Saturday, November 14, 2009

super soap scooper story

Laundry at the JC is fun.

We have our own laundry mat full of old squeaky (when i say squeaky i mean you need ear plugs if you want to still have hearing left when you leave the room) washer and dryers-mom they even have your set makes me feel right at home. Its kind of fun to put your clothes in the washer and a have to climb on top of the washer and jump on the lid to get it to close. Or the one time when I put my clothes in the dryer at right before i went to bed and when i woke up in the morning they were still running- that was exciting. My skirt shrunk about 6 inches.

i think my favorite part is putting the soap into the washer. The center is so wonderful to provide soap for us. It comes in these 60lb bags that that hang on a rack that has wheels. The soap rack is about 4'9" tall and I am 5'2" so i look forward to jumping on the bar and hanging over it to reach down and scoop a cup of soap out. Sometimes it cuts my air supply off so its hard to breath and my face gets really red its great.

The soap scooper is like a game. everytime i do laundry we have a new item to scoop the soap with. I don't know who invented it but its SO FUN. The first week was too easy-we had a scooper. it work well but wasn't challenging enough. So the next week we a plastic cup with the whole in the bottom. you lost points if you left trail of blue and white specks. it was a bit hard but wasn't challenging enough. Soooo the next week we found a plastic bag! Boy was it so much fun to lay it out and shovel soap in it and then dump in the washer! but this last week was the ultimate challenge! (and who ever thought of this is a geinus) we found a sock to scoop the soap! man o man. I mean not even a regular sock it was an ANKLE SOCK! only the pure in skill could figure out that one. I think i am winning. I am not sure where they keep points but i feel pretty confindent in my soap scooping skills.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The happenin'

Sunday (which is like our saturday cuz we have the Sabbeth on Saturday)
We went to the Kotel, Western Wall, and we went down in a tunnel under the old city. It was EPIC! the tunnel was escavated right outside the ancient wall and it follows the ancient road that ran along the wall. It was so rad we were walking under peoples houses it was crazy! At one point our tour guide stopped us at a sealed of entrance that went under the Temple mount. A couple years ago the Jews led a classified operation and broke through this entrance and was searching for the lost Ark of the Covenant. That was until the outraged Arabs found out about it and sealed it off.

But seriously there is a group of Orthodox jews who started preperations for the return of the 3rd temple. Let me just tell you this is a radical movement.
It would be like if midgets took over the white house.
whoa. crazy. like i said radical.

They have a giant golden monorah 8ft tall. Priestly robes that coast $50 a strand. Shew bread tables. An alter that they have practiced sacrifices on. Musical instraments. Its legit- like a cheese sandwich. I cannot believe it haha it was the coolest fanatical thing i have ever witnessed.

We went to check out St. James church a Greek orthodox church-the oldest in Jerusalem. We made friends with Theoausses. He's the priest there. Such a charming guy. He explained to us some of his beliefs and showed us how he makes these prayer braclets. Its a crazy cross method. But I really wanted one so he is going to make me one-they usually cost $15! Theoausses is also a cook at a monestary he cooks greek food and invited us to come eat sometime.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Fat kid with no teeth.

