Road trippin' to Egypt

Egypt was amazing. A lot of time was spent driving, but lucky for me, I love road trips and this was definitely the ultimate road trip. On our way there we stopped at a few significant sites. The first one was at Be'er Sheva, which is about 75 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Initially, I wasn't that excited about stopping so soon because I was ready to get on the road to Egypt, but the funny thing about me having a bad attitude about stops is that as soon as I get off the bus and realize how cool and significant the places are my bad attitude is instantly gone. 

Be'er Sheva is cool because it was founded by the Israelites in about 1000 BC after the land was conquered by King David and, before that, Abraham alternated living between there in the winter months and Hebron in the summer months. Anyway, we went in a big water cistern there so we had to wear these dang cool hard hats. I have a video of Jake giving an exceptional tour of the cistern, but I'll just have to share that one later since the internet is way too slow to be uploading videos.

Kristi, me, Miriam looking super stylin' in our hard hats

We went up on a tower so we had a good view of the tell and Bro. Chadwick walked around beneath us explaining things. There is one area in the city where they are fairly sure an Israelite temple once stood, which was cool to see.

lovin' life at Tell Be'er Sheva

RaeLynn, Morgan, me
This would've been a great roommate picture if Lindsey would've
been on the ball and joined us. Bless her sweet heart.

Walking through the streets of an ancient Israelite city.
If you imagine the walls being taller, this picture is infinitely cooler.

Just outside the tell they had a replica of a four horned altar. These are what the Israelite altars would have looked like that they made sacrifices on.

Ally, me, Lisa (Ween), Mickell, Miriam, Kristi, Megan Gygi
Remember that frumpy thing I was talking about?
Well, I was a master of that style by this point. :) 

Next we drove a little further to Tell Arad. This is another Israelite city where they have found the remains of a temple.

Outside Tell Arad

In the Holy of Holies at the Tell Arad temple

Jocelyn, me, Alison
Notice the spelling of 'sanctuary' on the sign. A lot of signs have cute
little misspellings like this. I love how they try so hard to accommodate
the English-speaking tourists.

After Tell Arad we finally got to the road trippin' part of the day. We drove over to the Dead Sea on a super windy road. A few people got really car sick and one girl, who will intentionally remain nameless, even threw up (luckily she had her sack from lunch close by!). I had a hard time remembering her name up until then, but that made it really easy to remember her name. Poor girl. She was such a good sport about it though, I was really impressed. Brother Judd went to her seat and asked if he could take her bag when he found out what happened. He is such a nice guy. Our teachers all care so much about us, it really feels like a family here. 

We drove along the Dead Sea and down to a kibbutz that was about 30 minutes north of the Red Sea. (a kibbutz is a Jewish community that practices socialism, essentially) The route we drove is likely the same one Lehi and his family would've traveled when they left Jerusalem. It was really eye-opening to see what things would have looked like when they were going back and forth from Jerusalem. I have so much respect for them, and I can actually understand now why Laman and Lemuel would have murmured. The miracle, in my eyes, is that Nephi and Lehi didn't murmur. Anyway, we were all super exhausted from getting up early and leaving at 6:30 so a lot of us passed out at this point. 

Passed out on the bus

That night we stayed at Kibbutz Keturah. After we got there, they took us to some amazing sand dunes that were kind of close by. We got to play in them for awhile, but I don't have pictures from it because I didn't want to risk having the sand ruin my camera. The sand was SO cool though - it looked like water when it ran down the hill. I loved it. When we finished playing they gave us time to go off on our own and have about 15 minutes to ourselves. We each had a paper w/ the scripture found in 1 Nephi 2: 4-5 written on it, which really helped to set the tone for our thoughts. The solitude was indescribable and I loved being able to just sit and think without any distractions.

That night we had pita burgers and french fries and swam in the pool at the kibbutz. I forgot the silly putty I have to use in my ears when I swim so I just sat on the side and talked with some girls. So fun! 

