Celebrating Christmas on Halloween? Yup it happens. We took a trip to Bethlehem actually a couple days before Halloween and visited Bethlehem University. It was so cool to visit with the students...they don't get to enroll ANY international students (because they are in the West Bank and there are certain laws) so they were really excited to meet and talk with us. It was really interesting to observe and converse with university students just like us but in a totally different cultural setting. They were so friendly and sweet. :)
For lunch, we ate at the Shepherd's Tent Valley Restaurant right outside the city and they laid down this beautiful smorgasboard of dippings for fresh pitas....yum-mey. (It took me a couple minutes to figure out how to spell that one haha)
After standing in line around all the construction and scaffolding in the Church of the Nativity (sad day), we finally were alloted about 10 seconds each to take a picture in the Grotto. Our professor says that in his 30 years of living/working in the country, he has never seen it that crowded. All the people plus the construction equaled three hours of waiting. It wasn't all bad though. A couple of us just listened to Christmas music the whole time and it made the experience really fun.
On Halloween day, we took a trip to the Herodion which was built by King Herod...duh. This is his upper fortress area. I love this shot because when I asked where we should take a picture, Hannah said, "Oh look! We can get one over there because there is a tall pillar for me and a short pillar for you!" haha
Never go on any field trip without your Field Trip Manual!!
Shepherds' fields looking out over the city of Bethlehem. This place is actually known as the "Mormon's Shepherds' fields" because NO ONE else comes here. The Mormon Tabernacle choir performed here, but it was known as the Mormon's before then, so I don't really know where it came from- I guess it doesn't matter. Anyways, it was so cool. The students put together a musical program and had a testimony meeting as we watched the sunset...I sang 'He Was a Shepherd Too' with one of my friends here and it was such an amazing experience. Very memorable.
'Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie...'
Happy Halloween!!! 3 days after the actual day, we decorated up the center and had a Halloween carnival and trick or treating for all the kids...it was the best Halloween I have had away from home! I just want everyone to notice how dead these guys look....yup- zombie missionaries! I actually did their make-up and I was very proud of that fact when they won 2nd place for scariest costume. Now I know that if a career in the medical world doesn't work out for me, I can always fall back on being a theater make-up artist! Oh, that will be the day...
Comments
Post a Comment