October 28, 2007

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Mikelle Laker

28 October 2007



Today was our Palestinian midterm. I wasn’t even sure how to study because it was hard to know what was going to be on the test. It turned out a lot better than I was expecting. It just so happened that I picked the right topics to study.

I was ready to get out of the Center after that. Having three tests within three days was too much for me. A big group of us left together for the Old City. We split into 2 groups: those who wanted to go to Bagdadi’s for olive wood and those who didn’t. It ended up an 11-3 split. Kira, Lance, and I headed for Bagdadi’s. I’m on a never ending quest for olive wood arks for my mom. She wants them as gifts for her seminary class. At this point, I’m pretty sure that it’s not going to happen. They’re either too expensive, too small, or some other combination. After that, we headed into the old city. I had jewelry to pick up from a shop in the Christian quarter. I also got a shirt for my brother…I’m finally getting closer to having souvenirs for everyone!

After dinner, I spent some time packing and getting ready for Jordan. It was a lot easier than Egypt because the trip is only 4 days long. I’m not at all sure what to expect from it, but I’m excited.

My favorite Old Testament experience so far in the program has been the hike up Mt. Sinai. I wasn’t expecting much out of it, other than being really tired from lack of sleep and sore from hiking. However, it turned out to be much more than that for me. It was pitch black when we started up the mountain. I liked it when all the lights were turned off around me because the moon was bright enough to see by and you could barely see the outline of the mountains in the distance.

As we walked, I stopped every so often to pick up rocks. As soon as my mom saw Mt. Sinai on our schedule, she made a request for rocks to give to her seminary class. I had a zip lock bag with me that I filled as we walked. It began to get pretty heavy so I deferred further collection until the way back down.

The way down was probably my favorite part. I was in a group that went slowly down the mountain. We were behind the main group so it was a quiet, peaceful experience. I could really feel the significance of the mountain we had just climbed. I will never read the about Moses receiving the 10 commandments in the same way again. We were met at the bottom by Bro. Huntington who had stayed behind to go back with us back to the hotel since everyone else had already left.