Trippin in the Desert

Look! I'm in the desert! 

So last weekend, CIEE took students who signed up, on a trip to the south of Jordan: Wadi Rum and Petra. Wadi Rum is a famous, large desert in Jordan, full of dunes, mountains, and Bedouin tribes. The Bedouin are the nomadic peoples of Jordan, who still live in camel skin tents, ride camels, shepherd sheep and goats etc..

So Friday morning we went off to Wadi Rum. On our way, though, I witnessed a goat crossing: 

We got to the Visitor's Center around lunchtime, so we ate and watched a quick film on Wadi Rum. After we went outside and  took pictures of our first glimpse of the desert! We were able to see the "7 Pillars of Wisdom," which if you've seen Lawrence of Arabia (I have not, so I'm taking peoples word for this), I guess it was featured prominently:

We were then taken to some Toyota 4 by 4's, with benches installed on the back, so that 6 people could sit there, while our drivers took us around the desert. We first stopped at this large dune and climbed up to get our first view of the desert from above:

 

After this, we went to another dune/mountain and climbed around for awhile. Yes, there was lots of climbing and hiking on this trip (I was sore for days after). The view was really beautiful, and it was so fun to just climb around in the desert! 

Well, after this is when the trip starting getting interesting (and colder). We drove a little while longer to a spot where Bedouins were waiting for us, with camels. Now, this is my first time riding a camel. I didn't realize how  enormous these animals are! Standing next to my camel, which was crouched on the ground, it's back was as high as my chest. I had no idea how I was supposed to get on this animal, and my Bedouin leader (the camels were strung together in groups of two or three, with a Bedouin on the ground leading it) was helping my friends. So I swung my leg over, awkwardly....

I grabbed onto the hold on the saddle (I guess you could call if it a saddle?), and tried to hoist myself all the way over. In the meantime, my friends behind me were already on their camels. So the leader got their camels to stand up. My camel decided that this was also the time she should stand up. Me? I was still halfway off, with one foot on the ground. So please picture this scenario:

Camel standing six feet tall in the air. Me halfway on the animal, screaming/laughing for dear life, as I'm dangling sideways. Our Bedouin leader rushed over, and I desperately pulled myself the rest of the way up, but still feeling extremely off balance.So the next hour and half or so, I clung onto my camel, praying she wouldn't buck me off. After awhile, I was handed the reigns, so I clung to those also, while adding an extra prayer that she wouldn't run off now that her handler was out of sight. Thankfully, nothing more traumatizing happened. I would definitely try out camels again, but maybe this time, without the rocky beginning. 

But we had arrived safe and sound to the Bedouin camp where we were to stay the night. Of course 'Bedouin' here means 'Egyptians running a tourist Bedouin camp in the middle of the desert.' Same thing right? Anyway, we all put our stuff in our tents, which were equipped with beds, matresses, and blankets. Afterwards, we hiked up the mountain next to the camp to witness a desert sunset:

The rest of the night was spent drinking tea, hanging out with friends, complaining about how cold it was getting, and smoking hookah. My friends and I started to wander outside of the camp a little bit, but they turned the lights off, and woooow does the desert all look the same, especially at night! So we turned around and got changed into our layers and layers of clothes for the night. I had on two pairs of socks, leggings, flannel pajama pants, underarmor, a tank top, a long sleeved shirt, and a sweater. Then I snuggled underneath 3 thick blankets. The result?

No sleep. It was still extremely cold, and my body just could not relax in those conditions. So, minimal sleep was had and we all awoke bright and early, at 6:30 am the next morning to head off to Petra, the ancient city carved  into mountains!

Petra was pretty much alot of walking and examining both man made wonders, and natural wonders in the mountains:

En Route to the city

The famous Treasury! 

Oh god, another camel

I had an extreme obsession with how blue the sky was! 

Some of the natural beauty 

Halfway up the 900 steps, to see the monastery 

Monastery! 

Like I said, there was soo much walking involved, I was sore for days after. But it was totally worth it. Easily the best weekend I've had here. Even though I was a tourist for all of it, the experience I had in the desert was so much fun and I got to see so much, so many wonders that America can't even try to offer (or Europe for that matter).

Now it's back to school. I also have an internship with an organization called 'Reclaim Childhood' which runs sports programs for Iraqi and Palestinian (and now Syrian) refugee girls. I'm excited to work with them and contribute as much as I can!