Galilee: Part 3.

Friday (11/18):

Since we were the first class to do the field trips, on Friday, it was our turn to be in class. So we had a good three hours of class with Brother Huntsman. It was really good. And it was nice to have a little break from the crazy schedule that we'd had. We also had a bunch of homework and such to do so it was nice to have time to get stuff done.

Nothing really of note happened that day except for at 7, we had Brother Ludlow's class for two hours. And by this point, we were all pretty tired and in crazy moods so class was a little out of control. haha it was also fun because all the families came up on Friday for the weekend so I got to be reunited with my husband. haha always a good thing. But yeah, besides class, Friday was a pretty laidback day (as far as I remember).

Saturday (11/19)

Saturday is Sabbath but the chapel in Tiberias where the Galilee Branch meets is super tiny and if all 80+ of us went at the same time, there wouldn't be enough space for us. So we split up into two groups with Harper's class going with the actual branch at 10 and then our class going later in the afternoon at 3. Since we didn't have church until 3, I skyped with Jessica while everyone was gone and it was super great. It was too bad though that more people weren't able to join (aka Erin and Michelle).

We also got lunch, which is the first time we've gotten lunch on Sabbath since we've been here, which was exciting. :)

It was funny because we left to go to church and I noticed that Josh wasn't with us (because I'm such a good wife) but we left without him. And then his family realized that he wasn't there. So we had to turn back around and go and get him. haha but then we headed off to church!

The Church owns this CUTE little house that has a little chapel and such and it was the best because one wall is complete window that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. The meeting places here in the Holy Land are the best. But church was super good and then we got to take some pictures out on the little balcony. Loved it.

Overlooking the Sea of Galilee with AnnaLeah and Lottie. :)

GORGEOUS.

We love our bus rides.

We then drove to the Jordan River baptismal site. Which is the site where Brother Ludlow got baptized. It was kinda dark so we didn't really get too many pictures but it was still nice. I suppose. It was a little nicer when it was daylight last time. But I think that it was still a good experience for everyone else. It was fun because Brother Ludlow is such a celebrity. haha (there is a picture of me with him there... but I was lazy and had someone take it on their camera... so hopefully I'll be able to get that...haha)

Standard Sign picture with Lottie Dottie.

With Suzy. Acting like a lady. Obvi.

Galilee: Part 2.

Wednesday (11/16):

We woke up Wednesday morning to a little bit of a drizzle. And luckily, once that drizzle turned into pouring rain, we were safe and sound in class. Which we had for more than 3 hours. Poppa Hunts just loves to teach. And following all that class, we had a free afternoon! So we (Charlotte, Katie, (?) and I) watched The Proposal all snuggly in Charlotte's bed. That was super fun. And then I was soo exhausted so I went back to my bed and took a little nap. Which was delightful. I woke up just so that I could go on our fun little dinner adventure.

We went to a fish restaurant which was... meh. I got pasta (which was just spaghetti) but I should've gotten pizza. haha But the best part was when we went to Tiberias. We walked around the city, got to bond and hang out AND we got to get ice cream from McDonald's. A little taste of home. It was delicious though! :) And then we came home where we promptly went to bed. After we used the internet, actually...

Thursday (11/17):

After having it rain on us everyday thus far, we weren't all that surprised to find it pouring when we woke up. We headed to Gamla where it was pouring and thus, the entire place was muddy as could be. To get to the site, you have to hike down this huge hill. Which was treacherous. We were literally hiking down this slippery, muddy, rocky, unstable, wet mountain. And it was an adventure. It was actually really fun, even though at the time it was perhaps a little miserable and cold. But it was fun because we all were so chill about it. And we made it fun. Which really shows a lot about a person.

Treacherous Hike.

Jessica and I. In the pouring rain. Overlooking the beautiful view.. I mean fog.

Black Rain Jacket Club: Matty, Nick, Brother Ludlow, Desiree, Alyse, Charlotte, Me, Suzy, Cameron, Lindsay, Kaitlyn.

We then headed to the Qazrin Village where they have houses built from ancient times. And that was super cool. But it was also raining quite a lot which was... getting old. We were soaking wet, disgustingly muddy and freezing cold so by this point, we were a little over it. Especially since they had us watch a super weird movie in this FREEZING cold room. Brrrr.

So muddy! This is also the spot we stood basically the entire time in the village because it was covered and the perfect size for both Charlotte and I. :)

Perfect size! :)

Yay for being super wet! And also, notice the extra shoulder behind us... THAT would be Brother Ludlow. We tried so hard to get him in our picture but he is one quick cat and he ducked right out of the picture. :(

Following that, we went back to Ein Gev for a delicious lunch.

