Shawn: "I've been doing more than homework."

STUFF OVERLOAD! (Annie)

So much goes on here at once that I have a hard time finding time to blog and when I do find time I have a hard time getting through it all! It is a daily challenge for me to describe my daily life here in a coherent way. I will attempt to scratch the surface of what has been going on this last week-ish.

Good news! I can now add the Red Sea as one of the bodies of water I have swam (swum?) in in my lifetime! Not something I really expected to do, but not to worry, I added it to my bucket list just in time to check it off of it. Just like I added "Swim in the Aegean Sea in Turkey whilst watching the sunset" on my list while I was Turkey. I checked that off, in case you were wondering.

Sunday we drove down to Eilat, the southernmost part of Israel, where there is a port to the Red Sea! Also called the Reed Sea, prompting jokes such as "Haha we're adding three more Reeds to the Reed Sea!" Hilarious. The beach where we went was sub-par because most of the beach area was occupied by a reef. However, this reef made for some AMAZING snorkeling, so I have no complaints! The reefs were for the most part colorful and abundant with exotic fishies of all kinds. It was exhilarating to be able to simply stare at the fish without having to worry about looking up to breathe. Sometimes I get a bit lost in the water and  forget that there's another world above me, which is eerie experience. The water was about twenty feet deep and my favorite thing to do was to dive down to the bottom and swim among the reefs and fish. You can almost imagine that you're part of life down there, until you run out of air and have to surface once again. We saw some animals I'm pretty sure I've never seen before (I'd have to check with Neil and Shawn--I think they remember what I've seen better than I do), including a sea snake, a lion fish, and an octopus! Octopi are my favorite animal and so of course I was thrilled to see one. It was blending in with the sea bed when somebody spotted it, and within minutes there were at least twenty of us swimming in circles above it. I dived down and was pointing the octopus out to the people above and I think I disturbed it, and it started to swim away. We watched it as it moved across the reefs, which was really interesting to watch as it would stop every few inches and change color and texture, camouflaging with the reef behind it. Its camouflaging capabilities are one of the many reasons octopi are the best animal.

An interesting side note to our snorkeling in Eilat story: every single person in our group chose to go on this activity, except for one. He said he just didn't feel like going. But after we left he was in increasing pain and by the end of the day he had been taken to the hospital and found out he had appendicitis. We came back and were told that he had had his appendix taken out. What are the chances that the ONE person who didn't go on the trip ended up getting appendicitis! Thank goodness he didn't come with us.

Monday the mood of the group took a more somber turn, as we went to the Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum here in Israel. Like many museums, you could spend days there, but we only had time to briefly walk through the museum. It was very sad to see what happened during the Holocaust. Here I amend my post a little bit and am going to quote my Great-Aunt Virginia: "Hank was not, however, a "righteous Gentile"  just his parents...it was his parents that were made honorary citizens of Israel, not Hank and I.  However, Hank and Joyce did receive the certificate making their parents honorary citizens (of Israel).  The two grandchildren of the couple hidden in their home were there when it was presented and it was a out of this world experience for all of us.  Jay, Tara, Rochelle, Kirk and Rik were there with us when it was presented in Los Angeles by the Israeli Consul General." Recently the Israel Government honored Hank and his wife Virginia by making them honorary citizens of Israel and by planting a tree dedicated to them in Yad Vashem. There are thousands of trees in Yad Vashem dedicated to righteous Gentile families, and so it took about a half hour to find their tree (I will have a picture up of it soon, Mom and Alison). Afterwards we went up to Mount Herzl, named after the leader of the Zionist movement Theodor Herzl, and saw the graves of Herzl and various Israeli presidents, prime ministers, and soldiers.

Yesterday we watched a Jewish movie called Sallah Shabeti. It was a comedy and I found hilarious--though perhaps not for the reasons that they meant for it to be funny. We watched it because our teacher figured we would understand more of the jokes now that we've learned about Zionism in class, but I think most of them still flew over our heads. I still thought it was funny though because the main character was so ridiculous. He was this lost, stumbling guy who had moments of cleverness but on the whole just staggered his way through life and made me laugh constantly. I'll put in a plug for the movie here and recommend it to anyone interested. Even if you don't get the jokes.

