Camel Lovin' in Jordan

Jordan was life changing. I got an email from my mom half through the week that I've been laughing about ever since so I have to share: "Hey goof. what is your address? Hope you love Jordan. The country not your brother. Ha Ha Mom." I don't want that email to be lost in the vastitude of my gmail account so take it for what it's worth; she's hilarious.

Sunday came around last week and me and my roommates decided we would do a roommate trip into the city. We literally awholed over the east center wall to avoid awkward questions and booked it into town. Everyone had specific places they wanted to see and things they wanted to do. I wanted to visit a chocolate store outside of the Old City called El Dorado and buy stamps somewhere. They have an insane amount of European chocolate hanging around and last week I found some Belgium cocoa dusted dark chocolate drops that I love. I might need to replenish my supply tomorrow. 

Michelle wanted to buy a nativity set. I had firmly decided in December that I wouldn't buy an olive wood nativity set, but the shops are fun to look in so we set off. There are two stores that campaign for the student's business and we made it to both. The funny thing is that I ended up buying a nativity set; the figures look similar to Willow Tree statues and I knew I wouldn't regret purchasing it. 

When one of us buys something, everyone does. I'd say it's detrimental, but I've ended up with some really exciting things.

We spent quite a few hours in the Old City doing everything fun imaginable. Lizzie has decided she wants to purchase a genie belly dancing costume before April, so we set our sites on finding the perfect balance of fabric and bells. We didn't find it but I know it's out there somewhere. Can I just say I am astronomically better at bartering than I was three weeks ago? January tenth someone could have sold me a piece of flint for sixty shekels, but on Sunday we got Michelle an opal ring for free, well almost. Everyone was feeling really proud of it. I purchased something for Sara and Ashley that I know they'll love. I'm also the happy owner of a new turquoise blue Wilma Flintstone necklace. 

We stopped for lunch halfway through the day at the Austrian Hospice. On Sundays they cancel lunch back at the Jerusalem Center so we make lunches in the morning. I usually just grab a handful of pita bread and some fruit. I figured out something pretty unexpected...

Jerusalem actually has the best bananas in the world, not Jericho.

Jordan

What a trip. We were in Jordan Monday through Thursday and it was so much more than I expected it would be. We started the day bright and early because we wanted to be able to cross the Jordanian/Israeli border as smoothly as possible. That being said, it still took an hour or two. Which actually isn't that bad; last semester it took them five hours to cross back into Israel because it was during the Islamic Hajj. Jordan requires tours to have a Jordanian tour guide with them through out the country so we picked up the tour guide. It's a miracle someone didn't hog tie him and leave him in the bushes somewhere. Ok that was a little extreme, he just really liked to be in charge. I take it back. It was pleasant having him along.

Our first stop was to Mount Nebo in Moab, Jordan. Mount Nebo is the traditional place where God took Moses from the children of Israel. The children of Israel didn't deserve Moses and weren't allowed to cross into the promised land/land of their inheritance so Moses was removed from them. The site is dedicated to honoring Moses.

This point overlooks the land of the Israelites inheritance and would have been as far as they were allowed to pass.

Another monument for Moses.

After Mount Nebo we visited a couple of churches with interesting mosaics depicted in their flooring and walls then got on the bus for a four hour drive to Petra, Jordan. The welcome at the hotel was honestly so funny. I think after sitting on a bus for four hours it had kind of gone to all of our heads and we were living it up. We walked into the lobby as a giant mob of exhausted students and the live musician started playing, they started taking out pictures, and they gave us orange juice in champagne glasses. Zero to ten in three seconds; you would have thought we were walking the red carpet. Once the excitement had died down I realized the orange juice had a strong resemblance to Tange and the smoke screen of happiness dissipated. They shepherded us downstairs to the dinner buffet.

Tye's face probably adequately depicts how we all were feeling.

Ironically, I discovered Jordan actually has the best bananas in the world.

The water in Jordan has different things in it that we aren't used to, so we were counseled repeatedly not to drink it. We also weren't supposed to eat any of the fresh fruits or vegetables to avoid a treasure they referred to as explosive travelers diarrhea. I'm sorry I laughed and that I'm even typing that but I just had to. I'm only nineteen, I still have four month before I have to be mature. Tragically, this warning made even the most vegetable averted individual want all the fresh fruits and vegetables. I think only a few people got sick; it pays to be the bus doc, you hear all the funny stories. 

Oh, the hotels in this area have each room marked to show which way the Kiblah is (the direction to pray towards Mecca). This was stuck to our desk.

