The Red Sea isn't red...but I snorkeled it!!

Sabbath –  10/19

I got to teach Young Women’s today about charity. These girls are so great and such a fun time. After church I got some reading done and played games with some people. Then Becca and I went to Sister Wood’s apartment to knit. I’ve never knitted before. I’m going to be the worst grandma ever because it looks so bad. I have tons of holes and bulges everywhere. That’s alright. I’ll keep trying but I’ll just bake for my grandchildren. We were there for a few hours and had some good deep talks. It was good to feel like we were away from the center for a while and in a real home talking with a friend while knitting.

We’re singing a Christmas Concert in December that a lot of the people around here come to. It’s the only time we’re allowed to sing about Christ. We had a practice tonight and we’re singing this islander Christmas song that is entirely too much fun. I’m excited for it.

After that we watched part of Ice Age and then got almost all the students to play Sardines in the center. It was a huge game and we all had a blast. Then I stayed up late with a group that played a bunch of games in the hallway. It was so much fun!

Sunday –  10/20

Today was one of my favorite days here. Everything that happened was the best thing that could. We woke up entirely too early and got on the buses, just us students…no teachers, to drive down to Elat to snorkel in the Red Sea. Yes; the same Red Sea that Moses parted. It was SO FUN!

 It was a four hour bus ride down and so we slept, studied, played games and read on the way down. We drove all along the Dead Sea which was gorgeous to watch the sunrise over. It was so hot down in Elat and it was beautiful. We could see Saudi Arabia and Egypt from the beach we were at. It was so much fun. I grabbed all my snorkel stuff and jumped in as fast as I could. It was really choppy and windy but we saw some gorgeous fish and reefs. My favorite was diving down and trying to catch the fish. I was in heaven! I just swam around forever and swallowed a couple gallons of salt water thoroughly enjoying myself. When I got out I played Smash on the beach with Nichel. It’s like ping pong without the table. Then we laid out in the sun and talked. I got a handful of sand down my swimsuit thanks to the one and only Jordan. That stuff didn’t come out til we got home and when I went to the bathroom later that night at dinner I had rocks falling out of my swimsuit. Such a good time. Nichel and I walked around the beach and had a good heart to heart.

Neesh and I!

Then we all jumped back in the water to snorkel for another few hours and I loved it. I could not have been any happier with my salt covered skin and dreadlocked hair. It was pure bliss. We left around 4 to drive up to dinner and ate some delicious schnitzel. Schnitzel is my favorite. We had it at the center and it’s the most scrumptious chicken ever. At the center they roll some chicken breasts in mustard and spices and then in cornmeal then egg and then a few sesame seeds and fry it. Gosh it’s good. But we ate dinner and they gave us a free scoop of ice cream. While I was in line some Spanish speaking tourists turned around and started talking to me in Spanish. Thank goodness I’ve been practicing with the guys here! They were from Columbia and they’re going to Turkey soon so I told them how much I loved it. It was fun to talk to them. Then we had a long bus ride home where we played more games and talked on the bus. Partway through the trip home we realized the driver wasn’t going to stop for a bathroom break. We talked him into pulling over and a group of us girls ran behind a pile of rocks and peed in the moonlight by the Dead Sea. Not gunna lie,that was one of my favorite pees ever. Are you allowed to have favorite pees? I’m not sure. But that one was mine because it was in the moonlight by the Dead Sea. When will that happen again?! When we got home we were all exhausted and I just laid around on the bean bags and watched a conference talk then went to bed. Such a good day!

Monday  - 10/21

Today was another beautiful day where we didn’t have any classes. We got to sleep in and didn’t have breakfast til 7:30! Then we went out and got to press the olives that we had picked last week. It was an awesome experience.

 It was incredible to see how something so bitter and disgusting could be put under such intense pressure and stress and then have time to sit and separate itself from the dirt and water and become delicious olive oil. I was shocked to see the amount of pressure that is placed on the olives. I knew it was a lot but it was so much that when me, Jordan and Makena tried to roll the press over them, we struggled a lot.

