Turkey Lurkey (Part 1)

We spent this last week in Turkey, and it was incredible. It is definitely one of my favorite places that I have ever been to. 

So the trip started up with a nice wake up call at 4am, and it was off to the airport. After waiting in a million different lines, we finally made it to Turkey. 

As soon as they got us on the bus they passed around some Turkish delight. It looks like it tastes a lot better in the Chronicles of Narnia, but it was a nice introduction to Turkey. And really the perfect introduction because there was Turkish delight everywhere. Seriously. They are serious about their Turkish delight. 

 We got out of the bus to take some pictures on the bridge. Later on, there were dophins doing full body leaps out of the water. It was pretty cool, so we made the bus driver stop again so we could watch them. 

Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia, one of the largest churches in the world. And unfortunately it was pretty cold in Istanbul.

Legend has it if you can turn your hand in a 360 in this hole in the wall than your wish will come true. 

Gwen really wanted to help me out, so she broke my arm. It was worth it for the wish though. 

Then we went to the Basilica Cistern, and as you can see, they were super cool.

The Blue Mosque by night

The Blue Mosque by day 

 We got to go inside and take a look around. 

It was so pretty and decorative that the pictures will never do it justice

It's blurry, but please notice the gigantic hanging light fixture

. 

 Then we went to Disneyland! or otherwise known as the Topkapi Palace. 

After hours of being in the cold, it was nice to enjoy a fancy indoor meal overlooking the Bosporus Strait

The view out of the front window...

The view out of the back. For lunch they served bread with soup, a salad, an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. We got really use to this meal because we had it almost every lunch. 

Then it was off to the Grand Bazaar. We only had an hour and a half so the shopping was a bit rushed.

If only I had a house to put these in. 

 I came out with a $16 dollar Armani watch. So you know it's real. 

We then went on a ferry ride on the Bosporus

This could be the blue mosque, but there are so many that I really have no idea. 

Inside the ferry we enjoyed hot apple tea, and felt supper classy. 

At night we went out on the town. 

I wasn't kidding about the turkish delight. 

Here we are, once again, buying ice-cream.I don't know what it is about being out and about, but it only feels natural to stop for ice-cream every time. We actually got pretty obsessed with getting magnum bars in Turkey-I mean magnum bars for a little more than a dollar?!? It's a no brainer. 

Our two days in Istanbul were some of my favorite ever. 

Purim = Jewish Halloween

This week was finals/midterms, so thank goodness that is over. Now I only have two classes to focus on. Hallelujah. Because of all of the tests not a lot happened this week (besides Purim-more on that later), but I have some photos saved up to share so don't worry, you will still get to see my face this week. 

Here are some photos of the Jerusalem center

 These are some fuzzy pictures of the Forum. I have easily spent 100 hours in this room. School and orientations are never ending. 

The computer lab 

 The auditorium, where we have church, This picture was taken after a formal talent show. 

So this week was Purim! A Jewish holiday that celebrates Esther. For some reason it is like Halloween where everyone dresses up. It is also an excuse for everyone to go out at night to party. So we went out on the town to check out the festivities. 

 Here we have Leggo men costumes and the rabbits behind them. 

We went to the great synagogue to hear a reading of Esther- something you are suppose to do on the night of Purim. And it just so happened that the Prime Minister of Israel made a surprise appearance. He gave a little speech at the end, but it was in Hebrew, so alas I didn't know what was going on. 

 During the reading you make noise with your noise makers whenever Haman is mentioned (at least that is what I think. Once again-I don't speak Hebrew). 

 After the reading we went and got dinner 

 This was the best Shawarma I have ever had. Brooke got really into the spirit and dressed up as a chicken for Purim. 

 ice cream. of course, 

 Ben Yehuda street

 Purim dance party. The Jerusalem center definitely got this dance party going

 A week or so ago we also had our own Seder dinner. Don't worry, that's grape juice. It was really interesting and fun, later we also learned some Jewish folk dancing which was also super fun. 

That's all for now folks. But in other exciting news, I go to Turkey in a few hours! 

Snorkeling, Shepherding, and Soup(ing)

What a good week! 

To being the week, we went to Eilat, where we spent the day at the Red Sea. We had to leave the center at 6 am and drive for about four hours. This was a student activity, so no teachers or administrators came with us. It's funny how the bus drive just flies by when you can be as loud as you want. After hours of music, games, and heated rounds of  Mafia (aka 'werewolf' in the Jackson home) I'm pretty sure our bus driver wanted nothing more than to get us off his bus. Needless to say, it was freeing to have just the students. Also, it was pretty crazy to one day be picking up snow, and the next day be swimming. 

The Red Sea was crystal clear and it wasn't too cold either. The sand could have been improved, but you can't have it all. 

It isn't a good day at the beach until you have a ukulele jam session

As Joe would say, "Good group"

Yes, this picture is not my most graceful moment, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy snorkeling! I'm not going to lie, I didn't quite grasp the concept for a good while, but after inhaling a few cups of salt water I finally got it down. 

The buoys were a popular hang out spot.

On the way home we stopped for dinner. And let me tell you, Israel is winning at ice cream

After a day of fun in the sun, it was back to field trip mode. I would describe this field trip as, Bible day camp. First we went to the shepherding station.  

If all else fails, the students at the Jerusalem center could probably all get jobs at herding sheep and goats.

After multiple failed attempts of trying to actually pick up a sheep, it was on to the "edible plants" station. We all got some hyssop and crushed it up and used it later on our lunch. This is used as a spice-usually with pita bread.   

The next station was the "cook a meal" station. It felt like we were camping. 

Bevan, Fitzy, McKenzie, and I had the job of dicing onions for the soup. 

Meg and Jen had the important job of breaking sticks. 

How many people does it take to start a fire?

Making the pita bread

It took a while, but after the fire was finally going we started cooking the soup and the bread.

The soup was delicious

And the company was even better.