...although i am back in kuwait (back to school today - sunday), i wanted to finish off with some thoughts of my trip to jordan...
...the last day was spent having lunch at a lovely outdoor cafe that was part of the dana reserve...an organization that tries to promote and conserve the areas and artifacts of the reserve...the cafe overlooked the city of amman and serves only healthy alternative meals... i had a wonderful salad with strawberries and walnuts in a honey mustard dressing...i had dessert too (of course) but being at a natural health food restaurant, it left something to be desired as you can imagine...
...after lunch, i spent some more money buying some crafts from the gift shop at the reserve...all of which came from artifacts from the area made by bedouins...beautiful and not exhorbitantly priced...nice souvenirs...
...haitham drove briana, christina and i around a bit more...we were told that the best place to get dead sea products was at safeway, yes, the grocery store...as far as price goes so of course, we went there...we all bought a few things...we had stopped at a 'factory' in macaba and were told that they had the best prices for the dead sea products...NOT SO MUCH...anyway, safeway got some of our last jordanian money...
...our final stop was at a cafe that we had gone to a few nights earlier...we sat inside at first and then outside overlooking the street below to people watch and drink some shay (pronounced shy...translated tea)...and of course we ate pizza...i know, crazy...but yummy!!...
...back to the toledo hotel where we had a day room until check out at 11 p.m. to make our way to the airport...arriving at the airport, we were informed that we had to wait until 1:30 a.m. to check in...so we sat around and chatted and ate junk food until that time...check in and boarding were uneventful...and then we were on the plane winging our way back to kuwait...it was bitter sweet to say good-bye to haitham...he had been a breath of fresh air on our trip and SO INFORMATIVE...what a wonderful young man!!...
...we arrived on time in kuwait, got our bags and a taxi back to our building...what a contrast to go from one relatively liberal middle eastern country to a very strict one...the contrast in topography was also very evident...jordan has such a mix of mountains, desert, trees, water, etc. whereas kuwait is very flat and mostly desert with the gulf as only one highlight...BUT for now it is 'home' and i use that term VERY loosely...that's all for now...will try to upload some pictures soon...tata for now...
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea cont'd
...the second day in petra was for me an r & r day...lounging by the pool (wonderful) but then plans changed...our jordanian guide, haitham, decided that we needed to experience an overnight in the desert...wadi rum...so briana and i (up for yet another jordanian adventure) trundled off to the desert...these mountains are really interesting because they are not full of trees and rocks like in the rockies but are just mounds of hardened sand with all kinds of shapes, nooks and crannies carved into them...
...we arrived at our desert camp 'palm camp' at about 4 in the afternoon...these camp is run by bedouins and is a series of tents, some made out of goat's hair, some canvas, some palm leaves...we were in a canvas tent...there was a large lounging area that had 'couches' of some sort with pillows and other types of arm rests (somewhat reminiscent of the roman times where they lounged around...only we had no one to feed us grapes, the eating area was also in a big tent which was covered and had sides but the one side was open...there were tables and chairs but very rustic...
...we lounged around for a while and then haitham arranged for us to take a jeep (which actually turned out to be a pick up truck where we sat on a bench in the back) out to see the sunset...the sand was very red in places and we tried climbing up the side of one of the mountains about knee deep in sand...my knees didn't last long so i let the 'younguns' go for it and then took pictures of haitham as he rolled down the hill...boys will be boys!!...we saw the sun set with its reflection of the red sand...beautiful and then sat on a sand dune listening to the quiet...very peaceful and serene...our truck driver, i found out after having a little conversation with him (translated by haitham) was a 17 year old bedouin named absalom...i asked him if he had a girlfriend but he just smiled and said he was looking for a foreigner to be his wife...i asked him if he would like to move away from wadi rum and again with his smiling face, he answered that it was his destiny to be there and he accepted that...i asked him many more questions, one of which was whether or not he goes to school...the answer NO...another was what does he eat...his family eats dates, camels milk and bread...everyday, every meal!!!...seems pretty boring to me but he said it was a very healthy diet and one he likes...he likes driving the truck for the foreigners and he seems pretty happy with his simple existence...we should all live such a simple life!!...after driving up and down a few more dunes, we returned to get ready for dinner...
...dinner consisted of meat that was cooked underground on a grate inside a large can and then covered with sand...very interesting and very delicious...the remainder of the meal consisted of rice, vegetables, and hummous...i didn't mention but haitham got us an incredible deal for this trip...15 jordanian dinars...about equivalent to $22 canadian...everything we did on that trip was a 'deal' thanks to haitham and his contacts...
...after dinner we sat over in the lounge area and chatted until about midnight...night time in the camp was especially lovely because they had lights in various holes in the mountains that looked like stars...so beautiful...just before midnight, we were given an oil lamp and told that the lights would be going out soon...when that happened it was VERY DARK but the stars were magnificent...reminiscent of being in northern ontario...something you miss out on in the city...
...sleeping there was a little difficult because there were dogs barking, tent noises and just a slight eery feeling of being out in the wild...however, i did sleep for a while until nature called and i had to step outside the tent and....well you know...
