly about flying from our trip to Europe last summer.  Something about the way my stomach dropped during takeoff and landing during that trip just seemed so unfavorable.  Oddly, I experienced no such sensations during this trip.

Wednesday Aug 29
            Morning came after a few hours of sleep.  Actually, I tried to follow the pattern of the sun during the plane ride (so it wasn’t actually morning according to my body.)  While it was difficult to fall sleep, I tried to relax my muscles and slow my breathing and rest my eyes.  It wasn’t the most satisfying sleep I’ve experienced but I slept for some hours; definitely more than most.  We arrived in the Ben Gurion airport around 2:00 in the afternoon.  After collecting our baggage from the carousels we were met by some members of the faculty at the JC (I have no idea which ones, but I assume Brothers Judd and Schade.)  We loaded into buses and they took us up to Jerusalem.  I found it interesting to watch the change of vegetation as we increased in elevation, from the coastal plains to the hills of Judea.  Some of the vegetation seemed so familiar, but not quite.  Interestingly, Jerusalem is about 2,500 feet higher than the airport. 
            Immediately upon arriving at the JC, we were given some refreshments and greeted by the people living here.  Three of our teachers and their families.  Yep, families.  There are 13 children here ranging from 17 to about 3.  There are 2-3 mature couples serving here as well and we met them.  And Brother and Sister Jackson who are administers.  Then, we were shuttled into the large auditorium where the grand piano and beautiful organ are located.  As you enter the room, the seats face a glass wall overlooking Jerusalem.  Since the JC is on the outskirts of East Jerusalem, we get a beautiful view of some Arab neighborhoods in the near foreground and the old city in the farther foreground.  The Dome of the Rock is easily visible as well as parts of the wall.  It was in this setting that we were given our first debriefing on everything. 
            Once they decided we’d been supersaturated with information, we split into smaller groups to tour the Center.  Naturally I forgot where everything was, except for the gym of course;) Once that was accomplished, we carried our luggage down many flights of stairs (the JC is built on the side of Mount Scopus and so the building follows the lay of the land.  There are 8 floors and lots of stairs.  I’ll count them tomorrow if I remember, 111 between the 3^rd and 8^th floors   ) and began to unpack.  We didn’t get very far because dinner started 20 minutes later and after eating only a weird breakfast pocket thing in the plane, we were ready to eat!  (Course I wanted to chuck my plateful of delicious ethnic food at the ridiculous girls sitting at my table who refused to eat anything but salad because they had heard that people gain weight at the JC and they weren’t going to ruin their figure more that it was already ruined by the dress code they pretend to live by, but I refrained myself, that would waste my plateful of yumminess!  For the record, I have lost 2 pounds in the 2 days we’ve been here.  Can’t figure out what they’re worried about.) 
            After dinner, we met with our Old Testament teachers and our Near Eastern History teachers.  The eighty of us are split into 2 groups to make certain field trips easier.  I was in a group with. . . no one I knew.  I noticed that people who were here with their siblings had been kept in the same group and after my teacher mentioned that we spend lots of time with this group and tend to get particularly close, I felt a bit left out that I wasn’t with Neil, Annie, and Shawn.  Furthermore, I happened to notice that I was also with many of the previously mentioned girls who narrowly dodged a face-full of food and who I may not have such a high opinion of.  But that wasn’t the main reason, truly.  I talked to the director of administrations, Brother Jackson.  He was really nice and surprised me by knowing my name as I approached him and asked me about my Romanian.  Wow!  I’d never spoken to him before.  He said he understood how I’d want to be in the same group as my cousins and he would look into the possibility of making the change.  He also told me there is a member of the branch who is from Moldova and her native language is Romanian.  Truly!  I can’t wait for Sunday when I can talk to her!!!! Hope my Romanian is up to it!
            In our Near Eastern Studies class our teachers scared the pants off us all by informing us that we have our first test in a week AND that we have a massive reading assignment to be completed by Friday morning.  This was not the news you want to be hearing when fighting exhaustion/jetlag/new milieu.  As you can imagine, instead of heading to bed after class, several amongst us scurried off to the library to get started.  Me, I went to the gym.  And then dropped into bed.


Thursday Aug 30
            I awoke after the greatest night sleep, feeling wonderfully refreshed, stretched and looked at my watch, 1:30 AM.  Not a great night’s sleep.  I convinced myself to fall back asleep.  I awoke once again at 4:50 with the Muslim call to prayer serenading the still morning air.  The Islamic faith is based of the 5 Pillar of Faith.  One of these pillars is prayer.  Required individual prayers are said 5 times a day: at dawn, noon (when the sun is at the center of the sky), afternoon (when the sun is halfway to sunset), sunset, and night (after sunset but before sunrise.) So this was the night summons.  It is crazy to me that people actually get up at this hour to pray!  And they do it every day! That is deep devotion, if you ask me.  Anyway, this time there was no going back to sleep so at 5:15 I arose and went to the gym.  Annie came with me.  Unsurprisingly, we were the only ones there. 
            After breakfast we went on our Orientation Walk.  Cameras were NOT allowed on this field trip and I am glad.  We were able to take in the lay of the city, and the feel too.  We made quick stops at many places, like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (where some feel is the site of Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection), the Garden Tomb (another potential burial/resurrection spot), Jaffa and Herod’s Gate, Damascus Gate, Via Dolorosa (tradition state this is the path Christ took to Calvary, there are 14 stops where specific events happened.  We actually saw a group of Italians carrying a wooden cross, singing, and tracing the route on pilgrimage.)  Of course, we didn’t take the time to talk much about these sites, or go in.  Mostly just acclimated to location and where we are. 
            After lunch, we had another orientation.  Honestly, I can’t tell you what all about.  None of it felt new, I think I have heard all these things a bunch of times and my head was drooping.  However, that lasted until dinner.  Actually, I don’t think it did.  I must have used some of that time to study. 
            Later in the evening we had a get to know you activity.  We played a get to know you game that I have played numerous times and got a bit bored. Oops.  I made friends with the oldest daughter of one of my professors.  Her name is Megan.  She is 17 and this is her senior year.  Her family spent the year in Jerusalem 2 years ago.  I asked her how she felt spending her senior year in Jerusalem; she has mixed feelings but she wasn’t excited initially.  On the way out of the activity, I bumped into her younger sister.  In class, her father described her as being Merida’s (from Brave) twin.  She has long, curly red hair and a personality.  I had to tell her, I’m sorry but I can’t remember your name except that it could be Merida but it’s not.  She rolled her eyes and said, “You can’t believe how many times I’ve heard that.”  I informed her that her dad is to blame and told her what he had said in class and that she would be justified in taking her revenge.  We continued talking for quite a while after that and now I have a new friend, Carrie.  Carrie and Megan have 3 younger sisters who are absolutely adorable and have the personality to match and thus get lots of attention from the students.  Carrie and Megan, being teenagers, don’t so much.  I certainly enjoyed talking with them last night.

