01 August 2011

Can you believe it is already August; where did this year go? It was such an amazing day. I saw lions and tigers and bears!

The morning began with a light breakfast of watermelon and cantaloupe. Watermelon has become my favorite food at the Oasis in the mornings! I don't know why I haven't eaten it before now! Haha with breakfast eaten, I headed down to my room to brush my teeth and gather my stuff together for a day out in Jerusalem. We had planned to meet on the fourth floor at 8:45 to depart for the Hebrew U bus station. However, we soon learned that the bus left on the hour...and we were rushing. Ashlyn, Niffer, and I split off from the bigger group and made our way to Hebrew U - diving over walls, walking through underbrush, tripping up stairs, and running through hallways. The good news was that everyone made it there in time; some made it about 45 seconds before the bus arrived, but they made it! I chose to sit by Niffer and Jarom on the bus (and we were later joined by Ashley). Let me just tell you, these are three of my favorite people on this program; there is never a dull moment when they are around. For the next hour or so, we laughed back and forth and shared random stories and experiences. It was a good bus ride - my first in Jerusalem! Everyone was shocked that I hadn't ridden the bus yet; but I like to walk. And when I don't walk, it is just easier to grab a taxi than try and figure out the bus routes that are generally written in Hebrew. The bus reached our destination near after ten o'clock in the morning, a small village traditionally known as the birthplace of John the Baptist: Ein Karem.

Ein Karem is the home of many churches and monasteries, attracting millions of visitors each year. The churches and monasteries were the reason for our visit. We began our descent to the village at the "Moscovia Monastery". The monastery was built by the Russian Orthodox Church in the 19th Century AD and houses two church compounds. The artwork and the architecture was remarkable; unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures inside of the building. Hopefully my memory will preserve was my eyes have seen! The outside of the church was beautiful as well, but our location did not result in the best pictures! The top of the monastery has tented (like many other Russian Orthodox churches) spires that are covered in gold plates; these spires could not be seen from ground level! It was a major disappointment but that didn't keep me from taking pictures. Continuing our descent, we headed next to the Church of the Visitation. This church is attributed to John the Baptist's parental home, where Mary would have visited Elizabeth. The church was beautiful, and we could take pictures this time! There were two parts to this church. The upper floor held an organ as well as your standard altar. Paintings covered the walls and the ceiling; it was gorgeous. Down below, however, the church is venerated as the"stone in which John was concealed", in reference to the Protevangelium of James. The room was more peaceful and held a different atmosphere than the chapel above it. When we first arrived, the room was filled with nuns, worshipping and praying. It was an interesting experience to watch and to listen to them.

We headed to our next destination quickly as time was running out! (All of the churches in Ein Karem close at noon.) We stopped for a few minutes at Mary's Spring, the traditional site where Mary and Elizabeth met, to take a few pictures and then made our way through the streets to the Church of St. John the Baptist. The church was built by the Catholic church in the second half of the 19th Century AD on the remnants of earlier Byzantine and Crusader churches. Inside are the remains of an ancient mosaic floor and a cave where, according to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born. I loved the inside of this church. With blue tiling on the walls, it was beautiful and bright. However, while the building itself was beautiful, it was what we did inside the church that made the experience. Kymberly Stone is an organ major at Brigham Young, and she is really good. In nearly every church we go to, there is an organ but she has never thought to ask if she could play before. However, with my urging, she approached the Franciscan monk in church and asked him if she could play. He happily gave her consent! (Apparently the church does not currently have an organist!) After locating the key, Kymberly climbed onto the bench and began playing different LDS Hymns. It was beautiful. Granted, the organ wasn't in the best of shape, but it was so fun to listen to her play! At one point, the pedals began syphoning, so she had to stop using them, but that didn't stop her. It was fun to watch her face light up. And she even let me play a Hymn (though my organ skills are nothing in comparison to hers! It was a great experience, for both of us.

On our way out of Ein Karem, most of us stopped to eat lunch. I chose to grab a slice of pizza and a scoop of lemon-mint gelato. It was absolutely delicious. And it felt great to sit down for a little while! You never realize how tired you are until you sit down to rest! We eventually left Ein Karem behind us and boarded another bus for our next destination: the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. For those of you who don't know me very well, zoos are right down my alley. I love seeing all of the animals and talking to them...haha :) The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo is probably second on my list of favorite zoos (San Diego being the first, of course). It is nothing like the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake where are the animals appear to be dying!!There were many different animals and they were all fairly interactive (unless they were asleep like the lazy lion). There were probably close to fifteen of us all together at the zoo: Kym, TC, Ashley, Niffer, Fenton, Holly, Josiah, Josh, Jarom...we had a blast together. I couldn't tell you what my favorite part of the zoo was, but I can tell you what animals I liked the most. THE PENGUINS! I'm sorry, but nothing is better than a penguin. They are so cute. I love how they waddled around their tank and dove into the water. It was fun to watch them but we had to move on eventually. I also enjoyed the elephants, the bears, the giraffes, and of course, the lemurs. For those of you who have never seen lemurs (except for King Jullian on Madagascar), you are seriously missing out! The lemurs were hilarious, and we were in side of their habitat with them. They were swinging above our hands and running across the path; I hate to admit it but I was scared of them. I thought they were going to eat me or land on me or something! Jarom, however, had no fear; he embraced the lemurs. He may have been more entertaining than the lemurs when it comes down to it. He loved them...lol. I don't think his life will ever be the same.

Our time at the zoo ended much too quickly in my opinion. I could have spent much longer there, but every good thing has to come to an end at some time...and we had to get back for dinner. It was a definite adventure to get home. We weren't entirely sure of the bus schedules or drop-off points, but we eventually made it back to Hebrew U. It was an amazing day - an exhausting but an amazing day! Prior to eating dinner, I purchased my All-Sports Pass for the next school year; it is going to be a great year (and many of the J.C. students grouped together for the football games)! After dinner, I took a quick shower, did laundry, and finished up some homework for the week so that I could begin studying for finals. Ugh. Finals. They are a necessary evil - or so I am told. It was a great day; one that I wouldn't mind reliving. Ein Karem was great; the zoo was wonderful. And I spent the day with amazing people. Could life get any better than this?