How to get rid of squatters

Thursday morning, I woke up and found a girl I didn't know sleeping on my couch. I didn't think much of it, since I have been known to have sleep overs in the living room. In fact, I just had one last night. Anyway, I figured she was a friend of Brittany's and maybe went to the concert with her the night before. Brittany didn't get in until after 2am. When Brittany left for work, the girl was still there. In fact, she asked if I had an extra clean towel, and took a shower and everything. A little later I was making breakfast, and I asked where she was from. She said she was from Heaven, and wasn't about to offer any other information. That's weird. She also told me her name was Plauci. So then, she started doing Brit's laundry, in return for letting her sleep here. She had to go run some errands, so she left a little before I did. When I came home, two of my room mates, Catherine and Heather, and my relief society president, Tamara, were in my kitchen talking about this girl. When my room mates found out that Brittany didn't know her, they called the Bishop to see what they could do, or where they could take her. Tamara had been waiting all afternoon in our apartment for her to come back. All her stuff was still in our living room. Apparently Brittany didn't know her at all. She came home and saw the girl on the couch in our lobby. Brittany figured she was locked out of her apartment somewhere in our complex. But she wasn't. She was just sleeping there. Apparently she sleeps there often now that its cold outside. She doesn't have an apartment, she doesn't go to school, she doesn't have a job. She's a wanderer, trying to find herself. She reads preach my gospel a lot. At least 3 hours a day from what I observed. And you can't even see that her copy of it has margins because she has written everywhere in them. From what we can tell, she grew up in the church, but has been away for a while until recently. She says her parents are in Salt Lake, but she can't stay with them. Even that is iffy. Most of the time when asked about where her family was, she said "I have family everywhere."
After dinner group, I left with my friend Amelia, Heather went to school, and Catherine and Tamara had tithing settlement. So we left our apartment locked and deadbolted. About 8:30, I got a call from a number I didn't know, but I thought it might be Tamara because it was a 702 number. I answered, and it was the homeless girl!!!!! I was a little freaked out by that, but I figured she just borrowed someone's phone and a ward directory. She wanted to know when we were going to be home. I called Heather, but she was still at class. When we got there, I didn't know what else to do, so I let her in. She had to get her stuff anyway. I ran in the back and called Catherine from Heather's closet so that I wouldn't be overheard. She said that she and Tamara would be right back, so Amelia and I just waited. Plauci still thought she was gonna spend another night on our couch. When Cathering and Tamara got back, they sat down and explained that Plauci couldn't stay because it would be against our housing contract, and we would have to pay fines. They asked if she had anywhere else to go. She pulled out a number for a "friend of a friend" and called them. Tamara and Catherine drove her to the address, which ended up being an assisted living home. So, that's how our apartment kicked out a homeless girl.
Later that night, some of Brittany's friends were decorating for her birthday. We were recounting our tale, and one of them said , "She sounds exactly like the girl I replaced in the Elms. The one who got evicted because she was schizophrenic." Her name was Delores, but I'm pretty sure that was the last name she gave when she talked to the assisted living place. So it might be the same girl after all. And it makes the story even better if the homeless girl on my couch was also schizophrenic.

First Concert of the Year

I LOVE CONCERT WEEKENDS!!!!!!!!!! They are my very favorite weekends of all. Do you know why? Because every time, no matter how unsure we might be the day before a concert, we find that our preparation pays off. I love sharing music that I love with an audience of fellow students, friends, family, and teachers of the choir members. I'm so glad that some of my very best friends we able to come! I love sharing the peace that I feel when I sing. I love being a part of something so beautiful. You might say it was worth the wait. It was definitely worth the perseverance. It is probably even worth the past disappointments. The highlight of this concert was the Pilgrim Song. I LOVE that song. I heard it first in high school, and have waited years to sing it with the BYU choirs. Now I have, and will many more times before the school year is over. Life is beautiful. This week we are jumping into even more beautiful music, getting ready for our next concert in November.

School is cool

So I'm getting into the swing of campus life. I had my first paper due today, so I wrote it this morning in true Meagan fashion. It was an easy one. Basically, the topic was perspective, and I could write whatever I wanted about my own insights from class, or the book, or life, etc. That was for my temporal welfare in the home class, which basically follows the outline of providentliving.org. And those taking the class are taking it because we fell in love with Dr. Israelsen when we took his family finance class. That really is the reason, because we had no clue what kind of class this was going to be.

Women's chorus started on friday, and I was instantly reminded how much I love it. Plus, I'm sitting by all my favorite people and some new favorite people. And our music is gorgeous as always. Our first concert is two weeks from tomorrow, so I imagine things might get a little stressful before then. Personally, I love it when choir gets stressful. I wouldn't mind if it was like that all the time.

