June 30, 2007

Travis' blog

Sabbath again. After Travis' not-up-to-par day yesterday, we decided to take the day easy. After sleeping in, the both of us went to breakfast, then headed up to church. This was a fun day, seeing as how it was our first week with the new students. (Turns out it'll be our only week with the new students since they'll be in Egypt next Sabbath.) We also had the full three hour block, since there were so many people there again. This week, instead of having RS in the LRC as we usually do, they decided to open up the dome for class. I'll be honest, I had completely forgotten about the dome, seeing as how we never once used it. The only time we even went in was during our Orientation tour. All in all, the entire block was quite nice. The only downfall I saw was due to us being almost late, due to the long hike to church. (I shall never complain about a 3-minute drive to church in a hot car. It doesn't hold a candle to a 45-minute walk down and back up the steep Kidron Valley in scaldingly hot weather.) Due to the hike, my back was nice, hot, and sweaty, and really, that doesn't make for pleasant atmosphere for a spiritual experience. To top of it, it was decided that perhaps we had spent too much time complaining about the AC on too high, because they hardly had it on at all. I had noticed, but figured it was simply because I was so hot that everything else seemed warm as well, however, turns out, others were complaining about it afterwards. Temperature aside, the day was lovely. We saw Peter there (the Mormon that we had met in the Garden Tomb). Turns out they were having Fast Sunday... though I have no idea why... it was definitely the last Sunday in June. Perhaps because the students were going to be in Egypt for July's fast sunday? Needless to say, Travis and I had no idea and hadn't fasted. But we enjoyed the testimonies anyway. Not having my scripture journal to write in, I didn't take many notes, however, here are a few things that I did write down in my little notebook:

- Our words should be filled with love, hope, and charity.
- That's all the Gospel is—it's just love.
- That's why we all came here [to Jerusalem]—to be healed.

After church, we stayed and talked for quite some time. I chatted with Mike Gadd, who is in Summer term, as well as Ryan Davis (Davies? Sorry Ryan!) who is attending Hebrew University for a Biblical Hebrew program. We had fun telling stories, them of what's happened this far, and me giving advice for their time here. Going along with popular tradition, talked far too much. ~sigh. Oh well. After awhile, Travis and I got my laptop out and proceeded to check email and post all of last week's posts. (Free wireless only comes along here and there, y'know.) While we worked, several students joined us on the chairs with their laptops. (It is nice to have wireless on the 8th floor now, to be sure.) We got talking to a few of them, telling them places to see, and how to get into the locked Garden of Gethsemane. We also promoted Jimmy's a bit, seeing as how we all seemed to have forgotten about him last semester. Especially since I felt a tinge guilty having gone to Omar's again with Travis instead of Jimmy's. Just before we left, Sister Huntington made us a couple of sandwiches to eat for lunch. It was beautiful, seeing as how we had no idea where to go for lunch, and that we were hungry. She also stuck in two pink grapefruit mentos, which made me incredibly joyful, as she knew it would. Really... sweetest lady ever. So, we went out onto the Center grounds, found a shady spot in the grass, and ate our lunch. Then we headed off. Where we headed to, neither of us really remember. We know we went out, though, since, according to my money log I've been keeping, we spent 50 shekels on dinner. I vaguely recall the restaurant, and I think we ordered burgers... maybe? But I did happen to right down that on the menu, instead of lamb, they wrote lamp. So my favorite dish on the menu was lamp eggs. Haha! But even if it were spelled correctly, what in the world are lamb eggs?

Hmmm... I do know, however, that that night we packed for our trip the following morning to Egypt. Travis and I speculate that perhaps we spent the evening shooting his David and Bathsheba photo. And watching the moon rise over the Dome. Or perhaps that was the night that it was too windy to fully appreciate the moon rise on the roof. Oh well. One day that you're not boggled down by my much talking. Oh wait! That was the night that I discovered I could get wireless on one corner of the roof. So I got to chat with people back home. That was fun. Too bad I only realized it our last night there. Bother. Oh, and we had gone over to Aladdin's to get money for the trip, and also to tell Omar that I had lost my checkbook (I figured I had left it at the Center) so to find out the best way to pay for our newest collection of Olive Wood. We decided that I'd find my checkbook after Church next week, after we'd returned from Jordan, and call him then. Ummm... yeah. I think that about covers it.

Quote of the Day: "F-stops give me goosebumps." - Travis