Jesse is awesome.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
Hello all,
Sorry I haven't sent out an e-mail for a while, I know I say this every time but they really do keep me busy over here. Anyway, we're finally done with our mid-terms, but there's always a paper or a project or an interview so i've decided that I have to stop waiting for that break and just keep working. Although, the world cup is severely interfering with my studying habits. It's so much fun because we're only an hour away from South Africa time here so we can watch the games live and so many people here are into soccer so we get a huge group together to watch. Sometimes I wonder where all these people have been all my life. So here are some highlights from this past week:
-I discovered the greatest treasure ever: 1 shekel popsicles just outside the lower gate of the center. Also every time we go there the same group of little kids come out and play soccer with us in the street. There was this one little girl who was so sad when I last week and she yelled "Amira (everyone here thinks thats my name-apparently that's what it sounds like) Amira- I love you!" and then when I went back yesterday she ran out yelling Amira Amira you back!!! Last week I was also wearing a Brazil jersey so when the kids saw me come back yesterday they all ran inside and came out with Brazil jerseys hahaha. I love it here.
-On Sunday I got to go to the Israeli Zoo!! But. . .. it's exactly like and American zoo.
-On Monday we went on a field trip to Bethlehem. This was probably one of my favorite field-trips so far. It was amazing because Bethlehem is in the West Bank so we had to pass through the seperation wall and see all of the security and we stopped at the Palestinian "think-tank" headquarters where they pretty much study and look for a solution to the conflict. We had a presentation there and learned first hand their opinion and everything. It's always hard to know what to think because we get such biased opinions from everyone but this was really helpful because they went through specific UN agreements that Israel has broken.
-We also got to go to Bethlehem University-one of the first universities in the West Bank. We got to talk to 5 college students our age and it was sooooo cool to be able to talk to people our age and realized how much like us they are, and at the same time how different their lives are because of the conflict. I got to walk around on campus and talk with some of the girls there- I tried to attach a pic of that.
-Ok, Bethlehem is one of my favorite places EVER!!! It was crazy cause here we were in one of the most conlict-ridden places in the world and I felt so much peace and calm in this little city. We went to the Church of the Nativity where they believe Jesus was born and laid in a manger.
-So once again, I have had an amazing week. I sometimes have to pinch myself to see if this is all real or not. Tonight I think we're gonna go to some light show in the Old City. Should be saweeet. Love you all!!!!!!!
Sorry I haven't sent out an e-mail for a while, I know I say this every time but they really do keep me busy over here. Anyway, we're finally done with our mid-terms, but there's always a paper or a project or an interview so i've decided that I have to stop waiting for that break and just keep working. Although, the world cup is severely interfering with my studying habits. It's so much fun because we're only an hour away from South Africa time here so we can watch the games live and so many people here are into soccer so we get a huge group together to watch. Sometimes I wonder where all these people have been all my life. So here are some highlights from this past week:
-I discovered the greatest treasure ever: 1 shekel popsicles just outside the lower gate of the center. Also every time we go there the same group of little kids come out and play soccer with us in the street. There was this one little girl who was so sad when I last week and she yelled "Amira (everyone here thinks thats my name-apparently that's what it sounds like) Amira- I love you!" and then when I went back yesterday she ran out yelling Amira Amira you back!!! Last week I was also wearing a Brazil jersey so when the kids saw me come back yesterday they all ran inside and came out with Brazil jerseys hahaha. I love it here.
-On Sunday I got to go to the Israeli Zoo!! But. . .. it's exactly like and American zoo.
-On Monday we went on a field trip to Bethlehem. This was probably one of my favorite field-trips so far. It was amazing because Bethlehem is in the West Bank so we had to pass through the seperation wall and see all of the security and we stopped at the Palestinian "think-tank" headquarters where they pretty much study and look for a solution to the conflict. We had a presentation there and learned first hand their opinion and everything. It's always hard to know what to think because we get such biased opinions from everyone but this was really helpful because they went through specific UN agreements that Israel has broken.
-We also got to go to Bethlehem University-one of the first universities in the West Bank. We got to talk to 5 college students our age and it was sooooo cool to be able to talk to people our age and realized how much like us they are, and at the same time how different their lives are because of the conflict. I got to walk around on campus and talk with some of the girls there- I tried to attach a pic of that.
