first week

I'm here! I'm finally in Jerusalem! It has been a crazy week. I am barely getting over jet lag and every day has been go go go! We have had non stop orientation meetings and other random stuff. This is a pretty crazy adjustment....I still feel a little overwhelmed to be honest! Anyway, we had a long day of flying on Tuesday and got into the BYU Jerusalem center on Wednesday afternoon. The Center is GORGEOUS. I can't even explain to you. It's on the Mount of Olives overlooking the whole city and there are so many huge glass windows...everywhere you go in the Center, you can see the most stunning view of Jerusalem. I haven't been here long, but my favorite thing about Jerusalem so far is the call to prayer at sunset. It comes on 4 or 5 times a day, but my favorite is at night, when I can see the whole city from my balcony, the call to prayer echoing everywhere, and sun setting. It is so surreal. I love it! We've been doing a little bit of exploring so far, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

With the BYU Center in the back and to the right of us. 

Chacos, fanny pack, and backpack while exploring the city today. I don't want to talk about it.  

Two of my roommates, Rachel and Susan. (There are like, 7 Rachels here. Go figure with a group of Mormons in the Holy Land...)

Conquerors on top of the Old City wall. 

The Western Wall. It's a sign of respect to walk backward when leaving so you're always facing the wall. That's what everyone in this picture is doing. 

We were asked to wear shawls at the Wall because our sleeves were too short. 

Pictures do NOT do it justice...the sunsets here are stunning!

I really swear I'll write more later, but I have to run! We are at the Hebrew University right next door, which is the closest place we can upload pictures. We're not allowed to walk back to the Center at night, so the security guards called a van to pick us up. P.S. the security guards are SO great. One who I ran into earlier today just walked up to me and said "You again! What's your name?" I said "Rachael, what's yours?"

"....James Bond."

i'm off!

so i'm at the salt lake airport waiting for my first flight to new york, then from there to tel aviv. this is so crazy! i'm feeling a broad spectrum of emotions. maybe it's a lack of sleep, but i'm feeling everything from fear to giddiness to bittersweetness. i can't believe i am finally going to jerusalem! i know that when i get there, i'm going to feel at home really fast, but for now, all i see is a long day of plane rides, strangers, and my family back at home. i went to orientation yesterday and for the first time, i got actually REALLY excited....I AM GOING TO JERUSALEM! AHHHH!

this morning at like, 3:30 or 4:00, i was packing and my mom pointed out the sound of a ukulele being played somewhere. i wandered around the house until i realized the sound was coming from outside, so i walked outside and found the best surprise ever waiting for me on the trampoline playing my ukulele, who had driven down from rexburg at midnight to say goodbye one more time and then left 4 hours later to get back for work. seriously. i don't think anyone has done anything so sweet for me. 

wish me luck!

see ya in august! 

more to come

oh, hello blog. i forgot i had you. actually, i didn't, but i just couldn't think of anything to blog about for the past six weeks. i've just been too lazy and not creative enough to write anything. for real, guys, i'm so excited to go to jerusalem and become productive again. a 21 year old can only do so much babysitting before she starts to go a little bit crazy. so ya....things in these here parts are going to get really interesting next week.

speaking of jerusalem, did you know that the dress code for the BYU JC center is more rigid than the missionary dress code? it is NOT easy to wear ankle length skirts and dresses without looking like a nun. luckily for me, this whole maxi thing is in right now. so i'm not totally doomed. my mom told me today that i don't seem that excited to go to jerusalem...and to be honest...it hasn't hit me yet that i'm going. when i think about it, it's like "oh. wow. i'm going to jerusalem next week. i need to get ready." i don't think i'll actually get really excited until we touch down in tel aviv, you know? the idea is still too abstract for me to grasp. 

anyway, i just got home for the first time in two weeks. i went to st. george with my family for a week, which was so fun, as always, even the part where we tore out wooden shingles on the roof. seriously, i found out there is nothing more therapeutic than shredding the heck out of a roof. and i got in a workout and a tan at the same time. perfect. then my friends picked me up on the way to california and we spent a week there. don't even worry, i went to a legit luchador wrestling match in tijuana. with masks and capes and everything. and i loved every second of it. pictures of the week to follow. 

oh, and we all got lifeguard certified in san diego. it's pretty much equivalent to getting married in vegas.