...in the morning, we climbed one of the smaller mountains by the camp and then went for a walk...not many places to go in the desert...after a short walk, i returned to sit in the lounge area and do some crosswords and enjoy the peace and tranquility...we had some lunch and then our driver (a colleague of haitham's) came to drive us to the dead sea...
...that drive turned out to be extended as haitham thought we should stop by aquaba on the red sea to see the beach...he pointed out that from that vantage point we could see israel and egypt side by side...the whole arab/jewish conflict is so evident even though jordan is neutral and tries to be friends with all nations...their late king hussein was a champion for peace while he was alive...
...somehow, again through haitham's negotiations, we ended up on a glass bottom boat, driven by a small, weathered, chain-smoking jordanian who had the brownest teeth i have ever seen (what teeth he had left)...unfortunately, our short time in aquaba turned into about 2.5 hours because we kept going out farther and farther to try to see some fish in this glass bottomed boat...unsuccessful...but we did manage to get drenched on the way back because the sea was quite rough...this was such a 'male/female' conflict...each time we got hit with a wave, haitham was in gales of laughter and briana and i were cowering in the middle of the boat grimacing as we sat covered in salty sea water...the 'captain' was apologetic but we knew he had no control over the waves...finally we arrived back at the dock and we continued on our way to the dead sea...which took about another 3 hours...i was so bored by the time we got to the marriott but chocked it up to 'another jordanian adventure'...
...the marriott was AMAZING...gorgeous hotel with 3 pools overlooking the dead sea...the other ladies had got there about 4 hours ahead of us so they had already been floating in the sea as well as had booked some spa appointments for the next day...the spa was a little bit of heaven with wonderful therapeutic smells that caressed your senses on entering the place...i booked a dead sea mud wrap envelopment... i was really looking forward to that new experience...
...we all ate dinner together at an italian restaurant...good but not exceptional...and after walking around the grounds for a while, headed to bed...i was exhausted from all the sea wind and water from earlier on...sleep came quickly and was welcomed...
...next morning (wednesday)we had a breakfast buffet and then took a van ride to mount nebo (site of where moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness foreshadowing christ on the cross - very inspiring)...we went into a church there and witnessed a mass being held in french, i lit a candle in memory of mom and other departed friends and relatives, took some pictures and tried not to get blown off the mountain...incredible gale force winds up there that day...next stop was macaba where the others were interested in seeing the mosaics for which the area is famous...i bought a few things at one of the little shops and then we continued on to our last stop which was the original site of Jesus' baptism...that was really interesting and reminded me of a song that i used to sing entitled, "i walked today where Jesus walked'...such a meaningful place to be for Christians...it made me want, even more, to go to the holy land...something which will have to be done AFTER my time in kuwait because i couldn't get back into kuwait if i had been to israel...on maps in kuwait, israel is blacked out as if it doesn't exist...hmmmm!!...
...getting back to the site of the baptism...the original site was a big empty hole because the river jordan is dried up there but we were taken to the current site and saw the river there...it still is as dirty as the Bible talks about it...across the banks of the Jordan we could see israel...so near and yet so far...someday i will go there...
...after returning to the hotel, we went for a float in the dead sea...the lowest point on earth...343 metres below sea level...the amount of salt in the sea is incredible and not something you want to get in your eyes or mouth...VERY SALTY...very hard to not float...lots of fun...at one point we floated over to some stairs where they had a huge pot of mud which of course we applied to our bodies...we looked like dark green monsters...and, yes, we took pictures...
...briana, christina and i had a snack, then some ice cream and then i went to the spa for my mud treatment...a new favourite spa treatment for me...it was so relaxing...i first was scrubbed with olive oil and salt to exfoliate, then showered, then had the mud applied all over including my face...then i was wrapped in plastic and heated blankets and then left to rest for about 15 minutes...wonderful...
...briana and i went back into amman to experience some jordanian night life with our jordanian guide...fun...but the reality of our vacation coming to an end was beginning to hit home...
...must sign off for now but will continue later...
...we arrived at our desert camp 'palm camp' at about 4 in the afternoon...these camp is run by bedouins and is a series of tents, some made out of goat's hair, some canvas, some palm leaves...we were in a canvas tent...there was a large lounging area that had 'couches' of some sort with pillows and other types of arm rests (somewhat reminiscent of the roman times where they lounged around...only we had no one to feed us grapes, the eating area was also in a big tent which was covered and had sides but the one side was open...there were tables and chairs but very rustic...
...we lounged around for a while and then haitham arranged for us to take a jeep (which actually turned out to be a pick up truck where we sat on a bench in the back) out to see the sunset...the sand was very red in places and we tried climbing up the side of one of the mountains about knee deep in sand...my knees didn't last long so i let the 'younguns' go for it and then took pictures of haitham as he rolled down the hill...boys will be boys!!...we saw the sun set with its reflection of the red sand...beautiful and then sat on a sand dune listening to the quiet...very peaceful and serene...our truck driver, i found out after having a little conversation with him (translated by haitham) was a 17 year old bedouin named absalom...i asked him if he had a girlfriend but he just smiled and said he was looking for a foreigner to be his wife...i asked him if he would like to move away from wadi rum and again with his smiling face, he answered that it was his destiny to be there and he accepted that...i asked him many more questions, one of which was whether or not he goes to school...the answer NO...another was what does he eat...his family eats dates, camels milk and bread...everyday, every meal!!!...seems pretty boring to me but he said it was a very healthy diet and one he likes...he likes driving the truck for the foreigners and he seems pretty happy with his simple existence...we should all live such a simple life!!...after driving up and down a few more dunes, we returned to get ready for dinner...