The next morning we left the kibbutz early and drove about a half hour to the Taba border crossing. I didn't get too many questions at the crossing, so it wasn't too intense. We weren't allowed to take pictures though, sorry. The only hard part about the crossing was, since I was the "Snack Lady," having an extra bag to carry around that was full of snacks.

When we finished the crossing we got on our next tour bus. This one felt like we were getting on Austrian Air all over again; the color layout was almost the same, we had overhead bins, and there was a man who handed out juice boxes once we were moving. I got to sit by Lizzy, which was great because I just adore and admire her so much. I love talking to her so I was glad we had a long time to sit together. She is one of those people who has the ability to make you feel really good when you are with her.

Lizzy and me with our Arabic juice

Those of you who know me well know I have a small kine attachment to my dear teddy bear, Beddy. I had a lot of stuffed animals when I was younger, but for some reason I latched onto her more than the rest. She has had several surgeries w/ me and even stayed in the hospital w/ me overnight. As a reward for her loyalty during my hard times, she is becoming quite the world traveller! She has now been to many places on the US mainland, lived in Hawaii for the better part of 3 years, been on a couple of Carribbean cruises, lived in Israel, and travelled to Egypt. Soon she will get to see Galilee and Jordan. She is really good to travel with because she never complains, even when she is getting shoved into my already-full backpack. I am so lucky to have such a good teddy bear. Truth be told, I was nervous about taking her to Egypt because I didn't have a lot of space in my bag and I was worried I might lose her somehow. I decided it was worth the risk though, obviously. I mean, she has been with me so far, why stop now?

Beddy saying hello from the Sinai Peninsula

We drove all day that day while crossing the the Sinai Peninsula. We had two rest stops, which served as a not-so-nice introduction to the bathroom situation in Egypt. A quick summary would be that a lot of places make you pay to use a super disgusting restroom (I don't get grossed out that easily, either, so that is saying something!) and they don't even give you toilet paper! No need to taint things and dwell on that aspect of the trip, however. 

We got to Cairo in the evening and stayed at the Oasis Hotel. For some reason, I thought we'd be staying at hotels that were on the cheaper side of things, but the Oasis was actually pretty nice. I was roommates with Kelsey and each of us had our own double-size bed, which was glorious. After dinner we re-arranged our luggage for our trip to Luxor the next day and then passed out almost instantly.

PS. Don't worry, I am more than willing to put Beddy on a shelf once I am married. :)

Biblical Experiences

The last field trip we went on before going to Egypt was to Neot Kedumim. This place is an Israeli National Park (I think?) that showcases biblical-type stuff. We saw a cistern and talked about it for awhile, along w/ different kinds of leaves and plants. We saw some different types of buildings that would be used for Sukkot (aka the Feast of Tabernacles), tasted date honey, learned about the Torah, made pitas, and a bunch of other things I can't remember. I was liking everything we did up until the pita-making. After we ate all I wanted to do was go home and take a nap, so I didn't really love the second half of the trip as much.

We got to try herding sheep so we could see what it would have been like. Brandt, being a farm boy, was a champion shepherd so it really wasn't too hard for the rest of us since we just followed his lead. Some of us got a little confused though and decided to herd goats around instead of sheep. Bless Johnathon's heart.

Brandt, aka the Champion Shepherd

Johnathon demonstrating his goat-herding skills

This little guy loved me

Another thing I liked doing was crushing our own hyssop. Hyssop is mentioned a few times in the Bible and was used for several things. I can't remember all of the uses, but one of them was that it was used to dip and smear the blood over the door during passover. It was also used as a type of spice, and we even dipped our bread in some of it during our first tour of the Old City.

Jenna, Lisa, me getting ready to crush our hyssop

Before

After

I ended up w/ tons of it, so I'm bringing it home w/ me. Hope you're excited to try it, Mom & Dad. :)

Partway through the day I decided to finally try some of the cool features on my camera. I'm definitely not a photographer, but I was pretty happy with a few of my pictures. This was one of my favorite 'artsy' pictures of the day (keep in mind I'm a complete rookie) :

Close up of a fig tree

Another cool thing we did, which wasn't necessarily related to the Bible, was turn this water wheel. People used this type of set up to water their crops back in the day. I thought it was fun, but I'm sure it gets old if you have to do it all the time.

