Lauren Elizabeth

Shalom

School in in full swing in Jerusalem. I have more reading then I have ever had in school. It has been so cool though. I feel like I was so stupid before I came here. I have learned so much in such a short time. There are so many things I have found out that I had never heard about and I have been a member of the church my whole life. It really is amazing. We went on our first field trip yesterday and went all around Jerusalem to different look out points at the Augusta Victoria church and the tomb of Samuel. It was so fun. We got to see everything from above the city and understand better where things happened and how the city has changed through the years.We got into FHE groups last night and one of the girls in my group can do the best imitation of a Raptor that I have ever heard. My roommate also informed us today that this past summer she put on a dog show for obese dogs because she felt bad for them, she is great! I had my first class of Hebrew today so "Shalom". It has been so fun. I am so tired everyday and I feel like I am always busy. We leave for Egypt next week and I can't wait. We take every oportunity that we can to go into the city but it is really hard to find your way around sometimes. We spent a few hours in the market and it made me never want to go back. One of the merchants might actually hate our group with a passion. When we didn't buy his scarf he told us to die and that we were stupid and a few other things. It has been interesting. We are surrounded by so many cultures and cool people. Sometimes I think they get a little annoyed with us because we don't know the language but it makes for some good stories. We laugh a lot and have a really good time. I actually think i have laughed harder in the past week then I have all year. I am so happy I am here. I do miss my family and friends and especially Mike but I know this is a once in a life time opportunity.

Shalom

Lauren