I found out today that one of my teachers whose class I actually got an A in is looking for a TA. And it's a class in my major. The marriage prep class, to be exact. So, I emailed Dr. Carroll and I hope I'll hear from him soon. Not that I really know what a TA does besides grade papers sometimes, but maybe it would be good to find out. And I would have a job, 15 hours a week. And it would be INFINITELY better than custodial at 5am. Let's see, what do I have going for me? I'm a senior, hfl major, graduating in april, I loved his class, got an A in his class, and aparently my papers in his class were brilliant enough to get full credit, which means I definitely know what kind of papers he is looking for. I might even still have those papers. Plus it's all fresh in my mind because I just had it before I went to Jerusalem. Granted, my gpa is not really brilliant overall or in my major. But I'm definitely interested in the subject material. lol. So lets hope I at least get an interview.

Something different in store for me

Time is going ridiculously slow right now. It needs to go faster. I don't have class until 4:30, but I came up to campus for Singer's callbacks, for which I've been excited since last Tuesday. I wanted to see how many were on the final callback list when all the returning singers were added, so I went and looked at it. To my surprise, my name was gone. I wish I had known that before I left for campus. I did it again. I let my hopes up way too high, when I knew it was a mistake. This was a big dream for me, and that was my last chance. I wish I'd at least gotten to sing in callbacks, but apparently there is something else in store for me this year. I can't imagine what might make me as happy as being in Singers would have, but I hope I find it soon. What am I going to do with myself? I really am ok, just like I prayed I would be, but I feel this emptiness that needs to be filled. I'm not mad at myself really, because I did the best I could. I'm certainly not mad at Dr. Staheli because I don't think I can find that in me. I just really need something I can give myself to so that I can heal faster. Maybe this is a bigger deal to me than it should be, but it's too late to change that now. I can't help how much I have come to love Singers. I'll still be found there nearly every day, even if it hurts for a while. And I guess it's not like I won't be singing. I just have to get through more callbacks and then it can all start. I hope I can put my heart in it, because if not, it wont work. It's hard to give my best to what I don't want most.

Back to school

Hey look, I'm posting! I got back to Provo on Wednesday and moved right into my new apartment. Becca and I had a good drive here, and it was really fun until Enrique Iglesias got stuck in the CD player. He's still there. Not that Enrique is all that bad, but I really only listen to him when I've listened to everything else in the CD case. Becca and I drove down to Provo through Heber City and Provo Canyon instead of I-15. It was a pretty drive, and I'm convinced that it was shorter, but that might just be because every other time I've made it to I-15 on this trip, it's been rush hour.

I love my new apartment. It feels so... new. Clean. Open. Light. All those things I was missing at my old apartment. And aparently my room mate is buying a used 65 inch tv tomorrow. Yeah, thats right. 65. Thats as tall as I am. Although right now I miss my friends at my old apartment. I went to their ward bonfire last night, and that was pretty fun. I went to my ward today, and really liked it. There are even a few familiar faces from the BC. My bishop is great, and I'm looking forward to talking to him this week. I met a boy who went to Jerusalem summer term, and was in brother Ostler's class. When he found out I was there, he asked to see my earrings because he knew they would be from Imahr, and they were. Lol. I've heard that this ward does dinner groups, and that is definitely a necessity. I love dinner group.

I have felt so popular this weekend. I went to a Jerusalem reunion in Salt Lake on Friday night, which I thought was in Provo, but I was wrong. I didn't leave until after midnight, but some of my friends offered to come back in my car so that I wouldnt fall asleep. Good thing too because I couldn't find the detour, and we were lost for a while. Saturday morning just after I woke up, Sadie called to invite me to a Nauvoo breakfast, and I got to see lots of my very favorite people. Saturday afternoon was the first homegame, and I sat with Sadie and saw a couple of other friends there. Saturday night I decided to go to the BC ward bonfire with my old room mates. Pretty sure I've never partied that much in a single weekend, and I may never again.

