HURRAH FOR ISRAEL

The adventure has begun. I am in complete awe of this city. But I'm getting ahead of myself - after all, getting here was no small feat. We had a 5 hour flight to New York, a 6-hour layover, a 9.5 hour plane ride to Tel Aviv, and an hour bus ride to the Jerusalem Center. At first, I felt really young compared to the other people on the study abroad, but I can feel that disparity fading with every meal, class, and meeting. Adjusting to the time change has been really hard. I still find myself unable to sleep in past 5 AM and can hardly keep my eyes open from 1-4.I'll adjust eventually.

The first full day here, we split into groups and went on an orientation walk around the Old City for a few hours. I fell immediately in love with Jerusalem. Walking around, I was surrounded on all sides by incredible history, architecture, smells, sounds, art, etc. There is so much to take in. We went into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and I almost started crying I was so overwhelmed by the art and architecture! I was touching graffiti left by the Crusaders! The Holy Sepulchre is really cool because it kind of is a microcosm of Jerusalem itself - a beautiful structure inhabited by many different cultures and religions. We got to explore the Palestinian and Christian quarters, and walked briefly through part of the Jewish and Armenian quarters. 

Today was the first day of classes. I had Old Testament with Brother Woods. Brother Woods is also President Woods - my Branch President. He's from Arcadia, CA and is very very intense. Class was the most interesting class I think I have ever attended. This man knows EVERYTHING and is a walking Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide. This class is going to be really demanding, but I'm ready to dedicate myself to being the best student in this class that I can be. Next, I had Ancient Near Eastern studies with Dr. Seely - my awesome tour guide for the orientation walk in the Old City - and that class was overwhelming as well! There is so much to learn! Its a good thing I love history and love to read. After, we had more orientation meetings. I swear the meetings are endless. I'm on the Library/Arab Night Committee, which means that I help people find books in the Library for their papers or if they want more information on an upcoming field trip, I re-stack the books when people use them, and I help set up and organize our Arab Culture Night. Which sounds lame, but apparently its a big deal. So, once a week, I go to "work" at the Library - more quiet study time and familiarity with extra resources for me! After meetings, I headed to go explore the Old City more with a girl named Jenna and a guy named Daniel. Jenna knows Stacey Hatch! They were in the same stake in Texas. I felt more oriented today and we went to some of the "steps of Christ" (places in the Old City identified by the Catholic church as part of Christ's crucifixion - for example, the place where He fell the first time or the place where Veronica wiped Christ's face), saw an amazing view of the whole city from the top of the Austrian Hospice, got a falafel (AND A COKE HALLELUJAH), and walked all through the market streets. I have yet to buy anything... I'm not yet confident the the Boss Genes are strong enough in me to channel my mother's bartering powers. And there are so many options! How do you choose one vendor over another a couple streets away?! I'm sure I will learn the ways of the Force (I MUST GO PRO. I must learn their hwaayyss). Anyway, it was a great day.

Brother Woods made an excellent point today that I want to keep in mind not only during my time in Jerusalem, but for the rest of my life. He talked about sifting his practices through the gospel, as opposed to sifting the gospel through his practices. I need to look at everything I learn here with a spiritual lens and allow this time of intensive learning to really prepare me to serve a mission. My papers are submitted in 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS EVERYONE. 

May the Force be with you. 
Gracie

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