8 Weeks.

Work went as usual this week. I had a large project in which I had to gather, research, confirm, and organize a list of summer programs for sophomores and juniors. This list took quite a while to make, because I had to go through countless brochures and flyers from years past, and research the programs to make sure that they were still valid. The other reason that the project took a while was because I had to do it in addition to all of the other work that I usually do around the office.

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this in any of my previous posts, but one of the women that I work with in my office, Ala, is getting married in April, and this week she invited me to her wedding. I am extremely excited to go to a Middle Eastern wedding, I think it will be very interesting, and I’ve heard that they are very fun. 

I have been trying to keep up with the news as much as I can lately because of all that is going on in the Middle East. The situation in many countries is getting increasingly worse, and there are many articles from news sources in the states that have come up with countries that they feel are the next to fall to protests. In those articles Jordan has been listed. However, from talking with locals, and living here, I really do not see that happening anytime soon. Yes there have been protests in Amman recently, but they are all for the King but wanting the government reformed. In some of the articles they quoted people against the government, however in any country in the world, there will be someone who is unhappy with the government, so I don’t think it’s fair to pick one unhappy person, and quote them as if they represent the general feeling of all Jordanians. The other reason people are protesting is because of the increase in prices for food and water, which has been happening world wide. The protests have been very peaceful, the police pass out water and juice to the people so that they stay hydrated, and day usually ends in celebration. In the end, yes there have been protests, yes some people don’t like the government, and yes most Jordanians want to reform the government to give them more say, but I haven’t met any Jordanians calling for revolution similar to those in Egypt, Bahrain, and else where, because they love the King, they simply want their voices heard. 

My weekend wasn't very exciting, I didn't leave campus much because I was out of money. The highlight was on Thursday night, when one of the teachers had a birthday party at their house on campus and invited the Junior Fellows as well. The party was lovely, and I really enjoyed talking to the teachers (many of them are fresh out of college) as well socializing with other faculty that I had not previously talked to. 

In other news, this week I also agreed to run in the Dead 2 Red, a team race from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea. It’s on March 3rd, which gives me very little time to prepare. 

This should be...fun. 

Gerasa

This week went by very quickly because of the Prophets birthday on Tuesday. The work week never really changes though, it’s very predictable. The work is consistent only that sometimes there is more, and other times there is none at all. I can’t believe that I have been here for almost 2 months now. It seems like time has gone by so quickly, and yet feels like an eternity since I actually left. I feel as though time is already beginning to run out, and that I have so much more to see and to experience here. I feel this way, though in reality, I have almost 2 and a half months left, which is probably more than enough time. This week I also went to Amman twice in the morning, once to get blood drawn and the other to get fingerprints, both are steps taken to get my residency in Jordan. I was expecting to go to the embassy, or a hospital to get my blood drawn. Instead, we were taken to a building down a side street with almost a hundred immigrants waiting in line. Our driver cut in line, flashed some papers and spoke to some people working there, and we preceded to go inside. My adventure to get my fingerprints taken a few days later was equally memorable. This time we were taken to a small stone building outside of the city. We walked in though glass doors into a single medium sized room with multiple men in army apparel standing around smoking cigarettes. We waited for several minutes, and then a man preceded to grab our fingers putting them into the ink, and rolling each and everyone of them onto a piece of paper to get the full print. 

The weekend finally arrived, though I along with the other Junior Fellows had little, if any money to spend since our stipend had almost depleted for the month. We spent out Thursday night in Madaba at the usual café. The next morning I went on a school trip to Jerash, a town an hour north famous for its extensive Roman ruins of Gerasa. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day as we walked through the endless ruins. You enter through a grand arch, and walk up to a large race track. At first, I thought that was it, some ruins, and a race track because I couldn’t see much else from my position. However, after a bit of walking the ancient city reveals itself. Two theaters, a long colonnade reaching the end of the city, multiple temples in ruins, and more. The best part, which is also not very good for the preservation of the ruins, is that very few sections are blocked off, meaning I was able walk up small steps in the back of the theater leading up to the top of the seats, and up small crumbling stairs in the temple to get another view. My favorite part of the day was when the prayer began. I was walking through what was once a Roman temple, when a couple of mosques in the city outside of the ruins began broadcasting the prayer, it was beautiful to hear the prayer through the wind as I explored an ancient city. 

Spring break has been on my mind lately, because I need to start planing where I want to travel, which is getting tough, since my many of the countries surrounding Jordan are quickly becoming unsafe to travel to. 

I’m thinking Istanbul. 

Week six

Most applications are done, and sent in, which means my internship is getting a bit slow. The University Counseling office isn’t getting students as frequently, except for some of the kids who are struggling to get their applications in. Because there are less students applying, and not many students are hearing back from colleges yet, my work load was very low this week. Although this meant a lot of time being bored at my desk, it also made for more time to chat with the women in my office. Telling stories from their travels, favorite spots in Amman, talking about students, schools, helping me with my Arabic homework are all topics that we discuss. 

