Today started out early with me waking up late for clinical! Then at clinical we were taking vitals in the morning and suddenly the mom on the other side of the curtain started screaming for our nurse and we went over there and the patient was having a seizure. It was really sad, but as a learning experience I couldn't have had a better experience. I was able to see all the different phases of the seizure clearly and time them and I learned a lot. It was very sad. The rest of clinical was a few hours of standing around doing nothing but SUDDENLY...I heard music. That's always a good sign. So I walked in the room with Carissa and they were having a party for all the children in the pediatric ward. HOW FUN IS THAT!?! Oh goodness I was excited!!! It was kind of funny though because all these patients are on contact or some kind of precautions but they were out there playing with balloons and dancing around and having a great time. So I just jumped in and played and danced with them. We had so much fun! And then a clown showed up and painted a heart on my hand and a butterfly on my face. They gave us cake and juice boxes. Honestly, I can't think of a better day at clinical. It was incredible. They were just a group of volunteers that came out to do that for the kids. It was really neat. We need to start this up in the USA. We were having so much fun partying that we didn't realize we were late to meet and leave so the other nursing students came up to get us and they weren't surprised to see us with our faces painted dancing with the children. Where else would I be?! That was a fun walk home...I looked like a fool. Worth it.
Then we went out to the city and I got some good stuff. Finally got my nativity! Jenny, Julie and I stopped by Shaban's for some juice and then we found Nacer. This was a hilarious time. We went in there and we were talking to him and suddenly someone who looks just like him comes in and I gasped just stared for a few minutes. I kept looking back and forth between them and they were talking to Jenny and Julie about being twins so I worked up the courage and asked if they were twins. They both laughed really hard and gave me a hard time for being so shocked but apparently they are just brothers. I was so embarrassed. And you know what happens when I get embarrassed...I turn beet red. So then they made me guess their ages and how far apart they are and who is older and I officially offended everyone in the shop and I thoroughly embarrassed myself, but it was a good time. They loved it and loved teasing me about it. Jenny talked with their dad for a while because he had just made Hajj to Mecca. I talked with Nacer because he is getting married in 25 days and he told me about his fiance and invited us to the wedding and gave us an announcement. They are so happy and cute together! I love them! Then he kept giving me a hard time and telling Julie that if he wasn't marrying his fiance he would marry me. That's when I blushed even more. Can't help it. Then some people slowed down around his shop so he challenged me to get them to come in and so I asked if they spoke english and luckily they did so I started telling them about all the stuff he sold and making up prices (which he gave me a hard time for...) and I told them it was the best shop here in Old Jerusalem. They must have felt pity on me because they came in the shop. They ended up buying some stuff so after they left I looked at Nacer and Saber and said, "Alright. Where's my commission?" I was just kidding but now I have a second free scarf from Nacer. These guys are the nicest. I hope we can make it to his wedding!!
Then Jenny, Julie and I went to the Jewish bakery for our delicious cookies and we ran into the couple I convinced to go into Nacer's shop. They wanted us to take their picture so we started talking to them and they are from Scandinavia. We invited them to come with us to the bakery and we showed them which cookies and pastries to get and then the best places to get dinner and how to get to the Western Wall. It was a fun time! They were so nice. It was fun to feel like we knew what we were doing and try to convince them that...
Monday, November 4
We woke up early to drive to JORDAN!!! It's right across the Dead Sea from Jericho so it's really not that far away, but we went through a border crossing which took about five or so hours. I wrote another pooem about not eating the food here and everyone loved it. I sat by Nichel after the crossing and we listened to Christmas music for a solid two hours straight. We danced and sang and had so much fun in the back of the bus dancing to Christmas music. I love her!!! She is my buddy! My Christmas Buddy!
Our first stop was at Mt. Nebo where Moses saw the Promised Land and was told he wouldn't enter. It was a neat story that made you think about the things that are preventing you from entering the Promised Land. It's not that they couldn't enter, it's that they wouldn't. We also talked about Moses' last sermon to the people. In it he told them that God loved them and then he blessed them. It's a cool example seeing as how they murmured and gave him a hard time, that was still the message he shared with them. It was really windy on the hill and on a clear day you can see all the way to Jerusalem and beyond!
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| This is my best friend Nichel!! I love her to death! |
Then we drove Madaba where John the Baptist was beheaded. This was such a hike! I wasn't expecting that but suddenly they unloaded us from the bus and we had to hike up a massive mountain. But boy was it beautiful!! You could see the entire world! I loved it. I sang Christmas carols the whole way up.
Then we went to the Church of the Map which has an ancient mosaic of the surrounding areas on it and people would stop there and use it as a map. It's been destroyed a lot, but it was cool to see.
