Warning: This is long...

This week we went to Jordan! I got my fanny, my water-bottle carrier (and of course did the "bottle waddle"), and my headset.  All of which, if I didn't have, I would be nothing.  These are my new favorite possessions in life.  We started off at Mt. Nebo, went to see mosaics in Madaba, and finished our day at the Shobak Castle.  At night we stayed just outside of Petra and we practiced our Arabian dancing in the streets with the local men from the village. We were walking, when all of a sudden we heard music coming from an alley, and some of our group down there dancing.  This was an opportunity we couldn't miss.  Last week we were taught how to do their dancing, so we had to show them what we could do.  SO funny.

Tuesday morning we walked into Petra.  The walk in was like walking through the Grand Canyon, then all of a sudden the canyon opened up and this is what I saw...

It was amazing to see all these structures built into the rock!  And they built them from the top down, so the planning that must have gone into it is amazing!  Along the roads were little kids trying to sell rocks, necklaces, postcards, etc.  You'd feel bad for a minute, but then look off on the side of the road and see their parents sitting under the shade.  This took away my desire to buy something from them, but it did make me want to steal the child away.  He was my favorite...

me, Amy, La, Adri, Laur, Kate, Alli, Kate

After Petra we got in the bus and drove to Amman, Jordan.  It was a bigger city, and felt a lot more clean than anywhere we have been, yet. Except for our hotel.  Kelsey found a cockroach in our shower, and the room felt like a cabin-room in a train.  But the city was nice!  The next morning we went to Jerash, which has ancient Roman ruins that are better preserved than those in Rome.  Who would have guessed.  Better Roman ruins in Jordan than in Rome?  Obviously they were different, and not as many, but still very cool.  On our way there, our bus broke down, and so all 97 of us had to cram onto one bus.  We were imagining the headlines..."Bus crashes in Amman, 97 killed..." 

But we made it!

At Jerash, they did a show for us, but it didn't seem worth $10 to some of us.  So we pretended like we were the peasants and went to the edge of the stadium and watched it from there.  We saw all we needed to see, especially this chariot race! The coolest part of the show.

That night we went to the Royal Automobile Museum.  I was just going a long to get out and explore, but it really was interesting and fascinating to see the different cars the royal family here has had since the early 1900's.  There was even a car that drove on water!  And randomly, while we were there, I saw Heather Sanders!

On our last day, we went to a mosque and then the Citadel Overlook.  Not only could you see the royal palace, set within the poor neighborhood of Amman, and the world's largest flag pole, but there were ancient ruins, columns, and a museum with pottery from different ages and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 

When we were at the overlook, an older man was sitting out on a little ledge.  He was probably in his sixties, and was just looking over the edge.  Another Jordanian couple were sitting out on the ledge also, celebrating the guy's birthday, with presents, candles, and food brought by his wife.  We all sat on the railings, as pictured below, which turned out to be a good thing.  The older man got up to come back, when he lost his balance and fell.  Like a rag doll, he fell down at least 20 feet of rocks, and then landed out of sight.  It was a heart-stopping moment.  Without telling of the detail of what I saw, he survived, but with a broken clavicle, many broken fingers, bruised ribs, and his ear was almost completely ripped off.  No one wanted to break any rules after seeing this. 

But the trip still ended on a good note as we went to the Jordan River. It even started to lightly rain as we were there, and 3 men striped down in their speedos and decided to get in this disgustingly polluted river.  Yes, it has a lot of importance, obviously, but so does life.  I did put my feet in, but made sure they were cleaned after!

It felt good to come back home!  Especially to Sister Whipple greeting us and rain!