I am still here!

I have realized that i havent written in a very long time, and I have been lazy by letting my blogs become picture blogs. I do have to admit that it may happen more then once because it was nice letting the pictures do talking for me.But I am in Mid-term weeks, which is crazy that we have it already and have only been here for a month now, and we are half way through our studies. It is nice because we will be finished with the majority of our classes by march 2 which is our finals. Then after that we will be going to Turkey for a week and Galilee for about 2 weeks. So because of that, I may not have Old city trips or adventures until I get the studying done.
So I feel kinda of lame not having anything fun or exciting to write about, but stay tuned more will come, I promise...

The Jordan River!

Here is my friends David and Cassidy and our amazing tour guide Muhammad. we are in front of the Jordan River. Muhammad would refer to our group as "Tigers" and would always start a lecture with "Ok, Tigers".

I found Indiana Jones in Petra, that is a good sign that I was at the place where the Holy Grail was!! :)

Here is me on my camel infrount of the Treasury with my friend Hailee. It was so much fun riding one and getting up and off the camel. I have a really cool video of it to, that my friend Grace made me.

some roman guards i made friends with...

THis was a little further from the Monastery, and was an overlook of amazing views, the next photo will show a couple..

a view looking down from my climb up to the Monastery.

here is a picture of me at the Monastery, which is the furthest place from the Treasury and took about an hour and half to get to, with about 950 "steps" to climb to get here. The steps are used in a lose term, more like a big step from the last, that is curved into the rock. It was a great hike, a long and hard one but was worth the trip. I really liked the Monastery and I will show some pictures of the view during the hike and other cool sites I was able to see around the Monastery.

Here is a photo of the Treasury coming out of the siq, it was breath taking I could hardly believe my eyes and it was amazing and so wonderful to see. We had to start off a half a mile away to get into the siq, and then the siq is about a mile walk to get to the treasury. Around every curve I would hold my breathe just imagining that this time I will see the Treasury, so I was a little anxious to see it as well. I just couldnt imagine anything so pretty and gorgeous before. The siq was amazing how large the rocks form and it makes sense how this city of Petra has been hidden for so long

Back from Jordan!

Oh my goodness what an experience in Jordan! I loved every moment of it, and would love to go back some time. There is a little difference between the Jordan people and people in Israel. I think one of the differences is that there isn't a huge conflict over holy land there. So it was different to go into an Arabic country and not hear any sort of Hebrew being said.
I did a ton of stuff in Jordan, and I cant really remember all the details so I think I will show photos and talk about each place through that instead. This will also help jog my memory, but also mean that I may not have it all done today and it will be a slow process...

Here I come Petra!!

I am up early in the morning, my bags are packed, I had a delicious breakfast and I am on my way to Jordon!! I wont be on the internet for the rest of the week, so I wont be able to blog and update but just know my dreams of watching Indiana Jones all my life will finally come true!! So enjoy the rest of my blog while I am gone!! Peace out

Cave time

Yesturday we were able to go on an all day field trip. It was a blast!! We started off the day watching these women weave clothing, it was amazing how they do it and how great they were. They do all the work in this compound, including sheering the sheep, getting the wool into thread, dying it and then weaving it. This project was started to keeep the tradition of weaving alive and allowing these women to have income so they can go to school and be educated. The project has been able to raise enough money to send their daughters and other local girls to school as well. It is such an amazing project and its killing me I cant remember the name...but I will find out and update. We then headed to an Israelite temple and an old Canaanite city that was below. It was cool to walk around the ruins and be able to be in the Holy of Holiest place.
The last place we went to was Avgat, which is a huge city the Nabatean people lived in, and these are the same people that built Petra. It was amazing what was there. THey had so many houses, a wine making place, a huge courtyard, two chapels, lookout and then many caves. The caves were awesome, you just look around while descending and find an opening and go inside. There will be a nicely carved arch way and a room where people use to live it. I had a blast in those
Our teacher Bro. Harper showed us the first one and said hey go check this one out. So a group of us went in and saw Bro. Ludlow there as well pointing to where a dark section was. I used my flash on my camera to see inside, and say two figures standing there. I totally thought that they were other people there, that may be hiding from us, but never thought that they were part of our group. I turned around to go tell Ludlow, but then another kid went in and a bunch of people jumped out. Then I knew it was our group and we could hear the next person coming down. So i pretended to just have come in as well and was like "hey come check out this cave with me, it looks really cool". was able to do that about 4 more times to many other people coming down, and it was so much fun. They never doubted me and were allows very willing to come in with me because I had a "light" we could use in there.
I thought that place was amazing, and was just in awe at what these people could create. I am really excited to go to Petra next week and this field trip made me even more excited.
Best part about tonight, we are watching Indian Jones and the last crusade, in order to get ready for Petra as well!

