Thursday, January 26, 2012

An Amazing Week in Jordan


Temple of Hercules in Amman


Roman City of Jerash
My Top Picks- Ferraris at the Kings Automobile Museum


We just got back from our first out of country field trip. We spent four days in Jordon exploring everything from ancient Nabatean ruins, to a Roman city, to the modern area of Amman (the capital of Jordan). I feel like every time we go on a field trip, it becomes my new favorite place. The whole trip involved a ton of driving. Driving to Petra was completely out of the way, we drove three and a half hours down one night and four hours back the next day. It was worth every minute. We had a Jordanian tour guide the whole time, which is required by law. He was very knowledgeable, but his accent and pronunciations made it difficult to understand, and he talked for a LONG time about every subject. By the end it was difficult to follow what the original thought was. Regardless, it was amazing.

The first day we crossed the border, which took about two hours and three check points. We went to Mount Nebo, which is where Moses saw the promised land, but could not go into.  I mentioned before that we saw the Wilderness of Zin, where the Israelites lost the privilege of entering the promised land. One of my big learning moments was how close they were the whole time. I just finished reading Numbers, and many of the places they mention the Israelites traveling and camping were never more than 30 miles from the Dead Sea!

We also went to a Greek Orthodox church in Madaba that has the world's oldest version of Google Earth. The floor of the church is a mosaic depicting the Holy Land in the 6th century. We then stopped by Machaerus, where traditionally John the baptist was beheaded by order of Herod Antipas (to save face in front of his birthday party guests).

The next day was a trip to probably the coolest place I have ever seen. We spent most the day in Petra, the place where the finale of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was set- that giant stone building at the end of a canyon?- yeah, it's real! Our guide talked to us as we traveled through the siq- a canyon used as a great defensive measure during the time of the Nabataens. When we got the Treasury (don't be fooled by the name, all the buildings were mausoleums), they let us loose for the rest of the morning. I got to ride a camel, hike up to the Monastery (another mausoleum), and ride a horse for the last stretch back to the bus.

Petra was an experience that taught me a lot about perspective. It was chilly when we left in morning, so any time we got into a patch of sunlight, it felt so good, and we loved it. After hiking straight up a mountain for an hour, that same sun was bright and hot, and we were sweating and thirsty. At one point in the siq, our guide told us to remember to look back and see the view behind us. I am glad he did, because there was a big difference in how things looked just by turning around and seeing where we came from. The entire city was filled with Bedouin people trying to sell all the same items to us, whether it was trinkets, colorful rocks, or camel rides. It made me think about the huge difference between my lifestyle and theirs. These are people who can't afford to let their kids go to school because they need to sell postcards for a dollar to earn money. Talk about a change of perspective.

The next day we went to the King Abdullah mosque and spent an hour listening to our guide, who is a practicing Muslim, talk about the history, culture, and religion. The women were required to not only cover their hair, but put on "dementor robes" as someone put it- long black capes with a hood. I learned more from him in that hour than I have learned so far in my Palestine/Islam class. I never knew how much they believe in Jesus Christ, not as a divine being, but a prophet who will have a significant role in the final battle against evil. Their explanation of the end of the world has some striking similarities to LDS theology. Learning about other religions from practicing members of the faith is fascinating.

The thing I love about this program is that my teachers make a point of giving us time to be spiritually fed as well. We spent time at the Jabbok river near where Jacob wrestled with an angel and his name was changed to Israel. As Brother Huntsman was talking about Jacob sending all his family ahead and the symbolism of "wrestling with the Lord," a herd of goats appeared at the top of a ridge on the other side of the river. That was pretty cool. After we sang a few hymns (another reason I love Bro. Huntsman), he gave us some time to sit and ponder. It was a wonderful place. It reminded my strongly of the park in Fort Jackson. It was so nice to see grass and listen to running water again.