New Layout

So, I decided it was time for a change. I like green, and I like Niagara Falls, so this seemed like a good choice. It may change again if I find something I like more in the next few days. You may have noticed the lack of writing on my blog... that's because nothing has happened. Ok, not nothing, nothing, but nothing comparable to seeing the pyramids or reinacting Indiana Jones or seeing the sun set over jerusalem. But there has been lots of swimming going on and reading too. Lots of reading. Some babysitting, here and there. I'm crocheting a blanket for my friend who is having a baby this week. There may be a family trip to Kings Dominion in the not to distant future. Yesterday I was on my grandpa's boat, and we caught fish. Yes, I touched them. But there are no pictures. I haven't taken any pictures since I got back to America the beautiful. I'm really excited to get back to provo for my last year at BYU. This is theoretically the last time I will ever be moving to Provo, but who knows what the year brings. Becca and I head on our annual byu roadtrip on sunday the 24th, because we don't want to leave on the 25th. That's the only reason, basically. We want to go see Kristi in Minnesota, but Dad says no way. We'll see what we can do about that, but my hopes are not high. Sorry Kristi. Maybe you could come meet us somewhere? (like Nauvoo... which is only 2 hours out of the way, and not a whole day. Lol.) So anyway, that's my summer life post Jerusalem.

The last of the pictures!

So, now that I'm slightly settled I had a little time to get up the rest of my best of pictures onto facebook, so I'm adding the links. So ends the days of my Jerusalem blog. It may be time for a blog makeover, but don't hold your breath. Enjoy the pictures! Thanks for reading about my many adventures.

Galilee pictures!

Just to let you know, I have finally finished getting the best of my galilee pictures onto facebook! Enjoy... and as soon as I get home there will be still more where those came from :)

The end is too near

So, I only have 3ish days left in the beautiful Jerusalem center. This afternoon our finals will be over with, then we are off to Bethany to see the tomb of Lazarus. Tomorrow we will be walking roughly 6 miles over the course of the day, for the "Last week walk", commemorating the last week of the Savior's life. Wednesday is a free day, and I assume that most of us will spend all day in the old city, maybe eating falaffel for lunch AND dinner. Who knows. We just won't want to leave. I doubt that anyone will sleep much that last night, especially since our plane leaves at 6:55am on thursday... which means we'll leave here before 4am for sure. Why would we want to waste our time with sleep? Wish me luck on finals... its time.

Strengthened faith in humanity

So, the coolest thing EVER happened to me yesterday. I was walking up the hill on my way back from the Old City, and we stopped at Lana's as usual to get a drink. Lana's is the last place I could remember having my camera before Galilee, and I couldn't think of anywhere else it would be. But I didn't think he would have found it, let alone saved it. But I asked him anyway, and he had it! He's been keeping it in his safe for almost 3 weeks incase on of us came to claim it. I was so excited, and so grateful. I honestly didn't think it would be there. So, that's my story about how Abdul the shopekeeper at Lana's gave my faith in humanity a giant boost. Life is beautiful.

Jordan!

So, I loved Jordan. I don't know if that's because I was only there for a few days, so I didn't have the chance to experience something I didn't like about it, but I really did enjoy it. Petra was awesome, and there isn't really any other way to describe it. Except in pictures. There will be pictures, but it may not be until I'm home. Let's be realistic. But it will get done fast when I get home, thanks to laptops and US high speed internet. Anyway, I rode a donkey up to the monastery at Petra, and it was quite the experience. I was actually really stressed out, but I'm glad I didn't have to walk up those 900 steps. I felt so bad for that donkey, when I wasn't afraid he would just turn and step right off the cliff. It was so hot in Petra, and I was definitely ready to go back to the hotel after almost eight hours of exploring. Actually, I was done after coming down from the monastery, but it was totally worth it.

Masada, the Dead Sea, and Qumran

This is what I did for dad's birthday after I called him :) It was 5am when I called, but it wasn't quite his birthday yet at home. I figured I would be more likely to talk to him the night before.
We arrived at Masada at 8am, and it was already too hot. We too the tram to the top, which was definitely worth it. It would have taken forever to climb, even though Nicole says we were cheating. We saw that ancient siege ramp that the Romans built, which was pretty darn impressive. Aparently there is a movie that was filmed on sight using the same ramp and everything. The siege machine that they built for the movie is still down there. I don't think I'll ever watch it though, because its one of those 4 hours long war movies, and it just doesnt sound like something I need to see.
After we got all hot and sweaty at Masada, we went to the Dead Sea for a swim. It was so wierd. I felt like a basketball in the swimming pool. I got some water in my eye, and I thought it might kill me. Luckily, I didn't taste any. I saw people just dive in, and they totally regretted it. A bunch of my friends smothered themselves in Dead Sea mud, but I chose to be the bystander with the camera. Maybe if it wasn't so hot out I would have rolled in the mud, but I felt gross enough as it was. I don't even have a picture of myself floating in the dead sea, which I do regret, but not that much. The shower afterwards was the most amazing shower of my life.
Our last stop of the day was Qumran. We were all glad that it didn't last long, because we were so dead tired. Qumran was where the dead sea scrolls were found, and we were lucky enough to have brother Seely with us, who actually is one of the editors of the dead sea scrolls. Go figure. Our teachers are amazing. They don't even tell us half the cool stuff they do. I did get a picture of myself at Qumran with Brother Seely. And I shook his hand, because once he actually touched part of a scroll because it got blown to the floor. It was between sheets of butcher paper, but his life motto is TOUCH EVERYTHING. So we do.

