The Swing of It

So I think that I have finally gotten some grasp of how the culture works here in Jordan, and possibly in the Middle East. For you see this past weekend all of the CIEE students were bused out to the Southern Desert where we rode 4x4 trucks over ancient trade routes.
We camped overnight in a bedouin tent situated in a crevice of a vertical rock face, ate too much food, danced around the fire to arabic music and for the most part we all got up to watch the sun rise at five thirty. But where I got the swing of it [arab culture] was while I was on the back of a camel. That’s right, I rode a camel. And I’m not talking about hopping on it and riding it around a circus ring. I rode my camel for the better part of four hours. We had our own little CIEE caravan of camels trekking through the desert. We departed from the campsite and headed towards the highway on the other side of the Wadi Rum preserve. By the way, if you don’t know, Wadi Rum is where Lawrence of Arabia, Mission to Mars, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Return of Sinbad, and so many more movies were filmed. While on the way across the desert I got lost in the front-to-back motion of the camel. I was able to reflect upon my experiences so far this semester. You see, I think that the motion of a camel is much like the overall experience of the Arab culture. The hardest part about riding a camel is the initial mount. When you mount a camel you mount it while it’s sitting on the ground. And then the moment that you make any sort of contact with the saddle the camel, if trained properly, will stand up on it’s real legs and then it’s front legs. Now this motion sounds much more gentle while I’m typing it. But I will testify that this is more jarring than the worst wooden roller coaster you have ever ridden at a local county fair. But if you can make it through this initial mounting then you are set. Because from here on out it is a very smooth and entrapping experience. Once you’re on the camel you don’t want to get off and you don’t want the gentle front to back motion to stop. But occasionally the camel does stop. Whether you believe it or not there is some form of shrubbery in the desert. And just how a taxi driver manages to hit every pot hole the camel manages to make it from bush to bush without missing a moment to grab a snack. So no matter how comforting and relaxing the ride is, there are moments where it all stops and then you start over again. So this has been my experience so far this semester. The initial mount was rough but I survived it. Then I found myself settling into the saddle for the long ride and starting to enjoy it. But all of a sudden it came to a stop due to some small cultural barrier that had to be crossed. And shortly after that little bush in the desert the ride began again. What I have learned is that you have to enjoy the ride while it last. You have to survive the initial mount and you have to settle in. But the most important part is that you have to expect your comfortable ride to be interrupted every now and then by a bush growing in the middle of a barren desert.
And so from the camel ride we packed up in our two tour buses and headed for a campsite just north of Petra. We all tried to hit the sleeping bag early that night due to the fact that we had to leave by 5:30 in the morning to make it to the site to see the sun rise while in Petra. I would just like to say that CIEE can pull some strings if they want to. We were able to enter the park a full hour before it officially opened to the public and to the workers of the restaurants and vendor stalls located within the park. Considering that Petra is now an Ancient Wonder of the World, it’s a big deal to be let into the park before the staff.
We spent the better part of the morning touring some of the more famous sites such as the Treasury, the Siq, the Monastery with it’s 900 step approach and the market place. By lunch most of us were tired enough that we headed back for the buses to catch some sleep before we headed back to Amman. But I decided to take the chance to break away from the group and visit some of the churches located on site at Petra. Considering I’m the only Religion major and the only non-political science major here this semester I was probably the most interested in seeing the mosaic floors and the most well preserved baptistry in the Middle East. But after that I was just as interested in catching some sleep on the way back to Amman.
So I have settled back into the saddle for the next leg of the journey. And I’m expecting there to be a stop here or there due to some obstacle. But I don’t doubt that the journey will continue.

Comments

[Amy Lancaster]

I love the metaphor here! Consider this when you return; it could make for an interesting entry for Beyond the City's Northern Border! Glad to hear you're doing well... Now send me an audio clip!

[Adrienne Hamm]

very cool analogy!!! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Jordan :)