Friday Aug 31
            Once again I awoke early, enjoyed listening to the nightly call to prayers, and arose at 5:15 to work out.  There were more people at the gym and I couldn’t help but laugh (on the inside) as some of them are very obvious in their lack of knowledge of working out and consequently don’t stay around more than 20 minutes.  Now, just in case you feel that isn’t fair, I only laughed at guys who acted like they knew a lot but really didn’t know anything because they were putting on such a show.   
            After breakfast, the classes started for real.  O.T. started with a pop quiz that included the questions: who were Abraham’s brothers?  Who was Milcah and who did she marry?  And Who was Eliezer?  No joke.  If you know the answers, you are way more on top of this than I am, and you should take my place.  (Just so you know, Lot’s father doesn’t count for Ab.’s brother. And Milcah isn’t Saraiah’s maid.)  You should have seen the wide-eyed spooked look and felt the panic settle in the room as we attempted to make up answers to the questions.  Most fortunately (except for the kid who got all the questions correct) that quiz was deemed a practice quiz.  Class lasted for 2 hours and covered Biblical geography, the Abrahamic Covenant, and Circumcision, such a wide spread. 
            After that shellacking, we were lambasted in our Near Eastern Studies class with what is going to be on our test.  Practically the entire history of the world!!!!  Ok, not really that much, but lots of dates, lots of geography, and just lots.  We’re still getting over jetlag and it seems cruel but in reality I can tell that it is going to be for the best.  I will help us develop a lot of background knowledge that we probably don’t have that will help us get more from everything down the line.  It just seems like a lot (too much?) now. 
            Truthfully, I’m not as weighed down with it like so many others are, I can’t function like that.  My methods are tried and true. . .at least they work for me!
            I do believe that jetlag is catching up with me.  After going on a short walk to the walls this afternoon, I tried to do some reading for classes.  Although interesting, I kept nodding off.  Not even a mildly brisk wind could keep me awake.  That was at 8:00.  I have tried to stay away a bit longer so I won’t wake up way too early (tomorrow is the Sabbath and I won’t be working out at 5:15.)
            Tomorrow is the Sabbath!  And Fast Sabbath!  Church is going to be so interesting!  I am going to choir at 9:00.  Oh!  I learned today that there is going to be an opportunity to go to a Symphony.  There is a 23-year old girl who is playing a/the Chopin piano concerto.  And the conductor is some world-renowned guy (I haven’t heard of him).  It should be really good.  The concert isn’t for a while (9 Oct) but I said I was interested in tickets.  Hopefully some in the group will want to go otherwise I will be going with just the (very) mature couple.

Sabbath (Saturday) Sept 1
            In the grand hall that I mentioned earlier we have Sacrament Meeting.  There is a 9-foot shiny black Steinway in there.  I really want to play that piano.  I think it would be so fun to play the song The Holy City with all of its dramatic glory in front of those large, glass windows overlooking the Holy City.  We aren’t allowed to play on it except for special performances so I’m gonna have to find group of people to sing the song so I can accompany them or work something out.
            The hour before church we have choir practice.  We learned a new song and we sounded really quite good.  We sang it as a prelude song. 
            Just before the meeting started I met the Moldovan lady.  I got less than 2 minutes into the conversation when we were interrupted by two guys who speak Russian and who were also very excited to talk to her.  I’m sure there will be much more time to converse.
            After church we walked as a large group to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Although it really isn’t that far from us, just across the hill (or the hill next to ours) we had to walk down the hill, around, and then back up the other hill so we wouldn’t pass through a sketchy neighborhood.  In reality, not a long walk at all, except for the heat of the day and weakness from fasting, but we were practically drenched in sweat when we got there.  TypicalJ  We walked around and met the 8 olive trees that legend has it stood as witnesses to Christ’s Atonement.  Most in the group sat in the shade to read and wrote in their journals. 
            Annie and I left before most of the group and when we got back to our rooms, we collapsed on our beds, a puddle of sweat.  Annie started reading me a story from her Brothers Grimm book and I fell asleep.  All I remember is “and that’s how it is with the world, Amen.”  And that’s when I woke up.  Just in time for dinner.  And that takes us to now.