Dad- I have you to thank for my next experience. I remembered a talk Dad gave multiple times when I went with him as district speaker. He read Psalm 73 and went through it line by line and discussed what it meant and the context around it. I turned to it and had such a feeling of reassurance. Being here, I feel like I really have left all my troubles behind me. Problems from home just doesn't have a place in Jerusalem. But I remember how they felt. It is amazing how getting away from the everyday puts things in a different light. In that moment, I felt like the Lord was telling me that right now, I get a chance to rest from my labors, but when the time comes, He will be there from me. I can't get caught up in what others do or have that I don't, because in the end, if I am faithful, I will have a great reward.

We spent the evening in the city of Jerash, the best restored Roman city anywhere. I have never seen so many columns standing upright, they make for such a majestic atmosphere. We got some time to walk around, and I had fun taking pictures.

Roman Theatre in Amman
I had another great moment in a Roman theatre in Amman. We sang some hymns, took some pictures, went to a little theatre, and sang some more hymns. Our group sounds fantastic- balanced four-part harmony that stays in tune, at least with each other. I have become the resident pitch-giver since I always bring my pitch pipe with me. Brother Huntsman now announces a song and then says "Where's Crystal? I need a _____". Today we sang Joseph Smith's First Prayer, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, and Come, Come Ye Saints. As we sang the last song, I thought about how we were singing in the ruins of what had once been the greatest empire on the world, a song that commemorated the saints who welcomed in the last dispensation. After all these years and all these kingdoms, soon the Lord will return to rule the earth.
Jordan River

We went to the Jordan River on our way home, to the place people go to celebrate Jesus' baptism. We talked about the mission of John the baptist and how he was willing to fulfill his calling to the best of his ability, but when it came down to it, he was humble enough to admit that he was unworthy to touch the shoe of the Messiah. Brother Huntsman also talked about remembering our own baptism. More important than the event, we should remember the covenant we made that day. He also quoted a friend who questioned why, if we talk all the time about things we love and are important to us- our family, those we admire- why don't we talk about Jesus more?


Monday, January 16, 2012

Jericho



This trip is completely shattering my conception of Biblical history. Today we spent the morning in Jericho. There is a lot of debate about the defensive status of Jericho during the time Joshua arrived. Basically, VeggiTales is wrong- it was not a giant steel box in the middle of a flat desert. At the very best, it would have been a smallish town defended by walls that has been attacked ages before and never really rebuilt. So much for the French peas throwing slurpees. In the past, students walked from Jerusalem to Jericho- a reenactent of the good Samaritan. I guess it took them about 6 hours, and the country is perpetual hills and nothing to look at except rock and sand. They can't do it any more due to security risks, but we went up to a monestary in the middle of the wilderness where Christ spent 40 days fasting.
Elisha's Spring in Jericho
A Monastery in the Judean Wilderness
               
     
                                                                      
By Elisha's Spring

My insight for the day stems from this close up investigation of the Judean wilderness. Driving through, it is so desolate. But standing out in the middle of it on the top of a hill, there is a harsh sort of beauty. We spent a few minutes walking along a ridge, and the thought that came to me, "I think these rocks sound the same now as they did when Christ walked here." As strange as it sounds, it was nice to make that connection. And as we were reading the account in Matthew 4, Bro Huntsman got to verse 3 "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bbread" and picked up a stone from the ground. Talk about powerful imagery. Being out there completely changed my mental image of Lehi's vision too. As my teacher pointed out, this is the wilderness that Lehi knew and walked through to leave Jerusalem, so it makes sense that it may be what he saw in his dream.

There are so few places here that are the same as they would have been in Christ's time.  I guess I took things like the Sacred Grove and the Kirtland temple for granted because I grew up where leaders wanted to preserve sites as they were. The christian rulers response to finding any site that may be related to Christ was to build a chapel. I had never known this type of worship before. Here they build a monestary, a chapel, or a sanctuary. There is no less respect for it, but it was a way to protect holy sites from destruction during invasion and a way to  preserve it for pilgrims.