-Ok, Bethlehem is one of my favorite places EVER!!! It was crazy cause here we were in one of the most conlict-ridden places in the world and I felt so much peace and calm in this little city. We went to the Church of the Nativity where they believe Jesus was born and laid in a manger.
-So once again, I have had an amazing week. I sometimes have to pinch myself to see if this is all real or not. Tonight I think we're gonna go to some light show in the Old City. Should be saweeet. Love you all!!!!!!!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Oh Jerusalem if I forget you
I apologize to all my faithful blog followers (because I know there's just so many of you) for not being on top of it and writing for a while. I feel like I have never been so busy in my life and yet never enjoyed myself so much. I still wake up every morning and can't believe I have the opportunity to live in the most beautiful city in the world. For the past couple weeks we've gone on a couple field trips: one to some Israelite towns of Lachish and Azekah that were conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians- we also hit up the valley of Elah where David slew Goliath. It's pretty cool to actually see the places that we read about in the Bible. Also, we went to the City of David which is just the part of Jerusalem that existed when David was King and conquered the city. We got to see some ruins from the fire of the Babylonians and also walk around the place where most likely David saw Bethsheba when she was bathing on her roof. It was cool because we talked about how David was such a stud but he made a mistake because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time-it made me think about my life and how while I've been here I've been all about trying to figure out what the right path for me is. I know that being here in the Holy Land is the right thing for me right now, and I want to figure out the person that the Lord would have me be for the future.
While we were in the City of David we went through Hezekiah's Tunnel- cool but not the most fun for a person with extreme claustrophobia. Lets just say I cried I was so happy to see the light of day when we got out. It was cool cause at the end of the tunnel we got to see the pool where Christ healed the blind man.
So now that mid-terms are done its time forrrrrrrrrrrrr WORLD CUP!!!!!!! I may or may not have missed half of my class this afternoon because the first game started in the middle of it. Sorry Dad. Anyway, everything is going just great. I'm trying to post some pics for all yall to see!!!!
While we were in the City of David we went through Hezekiah's Tunnel- cool but not the most fun for a person with extreme claustrophobia. Lets just say I cried I was so happy to see the light of day when we got out. It was cool cause at the end of the tunnel we got to see the pool where Christ healed the blind man.
So now that mid-terms are done its time forrrrrrrrrrrrr WORLD CUP!!!!!!! I may or may not have missed half of my class this afternoon because the first game started in the middle of it. Sorry Dad. Anyway, everything is going just great. I'm trying to post some pics for all yall to see!!!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Top 10 Things I Learned in Egypt
1. toilet paper is precious and should be treated as gold
2. sleeping trains= hell
3. bed bugs really do exist
4. soccer is the universal language
5. yes you can sweat out of every part of your body
6. i have "very beautiful eyes" and am worth too many camels to count
7. shoosday is not a holiday but in fact is "tuesday" (also don't ask what shoosday is, apparently you're being offensive because you just basically said-um your English is terrible and I can't understand you
8. no pasta does not move on its own- if you notice your food moving you probably have flying insects on your plate-that's where you can get a source of protein though
9. there is an egyptian lady gaga (I watched the international music video channel in our hotel)
10. besides the tough environment, people and food the people of egypt are a very kind and loving people and I learned this through the most beautiful experience with a girl named Mina
2. sleeping trains= hell
3. bed bugs really do exist
4. soccer is the universal language
5. yes you can sweat out of every part of your body
6. i have "very beautiful eyes" and am worth too many camels to count
7. shoosday is not a holiday but in fact is "tuesday" (also don't ask what shoosday is, apparently you're being offensive because you just basically said-um your English is terrible and I can't understand you
8. no pasta does not move on its own- if you notice your food moving you probably have flying insects on your plate-that's where you can get a source of protein though
9. there is an egyptian lady gaga (I watched the international music video channel in our hotel)
10. besides the tough environment, people and food the people of egypt are a very kind and loving people and I learned this through the most beautiful experience with a girl named Mina
Walk like an Egyptian
Marhaba Everyone,
Ok so I LOVE Egypt. I made it back late last night and even better I made it back alive and healthy!!!!! I was blessed enough not to get sick at all but several people in our group did. Anyways, I've never gone off so little sleep, while doing so much, in such heat in my entire life. But, then again I've never had such an amazing time. There's so much to tell that I don't even know where to start-and I obviously won't be able to tell everything but here goes.