Galilee the rest

When we weren't visiting churches or going on crazy hot hikes, we were back at the Kibbutz, getting in as much swimming as we possibly could. The lifeguard was only on duty from 1 to 5, so on the days we weren't fieldtripping, I was in the water the whole time. Just like I would be at the beach at home. It was always so calm when we started, not a wave in sight. At about 3pm, the wind would start to kick up, and the waves got big fast. They were almost big enough to body surf on the very last day.
The best days were the last two when each class took turns with only a half day fieldtrip, so we were all together for swimming time. The rest of the week it seemed we hardly saw the other class. We didn't even go to church together.
On our way home from Galilee, we stopped in Sepphora, where the Seelys performed on an ancient stage. Ok, the stage wasnt ancient, but the rest of the theatre was. They got their family theme song stuck in my head for the rest of my life, so I'm going to share it with you. Just one verse though. I really need to ask the Seelys for the rest, because it's a great song. Sung to the tune of Far Far Away on Judea's Plains.

* You need to know first that a tell is basically a hill with ruins on top. There are lots of layers of cities that have been built and destroyed and built again.

We're the Seely family
and they won't give us a bus
Because they know we'd take it
to Beirut and Damascus

What the tell, What the tell
What the tell are we climbing?
Rocks and boulders, oh how swell!
Climb another hill!
Oh what the tell!

Our t-shirts for this semester are going to say "what the tell tours" on the front. I love the Seelys.

Galilee May 28 - June 3

That last post was way longer than I was expecting it would be... I promise this is only a very small part of what I wrote in my journal these days. So, now I've decided that you are just going to get the super highlights. If you want more details after you see my pictures of Galilee, I'll be happy to give them.
Galilee definitely earned its place in my heart as one of my favorite places on earth. The fact that we spent a week and a half living 200 feet from its shore almost seems like a dream to me. I loved every moment. Ok, maybe not every moment. It got really hot in the afternoons, and I often wondered "what the tell are we climbing?" haha... I'll explain that in a minute.
One of my favorite things that we did was to cross the sea of Galilee on a sail boat. Ok, it wasn't a real sail boat. It was for tourists, and it was motorized. But it was still cool. We stopped in the middle to have a devotional, where we read the story about Peter walking to Jesus on the water. Then we sang, Master the Tempest is Raging, right there in the middle of where it all happened. Sister Ostler requested that a few of us sing Each Cooing Dove, which is a song in the old hymnbook about Galilee. I sang with Jen, Camille, and Deborah. It's a very pretty song, and I put a copy of it in my journal. We got to sing it again in the Tiberias branch on Shabbat, and we were more prepared that time. Aparently it was President Hunter's favorite song, and the older members of the branch remember how he used to ask them to sing it when he came to visit.
My favorite churches that we visited were on the Mount of Beatitudes, and Mount Tabor, which is the traditional Mount of Transfiguration. They were very well taken care of, and beautifully and simply decorated. I don't like the chruches that are so full of ornaments and shrines. They make me feel crowded. Another favorite place was Capernaum, where Peter's house was. Jesus spent a lot of time there, and probably stayed mostly in Peter's home. Christians have been using that site as a church since the very beginning.
Something I really liked about all the sites we visited was that we stopped to have a short devotional given by students about what happened there, or in a place like it. We would also sing a hymn or two, and that was expecially cool in all the churches, where the sound was amazing.

