may I tell you a story?

Once upon a time, there was a city named Jerusalem that got hit by a winter windstorm.

It carried two girls away in its whirlwinds

and dropped them...

...at the front gates of the most beautiful palace. The one girl laughed, while the other girl cried as she laughed. Getting caught in the rain was such a fun thing.

The two girls helped other stranded, storm-stricken students,

and they all lived happily ever after.

The End. 

We have so much fun all together here! Last Sunday a group of us trekked North to the neighbors place, Hebrew University - 'tis a typical thing we do. We skip over there occasionally for its faster internet connection for the purpose of blogging, some people Skype, some like to eat the U's pizza. Well Jerusalem has had some pretty amazing storms within the last two weeks (kindly reminding us all that it really is the middle of winter), and we were lucky enough to get caught in a brutal one on our walk back home. The rain pelted our faces like tiny paint balls, and we loved every soaking second of it.

Rainstorms are one of my very favorite things. I did my best to whistle, skip around street lamps, and belt "Singin' in the Rain" as we ran through the storm. After making it through the classic first verse, I found myself at a loss of words for the second verse. Feeling that that was quite unacceptable, I did my research and found the remainder of the song. Here it is: 

Why am I smiling

And why do I sing?

Why does September 

Seem sunny as spring?

Why do I get up

Each morning and start?

Happy and head up 

With joy in my heart

Why is each new task

A trifle to do?

Because I am living

A life full of you.

Did you have any idea that the rest of the song is that good? Oh, I love it! "The grand and the simple. They are equally wonderful," said Sister Marjorie P. Hinckley. All of my experiences here easily ring true to her wise statement. Getting caught in that storm last week was just as fun and thrilling as our most recent field trip: sliding and sloshing through the ancient, underground tunnel of Hezekiah - yes, the Hezekiah spoken of 2 Kings 18:1-7 (he was one of Judah's few righteous rulers near the end). Simply stated, in both instances I laughed and grew closer to friends. I learned. Above all, I counted myself very, very blessed.

an ordinary JC week

I thought this would be fun - a run-down of a typical JC week in photographs! 

(Most of the week is here, at least. I don't have pictures for Tuesday and Wednesday because I tried to be a normal college student and stayed home to work on my Islam midterm - 16 pages of religious and political goodness, baby). 

Saturday (Sabbath): spent the afternoon at in the Garden of Gethsemane after our 10:00 meetings. Actually, this part of Gethsemane is a private part of the Garden that they let the BYU students study in because we are "sincere," they say, about being there.

Thanks again to my friend Spence for snapping these pics! He is the best.

Sunday: walked through the streets of the Old city, like this one, to get to...

...this place: the supposed Upper Room. This isn't the exact building that the Last Supper was held in, but it is definitely the same air space. The building there today is a beautiful and simple Christian Church. We usually spend at least part of Sunday, our free day, bashing around the city, exploring exploring exploring

Monday: field trip day! Journeyed through the "hills and valleys" (Deut. 11:11) of Jerusalem to the Neot Kedumim - a nature reserve for Biblical animals and plants. It was our funnest field trip yet. Serious. We ground our own hissop (the leafy plant that the Hebrews to spread the lamb's blood across their door frames) to make zata - an herby powder used here for salad sprinkling and pita bread dipping

Just herded a flock of sheep and goats. No big. 

Happy Valentines Day! Clever Kelsey, far right, took this little message on the FT for her family's valentine. But meet some of my besties, please: La, me, Denise, and Kels

Since we made the zata, we had to make our own pita! It was like Girl's Camp Biblical-Israeli style. We even smelt like camp fire after baking the dough. Loved it.

Tuesday, Wednesday: like I said, I tried to be responsible and study a little...good thing I do that with my friends, too. Good thing we do fun things like this when we're together, whether we're in or out of the Center.

Thursday: stopped by St. Mary's Basilica. Absolutely beautiful, this one is! There are a lot of Russians in Jerusalem, which is really fun. I love the conglomerate of culture and people here; it was definitely an unexpected Jerusalem perk. 

And Thursday night we had the talent show! I am the Talent Show Committee head over here, so I was excited to put on the show and am grateful for my great committee's help.This is my program from the evening, autographed with love by Spence the piano man, and Mark, the self-designated fan/stage hand.  

Friday: I am grateful to not have pics from Friday, because I spent it the evening at a Jewish Synagogue, and then in a Jewish home for Shabbat Dinner. Two young girls came and sat by my friend Jenny and me during the service, and within our first few words they asked if we wanted to attend Shabbat Dinner at their mom's house. "Of course!" we replied.

Being in an actual home here in Jerusalem was awesome, and the sweet family that invited me and my friends Brock and Jenny for dinner were awesome. We were the first students in our program to do this, so I consider myself super fortunate. I learned a lot from spending the evening with them, leaving with the feeling again that Heavenly Father loves all of His children deeply. 

This girl is lucky, eh? She's lucky, blessed, happy - all of it. This week will be just as great, too. Hope that yours is the same!

happy day of love to you

Happy V-Day, my friends and familia! Clearly we celebrated over here in IL.

Sweet Denise and me (as pictured below...