We walked all through the little city there and it was quaint and adorable. Then we had a forever long bus ride to Petra. The stars were so bright out in the massive Jordanian desert. It was gorgeous.
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| This was the surprise hill we had to dominate!! |
Then we went to the Church of the Map which has an ancient mosaic of the surrounding areas on it and people would stop there and use it as a map. It's been destroyed a lot, but it was cool to see.
We walked all through the little city there and it was quaint and adorable. Then we had a forever long bus ride to Petra. The stars were so bright out in the massive Jordanian desert. It was gorgeous.
We had an amazing welcoming committee at our hotel there. I don't think anyone has ever been that excited to see me before! There was a group of Bedouin men singing and dancing and playing music. They lined up so we had to walk through them and the paparazzi was there taking pictures of us like crazy!! Then they had some bread with olive oil and herbs to dip in and delicious juice. It was so delicious! The paparazzi got some good pictures of me eating and drinking. He was going out of control with that camera!
After dinner I walked around Petra and talked to one of the guys that makes decorated sand bottles. It was cool to talk to him and see how he made camels and designs in the sang. Then we hung out on the open roof of our hotel and played games and talked.
After dinner I walked around Petra and talked to one of the guys that makes decorated sand bottles. It was cool to talk to him and see how he made camels and designs in the sang. Then we hung out on the open roof of our hotel and played games and talked.
Tuesday, November 5
PETRA!!!!
INDIANA JONES!!!
THE LAST CRUSADE!!!!!!
Need I say more? Ok, I will. This place is beautiful!! It made me feel like I was in Southern Utah with all the red rock and canyons. I loved it! As we came out of the Al-Siq, our guide has us walk with our heads down and sing the Indiana Jones theme song as we came out of the narrow Siq to see the Treasury where the Last Crusade was filmed. It was so suspenseful that way and SO BEAUTIFUL! It was magnificent!! It was just named the second of the seven man-made wonders of the world. I got to ride a camel around the Treasury. I love camels. They are sooo cute and have the biggest lips. I love them! He loved drinking water from the bottle. So adorable. I want a pet camel!
The whole day was free time and we got to explore all over Petra. I went with Nichel, Makena, Jordan, Kristen, and Alena to the Monastery first. It was about a mile hike there and back but straight uphill! It was sooo steep and about 800 something stairs. We even got stuck behind a donkey train.
That was fun! The canyons and cliffs were absolutely breathtaking. The Monastery was so cool. It just shows up out of no where. We climbed up to the overlook and could see the grand canyon of Jordan. I loved it! There were such gorgeous views there. Then we sprinted down all the stairs and saw some tombs and columns of a temple that had elephants on the top. It was neat.
Then we ate lunch and hiked up to the Sacrificial Altar. We had to go through a hot and dusty open valley that had some neat sites along the way. There was a narrow canyons with stair switchbacks through it that were gorgeous and I loved it! There were about 700 something stairs here. Needless to say, my legs were exhausted by the end of today. The altar reminded me of Narnia but with an amazing overlook over some canyons.
As we were leaving Petra, Makena was buying a bracelet and the guy was charging too much so she told them how much I bought mine for and he somehow interpreted that as me selling them for that so he tried to give me money. I tried to explain that I wasn't selling mine but that she wanted to buy some for that much and he didn't get it so I ended up trading one of the bracelets I bought for one of his. It was a funny time! Then we went to a shop that Obama went to and they kept showing us pictures of him. After Petra, we drove to Amman which was another long drive. I was so grateful for it though because my legs were shot! We ate at our hotel in Amman and then I went out with a few people and walked up and down Rainbow Street. It had a fun nightlife with a lot of Christmas lights and shops. Our hotel room is sweet! Jamie and I walked up to our room on the tenth floor and it ended up being the Prince Suite. It had a big king bed that we shared and massive windows so we could see all of the city and then another room with two twin beds and a living room with a couch and tv. It was an awesome room!
The whole day was free time and we got to explore all over Petra. I went with Nichel, Makena, Jordan, Kristen, and Alena to the Monastery first. It was about a mile hike there and back but straight uphill! It was sooo steep and about 800 something stairs. We even got stuck behind a donkey train.
That was fun! The canyons and cliffs were absolutely breathtaking. The Monastery was so cool. It just shows up out of no where. We climbed up to the overlook and could see the grand canyon of Jordan. I loved it! There were such gorgeous views there. Then we sprinted down all the stairs and saw some tombs and columns of a temple that had elephants on the top. It was neat.
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| The Monastery |
Then we ate lunch and hiked up to the Sacrificial Altar. We had to go through a hot and dusty open valley that had some neat sites along the way. There was a narrow canyons with stair switchbacks through it that were gorgeous and I loved it! There were about 700 something stairs here. Needless to say, my legs were exhausted by the end of today. The altar reminded me of Narnia but with an amazing overlook over some canyons.
