Tomorrow is my last day in Jordan! I can't believe how fast this has gone. I am very sad to be leaving my new friends here as well as not being with my Bethel friends constantly!
This past weekend, we went to Wadi Rum (which is in middle of the desert) and Petra. On Friday night we camped in the desert with Bedoins. Dinner was cooked in the sand! A giant hole (about 4 ft. deep) was dug into the sand and a rack of chicken and vegitables were placed over a bed of coals. Then a big bowl was put on top of the hole and sand covered it. After a few hours of slow cooking, dinner was done. And it was amazing!! Then about 18 of us dragged our mats and blankets away from camp and all cuddled close together under the stars. When we woke up in the morning, we were covered in thick, white frost!
After breakfast, the camels arrived! I believe I am a natural born camel-rider! My little guide Mohammad, who was 11, showed me how to gallop! We also talked for a long while during our 2 hour walk back to the village. Talking with him made me miss Nels a lot more, though...
Saturday afternoon, we arrived in Petra and were able to ride horses down into the valley where the ancient city of Petra was. (If you don't know, one of the Indiana Jones movies was filmed in this area!) Seeing the ancient tombs and sacrificial sites was very cool! There were hundreds if not thousands of caves in every part of the mountains surrounding the valley we were walking through. It was amazing that we could go into pretty much every place we wanted to or climb up any mountain-this is NOT America! No security guards telling us to stay on the paths. :) That night we were able to stay in a nice hotel finally! (Nice being a relative term, of course.) But I did get a hot shower for the first time in a few weeks. :)
Sunday morning we went into Petra again. Most of us began the struggle of climbing to the top of the highest mountain in order to see the largest structure, called the Monastary. Many of us rented donkeys. This was probably one of the most scary moments of the trip-I was sure the donkey was going to run straight off the cliff with me on his back! Halfway up the mountain, my guide stopped at a Bedoin tent with me and we had tea with some of his friends. It was a great experience to be welcomed so openly. After arriving at the top of the mountain, however, I was able to see one of the greatest views thus trip. The valley was so deep and the mounains so rugged and yet there were bedoin tents and caves all over the mountains. Imagine waking up to that view every morning!
Then we were caught in a giant rainstorm after dinner! It took us over an hour to get back to the bus, but we all made it. I found out later that it rained so much that other tourists and Bedoins who stayed in Petra too long had to be airlifted out because the city began to flood!
Wow-sorry for writing a novel! I unfortunately do not have any Petra pictures uploaded yet but will add other pictures instead.
Off to France tomorrow night!
Be home on Sunday!
Most of the group! (Back-Ahmed, Charolette, Steph, Alex, Me, Elliot, Eric, Josh, John, Michelle, Kimmie, MacKenzie, Faub, Mandy, Zoa, Lynda, Eliza, Rassia) (Front- Pakou, Carrie, Paige, Zach, Merissa, Jenny, and Lauren) (Missing-Dr. Doug, Dr. Naomi, and Joel)
Triplets!-Mandy, Me, and MacKenzie
At the Wailing Wall-Dr. Naomi, Zach, Me, and Joel
The Princess Taghrid Institute-Zach, Me, Dr. Aghadeer Jweihan, and Carrie
Out to dinner! Joel, Me, and MacKenzie (My two closest friends!)
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