You know you lived in JC when . . .

1. You plot to blow up your Jewish reading via the Israeli army
2. Peanut butter brings a smile to your face
3. You spend 30 shekels on ice cream
4. At dinner you ask “Manna?” What is it?
5. When you start comparing yourself to countries
6. When you know longer mind seeing your professor in their pjs
7. When your veggies are neon colors
8. You buy slippers/stockings to meet dress code
9. Aladdin pants are in
10. You don’t take showers for three days and no one cares
11. When one buys something…. Everyone has it the next week
12. You know what “cow chocolate” is
13. When your mad at your class you threaten to have the next “great revolt”
14. You open up a washer and know whose clothes are in there
15. The nursery is in the bomb shelter
16. When “uphill both ways” means something to you
17. There is no such thing as Saturdays or weekends
18. Holidays mean house arrest
19. You hold class on Sundays
20. You swam where Jesus walked
21. You take over fortresses single handedly
22. You think rocks are cool
23. When you always know your longitude and latitude
24. When it takes three different references to get to a restroom ie Bathroom, Water closet, Toilet, etc.
25. You pay to use the bathroom…and even more for toilet paper
26. Dating isn’t allowed in a BYU program
27. You have no choice but to change your sheets every week
28. 3 and 5am Prayer call
29. Sheckel Shack is the closest you’ll get to an Israeli bar
30. You’re late to class because you had to run up two flights of stairs
31. 100% discount doesn’t mean free
32. Falafel is a food staple
33. You threaten to “stone” someone
34. When Jerusalem burns on a daily basis
35. People tour your house
36. You clean your room for candy
37. Your ice cream is made with soy… and you like it
38. …sack lunches
39. Sleeping in is until 7:30am
40. You have your own security detail
41. Little boys are a bigger threat than terrorists
42. Sidewalks aren’t meant for walking, but for parking
43. You’re excited to have pizza even if it has green olives and corn topping
44. Breakfast is bread
45. You all fail the final, but pass the class
46. Topics of conversation are always on things you can’t have… food, dating, etc.
47. Pop rocks belong in chocolate
48. Wafer cookies still have glue on them
49. The elevator means privacy
50. “Mobile classrooms”
51. Dinnertime is a guaranteed social hour
52. When your professor asks your opinion on their clothes or you have the same shirt
53. When your professor skips class because of border control
54. “Are we all guys?”
55. You are referred to as Bus #1 or Bus #2
56. 3:1
57. When 2:1 sounds good
58. You go a whole day without going outside, unless you count the hallway
59. Your Wednesday night social is bombarding your professors apartment eating all of their sugar
60. You see the same 80 people everyday for 2 months
61. You bargain for EVERYTHING
62. You can speak four different languages in one sentence
63. You can give directions through the Old City
64. Special Price for Mormons
65. Mahonya Yahuda and Ben Yahuda
66. One person sick = 80 people sick
67. Looking forward to a non-Kosher cafeteria
68. All the girls feel awkward stepping out of their room with wet hair
69. Eating healthy means only 1 cow chocolate bar for the day
70. All the sports end in someone getting hurt
71. Sacrament is pita bread
72. Free firework show every night
73. You have the best view of Jerusalem everyday
74. Your backyard is the Dome of the Rock
75. You know there is a paper due when there is a line for the computers for a week
76. You eat lunch outside because its warmer than the building
77. You think its cold in 50 degree weather
78. Everyone you meet on the street has a relative or friend living in the states and they’re sure you know them
79. You say “Muhammad” in the street and half the people turn around
80. You go swimming with your professors
81. Multiple trips are planned around swimming
82. Friday nights consist of going out with your teachers for ice cream
83. Service projects are cleaning someone’s tomb
84. Hand sanitizer is your best friend
85. You can’t stand the sight of water
86. Fanny Packs are the thing to wear
87. You have enough skirts to wear a new one every Sabboth for a year.
88. You eat your dessert first
89. When teachers reprimands everyone & you know exactly who their talking about
90. Roasted hot dogs has a whole new meaning
91. Your tummy is extra poochy

Posted by Alyssa

Tiberias Nights

Hiking to Monastery at Petra

Carriage Ride in Luxor

Sister Seely in "Lehi in Jerusalem"

Ben Yehuda St. in West Jerusalem

Walking Through Old City of Jerusalem

Our Favorite Teachers

I found this on youtube. Alyssa

Heidilicious

19 June Thursday

Slideshow & Flying Home

18 June Wednesday

Today was a free day, but Jason, Kristen, Moriah, Lis, and I went to the Dome of the Rock and the western wall.

