Pictures to go with the last blog post

 View from Topkapi Palace in Istanbul

 Inside Topkapi Palace, such beautiful tiles

 Basilica Cistern in Istanbul
                                               
Hagia Sophia

 walkways/ramps in part of Hagia Sophia

 Fun on the Metro

 Bibek-part of Istanbul that is on the water

 marina in Bibek

 Ferry ride to get to Troy

 We could climb inside of it, it was like a huge tree fort, but cooler...at Troy, obviously

 Troy ruins

 "Fancy Night" in Istanbul

 Random day of adventure in Wadi Al-Seer, east side of Amman

 came across some old caves

 Ate lunch at some old ruins

 Dead Sea!

 Went back to Petra with ACOR and decided to ride a horse this time, his name was Braveheart!

 Blue Chapel with the royal tombs in the background, in Petra

Part of the Temple of the Winged Lions site-ACOR's project that I've been helping on in the lab

goodness I'm lazy

Well, I obviously fail at keeping a blog.  I apologize if you were wanting to read this on a regular basis.
March flew by, honestly, all of a sudden it was spring break, and then I came back and it was the middle of April.  Now, I only have exactly a month left here in Amman.  That idea is both exciting and saddening.  My host family is trying to convince me to come back for the fall, especially Christine.  Honestly, I think I would because I love it here so much, but it's just not possible with graduation and courses that I have to take back in La Crosse, unfortunately.  However, I know when I get home I'll be extremely happy and am looking forward to being re-united with everyone again.  It'll be nice to be able to pick up the phone and call who I want, when I want and not think about the time difference, or have to set up skype dates and think about when the next time I have internet will be (I may have used up to much of my family's bandwidth last month so now I try not to use it often at home haha)

I went to the Dead Sea last month, such an odd experience, the floating.  Everyone says that, but until you experience it you'll never truly understand.  Honestly, you can't touch the ground, you just bob.  If you do ever go do NOT put your head underwater, my friend made that mistake and it stung like heck lol...we did the mud bath though and let me tell you it works!  My skin has never felt so smooth and soft, I want to go back at least once more before I leave, in shallah.

Also saw Kerak Castle. So huge and it's so strategically placed on top of this big hill, as we walked through the tunnels, I imagined torches lining the walls and men in armor running down the tunnels to their posts.  Imagining is the best.

I had spring break over a week ago now.  I went to Istanbul and Troy.  It was a wonderful weekend, I was able to stay in a beautiful hotel for free thanks to connections my friends have, I felt like royalty all week.  We made friends with our concierge, his name was Cank, pronounced Jank, yep for real haha and he was really sad to see us go, he was extremely nice and he loved when we would make him laugh, which was often haha

We did a lot of walking and rode the metro almost everyday, we were pros at that by the end of the week.  Saw most of the Old City, including Topkapi Palace which is huge, took a half a day to see just that, but it was worth it.  And of course, the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  Both extremely beautiful.

Did a lot of shopping in the Grand Bazaar and enjoyed the men trying to hussle us to buy their goods which are the exact same thing being sold right next door, honestly it amazes me how these people make a living when they're all selling the exact same thing.  I bought turkish pants! And I'm really excited about them, if you can't tell, I'll definitely be rocking those back home this fall and next spring!  I also drank a lot of apple tea while I was there because it is my absolute favorite! I brought some home for my host family, but they didn't like it at all unfortunately, so guess I'll have to stick to their cinnamon tea for the last month, unfortunately lol

Visited the archaeological site of Troy, unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to spend there, but it was such an incredible feeling to be there, such fascinating history behind that area, in all time periods.

Now is the home stretch for classes, and the teachers are just piling it on of course.  In my standard arabic class I have THREE tests this week and TWO presentations, cruelty I tell you, haha but I'm sure I'll survive.  We took our oral re-entry to the USA test today for arabic and I can tell that I've improved drastically over the course of these few months.  Holding a conversation about certain topics is so easy now, and I'm so much better at figuring out what people are talking about, even if I don't know the exact sentences, I can get the idea out of it by picking out the verbs, it's really exciting and makes me so excited!  Hopefully I'll be able to continue in my arabic somehow this coming school year since it's not offered anymore after this level back in La Crosse.

I went to Aqaba this past weekend to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday-alcohol is duty free down there lol.  It's the southern port of Jordan and from there you can see both Egypt and Israel, it's crazy how close they are.  When you're sitting on the beaches of the Red Sea, Egypt is right across.  We had beautiful weather and I even got a tan, YES, finally haha, the weather is starting to get nice even in Amman and I hope it stays that way, I bought some long skirts and I'm ready to wear them!