Next post: Egypt!

Jericho

Our first 'real' field trip was to Jericho. To get there we drove east of Jerusalem, down to the Dead Sea. And by 'down', I mean down. The elevation of Jerusalem is 2,700 ft, Jericho is -850 ft, and the two cities are 17 miles apart, so it is a pretty rapid drop in elevation. When the Bible talks about going 'down' to Jericho, that is literally what they are doing. I just love learning all these things and seeing it for myself. It'll never get old. The only thing that gets old are tells, which I'll explain later.

Once we got to sea level, the group on our bus started singing 'Under the Sea' from The Little Mermaid. So fun. I know I keep saying it, but I'll say it again: I just love our group!

Part way to Jericho we stopped at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. There are actual archeological remains of an inn here, and some people have speculated that Jesus might have been referencing this very inn when he gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Byzantines found these remains and built a church there. We got to go in the remains of the synagogue and sing 'A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.' 

Kylie, Kristi, me, Jocelyn
outside the inn of the Good Samaritan

After the stop at the inn we went the rest of the way to Jericho. There is an actual town at Jericho, but the biblical Jericho is now just a tell (which is an archeological mound) outside of the current city. I'm not going to complain about tells yet because at this point they were really cool.

James, Johnathon, Robert Buss, Alyssa, Talia
marching around Jericho

I think it's important to address how entirely awful and frumpy I look on this field trip. It was SUPER hot that day, and I was trying to dress accordingly. (Yes, I realize the black shirt makes zero sense. Clearly, I did not think this through very well. But hey, at least the genie pants were super lightweight.) Fear not, I realized how frumpy I was looking partway through Egypt and addressed the issue. Also, I realized in Egypt that fanny packs are NOT cool, nor will they ever be. I finally came to grips with the concept and have stopped wearing the pack. I do miss the convenience though, so I have compromised and now use it as a shoulder bag.

me & Matt
(p.s. this was Matt's birthday!)

Zacchaeus Tree

We also went to a tree referred to as the Zacchaeus tree, which is a tree that is likely similar to the one Zacchaeus would have climbed when he was trying to see Jesus.

Then we drove back 'up' to Jerusalem.

Just a random view outside my bus window. :)

On the return trip we stopped at a lookout over the Judaean Wilderness. We talked more about the parable of the Good Samaritan and also discussed Jesus fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and being tempted by Satan. Brother Judd has the best insight, and I really love how he applies the scriptures to our own lives. I love, love, love how much I have learned/am learning here.

Brother Judd giving our devotional overlooking the Judaean Wilderness. LOVE him.

Jocelyn, Kim, me, & Kelsey

Verdict: Super hot day, but also super great. That's all, folks.

Tel Aviv

Preface: I'm struggling a little with the food in the JC. It turns out there's a large variety of weird sauces they can put on food. And, because weird sauces and I do not get along, let's just say I end up eating a lot of toast these days. Believe it or not, toast gets old after awhile. End of preface.

In September we had a few free afternoons when we went out into the city. One of these days we went to a pizza place by the Austrian Hospice and it was SO good. At least to me it was. Why? Because it wasn't toast. Also, because we were in the Muslim quarter of the Old City, the pizza wasn't kosher. Meaning it had pepperoni. Best news ever. All of my pizza experiences have been kosher besides this place. And if you ask me, which you did since you're reading my blog, that's an easy way to make The Place By The Austrian Hospice the best pizza ever.

Amy, me, Morgan, and Alyssa waiting for our pizza. Notice the Arabic on our cans. :)

A few days later about 50 of us took some taxi's to Tel Aviv. It was SO fun. I got to try my first gelato ever. Verdict? I'm in love. I got the Kinder Bueno kind, having no clue what Kinder was. Little did I know how addicted I would be to Kinder candy bars within less than a month. I strongly recommend them. Pretty sure I'm now dependent.