17 June Tuesday

16 June Monday

15 June Sunday

14 June Saturday

13 June Friday

12 June Thursday

11 June Wednesday

10 June Tuesday

9 June Monday

Today we went to Petra. We walked there from our hotel and down through the red cliffs until it got more narrow. There were canals on the sides of the cliff walls that transported water into the area. The area narrows down into a slot canyon and you round the corner to see one of the most amazing sites in the world--the treasury from Indiana Jones III. Just when you though Petra was over, you keep going and see more and more tombs. There were little boys begging you to take their donkey rides. There were stands of people selling jewelry. We got to the temple that Brown University escavated. There were parts that still had the colors on the walls. There was an overturned column. We kept walking until we got to the donkeys and we rode them to the Monastary. Lindsay's donkey made her fall over and she had to walk part of the way. Once we got to the Monastary, we kept hiking up to the overlook where you could see the Dead Sea. There was a man selling silver jewelry on the top. There were goats roaming on the cliffs. They wanted to eat the bushes, but couldn't reach them, so Bruce helped them out and pulled a branch down that they could eat. Once we got back from the Monastary, we ate lunch at the restaurant there. Some went for a side hike. A group from Drapers class headed off. We kept going even though a girl from a nearby tomb house came screaming at Donny for us to turn around, we didn't believe her and ended up way off course. We eventually got to someone's home they made from a tomb. They told us where to go, so we headed back. We went to the other large tombs. The ceiling of one had deep black and red swirls on it. We sang a couple of hymns in it. We made our way back to the entrance and the treasury. We took one last look and made our way to the horses. When we got off the horses, I handed my guide $3 for his tip. He didn't like it and wouldn't accept it. He was getting more frustrated, but that's all that I had. Eventually Jason came over to help me and took the money from me and tried to give it to the guy, but he wouldn't take it. Jason threatened to throw it on the ground and the guy started taking off his belt to hurt Jason. We were frightened then and walked away quickly leaving the money on the ground. They stomped away.

8 June Sunday

7 June Saturday

6 June Friday

5 June Thursday

4 June Wednesday

3 June Tuesday

2 June Monday

1 June Sunday

31 May Saturday

30 May Friday

29 May Thursday

28 May Wednesday

27 May Tuesday

26 May Monday

25 May Sunday - On to Ein Gev!

(This was the day we left for our Galilee trip. And as was customary for our long field trips, we left way early in the morning.)

Caesarea Maritima -- After stumbling off the bus at the first site of the day. I first thought we were at the Sea of Galilee. ("It's a lot bigger than I thought...Oh wait, that's the Mediterranean Sea.") The site was neat. It was impressive what Herod/Herod's engineers were able to do in constructing the port. In order to build a foundation to expand the port, they were able to get cement to solidify underwater. We also stood in the approximate area where Paul would have testified before King Agrippa.

Megiddo --The tel was huge! Complete with museum, overlooks, stone altar, and exit tunnel through the water supply. Luckily, we had Brother Seely to guide us along the way. After climbing around for a bit and listening to lecture, we exited through the tunnel on the opposite side from where we started.



Nazareth -- The city was quiet when we first arrived. Most of the shops were closed because it was Sunday (either that or they were taking a long ciesta). The Church of the Annunciation had some very impressive stained glass windows.


Ein Gev -- Our home away from home for 10 days. It was so nice to not have to pack up again until we left. First impression of our huts: they looked like the camp of the Others from Lost. I think even towards the end of our stay, we'd still occasionally go to the wrong hut since they all looked the exact same.

I considered Ein Gev as our "vacation" of the term. Our stay here was very enjoyable (though I wouldn't have minded if the cafeteria had not been kosher). We still had classes and went to visit sites, but we had a lot more down time. So it was nice to read on the beach, swim, and spend time with the other class.

24 May Saturday

23 May Friday

22 May Thursday

21 May Wednesday

20 May Tuesday

First of all we had the Southern Kingdom and Judah field trip. This included the City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, Pool of Siloam and the Broad Wall (half day with sack lunch with the boom bar). The city of David is on the south east corner of the Old City. We had the same view that David had when he was out past curfew, and we all know what happens after the Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight... He found his true lust, and yup that was the end of his spiritual sponsorship by God.
Next, we trunched through the tunnel that was built thousands of years ago. Many of us turned off our lights and stumbled aimlessly hitting our heads repeatedly, and as we did so we couldn't help but shout out for joy. We had a great time because the tunnel was really, really, really cool! Some of us might have complained about being wet and maybe a little cold, but others were happy due to the fact that they were able to roll up their pants to undecent heights. Who would have thought that a dirty old tunnel, built by an ancient king, could entertain 80 spirited young adults. Next we followed a few of the city streets to the Pool of Siloam where Christ sent a blind man to be healed. Christ made some clay/mud put it on the man's eyes and sent him to the pool. Symbolically, we walk blind in this world, and only after we have repented, or washed in the pool like the blind man can we truly see.

