First tour, ice cream, beastly classes, getting in trouble, sports, and pita bread! :)

Thursday, August 30th, 2012

It’s amazing how much more I love this place and this experience, even after just one day! This morning we were able to go in small groups around the city for a few hours (walked 4.5 miles!) It was so neat to finally WALK the streets of Jerusalem. In some ways it was what I expected, in other ways...it wasn’t. It’s hard to explain, but I loved taking it in. It also made me realize how much I DON’T know, and want to learn! I’m so excited for my classes, and to learn more about the religious and secular history here. There is SO much to see and do and learn. I was definitely overwhelmed since it was all new to me, but at the same time, I felt very comfortable. I feel comfortable, safe, and peaceful here. In the JC (Jerusalem Center), in the city, with the faculty, with the other students. It’s crazy, but I already feel “at home” in a sense. I can’t imagine what it will feel like in December. 

It’s definitely a new experience having multiple distinct cultures and religions (Muslim, Jewish, Christian, etc) all immersed in one location. It’s neat though...even with their differences they have so much respect for this city. It’s neat to be a part of that. One of my favorite parts of the day today was when we briefly went inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It’s a beautiful building and I can’t wait to learn more about it and go spend some more time there, but as we walked in, we passed the Stone of Anointing (where they believe Christ’s body was laid to be anointed). People surrounded the stone, laying their hands on it, praying, kissing the stone, etc. It was really touching to see the love and respect they have for the Savior. They have a personal relationship with Him, just like I do...even if we are of different religious backgrounds. 

Another highlight of the day? I had my first experience with Jerusalem ice cream. :) And it didn’t disappoint! It was delicious. :) For those of you who know me, I’m sure you’re shaking your heads, but hey, I was having withdrawals. 

We begin classes in the center tomorrow morning. We have had SO much reading assigned, so we were all scrambling to do it today. This semester’s definitely going to keep me on my toes and require a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to it. It was even fun to study today...this building is incredible! It’s so laid back and there are a ton of places to hang out/study with people. I love it. Oh....another highlight (well...kinda) of the day. There’s a ping pong table here in the center! Tom (a guy who actually served in the same mission as my brother) challenged me to a match, which led to another...and another...and another. We ended up playing 5 games, and I never beat him but I came SO close! We were both getting pretty intense and competitive....it was so fun though! He said he’s never been beat by a girl, but I’m determined to change that. We’ll re-match soon, no doubts. 

Everyone here at the center (the security guards, the professors and their families, the other faculty, the students, etc) are all so friendly and fun. I’m already having a blast and making great friendships, and we still hardly know each other. It’s just going to keep getting better and better!

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Well, today we started classes, bright and early. We had two classes back to back, from 8-12 (Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies). OT was great...I’m going to love that class, and learn so much! Not going to lie, it’s kinda nice not having access to facebook, or texting or anything like that...if I get bored in class, I have to force myself to get un-bored, and get something out of it, rather than resorting to distractions. :) ANE...yikes. The teacher knows EVERYTHING...I’m sure of it. I was blown away with how smart he is. And I felt really dumb! I don’t know anything! So I’m a little stressed, but it’ll be good to push myself, and again...I’m going to learn a ton! 

My worst moment of the day...I walked in 1/2 hour late (with another student) to a really important meeting (we totally spaced it!) and the director of the JC kinda called us out. He said “For those of you who came in late, that’s unacceptable...” Needless to say, we felt awful, and it’ll never happen again! I just have to look at the schedule more often. :/

This afternoon I took a wonderful nap (although, the jet lag has never really hit me like it did for other students, so I’ve been lucky!) and almost missed dinner...which would have been really bad because tomorrow is Fast Sabbath! (On Saturday...weird I know)

I did some studying, played some chess (I’m trying to re-learn), some ping-pong, and then tonight a ton of us played volleyball for hours! It was soo fun! I’m definitely better than I used to be, and I love playing with people that are really good because it helps me improve. The other students here are so great...we have so much fun! 