Me, Lindsey, and RaeLynn by the Gelato place.

The best part of the Tel Aviv trip? Getting to play in the Mediterranean! I just love going to the beach.So, so much.

me & Lindsey, loving the Mediterranean.

I was still getting to know everyone at this point, and I finally got to know Jocelyn on this trip. I just love this girl. She has got one of the cutest laughs I've ever heard. I seriously LOVE our little JC family. Everyone is so amazing.

Jocelyn, Lindsey, me

 

Confession: The only problem with the Tel Aviv trip was that the second I set foot on the beach, I immediately began to re-think my potential plans to go to Provo. I'm still not sure I'm ready to give up Hawaii. AHHH!! I just love Hawaii so much. The good news is I was talking about my impending decision w/ Justin a few nights ago, you know, just evaluating the pro's and con's for the millionth time this semester, and he summed it up really well. I'm pretty much choosing between a place I love (Hawaii) and people I love (Provo). Excellent point. Definitely gives me more to think about. Justin is so wise. I must point out that this was also the same night he said, "I have trained my mind to urinate without my body following." (In referring to his ability to NOT wet the bed. Always a good trait.) See what I mean? So, so wise.

Resurfacing

I know, I haven't blogged in ages. Forgive me, please. In my defense, the last week of school was InTeNsE, to say the least. We took finals for a lot of our classes and some of them went well, others not so well. But whatcha gonna do? I'm just glad it's over and done. That's all that matters. We only have two classes now (New Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies) and it's so glorious. I'm officially done with Old Testament, Judaism, Islam, and Arabic. Being done w/ Islam and Judaism is the best feeling EvEr.

In other news, the familia is about ready to kill me due to the lack of blogging. Actually, the death threat is probably due to an even worse crime: no new pictures. My apologies. I am officially repenting and posting pictures. Don't worry that I took these about two months ago. I mean, what better place to start than the beginning?

Our first field trip when we got to the Holy Land was designed to orient the students w/ the geography of the land. First, we went to the Seven Arches Overlook which is also on the Mount of Olives and is not too far from the JC.

View of the Dome of the Rock and the Old City wall from Seven Arches.
Also, in the very bottom of the picture is a Jewish Cemetery.

Next we went to another place on the Mount of Olives, the Augusta Victoria Tower. It's owned by the Lutheran Church and also functions as a hospital. The purpose of the tower is to commemorate the Ascension of Christ.

Inside the Augusta Victoria

Outside of August Victoria, tower and all.

After this, we drove to the Elias Monastery which is in the southern Jerusalem. Standing on a hill by the monastery, we were able to look over to Bethlehem. I had no clue Jerusalem and Bethlehem were so close together; it's kind of like going from Orem to Provo, with one huge difference: a Separation Wall. Bethlehem is in the West Bank, which is the reason for the Wall. Call me a dumb American, but I had no idea Bethlehem was in the West Bank. Constantly learning new things here, and this was just the beginning.

Bethlehem, with the Separation Wall in the foreground.

From there, we drove to the Haas Promenade, which is also on the southern end of Jerusalem.

View from Haas Promenade. If you look closely, you can see
the Dome of the Rock slightly to the left of the center.

Our last stop was Nabi Samwil. This is a synagogue/mosque built to commemorate the Prophet Samuel. Some people think he was buried here, but evidence indicates otherwise. Anyway, the ground floor is a mosque and the basement is a synagogue. It was interesting to see two different religions that honored the same prophet in the same place.

Nabi Samwil Mosque/Monastery

This is the Jewish Cenotaph honoring Samuel
that was in the basement of Nabi Samwil.

After looking around, we went outside to look at more of the geography. We could see the hills of Ephraim in the distance, and closer to us we could see Gibeon. We had a short devotional there talking about some of the events that took place at Gibeon, namely the Biblical account of when Joshua commanded the sun to stand still during the Israelites' war with the Amorites. This is embarrassing to admit, but I couldn't even remember that story. I can safely say that I will never forget it now, however. :)