Lightning McQueen loves Jerusalem!!

BOY HAS IT BEEN A WEEK. It's hard to think that less than a week ago I was in Salt Lake frantically trying to get all my stuff together, and even harder to thing that the week before that I was slogging through finals and living in the Talmage lab.

We made it to Jerusalem with only a few casualties (I lost my pencil bag with half my art supplies and my iPod somewhere between Paris and Tel Aviv :////// IT'S. FINE.) and it's been go time all the time ever since.

ABOUT THE JERUSALEM CENTER

to summarize succinctly what this place is in two words: mormon hogwarts
here's why:
-eat sleep study go to class all in the same place.
-amazing grounds and a beautiful building
-A THOUSAND STAIRCASES (I am going to have some rrrrripped calves)
-feral cats?
-our professors live here too
-very good anti-muggle security
If we were just divided into houses (which we ..sort of are because half of us are in one OT class or the other) it would be perfect

entrance to my room

room with a view (...and a shaky hand, you can kind of see the Dome of the Rock in the background)

One of my more favorite quirks of the Jerusalem Center is the location of the primary. We hold Sabbath services here and since there are a few mormons who live (though mostly visit) the Holy Land, they come have church here, which means there are children. who meet for primary.. in one of the bomb shelters.

Weird repetition:
I have told so many people about animation. By the end of this summer, after I've explained what animation is to literally 83 people who know nothing about anything even slightly related to art, I will be a pro at explaining really technical things like rigging and pipelines to complete laymen. Somehow this skill will come in handy in the future. The only thing that I find really awkward is that whenever I talk to people about majors we spend wayyyyyyyy more time talking about animation. I can't decide if it's because I'm bad at asking getting-to-know-you questions or if animation is just way cooler than anything taught by the business school what other people are studying (probably a little of both tbh).

Some Highlights of this Week

-the Old City is beautiful and amazing, this amazing clash of old and new. So many nooks and crannies! all full of shops. It was hilarious to see shirts that were like "JERUSALEM!" underneath a picture of Anna and Elsa. Also lots of cool churches and historical sites. It's cool to be in a place that is so old and has so much impact on human history.

another view from higher up in the center.. I think from the Oasis idk

view from the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden

you can see people going into the Old City through the Lions' or Stephen's Gate

-we went to the Western Wall Friday night to welcome in the Sabbath. It was so!!! cool!!!! It brought back a lot of memories from when I went to McGillis and also just general JCC nostalgia. It was cool to see especially how the Jews welcomed in the Sabbath. It was a celebration! It definitely caused me to pause and reflect on how I treat the Sabbath in my own life. I also was able to go up to the wall itself briefly. It was amazing to see the devotion of everyone present.

-Today a bunch of us went to the Church of All Nations, which is a church that claims to be where the Garden of Gethsemane was. The minute we walked into the garden I could feel the spirit. I was reminded of the time I went to the temple on the halfway point of my mission. It was especially interesting because we were right next to two busy streets and the minute we went in the traffic sounds got so much quieter. We also went into the chapel and wow. It was so amazing. I felt so much peace in there, and so much gratitude to the Savior and what he did for me there in the garden. It definitely gave me a confirmation that God loves all of his children and when they worship him according to whatever light they have, he honors that.

façade of the Church of All Nations

The Garden

 

LOOK HOW CUTE I AM!!!!!!!!!!!