Tunnels! Synagogues! Olives! General Conference! (Annie)

Hey all! Now that Neil is finished editing my highly biased posts, I will get back to business here and relate what we all have been up to these past few days!

This last Friday I got to go to a synagogue with a group of students and our Israel teacher! I love going to the services of other religions, so I was really excited about it. We went to a Reform Jewish service. For those of you who aren't experts on Jews (I certainly wasn't before I came here), Reform Jews are the Jews who are more flexible with their worship and willing to adjust Jewish life to modern times. As a result their services were a little different than traditional Judaism, but still very interesting. The majority of the service was spent singing the Torah, we stood and faced the Temple Mount at a few points, and we got to see a lot of the native Jews. It was very interesting, especially since as students we don't get to see that particular side of the Jews very often. We see them on the streets and we talk to them, but we don't get to see them at home during the Sabbath or during their worship. So this was a great experience. I'm considering going to West Jerusalem again sometime on my own just to see a different congregation (is that what you call it?) and everything.

On Sunday we went on a field trip to the City of David, which is the part of Jerusalem that was set up by David (as the title implies) when he became king. It's just below the Temple Mount on the hill. We watched a video that I enjoyed because it showed what the hills of this area probably looked like before Jerusalem covered it, which is a bit crazy to see when I've lived here for a while and gotten used to how it is now. We saw what is suspected to be the foundations of David's palace and a few other buildings in the area. The best part, of course, was Hezekiah's tunnel. Back in the days of David when Jerusalem was being threatened by exterior powers David decided that it would be great to have a water source for the city that the enemies couldn't get to and poison. So he commissioned this tunnel deep in the hill, which I'm sure worked great back then. Now I think they keep it running for tourist entertainment purposes, and no wonder because it is awesome! There is water running through it and you basically walk inside this cramped tunnel for a half hour or so. IT WAS SO FUN!!!! I am definitely going to go back and do it again. It was dark and cool, which is nice in the heat of the day, and the fact that you're sloshing through water makes it even better! One of the guys in our group, Quin, laid down in the water so he was wet from head to toe. Neil was practically bent over halfway for most of the time because apparently people were shorter back then and they built it for their height. A few times we turned off our lights and walked in the dark. It was a BLAST.

General Conference was crazy! When President Monson announced the change in missionary ages at least a dozen girls dissolved into tears on the spot. Everyone wants to go on a mission! This last weekend was definitely historic. It's all very bewildering, in a good way.

Tuesday was Ashley's birthday! We didn't do much other than go to the Old City and have pizza. But we did put a candle in the pizza and sang happy birthday! And she got a brownie. So having a birthday was worth it.

This week we were supposed to pick the olives off the trees on our porches, which we eventually press into olive oil and get to take home, but we need a big rainstorm first. The rain washes all the yucky stuff off of the olives, so right now I'm dying for rain! Not only would it wash off the olives, but I also love the rain! It makes me think of the rain in Utah, which is very rare as well. One thing I can say for Utah rain--it doesn't rain hard or for long, but when it does rain it smells amazing.

Just a note: the date today is 10-11-12. Pretty cool.

Oct. 8 - Shawn

... On Monday we went to the Shephelah. We went to where David slew Goliath and slung stones from slings. We saw some cool chalk quarries. We went to Lachish and saw the siege ramp the Assyrian built in order to destroy take it over which they did. The Assyrians weren't too nice to their enemies. Today I went out with my Siblings. We went to tomb in a guys backyard and then went to the small Mosque close to the Jerusalem center. The Imam, or guy in charge of the Mosque was super nice and helpful. We watched them do their prayers. He talked about Islam. Here in the Jerusalem center we live in a secluded American bubble, so it was nice to get out and see what people do across the street. 

