July 11, 2008

Sorry it's taken me so long to get on here and update this blog but we still don't have internet in our apartments and I don't think we're going to get it. So much has happened since my last post I hardly know where to start! Since my last post I've been to the citadel here (breathtakingly beautiful), the Dead Sea, a music festival in Jerash, and the first palace in modern Jordanian history! The citadel was beautiful and it was amazing to learn about some of the ancient history of the area we're leaving in (it was less than a 2 JD cab ride to get there). I've been trying to put pictures up of all the places we've been, but I don't seem to be able to for some reason, I don't know if it's me or the quality of internet at this cafe.

The Dead Sea was extremely beautiful and an adventure all its own. My friends Stephanie, Sophia, and I decided to take a bus even though some people were taking cabs (because they were very expensive- 10 JD per person there and 10 JD per person back- and because we wanted more of a cultural/fun experience) but ended up getting dropped off at a town at least 6 km away from the Dead Sea (we didn't know this at the time). A cab driver wanted to take us from there to the Dead Sea but wanted to charge us like 6 JD, so we decided to walk (a man told us the walk was only 3 km). We walked for about an hour along the Dead Sea highway in the heat (luckily it was 8 AM, so it was bearable), which was quite an experience, because we get to see many Bedouins herding sheep, riding donkeys and camels, etc. and many people tried to pick us up, but we said no until a man pulled over (he was alone and there were three of us so we felt like we were probably pretty safe and we had been walking an hour and had just passed a sign that said it was three km from where we were). He took us free of charge, so we ended up getting to the Dead Sea for .75 JD each! The Dead Sea was an amazing experience in itself, because it was so beautiful. It was kind of hard to swim in because all you could really do was float there, and we didn't want to splash each other too much because it was so salty that it hurt very badly if it got in your eyes or any cuts you may have not even been aware of. They had a wonderful buffet at the beach we went to that had mansef (a delicious lamb dish with creamy sauce and rice), chicken, and many other  dishes. We even met an amazing Australian man who works as a paramedic in Ghana, so he works two months, then gets two months off to travel, and has been to over 40 countries and has spent the last two months traveling around the Middle East in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other countries. He gave us some great tips about where to go here and how to get around the Middle East more easily. Then we decided to come home after a long day, but the bus driver we found wanted to overcharge us, so we found a taxi driver who would drive us back to a nearby town for 6 JD, but not Amman. Luckily an American who works at the Embassy here overheard us negotiating with the man and offered to drive us back to Amman for free! He also shared some wisdom and some things he had learned from living here the past couple months. We had a great time, saved a lot of money, and met some great people at the Dead Sea!

A few days ago our teacher Saleh took some of us to a music festival in the actual Jerash ruins, which only cost 20 JD, and we got to see three very famous singers here. It was a great experience, especially since we were pretty much the only Westerners there, and everything was in Arabic. It was crazy there and very crowded, but Saleh (he's hilarious) told security we were from the American Embassy, so we managed to get through security and the crowds pretty quickly, especially since we were mostly women, so we got searched in separate tents from the men by women guards. The music was great, and so were the interactions with the people there. There were only one or two bad interactions with the men there, but that's to be expected in any large crowd of mostly men at night. It was a wonderful way to see the culture at its best.

We were able to get out of class yesterday because Saleh arranged a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us- we got to take a tour of the palace established here by the first King of Jordan, built in the 1920s (which most Jordanians don't even get to do). It was beautiful yet simple, with almost as much security as the White House. We also got to learn from two history teachers here about the modern history of Jordan while exploring the palace- which is only open to the public on Wednesdays and Thursdays and is still used for official meetings and press conferences. We even got to sit in the traditional seat of the King and his guests- which Bill Clinton himself sat in and Barack Obama will most likely sit in when he visits here! Then we ate at a delicious restaurant called Jabri that's famous for its desserts (I got mansef, and a raspberry dessert, plus a tin of baklava and some other traditional desserts to go- they're delicious!)

Classes are going pretty well for me, one of my teachers is pretty frustrating because he's kind of disorganized, but Saleh is working with him and trying to teach him what American students want/expect, so he's improving. Midterms are coming up already next week, so I'm pretty nervous but I think I'll do okay because I plan on studying for the rest of the day (there's not much else to do here on Fridays anyways). Tomorrow the school is going on a trip to Madaba and Mount Nebo, so I'll try to update you on that as soon as possible.

Lauren