And then they had to be pressed with a giant screw that was too hard for me to even try. And it transforms from something bitter to something so delicious and good. Wow. Think about that one for a while.

The rest of the day I just did homework and took a nap (the sun drained me yesterday) and went and got a one shekel popsicle from the 7 to 11. We watched Sunday morning of conference after dinner and then I got a few more things done and went to bed.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Classes were crazy and busy all day these last few days. I had a lot of nursing tests I had to do for NCLEX prep, but it was kinda nice because everyone here had a big test for the class I’m not taking so it was the first time we were all studying at the same time. Nick and I discovered a foosball table in the bomb shelter and we have spent every waking minute in there playing. We are equally matched and have some intense games. We’re tied right now for games won and it’s a touchy subject. Foosball has become everything we live, breathe and eat.
Tuesday night we had to watch a video for our Israel class. It was a Jewish film that was pretty funny. We had some nursing practice skills we needed to do and it was quite the experience because we didn't have any of the needed supplies so we made due with what we had...

Wednesday we had classes and then I went to the Old City with James, Jamison and Becca. We found some fun shops and stopped by all our favorite shop owners. For Forum tonight we had a Holocaust survivor who is 96 years old come talk to us. He told us his story and it was so spiritual and incredible. It left me feeling like I could never complain about anything again. He has gone through so much and is an inspiring man! When he talked about returning to his home in the ghetto a few years after the war started I began to cry. He returned and none of his family was home and he learned from his neighbors that they had all died. As he talked about this he got choked up and started crying. I can’t begin to imagine how that would feel. At the end someone asked him how he was able to get through this and all he could talk about was how important his family was to him. This made me cry to and taught me that family is truly the most important thing in this life. I hope that is something we never forget as the world is trying to demoralize the family right now. Without family units, we would be nothing. He was such a happy young man and so sweet! I loved him and am grateful we got to hear from him. What a once in a lifetime opportunity to hear from a Holocaust survivor while in Jerusalem! He ended his speech telling us that he survived because God needed witnesses. That was a neat thought and I learned a lot from him. Thursday was such a GREAT day!!!! I went to clinical at Red Crescent Hospital which is a hospital for women. I was in the ER which was also the admitting floor. The rooms were incredibly small with about two to three rooms that had three beds in each room. It was very compact but we had a fun time. I got to listen to fetal heart rates and learned a lot from the nurses. Then the best thing in my life happened!! I GOT TO WATCH A C-SECTION! It was such a powerful experience. As that precious little baby was pulled out of the womb into this life, the veil was so thin. She came out blue and started crying after a little bit. She was perfect. I wanted to hold her and love her and welcome here to this new place and let her know she’d be alright. I could imagine her just a few minutes before I saw her, waiting up at heaven to come down. I’m sure she was getting a pep-talk and being told that she’d return soon. Mortality is so short, don’t waste it. It was a great experience. Then I raced home from clinical because I was in charge of the Seder Dinner (Passover) that night. It was a fun night, but really long. The food was incredible and we successfully made it the most memorable Seder Dinner ever by serving wine instead of grape juice. Oops…luckily no one really drank any since you have to drink it at certain times. We caught the mistake and fixed it but everyone felt so bad. The bottles looked so similar and they’re in a different language. Honest mistake, but hilarious. Definitely left my mark here. Friday after classes I went down to the Belnap’s apartment to make homemade brownies with Emma, one of the Young Women and Megan who is a YW teacher. It was fun to make them and they tasted like America. I missed it a lot. After dinner the Belnap’s drove me, Megan and Emma to Sister Baltz’s house in West Jerusalem for Young Women’s. We watched the first Harry Potter movie on their massive big screen projector. It was so fun. We played with her little girls for a while too. She had made some delicious treats and pumpkin desserts that made me the happiest girl in the world. It was so fun to be in an actual home and play with kids and have homemade American food. I loved it. Exactly what I needed! We came back to the center and watched Hocus Pocus. Best way to finish my day!