An overview of Herod's Winter Palace, didnt show up with great picture quality..oh well
I think I like doing picture blogs better then written emails.

The very cute children that come to show us their goats at Herod's Palace, and the infamous goats that peed in Herod's courtyard (numerous times)

Here I am in front of a door way to one of the numerous rooms in Herod's Winter Palace, in Jericho

Jericho

Yesterday's adventure lead us to Jericho. We were able to see a huge tel, which is a big mound of dirt that civilizations have built upon other civilizations for a very long time. It was cool to see a piece of the tower that is the oldest man made thing in the world. Dont worry I have pictures but don't think it deserves a blog post by itself...
After that we headed to Herod's winter palace. It was cool to see what is remaining of it and to know and study this King a bit more. Man this man had problems. He was paranoid and believed everyone was out to get him. He killed his kids, wife, brother, brother in laws and a couple of friends because they were out for his throne. While looking at the ruins a little boy and girl with two baby goats came to greet us. Talk about a swarm of cameras attacking these two poor kids. Our teacher and some other students gave them so money, I think it was for their bravery towards us 83 students wanting a picture. I found it funny how our professor was telling us not to step on anything that is from the original piece and to watch this little goat pee on one of the places we should not step on. I bet local kids play all over these structures and we couldnt go into certain places or step in certain areas. Dont worry I totally went in these areas to get the cool pictures, of course when he wasn't looking... heheh
Then we went to see the st. George monastery. I loved all the photos I was able to get and I am so grateful for my camera and the remarkable zooming features it offers.
Well that is for now, lunch is served in one minute and have to get there before the boys..

here is a picture of the George Monastary located on the hills.

Dome of the Rock

Everyday I see the gorgeous building, the Dome of the Rock and have been wanting to go and see it. Today i was able to and I was so excited to be able to go and see it. It is so pretty, I love the details around it and how big and extraordinary it is. I wasn't able to go inside, because i do not practice the same religion, but I enjoyed walking around it and taking some great pictures. I do want to go back with my bigger and better camera and take more shots, but today was a great way to see and explore the site. It is located right next to the western wall, which is a bit ironic. We came to an entrance and was told to go by the western wall. So when we got to the wall I asked for directions to the Temple Mount and was redirected to the bridge that lead to the Temple Dome.
The entrance to one of the holiest places for both religions are placed next to each other. I can understand why it is crucial to have peace and understanding, because if there isnt many people will suffer because of it.
After we went on an adventure to find the Tomb of the Kings. On the way we stopped at a Cathedral and decided to attend a service that was happening. It was a very cool experience and was fun to watch and see different church services. I really enjoyed a man behind me singing because he had an amazing Irish accent and it was so much fun listening to. Then the man infont had a English accent. So its official I really like foregin accents and find them attractive.
The building was amazing, but soo cold, I was frozen and couldnt really pay attention because I was shivering so severely, it wasn't funny.
I have a problem with trying to find conditioner. I asked a man the second day to help me to know which one is shampoo and conditioner. He showed me and picked them out and it turned out to be both shampoo. So for the last two weeks or so I have been using just shampoo and using it as body wash as well. Today i decided I might as well get conditioner from the store. I went and picked one out and made sure it was conditioner and paid for it. When I left my friend Shay double checked it and it said shampoo. I then went back to the store and found what I hope is condition, wont really know until tonight, and asked to trade it in for the other one. Thankfully the store owner agreed and I now officially have Conditioner!! yeah!! had no idea how hard it could possibly be to get some simple conditioner.
Well I have to finish my report on Petra because I am going to Jordan next week, which I am really excited to go and see!!

