Balcony

 Due to the fact that the weather has literally blossomed I’ve begun spending as much

 time as possible on my balcony. Last night I sat on the edge with my feet hanging off

  as I looked over the city. This morning I did the same. (bottom picure)

As I’m looking over the city I think about the fact that this has all existed while I’ve

 lived my life in the United States. It didn’t just appear here when I came. Then I think 

about the fact that it actually has existed for thousands of years and my brain starts to 

hurt a little. This culture I’ve been able to experience for the past three months is so 

ancient. I love that they’ve allowed me to be apart of it for a short time.

Top picture: Jewish Quarter

In less interesting news….I’ve officially accomplished one task out of many! I know it

 seems insignificant, but taking my pen to the paper, drawing a line to cross of my five page 

Ancient Near East paper was a really, really good feeling. One down!....a lot more to go.

finals...bring it on.

The Mediterranean Sea and other events

We're home! Galilee was a great time, but I was missing on Jerusalem. There is something about the JC that feels homey to me now. Seeing the Dome of the rock peek over the hill is the same feeling I get when I'm driving home from a long vacation and see the "Y" proudly shining on the mountains back in Provo.

Yesterday we went to Caesarea (an ancient city on the coast off the Mediterranean Sea). The second we got out of the bus I ran to the sea and touched it with my finger (so I could say I touched the Mediterranean Sea, right?). It was actually kind of a difficult experience seeing as I didn't want to get wet. The water would come and we'd touch it then run away as fast as we could. Oceans are great.

I'm excited to live out the rest of my three weeks in Jerusalem.
There is still so much to do in this great city before I leave!

Exploring

An Israeli cow. trying with all of his might to escape, but the barbed wire fence
 continually gets in his way. Sorry little guy.

Jerusalem and Washington DC (two cities that have grown dear to my heart over this past year)
on the same sign

   

Nimrod's castle

We ended the day with a bonfire on the beach.
It's been decided...Israeli smores are much better than American smores.
Then again, I'm the only one who voted, but it's my blog so I get to decide.

Waves

    

 The last few days we've had in Galilee have been unlike anything we've experienced thus far.

 I mean, of course there were the tels (ancient cities built on top of each other over time), columns,

 and churches, but the weather has been warm and the sea has been radiant! 

The kids were getting restless during our two hour evening class yesterday. Every time our teacher

 said the word "Rome" we would clap and cheer. Our teacher caught on pretty fast and some

 how found ways around saying "Rome". Then, at 8:30 some kids stood up and sang, "Our God 

is an awesome God". 

It's great. So great.

I officially lost my swimsuit at a hot spring yesterday. Oh SJ, why am I so absentminded?

Snail Mail

 I've got the best roommates in the entire world.

I'm sitting in my New Testament class during the break as the mail is being passed out. I dared not get my hopes up that there would be a letter for me. But there was! And it's all thanks to six lovely girls. I went out to the beach and read their letters. THEN I discovered a gift card to THE best place in the entire world: yogurt land. I'm obsessed with frozen yogurt here people. So much so that a couple months ago I googled the closest one to Jerusalem. Unfortunately it was in some island by Africa.

Yesterday we went on a hike to a waterfall. It was so pretty every time we looked up our breath was taken away. It was one of those things that pictures can't give justice, but of course I tried.

Relaxation Day

Today was fantastic.

We're talkin' class for three hours, a run along the sea with my buds, 

layout out by the water, getting in the water (OH YES. I swam in the Sea of Galilee.

 It lasted for about four minutes, but hey it counts), sunset walk with some more buds along

 the shore, ice cream for dinner and laying on the hammock at night while I talked to one of my greatest 

friends, Erin Greenwood.

Galilee you just keep getting better and better.