Sabbath – 10/26

Church was incredible today! I love every Sunday here. I’ve been trying to decide if I should go back to Rexburg to work or move to Provo and get a job in Orem. I haven’t gotten an answer but right before I went into church my mom texted me to tell me our family friend could help me get a job at his hospital in Orem. I asked her a ton of questions but didn’t have time to get the response so I spent all of church thinking about it. As the sacrament came around and I pondered moving to Orem, I felt the Spirit tell me it’s what I needed to do and I started crying. I’m so excited! I love getting answers. It will be such a fun adventure when I get home! We had some visitors in Young Women’s from Sweden that were very sweet. After church I had “band practice” with Jordan and Nick. We’ve got some pretty good stuff we’re working on. The band keeps threatening to split up. I hope it doesn’t. Maybe I’ll just go solo though. We’ll see. They showed the Priesthood session of Conference after dinner so us ladies at the Center had a girls night! We painted our nails and ate pumpkin chocolate chip cookies while we talked about dating and all that good stuff. It was a really fun night and I ended it watching Lincoln til the wee hours of the morning.

Chocolate Cookies and Bruised Feet

Sunday - Oct. 13

So we got back at midnight on Saturday night from Turkey and I did laundry (since I had no clothes or underwear for the next day) and went to bed around 3. We all got to sleep in because the other half of our group didn't get back til 2:30. So we had a brunch from 10-noon and then Sacrament meeting at 12:30 since we had missed Sabbath. I hardly remember it though because I slept so much. I was exhausted. Turkey took everything out of me. Then I played some ping pong and soccer and we watched the Saturday afternoon session of conference before dinner. D. Todd Christofferson's talk was my FAVORITE! We went out to the Old City which was so fun to go back to. I had missed it! We went to a bakery in the Jewish quarter that had delicious chocolate cookies. It made me soooo happy!! I might spend the rest of my money on those cookies...

Monday - Oct. 14

Monday was a pretty awesome day. We went to the Holocaust museum which is a totally different experience being in Israel. The children's memorial really got to me and I just wanted Cali, Rock and TJ there to hold so bad. It was a gem of a museum and we had a good time and learned a lot.

Part of the Museum

Then we came back and played some games and did homework before dinner. For FHE tonight we all went to a concert that is through an organization that gives Jews and Palestinians equal opportunities in music. There were filming a documentary for Discovery Channel and we were in it! And I was in the front row baby!!! I'm hoping this is where I catch my big break.I won't forget you all once I make it in the big leagues. I sat next to Lillian who I learned is the wife of the guy who founded this organization! She was fun to talk to and let me practice my Arabic on her. There was a little 14 year old guy there playing the violin that completely won my heart. He was adorable! 

Tuesday - Oct. 15

Tuesday was another great day. Actually it wasn't too good. I had classes from 8 am until 9 pm and only an hour break for lunch and an hour break for dinner. I had a nursing test in there too that I  did not succeed on. After the last class at 9 I was chompin at the bit to get out of there so I ran stairs for an hour and then we did P90x ab ripper workout and then I played soccer. Well, tried to play soccer. Within the first two minutes I went to kick the ball with full force and accidentally kicked Nate (a huge buff guy) in the heel. Needless to say, I thought my foot broke in half and I ran out of the gym and sat in the hall and couldn't breathe because the pain was so bad. I started crying because it hurt and I got really nauseous. I couldn't move my toes and my foot was bruising and swelling all across the top. Everyone came to help me and I couldn't stand up or put any pressure on it. They carried me back to the gym so I wasn't out in the open and they got it elevated and some ice and gave me a blessing. Then they had to carry me down to my room which was such a painful process. We stopped a lot so I could catch my breathe. I was so humbled at how nice everyone was. Erin, Becky, Nick, Little Nick, Whitney, MJ and others were right there with me the whole way. They got me a blanket, some food, Advil, water, and they carried me down tons of stairs and hallways, they set up my bed so I could elevate my foot and they even placed me down in bed and tucked me in with everything I would need around me. They got the doctor and he gave me some serious pain meds. I needed food to take my pill with so Nick got me Oreos, a granola bar, a chocolate bar and a wafer. Wow. That's more than I eat in a day! I laid in bed (until the pain meds kicked in) and thought about how blessed I was to have such incredible friends. They are all so nice and they sacrificed so much for me and helped me a ton. I'm not good at being the patient, but they were all incredible nurses. 

