So my many apologies for not updating for awhile....but the week of my birthday, the first week of March, a truly unfortunate and eye opening event occurred: my host family did not have internet. Unfortunate and eye opening why? Because I learned I really have became dependent on the internet, both for keeping in touch with friends, the news, and just general nonsense things. It's kinda embarrassing to admit, but it really was a difficult week for me, to come home and not have internet. On the bright side, I spent lots of time watching tv with my host family, so we got some good quality time in.
Anyway, enough with about my vices.....now about my time here! So last time I posted it was about going to see the Biblical sights of Jordan. Well, the weekend after that, my friends and I decided it was about time for us to go to the beach.....Aqaba! And the time could not have been better.....our plan was to leave Thursday and come back Saturday (remember the week is Sun-Thurs). Well that Wednesday Amman got the beginning of a significant snowstorm (relatively speaking....it was still typical Rochester weather for me). Classes were canceled on Thursday, so we decided to take advantage of that and get on an earlier bus out of Amman before the snow kept us here (we did end up on I think the only bus that left Amman).
So, we left Amman looking like this:
And got to Aqaba looking like this:
So even though Aqaba was a little cooler and cloudier than normal, we welcomed the sun and lack of snow. So Aqaba is Jordan's port city, and sits directly on the Red Sea, across from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt (on clear days you can see all three countries....because of the clouds, we could only ever see Israel, just a brisk swim away).
Going to Aqaba was a welcome change from the routine....first, we were getting out of Amman, and second, we were going it by ourselves...no CIEE staff or tour groups to herd us around. Our hotel was a couple minutes walk from the public beach (where we stayed fully clothed....public beaches in Jordan, and especially Aqaba-which is actually more conservative than Amman-attract the locals, so things can get awkward when you have a bunch of Americans wandering around in bikinis.)
That night we went out and had a girls night out in Aqaba. We slept in the next day and got a tasty lunch nearby and headed out to the beach. After getting stared at and taking in the sights (as well as being proposed to by our taxi driver) we found a Lonely Planet approved cafe, and sat, ate, and smoked hookah for a couple of hours.
Now the reason we picked this weekend to go, was because there was another big thing happening: Dead2Red: an uber marathon where crazy people, in teams of ten, run from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea....something crazy like 200km. They had 24 hours to complete the race.....4 groups of CIEE students signed up to do the race (we later told them how slow they were, we made it to Aqaba in just 5 hours....they took around 20. slow pokes). So they got in on Friday. We decided to crash the Movenpick hotel, where they had a banquet and we splurged on a snazzy meal, in order to see some of our friends.
We went to bed early that night to get up early the next day and go to the south beach of Aqaba...another public beach, but one more 'tourist friendly' aka bathing suits fine. It was such a beautiful day, no one wanted to leave for snowy Amman. Everything about the beach was perfect (except for the fact that it was jelly-fish infested, which totally freaked me out when all of a sudden my friend and I were surrounded by them....it was only after I had screamed and sprinted out of the water that my friends told me that they didn't sting. Thank's guys).
See that purple thing in my reflection? Jellyfish.
But alas, back to cold Amman we went. But, then it was the week of my birthday! On Wednesday, my host family got me a delicious chocolate cake and I went to a club close to where I live for 'ladies night' with some friends. Tamer than turning 21, but nonetheless fun :)
Last weekend, was CIEE trip to Jerash and Um Qais...two well preserved Roman cities. Just like walking around the ampitheatre in Amman, it was great to walk, touch, and pose with the old columns and stone foundations that used to be major cities of the Roman Empire. Also, the weather: absolutely perfect! Blue blue skies, moderate temperatures, and lots of sun! It made walking through the cities that much more exciting, where all of the greenery (Jordan is much greener than I ever imagined it to be) and flowers shone brightly from the sun. What was also amazing was the contrast of old and new; both cities have modern, urban cities now....built around the remains of the ruins. We could stand on some pillars or in the ampitheatre and look out onto the grey pillars, but behind them were white new houses, apartments, and stores. America has alot.....but it truly does lack in it's historical preservation.
. But, I'll be seeing her again soon! For my spring break I am going to Beirut and then Cairo! Less than two weeks until that adventure!
