Finals... Are Over!!!

Yup. We had finals this week and they were a doozy. These pictures pretty much describe my week...

Hours and hours of studying in the classrooms and using the whiteboards to remember EVERYTHING about the history of Islam, Judaism, Palestine, and Israel. 

It was actually really cool to review everything we've been learning this semester and see how it all ties together! I've learned so much about the political and religious situation here in the Holy Land and realize it's an amazing opportunity to see it continue to unfold real time. 

One fun memory from the week was when we wet all sitting in the Forum waiting for Professor Ayman to give us our Arabic final. He came in with two huge bags of delicious chocolate treats! Then he said that before the final Austin and I had to sing for him and the class. I thought he was joking but then the next thing I knew Austin was singing "Lean On Me" and then I was singing a reprise of "Bring  Him Home." He loved it and gave me a big hug afterwards :)

After finals we celebrated by going to a soccer game!!

With Courtney, Adam, Mackenzie, Sygni, and Grace :)

Da whole soccer crew posing together after the game!

Then today we had our Field Trips class midterm and we were finally done with all our tests this week!!!

Our "We Survived Finals Week" celebration picture!! And a little Halloween celebration teaser...

The Olive Press

We got to press olives on Monday!!

I've learned a lot recently about pressing olives. On Sunday we visited the Garden of Gethsemane and I was reminded of something I learned just this past week. In Matthew 26:36 it says, "Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder."

Gethsemane means in Hebrew "olive press" so Christ brought his disciples to an olive press and left them to go pray. It's likely he went to pray in an olive garden nearby though it's never specified in Matthew's account. The interesting thing is that an olive press must be out of the sun so that the oil doesn't turn bitter. They were often placed in underground caves where sun couldn't enter. Christ likely brought his disciples to an underground olive press where they slept and where Christ returned after his suffering. It was there that Judas betrayed him and he was arrested.

There is so much symbolism behind pressing olives! Just as we must be covered by Christ's atonement in order to be pure enough to live with God the olive press must be covered for the oil to be pure enough for culinary use. Also, just as Christ bled from every pore as he was crushed by the weight of the sins and pains of the world, a red blood-like substance is comes out of the olives as they are crushed by the weight of the olive press. Maybe you'll be able to see more symbols as you look through pictures from our olive pressing activity today. 

The olive press at the Jersualem Center is out in the sun since it's main purpose is to give us the opportunity to see the process. 

We rinsed and then soaked the olives in water in this huge blue tub to prepare them for pressing. 

Here we're pushing the heavy wooden lever attached to a heavy stone that crushes the olives as it turns on top of the round flat stone.

Sister Anderson was wanting to see some pain so Jessica and I really tried to milk it in this picture :) 

Brothers Chadwick, Anderson, and Whitchurch taking their turn... They lasted a solid 30 seconds. 

Here is what the olives looked like after crushing them.

We took the crushed olive mix and placed it in these flat and round woven bags that we stacked one on top of the other to be pressed. 

Micah and I using an olive press that has a screw-like mechanism. 

You can see the oil dripping down the stone here - it was a much darker color than I expected.

Here's my Instagram picture! You can see the whole olive press here. The liquid from the olives flows into the containers at the bottom and the oil rises to the top to be skimmed off.

Ashley and I in front of the other olive press.

The log was tied to heavy stones and then it's lifted up on one side so that the other side presses down on the olives.

Here's where the olives are pressed.

One of the JC employees skimming the oil off the top.

We had a great day pressing olives!!

Making Space

I have a tendency of filling every sliver of free time in my life with things. This last school year I was always either in class, at work, rehearsing/performing with Vocal Point, studying, or spending time with friends. I loved everything I was doing and felt so fulfilled by my activities but there was little time to reflect and few opportunities to take a step away from my life and reassess. I needed to make space on my life just for me.

One of the greatest blessings that has come from being here in Jerusalem is built-in space. I don't have a car or a job or Vocal Point. I have classes, all of which form part of a focused curriculum and include amazing field trips, and I have free time. 

What do I do with all this free time?! I use it to study for my classes and I use it to spend time with the friends I've made here. I also use it to reflect. I reflect on my life before coming here, the life I have here, and the life I want to have after I leave. 

I've loved be able to record my Jerusalem experiences on my blog. It's allowed me the opportunity to share them with those I love wherever they are. I look forward to sharing my blog with my own family someday! 

I love to go up and lay on a blanket on the grass lawn on the seventh floor patio after a morning and afternoon of classes. I'll lay there and read Old Testament, listen to music, write down my thoughts, and sleep if I need too. I'll be looking out over Jerusalem and think,"Is this real? Am I really living in Jerusalem?" It's moments like those when I'm really grateful to be where I am. 