Galilee! May 25 and 26

We left early as usual to be on our way to Galilee. On the way, we stopped first at Caesarea, right on the Mediterranian sea. It was gorgeous. We saw the hippodrome and an amphitheatre built by the Romans. They were getting ready for some kind of concert or something, because there were wires and speakers all over the stage. Otherwise we would have done some performing of our own for each other. That had to wait for later in the week.
Our next stop was Megiddo, also known as Armageddon. So, when the final battle happens, I'll be able to say that I've been there. All it is right now is a bunch of farm land. It's quite an unassuming place, but more battles have been fought there than any other place on earth.
I had my very first falaffel for lunch that day, and it was so good! Part of the fun was the guy making them. He was throwing the falaffel balls everywhere and he caught every one, even behind his back.
Next we stopped in Nazareth. We went to the church of the Annunciation, and I actually really liked it. There were paintings of Mary and Jesus from most nations of the world displayed around the courtyard and inside the church. It was a beautiful church, inside and out.
When we got to Galilee, most of us ran straight to the water. Not to swim, of course, because we aren't allowed to "put our big toe in the water" unless there is an israeli lifeguard on duty. Truth be told, most of us had our feet in the water because we interpreted "don't swim without a lifeguard" as we were ok as long as we werent in our swimsuit. I watched the sunset and saw Tiberias appear on the other side of the sea after the sun went down. It was gorgeous.
The next day we went first to Hazor, where there is a huge archeological site. We walked through both the Canaanite temple and the Israelite temple that used to be there, as well as an israelite house.
Next we went to Tell Dan, and we walked through a national forest. It was so pretty and green! Definitely different scenery that we are used to here. It is brought to life because of the spring where the Jordan river begins. I loved the hike because it was in the shade. From the top of the tell, we could see Lebanon.
We also went to Nimrod's fortress, which was huge! It was so much fun to explore because there was something new around every corner. It was so high, and so windy. We could see the Golan Heights from the highest tower.

Egypt pictures!

So, the long awaited Egypt pictures are finally ready! And believe it or not the Galilee ones might be up tomorrow. Maybe even tonight when I get home from the synagogue. We'll see. I hope you enjoy them! Also... I promise to update my posts tomorrow. There's lots to write, and I'm going to break it up into days this time instead of writing a huge post.

The Shepherd's Field

Yesterday I ventured past the separation wall into the West Bank (with my class of course) and went to Bethlehem. We went to the church of the Nativity, which was really crowded, by people and decoration. I watched people kiss the 14 point star that marks "the spot" where Jesus was born, and saw THE mangier. Just like on the history channel. I'm not sure if all of you can tell how silly I think that is. It's a nice thought, I guess.
The best part of our Bethlehem trip was the shepherd's field. We drove out to a hill just a couple of miles from Bethlehem and at our dinner, then listened to stories about the birth of Jesus and sang Christmas hymms. I sang with two different groups, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and Mary's Lullaby. As we listened to the program, we watched the lights come on and the stars come out over the little city. It was really beautiful. That's where my mind will be every Christmas from now on.
Tomorrow I am going to Galilee, and I'll be gone for 10 days. You've noticed that my hopes of putting up pictures for Egypt did not come true, and it looks like they wont until I'm back from Galilee. My camera is lost currently, but I do have the pictures. I'm just missing the ones from Hezekiah's tunnel, which was also awesome. Hopefully its upstairs in the lost and found, but I haven't looked yet. Neverfear, there will still be pictures from Galilee. I have another camera that I brought, but it's not as good. Especially inside. Please pray for me that I'll find the other camera, and stop being sick. I'll write again when I get back!

Egypt!

