24 July 2011

A Happy Pioneer Day to all of my friends and family in Utah! I hope you launched some fireworks and lit some sparklers for me!

It felt amazing to be back in the Old City of Jerusalem. You never realize how much you miss something until you have it back. Galilee was amazing, but it's not Jerusalem. I spent the day with Andrew Null and Julie Rencher; a day spent with them is guaranteed to fly by smoothly without drama or stress. We began the morning by making our way across Jerusalem to the Israel National Museum. I doubt I would have visited the museum if it hadn't been a part of an assignment, but I am so glad that I did! It was really cool (and yes, Rachel, there was a lot of pottery). As soon as we walked onto the museum grounds, we made our way over a model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period. I was expecting a standard model on a table top; I wasn't expecting what I found. It was amazing. The model displayed Herod's Temple in its glory; the model displayed each of the valleys and the hills. It was definitely one of the highlights of the museum, but it wasn't the highlight. From the model, we made our way into the Shrine of the Book exhibit: the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I was in paradise! It is amazing how excited one person can get over old scraps of parchment! It is just so cool to see something that old...it's the freaking Hebrew Bible people! Ah! Haha...anyway... ;) The rest of the museum was cool. We had a list of things we had to see so Julie and I bounced around finding all of the items while Andrew spent a little more time actually studying them. It worked out well in the end. Museums take a lot out of you. After two and a half hours of walking/standing, we were ready for a break! But, there was no break; we had bigger and better things to do.

We chose to walk back to the Old City/East Jerusalem by way of Emek Refaim street. On our we, we ran into Liberty Park and decided to walk through it. The park is beautiful and full of people. So many people were there laughing and playing; parks in foreign countries are always so great! In the center of this park, you can find a replica of the Liberty Bell (you know...Pass and Stow). I don't know the exact reason behind this (and I am far too lazy to look it up!!) so you will just have to Wikipedia it on your own. So ha. By the time we got out of the park we were on Emek Refaim street! We took a picture under the sign...and then we moved on. Haha. We made our way through the Old City; I picked up Mike's ring; and then we stopped by the Grill on Saladin Street for a Schawarma. It was delicious! We made it back to the J.C. very hot and very sweaty.

Back at the J.C., I didn't do very much. I finished writing a few letters to some friends and then I began writing a seven page paper for Chaddy's class. I didn't get very far. I ended up blogging for most of the night. I got about two posts done...if that, but at least I am making progress, right? I ended the night by FaceTiming with my family, and there was a surprise on the other end: my niece, Samantha! I was so excited. We talked for a long time. She was super confused at first, but after a while, she started talking! I can't believe she is using full sentences now; she is getting so big. It was so nice to talk to her, and my parents, and my little sister. I love my family so much! They are so wonderful. They make me smile in ways that I can't even begin to describe. Saying goodbye, as always, was hard. It was even harder with Samantha. She wants me to come home so that I can help her find Lumpy (The Heffalump Movie). She also wanted me home for dinner. It was heart breaking. But at least I know I'll be home soon to play with her! I love my family. There are no greater people out there. I ended the night with Kymberly again! Hehehehe :) We like movies, okay? Don't be so judgmental!