Center Food

I dont know if I am just getting over being jet lag, or that now I am feeling better I can taste the food, but I love the food here!! In the market it is amazing and in the center it is as well. I have decided that I will still workout and if I gain some weight from the amazing food, oh well. haha Anyway, in the center we have a hot chocolate machine that makes the best hot chocolate ever!! Also they have the hot milk as well, which is so good. It is really sweet and I add some cinnamon on top and it is delicious. It reminds me of the vanilla steamer at Starbucks, and its perfect for the rainy days we have been having the last couple of days.
At morning they have a cream of wheat, it is so delicious. I think they add some sort of cream and honey to it that just is amazing how it is prepared. Then for dessert I usually get a pita bread with nutella on top, which is so good and creamy and helps with any chocolate craving one may have.
Then today at lunch was hummus, and it was so good!! I think there is nothing better then homemade hummus with a warm pita bread.
like I have mentioned, the food here is amazing and I wont hold my self, or stomach back from this amazing food and will just have to go through dieting and working it off later.Not sure how great philosophy that is for someone with a exercise degree, but I got to live it up!

My first Fallafal!!!

I went into the city and bought my very first fallafal off the street corner! It was so amazing and great that I am hooked and want to buy more!! I will have to take a picture of one to show and learn a bit more of this food. Today I was trying to remember to take a picture of me eating one, but I was just so hungry and in a hurry to get back to class that I forgot.
I also was able to get really cute sandals that i love and will have to break in because they are made of leather. I also got my very first BYU Jerusalem sweatshirt that is going to be a great addition to the many layers I wear now for warmth. The center isn't really great in keeping the heat in and with all the stone flooring, it gets kinda of cold. I also got some postcards, so familia look out for some really cool postcards sending your way.
I made some new friends with merchants and got to know them well. I am hoping by having a good relationship they will help me out with some deals and more presents I will be getting there. One of the shop keepers Shabon made me a ring, so he is the first man to ever give me a ring! He told me this is a temporary ring until the man I marry give me a big great one. I thought that was great that he said that a man would get me, keywords, BIG ring! A shop keeper on the way back, asked me if I was Chinese, so that was a new saying that really surprised me.
I was just really glad to be able to get into the city and have a look around and get some food. Every time I go in to the city, I am falling more and more in love with Jerusalem and I feel like I have been here longer then a week! But it has only been really a week long since I have been here, which is crazy!!
Well I got to get to class, but next time, maybe tonight I will have to tell about my adventure exploring underneath the center.

Here is a photo of the Western Wall and to the left is Dome of the Rock. Both are located in the Old City
Here is photos of prayers left in the wall, and a lady adding her's to the wall.

A view from my patio, would get closer but lots of plants in the way, so maybe i will be able to sneak closer when people are not looking... heheh

Recap of the weekend

Sorry I havent written in a bit, homework got to me forcing me to study and read instead of writing in my blog, man school can be demanding..
Well for dad I will mention how church was on Saturday...
we have church on saturday, which is actually lots of fun and kinda of different to get use to since all my life it was on Sunday. Our branch is pretty big for being located in Jerusalem, and there is variety of ages. I sat behind a cute family of four that had two really cute small girls who were about 4 and 5. Also we have a couple of students that attend Hebrew University that will join our Home Evening Group and they are pretty cool people. I met one named Rebecca and she did the Jerusalem program and has graduated college and decided to come and study Hebrew for two years here in Jerusalem. So I bet they may like a couple of more people their ages to be around in the ward. It is fun to look around and see how many people may be from all over the world, here for different reasons. I really enjoyed one ladies comment speaking to us students saying that " we are home and welcomed to be here". I loved it and it helped alot by feeling included in the church and here in this foreign land.
So I got to get to bed, so hopefully I will be able to post tomorrow..
Goodnight!