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| Sooo many steep stairs! |
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| The Sacrificial Altar |
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| My last look at Petra. Goodbye forever |
As we were leaving Petra, Makena was buying a bracelet and the guy was charging too much so she told them how much I bought mine for and he somehow interpreted that as me selling them for that so he tried to give me money. I tried to explain that I wasn't selling mine but that she wanted to buy some for that much and he didn't get it so I ended up trading one of the bracelets I bought for one of his. It was a funny time! Then we went to a shop that Obama went to and they kept showing us pictures of him. After Petra, we drove to Amman which was another long drive. I was so grateful for it though because my legs were shot! We ate at our hotel in Amman and then I went out with a few people and walked up and down Rainbow Street. It had a fun nightlife with a lot of Christmas lights and shops. Our hotel room is sweet! Jamie and I walked up to our room on the tenth floor and it ended up being the Prince Suite. It had a big king bed that we shared and massive windows so we could see all of the city and then another room with two twin beds and a living room with a couch and tv. It was an awesome room!
Wednesday, November 6
The sunrise over Amman shot straight through our windows and woke us up. It was a perfect way to start the day. Despite that though, I was in an awful mood that morning. Our first stop was at the Temple of Hercules, honey you mean Hunkules! We saw the hand of Hercules and I held it so tight.
There was a museum there and I saw a skull that had something similar to burr holes in it that they did back in the ancient times. It's cool to think of how smart they are that they came up with that too and wondered if they had any anesthesia type of stuff. Then we went to the Jabokk River.
It was one of my favorite stops and I needed it to get out of my mood. It was honestly a really nasty river with tons of trash, but I loved sitting on a rock in the sun and listening to the river and wind in the trees. It made me think I was in the mountains in Idaho. Then Brother Belnap gave an incredible lesson about the importance of being alone and taking time for yourself, especially to pray as Jacob did in Genesis 32:22-32. He was nervous and afraid to see Esau, for good reason, and so he sent his family and everyone away. Then he prayed to the Lord and wouldn't let the angel go until he got a blessing. How often do I pray with that much faith and conviction? The blessing the angel gave him was a name change to Israel which means God Prevaileth. This taught Jacob to trust God and that if we're on his side we have no need to fear. It was an awesome time. Then we drove to a restaurant where they cooked our bread in a fire brick over. It was heaven. Then we went to Jerash and saw some ruins. It had so many columns and the Temple of Artemis which was huge and beautiful. I gave a personal guided tour with Alex here about how it was the North Pole of the Southern Hemisphere and Santa's Kingdom. The columns used to be red and white but have now faded from everyone licking them. The leafy decoration at the top was ancient wreaths with holly and mistletoe and pine needles. The little holes in the wall were ancient gumballs that were gorgeous when the light caught them just right. There were egg nog fountains on the sides of Santa's throne that led into little pools. It was a fun time.
This site was gorgeous and the paved roads with columns on the side looked like Hercules. They still had wagon tracks worn in them. At the Amphitheater we had some guys playing them bagpipes and drums. It was fun!
We went to the Hippodrome and had a race of a few guys from our class verses some guys from Woods' class and then it was the girls turn.
I definitely had to participate, but I did it barefoot because I wore flip flops that day. I took way too wide of turn which cost me and put me in third place just barely. That'll eat at me forever...hahaha!! But of course, I couldn't participate without anything happening so I sliced my toe somehow while I was running and had no idea until I went to put my shoes on and realized my big toe was all red. Can't do anything without getting hurt. Nichel and I went back to the market at the front and bought some flutes that are the most annoying things in the world and everyone hates them but we're determined to figure it out and learn Jingle Bells. People were paying me to break it. I think they secretly love it though. They're just jealous. Then we went to a Royal Automobile Museum which I guess was pretty cool. I'm not too sure why I went there...I tried to make it fun by trying to sell the cars to some people. That was a fun time. Then we saw a beautiful mosque. After that we went home for dinner and then out to Rainbow Street again. We stopped by the Nestle Toll House shop and I ate my weight in chocolate chip cookies and even finished everyone else's. It made me feel so close to home! I loved it!
There was a museum there and I saw a skull that had something similar to burr holes in it that they did back in the ancient times. It's cool to think of how smart they are that they came up with that too and wondered if they had any anesthesia type of stuff. Then we went to the Jabokk River.
