Happy Purim!

Happy Purim everyone! For those of you who aren't familiar with that holiday, it is a Jewish festival that celebrates the story of Esther and the Jews being saved from evil Haman's plots. (Left - Aimee doing my makeup as we got ready for Purim). We, being BYU students and in Jerusalem to boot, could not turn up the chance to celebrate Purim, especially after our last final. That was for my Palestinian class. It was a lot easier of a final than I was expecting. But then again, we didn't really learn very much in that class. That was mainly due to the fact that many students were disrespectful to him and didn't pay attention in class. That meant that he repeated the same material over and over again. It was really frustrating for those of us who were paying attention. I guess that is why the final was so easy. It was just the material we had covered three plus times in class.
It felt really nice to be done with classes and having a holiday was just an excuse to celebrate. Purim is celebrated by dressing up and then the story of Esther is read/acted out. Usually the entire Book of Esther is read. We gathered together around a bonfire. Most people dressed up. I was really impressed by the ability of our students to throw together costumes at the last minute and with limited supplies. At the bonfire, we had banana boats and many people burned their textbooks. (Right - Kendra, Megan, and Katy getting ready for Purim). We danced a little (surprise surprise!) Then a few students acted out an abbreviated version of the story of Esther. It was a lot of fun.
So, we leave for Galilee on Sunday. I'll be gone for over a week. I won't have access to the internet, either, so I won't be posting the entire time I am gone. I will try to be quicker about getting those entries posted than I was with Jordan. It should be easier if I can just type them up as I go (I'll have my laptop with me) rather than type them up after I get back.
Since tomorrow is our Sabbath, Shabbat Shalom!!

Elizabeth and Jade as Goths. Me as Queen Frostine of Candyland. If you look closely, you'll see that my hair has blue in it, too. Burning textbooks at the bonfire. The Esther play.