Welcome to the Holy Land

You know that moment when you get a call that tosses your world into a tailspin?  March 12, 2013 was that day for me.  It's 5:40 p.m. and I'm getting ready to go meet my mom for dinner at her new favorite spot, The Protein Bar, and my former boss calls me and asks what I'm doing for the next six months.  Hadn't really planned it out that far, why?  I need you to go to Jordan.  And here I am.  One week, 48 hours' clearance time to pack, 1.5 suitcases, and a 12 month supply of Dentyne later, I've been in Jordan for about 6 weeks.

Packing in a short period of time is no sweat for me - I basically know what I will need, but the idea of moving to the Middle East is a new one!  I've never been farther east than Zanzibar, and now here I am in the land where Jesus was born and baptized.  The first thing I needed to know was how people dress here - which I can now tell you is cool, fashionable, and covered.  Nobody is wearing tank tops or shorts, not even skirts above the knee.  Second question - what sort of weather are we talking about?  Well, the first few weeks were rainy and cold (meaning 50 degrees and a rainstorm every couple of days), but I think we have successfully moved into warm weather now - about 80 every day, and sunny!

Jordan is beautiful and peaceful and safe and calm.  It's the one neutral spot in the middle of the Arab Spring.  There may be protests on Friday afternoons, but they are not about to overthrow any government.  People are welcoming and warm, the food is incredible (imagine fresh hommous every day for lunch), and there is a lot to see!  Everywhere you look is an ancient Roman ruin or a piece of old Byzantine architecture.  Did you know that the Mongols got all the way to Jordan?  It's true.  In the past few weeks, I've gotten out to see the amphitheater in Amman, the Dead Sea, Petra, Jerash, and Ajloun.  There is so much to do here - I feel like each weekend needs to include some new adventure.  And yes, I know just being overseas should be enough adventure - but of course it never is!

This is the Dead Sea - definitely, do NOT drink the water.

Here's Petra, the beautiful rose colored Roman city, cut out of rocks.  And featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. 

 And here is Jerash, another roman ruin - this is Hadrian's arch. Hadrian marked the corners of his empire by an arch and a wall (in Scotland).

Just a mosaic hanging out on the ground - for everyone to see, probably hundreds of years old.

I loved Ajloun - an ancient byzantine and Arab fortress at the top of a jebel in the heart of northern Jordan.  It's like every castle you ever wanted to explore as a little kid - complete with a moat, catapolt boulders, slits for flaming arrow shots, and spaces for boiling oil to be poured over evil intruders. 

And the beautifuly countryside in Jordan - can you see the olive groves that are giving me such bad allergies right now?