...dinner consisted of meat that was cooked underground on a grate inside a large can and then covered with sand...very interesting and very delicious...the remainder of the meal consisted of rice, vegetables, and hummous...i didn't mention but haitham got us an incredible deal for this trip...15 jordanian dinars...about equivalent to $22 canadian...everything we did on that trip was a 'deal' thanks to haitham and his contacts...
...after dinner we sat over in the lounge area and chatted until about midnight...night time in the camp was especially lovely because they had lights in various holes in the mountains that looked like stars...so beautiful...just before midnight, we were given an oil lamp and told that the lights would be going out soon...when that happened it was VERY DARK but the stars were magnificent...reminiscent of being in northern ontario...something you miss out on in the city...
...sleeping there was a little difficult because there were dogs barking, tent noises and just a slight eery feeling of being out in the wild...however, i did sleep for a while until nature called and i had to step outside the tent and....well you know...
...in the morning, we climbed one of the smaller mountains by the camp and then went for a walk...not many places to go in the desert...after a short walk, i returned to sit in the lounge area and do some crosswords and enjoy the peace and tranquility...we had some lunch and then our driver (a colleague of haitham's) came to drive us to the dead sea...
...that drive turned out to be extended as haitham thought we should stop by aquaba on the red sea to see the beach...he pointed out that from that vantage point we could see israel and egypt side by side...the whole arab/jewish conflict is so evident even though jordan is neutral and tries to be friends with all nations...their late king hussein was a champion for peace while he was alive...
...somehow, again through haitham's negotiations, we ended up on a glass bottom boat, driven by a small, weathered, chain-smoking jordanian who had the brownest teeth i have ever seen (what teeth he had left)...unfortunately, our short time in aquaba turned into about 2.5 hours because we kept going out farther and farther to try to see some fish in this glass bottomed boat...unsuccessful...but we did manage to get drenched on the way back because the sea was quite rough...this was such a 'male/female' conflict...each time we got hit with a wave, haitham was in gales of laughter and briana and i were cowering in the middle of the boat grimacing as we sat covered in salty sea water...the 'captain' was apologetic but we knew he had no control over the waves...finally we arrived back at the dock and we continued on our way to the dead sea...which took about another 3 hours...i was so bored by the time we got to the marriott but chocked it up to 'another jordanian adventure'...
...the marriott was AMAZING...gorgeous hotel with 3 pools overlooking the dead sea...the other ladies had got there about 4 hours ahead of us so they had already been floating in the sea as well as had booked some spa appointments for the next day...the spa was a little bit of heaven with wonderful therapeutic smells that caressed your senses on entering the place...i booked a dead sea mud wrap envelopment... i was really looking forward to that new experience...
...we all ate dinner together at an italian restaurant...good but not exceptional...and after walking around the grounds for a while, headed to bed...i was exhausted from all the sea wind and water from earlier on...sleep came quickly and was welcomed...
...next morning (wednesday)we had a breakfast buffet and then took a van ride to mount nebo (site of where moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness foreshadowing christ on the cross - very inspiring)...we went into a church there and witnessed a mass being held in french, i lit a candle in memory of mom and other departed friends and relatives, took some pictures and tried not to get blown off the mountain...incredible gale force winds up there that day...next stop was macaba where the others were interested in seeing the mosaics for which the area is famous...i bought a few things at one of the little shops and then we continued on to our last stop which was the original site of Jesus' baptism...that was really interesting and reminded me of a song that i used to sing entitled, "i walked today where Jesus walked'...such a meaningful place to be for Christians...it made me want, even more, to go to the holy land...something which will have to be done AFTER my time in kuwait because i couldn't get back into kuwait if i had been to israel...on maps in kuwait, israel is blacked out as if it doesn't exist...hmmmm!!...
...getting back to the site of the baptism...the original site was a big empty hole because the river jordan is dried up there but we were taken to the current site and saw the river there...it still is as dirty as the Bible talks about it...across the banks of the Jordan we could see israel...so near and yet so far...someday i will go there...
...after returning to the hotel, we went for a float in the dead sea...the lowest point on earth...343 metres below sea level...the amount of salt in the sea is incredible and not something you want to get in your eyes or mouth...VERY SALTY...very hard to not float...lots of fun...at one point we floated over to some stairs where they had a huge pot of mud which of course we applied to our bodies...we looked like dark green monsters...and, yes, we took pictures...
...briana, christina and i had a snack, then some ice cream and then i went to the spa for my mud treatment...a new favourite spa treatment for me...it was so relaxing...i first was scrubbed with olive oil and salt to exfoliate, then showered, then had the mud applied all over including my face...then i was wrapped in plastic and heated blankets and then left to rest for about 15 minutes...wonderful...
...briana and i went back into amman to experience some jordanian night life with our jordanian guide...fun...but the reality of our vacation coming to an end was beginning to hit home...
...must sign off for now but will continue later...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea
...much to tell and not much time to tell it....