Someone asked a while ago about scarves here. I have paid attention the past few outings, and here is what I noticed. Headscarves are usually either one solid color or a flower print pattern. The colors are fairly conservitive- each one stays in the same color scheme I haven't seen any rainbow patterns, or anything on opposite sides of the color wheel, for that matter.  There is no noticable indicator of who wears patterns and who wears solids. On a related note, I have gone into the city several times and seen schoolage girls wearing what is clearly a uniform, including a headscarf, and then they all have different styles of jeans on. My best guess is that they put on the jeans as soon as school is out, but don't bother changing all the way. I thought is was an interesting depiction of westernization in a country that maintains it's classic formality.

Monday, January 9, 2012

I am Learning SO Much!

I am beginning to learn about driving in this country. It is a new experience, and I am OK that I am not resonsible to drive while I am here. First of all I have to address my parents- don't worry, I am being careful. I write this for your entertainment and engihtenment on another culture, not to scare you. :)
All the roads, except the two highways that leave the city, are two lanes with no curb. And sometimes no sidewalk, it really depends. Think NYC neighborhood type roads. Second- there aren't any actual delegated places to park, so people park of the side of the road. Remember, no sidewalks, no curb. Then, if the side is full, they just park next to the already parked car. This leaves the streets very narrow. Today, our bus driver menuvered passed a bus parked double deep around a truck headed the other direction. It was impressive to say the least. When it comes to driving, there is a lot of honking. I still don't know if it is simply a way of informing people of your location, or they are just horn happy. As for pedestrians- they cross the street at any convenient point, and cars continue on "at that same speed to fly" and assume the person will be out of the way be the time they get there. So walkers learn to look carefully and move fast.
I went to the Israel Museum on Sunday to start my first paper and assignment. It was amazing. I can't wait to go back. They have a 1:50 scale model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period. Right next door is the permenant exhibit for the Dead Sea Scrolls. I could spend an afternoon in that room alone. They had early human art and tools, some really cool Hebrew writings, and a section devoted to artifacts from the time of Christ. That included a wine jug with Herod's seal, a stone with Pilot's name carved into it, and the heelbone of a man who was crucified. That was a chilling and enlightning moment. I have had one image of a crucifiction all my life based on videos portaying Christ's life. His hands nailed to the cross and his feet nailed to a platform. Maybe there was more than one way the Romans did it, but this man's feet were on either side of the cross and then nailed in. Sorry it that is gruesome, but I thought it was facinating, and horrifying at the same time, and just such a new thought. This whole trip is forcing me to reexamine everything I had settled so nicely in my mind as "the way it was."
One of my favorite pieces in the museum was a mosaic that portrayed David as an Orpheus. For those of you who don't know, I have taken several classes that cover Greek and Roman mythology, and I find it facinating. I thought it was great to see things like that crop up in real life instead of on a powerpoint in a classroom.
There were several things that my teacher pointed out on the worksheet as items from the time period Lehi and Sariah would ahve been living in Jerusalem. One of the plaques next to women's combs, perfume bottles and makeup said that women then had beauty rituals much like women now. Right below that were several hordes of silver, containers full of wealth. I understand better now what Lehi's family gave up to travel to the promised land. I had never given a moments thought to what Sariah must have had to sacrifice coming from a position of wealth and status. The wealth Laman and Lemuel left behind has come up before, but when I saw that pile of silver in broken jug, I could understand from a temporal perspective why they complained. It was history coming to life in front of me. I have never enjoyed a museum trip so much. Well, except the science museums that let you touch stuff and do cool experiments...
Today was our first field trip. We will be going out nearly every Monday to see nearby sights as a class and have instruction time with our professors. We traveled all around the outskirts of Jerusalem and saw it from the north, east, and south. I am really glad we did, because I now have a mental image of how things fit and the lay of the land. Brother Huntsman, our Old Testament teacher, is in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and LOVES to sing. So we got to sing hymns at several of the sight- a Lutheran church, the hills outside Bethlehem, and the site where the prophet Samuel is celebrated. At the first site, he wanted us to sing, but missed the starting intervals, so I sang the first line and the group got started. On the bus he found me and asked if I would be willing to help with starting the a capella music when we sing on field trips. Then he asked if I would choose hymns to sing at the start of Old Testament. So I got myself a job. I am glad. I think it will be fun to come up with hymns that roughly match the scriptures we are reading.
Wow, so I just looked back and saw how long this is! I really wish I could upload pictures, becuase I am starting to have quite a nice collection. Maybe I can get over Hebrew University across the street sometime soon where I have access to better internet.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Happy Sabbath Saturday!