While we were in Aqaba we snuck into the Movenpick hotel's beach (the nicest hotel on the beach).  Our friend said that we could jump off the pier and then swim around and up the beach then just walk onto it, however I realized that there wasn't a fence and my other friend jokingly mentioned just walking in.  When I saw that the "guard" wasn't looking and was talking on his phone, I non-chalantly walked into their beach area and just kept walking, acting like I owned the place.  I look back and my friends are laughing their heads off and giving me the thumbs up so I kept going.  I had a mild panic attack when another life-guard/security guy approached me, but he just kept walking, I was in the clear haha.  My friends soon followed suit and we spent a good two hours relaxing in their hot tubs.  Unfortunately we realized you need a hotel room number to get towels and the weather quickly turned cold.  So we saw a bunch on a desk and tried taking some, a woman approached us and asked for our room number.  Awkward conversation ensued, but then we just said we were leaving and we left, easiest escape ever and it was a success!

Easter

Psalm 33:20-22 We put our hope in the Lord and our hearts rejoice because He is risen! We put our unfailing love in Him because He is alive! Happy Easter in Jordan!

February...over a month

February has flown by, can't believe it's March on Thursday (which is also Justin Bieber's as well as Whitney Heemstra's birthdays!!)

For Valentine's Day I celebrated with a few friends by going out to dinner at a restaurant named, "Blue October" where we ordered our dinner on ipads.  Different, but also annoying when we kept accidentally deleting our order and had to start over twice haha oh the joys of technology....I then had my first experience with 'Pinkberry' and absolutely loved it, so delicious!  Then, of course, we went to our first movie here in Amman, 'The Vow' haha, it was Valentine's Day after all

Valentine's Day in Jordan seemed semi-relative to the U.S.'s standards, however, I've never personally celebrated the holiday in full force myself, so perhaps it was just me.  Some people did wear red and go out with their significant others, including my host brother, and decorations could be seen around town, especially in the malls.

This past saturday I visited several of the biblical sites here in Jordan, including the place where Jesus may have been baptized in the Jordan River and the ruins of the palace where John the Baptist was be-headed. Really interesting to have read and known these stories for so long and then finally be able to walk and be and see the places where these events may have actually taken place.  I think the coolest moment for me was being on Mt. Nebo and over-looking the surrounding area and realizing that this could very well be the view that Moses had of the Promised Land but was denied entry into it.

Family life is grand, I am still sometimes made fun of when I can't remember certain words, (learning the dialect is like learning a completely different language sometimes so it can be frustrating, but so rewarding when I can finally form sentences in Ammiyah) but it's wonderful that they're so willing to continually help me learn.  Christine and I enjoyed a movie night complete with popcorn and candy a few weeks back, it was a great night in, and we enjoyed getting to hang out together!

We celebrated my friend Kate's 21st birthday here in Amman last week with a surprise party.  She was thoroughly surprised and the look on her face was priceless, so glad I was able to be a part of planning that for her!

 The place where many archaeologists/historians/scholars, etc. believe that Jesus was baptized.  The river has naturally moved throughout time.

 Beautiful church along the Jordan River.

 Jordan River site.  Literally 3 meters across the river is Israel, hence the security.  There was a group of Amish on the Israel side that we talked to, turns out most of them were from Wisconsin!

 Part of the first map of the Holy Land in Madaba, only 25 sq. meters remain due to severe damage done by an earthquake.

 Possibly the cutest, fluffiest, softest, and most flea-ridden thing I've ever held haha

 Part of the palace area where John the Baptist was be-headed.

 Gorgeous view.  Dead Sea in the background.

An Adventurous Weekend

Best weekend yet.  Travelled to Wadi Rum and Petra with the rest of the CIEE students, it was only two days, but we did so much.  However, I could spend so much longer exploring both of these places, I hope I will have time to go back sometime before I leave.

It was so incredible to climb and have an amazing and vast view of God' creation.  We climbed to see the Monastery at Petra, which was beautiful in itself, but then we climbed to the lookout point and spent an hour up there just soaking up the sun (got a sunburn...never thought that would happen in Februrary) and just gazing over the wadi.

It was such a great time to reflect and be in silence and enjoy the majesty of the earth and all that God created.  Love this verse....

"For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him.  The sea is his, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land." - Psalm 95:3-5

University of Jordan

I made it through the first week of classes....barely.  Of course I was sick the whole week which made the week drag by even more, but thankfully the week is over and I'm feeling much more like myself, which means, if you have ever lived with me (Whitney, Katie, Courtney this is especially for you) I'm just always tired haha

My arabic classes will be different and perhaps more difficult compared to the states, just because they're ONLY in arabic, english isn't allowed to be spoken, we got away with some this first week, but not a whole lot.  It will be an adjustment, but a good one, because it will force me to pay attention and stay focused more, which means that I really shouldn't sit by the window anymore...lol

My professors are great, perfect mixture of seriousness and fun, and they love my name, they always get excited because they say it's an arabic name, and I just smile and nod and say that it is also a biblical name, which is where my mother got the name.