...our time in petra was amazing...took a guide who was very enthusiastic (a bedouin who is an archaeologist)...he told us all about the history of the place as well as some of his opinions about some of the restoration of the place...for those of you who don't know, petra is one of the 7 wonders of the world (i believe)...lot of natural wonder as well as some carvings right into the (sand) rocks...these rock formations are incredible...eons of years have etched various designs and formations into the rocks...we walked for about 2 kms. and finally reached the 'treasury' which is the famous location from the indiana jones movies...when you first approach it, you just see a slight peek of the salmon coloured building...as you get through the crevice of rock you come into a huge clearing and looming high above about 40 storeys is the famous structure...as an aside, when we reached that area, i was having a severe allergic reaction...either to the camels, horses, donkeys or just the incredible amount of very fine sand that was blowing up with the pitter patter of hooves...anyway, one of my comrades had some advil with antihistamine in them so i took a couple and within a half hour or so i was beginning to feel somewhat relieved of the congested, asthmatic symptoms i had been experiencing....phewwwww!!..this didn't of course stop me from getting on a camel and having a little walk around the area in front of the treasury...interesting animals who bray when disgruntled...they have the cutest lips!!...
...the walk through this interesting phenomenon was filled with many different sites...amphitheatre on one side, monuments to the gods on another, a mix of the natural (God) wonders and man made wonders...as i mentioned our guide, naef, was incredibly knowledgable and interesting...we were asked many times along the way if we wanted a donkey or camel ride but we politely declined...we are canadians and can tough it out!!...after about 3 hours or so, our guided tour came to an end and we said good bye to naef...some of the ladies decided to continue on UP to the monastery and to see other parts of the site...we were told you need about 3 or more days to really do the site justice...briana and i decided it was more important for us to go back and lie by the pool for some r & r... and that's what we did...the setting of the crowne plaza hotel where we were staying was the best thing about the hotel...it has, as its backdrop, these sandrock mountains looming large out of the desert...they are really hard to describe but somewhat remind me of mounds of ice cream all one on top of the other or on the other hand maybe brain matter all convoluted...ok, i admit my descriptions aren't the greatest when it comes to these mountains...i am speechless...hard for me to be but nevertheless true...
...i again have run out of time and have to go to have my dead sea mud wrap envelopment...so will have to continue next time which will probably be when i get back to kuwait...it won't be the same writing about it when i am no longer there but c'est la vie...stay tuned...
...our time in petra was amazing...took a guide who was very enthusiastic (a bedouin who is an archaeologist)...he told us all about the history of the place as well as some of his opinions about some of the restoration of the place...for those of you who don't know, petra is one of the 7 wonders of the world (i believe)...lot of natural wonder as well as some carvings right into the (sand) rocks...these rock formations are incredible...eons of years have etched various designs and formations into the rocks...we walked for about 2 kms. and finally reached the 'treasury' which is the famous location from the indiana jones movies...when you first approach it, you just see a slight peek of the salmon coloured building...as you get through the crevice of rock you come into a huge clearing and looming high above about 40 storeys is the famous structure...as an aside, when we reached that area, i was having a severe allergic reaction...either to the camels, horses, donkeys or just the incredible amount of very fine sand that was blowing up with the pitter patter of hooves...anyway, one of my comrades had some advil with antihistamine in them so i took a couple and within a half hour or so i was beginning to feel somewhat relieved of the congested, asthmatic symptoms i had been experiencing....phewwwww!!..this didn't of course stop me from getting on a camel and having a little walk around the area in front of the treasury...interesting animals who bray when disgruntled...they have the cutest lips!!...
...the walk through this interesting phenomenon was filled with many different sites...amphitheatre on one side, monuments to the gods on another, a mix of the natural (God) wonders and man made wonders...as i mentioned our guide, naef, was incredibly knowledgable and interesting...we were asked many times along the way if we wanted a donkey or camel ride but we politely declined...we are canadians and can tough it out!!...after about 3 hours or so, our guided tour came to an end and we said good bye to naef...some of the ladies decided to continue on UP to the monastery and to see other parts of the site...we were told you need about 3 or more days to really do the site justice...briana and i decided it was more important for us to go back and lie by the pool for some r & r... and that's what we did...the setting of the crowne plaza hotel where we were staying was the best thing about the hotel...it has, as its backdrop, these sandrock mountains looming large out of the desert...they are really hard to describe but somewhat remind me of mounds of ice cream all one on top of the other or on the other hand maybe brain matter all convoluted...ok, i admit my descriptions aren't the greatest when it comes to these mountains...i am speechless...hard for me to be but nevertheless true...
...i again have run out of time and have to go to have my dead sea mud wrap envelopment...so will have to continue next time which will probably be when i get back to kuwait...it won't be the same writing about it when i am no longer there but c'est la vie...stay tuned...
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Petra
don't have much time to write....only 1 computer here at the crowne plaza for EVERYONE'S use....can you say 'get into the 21st century'...
...sunday night i found my way up on to the roof garden terrace at the movenpick just before sunset...it was beautiful...so i sat there, had a drink and did my crosswords...it was LOVELY...briana and christina joined me later and we had dinner there...a piece of heaven...later we went out to check out the shops but i must say most of the stuff is kind of 'junky'...back to the hotel, where we bought some vases with incredible sand designs in them...this guy at the movenpick was extremely talented...
