I Wanted to Post this on Friday...Sorry its so late

Well I've officially been here in Israel now for one week.  This is my forth blog with about a four day gap from my last two, which i posted together.  So technically this is only my third time bloggin and because so I have a lot to say.  Alright. Anyways.  By 3:330 today i had been to all five of my classes.  Each class overlaps into the other classes so being here is like being in one big continuous class.  That aspect is pretty cool and is also helpful.  At the same time each one goes into great detail on their respective subjects and i know i'm going to learn a ton. Probably too much.  Physical Settings is the cardinal class of JUC.  Through that class i'll explore a lot of Israel and the Bible will become more like a geography book.  Our first official field study is this Sunday.  We'll be going through the Old City studying its treasure and history in much more detail.. The day begins at 7am and ends at 6pm... Well enough about what I'm going to do. I'll write about that after I do it.
Like I said before, this whole being in Israel, and especially Jerusalem, is overwhelming and that feeling hasn't quite gone away.   Everyday people go into the Old City and other places and I have a hard time deciding what to do.  I feel like I might "wear it out" too soon.  I'm trying to balance out all the experiences over the three months that I'll be here, and not forget that I'm still a college student with plenty to do inside at a desk.  That balance between schoolwork and college life, especially college life in Jerusalem, is already becoming a challenge to me.  All of the other students here are fun cool, normal people.  And because of the size of the student body, there aren't really groups or clicks or whatever, its just one massive group, making everyday like a big party. lol.
But the work load shouldn't be too bad.  Most of my grades come from writing assignments. Yes mom, you were right, I'll be doing a lot of writing.  Most of my classes the grades come from small writing assignments throughout the semester, a mid-term paper, and a final paper.  I guess I should review my comp notes.  Friday, the day i tried posting this, (its not monday...sorry) was a really fun day.  We played ultimate frisbee down in the Hinnom Valley.  The Old City Walls towered above us.  Late on friday i was kinda bored so I decided to take a hike up to the Mount of Olives.  That was pretty crazy.  I think I ended up in a shady part of town, predominately Muslims.  (Nothing against them, its just that weird feeling you get if you've like ever been inside a Mosque)  And I ended up going down through the giant graveyard that is on the western side of the hill.  We also had a barbeque out in the garden for dinner followed by a worship service that we started right after Shabbat (sabbath) began.  The worship service was just one student playing guitar, and everyone singing along.  But it was one of the better worship services I have been to.  I still would have preferred hymns however.  One great song we did sing was "Lead Me to the Cross" and that was powerful being only a mile or two away from Calvary.  The song just really spoke to me and everything that is going on in life right now.
I have more to write, its Monday and i wanted to post all of this on Friday. So I'm sorry for that cuz i'll be posting another blog soon about Saturday and Sunday. So you'll have plenty to read!

View of the Old City from Mt. of Olives

In the graveyard. Temple Mount Behind Me.