Wondering around the Old City

Today was a free day, meaning we can go and do anything we want here in Jerusalem. So my friends and I headed out to first get money exchanged at Aladins. When I was at Aladins I found Chelsi Funk’s note she left, and I was so excited to see it and it made me really miss her. Aladin is such a funny guy and really nice to talk with. I hope to get to know him a lot better with all the trips I may make to see him. Then we started our journey to a merchant recommended by the center. I forgot his name right now but will be sure to find it and will most defently be talking about him later on. His shop was a bit hard to find, but we did find it and I was really proud of us for being adventures and using our maps to find his place. The market is huge and packed with all cool stuff with merchants ready to sell it to you for a “very good price” because we are “students and don’t have much money”. Or even “ahh the Mormons, how are you today, come and look at my shop and I give you good price”. It is amazing what they will think of as reasons you should come buy from them.

I did find a lot of really fun stuff I would love to get, and this time I am being responsible and looking at the stuff then writing it down to purchase at a later time hopefully. It was a lot more enjoyable in the market this time because I am feeling a lot better, didn’t have to worry about staying up with my fast teacher and I am less jet lag then before.

We then decided that we wanted to go to the Jewish Quarter because we have spent a lot of time in the Christian quarter and wanted a change. So we just started walking south bound and would take random street alleys, that had a lot going on in them, and found a pathway that lead to the quarter. The Jewish quarter has a lot more space to move around and is a lot cleaner. For they provide lots of trash cans to dispose of trash and there is no sellers along the sides of the streets. We had lunch in front of a big building that I am not sure what it was and then got gelato. It was so good!! I love that stuff and will have to get more for sure. Then we just wanted to explore the city and look for cool stuff to take photos of. On our adventure I found a look out over the Western wall and could see the Dome of the Rock. So we decided to go to the Western wall.

In the western wall, which is the last remaining about of Solomon’s temple, the women and men are separated. As you get closer to the wall you see many women backing up slowly while still facing the wall because you never give your back to it. It was amazing to see the devotion these women have towards the wall and how reverent they were remaining as they were leaving. It made me think how after sacrament meeting, the most important part at church, is followed by socializing and many times I forget about what just happened in the building.

As I got closer to the way, I could see women just crying hard against the wall, hoping that it will support them as they just pour out their soul. Inside the cracks where hundreds of rolled up papers, all with prayer writing. It was amazing to see the women press and try to keep these prayers inside the wall.

After that we toured and got lost and found a school yard of children, but where finally able to find the place where we had gelato. Then we just traveled around and found the Christian quarter and headed back to the Center.

I am so tired, but feel a lot more comfortable in the city and feel like we saw a ton of stuff in one day and I am so excited to go back! Well I am starving so I am headed to dinner.

First Day of Classes

Today we started off the day with two of our classes Old Testament and Near Eastern History. Both classes were two hours long each, which was a bit hard to handle and stay focused during. It was fun though getting back to the lecture and being able to learn history. I am enjoying history more and able to understand it and appreciate the middle eastern history because instead of seeing the areas in pictures I am able to see it in person, which makes the learning and remembering alot more meaningful and lasting.
We were then able to go into the city after 3 but had to return from the Old city before 4:45 which is when the sunsets. So my three girl friends and I went to the local "7 eleven" which was fun to see. They have alot of the same logos of the food that we have but the writing is different. I needed shampoo and conditioner so I found Dove, problem was I didn't know which was shampoo or conditioner because of the Arabic writing.
We then traveled more in towards the city and were able to recognize the city a bit more and knew where to go. It is a great feeling knowing where to go for certain items and not have the fear of being lost.
Well I have to return to studies because the Sabbath day is tomorrow, weird it will be on Saturday instead of Sunday but I am excited for the experience.