...time for bed and after chatting for a while, it was lights out..
...monday morning after breakfast buffet, we 'walked' our suitcases up the hill to the crowne plaza...i helped one of the other ladies by pulling her suitcase up the hill as well as carry my backpack...yikes...shouldn't have brought a backpack...
...gotta run for breakfast...ttyl....
...sunday night i found my way up on to the roof garden terrace at the movenpick just before sunset...it was beautiful...so i sat there, had a drink and did my crosswords...it was LOVELY...briana and christina joined me later and we had dinner there...a piece of heaven...later we went out to check out the shops but i must say most of the stuff is kind of 'junky'...back to the hotel, where we bought some vases with incredible sand designs in them...this guy at the movenpick was extremely talented...
...time for bed and after chatting for a while, it was lights out..
...monday morning after breakfast buffet, we 'walked' our suitcases up the hill to the crowne plaza...i helped one of the other ladies by pulling her suitcase up the hill as well as carry my backpack...yikes...shouldn't have brought a backpack...
...gotta run for breakfast...ttyl....
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Night 2 and Day 3
...after our day trip to Jerash...we went back to the hotel for a nap...then Briana, Christina and I headed off with our Jordanian guide to see more of the sites which included a tour of the (late) King Hussein's Automobile Museum...unbelievable the amount of money in that museum on things that rust...of course they all were in mint condition...cars, motorcycles, amphibians, etc., etc.,...you name it and there was one of those there...cars that he bought, were given to him, etc.,...he had a need for speed so there were lots of sports cars there too...very interesting...Haitham spoke very highly of the late HRH...indicating that the Jordanian people really loved and respected him...apparently, one day before HRH's death he changed the law that once said that the new King had to be a full blooded Jordanian...however, he wanted his son, whose mother is British, to become King so he changed the law and it was so...probably to the chagrin of the son who had thought for 20 years that he would become king...ah, the life of the royals!!...
...after the car museum,we went to an amusement park...along with, it seemed, all of Amman, mostly young men...Haitham and his friend Ibraihim were very careful to keep themselves between us and the locals...it was really quite sweet...seemed like we were celebrities with body guards...in fact, at one point, to avoid having to wait in a horrendously long line to get on a ride (that I was sure was going to make me sick), Haitham told the gate keeper that he had 3 foreigners from the Canadian embassy with him...that's called 'wasta' so we got to move ahead in the line...it only worked the one time though...all good things must come to an end!! :)...we finally tired of the tremendous crowd and left in haste...traffic everywhere but Haitham is quite the driver and we managed to avert any traffic jams and accidents too thankfully...then it was on to the next destination...
...that was a little hole in the wall 'bakery' of sorts where the man was making fresh bread (croissant shaped) covered with sesame seeds...Ibraihim bought several, accompanied with hard boiled eggs and cheese which we were told to cut up and put in the middle of the bread along with salt, and some kind of spice and hot sauce if preferred (me, not so much)...DELICIOUS...we drank some very sweet tea as well, which was also YUMMY!!...
...next stop....gocarting....that was a BLAST FROM THE PAST...haven't been in a go-cart for years....managed to do 13 laps without wiping out but without winning any medals either...it was a lot of fun...to quote Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man", "I am an excellent driver!!"...
...by this time, christina was ready to call it a night so we dropped her off...next stop was to see Haitham's cafe that he and his partner are renovating...it will be lovely when finished...it will be an artistic gallery, music haven and cafe...very progressive...after that we went to a traditional cafe that had been fashioned after the old style ones (although Haitham said that the old fashioned stairs and builing were repros of what used to be)...the night was passing by and our last stop was for ice cream before being dropped off at our hotel...to catch a few winks before getting up to leave for Petra...
...we boarded a van at 7 a.m. which drove us to Karak which was old ruins of (darned if i can remember)...very interesting with lots of nooks and crannies to peer through and take great pictures...we met up with a few girls who we finally found out that they were from china (took a while for me to make them understand i was asking them where they were from)...they wanted to have their pictures taken with Briana, christina and me...very cute...reminded me of being in korea...
...after 1.5 hours there, we boarded the van again for another 2 hour ride to finally arrive at the Movenpick hotel in Petra...our rooms weren't ready so we had lunch in the restaurant...very swiss hotel...nicer than the toledo in amman...finally got into our room and i made my way to the pool while briana and christina settled down for a nap...not much sun and a little cool by the pool so i headed back in to try to nap...not very successful so that's how i ended up here writing on my blog...travelling is great but this trip is very different...i think because i am feeling out of it being the oldest member of the group...oh, well, something i have to deal with...
...not sure what is in store for this evening but we have no jordanian guide to show up around so we will have to make our own kind of music...strike up the band....
...after the car museum,we went to an amusement park...along with, it seemed, all of Amman, mostly young men...Haitham and his friend Ibraihim were very careful to keep themselves between us and the locals...it was really quite sweet...seemed like we were celebrities with body guards...in fact, at one point, to avoid having to wait in a horrendously long line to get on a ride (that I was sure was going to make me sick), Haitham told the gate keeper that he had 3 foreigners from the Canadian embassy with him...that's called 'wasta' so we got to move ahead in the line...it only worked the one time though...all good things must come to an end!! :)...we finally tired of the tremendous crowd and left in haste...traffic everywhere but Haitham is quite the driver and we managed to avert any traffic jams and accidents too thankfully...then it was on to the next destination...
