Chaos and Cosmos

I am here!! I am here!!!!! This place is so amazing!

I'll start at the beginning: After a long flight we landed in Tel Aviv and I instantly fell in love with this amazing land! We took a bus from Tel Aviv which is on the coast and headed up into the hills where Jerusalem is. It was dark outside by the time we really got going so I couldn't see anything outside, but you could still see some things. The dome of the rock is the easiest landmark to pick out from anywhere and that is the first thing I saw. Then I saw the center on the Mount Scopus, and the Solomon temple walls, and that is when everything became real.

You know in Jurassic Park when the gates open for the jeep and the beautiful music is playing and sometimes you get chills? Well that is what I think the experience of walking in the center gates was like for me, but better! Kinda sappy but honestly what came to my mind as I was walking through the gates. The center is absolutely gorgeous! It is open and light and there are arches everywhere! It is also a very large building. So the group of students were all dead tired but they made us stay up till 11 to get us adjusted to the time. I am still not adjusted, but I'll get there! They took us into the auditorium on the top floor which has four walls of glass. The curtains were drawn but I knew the view was going to be amazing! They started playing All Creatures of my God and King on the organ and the curtains were drawn to reveal the city. I will never forget that moment. What a beautiful place!! The spirit was very strong in that room.

The next day we went on a walking tour throughout the Old City. We got to stop at a few places, but it was mostly an informational walk. My favorite place that we stopped at and we actually stayed for about half an hour was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. That is the place where it is widely accepted and believed that Christ was crucified and his body was embalmed. I want to go back there and spend lots of time in that place. There is a rock there called the Stone of Anointing that is the rock where Christ was laid and prepared for burial. People come and kiss the rock, rub their hands on it, put oils and other liquids and wash the rock. It constantly has a crowd around it touching it. It was inspiring to see the devotion of people there of different Christian sects. I did not want to leave the Old City and I am so excited to go back!!

Today we had a our first day of classes and wow the professors here know their stuff. Professor Seely is my Near Eastern Studies Professor and his class is going to be my favorite. He worked on translating the Dead Sea Scrolls and his passion for this land and the rich and violent history is catchy! He talked about going on the buses for field trips and being amazed at students that would shut the blinds and fall asleep till the destination was reached. They would miss out on seeing the country and experiencing the best sites you could see! You want to hear, see, smell, and learn everything you can about this land so don't miss out on a single second he said. His analogy for this was that it was like getting married but skipping the honeymoon!

I will start taking pictures this week and posting them here! Sorry I know this was long and a little scattered but I am just so so so excited to be here and I am meeting so many new and amazing people that I know will become life long friends! I will take lots of pictures don't worry!!