When we drove to Egypt we stayed at these little places called Kubbutz. They're basically little compounds where Israelities volunteer to live and it's almost like a law of consecration type idea. Anyways, those were pretty cool-slash had a creepy feeling because it reminded me of the Dharma from LOST (all of you who watch LOST will know what I'm talking about). Also I think I ate Cocao puffs made with sand there. I call them Sandy Puffs. It was really interesting.
We first drove in to Cairo and I never knew how big of a city Cairo is. It also was one of my first encounters with a 3rd world country. It's crazy to think how Egypt used to be the rulers of the Ancient world and now they live in such poverty and have such a lower standard of life. There were just endless rows of buildings with so many floors and it reminded me of seeing a city that had been hit by some nuclear weapon and never been repaired. There was just trash everywhere and people everywhere, it was really something else. I also realized how much we use water and how hard it is to remember not to drink the water when you're showering or brushing your teeth or doing...pretty much anything. The food was not so good at our hotel in Cairo and basically this whole past week I have eaten nothing but carbs and candy. Yum.
So the next day in Cairo we went to the pyramids of Giza and the sphinx. It was so cool to finally see one of the ancient wonders of the world and it has always been a dream of mine to see the pyramids. It was amazing to think that something built 4,000 years ago is still standing. We got to go inside the biggest one and Mom-let's just say you wouldn't have liked it. It was a tiny little shaft that went forever into this sort of bigger room but it was hot and stuffy and dark and I didn't like it very much. Luckily, there's another girl who is kind of claustrophobic like me and we made it through together because I was not about to see they pyramids and not go inside. The sphinx was way cool, smaller than the pictures make it look but still really amazing to see.
Then we flew to Luxor, and Luxor was my favorite city in Egypt. Our hotel there was very nice, and the city was a lot cleaner. We got to go see the Karnak and Luxor temples, and the Karnak temple was my favorite thing to see by far, even more than the pryamids. It's this HUGE temple and it had all these heiroglyphics on it.
We also got to go to the Valley of the Kings, where King Tut's tomb and Hapshetsut's temple are. Another really fun part about Luxor was being able to just go through the city and the Sut or the bazaar. One, the shopkeepers there are CRAZY and when people see us walking through they attack us or see we're american and yell OBAMA!!! Pretty funny. But after we went through the Sut, we went through the local Egyptian bazaar and it was like walking back in time a couple thousand years. There were turkeys and geese and animals walking everywhere, poop and flies everywhere, people just laying in the streets begging for money. It was really sad, but also very very interesting to see their standard of living. One time me and some friends took a carriage ride back to our hotel, yes a carriage ride, and as we were going down one alley a little girl grabbed onto the side of the carriage and grabbed my friend Morgan's leg and just held on and stared at us. She used one hand to point to her mouth and kept asking for just 1 pound. Eventually she let go but I feel like I won't ever forget those eyes or her just looking at us like that. Definitely a different world. In Luxor we also got to go on a felucca or little boat ride and a camel safari along the Nile. This was also probalby a highlight of Egypt. It was sooo dang beautiful and I'm so frustrated I can't figure out how to send pictures because it says the images are too big to send. I really wish you could see, but even pictures don't do it justice. It was also fun because I got to talk with the little boy Ahman who led my camel and I love getting to know the people.
We took a train back to Cairo from Luxor and ohhhhhh boy was that an experience. Once again, mom, you probably would have had a panic attack becaue it was so tiny, but it was also not clean whatsoever. I was excited to ride a train thinking it would be like a Harry Potter type of deal, but let's just say I have hever had a worse night's sleep in my life and I got bed bug bites from lying on the bed. Yes, bed bugs. They do exist.
Back in Cairo we got to go to the coolest museum ever that just has all the treasures from the tombs and a really cool mummy exhibit. We got to see mummies of people like Ramses II that still had hair and even teeth still. It was crazy to look at Ramses and think that those hands could have touched the hands of Moses, maybe even wrestled with him. Soo cool.
