after the single most visually spectacular bus ride of my life wherein i reunited with my long lost love, the cure's live album "show," we arrived in wadi rum from petra. our sleeping quarters were small 2-person tents with cots which were nestled against some sandstone to shelter us from the sandy wind (only half-successfully). natalie and i of course shared a tent, being spouses and all. there were some larger tents for dining and keeping warm by some fires, as well as a fire pit where we enjoyed tea. here's the group on the first afternoon, and a picture of it lit up later in the evening (ROMANCE):
there was a small sand dune behind our tents, and we saw no choice but to climb it to see what was on the other side. there were more tents! also, camels (jamal in arabic). also, sir ian smith in the fetal position (only sadness):
we were like small children, so excited. 6 others and i went on a walk into the wild before our scheduled jeep tour and climbed some rocks to enjoy the scenery (which turned out to be the same exact scenery we would enjoy on our jeep tour, but whatever). this included a brief, yet intense, sand storm, in which we all had to stop walking and turn our backs to the wind. the sand rippled like snakes across the valley floor giving me the feeling of being in motion. i spent some quiet time pondering the meaning of life (again! man, i'm so deep) and also god, and also my future. kateer introspective, though i came away with no definite opinions on any of these topics. also i did a lot of dancing and frolicking:
the jeep tour was amazing, if not terrifying. i piled into the bed of a trunk with megan, dropek, natalie, ben, and andy, where we bounced and bounded our way through the wadi and some unexpected rain. eminem and kanye provided the soundtrack for the adventure. our first stop was a sand dune/photo opportunity of epic proportions. we raced up the dune, an event that required so much effort and so little progress. natalie and i re-enacted the first scene of the lion king (i was rafiki) and then raced down the dune again.
next stop: some cave drawings that no one really cared about. but we took a group photo of everyone making finger moustaches (EPIC). after, a shrine type thingy for my main man larry the arab (lawrence of arabia for those of you not down with the lingo) and more dunes:
final stop: sunset at the same spot i went to earlier with my shebab. there was constant heavy wind, so much that i literally almost fell of a cliff. there was some great romantic time between the wife and me, which turned into a shway double date with megan and dropek (we are all women). we couldn't really see the sunset because it was cloudy (remember how it rained?) but it provided a beautiful and dramatic scene nonetheless. i think wadi rum is now my 4th favorite place on earth (behind my house, four winds, and silver lake, naturally). i will undoubtedly pay another visit during the independent study period (which starts in a mere number of days!)
DAY 4: AQABA
the last day before home started at 6 am and continued for another 21 hours of absolute joy and ridiculousness before sweet sweet slumber.
i took a sunrise walk with ben, and we soaked up the quiet and the pleasant absense of wind. after that: JAMAL RIDE. i was on a shway emaciated camel that couldn't walk straight, and spent most of the time playing bumper jamals. ouch! but it was fun and camels are so silly. i love them.
then we had breakfast (so many hard-boiled eggs) and i helped lead a discussion about the environment in jordan with zein, one of the SIT staff with a background in arid land environments. then, a short bus ride further south to the port city of aqaba on the red sea.
no big deal, we took a boat cruise where we snorkeled and danced to celine dion and some jordanian national songs. i saw many fishies before i got too cold and commenced with the dancing. also no big deal, from the boat i could simultaneously see jordan, isreal (the city of eilat ("eilatta what?")), and egypt. biff and i got our minds blown a little bit, and shouted many absolutely untrue proclamations in our overwhelming satisfaction, such as "nothing about this country is beautiful!!!!" dave and i reminisced about sailing and living on the ocean (he's from portland, maine) with a lot of satisfying sadness, at least on my part. if there had been an FJ that i could have sailed, i would have had a heart attack from happiness. actually.
then there was a night of true-to-college shenanigans which i won't repeat here. i can tell you that it did involve karaoke, as all good nights do. but i stayed up until 3 am, making day 4 in al-janoub one of the most action-packed and epic of my life.
as sarah mink said on her blog, i had loved jordan mostly for the people before this trip, but after these 5 days and 4 nights i fell in love with its natural landscape as well. the trip was a perfect mix of social time, quiet personal time, and especially nature time that i've been sorely lacking. i got a chance to step back from all the stresses i'd been overwhelmed with before the trip and think them through in peace without other distractions occupying my thoughts. and i got to do a little daydreaming as well. thank goodness for al-janoub. now back to work.
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