This last week I did something I've been wanting to do for a long time. I was in class and an experience came to mind and I decided to write a song about it. I wrote down some lyrics and the melody just came. I tweaked it over a few days and sat down at the piano and plunked out the chords. There is space in my life to do that here and I love it! I want to keep making space in my life after this semester to write music and reflect more on my experiences. 

Here are some pictures of some of the fun things I've gotten to do with my free time :)

My friend Robert came to visit from Amman, Jordan a few weeks ago so we went out and partied in West Jerusalem with Emma and Lauren! Loved the photobombers haha. 

The next day we went with big group of JC students and visiting friends to the Garden Tomb and a few of us got shawarma afterwards. 

Then we went to my favorite grassy spot, sat on my blanket, and listened to some relaxing acoustic guitar music with Dean, Olivia, Lauren, and Kasdyn. Robert is there too... My selfies skills were suffering that day haha. 

One night we went out to the German Colony in West Jerusalem. Here I'm just sitting at a public skate park with Emma, Kasdyn, and Spencer. 

After watching the skaters we went through the rest of the park. Here's a group selfie with Olivia, Lincoln, Matt, and Spencer with Emma, Lauren, and Kasdyn in the back. 

On the playground with Emma and Kasdyn :)

Out for Belgian waffles for Lincoln's birthday! October birthdays are the best ;)

Sitting by two great friends at Lincoln's waffle party - Kasdyn and Spencer :)

Last night the Elders Quorum President invited me and the other quorum teachers and presidency members to his house for dinner.

Dean, Matt, Bryce, Adam, and Lincoln, and me with CJ, his two daughters, and his beautiful wife!

He works for the State Department and is the Director of Security in Jerusalem so he took us to his office after dinner. 

He let Matt try on his bullet proof vest that felt like it weighed 100 lbs. 

He also showed us his armored car. 

Sooooo cool!

So grateful for the space I have here to play :)

Last Day of Classes!

No, the semester isn't over yet but four of the seven classes we take are! Today actually marks the halfway point - can you believe we're halfway though the semester?! This week we have finals for Old Testament, Islam, Judaism, and Arabic. Then New Testament starts with Sister Strathearn and we continue with our Field Studies class with Brother Whitchurch and our Ancient Near Eastern studies class with Brother Chadwick.

Just wanted to pay tribute to the professors of the classes that are ending today :)

To Ophir! I appreciated his composure in class as he presented Judaism and the Zionist movement in a thorough and organized way. He didn't just instruct us in the classroom, he guided us. He took us to his synagogue, led us through Yad Vashem, and hosted our Seder dinner. He had a very spiritually tender side - there were many moments in class and at Yad Vashem where I felt his strong yet sweet spirit as he shared his beliefs. 

To Bashir! Today in our last class we played Bashir Bingo. We took a list of 16 words, phrases, noises, and hand motions that are iconically Bashir and put them in a 4X4 grid and played during class. It didn't take more than 15 minutes before someone snuck the word "bingo" into their question during class to indicate they had won haha. He passionately communicated his Palestinian perspective of the current conflict and helped me truly understand where the Palestinians are coming from as it relates to the issues surrounding the State of Israel. 

To Ayman! I love Ayman. He wrote "Trevor" on my language packet in Arabic and the name "Brandon" next to it in parentheses. One day a couple weeks ago he called me Brandon accidentally and it kinda stuck. So whether is was Trevor, Brandon, or Mr. Hair he always took the chance to tease me. He made me laugh harder than any other professor ever. He was a master of social interaction - he knew exactly who to tease and how in order to win the whole class over. I didn't learn a ton of Arabic but I had a great time :) 

To Brother Anderson! Not only was he a great teacher but he truly has become a great friend. I've had a lot of opportunities to get to know him better and spend one-on-one time with him discussing music, service, family, health, and of course the Old Testament. He's been a great mentor. He has a great capacity to love. His wife is pretty great too...

To Sister Anderson! She may not have been one of my professors but she sure taught me a lot! She taught me that the best way to serve her husband was by eating all the delicious treats she made so he wouldn't... She taught me that German women always win in an argument - don't mess with em' unless you want to leave with bruises and wounded pride. She also taught me by example how to live the gospel sincerely and with a great sense of humor :)

To five wonderful people who taught me things I'll never remember but made me feel things I'll never forget :)

Seder Dinner

Big cultural week! We had a Seder dinner which is a typical Passover meal that Jewish families share together with scripture reading, singing, and eating.

Maren and I sat together at our table :) There were prayer books and a dish with symbolic food on it that we ate throughout the meal ceremony. 