Also we got to go through the Cairo bazaar and I met my new best friend. I took a break from walking around to sit down on the curb of this mosque and this dad came up to me and asked if I would take a picture with his daughter. She was so cute, maybe 5 or 6, and peeking out from the legs of her Dad. I was nervous because sometimes they want money for taking pictures, but I took one with her and she seemed so happy. As she was walking away she kept looking back and waving at me. I was sitting there thinking about how cute she was when she came back 2 minutes later and pulled a silver bracelet out of her pocket and handed it to me. I was so touched that I pulled out 2 purses I had bought earlier and asked her which one she wanted. Her dad kept saying "too much, too much" but I let the girl (her name was Mina), pick one and take it. She looked so happy, and I thought her Dad was going to cry. He just kept saying thank you, and the little girl then handed me the rest of her silver bracelets. I gave her a hug and watched her go and the purse was almost as big as her. I know it sounds so simple but that small moment was incredible. I felt so much love just for this stranger I had never met. I kept wondering why out of a whole group of us sitting there her dad wanted me to take a picture with her, and it was probably just random but I couldn't help feeling like I knew that girl or had met her before. I know that sounds weird but, it was a weird feeling. I just can't say enough how much I love interacting with the people here. I like that part of feeling like I'm not a tourist but actually living here.
So, that brings me to our last day. We woke up at 2 in the morning to hike Mt. Sinai and watch the sun-rise. It was really cool hiking up in the complete dark. There were these Bedouins who kept coming out of nowhere and asking if we wanted a camel ride to the top-but no, I resisted and hiked it up all by myself. I know you're all impressed. But when we got to the top we got to sit there and watch the sun-rise and sing hymns and it was one of the most peaceful, humbling and spritual scenes. We got to have a testimony meeting on the mountain as well, and I continue to be amazed at the students surrounding me. Their testimonies were so strong and they are all examples to me I feel like. We also got quiet time-just like a half hour to sit there and write or read or just meditate and do whatever. It was a really cool exprience and I kept thinking about how Moses found out his mission from the Lord on Sinai, and I wanted to find out what misison the Lord has for me. What plans He has in store for me.
So now we're back at the Jerusalem center and I've never been so happy to have clean clothes or be able to brush my teeth with the water in my life. Also, I have a ridiculous amount of studying and homework to do. Boo. Well, I'm sorry this was literally a novel but, like I said a lot happened and I just wanted to share it with you all.
Love you all!!!!!!!
Ok so I LOVE Egypt. I made it back late last night and even better I made it back alive and healthy!!!!! I was blessed enough not to get sick at all but several people in our group did. Anyways, I've never gone off so little sleep, while doing so much, in such heat in my entire life. But, then again I've never had such an amazing time. There's so much to tell that I don't even know where to start-and I obviously won't be able to tell everything but here goes.
When we drove to Egypt we stayed at these little places called Kubbutz. They're basically little compounds where Israelities volunteer to live and it's almost like a law of consecration type idea. Anyways, those were pretty cool-slash had a creepy feeling because it reminded me of the Dharma from LOST (all of you who watch LOST will know what I'm talking about). Also I think I ate Cocao puffs made with sand there. I call them Sandy Puffs. It was really interesting.
We first drove in to Cairo and I never knew how big of a city Cairo is. It also was one of my first encounters with a 3rd world country. It's crazy to think how Egypt used to be the rulers of the Ancient world and now they live in such poverty and have such a lower standard of life. There were just endless rows of buildings with so many floors and it reminded me of seeing a city that had been hit by some nuclear weapon and never been repaired. There was just trash everywhere and people everywhere, it was really something else. I also realized how much we use water and how hard it is to remember not to drink the water when you're showering or brushing your teeth or doing...pretty much anything. The food was not so good at our hotel in Cairo and basically this whole past week I have eaten nothing but carbs and candy. Yum.
So the next day in Cairo we went to the pyramids of Giza and the sphinx. It was so cool to finally see one of the ancient wonders of the world and it has always been a dream of mine to see the pyramids. It was amazing to think that something built 4,000 years ago is still standing. We got to go inside the biggest one and Mom-let's just say you wouldn't have liked it. It was a tiny little shaft that went forever into this sort of bigger room but it was hot and stuffy and dark and I didn't like it very much. Luckily, there's another girl who is kind of claustrophobic like me and we made it through together because I was not about to see they pyramids and not go inside. The sphinx was way cool, smaller than the pictures make it look but still really amazing to see.
