And the countdown begins...

In less than two weeks I'll be boarding a plane for America. What can I say about the last few weeks since my last update? I've celebrated a birthday, taken my first practice LSAT, witnessed the killing of a large rat in our apartment, had another round of tests, and travelled to Amman to do a bit of last-minute shopping. But mostly, I've just been hot and bored.

At this point in the trip, all-things-American are constantly on my mind: I miss my family, I miss my friends, I crave good ol' southern cuisine, I long for the freedom of my own culture, I'm ready to drive myself around again, and I look forward to the comfort of air conditioning...

As I've said before, my roommate Cullen and I share the same birthday so we celebrated in grand style last week. It was Cullen's 21st, and I made it a point to give him the best birthday possible in a country where 21 is just the same as any other birthday. One of my favorite professors here, Rijan, delivered us a cake as our friend Bobby-Joe cooked up a delicious chicken gumbo for the group. We were all impressed by his culinary skills and thoroughly enjoyed our meal after a long four hours of cooking. After dinner, we had a few drinks and played some cards while listening to some of our favorite American music. Later in the evening, my roommates and I took a walk around the city to try and up-the-ante on our night. To say we did just that would be an understatement. After sleeping in the next morning, we unfortunately had two tests to take. I did well, and am hoping that my grades will be a significant improvement from last year.

Last week, we had a run-in with a large rat in the apartment. As much as I like to say I'm not afraid of rats, my actions in the moment indicated otherwise. Cullen and Matt went chasing the thing out of the apartment and down the stairs while I stayed put on top of one of our chairs. Sure enough, a few minutes later Cullen showed up grinning and holding the dead rat with pride. A good story, indeed.

I also took my first practice LSAT last weekend. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was long and challenging. I made a decent score for my first time, and am looking forward to improving upon that base-score in the next couple months while I prepare to apply for some of the most prestigious Law Schools around the country.

Yesterday I went to Amman for the first time and purchased a few gifts for my parents, grandparents, and friends. I'll have to say, as much as I love to gift, a few of my friends may be disappointed in me this year. Put simply, I just don't have as much money as I did this time last year. I'm satisfied with the few gifts I did buy, however, and am excited to pass them out when I get home.

After a long day of studying, I think I'll get some dinner and watch a movie before calling it an early night in preparation for our last week of school! Wow, it feels good to say that.

I hope everyone has enjoyed their summer vacations! I'm looking forward to doing nothing for a few weeks before school starts in late August. See y'all very soon...

Salaam,

-Alex

The Adventure of a Lifetime

After class on Wednesday, we departed for our long-weekend trip to Petra, Aqaba, and Wadi Rum. The week was cut short to allow us ample time for the adventure to Jordan's most memorable locations. Around noon, we began our 4.5 hour drive to the small desert town of Wadi Musa, home to the magnificent ruins of Petra. We arrived at our hotel in the early evening, which allowed us a few hours poolside to soak up the sun and experience a bit of much-deserved relaxation.

Antonia, Bobby-Joe, Qua and I headed into to town around 8:00p.m. for dinner at the "Sandstone Restaurant" where I ordered a lamb-tomoatoe dish recommended by our waitress. After an enjoyable evening at the "Cave Bar," an old Nabatean tomb converted into a wonderfully interesting place to have drinks with friends, I retired for what was to be an early morning wake-up call and long day of hiking and exploring.

Unlike last year, I actually woke up in time to take the short walk to the gates of Petra with the group. After paying the very affordable entrance fee of 1JD for students and locals (it's 90JD for foreigners), we made our way down to the sandstone corridor (known as the Siq) which winds through the mountains leading to the first and most well-known monument in Petra: The Treasury. The passageway is lined with cool little decorative niches in the walls, and an intricate series of dams and aqueducts that the Nabateans used to prevent flooding and transfer water. If the Nabatean engineering is not enough, then the geologic nature of the sandstone surely impresses even the most skeptical of visitors. As we rounded the last bend of the Siq, I was once again blown away by the beauty and scale of The Treasury. Pictures cannot do this place justice. It's label as one of the "New Seven Wonders of World" is surely deserved, if only for this magnificent structure. But the real wonder of Petra is the monument known as Al-Deir in Arabic (The Monastery). Before making the grueling hike up to Al-Deir, a few friends and I explored the Urn Tomb, one of the many Royal Tombs that gets its name from the urn-like structure at its apex.

After a few photos, and a brief time inside the dark, empty tomb, we headed down Colonnade Street towards the base of the mountain where Al-Deir is located, perhaps one of the greatest structures known to man. I did not make it to the site last summer, and am so very thankful that I had the privilege this year. I am still in awe of the design and scale of what awaited us at the top of this mountain, and cannot for the life of me figure out how they Nabateans carved these monuments out of the mountains with such precision. Al-Deir was well worth the long hike. A short climb up a hill at the top provided us with what the sign called: "The Best View in Petra." I would say it lived up to its name... the panoramic view of the Wadi-Arab desert and mountain ranges on the outskirts of Jordan and Palestine was breathtaking.