I have sooo much to tell, but we'll see how far I get. I'm not feeling well, and there is no such thing as free time this week. I have 3 finals and a midterm. On top of my huge readings as usual. I took a great nap today because our fieldtrip was cancelled, but I still feel sick and could go to bed early.
Last night I got back from Egypt. I was only there for a week, but it felt like forever. I felt like I was in a dream, seeing all the wonders I'd only read about and seen pictures of. But now I have my own pictures! Don't get your hopes up on seeing them too soon. Unless I find a shortcut. Like my room mates laptop. Maybe. But once again, it takes forever, and I have no time at all.
Our first stop was Beer Sheba, which was pretty cool. We saw a well that dates back to at least Solomon's time, but it might well be the one that Abraham dug there. I took pictures of the kind of land where Abraham would have lived with his family. The first night we slept at a kibbutz only 5 minutes from the Israeli/Egyptian border. We wanted to be first in line for border crossing in the morning. And we were. It went pretty smoothly as far as border crossings go around here. Not so much for the way home.
We drove across the Sinai peninsula and took the tunnel under the Suez canal. I was a little disappointed not to see the canal, but you can't see everything can you? When we arrived in Cairo, all I could see for miles was the Projects, which are constantly under construction. That is such a dirty city. And my favorite part was their driving philosophies. My teacher asked our bus driver about the lines on the road, and he said "what lines? Oh... those are for decoration." And we realized in the next few days that he wasn't kidding. I had to close my eyes while we were driving anywhere, because it really stressed me out to watch. Lots of things stressed me out on this trip. Stay tuned. Our first glimpse of the pyramids in Giza was quite the experience. We all took pictures out the bus window.
Tuesday we drove 2 whole minutes to the pyramids first thing in the morning. We all got out at the Cheops pyramid (the biggest one) to take pictures. Those of us who climbed a little too far got whistled out by the Egyptian police. I didn't go that high. I like climbing things, but getting down is a different story. We went inside Khefrin, the next biggest pyramid, and it was so hot and gross in there. I'm glad I went in, because who can say they climbed inside one of the great pyramids? But it was just an in and out thing. There's only one small room in the middle, and you have to duck through the longest tunnel to get there. It smelled, but not as badly as I was expecting. We couldn't take pictures on the inside, so you wont have the joy of seeing how squished we were. That same day we saw some giant statues of Ramses II in Memphis, which was his capital. We also saw the step pyramid at Saqqara, and went inside a really old pyramid that now looks like a pile of dirt on the outside, but the inside was really nice. There were writings all over the walls from what is now the text in the book of the dead. That night we flew out of Cairo International Airport to Luxor. That was an experience. Talk about lack of airport security. We didn't even have to have our own tickets. I was Jen Lee for the night. We took a bus thing out to the plane and climbed a staircase onto it, which I don't ever remember doing before. The flight was only about an hour. When we got to our hotel in Luxor, I was really excited to discover the view of the Nile from my balcony. It was even better in the morning.
The next day we started early again to try and beat the heat. We took a carriage to the temple at Karnack and our tour guide, Rifak, told us about it for nearly two hours. We were so hot and tired by the end that we weren't motivated to take many pictures during our free time. It was really cool, but I was sooo tired. By the time we got off the carriage at the Luxor temple, i was already done. I wanted badly to soak in all the information Rifak was giving, because he really is an excellent tour guide, but I was exhausted. I went home and took a nap, praying that I would feel much better by 3, when we left for our faluka ride across the Nile to our camel safari. I did feel much better, and I was so glad, because the afternoon was amazing. I rode a camel through the neighborhoods of Luxor for almost an hour, and it was something I wont forget. I could hardly wait to get in the pool back at the hotel.
Thursday in the middle of the night, I woke up so sick. I wont write all the details, but as Dr. Hayes would say, I had the full experience in Egypt. Don't ask me what I ate, because I dont know. I was totally following all the rules. Maybe I should have brushed my teeth right after getting out of the pool or something. I felt a little better when I woke up, but I didnt dare eat breakfast. As soon as I got on the bus, I knew I should have stayed in bed. I let the Seely's know I was feeling badly, and Sister Seely walked with me to make sure I was ok in the valley of the kings. Good thing too. I lasted about 3 minutes on my feet, then she helped me find a bench to listen to the rest of Rifak's lecture before we went into the tomb of Tutmose III. I went down into the tomb with everyone, and I was so amazed by the colors on the wall! More than 3000 years old, and still so brilliant! I lasted there another three minutes, and then I felt so sick that I was afraid I wouldnt make it out. Sister Seely led me to lean over the railing while she called for Brother Seely, and I almost passed out, but not quite. It was probably like last summer in Hershey park, except I remember the whole thing. The Seely's led me out of the tomb as soon as I could walk again, and we found a place for me to lie down in the shade. Someone went to find me a sprite, and brother and sister Seely and sister Ostler all took turns staying with me while everyone else was in the next 2 tombs. I should have told someone to take a picture, because I really want to know what I look like when this happens since everyone tells me its so scary. By the time my class went into king Tut's tomb, I thought I could make it, so sister seely took me to the front of the group and I saw it really fast. His mummy is actually in there on display, which is pretty cool. The rest of the day I stayed on the bus. Back at the hotel I packed as fast as I could feeling the way I was, then I slept in one of the rooms we were keeping until we left the hotel at 6. I was so achey. It was just like the flu. I was not excited about getting on a train all night. But I felt a little better by the time we actually got on the train. I hadn't eaten anything but bread all day, and I was sooo hungry, but not hungry enough to risk Egyptian train food. I was scared enough of the disgusting curtains, and I didn't dare sleep under the bedsheets. I was freezing the whole night. I slept under my scarf.
By morning I was pretty much back to normal. Just tired like everyone else. We had sacrament meeting in the conference room at our hotel, which was interesting because we would get in serious trouble if they knew that's what we were doing. We couldnt even use the word church outside that room. I sang with a group of about 12 for the musical number, and I was glad to be feeling well enough to do that. Next we went to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, which was really cool, but most of us were too tired to fully appreciate it. I did take time to see the royal mummy rooms, where 22 ancient egyptian kings and queens are on display. I saw all of king tut's treasure, which is huge. I don't know how it fit inside his tiny tomb. I can only imagine how it would have been multiplied if he had lived to be king more than nine years. Next, we had an unimpressive lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, then went to the worlds largest Bazaar to shop. We only had an hour and a half, and I was with 7 other people who kept stopping. I didn't buy anything, and it was just an overall stressful experience. I didn't like the bazaar in Luxor either. I'll choose shopping in the old city any day, because what I have to endure to get cheaper prices in Egypt is so not worth it.
Yesterday we travelled forever to get home. It took hours to cross the border. Then our bus was late. A bunch of kids jumped in the red sea as soon as we crossed to wait. When we finally drove to Eilat, it was so short that I thought we should have walked. Snorkling was cool for like 5 minutes, but the water was sooo choppy. You know I'm not one to have a problem with choppy water usually, but it was really deep, and I was trying to breath through a tube. It stressed me out. So I took it off and did my best to swim back to the platform. It really was gorgeous. I didn't take many pictures, but i'm sure I'll steal one from my friends. When that was over, it was 4 more hours to the Jerusalem Center. I wished I could sleep on a bus, but I cant. And my ipod was dead too. I sang with Camille for a while. We sang all of the combined choir songs we knew since she was in concert choir this last year. Then we started on spirituals, since she had a Moses Hogan book in her backpack, and we tried to remember what we could of the singers CD, I Believe this is Jesus. Then I went back to my seat and tried to sleep as best I could. We were sooooooooo happy to finally see Jerusalem on the horizon. And to eat fruit. I was excited to sleep in my bed, but I only got 4 hours. Thats a different story.
This is a really long post, and I'm going to bed. Hopefully there will eventually be pictures. I love you! Have a beautiful day!