Then we flew to Luxor, and Luxor was my favorite city in Egypt. Our hotel there was very nice, and the city was a lot cleaner. We got to go see the Karnak and Luxor temples, and the Karnak temple was my favorite thing to see by far, even more than the pryamids. It's this HUGE temple and it had all these heiroglyphics on it.
We also got to go to the Valley of the Kings, where King Tut's tomb and Hapshetsut's temple are. Another really fun part about Luxor was being able to just go through the city and the Sut or the bazaar. One, the shopkeepers there are CRAZY and when people see us walking through they attack us or see we're american and yell OBAMA!!! Pretty funny. But after we went through the Sut, we went through the local Egyptian bazaar and it was like walking back in time a couple thousand years. There were turkeys and geese and animals walking everywhere, poop and flies everywhere, people just laying in the streets begging for money. It was really sad, but also very very interesting to see their standard of living. One time me and some friends took a carriage ride back to our hotel, yes a carriage ride, and as we were going down one alley a little girl grabbed onto the side of the carriage and grabbed my friend Morgan's leg and just held on and stared at us. She used one hand to point to her mouth and kept asking for just 1 pound. Eventually she let go but I feel like I won't ever forget those eyes or her just looking at us like that. Definitely a different world. In Luxor we also got to go on a felucca or little boat ride and a camel safari along the Nile. This was also probalby a highlight of Egypt. It was sooo dang beautiful and I'm so frustrated I can't figure out how to send pictures because it says the images are too big to send. I really wish you could see, but even pictures don't do it justice. It was also fun because I got to talk with the little boy Ahman who led my camel and I love getting to know the people.
We took a train back to Cairo from Luxor and ohhhhhh boy was that an experience. Once again, mom, you probably would have had a panic attack becaue it was so tiny, but it was also not clean whatsoever. I was excited to ride a train thinking it would be like a Harry Potter type of deal, but let's just say I have hever had a worse night's sleep in my life and I got bed bug bites from lying on the bed. Yes, bed bugs. They do exist.
Back in Cairo we got to go to the coolest museum ever that just has all the treasures from the tombs and a really cool mummy exhibit. We got to see mummies of people like Ramses II that still had hair and even teeth still. It was crazy to look at Ramses and think that those hands could have touched the hands of Moses, maybe even wrestled with him. Soo cool.
Also we got to go through the Cairo bazaar and I met my new best friend. I took a break from walking around to sit down on the curb of this mosque and this dad came up to me and asked if I would take a picture with his daughter. She was so cute, maybe 5 or 6, and peeking out from the legs of her Dad. I was nervous because sometimes they want money for taking pictures, but I took one with her and she seemed so happy. As she was walking away she kept looking back and waving at me. I was sitting there thinking about how cute she was when she came back 2 minutes later and pulled a silver bracelet out of her pocket and handed it to me. I was so touched that I pulled out 2 purses I had bought earlier and asked her which one she wanted. Her dad kept saying "too much, too much" but I let the girl (her name was Mina), pick one and take it. She looked so happy, and I thought her Dad was going to cry. He just kept saying thank you, and the little girl then handed me the rest of her silver bracelets. I gave her a hug and watched her go and the purse was almost as big as her. I know it sounds so simple but that small moment was incredible. I felt so much love just for this stranger I had never met. I kept wondering why out of a whole group of us sitting there her dad wanted me to take a picture with her, and it was probably just random but I couldn't help feeling like I knew that girl or had met her before. I know that sounds weird but, it was a weird feeling. I just can't say enough how much I love interacting with the people here. I like that part of feeling like I'm not a tourist but actually living here.
So, that brings me to our last day. We woke up at 2 in the morning to hike Mt. Sinai and watch the sun-rise. It was really cool hiking up in the complete dark. There were these Bedouins who kept coming out of nowhere and asking if we wanted a camel ride to the top-but no, I resisted and hiked it up all by myself. I know you're all impressed. But when we got to the top we got to sit there and watch the sun-rise and sing hymns and it was one of the most peaceful, humbling and spritual scenes. We got to have a testimony meeting on the mountain as well, and I continue to be amazed at the students surrounding me. Their testimonies were so strong and they are all examples to me I feel like. We also got quiet time-just like a half hour to sit there and write or read or just meditate and do whatever. It was a really cool exprience and I kept thinking about how Moses found out his mission from the Lord on Sinai, and I wanted to find out what misison the Lord has for me. What plans He has in store for me.
