I was baptized....attacked by a centurion....and nearly fell off a castle or two.....

So I have just realized that I have not written a blog in nearly over a month. I apologize, but it seems as though I am adjusting to what they call the “arab sense of time.” If you have never heard of this then I will try my best to explain it fairly. No doubt you have heard of the arabic word insha’allah. The word means “God willing,” and is a perfect example of the arab sense of timing. I have yet to go a day without hearing this word from a complete stranger or most often from taxi drivers. This word has come to mean for the most devout Muslim that nothing happens or will happen unless it is the will of God, which is a beautiful and poetical way to live. But for the average arab I dare say that the word has become an excuse to show up a little late or to “play solitaire on the computer versus working on a report” (unnamed source). Too often I have observed (emphasis on "I") that the use of this word does not correspond correctly with its historical or religious meaning but instead is used as a way of saying “I’ll get to it when I get to it.” So insha’allah, I am finally writing this blog.

Well besides learning the insights of the cultural phrases as mentioned above, I have been very busy the last four weeks with classes and with extracurricular activities. And in fact I am in the middle of preparing for my mid-term in arabic. It is strange to think that I am going to take this mid-term and then in three weeks I'll be preparing for the final. But the actual classes at the university continue through December and part of January, seeing as they don't have to worry about a Christmas break. But besides classes I have been able to see quite a lot of historical and touristic sites here in Jordan during the last four weeks. The CIEE program here in Jordan plans a total of six optional day trips during the semester. The day trips are all educational and are intended to cover various historical and cultural topics of the area. Each student is allowed to sign up for at least four of the six trips. I just finished my fourth day trip, and just in time for my weekends to be occupied with my internship and with academics. I was able to go on the following four trips: Biblical Jordan, Roman Jordan, Crusader Jordan and Western Desert & Ummayad Architecture.

Biblical Jordan:
 We visited Bethany beyond-the-Jordan (claimed baptismal pools of John the Baptist), Mount Nebo (place where Moses took his first and last look at the Promised Land), Mukawair (where John the Baptist lost his head due to some little girl’s dirty dancing) and Madaba (home to the one of the most detailed mosaic maps of the Holy Land).

Roman Jordan:
 Jordan is very unique in that it houses the majority of the decapolis (roman set of 10 cities used to protect trade routes). Firstly we traveled to just south of the Golan Heights and Lake Tiberias to Umm Qais. Then we traveled to Pella and then to Jerash. Jerash is one of the most excavated Roman cities in the Middle East. It is a relatively small city compared to surrounding cities, but the fact that its ruins are for the most part intact bring it regional fame. We were able to see a working hippodrome, market area, two ampi-theaters and a colonnade street.

Crusader Jordan:
 I am sure that many people have seen movies with impressive medieval castles defending off hordes of barbaric arab soldiers. Well these were probably filmed somewhere other than where they actually took place. Most of the crusader castles in the area, especially those in Jordan, were built on the top of steep hills and used the surrounding geography to make any large besiegement unsuccessful if not impossible. We visited two very large castles in the south of Jordan, Karak and Shobak. Both castles had numerous halls and passageways excavated and begging for any willing explorer with a flashlight to enter them. At Shobak we were able to catch the sun setting on the oldest church with any part of its roof still attached in the Middle East. The sunset made for quite the moment of reflection and contemplation as I sat on top of a castle wall with a 200 foot shear drop in front of me.

Ummayad Architecture:
 During the Islamic period various officials from Damascus had resorts built in modern Jordan’s western desert. These resorts were used for hunting, turkish baths, feasts and anything else an influential politician could want to do. Most of the castles are either falling apart or in the middle of being reconstructed by the Spanish government. But Castle Azraq (where Lawrence of Arabia stayed during a part of the Arab revolt of 1919), Castle Amra and Castle Kharaneh are all worth seeing if you could imagine yourself being fascinated by frescoes, traditional ummayad mosques and towering columns.

Well needless to say I almost have an excuse for not writing a blog in the past couple of weeks, because I have been very busy enjoying myself on these day trips. But it was either now or never for me to write this blog. Becaue in the next few weeks I'll be very busy at my internship. Starting this Saturday People in Need will be conducting training for Iraqi and non-Iraqi personnel in the methods of civic engagement and community building. I will hopefully be very busy with this. And when I'm not at these trainings or in class or working on papers, I'll be attending nightly showings of various films in coordination with the 19th European Film Festival. This is a 16 night showcase of some of the best European movies from the last year.

Well other than that I am just trying to savor my last four weeks in the country. I am trying to avoid doing homework and preferring to see the sights of Amman.

Chao (it's what all the locals say when they learn you're not arab...haha)
:: joshua

ps: here's an explaniation of the pictures....
* woman picking olives near the Syrian border
*Jordan's Antiquity Department's method of keeping locals out of the archaeological sites to collect usable stones for building their homes
*Moses' "cross" (it's really the christian cross with his serpant/staff wrapped around it)
*some corinthian columns at Jerash
*Shobak castle
*Bedouin child hanging out
*Castle Hamarah (one of the desert castles used by Islamic officials)
* and that's me to the left trying to decide which way to go.....we went left.......and then came back after seeing some castles down that way.