Diplomatic Bazaar

We had a cool opportunity last weekend - volunteering at the Diplomatic Bazaar. It's a yearly event in which lots of the embassies set up booths and sell goods/foods from their countries. ALL the proceeds go to a local orphanage, which is pretty amazing.

 

For our part, we showed up at 8:30 Saturday morning and helped get ready, but mostly we just wandered around and looked at all the booths.

At 11 or so, there was a meeting with the ambassadors, their families, and the Princess of Jordan, Basma bint Talal. Zack, Matt, and I were assigned as 'security' for this meeting. We had to block off the hallway from anyone else. It was hilarious. We had no idea who was legit, who was supposed to be in the meeting and who wasn't....

Good times. After the meeting, the Princess cut the ribbon and the bazaar then opened to the public. I got to meet her! She shook my hand and asked me what I was doing in Jordan and how I liked it. We started in Arabic and then turned to English. She was really sweet. Of course I had to throw in that we were all from BYU. Later some other students mentioned LDS Charities. Just doin what we can...

I was an 'usher' so I basically just wandered around all day and talked to people. Several of us students volunteered and they all had different jobs - selling raffle tickets, face painting, selling popcorn...

 

 

I would also switch with them so they could eat lunch.

LUNCH. T'was awesome. Just some rice and chicken from Brunei, samosa from Pakistan, more samosa from Lebanon, and ice cream from Jordan. SO GOOD. I wasn't very impressed by the US booth - just hotdogs and cupcakes. Go America.

 

 

Some of us also got henna... Mine was done by a Sudanese woman.

 

It was just a really fun day. People are so nice and willing to give. It was a reminder that there are so many good people in this world trying to do what they can to help others.

 

Also, yay for diversity. Our world is the coolest.

Day 4 of Best Trip Ever

The Gulf of Aqaba. 

Chilling on a PIRATE SHIP in the Red Sea.

With really cool people. 

 

SNORKELING. 

And our professor sat inside while we went CRAZY. Jumping off the boat in all directions and swinging on the anchor. I love not being in America.

Then we ate a delicious meal at a beach resort.

And then Zack gave me dreads on the bus ride back to Amman. 

Seriously, this week was a DREAM. Places are cool and stuff is fun. But it's all about who you're with and the opportunities you choose to embrace. I really love the other students here with me and the wonderful people of Jordan. Happiness is something you create with the situations you're given. I am so happy right now and so so grateful.

Day 2 of Best Trip Ever

PETRA.

Freaking awesome.

So Petra was the capital of the Nabataean civilization established a few hundred years BC. These people must've been super awesome because they carved an ENTIRE CITY into the rock.

I had no idea Petra is so HUGE.

While at Petra we went on 3 different hikes...

Hike number 1... "The Lookout"

It was actually quite the hike with lots of stairs. But it looked out over the Treasury (from Indiana Jones) and was really cool.

Hike number 2... the Monastery.

This thing was HUGE and to think that it was all carved by hand... CRAZY.

Also, there were two lookout points, both with the title, "Best View in the World."

You decide...

Hike number 3... The High Place.

More stairs, rocks, awesome views, AND a sacrifice table that was quite comfortable. I ended up laying there for about half an hour.

Paul looked real comfy too...

Petra was AMAZING! I was so beat by the end of the day and wished I had a pedometer to know how many steps I took that day. SO MANY STAIRS. But so many cool carvings and views!

AND, beautiful Bedouins...

Day 3 of Best Trip Ever

Guys. I belong in the desert. Just look at it...

Photo Cred: Zack Rowley

This is Wadi Rum. In the middle of the Jordanian desert. 

The first adventure of the day was riding 'jeeps' across the desert.

 

We stopped a few times to eat lunch and explore and run down sand dunes...

 

Pirate? Assassin? Ninja? Bedouin?

 

After our jeep ride we checked into our 'hotel'...

Yep. TENTS. 

Oh. And then we went on a SUNSET CAMEL RIDE. 

 

 

Camels are the coolest. 

 After the camel ride (that I never wanted to end), we ate a delicious Arab meal in the central tent. There was music playing so naturally, we had a DANCE PARTY. It began with a few of us Americans, but then some of the Bedouins joined us and we did the traditional dabka. In return we had to give them a little taste of our dance traditions with some good ole "Turn Down For What." It was the best thing of my life. 

We also sat around the tent and played guitar and sang. 

AND, at 4:30 the next morning a few of us got up and walked back into the desert a little ways to look at the stars. By then the moon had gone down and it was beautiful! 

As I'm writing this, I can't believe this day actually happened.

I love my life. 

Day 1 of Best Trip Ever

We took off early Saturday morning on a charter bus and drove out of Amman to our first stop – Karak. This is where the Crusaders battled the Islamic warriors of Saladin. The castle is fairly intact with lots of rooms and corridors and tunnels to explore.

 

All the castles are built on easily-defendable mounts. It makes for some sweet views and lots of opportunities to fall to our deaths...

 

 

Next we visited a similar site, the Shobak Castle, which was built by the Crusaders and later occupied by the Mamluks. The landscape around the castle was crazy. Vertigo fo sho.

 

 

 

This is Jay. He climbs everything…

 

But the best part of this castle was its underground secret passageway! I guess it has 375 steps leading down, but after all these years the steps are really worn down and slick. It was quite the walk - one girl in our group slipped and fractured her ankle. We all took flashlights and were down there for quite a while before resurfacing through a water well. It was cooool.

 

 

 

 

The last stop of the day was Little Petra. Yep, there’s a little one. First we went into a carved out water cistern made by the Nabateans. Our professor really likes to sing, so we sang “Amazing Grace” and the acoustics were really awesome. Then we walked up through the Little Petra Canyon. There were some really neat carvings in the stone and a pretty lookout on top with lots of rocks to climb. It felt a little like being in Southern Utah.

 

 

 

 

 

And of course, pictures of cool Bedouin people…