How you Know You are Living In Jerusalem

So living here in the Holy Land, there are many things that are different than an average day back in Utah, or America for that matter.  I have been thinking about these differences and wondered what are some specific things that make it different here.   So I have made a list of five things that are different, most of them being silly.  But nonetheless these are things that I love.  I decided to title my list as  How You Know You Are Living in  Jerusalem.

1.  You know you are living in Jerusalem when frequently throughout the day a man’s voice blasts on an intercom( Call to Prayer/Quran recitations) and it does not seem weird or alarming in the slightest.  If anything it becomes to feel natural.
2. You know you are living in Jerusalem when you are embedded in a huge crowd and people still look at you and say “mormons” and you know they are talking to you.  Everyone at the Jerusalem Center got renamed once entering Jerusalem.  We now respond to “mormon.”
3. You know you are living in Jerusalem when you are constantly asking yourself if you should go get ANOTHER chocolate pita.  The Jerusalem Center’s Oasis, cafeteria, has these wonderful chocolate pitas.  You can toast pitas and then put this chocolate spread on it…it is divine.  When people gain weight here it is probably because of the amount of pitas one consumes per day. You can have a chocolate pita, honey pita, peanut butter pita, cinnamon sugar pita…the list goes on and on.
4. You know you are living in Jerusalem when one of your most frequent thoughts is, “is this real life?”  You are constantly surrounded by significant sights and people.  Many places that surround you hold significance because something in the Bible took place there.  And if it doesn’t hold significant to you, it often holds significance to a different religion or group of people. 
5. To conclude the list, you know you are living in Jerusalem when you are surrounded with 81 other students, plus faculty, that are all great friends.  Everyone here at the Jerusalem Center is such great friends.  For example, I can go up to dinner by myself, get my food, and not fear that I won’t have someone to sit with.  You can sit at any table that has an open spot and feel welcome.  Or you could start your new table that will be full in seconds. Everyone here is wonderful.  I am sure by the time I leave here I will have 81 new members to add to my family!