Galilee

Rollin' Through the City

Beginning the day with warm pitas from the Old City is one of the best things one can do for the soul

 Ethan, Erin and I were getting sick of the every-day routine of walking

 every where so we rented some bikes in West-J and blissfully rolled through the city on

 some wheels. I might have run into a pole within two minutes of the ride, but it inspired 

me to ride with my helmet so it was probably a good thing. 

Shots from West Jerusalem
p.s. I'm addicted to those things on the left. It's kind of bad.

We went to the waffle bar in celebration of my birthday.
This place. SO good.

55/82 kids went to Tel Aviv today so Axmed (our chef) provided the non-Tel Avivers 

with ice cream for dessert. The center is rather quiet with everyone gone, but it's kind 

of nice. I'm currently plopped nicely on all of the bean bags in the student lounge.

 Yup, I get them all to myself!

Tomorrow we leave to Galilee for 12 days!
Rumors are the internet is sketchy so I might disappear for a little bit.

Turning Twenty

First thing I did when I woke up was open up my packages
Thank you Family! I love you guys. The letters were all lovely. Jacob's and Nicole's (shown below) definitely gave me an extra laugh.

After church  the kids and I went to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Awesome. How many people in the world can say they went to the Garden of Gethsemane on their birthday?
This life I'm currently living is too great.

Shamrocks on St. Patrick's day in the Garden of Gethsemane 

(left) The Ludlow family decorated my door for my birthday. Thanks guys!
(right) Mark didn't wear green, he made a lame attempt to touch the green exit sign, but I pinched him anyway

They sang Happy Birthday to me :)

Hello world! I am now entering the decade of decisions! Yes, I’m twenty. Yesterday at Dinner I was talking to some friends about decades. We decided that 10-19 is the most important decade of our lives seeing as those ten years really define who we are and set the course for the rest of our lives. The twenties (ahem…my current decade) will involve many important decisions including where to live, who to marry, kids, major, career, all the good stuff.

I've officially lived twenty years. I made it without any major bumps or bruises. I'm so grateful for all the people I've met over these past twenty years, so happy the way my life has turned out thus far. I am who I am today because of the Church. Everything about it has shaped who I am. So here I am world, the twenty-year old me makin' decisions!

13.1 in 2:03

FYU pictures courtesy of The Jerusalem Marathon
I'm on the left in the blue

So heres the deal...The half is over! But it honestly feels like a dream. Everything

 went by so fast. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I was running in a place I had

 never run before...AKA the city of Jerusalem! I decided I have terrible luck with 

running and races. Every single race I've run thus far has involved rain and hail. It's

kind of a bummer, but it makes you feel intense so it's a nice balance. 

As for soreness, I don't really feel any yet. We'll see how I feel in the morn!

Surprise!

I'm running a half-marathon tomorrow! The fact that this is the first time you are hearing 

about it shows how unprepared I am to run the Jerusalem half-marathon. The last time 

 I ran a race I didn't miss one training day and was much better prepared. 

This time is a different story. I've run like four miles max.

Imma die. 

straight up I might be dead tomorrow. 

It's a shame too because the day after tomorrow is my twentieth birthday,

 meaning I might never live to see my twenties. Either that or I'll just be extremely sore. 

My beautiful roommates came all the way to Logan to watch me run my last race...
hey guys, how about you come to this one too?

Turkish Delight

Just in case you guys were getting sick of pictures I made a video from our week in Turkey

Enjoy!

Turkish Delight from Sarah Jane Curtis on Vimeo.

Turkey, overall

Hey friends, I'm home!

I'm so used to the Middle East that experiencing a taste of Europe was
quite enjoyable. Everyday the kids and I at the center become more and more obsessed
with each other. I don't know what I'm going to do when it comes time to leave the
Jerusalem Center. 

The world is an amazing place. Every part of it has something beautiful to offer.
Every culture brings something new and exciting. We're all just a bunch of people going
about our daily business under the same big sun. I love it. 

Now it's back to the books; luckily it's nice enough that I can do my homework outside.