Wadi Rum

The past few days have been indescribable. The most amazing thing I did was go to Wadi Rum. I have wanted to go to Wadi Rum for a while now but there are no busses and it is difficult to get to. Well, fortunately, another volunteer had friends visiting from the states and arranged a trip for us all to go.
We got to Rum in the morning and had a 4 hour Jeep tour of the area. The Wadi Rum desert, most famous for being the home of Lawrence of Arabia, is so vast that in the whole 4 hour tour… we only ran into another tour group once. It truly is like nowhere I have ever seen before.
Then we came back and took an hour camel trek. I had not been on a camel yet so this was also another first. A camel is fun to ride (quite tall) but man, getting on and off is no easy feat!
That evening we went to a bait shahar (traditional bedoin goat hair tent) and camped out under the stars. The volunteers on the trip actually decided we didn't want to sleep in the "comforts" of the tent and, instead, took the farshas (mats) up the hill and slept on the top of a cliff. Let me just tell you, when we got up at 5am the next morning to watch the sunrise over the desert… well, nothing will ever compare.
I got back home and another volunteer had a cousin visiting her and she was staying at the Movenpick in Wadi Mousa (one of the 5 star hotels) so I am down for the afternoon visiting her and relaxing by the pool.
All and all, a great few days. As for the wadi rum trip… I have uploaded a million pictures and videos. One in particular that may be of interest. In wadi rum we hiked up a very tall, steep sand dune. Well, once at the top of a tall, steep sand dune… I know of only one fun way down… BARREL ROLL!!! So there is a great video of me rolling (like a sandy idiot) down the sand dune… might want to check it out!

Long time, no write

Hey All,
Sorry I have been so bad about posting recently. Times have been BUSY BUSY BUSY!!! Between the end of the school year, preparing for the new J10 arrivals, and just generally trying to fit everything in to the last two months I have left, life has gotten hectic.
Lets see, life is going well... i will FINALLY be going to wadi rum (it is right near me, and I have never been) next weekend and I am in Amman this week trying to put together all the materials we have gotten for the new volunteers coming in.
In addition, I finally got around to buying two argilas (water pipes) which are BEAUTIFUL! If you come to my welcome home party, we will definitely be smoking the argila!
Anyway, i posted a TON of new pictures and new videos... however, I know my picture section has, once again, gotten out of control... so I wanted to let you know the new folders.
The folders are titled "Amazing wedding pictures by Andy" which, are just that. Andy, another volunteer, is an amazing photographer so finally got pics of josh and jens' wedding from him.
Also new folders are "Melissa's birthday bonanza", "Jolene and Bill's family visits" (which are the mormons in our area) and "Last days of school".
So, please do enjoy and i will be sure to post pictures of wadi rum after that trip.

And the wedding continues

Well, today was the village wedding! It was AMAZING! Ok, so there has to be a small hitch to everything, and this is no exception.
Abu Aiman's family was going to prepare lunch for the volunteers which were coming down (15 of them) but when they arrived there were 10 extra jordanians (abu nehad and family) and so Abu Aiman got mad at me cause I hadn't told him.
Needless to say, I was tired (i'd been helping with cooking for 3 hours) and so i kind of blew up at him. I told him he could do whatever he wanted (invite them or not invite them) but I was done with it and he could do whatever he wanted that didn't involve getting mad at me!
We ate, and went to the wedding (which involved the women and men being separate... the men dancing and the women sitting) and came home.
But the one thing that made me feel better... is when I said goodbye to the girls abu aiman came outside and apologized. He told me he was just upset at being caught off guard and surprised but wasn't mad at me and was sorry he took out his frustrations at me.
Well, I was floored.... for an older man to apologize to a younger woman is almost unheard of (due to pride) so it was quite impressive.
Tomorrow I will go with Josh and his family to Amman and then have a meeting sunday morning and then back to the village sunday afternoon. Boy, am I looking forward to a weekend at home... smile!

JOSH IS MARRIED!!!

So, the long awaited day arrived. Josh and Jen got married! It was a such a wedding full of joy because it is apparent just how right the two of them are for each other and how much they love each other! We should all be so lucky in life.
Josh's family came over and, I've said it to him but I'll say it here too, next to my own family, his is quite truly the nicest family I have ever met. Everyone from his grandparents to his siblings, cousins, and especially parents and just so warm and loving!
The wedding went off without a hitch (well, a minor one... his brother jonathan, best man, passed out during the ceremony... but don't worry... someone caught him and he went down gracefully...smile)
Then we went back to the hotel our conference was at (the wedding was over at 5:30 and the reception didn't start till 8:30) and all the girls got dressed up for the night out!
We went to the hotel and danced, ate and celebrated till 1am! One of the funniest things was seeing our country director get up and dance to "Its Raining Men". It was truly a night I will never forget.
And so Josh and Jen will come down to the village for their village wedding and then head on their honeymoon and back home! It is hard for me to envision a Jordan without Josh and Jen in it, as Josh has become such an important person to me. But I know they will be happy and I will be in touch with them whatever the future may bring.