Friday Night at the JC and the start of Finals

so last week we had our first round of finals. we had 5 finals and they were beasts. but good news- we only have 2 classes now till december! tests started on friday and on fridays we aren't allowed out till 3. to kick off the start of finals we had a humanitarian aid project (pic above). we put together hygiene kits

this picture was taken to express our inner feelings about going into finals....... alyssa and i were on the same page. rach and lizzy were still just loving life.

then that night we had ISRAELI FOLK DANCING naturally. why study? we are doing finals week jerusalem style!
this was our teacher. his name was boaz. and he was a riot!!!!! we learned all types of jewish dancing and Hasidic was my fav.

Bethlehem

let me start off by saying i love love love Bethlehem. it was so quaint, beautiful and just so great. the streets were windy, clean, narrow and the houses were mostly white with blue shutters. and can i just tell you that this was my first sight right off the bus- just shepherds leading sheep across the street. too classic! so our day in bethlehem was a blast! we started off by going to bethlehem university where our islamic professor also teaches. it is a christian school that has both muslim and christian students. here is their lovely chapel:

after we got a tour of campus and had a question and answer session with some students. then we got free time to go mingle and talk with some more students. here are the new friends i made:
this girl and i started talking in line at the snack bar and we bonded over justin bieber. that's right folks. justin bieber. we might have even broke out into a chorus of "Baby". it made me really happy!

this was on the bus after bethlehem university. some of the boys played basketball with the other students.
justin came on the bus all sweaty from playing.
and to wipe off his sweat he took the bus seat cover and mopped off his face! sick nasty!
a minute later us girls asked chris to take a picture for us.
and as he counts down "one.. two... three..."
he suddenly throws the sweaty bus cover with justin's sick nasty sweat onto us! and this was our reaction:

for lunch we went to the Shepherd's Tent. authentic, local and delicious! it was actually a massive tent with low couches and tables you ate at. waiters came by with platters of hot pita, chicken on skewers, beef, and fruit. we ate with Dr. Muhlestein our Old Testament professor. we just love his stinkin guts!!!!!

after lunch was church of the nativity. and just like your classic christian sites it was 1. PACKED 2. long lines 3. dark chapels with lots of insense 4. parts under construction 5. only get two seconds at the site after hours waiting to see it. hahah but i really loved it. the chapel was beautiful and the grotto was as well. we sang christmas hymns as well and it was beautiful.

later that week we went back to Bethlehem to Shepherd's Field to celebrate christmas. we had a devoitional at sunset. we had musical numbers and bore testimonies. i played my violin and it was a very memorable night. it will be something i think of every christmas eve. i love the little town of bethlehem with all my heart.

NYC in J-RU

I stepped out of the taxi, and suddenly smelled New York.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a McDonald's M.  I looked toward the M and saw a Hasidic Jew walking toward me. I looked up, thinking I would see my family, believing that I was on 66th and Columbus or near Time's Square.  It was a strange little sensation.  I legitimately thought I was in the City for a second! 

In reality, I was on Emek Refaim street in West Jerusalem.  It was only fitting that we grabbed a pie at the "Big Apple." I ate it like a local new yorker, thanks to my local padre. Unbeknownst to everyone, I felt very much at home. [just as a sidenote, I realized I have lots of homes....home-home as in my family...nc/ny...jerusalem...provo...]

amy and I 

Meredith, Bekah, Amy, Heather, Me, Lisa
And to top off the night, we had gelato from Aldo's! It was heavenly to say the least. 

When I got home, I was talking to some people, and we realized that we don't have very much time left here.  I may or may not have cried because I am so in love with this experience!
xoxo,elizabeth anne

Eilat!

how does a day trip snorkeling at Eilat sound? if you said perfection then you got it.
the red sea is gorgeous.
just check out the strips of blue and green in the sea. the water was crystal clear- at one point rach, alys and i swam far out and i looked down into the dark blue.
several feet under me i saw a black figure swimming and immediately thought it was a shark! but it turned out to be a scuba diver swimming at the bottom of sea.
and i could see that far down.
pretty sweet.

out in the sea was a massive floating island that we all played on while we took turns using the snorkeling masks. the fish were beautiful and super fast- i tried to catch one but i was too slow. after the beach we went to a mall to shop.
and that was strange it almost felt like an american mall except i was dressed like a beach bum. on the drive way home we stopped at a kibbutz for dinner which was delicious!
it was such a luxury to have a whole day of fun before our week of finals.

Oilve Picking!

every fall semester (because of the harvest time) we students get to do the most amazing activity!

We get to make our own OLIVE OIL ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
pretty sweet huh?
i have been looking forward to this for a long time!
The JC has tons of olive trees in the garden and we just had to wait for the early rains to let the olives get ripe enough.

the first step is to pick the olives

after they are picked you let them sit in water overnight then the next day you can start to make the oil. to make the oil we used the same process they used in the Bible.
the olives need to get crushed to begin the process.
We put them in a stone basin then pull a stone wheel around make olive mash.
then you take the olive mash and press it.
olive juice and oil comes out- you let the liquid sit for a few days and the oil separates.
i had such a good time during this activity, i feel so lucky to be here in the fall so i could do this!

Seder Passover Meal

Last week we had a Seder Passover meal with our Jewish professor.
It was beautiful! Just check out our table.
The whole evening was the same evening Jewish families have- you start out with reading a book that takes you through the whole Exodus.
You sing songs, eat symbolic food, say prayers and do all the traditions like washing your hands a certain way and leaving a door open for Elijah.
The whole night is dedicated to remembering how the Lord took his people out of Egypt into Israel.
the food was delicious (except for the bitter herbs haha which was the point) and the grape juice was excellent.
i loved learning the Hebrew songs that the little kids sing as part of the evening.
just another unique and spectacular evening provided by the JC and our hardworking professor!

City of David

Another fabulous field trip! We went to the City of David- the site of ancient Jerusalem.
Just south of the Temple Mount. It was a blast!!! Here is a list of things we saw:

1) walls from King David's Palace
2) an old Canaanite toilet seat (a big hit with the boys)
3) Pools of Siloam where Jesus sent the blind man to wash off the clay he put on his eyes to heal him
4) HEZEKIAH'S TUNNEL : once upon a time the Assyrians were coming to attack Jerusalem, so King Hezekiah redid the water system of Jerusalem to protect it. aka make a skinny, narrow, loooong tunnel underneath the city. and we walked through it! the walls were close and the water high. and we went for 45 mins underneath the city.

pure awesomness!!!!! i felt like such an adventurer!