I’ve only taken a few pictures so far, but Sunday is our free day (I’ll go into the city again) and Monday we have an all-day field trip, so after this weekend I’ll start uploading pictures! Sorry if I’m writing too often, or too much....but I’m going to print my blog at the end of this and make a journal out of it, so I can remember everything I did! Don’t feel obligated to read everything...I know it’s a lot. :) That’s for you David. ;) 

P.S. I had my first experience with pita bread, nutella, and peanut butter. Probably a mistake...I have a feeling it will be a regular part of my diet. :)

I'm in Jerusalem...finally! :)

Well everybody...I'm here. And I'm so happy! It's been a long day(s) of traveling, but it's so worth it. I'll give you a quick summary of everything that has happened so far, before I go crawl into bed (I am so excited to sleep!)
I woke up before 4:00 a.m. this morning (Well...let's just say Tuesday morning, Utah time) to go to the airport. I was there over three hours before I first flight took off (had to be) so I just started meeting some people in the group while we waited.There are 82 of us on this journey together this semester (only 24 boys!) and I already love them all. I haven't even met some of them, but just the feeling we have...I know we'll be so close as we learn and grow together in this amazing environment. Oh, and let me take a moment to brag...neither of my bags were a pound over the limit! Maybe they weren't more than a pound UNDER the limit either but...still. Thanks Mom and Dad for helping play Tetris in my suitcases to make everything fit! However, I digress.

Our first flight from Salt Lake City left around 9:00 a.m. and we flew directly to JFK in New York. I sat by the same two people on both of my flights today - Dallin and Alyssa. They are both great! Something about spending 15 hours on a plane with someone...it bonds you. Flying onto Long Island was gorgeous! I definitely want to spend some time in New York when I have the chance...it was beautiful.

We then had a long layover in the JFK airport (4-5 hours I think?) We played card games, ate food, talked, ate more food, talked some more, did SOME of the reading/homework we had already been assigned, etc. It actually wasn't too bad. Then we had to go through security all over again before we could board the plane to Tel Aviv. It was a HUGE plane! I'd never seen a double decker plane before...pretty cool! This flight had some pros and cons. Biggest pro...great movie selection! There were so many great ones, I could've watched movies and been happy the whole time! (Mom...I watched "We Bought a Zoo"...it was cute! However I don't think you guys should try anything crazy like that...just a hunch). The biggest con....any of you who know me can probably guess. Sleep = impossible. I don't know what it is but I CANNOT sleep on planes. Ever. Traveling to Peru was an awful experience for that same reason, so I thought maybe bringing sleeping pills this time would help. So a few hours into our 10 hour flight, I took a sleeping pill. I watched a couple of movies, played some games, read some, talked some, etc. I was really tired by this point, so I decided to try to sleep. Dallin and Alyssa even gave me their extra pillows hoping that would make me comfortable enough to be able to, AND I was able to lean against the window. Did I ever fall asleep? Nope. I was tired, achey, and desperately wanted a power nap, but...it just didn't happen. Sure, the sleeping pills made me more tired I think, but that made things worse since I couldn't fall asleep. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.

Overall though, in hindsight...the second flight wasn't too bad either. As we flew into Tel Aviv, it finally started sinking in to all of us. We made it!!! Walking into the airport was a cool experience. Different cultures, different languages, etc. Almost every sign in Jerusalem has Hebrew, Arabic, and English to make it more convenient (which I really appreciate!) We made it through customs without any problems, and thanks to some awesome guys in our group, we (girls) didn't have to deal too much with our VERY heavy luggage. (They helped us stow them in the overhead bins, helped us get them from baggage claim, helped us take them to our rooms once we got to the Jerusalem Center, etc. I was VERY appreciative!) Oh...I did lose ONE thing on the plane somehow. My name tag. :( Oh well. At least it wasn't my passport, right?! :)

People were there at the airport to meet us and take us to our buses. That was the worst part. Being in Israel and having to wait on the buses! We finally left the airport, and started driving towards the Jerusalem Center, my home for the next 3 1/2 months. Israel is incredible! It's definitely hot (and surprisingly much more humid than I expected) but it's so neat! I love the land, I love the buildings, I love the atmosphere...and I haven't even really been in it yet! I can't wait to learn more about it though, through field trips and classes. This place is going to come alive to me!

