Can you tell I like alliteration? It’s Exciting to Express Experiences this way. Ok, I’m done…moving on!
I thought this should be a more light-hearted post since looking at my experiences the past few weeks through a serious academic lens would be overwhelming, for you and me alike. “Elemental Excursions” is about our trips to the Jordanian Badia, Wadi Rum, Al-Karak and Petra, and the coastal city of Aqaba. Each of these areas represents a different ecosystem in Jordan; respectively, semi-arid desert (dry earth, but no sand), sandy desert (with a fiery sun in the summer), rocky mountains (with cool breezes), and coast (with water, moisture, and lavish vegetation).
We visited the Badia twice during our excursion period, first to stay with a Bedouin family for a week and experience the contrasting urban and rural lifestyles in Jordan, then to explore the Badia landscape and topography, which was hard to do the first time, since Bedouin life is so family- and home-centered. Our (outdoor) adventures in the Badia included:
-Stargazing with my homestay neighbor Ronald and my Badia host brother, while enjoying Bedouin tea. Bedouin villages do have electricity and some light pollution at night, but vastly less so than the city; the stars were large and bright. The tranquility of the Badia is conducive to reflexive and deep conversation.
-Playing soccer with 5 of my host siblings and 6 of Ronald’s (yes, there were more!). Language and culture barriers don’t matter when you have the common goal of putting a semi-inflated ball through an area marked by two rocks as many times as possible. It was a nice moment of connection to all be on the same page and playing under a universal set of rules. I started feeling less like a guest that day.
-Hiking up rocky hills with friends in the dead of night and forming a dialogue circle, sharing nuts and water over conversations ranging from regional politics to favorite childhood cartoons. These rocks were unique: sharp, jagged, and brittle. Hiking to and walking across the top was a slow, methodical process, conducive to group bonding.
-Consuming mind-boggling amounts of sugar, present in the tea, the coffee, the scrambled eggs in the morning (yep, not exaggerating; they are scrambled along with candied dates), and the snacks. I have yet to understand the Bedouin fascination with sugar.
Wadi Rum felt like being in a movie (ha! see what I did there?). Anyways… I was happy to see vast expanses of sand and rock with no humans, lights, or other animals in sight. Our campgrounds did have humans and lights and animals, but being out in the Wadi was different. It did feel like a movie because even though everything is natural–the rock erosion, the vegetation, and sand formations–it looked pristine, as if set up for a movie. Rock faces were smooth, with beautiful marbling effects resulting from the presence of different minerals in the rock; sand dunes were high and smooth, undisturbed (until we climbed them and jumped into them); vegetation was wild, untailored. Adventures included:
-Driving through the dessert on pick-up trucks, enjoying the dunes of sand. Thankfully, the recent rains had washed away a lot of the dust, so we were able to actually see the natural beauty of the Wadi as we drove.
-Riding camels (I can’t even explain how excited I was for this. Next to learning Arabic, it was pretty much my reason for coming here).
-Sitting by campfire enjoying conversations ranging from Islamic history and philosophy to favorite Netflix series.
Al-Karak and Petra made the Indiana Jones fan in me drool. Al-Karak is a hilltop city built around a large castle, which we got to explore in depth. Petra is an ancient city carved into the mountainside which saw a variety of different rulers, a history made evident by the art, architecture, and specific type of destruction present. Adventures included:
-Exploring the dungeons of Al-Karak Castle, imagining we were its original inhabitants. A few friends also studied the castle’s piping and water conveyance system. Fascinating.
-Dining at a restaurant directly across from the castle. Seeing the city literally built around the castle makes one wonder how different the landscape and the city looked hundreds of years ago. There is no clear distinction between what is castle and what is city at certain points.
-Climbing the mountainsides of Petra, witnessing cave-like homes, burial areas, and ritual altars.
Aqaba was my favorite part of our Elemental Excursion. Maybe I felt right at home surrounded by water, in 100-degree weather and high humidity with green everywhere around me. It might have also been the yacht we took out into the gulf. Adventures included:
-Boarding a yacht and enjoying snorkeling in the gulf, where the water is unbelievably clear. I haven’t seen water like that even in the Caribbean. Following snorkeling was a dance party aboard the boat, but, of course, not before the grilled meats and vegetables we got to make on a grill that extended off the side of the boat. At one point, far out into the gulf, one could stand on the second deck and look in 4 different directions and see the coastline of 4 different countries: Jordan, Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
-Relaxing with blankets by the clear Southern Beach in Aqaba. More conversation ensued.
Coming back from our excursion, though, we were served with bittersweet news: classes were essentially over. Our final Arabic presentations are next week and a week after that, our ISP capstone period begins. I’m ready; let’s do this!