Ok picture this:
I am in Jordan on top of Mt. Neob where Moses was translated or somthing like that.
the view is amazing i can see the whole entire valley clear across to Jericho!! that's cool Snap a pic of that.
Ooo cute school girl on a rock. Snap.
OOO BIRDS! SNAP SNAP SNnnna..........what? the shutter is wont release. i impaitently look down to see what the hold up is- i am missing out on some good shots here. my heart drops. the LCD screen reads: YOUR CF CARD IS UNFORMATTED REMOVE IT. how could this be? how did this happen? what do i do? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS???? this means i have no camera for the next 4 days to take pictures of spetacular Petra, gershon, and jordan river!! it means i have to drop $70 bucks on a new one. it means that while other students are laughing taking stupid narcistic pictures of themselves i will have none. it means that like a fat kid who has no teeth to eat his cake- i will have no camera to capture priceless moments.
its devasting. a low blow from the Banshees that curse my life.
tears almost hit the tear gland when.........(suspense).......I remember that i hualed my hunk of metal 1968 Pentax film camera across the border!! A MIRACLE. that nite i hunt the city of Wadi Mousa for film. i found some for an eye ball and some teeth-it was $7 dollars a roll!! oustandingly rediculous. i got two. the next day i would barter a desperate shop keeper for an aditional roll for an amazingly cheap price of $4.
because of this despensable blessing of film, i had to carefully choose and craft each picture. slowing down and disect each location to make sure i was getting the maximum shot per frame. it was hard. but you know what? i l i k e d i t. it was refreshing. i got to intimately know each subject i was shooting. instead this one nite stand type of deal that i had going on before it was as if i was developing a relationship taking time to get to know it and bond with it! it made the time spent at the location more memorable and each picture better composed.
I can't help but hear dierks bentley lyrics in my head: "I'd settle for a slowdown...come on tap those brakes..mmm do la dee.." why do we live like we have to go mock 90? there is soo much to life if we just push and the breaks. slow down. What is the point of life if we dont enjoy it?? what's the point of working 65 hours a week if you dont get to play with your kids? whats the point of taking on a crap load of credits joining every club and training for a marathon if you are too stressed to have any fun?
"Men are that they might have joy." God wants to bless us with peace and happiness. i just feel as if we take life so fast that we forget how to be intiment and enjoy the simple things that really give us life greatest pleasures.
please slow down. eat a marshmellow. feel the breeze. develop a talent. smile at the walmart door greaters.
shoot if you find this a little difficult to do- i kno of a good remedy: pull out your old film brick of a camera and let it revive you.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mumbo Jumbo

Walkin' through Hezikiahs tunnel
The tunnel is 1.25 miles long
Jericho
King Herods Swimming pool where he drowned his Brother in law
a temple in egypt
i think i give the sphinx a run for his prowness
me trying to get some action from the sphinx
but i uh..kind of missed haha

notice my fanny pack. seriously these things are amazing
when i get home i am going to wear one on campus all the time
the view from top of mt sinai
SUN RISE ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
beginning of our descent 2:00 am in the morning mt sinai
Batman on mt sinai werid.

did you know that i can fit 234 cheerios in my mouth ???
Mosque of Muhammud
k this pic was taken on a train ride. an overnite train ride
from Luxor to Cario. it was RAD this seat fold down into a
bed and we slept to the soothing motion of the train. This was
us after we woke up. YIKES

Church of the Holy Seplecure
The Man himself
Matisyahu Concert EPK!!!

200 year old Torah written on parchment!!


An area where they believe the Children of Israel passed by



Friday, October 9, 2009

The Ballad on Stairs

Morning light to setting dusk
climbing stairs is a must

Top to bottom, bottom to top
the merciless stones is a must

Sweating 'n Panting as I climb
If it does not stop I'll lose my mind

Weak calves, complaining toes
this is a hell I have not choose

Right left I can't escape
They haunt my dreams and when i wake

When will it stop when will it end
the wrath of the stone will not bend

If your reading this hear my plea:
Drown my sorrows and send cookies to me.


(this poem is based on true events and feelings.)

Saturday, September 26, 2009

King Tuts Revenge

It is midnight in the land of the Egyptians. Peacefully i rest in my-five star sheriton bed. the shimmering moonlite on the nile finds its way into my dreams.
Tightening. Trepidation. Horror.

My eyes fly open.
King TUT has gotten revenge.
the steady rise and fall of my chest is shattered as i panick. can i make it to the W.C. (bathroom)?? I have never felt such urgency or such importance of sitting on the white alabaster throne then at that moment. Why was this happening to me? I resisted the tempation of the beautiful furit and vegetatbles spread before us at every meal. I brushed my teeth with expensive bottle water, and i faithfully use hanitizer. yet King Tut found has sought revenge out on me and gave me the runs and nausation.
I will spare you the details, but let me just say i cried and wanted my mummers to be with me to hold my hand.