Anyway, enough with about my vices.....now about my time here! So last time I posted it was about going to see the Biblical sights of Jordan. Well, the weekend after that, my friends and I decided it was about time for us to go to the beach.....Aqaba! And the time could not have been better.....our plan was to leave Thursday and come back Saturday (remember the week is Sun-Thurs). Well that Wednesday Amman got the beginning of a significant snowstorm (relatively speaking....it was still typical Rochester weather for me). Classes were canceled on Thursday, so we decided to take advantage of that and get on an earlier bus out of Amman before the snow kept us here (we did end up on I think the only bus that left Amman).
So, we left Amman looking like this:
And got to Aqaba looking like this:
So even though Aqaba was a little cooler and cloudier than normal, we welcomed the sun and lack of snow. So Aqaba is Jordan's port city, and sits directly on the Red Sea, across from Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt (on clear days you can see all three countries....because of the clouds, we could only ever see Israel, just a brisk swim away).
Going to Aqaba was a welcome change from the routine....first, we were getting out of Amman, and second, we were going it by ourselves...no CIEE staff or tour groups to herd us around. Our hotel was a couple minutes walk from the public beach (where we stayed fully clothed....public beaches in Jordan, and especially Aqaba-which is actually more conservative than Amman-attract the locals, so things can get awkward when you have a bunch of Americans wandering around in bikinis.)
That night we went out and had a girls night out in Aqaba. We slept in the next day and got a tasty lunch nearby and headed out to the beach. After getting stared at and taking in the sights (as well as being proposed to by our taxi driver) we found a Lonely Planet approved cafe, and sat, ate, and smoked hookah for a couple of hours.
Now the reason we picked this weekend to go, was because there was another big thing happening: Dead2Red: an uber marathon where crazy people, in teams of ten, run from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea....something crazy like 200km. They had 24 hours to complete the race.....4 groups of CIEE students signed up to do the race (we later told them how slow they were, we made it to Aqaba in just 5 hours....they took around 20. slow pokes). So they got in on Friday. We decided to crash the Movenpick hotel, where they had a banquet and we splurged on a snazzy meal, in order to see some of our friends.
We went to bed early that night to get up early the next day and go to the south beach of Aqaba...another public beach, but one more 'tourist friendly' aka bathing suits fine. It was such a beautiful day, no one wanted to leave for snowy Amman. Everything about the beach was perfect (except for the fact that it was jelly-fish infested, which totally freaked me out when all of a sudden my friend and I were surrounded by them....it was only after I had screamed and sprinted out of the water that my friends told me that they didn't sting. Thank's guys).
But alas, back to cold Amman we went. But, then it was the week of my birthday! On Wednesday, my host family got me a delicious chocolate cake and I went to a club close to where I live for 'ladies night' with some friends. Tamer than turning 21, but nonetheless fun :)
Last weekend, was CIEE trip to Jerash and Um Qais...two well preserved Roman cities. Just like walking around the ampitheatre in Amman, it was great to walk, touch, and pose with the old columns and stone foundations that used to be major cities of the Roman Empire. Also, the weather: absolutely perfect! Blue blue skies, moderate temperatures, and lots of sun! It made walking through the cities that much more exciting, where all of the greenery (Jordan is much greener than I ever imagined it to be) and flowers shone brightly from the sun. What was also amazing was the contrast of old and new; both cities have modern, urban cities now....built around the remains of the ruins. We could stand on some pillars or in the ampitheatre and look out onto the grey pillars, but behind them were white new houses, apartments, and stores. America has alot.....but it truly does lack in it's historical preservation.
My last update for this blog is my visitor: Macarena!!! Macarena is one of my best friends from college, even though we haven't been at the same college since Fall 2010. Yes, this girl decided to study abroad in Egypt Spring 2011....but when the Revolution erupted, she was evacuated out and finished her study abroad in Morocco. In love and devoted to Egypt, she went back in the Fall to study at American University of Cairo...but then after those American students were arrested, AU shut down their abroad program there. So now she is studying in Cairo through AMIDEAST. This past week was her spring break, so she came to visit Jerusalem, Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem. Afterwards, she came to Amman and stayed with me and my host family. Seeing her for three days was great....even though the weather switched back to horrible. We didn't get to do much sight seeing because of the constant downpour (and more tourist things in Amman are outside), but we did the best we could and caught up on our times abroad.
. But, I'll be seeing her again soon! For my spring break I am going to Beirut and then Cairo! Less than two weeks until that adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment