1995

I have been thinking lately about experiences that define a person.  I have had moments/experiences in my life that I feel have shaped me and really impacted the way I see the world, and I want my kids to have those type of experiences in their lives.  I think they are so important and I feel that, as a parent, I have a huge responsibility to guide our kids to them and then let them experience away.   I pulled out my old Jerusalem scrapbook and was overcome with memories of those 6 months I spent studying abroad.  That experience was so key in my life and I hadn't thought about it in a long time.  Those six months defined so many of the things in my life that I still hold dear.

We had an ongoing "marked for death" crusade that involved toothpaste, chewed up food, buckets of water and sharpie markers.....

The things I learned and the places I visited during those six months are invaluable to me.  The Garden Tomb was a 15 minute walk from the Jerusalem Center and we could go there as often as we wanted.

Chocolate obviously meant a lot to me as well during this time as I dedicated a whole scrapbook page to my favorites....

We worked on an archaological dig and worked at a huge plantation/kibbutz

After class, we were left to our own devices to go explore the old city - caves, shops, water passageways - we never tired of it

This was the view from our balcony - of the entire city of Jerusalem.  so, so beautiful.  And I am really sad I threw away my multi-colored J. Crew. pj top.  I wore it way more than I should have and I thought it looked HOT.

We hiked to the top of Mount Sinai during the middle of the night to make it up there for sunrise

We fake read newspapers in the dead sea so that we could prove to everyone at home that we were really floating in the salt water

We stayed at the Sea of Galilee for a week and had the best time.  This was the place that all the people who liked each other during the whole study abroad finally got to kiss because it was the last week (we weren't allowed to date each other there)  i, myself, was on the spy crew, not the make-out crew.

I can't even begin to explain how. much. fun we had

We went to Jordan and rode camels and went to the Indiana Jones Petra.  amazing

We took obnoxious pictures in bathtubs on the top of mountains. how that bathtub got on top of a mountain?  who knows?  why we were willing to get in it for a picture?  who knows.

look at where we got to live.  I'm still amazed by it.  a group of us got up and ran in the mornings outside the center and Hebrew University and I always felt so blessed, after running around the streets, that we got to come back to this place

 I will forever love the friends I made there.  I also loved that we were so STYLISH!!

The people of Israel....

 beef goulash, cauliflower pie, stuff I didn't even know the name of....we ate it

 I had the best roommates ever.  even if my cute red-headed roommate had a ticker clock that I had to hide  every night because it woke everyone up with its obnoxious ticks - She also hid shabbat bread under her underwear that we always laughed at her for.

 The religion classes were the best I've ever had because we were right there where they took place

I read a letter that my dad wrote to me the day I left - in it he said,
"  Erin, I love you and trust you completely, and I am so happy for this experience that you will be having.  Be wise in your decisions there.  Don't do anything that will inadvertently put you in physical danger, but most importantly, focus on the Savior, focus on feeling the feeling of the places that He lived, the things that He did, and the love and relationship that He has for you as an individual. Focus on that, and these will be wonderful, wonderful months that will serve as one of the foundation pieces of your life.  Love, Dad "

I took that advice and focused on those things and it was a defining moment in my life.   I will sell all my Hostess stock to give my children experiences like this, I will.   My parents did it and I am forever grateful for it.  (well, they didn't have hostess stock, but if they did, they would have sold it)