Commentary on "Hi I'm a blog post by Anniekins!" (Neil)

It's time to restore some balance to Annie's clearly fictionalized accounts of the very first week or so.. She doesn't even know half of the stories. I mean, she knows the half that everyone would describe as "important," like her posts where she's like "Hey everyone, we visited some world famous location and it was so awesome! Let me tell you about it in excellent detail so if anyone else writes about it, particularly one of my brothers, their account will seem inferior and you will stop acknowledging them as family before long and I can have their possessions when they are gone!" Sly try, Annie, but as you should well know I won't give up my lucky machete and my favorite gym sock quite so easily.

Thus, I will mainly be adding commentary on things that already done been mentioned here in the blog and then writing about others that are more of my own stuff. There will be verbose descriptions, you have been forewarned.

Nabi Samwil overlook field trip: Annie forgot to mention that there were fig trees at this place. I picked a few and ate them while we were listening to the teacher talk about the site. They were way better than the several pounds of fresh figs I had purchased inside one of the city gates the day before--which all began spoiling overnight--which didn't stop me from eating almost all of them--which brings me to another point--fresh figs aren't very good.  The people inside by the spot that is traditionally regarded as the prophet Samuel's cenotaph (empty grave) was really nice to see. The people watching over it were very kind.

The building itself was not in good shape--the top of it is a mosque, the bottom a synagogue, but as Palestinian access has been restricted it has fallen into disrepair and it has been claimed by a sinister force I have faced before. I refer to the second most evil of global avian hegemons(we learned this word in class and I am not sure what it means. Either cultural monarchy or artichokes), the Pigeon King/Evil Pigeon Overlord. His forces once took me captive in Paraguay. If you don't remember how that went down, check it out here:http://elderreedinparaguay.blogspot.co.il/2009/06/pigeon-city-and-its-utter-destruction.html   The number one bird threats from humanity is, of course, Perky Bird the Cockatiel. I won't get started on that now, I hate crying bitter tears of bitterness when I think about it. 

Bethelehem overlook--
It was cool to look out and see Bethlehem. By the way, the hymn "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plain" isn't quite accurate. It's all a bunch of steep hills and valleys. That's OK, though. And I was, in fact, attacked by  a dust devil. I and the professors were all just minding our own business when one of the members of our group pointed north and screamed. I looked and had difficulty figuring out exactly what I was seeing before it was upon us. Dust, leaves and insects blasted through the air for all of two seconds before it had passed us. I spun and saw the dust devil stopped behind me, seemingly taunting me and inviting me to battle it as its smoky form coalesced into tangible existence. I have been chasing after these things for years, and I wasted no time in throwing myself into it and using the first thing that came to my head (literally) as a weapon. I thrust my trusty black sombrero into its core. It spasmed violently and then exploded, its defeated remnants floating away harmlessly. Unfortunately,  the entire other class looking on from a distance didn't see this battle in such an epic fashion as I remember it.  Their teacher merely paused, told his class to turn around and  jokingly said "Looks like that group has made the Lord angry." The aftermath wasn't so bad, besides the grit in our hair, the burrs attached to our bodies and the spider we picked off one of the girls.

Tel Aviv--Surfing was a lot of fun. I even got up once, which was harder than last time I went since the board was quite a bit smaller. There were some big waves where I wiped out. Now I know  what the rinse and spin cycle of a washing machine feels like. The rest of the city was interesting, we found a quirky market where a lady was selling what was surely one of the first telephones ever manufactured, and others selling things like fryer baskets. Definitely not the tourist part of the city. There were a lot of strange animal murals everywhere. There were three bears, a creepy rabbit painted on a dumpster, and a two headed rabbit that looked like it was investing in the oil business or something.

Weird happenings besides the dust devil---I accidentally nearly ingested a bee during lunch. It let me know with a subtle "HEY BUDDY I"M WALKIN' HERE" sting to my lip. It was a small bee and a small sting. It was almost kind of lemony.