Here's the Seder plate with bitter herbs, a boiled egg, salt water, a chicken bone, and other mixtures.

Here's our table setting with the prayer book under our napkin. 

There was also grape juice that we were supposed to drink at specific times... maybe I drank it throughout the meal... I'm probably a hereditary alcoholic.

Ophir led us in the scripture reading and prayers along with the students sitting around his table.

I got to sing in Hebrew in a group for part of the meal :)

I ate the bitter herbs (representing the bitter afflictions of the Children of Israel) which I dipped in salt water (symbolizing their tears).

Maren helped break the unleavened bread (reminiscent of the exodus out of Egypt which happened so suddenly that they took their bread dough before it could rise). 

We put bitter herbs and a sweet mixture on the unleavened bread and ate it. 

Before we ate the first course of the actual meal we had to wash our hands as part of the ceremony.

Then we finally got to eat!!! I was also sitting by Grace - she's the best :)

The whole meal with all four courses, prayers, songs, scriptures, and commentary from Ophir lasted three hours. He said they typically last longer and go past midnight! I loved that we got to experience it even though Passover is in the Spring. 

I had a great time at our table with Maren, Ben, Sygni, Christeen, and Grace :)

The City of David

I LOVED our field trip to the City of David this past week. A huge part of our curriculum here is the history of the city of Jerusalem. As we've been reading the Old Testament it's been so cool to gain an understanding of the city as it existed and evolved throughout history.

Recorded history of Jerusalem dates back to about 2000 BC around the time of Abraham and it was called the Salem (Jerusalem directly translates to City of Salem). It was a small Canaanite city built on a hill with two valleys on the either side - the Kidron Valley on the east and the Tyropean Valley on the west. These two valleys meet on the south side of Salem making one valley that runs all the way to the Dead Sea, the lowest body of water in the world. During the rainy season (November - March) water runs down this valley and replenishes the Dead Sea. 

This is the Kidron Valley running along the east side of Old City. You can see the southeast corner of the Old City on the left and a hillside covered in Jewish graves and tombs on the right. 

I'm standing in front of one of the original walls of Salem which existed from the time of Abraham all the way through Lehi and through Christ's time.

Mount Moriah, the site of the first and second temples in Jerusalem and the highest point of the hill between the Kidron and Tyropean valleys, was outside of the city of Salem just to the north. That's where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac. Mount Moriah is where the Dome of the Rock currently stands.

The City of Salem (Jeru-Salem), as it existed when David conquered it, had walls surrounding it. David and his people moved in and built a palace in the northern part of the kingdom. At this point in history newly conquered Salem began to be called the City of David (a nickname for Jerusalem as it existed then). 

Here are some of the remains of King David's palace.

Here is a stone wall built just below David's palace on the east side in order to support the structure.

King Solomon later extended the city limits further north to include Mount Moriah where the first temple was built around 900 BC - the temple often referred to as Solomon's Temple. Slowly Jerusalem grew and as it extended, the City of David still referred to the original city limits. In a sense the "City of David" became more of a neighborhood name within the growing Jerusalem. King Hezekiah again extended the city limits to include the new neighborhoods to the west towards a third valley called the Hinnom Valley.  Here's a picture of a model of what Jerusalem looked like right before the Babylonian destruction in 587BC (looking north). 

On the southeast side you can see two parallel valleys on either side of a defined paintbrush tip-shaped area with thick outer walls which is the City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem). The square shaped complex on the north side of the City of David was likely David's palace. Solomon's temple extension is directly to the north of the City of David. To the west is the extension added during Hezekiah's reign.

I wasn't planning on this blogpost turning into a history lesson... I'm turning into Professor Chadwick. Help me. 

Anyways, it was just really cool to be in the City of David and see for myself the area referred to in the Old Testament. 

Here's Brother Chadwick instructing our class on the east side of the City of David which is now reinhabited by local residents. 

We finished the field trip by walking through Hezekiah's Tunnel. It's a tunnel that was carved all the way from the Gihon springs on the north side of the City of David to the south side. 

I'm ready to go with my slingpack, flashlight, rolled-up pants, and water shoes!

The Gihon springs! It's now underground but used to be above ground. (With Clarah, Kasdyn, Jordan, and Hunter).

A five shekel flashlight keychain with the City of David logo!! I couldn't help myself. 

Inside the tunnel with Kasdyn and Mackenzie.

Me being a dork at the pool at the end of the tunnel.

Siloam Pool selfie!!

Then we walked back to the north side of the city through old sewage tunnels. Ancient poop water was dripping on my head the whole time :/ Here I am with Amber, Sadie, and Clarah!