Seek first to understand.

Today was our District Conference, so the chapel was full of members from all over Israel. It was nice to hear children throughout the meetings; it made the center feel more like home. One of our speakers said something that really stuck with me.

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

I feel like this can be applied to so many aspects of my life. I love the word seek in the phrase. It is a verb that implies action and actively doing something. The phrase teaches to look outside yourself and serve others. I have decided to make it my motto while here in Jerusalem.

Seek first to understand the gospel more in depth while in the Holy Land.
Seek first to understand the many cultures and religions of Israel.
Seek first to understand the students and facility at the Jerusalem Center by serving and loving them.
Seek first to understand my mission in life.

I hope that I can keep this in mind as I continue my adventures in Jerusalem.

P.S. The internet connection stinks right now, so pictures will come later!

Falafel in the Old City.

Random thoughts of the night:

Despite the 60+ pages of reading I have before class tomorrow, all I can think about is the delicious falafel I had in Jerusalem today. Take a pita and add falafel, pickles, tomatoes, fries, and mystery sauce. Sooo good. I can't wait for more. 

I love walking around the city and simply soaking in the surroundings. At a forum tonight, our speaker told us to taste, smell, touch, and see the city, down to every brick. This is one of the best ways to understand a culture and people. I have started this and can't wait to explore this Holy Land. 

In Hebrew, I learned the most common phrase that the people say to each other: "Ma Neeshma?" (basically, what's up?) You typically respond by saying, "Be'Seder," meaning everything's in order. 

Oh, and check out my view. 

Greetings from the Holy Land.

Yes, I made it to Jerusalem! I was one of the lucky ones that flew from SLC to JFK to TEL AVIV. Sure, they were long flights, the second being 11 hours, but at least I didn't get stuck in Phoenix like the 50 other students in our group. They have been arriving over the past several days, taking flights through Houston, D.C., North Carolina, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and many other cities. It is insane! Hopefully the final groups will be arriving tonight and I will be able to meet all the new students.

The Jerusalem Center is incredible. My balcony, and every other room in the building, looks out over the city. At first, the prayer calls were surprising, but now I am getting used to them and I love to listen to them. Even when they wake me up at 4:30 in the morning!

I would love to post pictures of the places I have been to so far, but I'm not quite sure what the policy is here, so I'll wait. Bummer, because I usually read blogs to look at pictures, so I assume if you're reading this (which I'm not even sure you are) you are super bored right now. Sorry!

Places I have been so far:
The Garden Tomb (right in the city, but so peaceful and beautiful)
The Garden of Gethsemane (closer to the city walls then I imagained, with trees from the time of Christ)
Pool of Bethesda (we got to walk through the ruins and go to an underground pool)
The Church of the Holy Seplechure (one of the suppossed places where Christ was judged before the crucifixtion)
Walking the streets in the Old City (love the smells of the spices, but maybe not some other smells...)

Hopefully pictures will be coming soon. Shalom!

Goodbye America. Hello Jerusalem!

Well, I'm leaving tomorrow for the BYU Jerusalem Center! I can't wait to start this next grand adventure. At our orientation meeting today, a girl that had previously gone to Jerusalem encouraged us to make goals before we left. Here are some of the things I want to accomplish in Israel:

• Grow spiritually. Learn more about the Savior's life and teachings and develop my testimony and faith.
• Grow intellectually. Learn about the different cultures and customs of the Middle East.
• Explore the city and see and discover as much as possible!
• Meet new people and make lasting friendships. 
• Grow in my gratitude of where I live, the people I associate with, the family I have, and the gospel that plays such an important role in my life.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

~Mark Twain

Shalom!

This is what you shall do.

"Love the earth and sun and the animals, 

despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, 

stand up for the stupid and crazy, 

devote your income and labor to others, 

hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, 

have patience and indulgence toward the people, 

take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of me,

go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, 

re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book,

dismiss whatever insults your own soul, 

and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

~Walt Whitman

I first saw this quote spread across the walls of my 11th grade English class. My teacher, Ms. Bishop, fueled my love of reading and writing by sharing this quote and other insightful words from poets and authors throughout the year. I love how someone can say something so simply, yet with so much power. I wonder what it would be like, if we could talk like that? Without any likes or ums or fluff; just all the right words. Mark Twain explained it well when he said, 

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

I feel happy of myself.

Mission: pack your life, for the next 4 months, into 1 50-lb. suitcase and 1 small carry-on. This includes random things like piano music + flute + shoes + a blanket + school supplies + books + and other stuff you can't go 4 months without.

Status: not complete, so far.

So naturally I avoided packing and did other fun stuff. Like dominating James in Scrabble. Or helping cook dinner for family and friends. Or enjoying some summer sunshine. Or watching this video on youtube.

It never ceases to make me smile. And now that I "bah-lieve in myself," I think I'm up for packing, round 2.

A Jolly Holiday from Holladay.

Woke up in London yesterday...

"When a man tires of London, he tires of life." 

~Samuel Johnson

Just got back from a 2-week whirlwind tour of England, Scotland, and Wales with my family. It was brilliant! We started out in Bath, a beautiful city on the river Avon. 

Me and my mom. Behind us is Bath Abbey.

The Roman Baths were way cooler then I thought.  You walk in on ground level, but the baths are actually a couple stories below you. The water is green, and has lead in it, so I'm sure that swimming in it and drinking it was such a good idea. We tried the actual water up in the pump room, and it tasted nasty, kinda like warm blood!

While in Bath, we visited Stourhead Gardens and Stonehenge. 

Stourhead Gardens were beautiful! Not to mention they filmed some of Pride and Prejudice here. Remember the rain scene?

Stonehenge. It was unreal to stand there after seeing so many pictures of the place my whole life. 

 Next, we moved on to the Cotswolds. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but the little towns were all so quaint with thatched roofs and covered in flowers.

James and I in Chipping Campden. 

Our next stop was Statford-upon-Avon. We saw Shakespeare's birthplace as well as Anne Hathaway's cottage, and Peter and James of course fed the swans on the river Avon.

Our hotel- was standing when Shakespeare lived there. 

Did I mention that we rented a car? It was pretty crazy driving on the wrong side of the road AND the wrong side of the car. Luckily, my dad is amazing and he figured it out. We saw this sign on the back of a truck. 

 We continued our trip by heading up to Wales. We stopped first at Conwy, a beautiful city on the shores of a lake.

Conwy castle.

The smallest house in Great Britain. The last person to live there, in the 1900s, was over 6 feet tall!

Wales was beautiful and green. 

Stopping at a McDonalds. I was bummed, until I saw that they had cadburry mcflurrys on the menu. Yuumm!

Quick stop in Liverpool. "Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes...." 

Our next big stop was at the village of Luss, on the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. This was where my Cahoon ancestors came from.

Our one rainy day was is Edinburgh, Scotland. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the city.

Hidden mickey at the Edinburgh castle!

The Royal Mile. 

Hadrian's Wall. 

 The second to last stop was at York. The city had a medieval feel and was really fun to walk through.

York Minster. 

The Shambles--originally where all the butchers worked, but now the streets are lined with shops. 

Finally, we made it to London! We only had three days there, but we crammed in a ton: Westminster, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, too many museums to count (my favorite was the National Gallery), big red bus tour, cruise on the Thames, St. Pauls, St. Martins in the Field, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and so much more!

View from right outside our hotel!

Feeding the birds at St. Paul's. 

What a brilliant holiday!