Shana Tova!

Shana tova means "Happy New Year" in Hebrew! Which is most appropriate because today is the second day of the 2 day celebration for the Jewish new year! It has been a party in Jerusalem! And the Muslims finished fasting for Ramadan yesterday so they're celebrating their 3 day feast right now as well!

It's been a little over a week and I'm starting to feel somewhat acquainted with the city. We actually have quite a bit of time to cruise around the city. The Old City is where all the flea market type shops are. There is an Arab, Jewish and Christian quarter. Its a lot of fun! A lot of the shopkeepers know about the center and love the students. We get lots of deals and they watch out for us. It's a very busy place! There are always men wheeling huge wheel barrels full of stuff up and down and if you're not careful, you could get ran over. Each man for himself in the Old City! The West City is very European. Its really fancy! A couple of nights we've taken a taxi there to get gelato and filaffles! Both, equally delicious. At night the West city streets are beautiful. All lit up! And there are lots of street performers and dealers. But the taxi rides are... scary. Driving here is insane. We actually saw an accident happen the other day. It's not an uncommon thing. And the sidewalks are full of totaled cars. Sidewalks are their equivalent of wrecking yards I suppose.

Saturday is the Sabbath here so i figured out with the time change that while everyone back home is till up having a good time on Friday night, I am sitting in church. Somewhat depressing. Jerusalme actually has a Jerusalem Branch. There is a handful of mormons from the U.S. consulate and maybe a couple students from Hebrew University. I guess there are also a couple members in the West Bank but they can't come to Jerusalem so they can't come to church.

Last Sunday we walked Ramparts wall which is the wall that surrounds the city. There are some wonderful views. We also went through Zedekiah's Cave which is where King Solomon spent a lot of time back in the day. That was pretty interesting. On the way out of the cave we met the nicest Arab man. He was there with his wife and 3 boys. They were from the West Bank and he managed to get into Jerusalem for a day to take his family around. He told us how much he likes America and how sad he is that so many people in America think so bad about Muslims here. He didn't speak English very well and kept asking us if we understood him. He told us how peaceful his people are and that they truly do love America. He told us how hard fasting for Ramadan is and we told him how much we repect him for doing it. Then he told us how much he respects us for our faith in God. He asked us how long we were going to be here and he said; "4 months not long enough! The city can change you. It will change you. And not like an Obama change... a real change!" I thought that was hilarious. Then he quickly followed it with; "But I love America!"It was such a special experience to see how badly he wanted us to understand his sincerity in telling us the respect he and his people have for us. He kept telling us to never forget him. We've also met a couple other people who have been very eager to tell us how much they respect us and love America.

On Monday we took our first field trip. We went all around Jerusalem to look over the land from different towers and hills to get acquainted with the geography. We saw into Gibeon, the hills of Ephraim and Judah and into Bethlehem. Bethlehem is part of the West Bank and we will be able to go there later but its pretty much blocked off to us. We did get to see the wall that seperates us. Ididn't realize how cradeled jerusalem is between the West Bank. It was great to look our onto the ancient cities where all the Old Testament stories took place.

We have a running group that goes running every other day. Thats a lot of fun! But Jerusalem is a torurous place to run! Especially when you live on top of the Mt. of Olives! No matter where you go you have the Mt. of Olives to run up before you're done. But its so fun to run through the city! It's invigorating.

Another one of my favorite things is eating the pomegranites from the trees that grow around the center! Pomegranites are everywhere here! A couple nights ago my roomates and I ate pomegranites and enjoyed the Jerusalem lights! Certainly a once in a lifetime oppurtunity!

The internet connection isn't very fast here at the center but as soon as I get the chance I'm going to go to Hebrew University to download some pictures!