In Jerusalem

Well, today is my second morning in Jerusalem, and I am tired. We have been doing lots of activities to orient ourselves here. Yesterday we did a photo-scavenger hunt in the Old City, and then later that evening we went on a walking tour through the New City. Lots of walking! Now suddenly that hill to get up to my dorm at Messiah seems like nothing!

Walking aside, it is taking plenty of time for me to adjust with sleep. Despite avoiding the urge to nap in the afternoons, and going to bed around 10, both nights here have not yielded a full night of sleep. I was sure I was going to do well with jet lag and get over it quickly, so I don't think that's all the issue. I'm going to try something different tonight and see if that helps. If not... I may need to take a nap during the day. I can't do classes feeling like this.

I've been drinking a TON of water. Seriously. It's so dry and warm here, you almost HAVE to drink several liters of water a day to not feel like a dried raisin. I think while we walked back from the New City last night, I commented that I probably have been drinking about 5 times the amount of water I drank every day in the States. It's kinda funny.

The buildings around here are so beautiful to look at. Almost every building I've seen is made of white stone. The building of Jerusalem University College (JUC) is the same. And there are a ton of stairs. Hehe. I will definitely be getting exercise here! Not to mention that the stairs are in such an odd pattern. It's rather entertaining. The middle of the building is kinda like a courtyard - open to the air, but covered by a leafy covering. I'll post pictures once I get them off my camera.

And that is a large task in of itself. I've been hesitant to turn my computer on because I don't have a three-prong converter for the sockets in order to charge it. And I can't buy a converter until I change my money over to shekels. And I can't do that until I find where the moneychanger is. Oye. It'll get done very soon, to be sure, but it's kinda annoying until then.

Now it is about time for church, so I will talk more later. :)

Shalom!