Floating in the Dead Sea

I can’t believe that I have just over a month left. It’s really weird to think about coming home, because when I do I will have a few weeks until graduation, and then a few short months until college. I am not dreading coming home at all even though I am loving my time here. I’m very excited to see my family and friends again, I just feel like it’s going to be a bit weird. Even though I’m working about 40 hours a week, and it gets a bit boring, and even though Amman isn’t a bustling metropolitan city, it’s s going to be odd to go back to my normal routine having come from something so different. 

I’m not really sure what to make of the political situation in Jordan right now. Al Jazeera tells me one thing about the protests, The Huffington Post says another, and The New York Times either distorts the truth, or has useless, poorly written and researched articles that feel so distant from Jordan. This is probably because I am a foreigner, but when I walk in Amman, I don’t feel any tension, or unsafe. Everyone I talk to has different opinions, but they are all in support of the King, some wanting governmental reform, and others not. What I thought was a very interesting decision of the King to do, was to ban pro-government demonstrations in the city, that way the two groups won’t clash, as seemingly happened last week. 

I’m expecting that my internship at University Counseling will start to get very slow now that all of the acceptances have come out, and I just finished my big project on the university tour that my boss is hosting this summer. But I should be able to fill any little free time during the day that I might have by getting my spring break plans in order. It’s looking like Lebanon and Turkey with the Junior Fellow program. I so excited to be able to travel around the region, outside of Jordan, and to go to large, historic cities. 

I also need to make sure to plan my remaining weekends very well because I don’t want to miss out on anything. This weekend I crossed another ‘to-do’ off my list - the Dead Sea. On Friday morning I went to a day resort on the Dead Sea with two other Junior Fellows. The Dead Sea is one of those things, at least for me, that you hear about second grade, and your whole life you have some sort of expectation of what it’s like to float in a body of water. The Dead Sea does not disappoint. The floor of the sea is made of sharp, white, crystalized, sea salt covered rocks. Floating in the sky-blue sea is an amazing experience, and the salt of the sea leaves your skin so smooth. I also covered my body in Dead Sea mud, which is this black, smooth mud known for its rich mineral content that is really good for your skin. The resort that we were at was like out of a movie, cabanas, an infinity-pool that overlooked the sea, loud music was playing, everyone there was really attractive, and the couples were kissing and holding hands, which is NEVER seen in Jordan, it was like another world, needless to say, I enjoyed the day quite a bit, the weather was warm, and the sea was relaxing, and in addition to all of that King’s Academy gets a discount or 15 JD entry fee. Day, and money well spent. 

The infinity pool looking over the Dead Sea at sunset