I didn’t follow the debt crisis action one bit, not even one itsy-bitsy tiny bit. Instead, as a gift for my 60th birthday, I went with my sister last week to visit my daughter in Jordan. She’s lived there for eight years and this is the first time I’ve ever been. It was the trip of a lifetime! I got to meet her new in-laws, ride a camel, take a self-defense lesson from a world champion Jordanian jiu-jitzu martial artist (who happens to be my daughter’s new husband), and float in the Dead Sea. We spent time in Amman, the Wadi Rum, Petra, and on the Dead Sea. It was truly the trip of a lifetime!
A few reflections and then the pics. The food in Jordan is incredibly good. Seriously, I would have stayed just for the food! Also, as an American Southerner raised to practice hospitality, I thought we were pretty good at it down here. Well, let me tell you, American Southerners got nothing on Jordanians when it comes to hospitality. Everywhere we went we were treated with amazing courtesy and everyone was happy to go out of their way to help when we needed it, even if we didn’t know we needed it!
We were there for the Independence Day celebration last Wednesday. The country gets spruced up each year for that celebration, but this year they were going several extra miles in the sprucing effort because on June 1st the crown prince is getting married. There were great big signs with a picture of him and his fiancé everywhere we looked.
How did my daughter get to Jordan, you ask? Well, when she graduated from college, she got a grant to go start a soccer club for girls in what the Jordanians refer to as occupied Palestine and what the Israelis refer to as the West Bank. Throughout college she had spent time there and had developed a concern for the plight of the Palestinians living there. Apparently the Israeli government was none too pleased with the work she was trying to do and kicked her out of the country for five years not too long after she started the soccer club. She retreated to Amman to decide what to do next, got a job that led to her becoming something of an expert on Syria, and has been there ever since.
Back when she got that grant right after graduation, she had to raise money to cover expenses that the grant didn’t. I posted a diary at the time asking for help, and the response was overwhelming. I can’t help but think that the Daily Kos community played a significant role in setting up the series of circumstances that made my trip last week possible. Y’all are the greatest. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Okay, here are the pics. Enjoy!
Camp in the desert
Sunset at Wadi Rum
Getting ready for the ride on the camels with one of our Bedouin guides
Dad handed him the baby so he could get off the camel. Daddy vibes radiated from this gentle guide like crazy!
The Treasury at Petra
Colorful rocks at Petra. Red=iron, white=potassium, blue-magnesium, yellow=sulfur, green=copper. Spectacular in person!
The spot where Jesus was baptized, according to the Jordanians. The Israeli’s say it was on the other side of the river a few hundred yards away.
Floating in the Dead Sea. What a feeling! I’ll warn you, though, you don’t want to get this water in your eyes or mouth. (Don’t ask me how I know.)
The granddog.
And the camp cat.