We then signed up to go on a hike which was for that afternoon. During the fieldtrip, Charlotte and I kinda decided that we didn't want to go... But after we got to warm up, and dry off and eat, we decided it would be a fun little activity. Especially since the weather cleared up a little bit.

So off we went on our hike through the Golan Heights. Eric, our fearless leader led us through the afternoon. We went to two waterfalls which were gorgeous, it rained on us a little bit but in a good way, and it was overall a super great afternoon. At one point, Katie fell and so her hand got muddy and she pretended to wipe it on my face. But I was in a weird mood so I told her that she should do it. So she handprinted my face although by the time she actually went through with it, the mud was pretty dry so I only got a little bit. But that is why I have weird mud on my face in the pictures.

Getting hand printed. (Before)

And an after shot.

Kathryn, Lottie, Nicole, Me, Suzy, and Elyse in front of waterfall #1.

Nicole and me with waterfall #2.

At the end of our hike: Me, Nicole, Eric, Kristine & Lottie.

We didn't swim like some people did (because they're crazy; the water was freezing!) but it was still great. Plus, it was such a beautiful little hike through the wilderness. Definitely a good use of 10 sheks. Following that little jaunt, we headed back and we were beyond the point of being exhausted. So obviously, we went to bed early. hahaha

Galilee: Part 1.

Monday (11/14):

Our 10 day jaunt to Galilee started out early early early on Monday morning. We left the JC and headed to our first stop: Bet She'an.

Bet She'an!

This site is an ancient site that was HUGE. There was lots to see and they say that only about 1/10 of the old city has been excavated and is currently above ground for people to see. The site was inhabited by all sorts of people so it was pretty cool to see it.

Actin' like the locals.

The funnest part of the site was the fact that we got to ride on a little train/tram thing to get to the ruins. So great.

With Lottie and Katie. :)

There was also this fun tree that we obviously had to pose with. :)

Me, Desiree, Sarah, Devin, Katie, Suzy, Robin and Jessica.

Following Bet She'an, we then headed to Nazareth. First stop: Church of the Annunciation followed by St. Joseph's Church and then the Synagogue. The churches were pretty cool but nothing that we aren't used to seeing and nothing all that unusual. Plus, I was just at the Church of the Annunciation in August so it was pretty much... the same. haha

Outside the Church of the Annunciation with Elyse and Lottie.

Our last stop for the day was Mt. Arbel which is a lookout over the Sea of Galilee. With our good timing, we got there riiiiiight when it was about to start raining so it poured on us. Which wasn't all that bad, because rain only adds more excitement to the adventure but it caused it to be rather foggy and thus, we couldn't see all that much from the overlook. (And I left my camera in the bus SO we didn't get any pictures really... there are some but I don't have them currently. haha oops.)

We then drove around the Sea, through Tiberias, and over to Ein Gev.

To our cute little kibbutz turned home for the next 10 days. It was so cute. And we were so tired, so we went to bed early.

Oh the life of a college student.

Tuesday (11/15):

After a wonderful night's sleep, we woke up bright and early for another day of field tripping. This time: Jesus sites. We drove a couple minutes to the dock where we loaded up on a boat and took our boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to the other side.

With Suzy Q.

On the ride, our captain played us some sweet gospel music so we were clapping and dancing the whole way. We also had a good devotional/teaching time and then we just took pictures and hung out and took in the view. It was good. :)

We then landed on the other side (at the same boat dock as August) and we went inside the museum that houses the Nof Ginosar ancient boat which is a boat that they found which was perfectly intact that they dug out of the Sea. It was pretty cool to see the boat. We watched a little video on how they found it, got it out and preserved it and then we saw the actual thing! We also learned of Papa Hunts' nickname for Brother Ludlow: J-Rowdy. hahaha

Old Boat. Yep.

Following the museum, we headed to Tabgha, which is the place of the loaves and fishes. There was a cute church which we visited and there was also the CUTEST dog outside. I just wanted to take it home with me. And so did Cameron. We decided that the Jerusalem Center needs a pet dog.

Ah! I just can't get over how cute it is.

After that brief stop, we headed to the Mt. of Beatitudes. This was probably one of the prettiest places we went to in August and it was just as gorgeous the second time around. Plus, we sang some songs, read some scriptures and had some quiet contemplative time. It was a good stop. :)

With Jess.

With Jeff.

We then went to another cute little church right on the shore. We had a little teaching time on the rocky shoreline, took some good pictures and then sang in the church.

Sea of Galilee!

Capernaum was the next stop. We ran into a tour group of a bunch of Utahns so we obviously had to chat with them. And then we just wandered around the ancient little city. Super cute. Maybe I would have more to say about it if I hadn't already been there...?

