September 9, 2007

Mikelle Laker
Religion 303
Journal Entry
Today was a day of firsts. It will be one of many to come, I’m sure. I went into East Jerusalem with my roommate Kira, and Whitney, Amie and Lance. Up to this point, I had only been out of the Center with the big Orientation group. So going exploring without a tour guide was definitely an adventure.
I’m not sure how much I enjoy the ups and downs of actually getting to this city. It’s hard to understand the hilly nature of Jerusalem until you’ve actually been there and experienced it. It seems like we will probably experience it many times this semester. The sun seems especially strong here or maybe it’s just the humidity. But, it gets really warm on the way up to the city.
We first found our way to Aladdin’s Money Changer. I guess we all felt the most comfortable going to him because so many students have gone there before us. I had no idea what to expect. I half thought he would just be sitting behind a little table in a room, but it was much more set up than that. We successfully easily exchanged our money. I’m amazed at the level of trust that there is between the merchants and the “Mormons” as we’re called. Some stores in Provo won't even take my out of state check and yet, Aladdin himself (in Jerusalem of all places) is happy to take it.
A visit to east Jerusalem wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Omar’s. He had a lot to tell us about his olive wood carvings. They were beautiful but very expensive. I think I’m going to be keeping my eye out for lower priced carvings. We enjoyed his stories and jokes. I think he knows more Book of Mormon stories than I do! A few of us wanted Bethlehem blankets so we were excited to get some of those.
It was a day filled with new, exciting adventures. I still can’t get over the fact that the view from my room is the Holy City. Not too many people can say that! It will be a privilege every day to live here and I’m looking forward to many more days to come.