Merry Christmas! … What do you mean? Of course it is Christmas! Well, Orthodox Christmas, anyway. I must say, 19 years and I never knew there were two Christmases.
Also, happy Sabbath from the Holy Land. This is my first Saturday Sabbath, and it is a strange sensation to know that I can go out and about tomorrow and play when it feels like Sunday tonight. People over here are very sensitive about calling it the Sabbath, especially the little kids. I have been catching myself saying Sunday all day today. It was a wonderful bit of perspective to realize that I have spent most of my life celebrating Sunday instead of celebrating the Sabbath, something I will get a chance to work on.
Church today was wonderful. I had such a wonderful experience singing hymns while looking out over the city. It was so much more real here. We sang “O Savior thou who wearest a crown of piercing thorn, the pain thou meekly bearest, weigh'ed down by grief and scorn. The soldiers mock and flail thee; for drink they give thee gall; Upon the cross they nail thee to die, O King of all.” As we did, I thought about the fact that I was looking at the place He was crucified. It was amazing. And not far from where I sat, He rose from a tomb and fulfilled the greatest act of love the world has ever known. The thing that was even more amazing was that I knew all this before I came to Jerusalem. I didn't need to see the place to know it was true. Of course, being here helped, but it didn't develop my testimony; it strengthed it.
I got to conduct music for the Primary kids today. Oh goodness- they are so adorable. My favorite moment was when the teacher wrote the word “agency” on the board after giving clues about it and one little girl said aloud “I don't even know what that is!” I actually really loved listening to the lesson, the women teaching was wonderful. We sang songs about choosing the right after a really well done lesson about agency. It was obvious which songs they knew and which they didn't. By the end I was figuring out how to help remember the words, but the beginning was a challenge.
I must say- going to church with my professors is a very interesting experience. Brother Huntsman, my old testament teacher, is a very vocal Sunday School participant. My other professors were silent though. It hasn't happened yet, but I thought as my Ancient Near Eastern Studies professor announced the program for sacrament, “I wonder how I will feel when I have a big paper due, or if looking at them later in the semester is going to remind me of all the work I have to do.”
I walked around the Mount of Olives this afternoon. The weather is really warm during the day, and it was beautiful and sunny. The city has bought a plot of land surrounding the JC and turned it into walking paths and a playground in an attempt to stop development on the hill. The result is that the Center stands out beautifully in the only substantial patch of green in the valley.


Friday, January 6, 2012

Travel and the First Week


This post was written over the course of several days. I was all ready to post on the first night I arrived, and then my computer died and it took me awhile to find a way to charge it again. Enjoy!

