i'm in JERUSALEM

hi all! it's been a bit but i am back!
i am here safe in JERUSALEM at the BYU center for near eastern studies. it is amazing. words can't describe it. pictures can't do it justice. i will try to tackle it later, but first, i will try to cover my journey here!
i started my longgg day of traveling more than 24 hours ago in salt lake city. it's now 5:35 am here (8 ish in Salt Lake) and i have been up since 2. hahaha. livin the dream. my dad walked me into the airport, i met my group, and slept the WHOLE WAY to new york. totally not intentional and i am paying for it now, but it was a dream. of course I walk out of my gate and right in front of me is the shake shack kiosk. fate? i think not. i resisted getting a burger and fries for dinner but did treat myself to a famous concrete before my flight left. it was so good and i totally recommend it!
we had a six hour layover in new york. sounds terrible, right? it really wasn't. the new delta terminal is amazing. it's like a great mall, complete with a jo malone shop and a MoMa gift store. totally not bad. i called some friends, my grandparents, facetimed christopher (hi christopher) and got to know some of the kids better. they are so so great and i can already tell we are gonna be lifelong friends. i am so lucky.
so, we get on the flight to tel aviv. it was unreal. crazy to think it was actually happening! i still can't believe i am here. there were tons and tons of jewish people on our flight. it was neat. throughout the flight i guess they would go to the back of the plane and pray out of this window. they had a special altar thing and everything. i don't know if delta set that up or if it just happened to work out, but either way it is neat to see people be so committed to something. it definitely makes you feel like praying morning and night actually isn't so hard.
i was a snob and switched my seat so i wasn't sitting by the group because i really wanted a window seta. (i know, i know, but i was just gonna sleep the whole time anyways!) it turned out to be a cool experience. i sat next to a young jewish couple moving from new york to jerusalem. they were both really pretty people and very sociable. they were also traveling with their 6 week old baby. this made me nervous but the baby was SO well behaved and the most beautiful baby I have ever seen. the lady asked me if i was heading to jerusalem for a birthright trip. i was surprised she thought i was jewish! i explained to her i was going with my school, a christian university, to study in jerusalem for 3 and a half months. all the flight attendants started to recognize us and became familiar with our itinerary because we were all wearing nametags. they really liked us and it was a cool experience overall.
again, i slept the WHOLE way to israel. i woke up over greece. i didn't even take  my sleeping pills. good idea? probably not. i will keep you updated. i woke up over greece and stayed awake as we crossed the mediterranean. one thing i noticed for the time i was awake on the plane was how family-oriented the jewish people are. it was really interesting. i felt like i was on a plane full of mormons because of all the babies/toddlers and modestly dressed women. i am anxious to learn more about the culture of both judaism and islam and hopefully connect it to my own social norms.
the airport in tel aviv is super nice. very clean. i felt safe. it smelled like shwarma which also made me really happy. i got hooked on shwarma in london and i am stoked to have it again here in israel.
so we proceed through passport clearance and go down to get checked bags. i guess i can't read the board that tells you where to get your bags because i went to three different ones before i got to the right one. i thought someone had stolen my bags. i had to go to lost and found to finally find out where they were. it turns out they scanned my baggage tag wrong and thought i was on another airline. i called my mom while i was waiting in line and thought i was going to have a huge emotional breakdown in the middle of this airport. everyone had already gone through to customs and i was the last one in the terminal. i tried calling provo and the jerusalem center and no one was picking up. i was a total mess. i was so scared. i prayed the whole time i was in line (which also ended up being the wrong line, oh wow) and i ended up getting my bags which had been placed on the wrong belt. thank you to my mom for calling the center to let them know i wasn't kidnapped, i just couldn't find my bags.