Wednesday - Oct. 16

I woke up with a throbbing foot that was not quite as swollen but still bruised this morning. I felt so embarrassed because I was totally pampered and babied last night but they were all so sweet. I could kind of walk on it this morning, with a lot of limping and pain. I took another pain med because we did a walking field trip today through the Kidron valley and Hezekiah's tunnel. It was a killer. I hurt sooooo bad and I was soooo loopy. I don't remember too much about the walk through the valley. I probably could never find my way there again. James, Nick and Julie said they couldn't believe how hilarious I was. They said I kept wandering all around by myself and I would just laugh all the time. They said I kept saying random things like the "Ministry of Magic" as Brother Whitchurch was talking. At the Hezekiah Tunnel gift shop I found Jordan and was telling her all about draddles and how I sang a song called Draddle Spin in Kindergarten in a white turtleneck with cats and balls of yarn on there. I laughed at everything and had a great time. We watched a 3D movie at the tunnel and boy, I was having a hay day with that pain pill in me. Jordan got some on video because I kept gasping at everything they said and I would try to grab the 3D bugs and I kept being distracted by the harp shaped lights on the walls. Rough day. The tunnel was incredible and so fun because it was full of water. We walked through and it was a tight space and the water came up to my upper thigh (so everyone else's ankles). After that we went around the Old City for the rest of the night until dinner and had a blast. I just wanted to get home though because my foot feels like it's falling off. 

Once we got home I practiced a song with Becca for the Talent Show on Thursday. Then I went down to the Belnap's apartment. Brother Belnap is the other religion teacher and his family is here. They have four kids and I went down there to color a card with them. I needed some alone from everyone else and just feel like a normal family for a while. They were sweet for letting me come. It was fun. 

Thursday - Oct. 17

Today we had classes all morning and then we got to go out and pick olives around the center. We're making olive oil next week. My foot is doing a lot better but I didn't get to climb the trees very well. Everyone just lifted me up and we had a blast picking them. Then we studied for a while because we have a midterm tomorrow. After dinner we had the Formal Talent Show. It was in the auditorium of the center which has huge windows that look out over Jerusalem. It was gorgeous and such a fun stage to perform on. There are some incredibly talented students here. It was fun to see that side of everyone. I definitely messed up on our song a few times, but I tried to just go with it and rolled my eyes and laughed. And I blushed of course. That always happens. 

Friday - Oct. 18

We had class til the afternoon today and then I went out to the city with James, Jamison and Becca. We saw our favorite shop owners: Shaban and Nacer. It's fun now that we've been in the City for a while and have gotten to know some of the people here better. They're so fun and always nice to us. Nacer is the guy that gave me a free scarf and offered Jenny 50 camels for me. Shaban always gives us free juice when we come and we talk with him for a while. I love it here. It's a lot easier now because we know our way around the city. There were some kids that came up and walked with us for a while. They grabbed our hands and held them as we walked and they kept asking our names. They were so cute! After dinner I just did my own thing and watched parts of some movies, planned my Young Women's lesson, sang and played the guitar and had a great time with everyone. It was a good day.

The Final Days of Turkey

Friday we went to Sardis and Bursa!! Sardis was a pretty great place that had a lot of mosaics still in place on the remains of the synagogue. The gym there was huge and fun to explore. I liked it because it didn't have as many tourists.

The toilets of course!

The massive gymnasium

AJ and the dandelions

Becca, Me, MJ, Angie

Then we went to another Temple of Artemis (different guy, same name) and it was surrounded by mountains that were gorgeous. The columns of the temple were huge and thick. It would take at least 6 Cali's to go all the way around one with my arms stretched out wide. There were also puppies there that were adorable. Turkey is a pretty sweet place. All the dogs have tags on their ears indicating that they don't have diseases. Everyone takes care of the cats and dogs in the streets which is cool to see. It's not that way in Jerusalem.

