marhaba my friends!!!
how is life back in the states? i am completely aware that i haven't updated in about 8 years but that won't stop me from trying to catch up right now.
if you haven't already looked, i've posted 203483 pictures on facebook that shows my explorations of this country. (and thursday/saturday i will be going to the dead sea as well as aqaba. hallllaaaa!)
in any event, this past weekend has been absolutely eye opening, out of this world breathtaking. i think back to all the natural wonders that i saw and i can't even conjure up the words to explain.
nature is beautifully curious.
endless wonders glitter across this earth and you only have a fraction of time to witness them. explore. go places. SEE what's out there. you have no idea what you are missing until you are standing at the very bottom of a mountain, so tiny, so small. staring up into the lush trees, the water running between your toes, the sound of a faint waterfall a kilometer off. laughter. happiness. climbing the rocks, take pictures and more pictures. a breeze tickles your cheek and you feel as though you could [almost] cry because in that moment, life is so beautiful.
i don't wish to get all hippie/philosophical on everyone. but it just amazes me that there is so much to do. i am so very thankful that i had this chance to study in jordan. i had a chance to see roman ruins, crusader castles, mosques, deserts, the location where Lawrence of Arabia set up camp one particular harsh winter some years ago. i've seen amphitheaters, been inside a mosque, climbed in secret passageways, jerash, umm qais...the list is abundant.
too often people find it easy to sit at home, wait for something better to come along. hope that they will be able to save up for trips. plan for extravagant adventures and yet... never seem to make these ideas blossom. it is easy for me, too.
exploring petra was probably one of the most hellish experiences of my life. the historical buildings and area were so amazing but physically i lacked the gung ho attitude to enjoy it properly. it (don't quote me on this) was about a 6-7 mile hike in total. hottest time of the day. no shade. hot sand. and then? 800 steps up a mountain. a mountain so vast that had i been SMART and paid for a donkey to take me up, would have been beautiful just to study. but no, i took the hard way. i heaved and hoed up the mountain. i took about a billion breaks, choking down water and juice and crackers. wiping sweat from my brow. trying to keep even breathing.
and in the end?
i was greeted with a monastery. at the time i was just really pissed off that THAT's what i walked all the way for. now i'm glad i conquered the hike. i rested inside the monastery for about a hour just trying to regain some life.
however, coming back down through petra again i developed an unpleasant case of sun poisoning. the swarming, dizzying feelings of hot hot sun. the need to faint, fall face first into the sand hit me so strongly, it was all i could to put one foot in front of the other. thankfully, arie and steve were there to cheer me on. keep me going. offering water. and? talking about what it would be like to have a floating pirate ship (you guys rock.)
petra was great. it's one of the modern seven wonders of the world. and i got to see it. forever from now i'll be able to tell people that i traveled to jordan in my early 20's and saw thousand year old history.
wadi bin hammad was another awesome experience. i explained it earlier in this blog. it was 3 hike through the bottom of a mountain, in a creek, just as i mentioned. the rock faces and vegetation was absolutely stunning. it seems so unreal to image how much nature can create just by itself. for instance, the iron deposits on the stones created bright orange stripes of color all over. a nature's painting. signed by mother nature herself. man.
wadi rum and visiting the bedouins was swell! we spent the night in rather comfortable tents. wanted the sunset on a giant boulder. ate delicious fish, chicken, rice and bread. danced. sang. conversed over a cup of shay. and in the morning? we rode camels. yes, folks. my dream DID come true. i rode a camel and it was awesome. at one point, while sitting on top of Trudy it hit me that i--- was in the desert--- riding a camel--- witnessing where Lawrence had once slept years ago.
the opportunities that have come my way throughout my life have always been amazing. i have been fortunate and being able to come to jordan, to add another notch to my traveling belt was perfect. i can only hope that everyone receives the opportunity someday to explore. simply explore.
and with that, i leave you with a picture i stumbled upon, waiting to get to the bedouin camp. a random train came passing by and i took several pictures in succession. reminds me of my papa. :)
salaam, my worldly travelers.
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