I've only had my two arabic classes, because my archaeology and literature courses don't meet till next week, but I'm so looking forward to my archaeology class.  I plan to drop my literature course because I just received news that I got the internship I applied for at the American Center of Oriental Research.  I think it will be a lot like my old job at the archaeology lab in La Crosse, but I'll get to work alongside an archaeologist who is currently doing work in Petra, The Temple of the Winged Lions.  Words can't describe how ecstatic I am about this, I'm just thanking and praising God for such a wonderful opportunity and praying that I can perform my job well!

Further, I just applied for an ESL teaching position on campus, because I need a paying job desperately, and this would be a perfect fit.  It would take a lot of time out of my schedule, but I'm putting my schedule in God's hands and praying that it will all fit, while still allowing for free time to travel, etc.

In other random news, the weather here is so strange, and I say that after living in Wisconsin for my whole life.  Yesterday it was down pouring, then it would be bright and sunny for a half hour, then back to cloudy and rainy, later it would randomly snow for ten minutes, then back to rain.  So confusing, and so frustrating to walk to class in, especially when you didn't prepare for such freezing conditions.  I'm really wishing I had my rain boots, as some roads I've seen and had to trudge through have literally become rivers.  Oh well, just means more warm drinks like delicious teas and hot chocolate!  Basically, it's always an adventure here in Amman, and of course, I absolutely love it!

Oh, and I'm still being fed a ridiculous amount by my host mother, and "dinner" that they prefer to call lunch apparently, is served whenever I come home, whether that's 230 or 530, so I've been trying to come home later rather than earlier for this reason haha

Less than a Week

I haven't even been here a week yet, but it feels like forever.  So much has happened since I arrived last Saturday.  Orientation has taken up this whole week, but finally it's almost over.  The highlight was a tour of the city, including stops at both the citadel and the amphitheater.  It was so exciting because the citadel had a small archaeological museum, so I was loving it while everyone else was wondering how a person could get so excited over some pottery and stone tools (there were of course other displays, like sarcophaguses among other things).  The amphitheater was beautiful, but so steep.  Since it had rained the day before everything was still slippery.  So, while the climb up was exhausting I didn't think it was scary until I reached the top and looked down, realizing I still had to make the descent on uneven and cracked stone steps.  While it was a daunting task, I soon safely reached the bottom.

                                          My friend Kate and I at the citadel

                                         View of the amphitheater from the citadel

                                         At the top of the amphitheater

                                         The main ruins of the citadel

I moved in with my family Wednesday night.  They are all very kind and helpful, especially when it comes to learning Arabic, sometimes its overwhelming how many new words they throw at me and expect me to remember. The mother doesn’t speak a lot of English so we rarely talk, and she just looks at me a lot, I can’t tell what she’s thinking.  The father is the sweetest old man, and he’s very calming to be around, but he forces me to speak in Arabic with him, which is good. (We also bonded over watching the Australia Open Men’s Semi-Final, since we booth rooted for Djokovic).  The oldest daughter (who still lives with the family, the other is married) is Christine who is the same age as me, we also share a room.  She is the sweetest person ever, and is so willing to make me feel as comfortable as possible.  The first night she took me out with her friends to a nearby bar that was very Americanized, and all of her friends were just as nice and welcoming.  They enjoyed listening to me speak Arabic because my accent is so horrible haha (they also got a kick out of my “family name” because they can’t remember it for 2 seconds, but at least they were able to finally pronounce it!).  The oldest son, Rami, who is my sister’s age, is very kind and enjoys laughing at me and my failed attempts to try and understand conversations that occur around me in the house.  The younger brother is MIA as I still have not seen him after living here for almost three days.  The youngest daughter, is 8, and although she is very sweet, she hovers, a lot.  She follows me wherever I go in the house and this morning woke me up and watched me do my hair and make-up, etc.  Apparently I’m a really interesting person.  She also enjoys playing games all the time, half of which I don’t understand, the only one I’ve enjoyed so far is ‘snakes and ladders.’

I think the mom thinks I’m to skinny, because she feeds me a lot, literally.  The first night, I almost threw-up and wanted to cry from all the food I had to eat, and you have to finish what’s on your plate.  Regardless of the fact that it was delicious, once you reach a certain point it no longer tastes good, it was like Thanksgiving but 10x worse lol

Fridays are ‘Holy Day’ so that translates to ‘lazy day’ in this culture, or at least my family (they are Christian so they don’t go to the mosque).  Christine and I didn’t wake up till 11am, the rest of the family was up, but didn’t seem to mind.  (Everyone still greeted each other ‘good morning’ at 2:30pm) Everyone, except the mother (who was in the kitchen cooking/baking ALL day) wore their pajamas or sweats in the house for the whole day.  I of course wasn’t aware, and was dressed in jeans and a shirt (however, I don’t think we have heat so I am currently wearing 5 layers, and sitting by the lone space heater in the living room that has a radius of maybe 1ft. when it comes to spreading heat, I miss my electric snuggie).  Even though we ate a big brunch at noon we still ate ‘lunch’ at 5 so I’m not sure if that means I should expect a late dinner or not, I’m desperately hoping not.