There and Back Again

Me, posting already? No way!

Ha ha, you guys don't have to comment on my blog (though thanks to those that did!). It just makes me feel less like somebody speaking at a pulpit to a sleeping audience when you do. ;) I know that you read, though, even if most of you don't regularly comment, and I would keep posting even if nobody read it--it makes me feel less guilty for being such a horrid journal-keeper. Although, I did buy the coolest journal EVER from Forever 21 in Jordan yesterday, so I might actually be motivated in that regard once more.

I really enjoyed Jordan a lot. In fact, if I ever had to move to anywhere that we've been so far (Israel, Egypt, and Jordan), I'd probably pick Jordan. I love Jerusalem, but there's so much tension there and so many factions, while Jordan's just so much calmer. As for Egypt... well, it's the kind of place where I'm glad I went there, but I'm not really in a hurry to get back. Jordan still has ancient ruins and call to prayer (which is beginning to lose its charm, actually) and Bedouins and such, but it also has a Western feel in some areas (especially Amman), so I wouldn't be missing out on that. For the most part, the people are very polite, too. There's even a branch in Amman--small, but existent, and ever so slowly growing.

On Monday, we mostly drove a lot, although we did hit a few sites. After crossing the border (which was actually quite easy, for a change), we went to Mt. Nebo, where Moses looked out and saw the Promised Land, which he was never able to enter. Tragically, we weren't allowed to go to the outlook where he would have stood because heavy rains earlier that day had increased the danger of rock slides and people slipping, so we didn't actually get to see the view. There were some cool mosaics in a museum there, though, and I spent awhile taking pictures of some pretty daisies.

We also hit the early Byzantine church of St. George at Madaba. We spent the first 15 minutes freezing outside the church while our tour guide showed us a picture of a giant mosaic map, and when we finally went into the church, lo and behold, we saw CANDLES!!! Have I mentioned that I love taking pictures of candles? Especially the long tapers that they always seem to have in churches around here. So, after a fair amount of time spent photographing candles, I realized that if I looked beyond the candles, I'd see that giant mosaic that we'd talked about before, making me wonder why we spent so long looking at a picture when the real thing was right inside the church. Anyway, I decided that, even though it wasn't quite as much fun as taking candle pictures, I should probably take look at the mosaic for awhile. So I did... until I was distracted by their cool lanterns!

That night we stayed in a pretty decent hotel, thought it's also where I saw my very first cockroach. That thing was huge! I'm told they're not usually that big, and I hope so, because I don't see how people could handle having those things around *shudder*. An older German couple had some fun teasing me and Chelsea when we screamed, though. At first the woman was a little frightened because she thought we'd seen a mouse, but when they found out it was a cockroach, the man laughed at us and asked if we had cockroaches in the states. I told him "Not in my state!" (and if I'm wrong, please don't correct me--I'm blissful in my ignorance), and he gave us the very helpful advice that "Little animals never eat big animals." Good advice. I'll remember that when I'm up against a piranha someday.

On Tuesday we went to Petra, and even though I've never seen that particular Indiana Jones movie, the theme song kept running in my head. We spent almost all day there, and it was very cool. I couldn't help but wish that I could fly my old science teacher Mrs. Nelson out to see it. We saw the Treasury, as well as this old monastery that looks kind of like the treasury, only cooler, and it's at the top of 852 stairs (I didn't count them--I'm taking Bro. Huff's word on this. I sure walked them, though, and I felt it the next day!). There was also just a bunch of random ruins and cool looking cliffs to see. Oh, and there were camels! Camels are so awkward, they're cool, and their faces are pretty much hilarious. :) There was also this cute little black dog who randomly got attacked by this big, mean white dog! Sad! So I made it feel better. Lol, what can I say? Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I've become a lot more of a dog person since Porthos, and he was just whining so pitifully, and he looked so cute... anyway, I sanitized after, so all's well.

