May 13, 2009
Can I just start out by saying that I have felt epic this entire trip? If "epic" is a feeling you can have. There's just something about living in tents and storming castles and eating with your hands and going without running water and feeling the desert wind blow through your hair as you watch the sun sink behind the sandstone hills... Epic is the best word I can find.
This morning we woke up with the sun after sleeping out under the stars on a sand dune. With nothing scheduled until much later in the morning, we took our time getting up, examining the small bug tracks made in the night (beetles, not scorpions) and skating down the sand dune to a breakfast of the ever present flat bread, goat's cheese, yogurt, jam, dates, eggs, olives, and tea. After breakfast I climbed up on the right-side sandstone bluff for a little devotional time, reading my Bible and singing while enjoying the view.
Around 11 the camels came for us. We mounted up and rode off into the desert. Yeah, actually it wasn't as exciting as it sounds. It could have been...if we had been able to steer our own camels and could have gone a little faster...but considering the value of camels and the relative insanity of people in our group, I suppose it was understandable for their Bedouin owners to want to be in control every step of the way. So we went pretty slowly, in a large group, most camels tied together in sets of two or more, led by different men. Rachel and I were tied together and led by a young, barefoot, Bedouin boy. Bare feet on the hot sand...ouch! I think he said he was 16 or 17, though he didn't look like he could be nearly that old. He let me have the reins for a little while, which was pretty fun. I do have to say, though, that I felt more comfortable this time around. I'm learning better how to sit and how to move with camel rhythm. Really, I'm practically an expert. Except not.
Anyway, we rode probably a mile or two into the desert, ending up somewhere roughly south of our camp. We got off the camels and waited. James, our guide, said that he would bring us lunch, but he didn't really specify when...so we waited. Some people went exploring. I guess I was momentarily "explored-out" so I sat around with some other people and we played games as we waited: Mafia, the Thumb Game, and eventually, Signs. We were just getting into signs when the truck with our food came driving up. Lamb, chicken, flatbread, and yogurt.
After lunch we got back on the camels and headed back to camp another way, making a loop. The desert here is beautiful, with so many different rock formations. I suppose one would come to recognize them after a while, but for me, well, I could maybe get lost if I wandered among them enough. They all look surprisingly similar. :)
Fortunately, we made it back to camp without losing our way even once, surprising, I know. Once back at camp we had a little time before our last planned session with Dr. Wright. We watched another sheep slaughter, but I think most of us were less interested this time. Instead of watching them complete the process, Jon, Josh, Ian, Cam, and I played 5 handed Rook. Pretty much made my day. We hadn't played long, though, when it was time for our session.
Job 6:15-17
"My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a wadi,
Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,
Which are dark because of ice,
And into which the snow vanishes.
When it is warm, they cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place."
If you've ever met a Levantine Wadi, you know what Job meant. There are valleys all over - clear evidence of rushing water. Often the bottoms of these valleys are green and full of life. So you go and expect to find water. All to often, the water is only a memory. Sometimes, though, you might go expecting little to no water, and instead are washed away by a sudden flash flood. Wadis are unpredictable and deceitful.
Job 14:18-19
"But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man."
The rock formations are indeed fragile. One can see where water has washed over them and worn away parts. When we would go climbing, sometimes parts of the mountain would crumble in our hands. Sometimes we would tap on a surface that looked solid, only to hear a hollow ringing from where it had been undercut by water. The effects of the erosion are seen in the sand that stretches as far as the eye can see.
Imagery from this whole area of the Middle East is found throughout the Bible. Job and Wadi Rum is only one example.
After our session, I tagged along with Cameron and Jon for one last bout of exploration. We went up behind the camp this time, up a larger sand dune and a larger sandstone formation. We didn't go to the highest point, but it was still a good spot to view the desert and reflect. Jon left after a while but Matt and Elise joined us and we all watched the sunset together. I'm going to miss those desert sunsets...and the people who experienced them with me.
We hiked back to camp, enjoying our run back down the large sand dune. Once back at the tent I ended up playing hearts, a game at which I am not terribly proficient. To make it even better, though, a couple Bedouin children sat by me and practiced their English by reading off all the numbers on my cards. :) It was really fun, actually. I hadn't had much contact with any of our host family, so I enjoyed it.
We had a fairly late dinner of mansaf, this time managing to eat with our hands a little better. Still not good, but we tried. Then we hiked back up the dune for another slumber party under the stars. This time we knew to dig holes in the sand to better fit the contours sof our bodies, and I think most of us slept much better...except possibly the people who had seen the camel spider earlier that day. *sigh* I miss out on all the cool bugs.
May 14, 2009
We woke again at sunrise...and then maybe fell asleep for just a little longer. This time, however, we had to leave fairly quickly, so we dragged our selves out of bed, brushed off the sand, and tumbled down to breakfast.
After breakfast we packed everything up and piled back into the jeeps (or similar ones) that had brought us there. Once back on the bus we headed for Aquaba. We ate and early lunch there. It was kind of weird, going into a nice resturant with cloth napkins and amazing bathrooms, all of us smelling like smokey goat. They probably had to disinfect the place when we left. Still, we enjoyed our meal, including the cold soda. Cold drinks...what a luxury! Then back on the bus to the border crossing. It was a fairly simple crossing, and I finally got a Jordanian stamp in my passport! Then back on a NET bus and north to Jerusalem!
Good bye, Jordan, red sands, and goats. It was epic.
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