There have been lots of last-minute preparations, trips to the stores, farewell parties, packing and repacking - but now it’s time to say goodbye. Sarah leaves today for Jerusalem. She flies via Atlanta and arrives in Tel Aviv tomorrow at 5:25 p.m. (they are 9 hours ahead of Utah). What an adventure this will be!
We had a 3-hour meeting on Monday with the other students and parents, and were given all the “final instructions”. There will be 59 girls and 21 boys on the trip. One of the other girls is from our stake, but she and Sarah don’t really know each other - so she’s basically a stranger to the whole group! But we’re sure she’ll make lots of new friends.
We learned a lot in the three hour meeting on Monday about what to expect. First of all, we’re disappointed in the Internet connection at the Jerusalem Center - it’s pretty limited. Sarah is being asked to minimize her Internet time. She can send and receive text messages, but should not be sending or receiving photos or other large attachments. Whether she will be able to post a few reduced size photos to her blog remains to be seen. We might have to wait to see photos! We’ve arranged for her to mail some home periodically on a digital card, so we might be able to post them for her.
They did discuss an interesting concept, though. Back in the 90’s, in the pre-Internet days, they found the student groups were bonding together much more strongly and developing more life-long friendships. With Internet contact, the theory is they stay more in touch with their “former” friends and tend not to bond as much with the new group. Interesting thought. So there are “pros and cons” to our modern technology.
Much of the orientation meeting talked about standards, rules, and security. They are incredibly safety-conscious, and have VERY strict rules about what the students can do, when, with whom, etc. They give each student a cell phone which has a one-button connect back to the Center, and also has a GPS Locator in it so the center can track them if needed. They constantly monitor the security situation in the Jerusalem area and the whole country, and only allow travel where it’s safe and quiet. Right now, they will not go to Gaza and will likely not travel at all in the Golan Heights or West Bank, except perhaps to Jericho and Bethlehem. They do still plan to go to Egypt and Jordan, though. Here’s a “political” map of the Holy Land. Note the area designated as Palestine (or the West Bank) - that’s the Muslim area. Jerusalem is split between the two:
Sarah had pretty tight limitations on her luggage. She was allowed one checked bag (a duffle which weighs 69 pounds), one carry-on (37 pounds), and one very small carry-on. She had to take out a lot and shift the contents to get the weight just right. She has to take some of her own books and study materials, and she’s taking her flute and some piano and flute music. So it added up in a hurry!
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8:26 am and is filed under Jerusalem.
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9:54 am
This sounds like it will be a very exciting journey! I think I might agree with that little statement about the technology today and friends, as much as I hate to admit it. It probably is best to not be on the computers all of the time
snap! Just kidding. I am very excited for you, Sarah! I hope you will like it there! Good luck! We’ll miss you back home! I do! ttfn
Love,
Celecta