29 April 2011

I cannot describe what things are like here. It is beyond amazing. We arrived yesterday in Tel Aviv at about 3:00p. We had to wait around for another flight to get in before we could leave for our "home away from home". Then we set off by bus for the Jerusalem Center. We drove through the Coastal Plains of Israel which is covered by vast amounts of agriculture. Everything is still very green, but it is yellowing and drying within a few areas. In a few weeks, everything will be dead again so I am taking advantage of the lush foliage while I can! It is beautiful. After leaving the coast, we begin climbing through the Judean Hills. You know the Christmas song Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains? Well, it has been lying to you, me, everyone! There are no plains in Judea. It's all hills! I guess the man who wrote it had never actually been to Jerusalem..

On the other side of the Judean countryside was Jerusalem. Every building within the city is made of a white stone. Many of the roofs are a red-brown brick. You can imagine the beauty. The Jerusalem Center is located between the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus and is commonly know to Israelis as the "Mormon University."

The Jerusalem Center is difficult to describe, but it is basically cut into the rock. It's eight floors. My apartment is on the fourth floor. Something cool - the apartments are all accessed through a courtyard. Amazing. I have three roommates, one of which is stuck in New York still. One of the flights went through New York City and a storm caused all flights coming out of New York to be cancelled yesterday afternoon. There were 16 students there; 10 of them had confirmed flights for today but 6 of them were put on stand-by. We still haven't heard much about them. My two other roommates are named Chloe and Emily. I haven't really talked to them much. Last night, I unpacked, took an Ambien, and went straight to bed. I'm sure I will get to know them soon enough. After all, I'll be living with them until August! My apartment is small but great. There are four little beds (smaller than a twin!!), a table, and a desk. Everyone has a small closet. And then there is a bathroom. We have a sliding glass door that opens out to a deck. Our view? The Dome of the Rock, the Mount of Olives, and all of Old Jerusalem. It is amazing! Last night we were fortunate enough to watch a thunder storm from our balconies. The lightning was spectacular.

We spent the morning taking a walk through the Old City. It is beautiful. It is difficult to compare to anything else. It reminds me of Greece in a way though. The streets are all fairly small and have shopkeepers. It was a fun walk. We didn't really do much - just walked around with one of the faculty members. They just wanted to acquaint us with the city. I will still need a map to orient myself though! There are so many streets and alleys that it will be easy to get lost in! I am up for the adventure though. Wandering is something I have genetically inherited. I just hope I can get a couple more people to wander with me! I have met so many wonderful people in such a short amount of time. Each of our flights were divided into groups of 3-15 people. Those on each flight got really close to one another. Lucky for me, the flight I was on merged with two others, allowing for a large group of closeness! We all get along really well and interact with everyone around us. I look forward to meeting each person staying in the J.C. and making lifelong friends.

I am in Jerusalem. Can you believe it? It is still hard to believe that I am in the Holy Land, that I can see the Mount of Olives. There is so much history here. So much. It is beautiful.