This picture needs no explanation

We drove, just like we always keep doing, to another ruin site: Thyatria. I remember nothing about that place because we were finally with the other class and I was so excited to see my friends and tell them stories and what not. So I actually don't even know why we stopped there and didn't take one picture. Whoops. 

Then we drove, even further than before, to Bursa. We had just enough time to go to the Bazaar and Silk Market before dinner. It wasn't as good of a Bazaar as the one in Istanbul but I did luck out on a skirt and had some fun there. 

After dinner I talked with Brother and Sister Woods for a little bit. Brother Woods is one of our religion teachers and our Branch President. We play card games and ping pong with them all the time. They are one of those couples that you want to be when you grow up. They've devoted their lives to serving the Lord and each other. They are so in love and it's fun to see that. They still act like newlyweds and it's adorable. They give me hope and make me excited for the future. They gave us some marriage advice as we talked after dinner. They said the most important thing they would tell us would be that we choose how in love we are with our spouse. We control our happiness and if we "fall" out of love or not. It reminded me of what President Monson said of "Choose your love and love your choice." Love them and develop that love more through serving them. They're awesome examples here. 

Then me, Jordan, Alex, Karren, Whitney, Becca, AJ and Nick walked around outside our hotel. We watched a soccer game with some people outside and looked out over the city. It was a great day, but a lot of driving on the bus. It was fun too see the country of Turkey, but I definitely caught up on a lot of sleep.

Saturday, October 12 was my last day in Turkey and my heart broke. But it was a good day! We even got to sleep in til 7 which was incredible! That felt SO GOOD! We went to the Grand Mosque in Bursa which was a neat place. It was right by the Silk Market.

Then we drove to Nicaea which is a beautiful lakeside town. We visited a mosque there that has been a museum and is now a mosque but sounds like they might turn it back into a museum again soon. It was the cutest little town to walk through and gorgeous right on the lake!! I loved the lake shore. It was crazy to think about what happened here. It was at the beginning of the apostasy and didn't have revelation so they met here to determine what the doctrine should be aka the Nicaean Creed. We skipped rocks on the shore and had a great time there. 

Then we drove to an outlet mall on our way to the airport and only had 20 minutes so we did some serious speed shopping. Then we got on the airplane to fly home to Jerusalem. What a place to fly home to and to even call home. I feel so blessed! But I am definitely going to miss Turkey with my whole heart. It's my favorite place I've ever traveled. My heart was definitely left there. I have to return there soon! I have learned so much from this place and changed a lot even from just the beginning of the week. I love Turkey!

Awkward Turtles

I spent my Thursday in Ephesus and Miletus! Check out the Bible pictures for Ephesus. I was there. They're true pictures.

We're staying at a different hotel than the other bus which is the worst. I miss them so much. Plus when we finally see them I immediately turn off whatever tour guide information I was receiving and just rejoice in being with the other class. It's a problem. 

This morning we went to St. John's church, where they claim he is buried. This is also where he wrote the letters to the 7 churches in Revelations 1-3. I bet they loved those letters! It's just like us hearing from our church leaders at General Conference. We also saw the last standing pillar of the Temple of Artemis.

Ephesus was INCREDIBLE!!!! It is incredible because it is the most put together city with so much still standing. Wow!! It's awesome! We saw a cat with it's nose ripped off, which was sad and kinda gross. Then we saw the goddess Nike and the swoosh. The library was my absolute favorite though! It was HUGE and there was so much there that it made it easy to go back in time and imagine it. I loved Ephesus. It’s a must see. The theater there was incredible too.

We had a homemade lunch that warmed every fiber of my being. It was so delicious! Then we drove to Miletus where Paul said goodbye to the other disciples before going to Jerusalem. The theater there was also huge and beautiful. There were cotton webs all over because there are cotton trees all around the area. Me, Becca and James were walking together and singing about rocks when I suddenly said, "Do you guys hear that knocking noise?" We all looked around, expecting to see someone jump out with a drum or something crazy like that but it was even funnier than that! We saw too turtles getting ready to mate. What!! Brings a whole new meaning to the whole awkward turtle thing... It was hilarious thought and they got embarrassed as we got closer so they ran away from each other. We felt bad about ruining the mood so I sang a few special songs to recapture the moment but it was too far gone. It was pretty funny. We laughed about that for a while. 