...that was a little hole in the wall 'bakery' of sorts where the man was making fresh bread (croissant shaped) covered with sesame seeds...Ibraihim bought several, accompanied with hard boiled eggs and cheese which we were told to cut up and put in the middle of the bread along with salt, and some kind of spice and hot sauce if preferred (me, not so much)...DELICIOUS...we drank some very sweet tea as well, which was also YUMMY!!...
...next stop....gocarting....that was a BLAST FROM THE PAST...haven't been in a go-cart for years....managed to do 13 laps without wiping out but without winning any medals either...it was a lot of fun...to quote Dustin Hoffman in "Rain Man", "I am an excellent driver!!"...
...by this time, christina was ready to call it a night so we dropped her off...next stop was to see Haitham's cafe that he and his partner are renovating...it will be lovely when finished...it will be an artistic gallery, music haven and cafe...very progressive...after that we went to a traditional cafe that had been fashioned after the old style ones (although Haitham said that the old fashioned stairs and builing were repros of what used to be)...the night was passing by and our last stop was for ice cream before being dropped off at our hotel...to catch a few winks before getting up to leave for Petra...
...we boarded a van at 7 a.m. which drove us to Karak which was old ruins of (darned if i can remember)...very interesting with lots of nooks and crannies to peer through and take great pictures...we met up with a few girls who we finally found out that they were from china (took a while for me to make them understand i was asking them where they were from)...they wanted to have their pictures taken with Briana, christina and me...very cute...reminded me of being in korea...
...after 1.5 hours there, we boarded the van again for another 2 hour ride to finally arrive at the Movenpick hotel in Petra...our rooms weren't ready so we had lunch in the restaurant...very swiss hotel...nicer than the toledo in amman...finally got into our room and i made my way to the pool while briana and christina settled down for a nap...not much sun and a little cool by the pool so i headed back in to try to nap...not very successful so that's how i ended up here writing on my blog...travelling is great but this trip is very different...i think because i am feeling out of it being the oldest member of the group...oh, well, something i have to deal with...
...not sure what is in store for this evening but we have no jordanian guide to show up around so we will have to make our own kind of music...strike up the band....
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Day 1 and Day 2 Jordan
...after breakfast yesterday (Friday), christina, briana and i went back to our room to get ready...the other 5 ladies were ready ahead of us and decided to strike out on their own which left us to figure out where we were going...after asking at the front desk what was open (and were informed that nothing was open because it was eid),we set out on foot to see some of the old part of Amman...
...pretty dismal surroundings...lots of young boys wandering the street...we walked around for a while (i'm not loving it at this point), then got some lunch...pretty good shwarma and pickled veggies ?? and ice cream, then tried to get a cab back to our hotel (and were warned not to pay more than 1 Jordanian Dinar)but alas...couln't get a cab...either they drove on by not interested, stopped and wanted to charge too much or stopped and didn't seem to know where our hotel was...go figure...so in my 'quiet', unobtrusive way, i was complaining to the girls about our lack of luck in hailing a cab...lo and behold an 'angel' came by, heard our dilemma and offered to drive us to the hotel...chuckling as we got in because he said the hotel was very close...we explained that we had just 'got off the boat' as it were and he said 'no problem'...HE was a 25 year old, gorgeous (ok, i'm old but i'm not blind) jordanian man who had come to rescue us...he drove us to our hotel and asked if we wanted him to show us around later in the day...christina and briana were very happy because as i mentioned, he was very cute and very charming and nice...we found out that he is a sports tv presenter...his name is haitham...so we decided that he would come back for us about 7....
...after arriving back at the hotel, we had a snooze and then got up to get ready...it was unfortunate that the other girls had not been with us but they had their own fun shopping (at the few shops that were open) and seeing some of the old city..
...true to his word, haitham returned to pick us up at 7 and drove us all around the old and new parts of amman...showed us where he was born, the soon to be finished cafe that he and a friend were renovating and took us to one of his favourite restaurants with a roof top patio where almost everyone was smoking sheesha (sp?)a water infused, heated, fruit flavored tobacco kind of substance...very big in the middle east...thank goodness it doesn't smell like regular tobacco....they don't have any smoking bans in this part of the world...that was a lovely way to spend the evening....after playing silly games of 'truth or dare'...we left and haitham dropped us off at our hotel... promising to take us around again tonight...
...this morning after breakfast all 8 of us boarded a van to jarash to see roman ruins of a time long ago...very interesting and the other 7 were really into the 4 hours that we spent there...i was good for about the first hour and a half and then the same question remains....'why did they have to ruin it??'...ok, i'm being facetious but i feel the same way about ruins as i do about cathedrals, mosques, buddhist temples, etc.....ENOUGHT ALREADY...anyway, after having lunch and shopping in the little shops (i always feel somewhat assaulted in those little souvenir shops...too much haggling), we boarded the van again to return to the hotel...after another little snooze, christina, briana and i are again being chauffered around by haitham...this time we may take in some go-karting and not sure what else...it is so great to have a local to take us around because we get to go to places that we wouldn't normally see or know about...anyway, will tell you more about our adventure later....