 I was buying fruit in a market when a massive package of diapers fell past my head. The guy yelled sorry from the rafters above, and I was like "No worries, bro. Not like they were loaded!"

Barfing-- it is kinda like Annie told it. I was talking to some girls about eating bugs and the time I regretted not eating a cicada in Paraguay (a story for another time) and I talked about some roasted coconut grubs I had eaten in Paraguay. I was saying how it was a lot like bacon, and then she said how we could market the stuff--get little yellow tubs of it labeled "I Can't Believe It's Not Bacon!" As she said this, I was drinking water and I laughed. I choked on the water, spat a bunch on the floor, laughed and choked more--which activated my seldom-used gag reflex. It's been about six years since the last incident, folks, but I knew what I felt. I surged to my feet and looked for a trash can--nothing! I burst out of the room, and ran into the computer lab. Nothing! I glanced at the nearby drinking fountain, shook my head, and knew it was already too late. I quickly pulled up my orange button-down shirt to my forehead and let fly. WHOOOOSH! As soon as my airway was clear, I couldn't help but laugh maniacally at the clearly hilarious situation. I began walking down the stairs to my room so I could get rid of--I looked at it. Funny, I didn't remember eating chicken salad with carrots. Anyways, at this time Annie's account does in fact suffice."On his way down some girls were like hey Neil what's in your shirt and he was like you don't want to know and they were like um actually yes we do and he was like no really you don't and they were like YES WE DO and he was like FINE and then they got a peek and skiddaddled really fast. And then Neil took a shower. The end."

And that's the end of this. For now.

Homework and Jerusalem Center life (Ashley)

Yesterday was a significant day in my life. For the First Time Ever,
I’m pretty sure, I awoke up early in the morning without an alarm!!!!!
That’s right! I have been awaking at 5:15 so I can get a workout out
in before classes and stuff. For some reason, yesterday morning my
alarm didn’t go off. But it didn’t matter! I woke up anyway! For
anyone who knows how difficult mornings are for me, you know that is
saying something

Yesterday we had the “informal talent show.” Wow, it was the greatest
talent show I have even been to. There was a ton of variety and a ton
of talent. You know when you go to talent shows how there are usually
one or two or three acts that usually steal the show? In this talent
show, each act would have stolen the show in any other show. It was
great. There was a lot of support for each person who performed. It
was really awesome. Many performers mentioned they had never felt
such support from the audience before. It was really fun to be a part
of.

Well, we made it through our papers and tests this week. I was really
excited to get out in the city after our 6 hours of classes today, but
after Friday prayers at the mosques there were some disturbances near
temple mount so they decided to keep us in. These disturbances stem
from frustrations and tensions created by the Jewish holiday Sukkot
(Feast of the Tabernacles) that has been going on this week. People
have gotten frustrated with the road closures, increased traffic, and
celebrations. Added to that, there is a radical group who has tried
for the last 20 years to place the corner stone for the 3rd Jewish
temple on Temple Mount- harem es-sharif. Police monitor for them and
they haven’t succeeded but it increases to people’s tensions. Those
monitoring the situation are quite hopeful that it’ll pass over and
we’ll be fine to get out tomorrow. I have realized through these 2
days they have kept us in, the day most likely for that to happen is
Friday. That is the day the Muslim world gathers in the mosques for
prayers and thus chances increase that emotions will ignite.

I got into the city yesterday or the day before, I’m loosing track of
time. We explore West Jerusalem, the Jewish dominated section of the
city, and visited an ultra-orthodox neighborhood. These guys are the
ones who wear black pants, dress shirt, kippah, and peyote curls at
all times. They also wear really large, furry hats. That’s the men.
The women wear long-sleaved shirts and skirts at least to the ankle
with thick tights. A bit like a very frumpy sister missionary. I
guess this branch of Judaism could be related to the Amish. As I was
wandering around, we stumbled upon a little shop with handmade crafts.
This shop provides meaningful work for elderly Jewish refugees. It
was a pretty neat place.