Wednesday night we went out to dinner in Amman with the two faculty members that we spend every wednesday with. We went to a Chinese restaurant in an artsy part of town. It’s an old house converted into a restaurant. You enter through to a large foyer with a stair case wrapping itself up and over you as you walk in. The drawing room, parlor, and dining room are now all used as dining rooms. Red chinoiserie wall paper, retro asian lacquered chairs, a vintage bar, dim lights, sizzling pots, and slightly creepy Chinese music set the tone. The restaurant reminded me a lot of a small Chinese restaurant in Italy that I used to go with my family often. This made me feel very nostalgic the whole night, as I was constantly reminded of Italy. 

The weekend came soon, and ended even sooner. I spent most of it in Amman, getting lost trying to find a café on Friday, and in chic restaurants at night. I am looking forward to next week, though I suspect I won’t have a tone of work, I have the day off on Tuesday because it is the Prophets birthday. 

Petra

This has been one of the best weeks so far. The beginning of this week went by painfully slow. I heard back from Kenyon College on Wednesday, which felt like forever, since I have been waiting for over a month and a half now. I was extremely nervous awaiting my reply, and finally on Wednesday at about midnight, when the Junior Fellows were all hanging out at a teachers apartment on campus my mom called with good news, I got my acceptance letter from Kenyon, which is my first choice! Getting the news put me in the best mood the rest of the week. The work week was the same as usual, lot's of busy work during the day, and boredom on the campus at night.

Besides my acceptance to Kenyon, the other thing that helped make my week perfect was my trip to Petra on Friday. It costs 50 JD to get into Petra without a residency card, and 1 JD with one, which I don’t have, but luckily the guards do not actually look at the picture on the card, so I was able to borrow one from another Junior Fellow here who was not going on the trip. It was almost a 3 hour drive to Petra down long roads surrounded my dry land. We finally arrived to the town outside of Petra, and got our first glimpse of the mountains. They are large, rocky, jagged and of a reddish brown color. The town however filled with palms, and large willow like trees that seemed like ones out of a Dr. Seuss book. After negotiating with the guards about prices, we were on our way to the entrance of Petra. Before to getting to the entrance, the road is lined with ruins, almost teasing tourists before they got to the city. 

The way into Petra is a single road about 6 meters wide, and the beginning of the canyon starts out at about 6 meters tall. Slowly the path twists and turns deeper into the red mountains, occasionally opening up into larger spaces, and sometimes closing to become only 3 meters wide. The mountain walls get taller and taller, weaving in and out, jutting out from the sides and above you, sometimes blocking the sun as if Petra is slowly capturing you in its spell. Horse drawn wagons raced by me on the eroded cobble stone floors, almost hitting the walls that were once lavishly carved with heroic imagery now fading into the red stone. Then, all in once, after about a half hour of walking, you get a small glimpse of the Treasury through the canyon walls. Jagged walls on either side frame a portion of the structure, and soon the path opens up into a large area dominated by the Treasury towering over you in all of its glory. I stood breathless. Tall corinthian columns, faded bas-relief, and a striking portico carved into the mountain made for one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful sights I have ever seen. After staring for a while, I was told to keep moving from friends because time was short, and we needed to trek our way up the 

The path to Petra

mountain to the monastery. 

On our way to the mountain we past countless facades craved into mountains, and walked by the ruins of a Roman temple on road that was once lined by columns. We began walking up the countless steps sculpted into the mountain, past Bedouins, merchants, donkeys, and tourists. After about an hour of walking up the mountain, we reached level ground, walked down a few steps and onto a large plateau in front of the monastery. The structure was less ornate then the Treasury, but equally imposing. We were able to climb inside the door, into the single room carved on the inside. It was a large, square room, with a large now plain arch mirroring the entrance that must have served as an altar. After a few minutes we jumped out of the room, and looked up to a sign on a higher mountain that read “Best View in Petra” so we made our way up that mountain, and up the tiny steps onto the peak. It was very windy at the top as we peered down at the monastery, and up at the mountains encompassing us. After absorbing all that there was to see, we journeyed down the mountain, taking the same path we took up. 

At the bottom of the mountain I was able to fulfill one of my goals I had made for the day - riding a camel. I climbed onto the saddle got as comfortable as one can on a camel, and the camel proceeded to lean forward, then back as it got its legs out from under it, and then all the way up, the ride was great. After meeting back up at the Treasury we walked back through the canyon, as the teacher on the trip explained different things about the Nabateans and Petra. I boarded the bus, and headed back to King’s, exhausted, and bewitched by Petra’s beauty. 

First view of the Treasury

 

The Monastery

From the top of the Mountain

The Monastery from the top of the