Ok I'm going to go in chronological order with these pictures. So to my right in the picture is Jennifer and I love her! She is 23 (so mom find her a man) she served a mission in Portugal and is so so funny, personable, and touchy. She always gives me hugs:) then to my left laying on her stomach is Joan who is probably my best friend right now and my roommate. She is into theater and is pretty easy going and independent. Then next to her is Wanna. She is just the cutes most innocent girl who is probably going to get married when we get back. And these are probably my favorite girls! And Jenny but she wasn't in the "sweet 16" with us. Everyone calls us the sweet 16 by 16 of us got stuck in the airport.

Us in New York! It was fun but I was just kinda dying the whole time. I wasn't home and I wasn't in Jerusalem, I was in limbo and was tempted to come home. But it really helped to go into the city and have some fun. Sorry the picture is on the side... i don't know how to fix it.

 This is the Western Wall. More commonly known as the "Wailing Wall" but that term kinda offends the locals. Ok we went here just randomly which is what the picture is of, then the whole group came again a couple nights ago to welcome Shabbot. My favorite thing so far! A ton of Jewish people gather here and pray by the wall or touching the wall. They typically rock back and forth heel to toe when they pray.  There was also singing and dancing which was the best! The wall is divided for men and women (the men's side is much bigger) so I was just dancing in circles with all the girls. They have a small circle in the middle of girls holding hands then a circle around that and then another circle around that one. All the girls just dance around in a circle singing songs in Hebrew. So I joined in and had no idea what I was singing. But it was way fun! I felt an immediate connection with the girls, it was a great experience. They were all just so nice and girls weren't sizing each other up like they do in the states. Actually, in this culture, all the women are covered from head to toe, have their kids with them all the time, don't smile when I smile at them, always keep their composure and usually travel in groups. The men are always with each other and they are another matter! I really really don't like looking at the men. I hate to judge but in this culture, women don't make eye contact with men and in America, you just look at everyone. But I feel like they just stare at you up and down and you're just getting checked out. I know not every man is like that, but I've had enough experiences to draw a different conclusion. Tangent. The Jews worship this wall because it is the closest wall to where their temple used to be. The rock on the mount (the big gold dome building) is the muslims temple and is built over where the Jew's temple used to be. The Jews aren't allowed in the Muslim square so they worship the wall.

 This is just an ally way. This is what everything looks like but with shops on the side. Once again, on the side.

 This is Nabi Samwill (Prophet Samuel) It was built by the crusaders. This is where King Richard (King John's older brother like in Robin Hood) stayed when they were invading Jerusalem. Then the Jews got ahold of it and worshiped in it, the the Muslims got ahold of it and built the tower part to shout prayers from. on the main floor is a Secataff that the Muslims worship and another one downstairs where the Jews worship. A Secataff is like a fake coffin in remembrance of the prophet Samuel. We went down stairs and once again, the women's side was much smaller than the men's side. I didn't take a picture because people were praying.

 This is Gibia! So cool. You're looking at the plains of Benjamin (the tribe). On your right you can see a hill with terracing and this is where a ton of action happened in the bible. Joshua 10 and 1st King 3 happened here if you're interested.

 This is inside Augusta Victoria. It is a super old Lutheran church with a lot of symbolism. We sung the spirit of God and it was amazing!

 A picture of a Jewish guy:)

 A picture of a local:)

 Eye of the tiger. Never say die.

-To Daddy

This is the Hebrew University and they are our neighbors here on Mount Scopus (which is a smaller hill on the mount of olives). The campus is huge and beautiful. It looks old and was built like a fortress.

In the far distance is the land of our ancestor Ephraim! really neat. We aren't allowed to go over there though.

The guy on the left is canton and the guy being kissed is Adam. These are my friends from the airport. Joan is having a fling with Adam. The lady is a random lady we met last night. She is crazy and fun! Very adventurous just traveling the world. We talk to a lot of people.