So now we're back at the Jerusalem center and I've never been so happy to have clean clothes or be able to brush my teeth with the water in my life. Also, I have a ridiculous amount of studying and homework to do. Boo. Well, I'm sorry this was literally a novel but, like I said a lot happened and I just wanted to share it with you all.
Love you all!!!!!!!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Always check your room number before opening the door
So yesterday I was able to go to Dome of the Rock again, and also to Dormition Abbey which is one of the traditional sites of the ascension of Mary to heaven, and King David's tomb. It's cool because for my OT class we are assigned to go to a bunch of different sites in the city and read the scriptures that happened in those sites. It's really cool because it brings a whole different feel to our religion class, when you read about places that you are literally standing on. It's just amazing how much there is around us.
Ok, and for all of you that were worried that I might actually becoming a mature (pronounced matoor) intellect or something DON"T WORRY. I have yet another awkward moment to prove that yes, I am still the same Amanda. So there are 3 floors of rooms at the center and all the floors look identical. so I went to my room last night and pulled out my key to open the door and it would not fit. I was so confused and getting a little frustrated so I just tried pushing it in harder and making a lot of noise. So all of a sudden the door just opens and there is Brother Wipple, the sweetest old man ever who plays the organ in church just standing in the door and he says "um, I believe you have the wrong room". By the way this was at like 12:30 at night. So I look at the wall and realize I was on the wrong floor. GAhhh...sooo embarassing. So all day I have been trying to hide from him because I am too embarrassed to see him. So classic of me.
Besides, that everything is going awesome. we have a really awesome weekend coming up so I'll be sure to keep all yalls updated on that. Shalom :)
Ok, and for all of you that were worried that I might actually becoming a mature (pronounced matoor) intellect or something DON"T WORRY. I have yet another awkward moment to prove that yes, I am still the same Amanda. So there are 3 floors of rooms at the center and all the floors look identical. so I went to my room last night and pulled out my key to open the door and it would not fit. I was so confused and getting a little frustrated so I just tried pushing it in harder and making a lot of noise. So all of a sudden the door just opens and there is Brother Wipple, the sweetest old man ever who plays the organ in church just standing in the door and he says "um, I believe you have the wrong room". By the way this was at like 12:30 at night. So I look at the wall and realize I was on the wrong floor. GAhhh...sooo embarassing. So all day I have been trying to hide from him because I am too embarrassed to see him. So classic of me.
Besides, that everything is going awesome. we have a really awesome weekend coming up so I'll be sure to keep all yalls updated on that. Shalom :)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Falawesome
Time is moving by so fast here. Let's see, other students said they have been able to upload pictures so I might try to do that soon because there is one of me holding a baby lamb that is just too dang cute not to post. Our first field trip was Monday and we got to go to a bunch of different sites around Jerusalem to get us more familiar with the city. One of the places we went was the Elias Monastery and we met a real shepard and got to hold a baby sheep. Guess it was a good thing I didn't bring my lambchop from home after all, huh Mom. We also got to go to Augusta Victoria cathedral, Nabi Samwil and Haas Promenade. Pics would be ideal in a situation like this, guess I'll just have to captivate everyone with my words. They were really cool....and pretty. That was good right? No really, I'll try to get some pics on here. Also, I started Hebrew today and this class has a very good probability of being my favorite class. I already know a Hebrew song. How great is that. Also I ate my first falafel in the Old City today, and I would like to call it falawesome. That was also the name of my 3v3 basketball team which....didn't win a single game. But we had fun. And we played basketball in the Holy Land. So we're all winners in the end. I start my modern near eastern studies class from a Palestinian teacher and a modern near eastern studies class from an Israeli teacher tonight and I'm way excited. I'm already learning so much so fast, it's amazing. I wish they taught kids in the U.S. more about this stuff because it's really important and we are so ignorant of it. Pues....that's all for now. Shalom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