It was one of my favorite stops and I needed it to get out of my mood. It was honestly a really nasty river with tons of trash, but I loved sitting on a rock in the sun and listening to the river and wind in the trees. It made me think I was in the mountains in Idaho. Then Brother Belnap gave an incredible lesson about the importance of being alone and taking time for yourself, especially to pray as Jacob did in Genesis 32:22-32. He was nervous and afraid to see Esau, for good reason, and so he sent his family and everyone away. Then he prayed to the Lord and wouldn't let the angel go until he got a blessing. How often do I pray with that much faith and conviction? The blessing the angel gave him was a name change to Israel which means God Prevaileth. This taught Jacob to trust God and that if we're on his side we have no need to fear. It was an awesome time. Then we drove to a restaurant where they cooked our bread in a fire brick over. It was heaven. Then we went to Jerash and saw some ruins. It had so many columns and the Temple of Artemis which was huge and beautiful. I gave a personal guided tour with Alex here about how it was the North Pole of the Southern Hemisphere and Santa's Kingdom. The columns used to be red and white but have now faded from everyone licking them. The leafy decoration at the top was ancient wreaths with holly and mistletoe and pine needles. The little holes in the wall were ancient gumballs that were gorgeous when the light caught them just right. There were egg nog fountains on the sides of Santa's throne that led into little pools. It was a fun time.
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| Your Christmas Tour Guides |
This site was gorgeous and the paved roads with columns on the side looked like Hercules. They still had wagon tracks worn in them. At the Amphitheater we had some guys playing them bagpipes and drums. It was fun!
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| This is straight out of Hercules! |
We went to the Hippodrome and had a race of a few guys from our class verses some guys from Woods' class and then it was the girls turn.
I definitely had to participate, but I did it barefoot because I wore flip flops that day. I took way too wide of turn which cost me and put me in third place just barely. That'll eat at me forever...hahaha!! But of course, I couldn't participate without anything happening so I sliced my toe somehow while I was running and had no idea until I went to put my shoes on and realized my big toe was all red. Can't do anything without getting hurt. Nichel and I went back to the market at the front and bought some flutes that are the most annoying things in the world and everyone hates them but we're determined to figure it out and learn Jingle Bells. People were paying me to break it. I think they secretly love it though. They're just jealous. Then we went to a Royal Automobile Museum which I guess was pretty cool. I'm not too sure why I went there...I tried to make it fun by trying to sell the cars to some people. That was a fun time. Then we saw a beautiful mosque. After that we went home for dinner and then out to Rainbow Street again. We stopped by the Nestle Toll House shop and I ate my weight in chocolate chip cookies and even finished everyone else's. It made me feel so close to home! I loved it!
Thursday, November 7
This morning we went to the amphitheater in Amman. It was huge.
Our awesome guides sang a song for us. Then we got to explore and Nichel and I tried to get some Christmas carols going there. It was a blast! Then I climbed up the stairs and it was gorgeous from the top. Alex and Nick were up there and we had a lot of fun...until Alex spit and it went in my mouth. That ended things really fast. I've felt sick all day now! We all had a ton of fun at that spot. I was happy! There was a mini amphitheater right next to it that we explored too and I saw the cutest little girl. Then we drove to a gift shop near the border and waited for KFC (WHAT!!! American food!!). It was pretty delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we went to the Jordan River. It was an amazing place and the Spirit was very strong. I really loved it there. We talked about how baptism wasn't necessary for the Savior to cleanse him from his sins. We usually say it was for him to be our example but today we talked about how it was the way Christ made the necessary covenant relationship with his Father. He needed to do that too, not just to be our example.
Then we crossed back over the border to Israel and made it home to the Jerusalem Center. What a place to call home! I love it here. We sang Christmas carols in the bus. Of course. I'm so ready for Christmas!! We played soccer all night and ate dinner then watcher Hercules. It was a great day!
Our awesome guides sang a song for us. Then we got to explore and Nichel and I tried to get some Christmas carols going there. It was a blast! Then I climbed up the stairs and it was gorgeous from the top. Alex and Nick were up there and we had a lot of fun...until Alex spit and it went in my mouth. That ended things really fast. I've felt sick all day now! We all had a ton of fun at that spot. I was happy! There was a mini amphitheater right next to it that we explored too and I saw the cutest little girl. Then we drove to a gift shop near the border and waited for KFC (WHAT!!! American food!!). It was pretty delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we went to the Jordan River. It was an amazing place and the Spirit was very strong. I really loved it there. We talked about how baptism wasn't necessary for the Savior to cleanse him from his sins. We usually say it was for him to be our example but today we talked about how it was the way Christ made the necessary covenant relationship with his Father. He needed to do that too, not just to be our example.
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| The "real" spot where Christ was baptized |
Then we crossed back over the border to Israel and made it home to the Jerusalem Center. What a place to call home! I love it here. We sang Christmas carols in the bus. Of course. I'm so ready for Christmas!! We played soccer all night and ate dinner then watcher Hercules. It was a great day!
i'm really obsessed with you.
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