Two days ago, we squished a showing of the Presidential Debate between
classes. I don’t pretend to be any reputable critic but it seemed to
me that Governor Romney made a good showing. I was also pleased that
there didn’t seem to be much mudslinging. I think a watched a portion
of a presidential debate when I was 18 but couldn’t stand to listen
for very long because of the mudslinging.

Tomorrow morning I am going to wake up at 4:00 so I can watch the
BYU/USU football game. This will be the first one I will be able to
watch all of it. I’m excited and hoping for a great game.

Have a told you what my chore is at the JC? I work at the Shekel
Shack, which is the student snack bar. We use the proceeds to create
and purchase t-shirts for the group. I wasn’t super excited at the
first, especially because two of the guys in my group created this
whole business model which I thought was totally going over the top.
Now though, I’m impressed with their efforts. One of their ideas was
to create Gold Member accounts where people could put their purchases
on a tab and pay that off at the end of the week. Kids have found
that super convenient and in my opinion has increased the business of
the shack. It is good for business; I’m not sure its benefits for
those looking to save money or avoid the snacks My part of it is to
pick up supplies (sometimes) and man the shack for a couple of hours
in the evening, about once a week. I call it Shekel Shack Slavery bc
most of the other chores people have last about 15 minutes a week.
But it’s OK. I like it because it gives me opportunity to interact
with other people. And I try to remember that when I don’t want to do
it;)
Well, that’s about all. Tonight I am watching Kung Fu Panda I and II
with the 17 year old daughter of one of the faculty members. I hope I
don’t fall asleep because that is a definite possibility! Have a
great Friday!

Bacon is everyone's best friend except for pigs. (Neil)

We haven't eaten any bacon. We are friends to AAAALLLL nature.

The Good Samaritan and Jericho

A recent week was quite interesting,quite interesting indeed. We kicked off Monday by hopping on the delightful contraption known as the bus and blasting off east into the Judean Wilderness in the West Bank.

A note about the climate here: The prevailing winds come from the west to the east, much like in Salt Lake City. As the humid ocean air travels inland from the Mediterranean, it is forced upward by the rising hills leading up to Jerusalem. The easternmost portion of Jerusalem—and the highest in elevation—lies along the north-south ridge that contains both the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus, where the Jerusalem center is located. Once the cooling air passes this ridge, a great deal of water has already been lost. The air that finally descends into the Judean Wilderness where the Dead Sea resides is parched and brings little water.

             The hills we traveled through, therefore, are much like you would imagine them. Brown, dry, and apparently lifeless. Upon closer examination, it can be seen that many dried plants coat the ground, their spines and prickles almost daring someone to approach them barefoot. Streambeds and dried out river gulches cut through the rocky landscape every so often, carving out rills, valleys and canyons in the harsh topography. We visited one of the largest of these, Wadi (River) Qilt. Steep slopes and cliffs slide into its depths, reminiscent of the Virgin River canyons in the Nevada-Utah area, but with less water at the bottom. There, the dry streambed rests, but with date palms and incongruous greenery hinting at hidden moisture beneath the surface. The dried-out beds of the wadis have long formed natural highways through the desert, and continue to be used as such today. Wadi Qilt was historically used as the road in between Jerusalem and the low-lying city of Jericho, and was the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan. Not much wider than a slot canyon in places, any traveler through here would have had little option but to get through as quickly as possible. It is full, however, of rocky outcrops, caves, and even ancient aqueducts that provide ample places for would-be ambushers to hide.

I would go on, but I think you get the idea. Here, more than anywhere else, the story of the Good Samaritan came alive.

             Jericho was pretty cool as well. It has been identified as one of the oldest cities in the world, and if the information has been assessed right it is some 9,000 years old—kids, that's almost as old as Rosie O' Donnell! Or Rosie O'Donnell jokes, for that matter. On the way back, we saw a bunch of date palm plantations. I'll take some pictures in a few weeks whilst we pickle in the Dead Sea.