More pictures tonight, I promise!

So, I'm working on the next batch of pictures right now, because I know for a fact that I wont want to catch up on all this when I get home from Egypt. I'll want to catch up on Egypt!
Last night I went to the Western Wall of the temple in Jerusalem to welcome Shabbat. Wow. There were so many people there! And they were all so excited about it. How could they not be? It really was a beautiful site. I went right up to the wall. After that, a bunch of groups started singing hymns in Hebrew, and I wished I had a songbook to follow along. I caught maybe a third of the words with my awesome Hebrew skills. All of the girls from the Jerusalem Center joined in the dancing and singing as much as we could. It was a blast! I want to go back.
Tomorrow morning, bright and early I leave for Egypt! I think breakfast is at 5am. I'm working on packing, and I probably should write my paper on Islam festivals before I leave. I finished my entire fieldtrip manual this afternoon, while I was waiting for it to be late enough in the morning to call mom :) I've been waiting all week, because I knew I wouldnt be able to call on Mother's Day. Today was funny, because it's saturday, but it's the sabbath, but tomorrow is Mother's Day, but only in America. We ended up hearing about mothers in sacrament meeting though, so I guess it's still mother's day? Either way, I was excited about it. So, Happy Mother's Day! You'll hear from me again when I get back from Egypt!

Spulunking!

So, there are more pictures on the way, but I probably wont finish them tonight because I'm watching a movie for my Judaism class. Today we had a super long fieldtrip, and we saw so much. We went to a bunch of biblical sites where there are archeological digs. Not active ones, but they still look cool. We went to Lachish, which was the most important city that Senaccherib took. Maybe later i'll bring my scriptures up here with me and give you some kind of idea about what that means. We went to the valley of Elah where David slew Goliath. We went to a bunch or really cool caves, and I climbed through this really tight tunnel for about 20 yards. And experienced total darkness, which I thought I'd never see again. It was a great day, but I got sooo dirty, and I'm sooo tired! 3 days til Egypt!

Shopkeepers

The other day my room mate and I decided to go up to the Old City to browse the shops. It was so much fun! I'm continually amazed at how many of the shopkeepers know and love us. Dozens of times as we walk through the crowded streets we hear, "Hello Mormons! Special deal for BYU!" It's not like we walk around in byu gear either. In fact, most of us don't use our backpacks or wear our tshirts in the old city on purpose. And we hide our student ids too. Someone asked one of the shopkeepers the other day how they knew that we were from the Jerusalem Center, and he said, "Its in your face. In your eyes." So I guess that story is true. We just don't always notice that in ourselves, but it's pretty obvious to others.
My favorite shopkeepers so far are Imar and Shabban. Imar was so excited to see us. He said, "special deal for mormons! 5 sheckels for any pair of earrings in my store!" And that is a good deal.. its like $1.50. He says he's visiting Sandy Utah next month, and he really loves mormons. He even stepped outside to finish his cigarette because he knows we dont like it. Shabban must have chased us halfway down the street before someone stopped us to introduce him. He led us to his shop and gave us juice, because he knows we wont drink tea. He sells leather scripture cases with the jerusalem skyline on them, and liahonas made of olive wood, among other mormon-centered things. He's very nice, and he's been a friend to BYU students for decades.
Well, I better go do some homework. I just found out that our Islam class is cancelled because our teacher is from the West Bank and the border was just closed, so I'm gonna go draw a couple maps that are worth 25% of my grade.

