I feel like I've died and gone to heaven! This is my fourth day here in Jerusalem, and I am already in love with this city. The center is absolutely gorgeous! The walls are filled with arched windows that rise from the floor to the ceiling, looking out over Jerusalem. During sacrament meeting, they pull the drapes back so that we can look over Jerusalem while we listen to the speakers. I must admit, it takes a lot of self control to pay attention with all the beautiful scenery in the background.
Picture of the Jerusalem Center (or Mormon University) that I took
The cafeteria is called The Oasis, and I can understand why. On the day that we arrived, we were all exhausted and eager to have dinner. We sat outside to eat our food (which is unbelievably delicious) on the balcony overlooking the city, watching the sunset. At seven o'clock, the Muslim call to prayer sounded through the whole city. It gave me goose bumps. It sounded so beautiful. I wish so badly that I could understand what they were saying. Call to prayer occurs 5 times a day, (including at four o'clock in the morning) but the one at sunset is always the most breath taking.
The cafeteria is called The Oasis, and I can understand why. On the day that we arrived, we were all exhausted and eager to have dinner. We sat outside to eat our food (which is unbelievably delicious) on the balcony overlooking the city, watching the sunset. At seven o'clock, the Muslim call to prayer sounded through the whole city. It gave me goose bumps. It sounded so beautiful. I wish so badly that I could understand what they were saying. Call to prayer occurs 5 times a day, (including at four o'clock in the morning) but the one at sunset is always the most breath taking.
One of the things that I love most about studying at the Jerusalem Center is that we are free to roam through the city as we please during free time. Today, a group of us left the center at 9 am and didn't return until 5 in the afternoon! We went on the Rampart's walk, which is walking on the walls of the Old City. It was so neat! After that, we went to the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall), and then we went to the Bethesda Pools which were absolutely gorgeous! We started talking to one of the priests there, and he asked us to sing in the church that's located on the site. There were only five of us, so we didn't sound too great, but the acoustics were amazing! Hopefully we'll be able to go back and sing with a bigger group. All in all, we did a whole lot of walking. Let's just say that I took a couple doses of advil when I got back to my room.
I feel so blessed to have the chance to study here! It still blows my mind that I'll be here for another three months. I'm still in the touristy mode of feeling like I don't have enough time to see everything, so I have to do it all in one day. But there's plenty of time. :) One thing that amazes me is the reputation that the Jerusalem Center students have here in Jerusalem. Walking down the streets in the Old City, the locals that own the shops are always yelling out, "Hey, Mormons!" A lot of them give us discount prices for being students at the Mormon College. The locals think that they're really funny. (Actually, they're hilaritous!) The other day, a guy that owns a cafe came up to us and said, "Mormons! Come eat where Jesus had His first slice of pizza!" We had a pretty good laugh at that one. On another street, a young man working in a shop called out to another girl and I and said, "Hey ladies! Are you looking for a husband?!" Haha. One thing that I have quickly learned is that the locals really like to flirt with the tourists. Or maybe it's just the Mormon girls that they're always saying are so pretty..... who knows. :)
