New experiences in the old city

What a whirlwind! I am stunned by the amount of information, new faces, unfamiliar sights, and foreign smells I have attempted to process in the previous 48 hours. Jerusalem is beautiful. This city is up to it's 15th Century AD ramparts in culture and history as rich and deep as time itself. Love and hate are saturated in every flag and street corner from the Mount of Olives to the edge of West Jerusalem. Even tonight, on Israel's Independence Day, celebratory fireworks are crackling over the glittering, sprawled out city to the blasting, mourning tones of the Palestinian call to prayer. This place is full of secrets, an exotic and striking city filled with faith as well as uncertainty, beauty as well as heartbreak.

This center is absolutely exquisite! It is the second most expensive building the LDS Church has ever constructed. The Conference Center in Temple Square is the only structure that tops its impressive price tag. Limestone coated hallways, balconies overlooking the city, and walls of glass to let in the brilliant and baking Israeli sun make this place -literally- a haven for light and truth. We are all bubbling with excitement to be here.

There is simply too much in my head to form into words. Today was bursting with new experiences, each one rich and rewarding. We took a tour of the old city and it was as if I had stepped back in time to the Crusades... no wait, to the Ottoman Empire... no, wait! to the time of the Romans. Each century, occupation, and religion has left a specific and lasting imprint on the architecture and the people of this city. Jerusalem's beauty comes from its conglomerate and unorganized nature. The deep ties all the world claims to this crossroad of the world inspire chaos and awe in equal measure.

It's thought-provoking to see dirty and damaged places in the Church of the Holy Seplechure because no religious sect is willing to let the other clean or alter it. It's fascinating to see devoted individuals press their faces to cold, stone marble and weep as they are overcome with the emotion of its meaning to them. Today I was almost run over in the Arab Quarter by a very tall Jew on a bicycle complete with billowing black robes and curls, tall hat masterfully intact atop his head. I loved it! The mix between ancient and modern is becoming ever-more interesting to me in this place that, because of complex circumstances, literally cannot progress forward or backward. It is a place in limbo, and one of the most remarkable sites I have ever laid eyes on.

I am so grateful to the students who have come before me. They have left warm and glowing footprints for us to follow as we wind through the worn streets of Jerusalem. Everywhere we went on our walk, strangers and vendors alike would wave from windows and street corners with big smiles. Broken attempts to stammer "utah!" or "Mormon University" welcomed us throughout the morning.

There is a weight here... a captivating sense of mystery and intensity. I can't wait to discover all the winding alleyways and ancient secrets this marvelous land has to offer.

Welcome home BYU spring/summer class of 2012, welcome home.