Shabot Shalom!

I'm entirely sure what that means...something nice about the Sabbath though. Like a Sabbath greeting? Here we have Saturday Sabbath and lemme tell ya, I could get used to this. It definitely bodes well for procrastination purposes.

I've been here for a little less than a week and already there is too much to say. So I'm gonna bullet point it. If I could I'd bullet all my communications.

• The Jerusalem Center is spectacular. This is the view from my window.
  
  Yes, that's the Dome of the Rock, and the Mount of Olives, and the Old City. No I will never get used to it.
• Sometimes it seems like all we do is eat all. the. time. Junior twenty here I come. I’ve had a stellar time trying out all the local cuisine but I’ve been amazed by some of my more conservative classmates. At breakfast I sat next to a guy eating French toast and pancakes. Um hello? You’re in Israel. #whatareyoudoing
• This week's highlight: Garden tomb with tour guide Pastor Atkins. Pastor Atkins is a retired Church of England pastor and just generally a beautiful man. As we toured the potential Golgotha and tomb sites he gave a wonderful sermon about it being the person, Jesus the Christ, and not the place that we celebrate. "One of the few definitions I know of heaven is coming face to face with our Lord. As we lay down our life for Him may we come face to face with Him in joy and thanksgiving." Such a lovely man.
• I was surprised by the number of people who cried out at us as we passed by and obviously knew BYU and the ‘mormons’.Today when a shopkeeper stopped us and asked if we were Mormons, new-found friend Lauren asked how he knew and he replied “the eyes, the eyes.” Isn’t that nice?