We got done fairly early in the evening today so we had enough time to go play at our hotel. We swam in the Aegean Sea and then in the hotel pool. I stayed in the steam room and sauna until I almost died and then went to dinner. Needless to say, this was a great day. On my way to dinner a 50 year old guy stopped to ask if I was American. He was Turkish and had been to the US before and done a bunch of pilot and airplane stuff there which was why he was in Ephesus now. I told him about nursing school. Then he started getting into the creepy realm and wanted to know where we were going and when and what was next and then popped the question to meet me in the lobby in 50 minutes. You can't be too safe here so I said I had class and ran off. 

After dinner we went to the roof again and then we watched Skyfall outside on the patio by the pool...on the beach by the Aegean Sea...in bean bags...in Turkey. Life is good. The opening scene took place in Istanbul and it was fun to recognize the Grand Bazaar and Blue Mosque. 

Assos and Pergamon

Wednesday, October 9

We went to Assos today! Careful how you pronounce that...it's a bit tricky. It is an incredibly beautiful place. I can't believe how gorgeous it is. Every day here I fall more and more in love with Turkey. The Aegean Sea is RIGHT there and INCREDIBLE! The mountains surrounding were so gorgeous and we could see the isle of Lesbos. 

Aegean Sea and Isle of Lesbos

Paul is an amazing missionary who taught and baptized tons despite horrible persecution. It was a cool experience to study his life as I was here. I am so blessed to be on this trip. There was a dog here that followed us up the streets we had to walk through and all over the site. He was our little tour guide. Then he laid down and took a nap on the massive temple ruin there. What a life! The streets up to the site were steep and cobble stoned. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I bought some wool socks from a lady that were hand made from her grandma. She was adorable.

Me, Angie and MJ

After that we went on a forever long bus ride to Pergamon Acropolis. We took a cable car to the top of hte hill and it was so hot we almost passed out. It was awful. But a gorgeous ruin site! It had marble pillars everywhere that were beyond beautiful. This is the second largest library:

It also had the coolest and biggest amphitheater in the side of the mountain that could seat 10,000. It looked out over a huge and beautiful valley. Such a gorgeous site!! I went down to the stage and sang "Far Away" for everyone up at the top and they could hear me! Which was honestly a bummer for them, but quite the amazing feat.

We wandered around and found some rocks on the edge of the cliff. It was a gorgeous place I will never forget! Definitely made a great memory there!!!

After Pergamon we had another forever long bus ride. We played karaoke where you blindfold someone and put earphones in their ear and turn the Ipod up loud enough so they can't hear themselves and then everyone watches this person sing out loud to music they can't hear and it is hilarious and incredibly embarrassing. I had predetermined I wouldn't do that but of course, I got called up to sing a duet with Jamison. Everyone cheered so loud and Jamison said, "Come on Suga'!" in a really low voice so I had to. We sang "A Whole New World" but I sang the boy part and he sang the girl part. It was hilarious, or so I hear...I only heard the music. We got way into it and danced around as we sang. It was a great time and so embarrassing.

It started getting hot outside again which is kinda a bummer. I miss fall. I loved the fall weather in Istanbul. I definitely left part of my heart in Istanbul and need to go back sometime in the fall to get it again. It's such a beautiful place.

After way too many hours on a bus, we arrived at our 4 STAR HOTEL!!!! Right on the beach!!! It was amazing. Me, AJ, Becca and Karren wandered around and explored the hotel. It had waterslides into the pools, hammocks everywhere, basketball/soccer/tennis courts, a gorgeous beach, a bean bag hut, archery, and a mini zoo with bunnies and huge birds. It was so fun to explore!! We walked along the beach and then tried to find our way onto the roof. One of the employees helped us get on the roof and we stayed up there and talked with him and danced for a while. We also saw one firework go off while we were up there. That was pretty neat.

Just another great day in Turkey!