After such an eventful and fulfilling day, only the long hike back to our hotel stood in our way. We complained, sure, and by the end of it I could barely walk, but I wouldn't give up the experience for anything.

That afternoon, we loaded the bus again for our short trip to Aqaba. Petra may have been amazing, but I was looking forward to spending time lounging on the beach and swimming in the large pool of the 5-star Intercontinental Hotel. A vacation spot, indeed, I spent the night in the company of friends and woke up to a breakfast of fresh squeezed OJ, American Coffee, pancakes, and real bacon (my first taste of pork in over a month). You can imagine, I was a happy camper. After an early check-out, we got a bit more time to spend on the beach before we departed in the late-afternoon for Wadi Rum.

I wasn't that excited about our return to the desert camp of Jabal Rum, but actually ended up having a great time. Literally the minute upon our arrival, we were shuffled into the backs of two 4WD Toyota LandCruisers (the vehicle of choice for desert-dwelling Bedouins) and sped off into the desert to catch the sunset. We were taken to a neat double-bridge rock formation, then got to climb a large sand dune before running down it full-speed-ahead. It's a lot of fun, if you've never tried it!

After sunset, we were served a dinner including Mansaf and an assortment of dips and salads. The meat was prepared in traditional Bedouin-style: underground in make shift ovens using oil drums and coal. The party after dinner included lots of dubka (the popular Arab dance style, something akin to river dance without the fast foot movement) and a mock wedding. It was fun, but sleep overcame me so I went to bed early.

The next morning, after a light breakfast, we made our way back to Irbid and arrived in the early afternoon. School started again today, and I realized that I only have three weeks left before our final exams! I'm excited about learning as much as possible in my last few weeks, but am definitely ready to get back home and see all of my friends and family.

Hope all is well. Keep in touch!

Salaam,

-Alex

It's Jordan, folks...

This is long overdue, so my apologies. It's not really that I've been too busy to update, I just haven't really been in the mood. As simple as it may sound to write a short this or that about the daily happenings here in Jordan, I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to my posts so it's somewhat of a task. I thoroughly enjoy it, though, and am glad to know that people are keeping up with my trip back in the States.

What a different experience I am having this year! And by different, I mean better. Seriously, my time here is flying by and it's crazy to think that in a few short weeks I'll be returning home. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited and ready, but it's not the same kind of desperate longing for everything American that I experienced last year around this time.

Last weekend we took our first trip to Mount Nebo, Jesus' baptism sight near the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. Although we visited the same sites last year, I was happy to get out of town for the day. Irbid hasn't changed much since last summer, meaning it's still as boring as ever, so any adventure on the weekends is much appreciated. And an adventure we had... on our way home, the bus ran out of gas. Now, I know you're probably thinking, "How could the bus run out of gas? Don't they have a gas gauge or something? Wouldn't they have thought about that?" My response can only be, it's Jordan folks. These things happen. At first the driver thought the engine had overheated, but after a short investigation it became apparent that the bus simply needed fuel. We spent about an hour waiting for the driver to return after hitch hiking to the nearest gas station, and during that time a few of us wondered to the other side of the road and climbed on the roof of an old building to watch the sunset. You get used to these kind of problems over here and learn to take them with a grain of salt and make the best out of any situation, as we did. Our peaceful experience ended after about 20 minutes when an old man, apparently the owner of our newly discovered perch, and his two rabid dogs came and told us to get down and leave... he turned out to be a nice man, but didn't want to have anything to do with a bunch of Americans trespassing on his land, much less climbing onto his roof. A short time after that encounter, our driver returned with a few gallons of fuel and we were on our way once again.

This past week we celebrated the fourth of July by hosting a party at my apartment. Our entire group came over, along with a few of our friends from France who are teaching here at Yarmouk for the summer. We cooked cajun shrimp, burgers, and peach cobbler for everyone and even shot of some fireworks to celebrate the occasion.

Words can't express how grateful I am to have a kitchen this year! My friend Antonia and I have been cooking a lot. Produce is very inexpensive, so with a few essential ingredients from the grocery store we've been able to make spaghetti, mexican casserole, chicken teriyaki, and fried rice. I'm also getting really good at making grilled sandwiches on the stove.

One complaint I have about the apartment is it's lack of air conditioning, and the fact that there isn't even a fan in my bedroom! A few weeks ago, the weather was pretty fair, especially at night; now, however, it's brutally hot ALL the time. So, we keep the windows open and turn the fan in our living room on high, but I still sweat all night long and have the hardest time falling asleep. I can't wait to get back to my 68 degree house in Oxford, and promise to never take that luxury for granted again. We also have a lot of bugs to deal with at night. I spend hours trying to kill mosquitoes every night and it's really starting to get annoying. Oh well, nothing I can't handle.

This week we have our second round of tests and I'm hoping to do a little better than last time. I think it's possible, especially considering the fact that we'll be departing for our little vacation on Wednesday! Wadi Rum, Petra, and Aqaba are all on the agenda, just like last year. It was the highlight of my time in Jordan last summer. I'm going to make sure and experience more of Petra this time, soak up my time in the breathtaking desert of Wadi Rum, and live it up on the beach in Aqaba!

Until later,

-Iskander