Towards the end of our ride, Bro. Judd (my Old Testament teacher here) gave us a heads up that we would get our first sighting of the Dome of the Rock. As we turned the corner and saw it, sitting there in the middle of the city, the sun shining off of it's golden dome, and thinking about what it represents to so many people and so many religions....wow! Sooo neat! I'm actually HERE!   Soon after our spotting of the Dome of the Rock, we reached the Jerusalem Center. Can I just say how incredible this building is? It's absolutely gorgeous. I feel so spoiled! The faculty and volunteers and everyone are just so friendly. The building is beautiful. The views...BREATHTAKING. I will definitely be doing journal writing and scripture study outside as much as possible. All of us were so tired when we got here (around 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Israel time) but I definitely got an adrenaline rush once we got a tour of the building. It's perfect. This will be such a fun, rewarding semester.

After dinner we had a few minutes to go out on one of the balconies and just look at the city. It was right around sunset, and the sky (and the city) were gorgeous! I can't believe I'm looking at the same city Christ overlooked. The same streets He walked through. He and so many other incredible men and women. I took a few pictures, but will upload them in a few days when I have more (and I can't upload pics here at the center, so I won't do it as often). Tomorrow we get a tour of parts of the city and I am so excited!

My roommates are Katie, Nicole, and Kalen. They are all great, and I'm excited to get to know them more. Every room has a balcony we can go outside and see the city from. I LOVE it. Even walking from our rooms to other parts of the center, there is not always a ceiling so I feel like I'm living outside. And I love it - the weather is perfect in the evenings! I really could go on and on, but since we have to get up early in the morning, and it's getting late here (Jerusalem time - even though its only 1 p.m. Utah time...weird I know!) I'm going to get some sleep so I can enjoy the day tomorrow!

I'll try to post again soon...thanks for all your love and support!! Hope you're all well!

P.S. Okay so of course something had to make it so this day wasn't ENTIRELY perfect. That something would be the fact that my 2 pound pump bottle of conditioner somehow tore through the ziploc baggy I had it in (in my checked in bag) and somehow opened. Yep...that was fun to discover. Conditioner all over several of the things in my suitcase. Oh well...who can be upset in Jerusalem?! :)

Summer Wrap-Up

I'm sorry it's been a few weeks since I've posted...After EFY finished I didn't feel like I had anything exciting enough to write about :) This last month of summer break has been a good one though. Both fun and productive. The last few weeks I spent a lot of time helping my sister (Nellie) move. They found a beautiful home up in North Provo; closer to the kids' school and Bubba's work. It was a bummer to move out - I'm really going to miss living with them - but I'm so glad they're still in Provo. Last night Josh and I went on a double date with Nellie and Bubba to Macaroni Grill and then to see the new Batman movie. The 4 of us have so much fun together, so I was glad we were able to do that.

So since Nellie and Bubba moved, I've been home in Payson. It's been nice to spend some time with my parents, it's been WONDERFUL to sleep in my amazing bed (always a highlight of being home), and it's been pretty helpful since I'm trying to get ready to leave in THREE days! Not that I'm counting down or anything...
I've been spending lots of time organizing, packing, cleaning, shopping, etc...trying to not only get ready for Jerusalem, but also to be organized for BYU again when I get back. Quite the project, but it's been good.

I've also spent a lot of time this last month with friends and family. My oldest brother Justin came to visit with his family this month, and it's always fun to spend time with them. We played volleyball, went swimming, visited the notorious sno shack a few times, and just enjoyed hanging out! Here are a few pictures :) Sorry I only have "instagram" ones...the rest are on my iPhone, which David now has for the next four months...(yes, I'm having withdrawals in case you were wondering! Okay, not really, but...I do miss it!)