Egypt is a dirty place. garbage piles are strewn everywhere and people lack the knowledge of cleaniness. the men here are aggressive. while they have a deep respect for their own women they have none for western women. the sellers are constantly in your face-basically grabbing money from your hands.


however, by ignoring these facts ancient egypt becomes a fantastic adventure. HUGE blocks, i am talkin like 2 tons blocks, are stacked to creat The great pyramid, or the pyramid of Cheops. I was a lucky one out of 200 people to get the AWESOME experience of climbing up in the pyramid into the burial chamber of the pharoh. it was surreal SIFI-ish feeling. It was a steep climb up a dimly lit tunnel. you could feel the air decrease and secretly you are cursing the guy behind you for using up all the oxygen. i was startled at the precise caftmenship of the burial chamber. the stones were perfectly aligned. the walls were so smooth. so glossy. SOO RAD!!

there were so many adventures but my all time favorite was hiking mt sinai. 2:00 am should have felt early in the morning but this was too bamf to feel anything but STOKED! these moutians are nothing like the big horns in wyoming or the ones in utah valley. these moutians are barren. massive formations located in the middle of a desert. it was a good 2.5 hour hike and it was hard-i was sweating and my legs were shaking. i had to pull out me extra toughness when we reached the 750 stairs that led to the very tip of the moutian. we made it just in time to watch the sunrise. i felt on top of the world. the morning rays broke through the morning haze on the valley bottom thousands of feet below. it was wonderous.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Just a few notes

So first off sorry about my horrendous spelling and grammer. second off check out Alexs blog: alexandranoelyoung.blogspot.com. she has more SWEET pics and videos of us watch the one of us singing and check out the hottie at the end. i couldn't download very much pictures because we had to go to Hebrew University to do so and we had to come back for cerfew.

These last couple of days have been FAN-TAS-TIC!! sunday (we have Sabbath on saturday) we went to the beach and spent the entire day basking in the sunlight and swimming in the Mediterrean Sea!!!! it was amazing-it was really really salty thou. it would get in my throat and burn and up my nose and make the snot just run out uncontrollably. I learned how to body surf, but it took alot of freakn' effort. i got totally racked by some waves while trying to learn.

Monday we went on a field trip to the battle field of David and Go-liattthhh!!! We got some slings and rocks and got to fling them around on the field. Totally cool-way up to the part when I almost hit my religion teacher with a rock, and them my Ancient studies teacher i almost nailed in the head, and there was this other girl that i almost killed with a rock too. But i was actually pretty good!!

We went to possibly the coolest thing i have ever seen on earth. there was this village that mined chalked and they would take these mining holes in the ground and turn them into an underground village. So there would be like this tiny little house and then you go in and the basement would be like this mansion!

I can't believe i have only been here for like two possibly three weeks now! We are leaving for eygpt tomorrow and its going to be RADICALLLL!!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