Erin Ladle/Spencer Madsen

19 May Monday

18 May Sunday

17 May Saturday

16 May Friday

15 May Thursday

14 May Wednesday

13 May Tuesday

12 May Monday

11 May Sunday

Departure for Egypt.

This morning we woke up way too early to eat eggs, french toast, porridge, grapefruit, honeydew melon, cottage cheese, weird cereal, and not toasted toast - but thats OK because we are going to Egypt. The first stop was Tel Beersheeba, which looks like all of the others. Then we went to the grave site of David Ben-Gurion and the Zin overlook. It was here that I first learned what a wadi is (and hence it will forever stay in my heart).
Then we drove to some anceint caravan city and watched a really cool movie (like all the other really cool movies that we've seen at the national parks here) about the desert people. We climbed around on ancient ruins, played around in temples and tombs - like usual - and thought to ourselve how hot it was (little did we know).
After a quick stay there we drove to Yotvata where we were first introduced to Kibbutzim - although, after half an hour of touring the Kibbutz, they still hadn't answered the question: "What is a Kibbutz" but not to worry, that question would be cleared up in the coming days and weeks.
That night we drove to our Kibbutz, oppened the door, and stared blankly at the scene which lay before us. Dirty floors, no cold water from the tap, bandaids, no bedding, and an all purpose bathroom in which you could shower, shave, relieve yourself, and wash your car all in the same 9ft square room.
That night there was a meeting with the faculty as they instructed us on Egypt and the process by which we recieved the Pearl of Great Price. After that I was so drowsy that I went to bed early and dreamed about bacon and cheese.

10 May Saturday

9 May Friday

8 May Thursday

7 May Wednesday

6 May Tuesday

5 May Monday

4 May Sunday

Twinkle, Twinkle 4th of May,
You sure are a happy day!
We went to class and then had fun,
Ignored homework ‘til we were done!





Today we had the priviledge of meeting our two local instructors for our modern near eastern studies classes. Ophir Yarden, born in the United States is teaching our Judaism studies class and we were all interested in what he had to say today and bombarded him with questions about Judaism in general. Dr. Adnan Musallam from Palestine is a very loving man and intrigued us all with an introduction to Islam. However, the addition of two classes that would be completed in just 2 weeks and assigned a 10 page single-spaced paper amid other assignments was enough to overwhelm us. Fortunately, this wasn't enough to stop us from enjoying our first day of free time in Jerusalem. Most people seemed to take advantage of it, and as for us, we went to the Via Dolorosa--the fourteen steps of the Holy Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We enjoyed our first experience in the old city, and met some shop-owners and learned that some are nice and give you juice while others will swindle you faster than you can learn their names. But I guess that's all part of the "full experience". Then we studied our brains out.

The Via Dolorosa starts at Lions' Gate/St. Stephen's Gate, which is in the east side of the Old City. The second station is St. Anne's Church. The church is on the site where Mary supposedly gave birth to Mary. It's a 12th-century French church run by the Order of the White Fathers. There was a man there who tried to take our money when Allison took a picture by the door. We couldn't figure out why, because we didn't know where we were at the time. I just learned that it was the St. Anne's (which costs 5 shekels to enter) and now it all makes sense. Rest of the stations are as follows:
3. Beit Hisda Pool
4. First Station-the site of the Antonia Citadel, now the Omariyya School.
5. Second Station-Franciscan Biblical School
6. Lithostrotos
7. Convent of the Sisters of Zion
8. Austrian Hospice
9. Third Station--Polish Catholic Chapel--where Jesus fell for the first time from the weight of the cross
10. Forth Station--Church of Our Lady of the Spasm--where Mary passed out after Jesus passed her with the cross on his back.
11. Fifth Station--Franciscan Church--where the Roman soldiers had Simon carry Jesus' cross
12. Sixth Station--St. Veronicas's Church--the home of St. Veronica, who dried the brow of Jesus as he passed
13. Seventh Station--Jesus fell for the second time
14. Eighth Station--Jesus speaks to the daughters of Jerusalem

The stations seem a bit sketchy. The second station, for example, is the site where Jesus received his cross and started carrying it. I'm not sure how anyone could know that, but let us not trifle with details. It's a very famous Christian site.

3 May Saturday

2 May Friday

1 May Thursday

30 April Wednesday

29 April Tuesday