09 June 2011

It was another calm day at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. Classes began promptly at eight o’clock in the morning, without a quiz in Old Testament, which was a relief. 2 Kings still doesn’t make sense to anyone…or his dog. I guess it takes a lot of time studying the Bible to get it down! Will I ever get there? Hopefully… Will I get there before I leave Jerusalem? Not a chance… Haha. But it’s the thought that counts, right? I am trying to understand; I am trying to learn. It is just all over the place. Maybe if all of the kings didn’t have similar names and didn’t constantly overtake one another and didn’t always go to war against one another it would be easier to understand. Ha.

Thursday in the Oasis: do you know what that means? Falafel Day! It is always a day to look forward to. However, I must admit that I am getting tired of having a falafel every Thursday. I wish they would switch it up and surprise us every once and a while! Pitas, on the other hand, should never be a surprise. I don’t know what I would do if the pitas (including the Halvah) were to disappear one day. I’m sure it wouldn’t be a pretty situation or picture. It would probably scare the children; it would probably scare the adults. It would probably scare me.

I spent most of the afternoon writing a paper for my Islam class. The paper isn’t due until Thursday, but I will have next to no time to work on it Saturday thru Tuesday. So I thought I had better get a head start. I didn’t get as good of a head start as I had hoped for, though. I ended up turning on Devil Wears Prada after twenty minutes or so. That was much more productive than writing the actual paper, wouldn’t you say so? Haha I will try again tomorrow, I suppose. Because it’s Friday, the city will be mostly closed anyway so I will just hang out here and stay away from all and any movies. They are incredibly distracting.

Tonight was the Jerusalem Center’s Informal Talent Show. Although there was great technical difficulty, it was one of the best talent shows I have ever witnessed. The acts were creative and fun and full of life. I even participated in one! Haha along with Alise, Megan, Kerri Allison, and Tyson, we put on SNL’s Sister Act skit. We struggled through it due to a load of laughter from ourselves and the audience, but it was a good experience and tons of fun. Other acts included, but were not limited to, Maccabean Family Feud, Pillow Talk, Wakka-Wakka Dance, and a scene from Newsies. It was a great night. Afterward, we were privileged to eat a cake made by Meeshell Jewel. It was the Dome of the Rock! It was as amazing looking as it was delicious.

The night ended with watching the Newsies. “Never fear! Brooklyn is here!” You can never get enough of Jack “Cowboy” Kelly and his crew of newsies, or at least I know I can’t. There is just something about a young man who sings and dances while wearing a newsboy hat… Haha it was nice just to relax and be with friends, even though it did end up being a late night!