Thankful

Today has been one of those off days. Nothing has really gone wrong...actually a lot of things have gone right, but I just feel off. Like there's a pit in my stomach that won't go away and bags under my eyes that darken with each second. It's just been one of those kinds of days, so I've decided to take one of my best friends advice to "be thankful for what I have." Here it goes:

My family! I love (and miss) my family so much. I honestly don't know what I would do without them. In 4 months we'll be complete again for the first time in 2 years and I can't wait!

My class. We're the Juddites who happily sing and frolick on the 'Lucky Judd Bus'. These 39 people are my new best friends and adopted family. 

Scriptures. I have come to love and appreciate the scriptures more than ever in this last month. I have tried to diligently study them and glean gospel principles from each page. I am constantly amazed by the answers to prayer I receive through the scriptures. 

The United States. I have never been so grateful to live in the United States. I love my country and I'm excited to return to the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. 

And some others:

-chicken to spice up my salad at dinner tonight

-emails from my madre and friends back home

-visiting the Old City to get my mind off of life

-taking a nap on the lawn while the sun set

- sleeping in till 5:30 this morning

-fresh pita bread

-Prof. Stratford lowering an A from 96% to 93%

-not falling asleep during class

-yummy yogurt and cereal for breakfast

-talking with Laurann

-reading my Patriarchal Blessing

-remembering part of a good dream from last night

It's amazing how being grateful can help a blah day become better. I still don't feel like my head is screwed on straight, but at least its closer than it was when I started this post. 

You and I

With only 45 minutes left of our long (5ish hour) bus ride, we stopped a truck stop. Will just happened to have his ukulele and the Turkish men really wanted to hear him sing. He didn't want to sing solo, so I got roped into singing 'You and I' with him. Turkey sure pulled a different side out of me because I never thought I would be singing a duet in front of a group of Turkish men. 

Turkey

It's Tukey Recuperation Day here at the JC! We we left Istanbul at 12:55 am last night and arrived back at the center around 4:00 am. I slept on the flight, on the bus, and then for another 6 hours in my bed and I'm still exhausted.

It was an awesome week. I fell in love with the Tukish countryside and grew close to my class. I'll have a detailed post sometime later this week.

smile.

I was still a bit disappointed when I wrote yesterday's post, but my mood got better during Israel class after dinner as can be seen by my lovely hand face.

Red Crescent Women's Hospital

A few months ago, I read a story from a previous Jerusalem student about going to a local women's hospital and volunteering in the maternity ward. I was so excited for a chance to hold and feed newborn babies. When we arrived, the service couple (Brother and Sister Schafer) gave us the news that we would be able to volunteer, but we were no longer allowed to hold the babies.

I could not wait for this perfect service opportunity, so I volunteered for the first day, which was today. We went down to the Red Crescent Women's Hospital where I was assigned to the postpartum ward. There had been miscommunication between the Hospital Volunteer Coordinators and the nurses, so they expected us to be nurses, not just students from the "Mormon University." They had no idea what to do with me, so I was told to sit quietly on a sofa in an empty hallway. I sat and sat and sat some more. I felt completely alone and more like a foreigner than ever before. I saw a few glimpses of some beautiful newborns, but that was the most contact I had with anyone. One of the nurses felt bad that there was nothing for me to do and she gave me a chocolate and another let me help her move some medical supplies. I'm grateful for their attempt of communication. Eventually they let me go to the kitchen where a group of BYU girls had helped prepare lunch for all of the patients. The chef, Nissir, was the former BYU Jerusalem Chef. He was kind and welcoming and treated us to some food. The food was delicious and we missed lunch at the Center, so it was the perfect thing to cheer me up after a disappointing few hours.  Nissir sent us off to a nearby out-patient facility where moms and babies go following delivery. We helped the kindest woman set up lunch. She spoke very little English, but she tried so hard to communicate with us. We learned that she has 3 children, 2 girls (10 yrs and 5 yrs) and a 1 boy (8 years). She was surprised that we were not married yet. It was fun to learn a little bit about her and receive some motherly kindness in return.

Overall, it was an interesting experience. Upon returning, I learned that 2 of the girls were allowed to watch a C-Section and the girls doing food prep had lots of fun. I honestly don't plan to do it again, but I am grateful that I could see a little bit more of the Islamic culture. It was a rough day, but somehow a piece of chocolate and a few smiles made it better.

Sidreh Weaving Center

 

On Monday we headed down to the hot, dry, and desolate Negev desert which is base camp for dozens of Old Testament stories. We stopped by Tel Beer-sheva and Tel Arad (both are ancient ruins of biblical cities), but my favorite part of the day was the Sidreh Weaving Center.This center is non-profit organization that provides work for local Bedouin women while preserving the ancient trade of weaving.

Bedouins are a desert-dwelling group of Arabs.  They are commonly shepherds and live a pastoral life. Originally, they dwelt in tents and women had the tedious job of setting up the tent and taking care of the family. Although some Bedouin still live in traditional tents, the majority have been pushed into urbanization and now live in small Bedouin towns. As this urbanization occurred, many women lost their traditional roles. The Sidreh weaving center works to help these women contribute to their homes and the local economy. There are approximately 70-80 women employed at any given time and most of them work from home.

Following the weaving demonstration, we were allowed to wander the gift shop. I love buying things from local non-profits that benefit a worthy cause, so of course I had to get something. I only had 100 shekels and the rugs, pillows, and bags all cost more, so I decided to get creative. I found a rack of belts, but all of them were a bit large and then I realized it would be the perfect size for a camera strap. So, I bought myself a  new beautiful camera strap that will have lots a good use. 

As we walked home from the Old City today, a Palestinian man started talking to one of my friends, Will. He was very interested in what we were doing here, but he was soft spoken, so I had difficulty understanding some of what he had to say. As we came down the hill from Damascus gate, this little Palestinian boy started yelling at us. Our new friend was able to translate what he was saying and let me know that he (the little boy) wanted his picture taken, so I gladly snapped a shot. Of course, he had to pose and it just makes this pictures all that much better.