Exploring East and West Jerusalem for the first time

Today we were able to visit and walk around East and West Jerusalem, to better know the city that we will be living in for the next four months. We started out early and the weather reminds me alot of San Diego's weather because it has a cool morning but by the afternoon it burns off and was a gorgeous day. For those who may not be really familiar with the layout of Jerusalem, here is a quick recap. The BYU center is on the mount of olives which is in East Jerusalem and many Muslims live in this part of Jerusalem. With the Muslims comes the call of prayer that has huge bells and songs that go off at 3 and 5 am I believe, not for sure because I was trying to get back to sleep but definitely heard them. This part of town is where the center has a very trusted money exchanger that has been used by the center since the 80's. It is a bit crowded at times and many people rushing by. Arab men love to whistle at the girls and get their attention, but I just ignore it. The West side has alot of Jews in it, and has a lot wider streets. Many more shops are a bit high quality and it has a coffee Bean, which i was really surprised to see. The streets are a bit more cleaner and there are alot more European tourists in the area then the East. We are able to stay out longer in the West then the East, which is nice because I will most likely be shopping in those areas.
During our adventure in the East, our group of 8 people were a bit lost and had to stop to look at directions again and the little map provided. While figuring out where to go, the group behind us came along and joined us. We then were looking for a bit and I started following the other group and then my group was gone. Three other guys and I got left behind and decided to stay with the other group that was leaving and didnt want to try to find our group in the busy market place. It was so chaotic and crazy that the decision made was fast with out really figuring out any other way. Well the group that we joined ended up getting lost and had to call the center for directions on where to get out and go to the next stop. Within 4 minutes one of the security men found us, and was a bit out of breath, and we were able to find our other group. We asked the group leader to call ours and he did and we were able to join up with the right group. I just found it interesting how I got lost with all the boys in our group, kinda tells what i was thinking during the time.
From then on, the security men would be everywhere and the only way i could recognize them were their glasses. So i started a game that is called "Where's Waldo", meaning where is the security guards in the city. It is a fun game and its amazing how they knew where all of us where just by knowing the city and what goes on in the city.
These last couple days have been hard because I am trying to fight jet lag, keep up with my studies, try to get to know everyone and know battling what started as a sore throat, to a congested and now a runny nose. I do not enjoy being sick but hope to get over it fast and be able to enjoy this adventure a bit more by being healthy.
Well in order to get better I have to get to bed, so good night!

I made it to the Holy Land

Hello family,

I made it safely to Jerusalem and it is so gorgeous! The buildings and city is unbelievable and I love the center. It is huge and lots of things to do in it, and many stairs to climb. My room is kinda of small to be sharing with three other girls, but I think I will be able to manage. We have a porch and it looks over the city, and I love it and hope to be spending a majority of my time there.

Today we had orientations and got to know our teachers and had a tour of the center. Surprisingly I know the center in one day and understand the format of the place. I give the credit to those crusises we have taken and being able to understand the layout of the ships. So we need take more cruises and be able to develop on this skill for future use to others.

I found out that the organ here has been in use for 25 years on Saturday and there will be a concert to celebrate it. The Mormon Tabernacle organist flew down for the concert and was here and we were able to hear him play. He was amazing and made that organ sound really good.

I mostly just unpacked today and tomorrow we will be touring the Old city. So I am heading off to bed and will hopefully be able to send this email off tomorrow morning after breakfast.

I love you guys and miss you,

Kelsey

Almost there!

Hey I am writing you from JFK airport and have about 4 hours left in my layover, so I thought I might as well write a blog to start this blogging process off strong!! I have been in the plane for about 4 hours flying from SLC and have a 12 hour flight waiting for me before I arrive in Tel Avi. Yesterday during the meeting I found out that the internet connection isn't that strong and I wont be able to post pictures on my blog, unless I go into the city. So this blog will mostly be a written blog, meaning not as exciting as pictures but I think it can serve as a journal as well.
I am getting more excited as we are getting closer to the center, and love the people I am meeting already. I have a really fun group, and everyone is super nice. There are about 50 women and 30 men on this group, which is very similar to BYUI's atmosphere, so nothing new to me. 11 of us in the group are from BYU-I and I am hoping to meet all of them soon. It is kinda of like a scavenger hunt and so far I have met 7 of the 11 including myself, so I am almost there.
As this blog continues I can guarantee you will see many grammar and spelling errors, so if you love me you will forgive and forget :) I will be having a lack of sleep I can tell, which will make these posts even more interesting. Well thats all I can think of writing about now, but please comment if you want to and feel free to email me at any time.
Oh and I wont be able to have access to facebook that much either, if I do go on I will have to be in the city.
So I will blog later!