Monday, April 21, 2008

October 9, 2007

October 9, 2007
To quote President Hayes, it has been “Another marvelous day in Jerusalem!” I think that this phrase is a wonderful reminder to us. We have so many wonderful trips, sights to see, and places to go that the days that we get to spend in Jerusalem around the Jerusalem Center might seem ordinary at times. But, then we remember how blessed we are that we all get be here, studying the scriptures, looking out of our balcony onto the beautiful city, and growing together as a group as we feel the wonderful spirit which is here. Today was definitely “another marvelous day in Jerusalem”.
Before coming to Jerusalem, all of the students had the opportunity to choose which language we wanted to study while we were here—Hebrew or Arabic. Depending on our past, friends we had talked to, etc., we were split up and put into the smaller classes of respective languages. I chose to take Arabic, and have really enjoyed it while I’ve been here. Our teacher, Iman, is a headmaster of a secondary school in a smaller village here in Israel. He is able to connect with us really well and keep us laughing. Right from the beginning, we started speaking Arabic and learning how to keep a simple conversation. It has been a good opportunity because we are able to use our knowledge to speak to the custodial staff, cooking staff, as well as the local community and shopkeepers. It’s really fun to be able to say even just a simple “Have a good day, “ or “Praise be to God.” This class has been enjoyable and useful!
Each Tuesday we have Linen Exchange. The wonderful Center provides us with all of our sheets and towels, which was very helpful since we had a weight limit for our bags on the way over here. Our apartment gets excited for Linen Exchange because the day after, we have cleaning check, and if Brother and Sister Lee find our apartment in good condition, we each get a chocolate bar! It’s definitely a highlight. Sometimes, finding the little things in life to get excited about makes each day so much fun!
Today was a day of studying as we returned from our two-day trip around the Galilee just last night. We have a midterm in our Judaism class on Thursday, and we have a lot of preparation to do for it! Some of us have never studied Judaism before, and learning their complete history and culture is quite a task. We like our teacher, Ophir Yadin. He is an orthodox Jew who grew up in Boston, but has lived in Israel for many years. This combination is great because he speaks perfect English and teaches in the American style that we’re used to. But at the same time he knows everything about Judaism as he has lived it and studied it his whole life, not to mention having dual citizenship and knowing all about the culture of West Jerusalem. He often gives us a “heads up” when there will be local activities that we might be interested in. I guess we’ll see just how much we’ve learned when we take our test on Thursday.
Tuesdays are the days for Forums. It is a great opportunity being here and having access to very intelligent people who are willing to come and talk to us. We are able to hear different perspectives on Israel happenings and learn more about how things are run. Sometimes we get a little overwhelmed because there is so much history and such a deep background in all of the conflict that it’s hard to understand why people think the way they do, or what the root cause is for some of the problems. Also, because we live in the United States and only get portions of what really happens here, our knowledge is limited on current events. But, we’re here to learn, and these forums are a wonderful source.
Our days around the Center, studying, learning, and applying, are something that we all cherish. Hopefully we can continue to wake up each morning and smile and look ahead to “another marvelous day in Jerusalem.”

--Whitney George

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