...pretty dismal surroundings...lots of young boys wandering the street...we walked around for a while (i'm not loving it at this point), then got some lunch...pretty good shwarma and pickled veggies ?? and ice cream, then tried to get a cab back to our hotel (and were warned not to pay more than 1 Jordanian Dinar)but alas...couln't get a cab...either they drove on by not interested, stopped and wanted to charge too much or stopped and didn't seem to know where our hotel was...go figure...so in my 'quiet', unobtrusive way, i was complaining to the girls about our lack of luck in hailing a cab...lo and behold an 'angel' came by, heard our dilemma and offered to drive us to the hotel...chuckling as we got in because he said the hotel was very close...we explained that we had just 'got off the boat' as it were and he said 'no problem'...HE was a 25 year old, gorgeous (ok, i'm old but i'm not blind) jordanian man who had come to rescue us...he drove us to our hotel and asked if we wanted him to show us around later in the day...christina and briana were very happy because as i mentioned, he was very cute and very charming and nice...we found out that he is a sports tv presenter...his name is haitham...so we decided that he would come back for us about 7....
...after arriving back at the hotel, we had a snooze and then got up to get ready...it was unfortunate that the other girls had not been with us but they had their own fun shopping (at the few shops that were open) and seeing some of the old city..
...true to his word, haitham returned to pick us up at 7 and drove us all around the old and new parts of amman...showed us where he was born, the soon to be finished cafe that he and a friend were renovating and took us to one of his favourite restaurants with a roof top patio where almost everyone was smoking sheesha (sp?)a water infused, heated, fruit flavored tobacco kind of substance...very big in the middle east...thank goodness it doesn't smell like regular tobacco....they don't have any smoking bans in this part of the world...that was a lovely way to spend the evening....after playing silly games of 'truth or dare'...we left and haitham dropped us off at our hotel... promising to take us around again tonight...
...this morning after breakfast all 8 of us boarded a van to jarash to see roman ruins of a time long ago...very interesting and the other 7 were really into the 4 hours that we spent there...i was good for about the first hour and a half and then the same question remains....'why did they have to ruin it??'...ok, i'm being facetious but i feel the same way about ruins as i do about cathedrals, mosques, buddhist temples, etc.....ENOUGHT ALREADY...anyway, after having lunch and shopping in the little shops (i always feel somewhat assaulted in those little souvenir shops...too much haggling), we boarded the van again to return to the hotel...after another little snooze, christina, briana and i are again being chauffered around by haitham...this time we may take in some go-karting and not sure what else...it is so great to have a local to take us around because we get to go to places that we wouldn't normally see or know about...anyway, will tell you more about our adventure later....
Friday, October 12, 2007
The River Jordan...
....yesterday was a LONNNGGGGG day...the students were hyper (even more so than usual!!) and i was EXHAUSTED by the end of it...got home, went for a pedicure (scary salon...:( and then left for the airport around 7 p.m....traffic is CRAZY at that time of night because everyone is going home to EAT after fasting all day...normal crazy drivers are even crazier...oh, speaking of crazy drivers, one of our bus drivers, who drives us to school, slammed into the back of a car on our way to school the other morning (he has a 'NEED FOR SPEED')...no big deal to them, he got out, there was a policeman there and since there was no damage, everyone just went on their way...one of the girls sitting in front of me FLEW out of her chair and banged her knee and a couple of others hit their arms on the seat in front of them...just another day at the office here...:(
...i digress...back to my Jordanian story...we arrived at the Kuwaiti airport with lots of time to spare...it wasn't as NUTSO at the airport as we were told it would be...after getting checked in and 'chowing down', we sat and waited to board...uneventful flight...i was 'bagged' and slept most of the way (2 hours or so)..on arrival, payed for a Jordanian visa and found ourluggage (which had all been dumped in a pile)...we set off to find our ground transportation to our hotel...true to their word, the vans were on their way...got loaded into 2 vans and we were off to the 'Toledo Hotel'...
...on the way, we saw a VERY serious accident...someone had driven into a tree...BAD SCENE...ambulances and gawkers everywhere...in spite of breakneck speed by our drivers, we made it safely to our destination...
...arrived at the hotel about 3:30 a.m....not too coherent...DEAD WOMAN WALKING...so didn't take in much of the surroundings...AND...it was nighttime...
...thought i might not be able to sleep but after playing my little solitaire game for a few minutes...i was into the LAND of NOD....YEAH!!!....no trouble sleeping when i don't have to worry about lesson planning and behaviour problems!!!...i am in one of the 'non-snoring' rooms with Briana and Christina (our 'token' american...stuck with 7 canucks...go canada go!!)...the room is basic with 3 single beds...it feels somewhat 'cave-like'??...bed is firm, pillow too flat...but i am 'wiped'....zzzzzzzzzz...
..this morning we had the breakfast buffet...not stellar but enough to sustain us for the beginning of our adventure...
...that's all for now...getting ready to EXPLORE Amman...sun is shining...there are even TREES here... not just palm trees...briana is VERY EXCITED about TREES??!!...
