Here it is:

Sans Internet :(

Just wanted to give a brief update that I'm probably going to have limited internet access, if any, over the next week and a half. The Muslim holiday of Eid, which ends the month of Ramadan, is next week, and the university is going on break for all of next week. Unfortunately, the university is the only place I really get internet, and break will definitely a busy time. But if I get a chance, I'll update.

Classes are good, the pace is picking up a little bit which is nice.

I've attached a picture of my lovely camel, Henry/Henrietta. Not sure of the sex, but it was a good companion for 4 hours through the Wadi Rum mountains, and it'll be sorely missed.

Although I miss my puppies back home much more... Dogs are almost non-existent here, and the feral cat population just doesn't compare.

Pictures!

On the "4 Wheeler"!

I'm back!

Sorry that my internet is just absolutely horrendous: I haven't had access in a little while. I'm in a lovely little cafe that caters to foreigners, eating a plain margherita pizza. Life is good.

But I've also just had a crazy crazy weekend. We visited Petra, Aqaba and Wadi Rum, which are all great tourist sites in the South. Petra, with its ancient Roman ruins and great natural scenery and caverns, was amazing. It was exhausting hiking all day, but well worth it to go all the way to the Monastery, which was quite a hike. From one spot, a little bit more of a hike beyond that, was called "The End of the World", a mountain top where we were could see Israel beyond in the mountains. That night, we learned how to cook traditional Jordanian food, which our host families have been making for us, from a restaurant called "Petra Kitchen" there. The food was definitely welcome, although my slight dislike for Middle Eastern food before coming to Jordan has only gotten worse.

We slept in this great Bedouin camp ground under the stars that night, which was beautiful. Before, we sat with a few other Americans, actually from Chicago, having tea and swapping stories. It was a great night to lay out, especially in this camp hidden in a canyon-ish place. Around midnight, while we were staying up talking despite being exhausted, the moon finally crested the mountain next to us, illuminating all the ground around us. It was incredible.

Then, we had an early morning and drove to Aqaba the next day to enjoy the Dead Sea. From the boat we went on, we could see Israel across the sea, it was so surreal. We just enjoyed the boat for awhile, and some went snorkling to look at the coral. It was a great great day with wonderful weather, and we enjoyed some local fish in a restaurant nearby

That afternoon, we had what I would arguably say is one of the ten most bizarre experiences I have ever had (included in this list is getting picked up by the Mexican border police for getting lost walking in the median of the freeway, as well as a strange mega church encounter in Kansas City). We were told we were going 4 wheeling through the mountains of Wadi Rum to another traditional Bedouin camp we were staying that night. False. Sooooo false.

Our 4 wheelers? Junky 80s Toyota 4 wheel drive pick up trucks. They had benches with foam attached (see picture), wired, yes, wired to the truck. And off we went, driving through the desert: it was awesome. Especially because our driver was a little crazy, with a need for speed and a drive to beat the other trucks. We'd occasionally drive up sand dunes and loose traction, but it was all part of the fun.

Eventually, we made it to the camp, after an incredible desert sunset. We had a, surprisingly good, Bedouin dinner with great great great watermelon. They actually have watermelon with seeds, unlike America's horrendous, seedless fruit. We enjoyed another great night under the stars.

Next day, we spent on a four hour long camel ride. Now, it was a little unnecessarily long... but definitely an experience. We saw more of the mountains and saw some ancient drawings all around.

Ok, that was a pretty long post... Hopefully it won't be too long until I get to write again. Classes are kinda boring, but hopefully they'll be pick up soon. Starting on Friday, we have 10 days off for the Eid, which marks the end of Ramadan, so my friends and I are hopefully planning a big trip. I'll share details soon :)

Not eating from sun-up to sun-down... Not healthy.

It's been awhile since I last wrote, but the past week has just been way too busy. Classes have finally settled into a routine, and I've somewhat gotten used to walking all the way from the south campus engineering buildings to the north campus education building. My Arab media class has been really fun, but all of my classes are challenging, since they're only taught in Arabic.

I've been to three weddings now, and each is more crazy and different from the last. I was forced into an awkward photo op by the photographer with the bride at the last one: I guess the photographer thought that having a little American girl in one of the pictures would show the "diversity" of the attendees. Since when did adding a white girl add diversity??

I'm still adjusting to the lack of food during the day... I'll occasionally sneak snacks, but most of the day, I just don't have a place or time to eat. Thankfully, that'll all be over in two weeks when I can eat during the day again! The McDonald's across the street looks sooo tempting. Plus, then my classes will be spread more throughout the day, instead of concentrated earlier when everyone hasn't lost focus from lack of food or drink.

But my host family's wonderful, so so nice. Since the mom teaches Arabic as a second language here, she's been really helpful. My only problem is convincing them when I'm not hungry! There's always more and more food, and refusing food here is a sign of you disliking it. But I'm eating more than either of my host parents are! Hopefully, it'll all fall into a rhythm soon.

I've been heading over to this Western-style cafe called "Books@Cafe" for an occasional escape. They serve food and drink all day, the only restaurant/cafe/anything I've found that does this so far. They also have Internet, which I lack at home, and plenty of plugs, so it's been great for getting homework done that I couldn't get done at home.

Wrong Building, Wrong Time.

Today was the third day of classes, and it's still impossible to navigate UJ's campus, although it's getting better. Our class schedules have been changed three or four times, with buildings being incorrect, times being incorrect, but hopefully it's mostly settled. Today, we tried to find classroom 114; after being befuddled as to why there was no 114 between 113 and 115, we realized even numbered classes were on the other side of the floor. After switching over to the other side, we found 114 to be locked. We called our program's studies director: apparently, it was supposed to be -114: as in, in the basement.

But classes are fine, a little draining, especially now that our language pledge has taken affect and we're not supposed to speak anything but Arabic, which of course isn't totally happening... My contemporary Arab media class today was good. Hopefully, the pace of the program won't be too difficult. They said it would begin slowly, so I'm understanding most of what the teachers are saying now, but I'm a little nervous for when the real classes begin.

Hopefully, it'll be no problem.


Just wanted to add this link (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203706604574377163804387216.html). The Wall Street Journal and NY Times have been my escape from everything lately. Fantastic article.