...atop a mountain,

on a field trip,

and at celebration of the Arab culture)

each made small val-o-videos of love for our dears back home. 

Just trying to give you another idea of how great my life is.

Shallom and love!

egypt: part 2

As I promised - Egypt round 2! 

No commentaries for these ones, folks - just sit back, relax, and enjoy.

(p.s. thanks to my dear friend, Spencer M. Anopol, on your far right, for providing these pics)

We were super tourists in Egypt and loved every minute of it.

Hiking Mt. Sinai was something I was more than excited about before coming, and every step of the way lived up to my hopes and expectations. A mountain and a sunrise - what is better than that?

But I must admit that it was nice to load the bus for home (I missed the Center, plus our bus rides rock).

Adventures, adventures, adventures...

I am having the time of my life!

for your viewing pleasure...

"A Night on the Train with Mr. {Egyptian} Bean"

Featuring: Lauren, Kelsey, Chelsey, and Jeni

Location: overnight train ride from Cairo to Luxor

Views: 90 and counting

Average Rating: to be calculated; please rate in the comment section below

I have no comment, other than I absolutely loved that train ride.

Have your best day yet!

classic jerusalem: omar's olive wood

Beautiful, no? 

Omar the olive wood carver is a celebrity at the JC. His talent is exceptional and his student discounts are even better. Omar has a cute little shop full of LDS-themed pieces: carvings from Greg Olson's works, the Liahona, Joseph & Hyrum - his market is somewhat captive here and, naturally, he is doing very well. 

I thought about this piece throughout my whole first month, wary of getting it because of the cost (which, I promise, really was such a deal - I'm just trying to pinch my pennies). But the time for a visit to Omar's came again, and I could not leave without snatching it - it was his very last one. Can't really tell you how much I love this. It depicts all of my Jerusalem - my experiences in getting here, in being here now, and those that will come. 

This girl may be the happiest on planet earth. Three cheers for Omar!

P.S. I promise I haven't neglected the rest of my Egypt pics! Midterms began upon our arrival, but the big ones are ending today. Be excited. Between Mr. Egyptian Bean, Mt. Sinai, and camels, you might be just a little jealous.

egypt: part 1

Welcome, welcome to Egypt! 

I am so excited to post these pictures - and yet they do this place a great injustice. It is hard to give detail, you know, of the places you go when there are so many, but here is Egypt for me in one very-packed word (it was the first that came to mind):

Ironic.

The antiquities of Egypt are so grand and abundant. We saw over nine pyramids, a valley full of royal, gold-glinted tombs, and too many temples to fully comprehend. Being at the feet of these remains conveyed the incredible the wealth and intelligence of the ancient Egyptians, and yet today Egypt is a third-world country. The poverty was surprising and saddening. For instance the Nile today, the lifeblood of Egypt (if it hadn't have flooded the Pyramids would have never been built) is filled with garbage - soda bottles, boxes, and crates - all of it. It is still a little overwhelming to think about the clash of this country's magnificence and deprivation...

I'll finish this chain of thoughts with gratitude for my home, my life, and my Heavenly Father's knowledge and control of all things past, present, and future.

There she is, the Great Khufu and her tourists, in all of her glory

When I thought of Egyptian pyramids before going, I pictured a scene like this: three pyramids, one is huge, and a super big sphinx. I was wrong on a few of those fronts, especially concerning the Sphinx. He's not too big, but he is one of my favorite antiquities

The line to enter Menkaure - one of two pyramids we got to go inside of

The descent!

We only have a little fun together, these friends of mine and me

I loved the Sphinx

I got my kiss!

Excavation sight N33, just outside of Queen Hatshepsut's Temple - this is most likely where the scrolls containing the book of Abraham were found

Funerary Temple of Ramses II - he is most likely the pharaoh of the Exodus - somewhat of a stubborn guy

Huge statues such as this are found at nearly every temple - this is another one of Ramses II

Illegal pic number two: that is the very tomb of King Tut! I am especially loving this pic now because we didn't get to see the artifacts in the Cairo Museum

Queen Hapshetsut's obelisk  - it has been preserved so well because her hater step-son, Tutmoses III, reigned after her and didn't want any memory of her around. He built a huge wall around this thing, and today we see it as it is. Funny, huh?

Lauren, Kels, Denise, me, and Heidi at the Karnak temple

Love these girls

Queen Hatshepsut's Temple. Please note that sign in front of the "tree"

This pic does not do justice for the painted hieroglyphs...they were so detailed and beautiful 

Just enjoying the sunset on a falukah on the Nile - no big deal

Sweetest, funnest boys ever

One of my favorite Egyptian souvs: the t-shirt dress

Last illegal pic: this one was from one of the temples in the Valle of the Kings. Again, it isn't very good, but can you see the pattern on these guys' skirts that was given attention to? So so neat.

Egypt was amazing. I am grateful beyond words that we were able to go. Had the current riots there started a single day earlier, the entire trip would have been canceled. Ahh thinking about that hurts! I don't think I'll ever go back there, especially with what's going on now. Tender mercies, eh? This girl is a very blessed, very happy one.

Stay tuned for Egypt round two!