First Days in Jerusalem

I’ve been here for a couple days now and I still can’t believe I’m actually here! I have dreamed about this experience all my life and the dream is finally coming true. In most of the rooms, we have an amazing view of all Jerusalem. I can pretty much see Dome of the Rock from my bed. It is AMAZING. Everyone needs to experience this differently amazing culture. Hebrew and Arabic are everywhere on the streets. Most locals will speak to you in broken English with their thick accents. I was told not to try to speak to them in Arabic because it might offend them if they’re Jews (I believe Jews speak Hebrew but then there are so many different kinds in each religion, such as Orthodox Jews). It’s confusing. The sunsets here are B-E-A-UTIFUL! So we arrived here Wednesday night after traveling for two days. It was long and tiring but so worth it. We had an orientation with a couple speakers in the Recital Hall with the big organ and for our musical number, the organ played “All Creatures of Our God and King” as the curtains opened, revealing the scenic view of all of Jerusalem as the sun was setting. It was gorgeous! The spirit was so strong there and I knew I’m in the right place. So I went to bed around 1:00 Wednesday night and woke up two hours later. I hate jet lag because I probably slept like an hour the night before on the plane. Anyways, I was laying in bed and around 5 I heard very different sounds that I’ve never heard before. It actually scared me at first because I had no idea what it was and it got louder. I learned after listening to it for a minute that it was the Call to Prayer. They do it 5 times a day. It really is beautiful, especially that they are so dedicated to praying and showing their appreciation. These people are so humble. Yesterday after many long orientations, we went and toured Jerusalem and learned of the history behind many monuments that tied into biblical stories. There is so much information and biblical stories that I hope I can learn all of it and actually understand and remember them. Once you go through Damascus Gate and enter into the Old City, it really is another world. It’s crowded and it’s very chaotic. Everything is everywhere and the people are trying to get your attention to sell you their merchandise. I love it though. Western Jerusalem reminds me of many European cities, and even though I’ve seen a lot of places and traveled all over, I have never seen such a place or culture as the one in the Old City. It’s just like the movies, especially the new Jerusalem Movie that came out. It has everyday footage of what the Old City is like with scarves hanging everywhere and leather laying out. Many people are smoking and actually there are a lot of cultures visiting, so you here numerous languages being spoken. I’m falling in love with this city more every day. There is so much to learn, especially from these people. They are great example to follow: waking up at 4:50 a.m. everyday to start the first Call to Prayer and leaving pieces of bread everywhere in Jerusalem as a reminder that God has given us so much and we have countless blessings to be thankful for. My professors keep reminding us that we aren’t tourists, we’re pilgrims who come away from an experience with something we learned. I love my professors. So far I’ve only had Old Testament and The Ancient Near East. The students I’m with are all so cool and really amazing. My roommates are awesome as well. This is such a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I feel like its going to fly by and it hasn’t even been a week here yet. The food is great! The cooks are amazing. While touring the city, we had bread that is like a ring. I loved it! There are so many cool experiences happening around me that I feel like I literally have no time to write about all of them in a day.a

This place is incredible