Israel part one

Day 1 - March 14
Early, early morning for us! We left the Artemis around 6:30 am. We had to go thru questioning and security which was pretty scary. The lady even asked me if I was taking explosives with me!! I mean, really?! Even if I was, do they think I would have told them? The plane ride was good - only 1 and a half hrs - and the landing was much better than EgyptAir. The best part was the travel agency representative that greeted us at the luggage claim.... a 25ish, gorgeous Israeli man! All of the girls were fighting over marriage rights with him! haha! We were disappointed when they told us we had a different tour guide (t.g.'s name is Avner, and at first I wasn't too sure about him, but we all got close to him after 11 days and I miss him and Gadeir the driver). We drove thru Tel Aviv, the second largest city in Israel. We began our tour officially at the theater in Caesarea. We saw a palace where the Pilate inscription was found and King Herod's Hippodrome...all of this was right against the shore of the Mediterranean and there were HUGE waves...I loved it!! We saw a few other sites but quite honestly, I wasn't too interested. I was really tired from the plane and bus rides. I noticed 2 things so far: 1. There are McDonalds EVERYWHERE. I think my total count was well over 20. 2. There are lots of fit people here! Running, walking, basketball, soccer on the beach - you name it, they do it! Our hotel was right on the Sea of Galilee...before dinner, Lacey and I explored the area. We saw 2 live crabs and 2 cement blocks that were in the shape of the Jesus fish and a cross. The night sky looked like it came straight from the Lion King which probably doesn't make sense...I guess you just had to be there.

Day 2 - March 15
Strange morning because our whole suite (and a boys suite) thought leaving time was 8:30 - but when we walked to breakfast at 7:50, some friends told us it was time to head to the bus. We drove thru Magdalene where Mary was from, then to Dan, where we spent all day in the midst of trees and streams and flowers = nature at its best! We saw what is known as paradise ( or some call the Garden of Eden) as well as Winnie the Pooh's tree. We passed a group that had a girl w/ a UT shirt on so of course, I had to give a Texas shout out! We toured the ancient city of Dan and had a quick lunch. This was my first experience with Schnitzel...love it! Next was the Banias nature reserve - again lots of rocks, water, and trees, all beautiful. Along the way, Avner got out his pet scorpion and explained some interesting facts - some people even took pictures w/ the scorpion on their noses! I wasn't too excited - when you've been stung 5 times, you'll understand. We drove to Golan Heights Volcano to see the mount Bental bunker. From the view, we could see Syria right in front of us!! We went to the Jordan river and had a devo - of course, we sang "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand", then we had our own quiet time. It was definitely not what I had always pictured. I just kept thinking that God's voice was heard here when Jesus was baptized - how awesome is that?!

More to come...there are only 2 weeks left here at the Artemis and things will be CRAZY. School work, finals (ah!), planning free travel, preparing for the 3 mile run, and getting sleep sometime. BUT i love it...ive loved this semester. I have grown up and have become very cultured, and I'm so thankful for this opportunity.

and I didn't forget ....

Ten Things Tuesday!!!

1. Safe travel in Israel and Jordan
2. Seeing the Bible in action
3. Our HUG group is closer than ever
4. All of my Harding friends loved Spring sing - my favorite time of the year!
5. We left the hot weather in Israel...it got up to like 96=EW
6. We get to have recovery days after trips like Egypt and Israel. I couldn't imagine having to go to class today
7. The ability to run and exercise and play volleyball and just be active!
8. DR PEPPER IN ISRAEL
9. Talking to my mom on the phone last night ... that always makes me feel better since I haven't been home in so long.
10. Fofi our chef - fresh strawberries are now readily available here