Our last stop was the pig running place. I don't know if it has a name (just kidding, I know it does; I just don't know what it is). That was fun because that's where we all just had lots of fun. haha lots of crazy bonding time. Including racing down the hill like pigs, joining the mustache crew, etc. Good times, had by all. :)

Lots of people (starting in the top left): Jessica, Katie, Jeff, Kaleb, Caleb, April, Alyse, Elyse, Me, Lottie, Taylor, Amy, Maryanne, Katie. :)

And then we came home to our little kibbutz.

O Little Town of Bethlehem.

Our field trip on Tuesday was to the Herodian and Bethlehem! What a wonderful way to start out the Christmas season on Novemeber 1. It also made me so excited for Christmas!

We started out at the Herodian which was a fortress built by King Herod. He was a very paranoid man. He built so many fortresses to protect himself from being overthrown. But the cool thing was that they found his tomb there (although the area is still being excavated so we didn't see it...) but it was basically a giant fortress that people used to protect themselves and also a place where King Herod would hang out.

We walked around the site for a little bit, got some good pictures (as always) and then we headed over to Bethlehem and Manger Square. The exciting thing about this field trip was that since it's the start of New Testament, we switched teachers! So now we are with the Hunt! It was a fun little adventure.

Joe (Ludlow), Charlotte, me, Josh (Ludlow), Desiree at the Herodian.

We first went to Bethlehem University which I was a little hesitant about because I didn't think it would be that interesting or relevant but it was one of the best things we've done on a field trip. We got a little mini tour of the campus and then we watched a video about the school and then we had a little Q&A with some students. It was so interesting to hear about their struggles to get to school, especially those who live in Jerusalem and have to go through the Separation Wall EVERYDAY for class. Sometimes it takes them 2 hours, one way. I can't even fathom that. It definitely made me appreciate the education that I have access to and it reminds me not to take it for granted. After that, we got to hang out with some of the same students. They took us around and we saw their friends and such and it was really fun.

A whole group of us with some Bethlehem University students at Bethlehem University. And notice how I'm surrounded by the Ludlow boys. I'm such a wannabe Ludlow.

I let some other people use my camera so I got some sweet stalker pics... mostly of me and Josh. Like this one. haha which is my favorite of all of them. And that is Joe's eye/ear/cheek.

After Bethlehem University, we headed over to the Tent Restaurant for lunch. Remember that one time when we were in Bethlehem in August and we went to the same exact restaurant? hahaha yeah, it was pretty funny to go their again. But it was delicious just like it was the first time.

We then headed to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. This was another field trip where I'd basically done everything (which might be why it was so unique to go to Bethlehem University). We walked around the "Old City"? of Bethlehem on the way to Manger Square and then we went inside the Church. That was pretty exciting and fun, I suppose. Just like last time, there was a freakishly long line to get into the grotto, which is "the exact location where Christ was born". Because obviously 2000+ later, we know stuff like that. So we had the choice to wait in line and go see it or to go to another cave under the Church and just explore more of it.

Nicole, AnnaLeah, Me, & Charlotte outside the Church of the Nativity.

We opted for that (because we've been under to the other spot) and it was way more spiritually uplifting. We sang a whole bunch of Christmas songs and it was just good times had by all. Definitely a good decision we made.

Me, Nicole and Sarah in the under-church cave.

We also got a little bit of time to shop for things in Manger Square. Nicole and I found little nativities that we both really liked and we got a goodish deal on them both. We probably could've done better but what we were supposed to get for $122.5 plus 2 shekels, we got for $100. Not too shabby I guess. Maybe I'll take a picture of one and post that... we'll see.

Following that, we headed to a shepherd's field. But it isn't THE shepherd's field. It was one of the best parts of any field trip. We sat on a little hill overlooking Bethlehem and it was dusk so it was beautiful watching the city light up and then we read scriptures and sang a whole bunch of Christmas songs. And we seriously were in the middle of a shepherd's field because twice while we were having our little devotional, a flock of sheep with it's shepherd walked by. It couldn't have been any more perfect. :)

Overlooking Bethlehem at the field. AnnaLeah, Charlotte, Me and Josh. :) Hands down my favorite picture of the day (and maybe trip. and maybe of me and Josh). I like the lighting. Photo cred: Joe.

We then came home to a delicious meal and hot chocolate. :)

Oh, and did I mention that I spent almost the entire day with my husband? We definitely needed that bonding time. haha

Good fieldtrip and amazing way to start off the Christmas season. :)

Jordan: Day 4.

Last day in Jordan! We started off the day by going to the Roman Theater which is in the Old City part of town... apparently. It all looks old to me. We took some super fun pictures there and just played around. Obviously. It was a great way to spend a little time and just have fun. There was a little museum that we were guided through but we all just wanted to climb all around and play.

With Robin. :)

Oh hey giant theater below us.

Supes cute.

