jerusalem friends and finds

I wanted to post just a little something before I leave for Africa (totally love that I can say that - dream come true)! We are encouraged to leave the Center and explore the city - both East Jerusalem, the Old City, and West, the more modern half - these are just some of the finds...

Isn't this pretty? Reminded me of the Europe that I have not yet seen. 

It's a typical little front yard for people in the Old City - their homes are built atop the buildings and streets. This neighborhood is just outside the Christian Quarter. I love finding "real life" in foreign places.

Quaint, no?

You know how in some places you can ride elevators to the top of their skyscrapers for an aerial view of the city? Well one day we found a little side staircase in the Jewish Quarter that took us up above the street for such a sight, and this is what we came upon: this, another residential neighborhood. Serious! There were a lot of Jewish people coming to and fro, in and out of these homes. Yes, I said homes. I wish we could have seen inside one of them. 

And yes, that is the Dome of the Rock in the distance. Sweet. 

Clearly there are just a few people that want to be buried in Jerusalem. There are lots of cemeteries here. This one is on a hillside above the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations. It faces Mt. Moriah to the West, and it extends across the highway. I'm pretty sure there's room for me in there somewhere...

Yum. This is my kind of candy stand.  This is the beautiful dried fruit that I indulged in for our excursion to Egypt. We ventured to East Jerusalem's outdoor market last Friday - the Shuk (pronounced "shook"). People everywhere. Food everywhere. It's just one long street with pretty much anything you want on either side - clothes, movies, butchered meat, spices...it is Costco gone Israeli. 

And, finally, this is one of the friends! Sweet Kelsey and me posing with the golden raisins. Precious. 

More of my besties: Mark, AJ, Maddi, me, Kels.

We were trying to do homework in the computer lab, but Mark's PhotoBooth on his Mac was too much fun to not play around with. The theme of this pic was "Awkward Family Christmas Card." I think we did a fine job.

I am loving loving loving it here. I have two wishes in this moment: 1) that uploading pics didn't take as long as it did (our internet is a little slow, especially when we're all blogging for the homesteads), and 2) that I had more time to wait for more pics to load. My pictures are a plenty more than this and my stories many, but I must be heading to bed. For now just know that I am grateful for my friends - they are already some of my best - and I live for finding the little gems of Jerusalem. More to come!