once i get through customs i get to this big open area with all these signs. again i am completely overwhelmed, and think the byu faculty have probably left me and think i am being sold into the slavery. oh my gosh i felt bad. then i see this nice white-haired man with a sign that says byu. he sees me too and starts walking towards me. i don't know if i have ever felt more relieved. i started apologizing profusely but all he says is "you looked like you were from byu. don't worry. there are still four more people behind you. you're ali right?" he knew exactly who i was and it was so comforting. he was so smiley. it's funny how people with the gospel in their lives really do have a light in their eyes. that man ended up being dr. woods, one of my teachers. so far he is my favorite person (i ate dinner with him).
we were split into two buses based on who our teacher for old testament is spring term. i have dr. belnap. the buses were so nice. the really nice mercedes ones. byu doesn't cheap out on anything. we waited for everyone to get through, then we were off to the center!
the drive was about an hour long and sadly it was pretty dark so we didn't see much. one thing we did see was tons of jewish people pulled off to the side of the road to say their prayers. again, how cool. i respect them so much for how devoted they are to their worship. they would get out of their cars and rock back and forth on their feet- just like you see at the wailing wall here in jerusalem.
another thing i noticed was 1) how green it is and 2) how modern it is. i guess i was expecting shepherds and nomads or something but that is definitely not the case. this country is very european. it has a light rail system and a clean bus system, nice looking cars, and everyone is very well-groomed. i feel bad for expecting less. another thing i noticed was how nice everything was. on the street lights there are these white/blue led fixtures. this is going to sounds dumb but it looks like something straight out of disney world. they are very ornate and sparkle like the castle does at christmas time. it was really pretty. the street lights are also covered in israeli flags, they are very patriotic. it was cool!
so finally we get to the center. it is between mount scopus and the mount of olives, right next to hebrew university, which is another great facility. we get out and all of the faculty is waiting for us- even though we were two hours late and it was about 10 o'clock at night. they were so sweet and everyone knew my name . big BIG shout out to hannah george, julia wheatley, and maddy gibby for making that happen. they were here last semester and told everyone who i was. they must have been OBSESSED with you guys because they won't stop talking about you. anyways. they took all of our luggage then we were ushered into the auditorium on the eighth (highest) floor. it is so nice. it would easily be one of the nicest concert halls in utah. the meeting was conducted by president whitchurch, the director of the program. he has done this four times. as he spoke, the giant curtains around him were opened, revealing the city. OMG. it was unreal. everyone talks about this moment and it was unreal. we had an organ piece by one of the senior service couples and it was very moving. she could easily play the organ for MoTab.
you guys. the center is so nice. i felt like i was walking into an oriental styled five star hotel. i can't even explain it. there are fountains and artwork, mosaics, and all this amazing detail. the architecture is amazing. we had a quick orientation with our teachers. for now i have belnap (old testament) and seely (ancient near east). we then had a quick tour of the building. all church meetings are on the eighth floor. this has got to be the nicest ward meeting house in the world. i am not exaggerating. the nursery meets in the bomb shelter on the 7th floor (lol) and our second bomb shelter is on the lower floors and has a laundry room. both bomb shelters have ping pong or fusbol tables, a typical public restroom, and some cots. one also has a filter for chemical warfare stuff. it has a backup generator as well as a handcrank. fun stuff.
somewhere in there we also had dinner. we eat in a cafeteria called the oasis. they had lots of vegetables, a nice salad bar some antipasto and interesting choices, bread and pita with nutella and peanut butter, brownies, a really good garbanzo bean dish, and three choices of meat. i had the chicken and it was so so good. i am stoked. we have a real chef and you can tell he really takes pride in what he makes for us. he was there waiting for us even though it was like 10:30 when we ate. there are also a bunch of juices and water outside. one of the choices is straight strawberry juice.
after all that we unpacked and "went to bed" i hardly slept, maybe two hours. the call to prayer started at 4 and lasted 30 minutes. it was cool! then there was a second one at 4:50. i think i will get used to it quickly. after a while i decided i would get up and just write this, so here i am! there is wifi in the common area just outside my room. i will try and describe the layout of the building better but it is really nice. wow wow wow wow. look it up online. i am gonna go eat breakfast now but i love you all!  i will be in the old city this morning but text me whenever, i will get it when i come home! i am safe and happy and well-fed! i miss you but i am happy to be here:) i will hopefully post more tonight! sorry this is so long! also i will try to get my pictures working:) much love!!