Me and Lottie. :)

Love this picture of Elyse.

Group picture! :) Try and find me!

And since I know you're all curious, we did indeed get some really good stalker pics:

Pictures, Pictures.

Oh look, even B.Low takes stalker pics... although he's probably taking pictures for someone but we don't have evidence of that. Apparently my paparazzi tendencies are rubbing off.

After our fun adventure at the theater, we went on a walk through the downtown area just to see the sights of the city. It was pretty fun but our group really struggled in the whole staying- together-while-walking department. We saw some cool things... and some not so cool things. :/

Baby eggplant. Yes please.

Stalker pic of Natalie and Brielle and lots of bananas in the market.

Following the walk, we loaded up the busses and we drove and drove. We stopped at this HUGE store that had every type of souvineer imaginable and I got some lovely earrings which I LOVE. They are globes. And they also had our lunch dropped off there... KFC. Although they told us that in the States it's called "Kentucky Fried Chicken" but in Jordan, it stands for "Kentucky Fried Camel". So funny.... That kind of made everyone super sick because they made us eat it super fast. But after our little drive, we headed to the Jordan River!

It's crazy because the Jordan River is the border between Israel and Jordan so while we were on the Jordan side, we saw tons of people a mere 15 feet away but they were in a different country! Brother Ludlow told me to swim across and that they would come by and pick me up on the bus... I told this to Brother Harper and he didn't really like that idea... maybe next time?

Seeeesters!

This is how much we didn't like the heat and the flies that they told us we couldn't complain about. So instead of complaining, we took upset pictures. And complained. There were so many flies it was ridiculous. I looked down at my foot once and I had at least 10 flies on my feet. Plus, I was wearing Chacos so I could feel them walking all over my feet. Super delicious.

Once we got back to the bus, we decided to document how dirty out poor little feet were... There was a white color that made my feet look ghostly. Thanks Jordanian dirt! And thanks Jordan, for being a fun 4 day adventure!

Jordan: Day 3.

The second day in Jordan, we started early and headed to the King Abdullah Mosque which is the biggest in the city (or Jordan or both. who knows haha). They are super strick about what women wear so we all got to wear our death eater costumes. And it was fun because I was already wearing all black before I put on the hooded robe. We learned a lot about Islam from our guides inside the mosque and we obviously took lots of super great pictures.

Me, Charlotte, Suzy, Amy, Katie, Jessica.

Me, Eliza, Charlotte.

Following the mosque, we headed to the citadel. It is basically just a bunch of ruins and rocks. And there is a museum there that used to have the Copper Scrolls of the Dead Sea Scrolls but they just took them out and put them in a bigger museum in Amman. Boo. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of exciting things to take pictures of...

Me, Charlotte, AnnaLeah, Suzy, Desiree in front of ruins.

Self Explanatory?

Me and Lottie. Inside some building/church that I'm sure has some historical significance... :/

Brother Ludlow was very persistent on taking this picture... He first tried to tell me how to take one and then he just took the camera and told me what to do. What a gem.

After we finished at the Citadel, we headed up to Jerash but we first stopped at the Jabbok river which is where Jacob "wrestled with a man". Check out Genesis 32 for that story.

Me, Maddie, Charlotte.

That was a pretty quick stop. After that, we continued on our way to Jerash. Super cool. It is an ancient Roman city and it was "just as good as Ephesus, minus the crowds". And when there are ancient pillars and rocks, it's bound to be a good picture day:

Ancient pillars. Yep. You know how those Romans do it.

Race! We went to this sweet Gladiator/Chariot show. It was super intense. And I'm still trying to pretend that it was worth the $10...

Riding a chariot! Obvi.

With my Jordan roommate, Lindsay Hall. :)

Jumping picture. Definitely necessary. Lacey, Shannon, Lindsay, Katie, Cortney, Aubrey, Me!

Just listening to our headsets that we love so much. No biggie.

After all our escapades, we headed back to Amman where we had a crazy night out on the town. It was actually one of the most fun nights there because a group of us invited Brother Ludlow to come hang out with us. And since he's super cool, he came along and it was a blast. We went to the delicious bakery again to try and get the reciepe but instead we had a little bit of a language barrier with the guy working there. And he was a little too flirtatous. And then we stayed out and talked for quite a while. Just about everything. And it was funny because it was him plus 7 or 8 girls. haha Once we got back to the hotel, we just stood in the lobby and talked about creepy students that his dad (or grandpa?) had. And we also seal the arranged marriage deal (hopefully Josh and Joe were okay with that...). It was super fun.

We also went to this delicious fruit salad/ice cream place that was next door/below our hotel. Brother Ludlow even let us break the rules so that we could get there. Super yummy and super fun. I know there are pictures of that somewhere but I don't have them, sorry team.