 Corbin and Savannah...definitely have more athletic potential than I did at their ages!

 My two oldest nephews Coltin and Everitt. 

I can't believe how fast they are growing up...they are so fun!

Speaking of growing up fast...Coltin and I have the same shoe size now! Blows my mind.

 Everitt is so great with babies/little kids. Camden's a little stud in those shades. :)

A good summary of the fun we had :) Sno cones, slip n' slide, ice cream, and ping pong! I love my family!

A few other highlights from this month:

 Kenzie, me, and Meg! We were all friends back in Colorado in elementary and middle school. We hadn't seen Kenzie since...7th grade I think! It was so fun to see her again and catch up a little bit! 

Meg and I have known each other practically our whole lives, and even though she moved to Hawaii and I moved to Utah, we have stayed in touch as best we can and have remained close friends. She's getting married September 1st!!!!! I'm so happy for her and Marcus, and I'm so glad I got to meet him. He seems like a wonderful guy (which is a good thing...otherwise I wouldn't let her marry him! ;) haha)

I love you Meg!

 How could I have forgotten about this night?! Definitely a highlight of the whole summer! My sister and I got tickets MONTHS ago to go see Wicked in Salt Lake. It was my first time seeing the show, and I seriously fell in love with it. It was incredible - if you haven't seen it...go see it!! It was fun to have a night out on the town with my sis. She really is one of my best friends!! 

 One of my best friends from high school, Karen Michelle had a beautiful baby girl, Oakley Sue, this month. :) I was so glad I got to meet her before I leave the country! She's such a beautiful baby, and Karen is such a wonderful mommy. 

 Some more pictures of Oakley Sue. She's beautiful!!!

Okay this last picture is totally random, but still awesome. :) I was getting a sno cone the other day in Payson, and we saw Mater!! Of course I HAD to get a picture. :) 

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I can guarantee my posts from here on out will be ten times more exciting :) I can't believe I'll be in the Holy Land in 3 (ish) days!!! I absolutely cannot wait to get over there. Tonight some of us who are going (I don't know anyone else in the group) are meeting at a park so we can get to know each other a little bit before we take off. It's crazy to think we'll all be best friends 4 months from now :) I hope you'll all follow my blog as I take this incredible journey. I won't be on fb, but you can also email me: kassiejo4@gmail.com. Thanks for all your love and support!!! 

July in a Nutshell!

Wow...is it really already a week into AUGUST?! I can't believe it. July FLEW by because it was so busy and so fun! I could go on an on for pages and pages, and I could post a thousand pictures, but I'll try to keep it brief. For more pictures (as always) you can check out my facebook! Here's a quick summary of everything since my first week of EFY (which was my last post).

My second week of EFY was up in Logan at Utah State University. It was an overnight session, which means that we counselors get zero sleep, and on top of that, I was really sick, so I literally got about two hours of sleep every night. And then it was go go go from 6:40 a.m. til 11:00 p.m. every day. Talk about working long hours ;) It's amazing though, even with the lack of sleep and being sick, it was probably the best week of my summer. I LOVED the group I was able to work with that week. My co-counselors and my youth were amazing, and I feel so blessed to be able to know them all. We were extremely united and we all connected on so many levels. We had so much fun together, but we also shared a love of the gospel and a foundation of testimony in Christ that made us that much closer. I'll never forget that week! Here are a few pictures from that week :)

 This was the whole group, minus the counselors :) LOVE them!

 Me and my girls :) Miss them! 

 The boys and the counselors :) These guys seriously are the best. 

Ashley, Ben and I. Divine co-ship for sure :) Love them!! (I gotta add a quick shout out to Ben who is getting married TOMORROW! So happy and excited for him and Caitlin!) 