That night we discovered a pirated movie shop, where some people seriously spent almost a hundred dollars on 2 dollar movies! I restrained myself and only bought one: Bride Wars. I figure I didn't like that movie enough to pay full price in the states, but I did like it enough to get a poorer quality version for 2 dollars, so that's what I did. There were quite a few movies calling my name, though, and to escape I went to the toy store next door where I discovered MUSLIM BARBIE!!! Okay, that's not what she's called, but she was a Barbie with a Muslim woman head covering! Somebody else took a picture of me holding her, and I'll have to find that picture, because it was awesome! I almost bought her, but she was almost 20 dinars, which is way more than I would ever spend on any Barbie, even a Muslim one.

The next day we went to some old Roman ruins in Jerash, which pretty much everyone loved. There were arches and a huge theater, and a circle of columns that looked just like that scene out of Hercules, where he knocks them all down domino-effect. It was all very picturesque, green, and pretty, and there was this lovely cool breeze blowing... which might explain why I completely forgot the sunscreen. I fried hardcore that day, and it still kind of hurts a bit, though I'm hoping it'll start to fade soon--it's always a bit disconcerting to see people cringe whenever they look at you.

We had an absolutely amazing lunch that day (HUGE pieces of flat bread with hummus, babaganoush, salsa, french fries, and shish kabobs), followed by an interesting meeting with the Amman branch president. Although we were pretty tired by the time we got back to the hotel (or at least, I was), we basically turned right back around and called for taxis to take us out into the city. Some people went to some sort of auto show/museum, but I figured I probably wouldn't care any more about cars in Jordan than I do at home, so I opted to head straight to the Mecca Mall instead.

The Mecca Mall really felt like an American night out. Like I think I mentioned before, Amman has become westernized in many ways, and this mall is a prime example. I recognized several of the stores there, including Forever 21 where I bought my amazing journal, and we ate dinner at Pizza Hut. I also learned an Arabic swear word from some boys who came up to us, and apparently it stuck pretty well because when Moon couldn't remember it and asked what it was, I triumphantly shouted it for the whole world to hear. Unfortunately, "the whole world" in this area speaks Arabic, which didn't occur to me until after I'd shouted out the word (obviously). I think I've never blushed so hard in my life, though probably nobody could tell because I was so sunburnt, and a group of guys nearby got a pretty good laugh at my expense. They asked me to say some more, but I figured I'd embarrassed myself enough for one night (and I didn't know anymore anyway), so instead we caught a taxi and went back to the hotel.

This morning my roommate and I woke up late, so I breakfasted on cold leftover pizza as we drove to a mosque. We've been to a couple of mosques before, but this was the first one to actually make us cover our hair. Not only that, but they made us put on these black hooded robes before we could enter, too. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? DEATH EATERS!!! In fact, I randomly Avada Kedavra'd a couple of people for good measure--it was too great an opportunity to pass up. Finally, we ended up at my favorite place that we went to in Jordan: Bethabara. Or at least, where many people think Bethabara would have been--like so many holy sites, this one's kind of iffy. I really do think it was there, though--archaeological evidence all seems to support it. Anyway, Jesus was baptized somewhere, and it might have been there, so that's where we went. It was really peaceful there, to just look out at the Jordan River. I have to be honest, though--it's really more like a muddy stream. Anybody picturing a grand and majestic river is probably in for a shock if they ever visit. The Spirit was strong there, though, and it was very moving to be by the place where Christ was baptized, one of the ways in which he literally "descended below all things."

Afterwards, we got on the bus, went border crossing again (which took a bit longer this time--it's always harder to get into Israel than it is to leave it)... and now I'm here, typing in my blog at an obscene hour in the morning. I do have pictures from this trip--tons and tons of pictures--but I'll probably upload those tomorrow. I also plan on picture-ifying the last few posts I've made. Tomorrow's an all-day field trip to Tel Aviv, too, so I should have a brand new, action packed entry for you tomorrow (or the next day, depending on how tired I am). Until then, good night!

Oh, P.S. I just thought I should mention how proud I am of myself for not delaying this like I did with Egypt, and I'm sure you guys are cool with it, too :) In the words of the ever-so-eloquent Mario, "Wahoooooo!"