...stay tuned...
...i digress...back to my Jordanian story...we arrived at the Kuwaiti airport with lots of time to spare...it wasn't as NUTSO at the airport as we were told it would be...after getting checked in and 'chowing down', we sat and waited to board...uneventful flight...i was 'bagged' and slept most of the way (2 hours or so)..on arrival, payed for a Jordanian visa and found ourluggage (which had all been dumped in a pile)...we set off to find our ground transportation to our hotel...true to their word, the vans were on their way...got loaded into 2 vans and we were off to the 'Toledo Hotel'...
...on the way, we saw a VERY serious accident...someone had driven into a tree...BAD SCENE...ambulances and gawkers everywhere...in spite of breakneck speed by our drivers, we made it safely to our destination...
...arrived at the hotel about 3:30 a.m....not too coherent...DEAD WOMAN WALKING...so didn't take in much of the surroundings...AND...it was nighttime...
...thought i might not be able to sleep but after playing my little solitaire game for a few minutes...i was into the LAND of NOD....YEAH!!!....no trouble sleeping when i don't have to worry about lesson planning and behaviour problems!!!...i am in one of the 'non-snoring' rooms with Briana and Christina (our 'token' american...stuck with 7 canucks...go canada go!!)...the room is basic with 3 single beds...it feels somewhat 'cave-like'??...bed is firm, pillow too flat...but i am 'wiped'....zzzzzzzzzz...
..this morning we had the breakfast buffet...not stellar but enough to sustain us for the beginning of our adventure...
...that's all for now...getting ready to EXPLORE Amman...sun is shining...there are even TREES here... not just palm trees...briana is VERY EXCITED about TREES??!!...
...stay tuned...
Monday, October 8, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!!
thanksgiving is coming to kuwait...even though we can't talk about it in school...3 of the creative teachers in our building have organized a full course turkey dinner tonight in the foyer of the building....YEAH!!...turkey, cranberries, mashed potatoes, salads, buns, drinks (non-alcoholic, of course) and desserts...can't wait..it will be a little touch of canada...(homesick for sure!!)
just as a little aside...and a break through for me...one of my very talkative, 'off-task' grade 10's was speaking in arabic today and when i looked at her with disapproval, she asked me if i knew what she was saying....i replied that i didn't...so she said she told the others that i was the best grade 10 teacher at the school...i told her i was touched but wasn't sure i believed her...one of the other students in the class said that's what she had said....even if she was lying...i CHOOSE to believe her...i need some good news...since most of the time i want to scream!!...
3 more days and then i am off to jordan for 9 days...may not be able to use the internet when i am away but will do my best...not sure whether my cell phone will work either
ciao for now!!!
just as a little aside...and a break through for me...one of my very talkative, 'off-task' grade 10's was speaking in arabic today and when i looked at her with disapproval, she asked me if i knew what she was saying....i replied that i didn't...so she said she told the others that i was the best grade 10 teacher at the school...i told her i was touched but wasn't sure i believed her...one of the other students in the class said that's what she had said....even if she was lying...i CHOOSE to believe her...i need some good news...since most of the time i want to scream!!...
3 more days and then i am off to jordan for 9 days...may not be able to use the internet when i am away but will do my best...not sure whether my cell phone will work either
ciao for now!!!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Gergiyan...Hallowe'en
Sorry it's been some time since i have written...sometimes i just don't have the energy...anyway, last thursday we had gergiyan...which the students tell us is somewhat equivalent to our hallowe'en (although we have been instructed that we are not allowed to talk about or celebrate hallowe'en in the school??...go figure!!)...many of the students came dressed up in their finest dira'as (sp) (traditional clothing) and brought mega doses of candy!!...my students told me they get sick on candy during this time...it is actually 3 days...so much for the apparent fast they are on for the month...very strange rules about fasting...so, i wore a simple dira'a, as did many of the teachers, just to try to be in the spirit of the time...i even got some candy from a few students (that surprised me!!)...some of the students suggested that i go to people's houses and ask for candy...yah, NO!!...so that was a touch of kuwaiti culture...
this week has been progress reports...YEAH!!!...checklist and comments for 80 students...i am making my quizzes and tests SO EASY just so that they all can pass...otherwise if they fail, I have to bell curve the marks because basically everyone passes here...REALLY BAD!!
..i am currently in the staff room and listening to various comments from the other teachers and chuckling about some of the questions the students ask...e.g. can i write in pencil for my quiz....what part of NO do you not understand...one of the middle schoo ENGLISH teacher's had someone ask her today what language she should write her class notes in....why not try SWAHILI!!...there are many more...but i have to go to yet another stellar class....later!!
this week has been progress reports...YEAH!!!...checklist and comments for 80 students...i am making my quizzes and tests SO EASY just so that they all can pass...otherwise if they fail, I have to bell curve the marks because basically everyone passes here...REALLY BAD!!
..i am currently in the staff room and listening to various comments from the other teachers and chuckling about some of the questions the students ask...e.g. can i write in pencil for my quiz....what part of NO do you not understand...one of the middle schoo ENGLISH teacher's had someone ask her today what language she should write her class notes in....why not try SWAHILI!!...there are many more...but i have to go to yet another stellar class....later!!
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