The first 3 days

So, I planned on bringing my journal up and just quoting from it, but I left it in my room. My first walk through the Old City was so overwhelmingly amazing. I loved walking through all the shops in the Muslim and Christian quarters. The spices smelled amazing as we walked by. There were so many colors and smells and sounds. I'll be back many many times, even if it is just to walk through. We couldn't take pictures on the first trip, because they didn't want us getting distracted and separated from the group. We have had perfect weather for walking so far. Its even a little chilly because of the breeze.
Yesterday we went to 5 different high vantage points to see perspectives of the Holy Land from every direction. I climbed 209 stairs to the top of the Augusta Victoria tower. I thought I was going to die at the top, but I recovered, and the view was amazing. It was an exceptionally clear day, and we could see all the way to the dead sea.
Today was my first Shabbat in the Holy Land, and it has been wonderful. We had church in the auditorium, with a huge window behind the pulpit showing a gorgeous view of Jerusalem. I remember having church in the Nauvoo room, and they wouldnt let us open the curtain during sacrament meeting because they thought we'd be distracted. I think the view just adds to the reverence of the meeting. It was perfect. After church, I walked to the Orson Hyde Memorial garden, which is beautiful. Then my friends and I went on the the garden of Gethsemane. It was very crowded, so i think I'll have to go back during the week to really stop and appreciate it. We saw a few other churches, and the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Its so beautiful.
The pictures I promised are up on facebook! Lets see if I can figure out how to add the link to my blog. I love you guys!
ps- it takes forever to add pictures... I may not do it as often as I had hoped.

Well, I'm here! I don't think the novelty of the view of the Jerusalem out every window will ever wear off. I don't have much time to fill in the details of my travel experience, but suffice it to say it was long. 39 hours from my apartment to the Jerusalem Center. Yesterday, I had an 11 hour layover in Vienna, and I dont think that any of us in my travel group of about 40 stayed in the airport. We took the subway to the city center and walked all around Vienna, taking in all that we could in our already tired state. I took lots of pictures, and I promise to post some later. Not here, though. Only on facebook. Its easier. I'll add the links to this site though.
I arrived at the Jerusalem Center just after 3am this morning, and woke up for breakfast at 8:30. In about an hour I'll be on my first field trip, walking through Old Jerusalem. But we're not supposed to bring cameras for this walk, so I'll just have to go back later for that. I'll write about it in detail, as soon as I've got a good night's sleep. Which may be a while.

2 days away!

In less than 54 hours, I will be on my way to the airport. I'm not sure if I quite believe it yet. I am packed. Mostly. Packed in the loose sense of the word, but tighter than the loose sense I was using yesterday. That doesn't really make much sense at all. I have this overwhelming fear that I'm going to forget something important, or that they won't really let us go. But its getting to the point where it's too late for the powers that be to turn back now. I'm really going! I've waited for this my whole life it seems, and I'm going. Monday is our student orientation. I'm going to meet my roommates and get my Jerusalem backpack. Mom and Rebecca will be on their way home by then. Hopefully I'll find someone to drive me to the airport. That's what I'm praying for. My roommate told me she would take me, but that was a couple months ago, and I don't really want to ask that of her on the first day of school. Monday night, or maybe even tomorrow night, I'm planning on finding my home teachers to ask for a blessing, because I could sure use one right about now. I'm not scared to be in Jerusalem. I'm a little nervous about getting there. Packing and checking out of my apartment stressed me out a little more than I could handle on my own, and I haven't fully recovered. But I know that as soon as orientation starts, the overwhelmingly excited part of me will take over, and I'll feel much better.

The picture in my profile is a little small, so I thought I'd post a few more to give you a better idea of my home for the next couple of months. Even though I've been told that pictures can't do it justice.





I put the last one in there because it combines two of my very favorite things in the world... Jerusalem and the BYU Singers!

Two weeks from today, I will get on a plane in Salt Lake with a group of college students I have not yet met. Actually, I have met a few of them, two of which were in Women's Chorus with me this year. Incidentally, I think all three of us have the same voice teacher. But I digress. Together, we will fly halfway across the world, to spend nearly 8 weeks in Israel, Egypt, and Jordan. This grand experience ahead of me has been a dream of mine ever since I can remember, and it's hard to believe its so close! I want to share this experience with everyone I love. My blog certainly won't have everything, and it certainly won't replace my personal journal, but I'll do my best to show and tell all of my many adventures in the Holy Land.