Another Day...

Hello! Today was a free day...not that it has been very free really--we've been deluged with studying and midterms as of late that there really isn't much time to spare. Sigh.

Well, anyway, I did get out for a couple hours today in spite of my lack of time. I went, along with two of my friends Angie Clark and Kathryn Hawker, to a place called the Dormitian Abbey, and then the Upper Room (one of the possible sites for the Last Supper), and finally to King David's tomb.

Dormitian Abbey was beautiful...I watched a bit of their Sunday prayer service and was blown away by the beautiful music by the resident monks. The acoustics of the chapel were incredible, and the monks really sang angelically. It was my first time visiting a Catholic service (it wasn't the full Mass), but I thought it was lovely. I really felt the love and devotion of these humble monks for their Maker.

The Upper Room, in my opinion, was probably not the location of the real Upper Room, but it had been changed long ago into a Muslim mosque so it's hard to say. It seems the Muslims came in after their conquest and built mosques over almost every holy Christian and Jewish site, perhaps to claim their dominion over the area and these other religions. It's been so many hundreds of years since the Mosques were built there could not be any archeological excavation to see what the Mosques are covering without enormous outcry from the Muslim population--which is understandable. On the other hand, what a pity we can't see what was originally there!

Finally, King David's tomb wasn't much to see...just a cloth covering something rectangular in an old room. I was nonplussed, but at least I can say I saw it in person.

For lunch, we went to Sbarro's Pizza and I got some American-style food, which was a blessed change from the norm. I like the food here at the BYU Jerusalem Center, but it does start to all taste the same really quickly.

After that, we stopped by Omar's Olive Wood Carvings, which is where I bought my olive wood nativities and sculptures so Kathryn could pay for the things she bought. Omar (a very nice Muslim man) seems to like me (probably since I bought so much from him!) lol. He gave us a ride home to the center in his car.

Now I am just putting off homework...but it's been a while since I gave an update so I thought I'd write something! :)

Have a great day!

Hello Again!

Hello dear ones! It is I, even your favorite Kyra! I am so pleased to be writing you once again.

So yesterday, as I intimated, was a free day and I went to Tel-Aviv. I had a marvelous time! The water was nice at the beach and I had an excellent Italian dinner in the city. All-in-all it was a worthwhile day. Next time I'll try to post some pictures.

Today I had the valuable experience of herding sheep and goats. I found goats to be rather stubborn, cunning creatures, and sheep to be fairly stupid. It was actually kind of fun and we (the BYU students) did quite well making the herd do what we wanted them to do. Many people who try can't even get the animals to move, let alone go where they want them to go. Anyway, I learned how to be patient and get the leader to follow; in this herd, one goat in particular was the ringleader, and if she followed, the whole herd followed. All good fun.

What else. I helped make pita bread over an open fire today! My hair and clothes smell pretty smokey, but other than that it was loads of fun.

Well, that's all I have time to write. Until we meet again!

My First Post

Having recently returned from a mission, I've noticed that in many respects, I'm not as 'hip' as I once was. One area in which I have found I am sadly lacking is the possession of a blog. It seems anyone who is anyone has one, and when you are traveling it is almost a crime not to create one to keep your family and friends updated on what's going on in your life. Anyway, to make further inroads into being a fully integrated RM, I am finally going to create a blog of my Jerusalem Study Abroad, which I am currently participating in. I hope you enjoy my writings, although I can't promise to write every day.

Anyway, today I am going to the city of Tel-Aviv for some much needed relaxation time at the beach. In my opinion, there is not much better in this world than sun, surf, and sand. Perhaps you wonder why I won't be gallivanting about in the Old City of Jerusalem; there is a simple answer for that: because of recent rioting, we've been restricting from visiting the area. Sigh. However, after being cooped up in the BYU Jerusalem Center for a week, I'm ready to get out and enjoy myself. I'll let you know how it goes. :)

Well, here's to a bright future of blog posts. Have a splendid day my dear family and friends!