It was raining outside, but we had to get out of the hotel so we took off into the rain. There was a shop on the side of the road with a guy pouring sand sculptures, and inside there was a collection of the greatest knives. Crossing back into Israel would have posed a problem so I resorted to staring at them for a while instead. 

The next morning we woke up and walked down the road to the entrance of Petra. Petra is a cemetery that dates back to 5th century BC. The "treasury" is one of the larger structures in Petra and it is well-known because it is shown in the third Indiana Jones. 

The boys were all on a quest to resemble Indiana Jones at Petra.

Sara and I being roommates in an ancient room. We're good roommates.

Handstand in Petra in front of the Monastery.

One handed handstand with Hannah banana.

Camel kiss. Furry bliss.

Love at first sight.

WE'RE RIDING CAMELS. These camels are so much cooler than the ones at the Tautphaus Park Zoo.

We were actually in Petra for most of the day wandering around. There are a ton of things to see, dance parties to dance, and camels to ride. The whole thing has got to be miles big; we hiked nine hundred stairs. After Petra we traveled four hours into Jerash or Amman, Jordan to reach our hotel. My roommate, Meg, and I obviously are the favored students because we ended up in the royal suite on the ninth floor. To access the floors you had to insert your key and it would only take you to that specific floor. Our suite was sweet. I think if we'd wanted to play football in there we would have had enough room. A small version of football at least. At any rate it was nice. We left the hotel to explore the city and found a delicious ice cream parlor. A little further down the road there was a Nestle Toll House store opening so we obviously went in. Apparently the store was just opening that night and I unknowingly had offered to take a picture for the owner so they gave us two bags of free cookies. Some people just walk in the light, ya know? 

One of the walls in the Nestle cafe. 

The next morning at breakfast the omelet chef offered to give me and Courtney his email address. He wanted to chat. I just wanted my omelet. The next morning while we were down there he started handing out his resume to girls in the omelet line. I never saw one but I'm just trying to figure out what would be on his resume: eggactly what you want, easy to crack, eggtra fun? Ahaha. Ok sorry that really wasn't funny.

After breakfast we went to view some really impressive ruins. We visited the largest amphitheater outside of Rome. I'll let some pictures explain. 

The handstand thing again.

Licking an ancient pillar.

After Jerash we visited King Hussein's car collection museum. That guy loved his cars.

That night we stayed in the same hotel and found another fun shop down the road that sold high end chocolate. For some reason I hadn't pegged Jordan as the place to find chocolate.

The first night we stayed at this hotel a couple of people burst into my room to tell me they had found me Cheetos at the grocery store. A lot of people have been on the look-out for me for the past two weeks. I was so excited!

Good old Haboob with their Cheetos. I almost cried. First because the name of the grocery store was hilarious and second because finding Cheetos was a long journey.

On Thursday we began our trip back home with a quick stop at the Jordan River. Stopping at the Jordan River was one of the most moving things we've experienced thus far. Obviously, no one knows the exact location that John the Baptist used to baptize the Savior, but the spirit of the devotional we held and the songs we sang brought a lot of peace. The Jordan River actually is one of the borders between Israel and Jordan; not too long ago Israel decided to build a monument with churches and an access ramp to the river. People will visit the site and baptize themselves. Jordan followed suit and built a similar thing on the other side of the river. The Jordanian site has white clothing and a locker room for people to change into and be baptized; while we were there we saw a tourist from Nigeria in the river dunking himself to imitate the Savior's example. While the dedication to a longing for truth was inspiring, the thing that was most moving was the feelings that I felt while we sang Come Follow Me. The Savior was real deity sent to take upon himself our sins and our trials. It's important that we hang to that truth and work to become more Christlike. 

The trip ended with some really exciting news. Kara received her mission call to Fiji!! She'll leave for Fiji in May and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people for a year and a half. It will be cool for her to have the experiences of Jerusalem as she teaches people about the Savior. 

Things are exciting and peaceful here. A few family members have asked for my address so I'll include it here. 

My address for packages (which I don't recommend because I'll be home in April) is:

Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies

Lindee Oseen

Located on Mt. Scopus

Near Augusta VIctoria Hospital

Jerusalem, 91196 ISRAEL

And my address for letters (which I do recommend because I think Sara Jenkins has formally died) is:

Jerusalem Center for NEar Eastern Studies

Lindee Oseen

P.O. Box 19604

Jerusalem, 91196 ISRAEL

Oh, the pita theme this week wasn't Nutella or cinnamon and sugar but hummus. There's no way it's this good in the states or I wouldn't have eaten anything else. Jordanians know how to make exquisite hummus.

I RODE A CAMEL.

Keep washing yo hands, it's still the flu season.

Lindee