Ma Nishma? (whats going on?)

Well I have been going non-stop and I have seen so much this past week. We keep going, going, going and next week we are going to EGYPT! So I wanted to update you on this past weeks adventures!

Friday
We went to the Western Wall for the beginning of Sabbath and Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. It was very crowded and because it was the Sabbath we weren't allowed to use cameras. I spoke with very nice Jewish ladies and learned more about what they believe and how they worship. On Friday night they go to worship and have their spiritual time and then they all come to the wall afterwards to have their joyous worship. Of course, many jews worship differently and have different beliefs so not all worship in this way. It was a very neat experience.

Saturday (Sabbath)
Golgotha- meaning "skull" in Hebrew. This is beleived to be Galgotha. "Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he breaing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha: Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst."John 19:16-18

Garden Tomb
"He is not here for He is risen" The tomb is located in a beuatiful garden right next to Golgotha. It was amazing to walk inside the tomb and remember the many stories of Jesus and how he died for us. From the picture you can tell that it is a very popular site to many different religions.
"And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the ressurection from the dea." -Romans 1:4


Sunday

Tel Aviv/ Mediterranian Sea
We had one free day and decided to travel an hour to the beach in Tel Aviv! Swimming in the mediterranian Sea was so refreshing and fun! We played in the waves and in the sand and laid on the beach. I got a little sunburnt but now it is a beautiful tan of course :) I wish we had more relaxing days like this.

Monday

Jericho ...remanants of the oldest man-made structure in the world dating back to 7000 BC. This tower is located in the old city of Jericho which is not only the oldest city but also one of the lowest cities in the world (located 2500 feet below Sea Level). Jericho is also where the Israelites marched around the city wall seven times before it fell down. The remnants are visible today thanks to many archealogists.

Judean Wilderness
...Overlooking the Judean Wilderness I was reminded of the story of the Good Samaritan and Christ's fasting in the wilderness. It was unbelievably hot and dry with no water source close by. Looking down into the Wadi Quelt(dry river bed) is where the actual road to Jericho is located. The little boy in the picture was a very annoying native!

Inn of the Good Samaritan
...This picture is the actual inn the good samaritan visited. There is also a mozaic museum located at this site which has many different mosiacs from Byzantine Temples.

Other Important Sites seen:
King Herods Summer Palace

The mount of Temptation

Bedoin Villages

This picture was taken at King Herod's Summer Palace: These little boys were following us around and just watching us. They were adorable!

Next Week..........EGYPT!
Sorry everyone but next week I will have no internet access because I will be in Egypt touring Ciaro and Giza visiting the pyramids, the sphinx, King Tut's tomb, the riding on the Nile, and the most exciting...a camel ride! But I will make sure to update the following week with pictures and hopefully I will also be able to put some on Facebook. I love and miss you all!

Middle Eastern Men....

The other day I set out to explore the city with a group of fellow students and we were excited for a day of fun. Our goal was to walk to ramparts (the wall around the old city) and then tour Zedekiah’s Tunnel ( an old quarry used for building Solomon's Temple). Both sites were incredible to see with amazing views atop the wall. Afterward we went to the West City (which is more touristy) for lunch. But none of that was the highlight of our day. The most enjoyable part of this journey was the men.....Yes, the Middle Eastern men.
Now the two boys (sutdents/men) we were with are lovely, but the Middle Eastern men are a whole other story. We can't seem to figure out what the most attractive feature about them is whether it is thier beautiful dark skin, the machine guns hanging on their shoulders, their sexy accents, their uniforms, or just the fact that they are the forbidden friut.
One encounter we had when we were taking pictures in the Muslim quarter and a guard approached us and we thought we were in trouble. Instead of getting mad at us he came over and sat down right next to me and asked us to take another. Then his friend came over and asked for more pictures. Yes, we had a photo shoot with guards (the one to the right is my favorite :)! Not only were the guards very hospitable but many men throught the city. We get attention all of the time and it is so hard not to smile when they do something. I thought I would share some of the things we have heard so far:
“Three women, two boys, three women, two boys….”
“Pretty ladies, pretty ladies, pretty ladies….”
“Beautiful women, beautiful women…”
“Hey Mormons, hey Mormons….”
"Sexy a**" (directed toward my roommate)
Two guys honked at me, made some faces and gestures then shouted something in Arabic.
We get the "up down" stare quite often.
and...Soldiers approach us for pictures!

I don’t understand why I have to travel half way around the world to finally get the attention I deserve? American boys are just ungrateful for the wonderful selection of women they have to choose from. Here we don't even have to try to get attention from the men. In Provo I can spend an hour and a half getting ready for the day and not once will a guy look at me. I come to Jerusalem and everytime I step outside compliments come left and right. Understandably, some of them are giving me attention becuase they want something but it is still nice to be noticed and feel appreciated. I think American boys need to work a little harder to notice girls and let girls know that they are attractive. When I get back to Provo I expect daily compliments and cat calls when walking to school. :)

I Am Finally Here!

Sabbath sunset over the city

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

1st day of school pic....

After 30 hours of travel with a total of 6 flights I AM IN JERUSALEM! I still can't beleive that I am now in the Holy Land. So much is going to happen over the next 3.5 months and I would love to share my adventures with everyone. I am not a very strong writer or poetic so I will try my best to convey my thoughts and feelings. I have read many blogs that are lengthy and boring, both of which I am trying to avoid, so I will keep it short and sweet. If any of you would like to learn more about anything please feel free to email me and I would love to share (jbhawkins89@gmail.com).

1st Time in the Old City
On Wednesday right after we arrived in Jerusalem we took a tour of the old city so we could get a general sense of where everything is. We divided into small groups with a tour guide and a body guard from the center. I bet our security guard didn't realize he would actually have to work to save anyone that day, but he saved me. I had no idea what was happening until after the whole ordeal. I was with the group in the Old city and a man appraoched me from the back looking very suspicious and the security guard saw him and came running and got between me and the man. The man kept trying to get around the guard but failed. The guard finally gave him a nod to leave and he did. Now I don't know what would have happened if I didn't have that guard but I am glad I didn't have to find out whether he was a pick pocketer or innapropriate toucher or maybe nothing at all. But I am safe with nothing to worry about.

1st Sabbath
In Israel we celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday and we have our branch meetings in the Center with people from the community. It is very neat to worship in the Holy Land. We also went and toured the CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE and it is awe inspiring. while we were there the priest and monks were chanting and lighting candles. I am so excited to learn the significance of different rituals and holidays in each of the religions here. I respect everyone and their individual beliefs and I hope that after learing more about them I will be able to understand each religion better.