The other day my older sister posted the most adorable post probably ever written. It was about some of her favorite parts of being a new mother. Inspired by her adorableness, I decided to focus this post on a few of my favorite parts of being a student in Israel...
~Hearing the Call to Prayer: The BYU Jerusalem Center is located in an Arab neighborhood right outside the Old City. This location comes with the unique cultural experience of hearing the Islam call to prayer. Five times a day; dawn, midday, afternoon, dusk and nightfall...a 4-8 minute melodious chant/song sung by a live Muslim can be heard projected from the neighborhood loudspeaker. It is so beautiful and brings a smile to my face every time I hear it.
~Visiting the Garden Tomb: One of my favorite sights in Jerusalem is the Garden Tomb of Jesus Christ---the sight of His burial and resurrection. It is an outdoor haven of peace in the heart of the busy city of Jerusalem. You walk through the gates and immediately you are surrounded by a garden of peace, beauty and tranquility. On the outside of the tomb, there is a sign that reads: "He is not here, for He is Risen." A beautiful, sacred sight.
~Exploring the Red Sea: Yesterday, we had the chance to spend a day at the Red Sea... We were able to rent snorkeling gear for part of the day and it was as if we were in the same seas as Nemo's little home water town. There were rainbow fish, schools of fish, long skinny fish and we even saw an octopus--a fun adventure!
~Learning: There's a great amount of fun n' games and sightseeing experiences that occur within this study abroad program. There is also, however, a TON of studying that one must do... We are just about finished with our first set of midterms and while I'm not sure I've ever had quite so much homework in my educational life, it's so neat to dive deeply into a subject and learn in and on sight. The subjects we study are pretty broad but all connect and intertwine with eachother; Old Testament, New Testament, Arabic, Ancient Near East Studies and two Modern Near Eastern classes; one taught by a Palestinian and the other a Jew.
I could write more, but think I'll steer some needed attention to an Islam midterm paper... Shalom to you all!
~Hearing the Call to Prayer: The BYU Jerusalem Center is located in an Arab neighborhood right outside the Old City. This location comes with the unique cultural experience of hearing the Islam call to prayer. Five times a day; dawn, midday, afternoon, dusk and nightfall...a 4-8 minute melodious chant/song sung by a live Muslim can be heard projected from the neighborhood loudspeaker. It is so beautiful and brings a smile to my face every time I hear it.
~Visiting the Garden Tomb: One of my favorite sights in Jerusalem is the Garden Tomb of Jesus Christ---the sight of His burial and resurrection. It is an outdoor haven of peace in the heart of the busy city of Jerusalem. You walk through the gates and immediately you are surrounded by a garden of peace, beauty and tranquility. On the outside of the tomb, there is a sign that reads: "He is not here, for He is Risen." A beautiful, sacred sight.
~Exploring the Red Sea: Yesterday, we had the chance to spend a day at the Red Sea... We were able to rent snorkeling gear for part of the day and it was as if we were in the same seas as Nemo's little home water town. There were rainbow fish, schools of fish, long skinny fish and we even saw an octopus--a fun adventure!
~Learning: There's a great amount of fun n' games and sightseeing experiences that occur within this study abroad program. There is also, however, a TON of studying that one must do... We are just about finished with our first set of midterms and while I'm not sure I've ever had quite so much homework in my educational life, it's so neat to dive deeply into a subject and learn in and on sight. The subjects we study are pretty broad but all connect and intertwine with eachother; Old Testament, New Testament, Arabic, Ancient Near East Studies and two Modern Near Eastern classes; one taught by a Palestinian and the other a Jew.
I could write more, but think I'll steer some needed attention to an Islam midterm paper... Shalom to you all!
YAY! I'm so thrilled it's in english, and I can post a comment.
ReplyDeleteThe Garden tomb sounds amazing, as well as the red sea! I had no idea you could snorkel there? Wow. Good luck w/ your paper!