i'm not a scholar.

want real historical information about the places we're going?

or to watch videos of the stupid stuff we do?

follow the blogs of my professors.

http://huntsmansintheholyland.blogspot.com/
http://jaredandmargaret.blogspot.com/

day four.

we started out the day with a trip to the largest theater in jordan.

and some bright minds started singing "what dreams are made of,"

so obviously we all channeled our inner lizzie mcguire,

sang our hearts out,

and grabbed an ethan craft (our tour directors son)  

we're all so sick of smiling for pictures, 

so the boy band pic won for this location.

then we went to the jordan river,

where Christ was baptized.

 you see that building over there?

that's israel. 

but since we were on the jordan side,

we couldn't just go over

and instead it took us a good 3 hours to cross the border.

there were guards and guns everywhere.

but regardless, 

the spirit was so strong.

and now i'm back home!
well the jerusalem center home at least.

for more pictures and jerusalem fun,
check out my friends' blogs!
(bailey, marcie, sarah jane,
erin, sarah smith, and meredith)

day three.

amman.

the capital of jordan.

we started the day off at king abdullah's mosque,

where our tour guide, muhammad, taught us about islam. 

 it was a really cool experience.

the girls had to cover their heads in scarves and wear these black capes to cover ourselves,

and everyone had to take off their shoes before going in the mosque.

inside, we learned how muslims pray,

when they pray,

and who they pray to.

it amazed me how similar islam is to my religion,

and made me realize how ignorant i am.

 after the mosque, 

we went to an ancient citadel. 

it had the temple of hercules, 

so obviously all the girls gathered around posed like muses,

and sang "i won't say i'm in love."

 and the imitating of statues begins.

 then we went to the jabbok river, 

where jacob wrestled with a man in genesis 32.

it's so amazing to be able to read the old testament

and see the places we're studying at the same time.

 next,

we went to the ancient roman city of jerash.

we saw hadrian's gate,

 raced like horses in the arena,

(the little boys in the backround were definitely making fun of us)

 walked through caves and down ancient roads,

 and obviously recreated an ancient fountain.

when we got back to the hotel,

we hoped in a taxi and headed out for the town.

(and by the town i mean ice cream. that's all anyone wanted.)

kinder ice cream.

 you wanna know how good it was?

look at erin's face.

my roommates are the greatest.

day two.

petra. 

the ancient nabatean city carved out of sandstone rocks.

outside we were met by roman soldiers,

to which erin asked our ancient near east professor,

"are those real roman soldiers?"

his response: "yes. and they've been here for the last 2000 years."

(and this is why we love her so.)

then we walked through the siq. 

a natural passageway to the city carved out from water runoff.

 which immediately brings you to the treasury.

(which is apparently in indiana jones..but i wouldn't know because i've never seen it.)

 and i rode a camel!

apparently they all want to bite your head off.

and they're super tall.

 then we hiked 950 steps up to the monastery.

luckily it was super sunny and warm outside,

and the view wasn't so bad either.

maybe we took a million pictures...

 and on the way back down,

a bedouin man said, "oh no! you dropped something!"

to which i gasped and said, "what?"

his response: "my heart."

oh these men and their lines. too good.

 on the way out, we rode in style--by horse.

oh and this is what you get for giving your camera to a bunch of boys.

petra was possibly the coolest city i've ever been to.

i wish we could've stayed all day,

but it was off to amman for more adventures!

day one.

this week we went on a mini vacation to jordan.

every day was jam packed with site seeing, picture taking, bus riding, singing, and dancing.

it was a nice break from school,

and so fun to be in a different country.

 the first day, we got on a bus way too early and spent hours crossing the border.

(& i felt like i was in veronica mars during the troy episodes)

our first stop was mount nebo,

where moses first looked out into the promised land.

this soldier came up to our tour guide and asked for a picture, 

so i thought he meant with my camera. (because that wouldn't be the first time)

turned out he wanted a picture with me on his camera.

brother ludlow ate that up & told me to give him my cell phone number.

(good thing i don't even know it.)

oh, my professors are seriously the best.

Then we went to Madaba 

and saw these ancient mosaic tiled floors.

 the churches here are so old and beautiful,

and the artwork is so intricate. 

it makes me wish people still put that much time into art and decoration.

then we went to the ancient palace of herod in Machaerus.

funny story. 

our bus stopped and brother ludlow pointed to the top of a mountain far away and point to the top of it. then he told erin and i, "that's where we're going."

erin and i just started dying laughing and said,

"oh brother ludlow..such a jokester."

then we started following brother harper,

and all of a sudden i realized...he wasn't joking.

then erin and i started dying laughing,

because we realized how ridiculous we were for thinking he was kidding.  

 so we hiked up our first mountain of the trip,

and went to the place where john the baptist was supposedly beheaded.

we ended the day with long bus ride to our hotel,

and immediately after dinner, 

the chefs and managers broke out their drums and flutes

and we had a huge dance party around the dining room.

party in petra.

two zero.

it's official. i'm 20.

and no longer a teenager.

(but i swear i'll never grow up)

today was a truly magnificent day.

possibly the best birthday i've ever had.

20 things to commemorate being 20.

1. roommate dance party to miley.

2. yet again being blown away in old testament with brother harper.

3. leading a mummy to the afterlife in ancient near east.

4. having marcie, erin, and mere walk into my room with a 1.5 liter of dc and the greatest present ever.

5. venturing out into the old city.

6. finding an amazing jeweler.

7. getting a free birthday scarf.

8. and another dc. 

9. walking home in the rain.

10. baking cookies with the ludlow family.

11. and eating so much cookie dough i still feel sick. (but i couldn't be happier about it)

12. laughing so hard in palestine that i don't even remember what we learned...oops.

13. getting a drawing from erin that marcie mistook for our professor.

14. writing a essay on a verse of scripture that edified me beyond belief.

15. getting emails, twitter mentions, and facebook notifications from the ones i love.

16. receiving 82 notes from my fellow jc friends. (including two mysterious love notes.)

17. a present from the sweetest girl ever--miss sarah beth.

18. a back massage from my thirteen year old boyfriend.

19. having the greatest friends and family in the whole world.

 20. celebrating in jerusalem.

i'm on top of the world. 

just can't get enough.

 we just keep going back to the dome of the rock.

i see it everyday, but i just can't pass it up.

 this group of nigerians were on a pilgrimage to the holy land

and wanted nothing more than to take pictures with us.

 french fries in my falafel?

yes please.

 we're not obsessed.

 the shuk.

everyday is an adventure.

prom.

last week it was my roomie jen's birthday.

(isn't she the cutest?)

so we got on a bus and headed over to west jerusalem.

it felt like a party bus, 

and we all felt like we were on our way to a high school dance.

there were blue lights on the ceiling,

and the moment our driver turned on an american radio station

 we all freaked out as if it were the first time we had ever heard music.

 first stop: josh's flag football game.

so fun.

kids from all over the world on one team,

and kids playing in kippas on the other team.

megan and i decided we will be the ultimate soccer moms.

 (continuing with the high school feel--our own sideline cheerleaders)

 next stop: gelato.

best. idea. ever.

and i finally got myself some diet coke.

it's funny how refreshing being outside at night can feel.

we're not allowed out in the old city (where we live) after dark,

and in west jerusalem we have to take a taxi and be with boys,

so it doesn't happen that often.

we were all dancing on the side of the road,

and so hyper it was ridiculous.

it almost felt like we'd escaped prison.

(okay fine. i'm dramatic.)

but honestly, nothing compares to being in the city at night.