5,000 words




Stationary BIke

The incline on my stationary bike only gets steeper as i gasp for air. I only have the resistance level on 3 yet it is SOO hard!! quickly i decrease it to 1 before i have a cardiac arrest in the Jerusalem center gym. As i wipe the sweat off my face i recall the incrediable day i had. We went out to the old city to look at the sites. As we were in an alley we met some Palenstinians school boys who showed us a wicked view of the Dome of the Rock from the roof tops. We spent like an hour up on the roof just talking to these adorable little boys. They were about 9 years old spoke and four different languages and were quite charming for being so young. Haha i remember them trying to teach us some aribic and they make sounds with their mouth that i didn't even know was possible, and when we tried we just ended up spitting everywhere. "Mal-Hubba"-Hello "Kjaffa"-sneaker. At one point we ask if they were participating in Ramadan. Ramadan is an Islamic religious tradition that signifies the revelations given to Muhammud. Every year during the Month of Ramadan everyone fasts the entire day until sunset for the entire month. What a incrediable thing to do. It is so hot here and going with out drink in the heat would be insufferable. Our cooks are muslims and they fast then entire day while prepareing our meals!! These nine year old boys are tough enough to fast during Ramadan. Now thats ADMORABLE.
It got me thinking about my nine year old nephews and how they can hardly fast 7 hours for one day during fast Sundays. Is it really that much to ask for? How often do we think that our incline is too steep? The church gives us standards that we should faithfully uphold. Its not too hard to throw out the "R" or questionable PG-13 movies. Its not that hard to put a shirt on with sleeves. Its not that hard to give up our usual activities and keep the sabbeth day holy. Like the wheel on the stationary bike, all these thoughts spin in my head, and slowly turn the incline up to 3.



Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Isreal endoreses more than one kind of hotness.

The holy land is a land of grueling heat. The sun beats persistently upon our flushed faces. Beads of perspiration dampen every article of clothing that hangs on our exerted foreigner bodies. I look into the sky searching for any sign of cloud coverage. There is none, but from out of the glare of the sun a figure emerges. Suddenly all my tribulations are put on the back burner while I studied this inaccessible stranger. Like every girl's dream guy mine is tall dark and handsome, but here the Philistines exceed these little girls dreams. They put American boys to shame. As shallow as it may seem we put a lot of emphasis on dress, and even more shallow are the brand names people use and flashy gaudy apparel wear to "peacock" themselves. But here fitted jeans with a tucked in shirt, belt, and a nice pair of shoes are all that are needed. I like this attitude of less is more, this idea that clothes do not define the individual. Also a deep sense of respect and sincerity for their culture and religion can be seen- this is such a refreshing attitude from the superficial minds that roam college campus. So again let me remind you the key points of a hot guy: A) Tall, Dark, with mysterious eyes. B) Fitted jeans, belt, a nice shirt extra points for tucked in, and classy shoes (mmm is all I can say) and C) Let out all that air up there and fill it with something more substantial. Unfortunately, guys are off limits during my stay here. But I will keep dreaming my little girl dreams of that perfect guy.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Limstone Light and Listening

The JC is an in-cred-iable building.
it is made of LIMSTONE (all buildings built in Jerusalem have to be made of limstone) the levels tier down like a staircase. the hallways in the dorms are open air and each room has a view looking into the old city. there are tons of windows big arching windows the let in beautiful LIGHT. the center is actually quit empty for its capacity and its rather peacful. These last couple days we have had to sit through and LISTEN to alot of orientation. I could actually growl and glare at people I have been inside toooooo long and you kno what i am like when i get inside tooooooooo long!!!!
There is an amazing view of the old city. wait did i already mention that?
Jerusalem is a modern city totally updated on the latest gadets cars and TVs. Though it does remind me of Thialand somewhat-renee- Crazy people drive peel in and out of traffic in these Mercedees. Small shops are crammed in windy streets.
This blog post is written for the intention that mom would read it. please someone help her find this.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Vienna Airport 3 HRS

SO here i am in vienna. 3 hours we wait. my computer connected to the free wireless access provided by this foreign airport. 2 minutes into my browsing i hit a dead end. facebook is worthless if you have no friends to send you friend request write you posts and make cute comments on your wall. "make a blog" alex chiperly suggests as she updates hers. what a good idea! this has actually been brewing in my mind for a couple of months. so here i am. sitting against the wall watching the very attractive europeans strut on by. I would really like to get off my butt it is sore from traveling for 21 hours. but not wanting a bomb planted in our unattended luggage and rather than lug it around we decide to sit here and listen to some cake. no the birthday cake. the music band CAKE. an undentified language blairs from overhead. neon yellow signs glow. and bad airport food and kaylies music threathens to make me sick.
great.
in
cred iable.
fan
tas
tic.
cool.