Greetings from Israel! Remember how I said it hadn't quite hit me yet while I was still in the states? Well, it hit me pretty hard as we rounded a corner on the highway and saw the Dome of the Rock back lit by a gorgeous sunset.
I have been traveling for...24 hours, accounting for time change and including a substantial layover in JFK. I am not quite sure how to best explain the trip and the juicy little tidbits I have learned so far, so I think I will just begin a list, and see where it goes. My jet lag may make this a little interesting.
I had to be at the airport at 6:15 am, so one of my new roommates picked me up at 5:15 am. I got bits of sleep on both flights, but not more than about 45 minutes or an hour at a time. When we got to JFK, I followed the group. Mistake. Nine of us ended up wandering out of the secured zone and had to go through security again. At least it killed an hour of our 5 hour layover. Another half an hour went by just walking around trying to decide where we wanted to eat. The second flight was 12 hours, enough time for a little of everything you can think to do sitting in the same position. Every time I started listened to Genesis 1-20 for class, I fell asleep. The good news is that I got a little further each time, so I almost made it to the end by about the 4th try.
Airplane food is still pretty bad. The breakfast snack- supposedly a hot pocket type food with eggs in the middle- was completely inedible and left me queasy for the rest the afternoon.
I made it through immigration and customs without any trouble, and once I made it to the public area, two of our teachers and some support staff were there to shepherd us along.
The rest of evening was a haze of orientation, tours, and some stunning views of the city. This is a beautiful place. During our opening orientation, the regular organist was gone, so the “second string organist” filled in- Richard Elliott, the organist for the Mormon Tabernacle choir. He is here preparing for a concert celebrating the organ's 25 anniversary.
Jet lag. Oy. At the end of the first night I thought I was doing pretty well- I even stayed up until about 11:30. I got up with no more trouble than usual the next morning- which for anyone who knows me realizes that is not saying much. I did really well until we got back from our four hour walking tour of the city. It was about 2:00 and I simply could not keep my eyes open. The rest of the day was rough just because I wanted to crawl in bed and sleep, but had two significant reading assignments to do for classes. And of course every time I started to read, I fell asleep. But I got the reading done and I today I am doing better.
Interesting things I have learned so far:
It is easy to tell what kind of neighborhood you are looking at by sight- Israeli houses have red tile roofs much like California beach homes, whereas Arab houses have flat roofs with black water tanks on top.
The land is much hillier than I imagined- there are large areas of terraced gardens growing olive trees.
Many of the buildings, especially in Tel Aviv, are made of white stone- I don't know if it is marble or limestone. It makes for an impressive sight.
The dorm rooms in the Jerusalem Center open onto an outdoor patio at both the front door and back door. I suspect it will be wonderfully warm in a few weeks, but right now the last few feet to the door are pretty chilly.
Jerusalem gets as much rain as London, but it all comes November-January.
There is only one room that we will use regularly that does not have a panoramic view of the city- the Forum. It is the regular lecture hall for classes like Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Probably a good thing, or we would not pay much attention to the teacher. At least my Old Testament teacher makes good use of his view by pointing things out as they pertain to the scripture we are discussing.
The JC is very much open to the students. Only the faculty dorms and the security booth are really off limits, and most everything is open all the time.
The Old City is dirtier than I imagined. People throw wrappers all over the place.
I still have not woken up to the morning call to prayer.
Feel free to send me questions or suggestions of places to visit. I just got back from my first trip into the city with a small group, and I am excited to spend Sunday there- I think I may go to the Israeli museum.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Packing

Here's the deal. One suitcase. One carry-on. One personal item. Four months. I have repacked this same suitcase four times now, mostly because I lived out of it for the two weeks of Christmas break. And wouldn't you know it, when you move things around and take out another outfit each day, things don't go back in the same. huh.

So I had this all planned out - a backpack for a carry-on and my laptop bag as a personal item. Then, when my sister-in-law arrived for Christmas, she returned my carry-on luggage she had borrowed a few months ago to avoid paying for one too large. So I have a suitcase, which means my beloved backpack that has been at my side through the drama of high school and the rigors of college (that same backpack I once wrote an essay about for my AP English class) was put in cold storage. Literally. it is currently living in my parents unheated garage, the poor thing. Then, at Orientation today, the instructor said the personal item must be small. "Well, mine is pretty small...ish" I thought. And then it happened. The guy in front of me asked "What about a laptop bag?" The answer, of course, was "Nope. Too big." Gahhhhhhhh. And the Jerusalem Center bag is too big to be a personal item, so it has to be packed inside another suitcase! I look at it this way- more room for souvenirs on the way home, right?

I am now 6 hours from beginning my travels. I wish I had some way to take a snapshot of myself right now and compare it to the person who will step off the plane in four months. I think there would be a lot to talk about.