Alright....so after that week of EFY, I had another week in Logan, but this time it was going to be a stay-at-home session, meaning we'd be done by 9:00 p.m. every day and then the youth would come back in the morning at 9:00 a.m. So for that weekend and the whole next week, I was able to stay with my best friend from high school Katie Pace (now Stapley) and her husband Josh. They were the best hosts ever, and I'm so glad I was able to spend some time with them!! That weekend between my two Logan sessions was so fun! Saturday afternoon Katie and Josh took me rock climbing for my first time! It was a blast!!! Then that night I went on a blind date with a fellow counselor's brother, Jarrett. We went with a group to a ropes course which was also SO fun!! It was a little scary (esp. jumping off a ledge 40 feet in the air), but I had such a good time and am so glad I went! I don't know how I had the energy to do all that stuff on Saturday since I had gotten no sleep all week, but it was so fun!! I don't have pictures from the ropes course (there are a couple on fb), but here are a few of me rock climbing. 

Alrighty, so two weeks of EFY down, two to go! My next week was again in Logan, but as I said, stay-at-home which was nice cuz I got a lot more sleep! It was also fun to be done by 9:00 each night, because I was able to have fun with friends in the evenings. This third week of EFY was my only week where I had the 14 and 15 year olds instead of the older group (16-18). There are pros and cons to each age group, but I'm glad I got to work with both!! Again I had a great week, and wonderful co-counselors! Here are some pictures :)

Lexi, me, and the girls :) 

 Me with the boys! :) 

 Some of my girls and I :)

Again, amazing co-counselors :) Josh and Lexi and I!

So after this week of EFY, I woke up early Saturday morning and went to the Logan temple to do baptisms, and then the Bountiful temple to do baptisms as well (on my drive home to Provo). It was so neat to visit two temples I haven't been to before! GREAT way to spend the day! I'll attach some photos of both of those temples, as well as the Brigham City temple (which I stopped to see on my way to Logan). I've almost visited every temple in Utah! :) 

 The Brigham City temple...brand new! 

 The Logan temple...so unique and gorgeous. 

 I like this picture with the flag and the fountain :)

 The Bountiful Temple...absolutely beautiful. 

Side note: while in the Bountiful temple I saw my co-counselor Ben (from Logan week 1) and his fiancee! Totally made my day!! 

After my temple-filled Saturday, I finally was able to go to Provo for about 24 hours before heading out again! Just enough time to do laundry, hang out with my family a little bit, go to Macaroni Grill and then roast some s'mores with Josh, and finally SLEEP! I tried to catch up on sleep as much as I could, but...we all know how that goes. Then Sunday I headed up to West Jordan for my 4th and final week of EFY. This was another stay-at-home session, so I stayed the whole week at my friend Katy's house. (Her family lives there, and she was also a counselor which was so fun!) It was another AMAZING week with incredible youth, awesome co-counselors, and the best session director ever. I could go on and on about how much I loved this week! Here are some pictures...enjoy! :) 

 Lauren, Dan and I...NOT in our polos = so excited! :) 

 Much more typical....:) 

 Love my girls :) I didn't get a pic on my camera of the WHOLE group...sorry to the rest of the girls!

 Love the boys too! They are studs!

Katy and I :) So fun to be there with her!

Then Saturday I got up early to go fishing with Jarrett (same guy I went to the ropes course with) before I headed home again. He LOVES to fish, and I told him I wanted to go, so he was more than happy to oblige! It was really really fun! I can understand better now why people love to fish. It's relaxing, the weather was gorgeous, and as long as you have entertaining company (which I did), it can be really great! I have loved that I've tried new things this summer...golfing, rock climbing, fishing, etc...I'm realizing more and more that I love trying new things (even if I'm not good at them) and I especially love being outdoors more and more (as long as its sunny and warm!) Life is GOOD! Here are a few pictures from our fishing trip :)

 Jarrett, showing me how it's done ;) 

 I love this picture :) I couldn't stop laughing!

Well, there ya go! There's my quick summary of the last month. It's been a good one! Now I'm just counting down the days til I leave for my next adventure...Jerusalem! I seriously cannot wait! It's going to be incredible...I'm getting really antsy. Oh and just fyi...I'm already planning my next big trip....either Australia and New Zealand, or Africa. No biggy. :) Love you all!!