Update and Travels Part I

Pics: Me on the sand dune in Wadi Rum and the Treasury building in Petra. See more at http://picasaweb.google.com/peninap


So much has transpired since my last blog. I am still trying to make the most out of the time I have left but now I find myself in the midst of finals and exams. The past few weeks have been quite eventful and I will do my best to recap:

1. Laura’s visit:
My Ramah friend Laura who I haven’t seen in three years who also hadn’t been to Israel in 15, came to visit. It was so nice to know that for us, we can just pick up where we left off. It’s great to have friends like that!

2..The lift-
Organizing the lift of boxes to ship to LA kept me pretty busy. There were many details and there were hundreds of emails and calls to make sure it all went well. Some of the students organized a van rental to deliver all the boxes to Schechter where they would be stored for a few days until the shipping company picked them up. I heard that it was a disasterous effort, but at the end, the boxes were dropped off and money collected. Another student volunteered to oversee the effort while I was out of town in Jordan (story to follow) and wasn’t too happy with how it went down, but my stress began the day they picked up the boxes: checking the various lists and figuring out how many boxes we had and how much money we needed to pay since I wrote the big check myself. I ended up missing most of Talmud class because of course, they were late coming etc. But it is all done! And, now we wait to hear what happens on the other side....

3.Jordan trip-
I had been to Jordan for a quick trip ten years ago, but right after I got back from Petra, my camera was stolen from my dorm room at Hebrew U. I needed to go back! Plus, I wanted to see Wadi Rum which I was told was not to be missed. I had been speaking with three others about going but the other two, a couple, decided to go a different weekend on their own. Then, it was just two of us left and as two women alone, we were a little concerned about our safety. On recommendation from one of my classmates, I contacted a Jordanian hotel and tour company, Petra Moon Hotel. They responded right away with the perfect itinerary for us!

Though I felt sick on the long bus ride down to Eilat where you cross the border, the trip went so smoothly! After crossing into Jordan, our driver and tour guide, Sameer, picked us up and drove us to Wadi Rum to their campsite. They made us a salad while they barbecued meat for Lee, our new friend from Hong Kong who accompanied us on the tour. Then we got in the jeep (it was a nice one with A/C) and Sameer drove us from cool mountain to cool mountain, to sand dunes, to Nabatean inscriptions, to a rock bridge, to Lawrence of Arabia stuff, and to tea with a Bedouin. It was gorgeous! He was essentially off-roading on the sand and it was wild. Plus, there were very few people there at all...

After a long day, he drove us to Wadi Musa, to the hotel which is only a two minute walk to the entrance to Petra where we would spend the next day. We were exhausted so we went right to sleep. The next day after a nice little breakfast, we went to a little market to buy lunch for ourselves since we heard the food inside Petra is super expensive. It worked out very well. Petra itself is amazing. We had a guide lead us in for a bit and we enjoyed listening and taking pictures. The Treasury building is very impressive and one of the first sites along the way.

After he left us, the real hiking began. We climbed up to the High Place of Sacrifice (befriending a little boy and his donkey along the way), wandered back down through the center of the 'town', and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. We planned to hike up to the Monastery which is supposed to be the most challenging hike and wanted to wait until later in the afternoon because of the heat. As we ate, we were approached repeatedly by Ali who wanted us to ride his donkey for 10 dinar (quite a bit of money!) He was cute but we refused...Then we climbed up the many stairs to get up to the Monastery and it was well worth it. It was also an impressive building carved out of the stone but not as ornate as the Treasury. Great views!

It took us two hours to get out of Petra and then we only had a couple hours to eat and change before heading back in for Petra at candlelight. It was a cool experience seeing the whole thing lit by hundreds of candles, but we were seriously wiped out after climbing out of there for the second time that day.

The next day was a ride to the border, a quick lunch on the beach in Eilat and the long long journey back to Jerusalem. What a great trip!

Up next:
Trip to Florida!