Fact: The internet is being
IMPOSSIBLE. I was going to upload a lot of pictures but it literally is taking
a half hour to upload each picture, so I guess I will just talk about random
things. Sorry for the lack of visual appeal. /:
So last Sunday I decided to sleep
in for the first time while my roommates all got up for breakfast (7 am) and
either went into the city or studied. I’m glad I got the rest, but when I woke
up at 10 am by myself in the middle of the day… I. HATED. IT. It is incredible
how much I learned about myself in that moment. I always thought I liked
sleeping in and not having early-morning responsibilities but I’m learning that
I kind of really like doing things in the morning and actually getting things
done (shocker!). I seriously felt so lame for not getting up at the usual 6:30
and going to the usual 7 am breakfast. It’s crazy that I get up at 6 or 6:30
every morning here!! Often times we’ll be on a field trip and will have done so
much and we’ll look at our watches and it’s only 10 and we’re just amazed at
how much we’ve already done by then. I love it. Being productive is awesome. And
I’m really glad I learned that about myself because it makes me not so
terrified to get a big-girl job that requires me to be up early. (Haha. I am so
weird.)
Jordan was great, and Petra was
AWESOME. We went to Petra on Tuesday and it was seriously the best day ever. It
was so refreshing to see something visually appealing! Our field trips are
awesome but it’s not like studying abroad in Europe or something… we look at a
lot of old rocks here. Haha. Significant, but old, rocks. :)
It was so awesome to see something as GRAND and AMAZING as Petra. We saw the
treasury first, and that’s where I first rode on a camel!! Just a 10 second
ride for a few bucks, but it was awesome. Then we wandered around in our own
little groups for a while, and a lot of us did the optional hike up to the
monastery. SO GLAD I DID THAT. It was like 40 minutes and there were 800 steps
on the way up (I. Was. Dying.), and I did it in Toms (Let’s not talk about the
fact that I somehow decided to wear Toms that day. Haha.), but it was soooo
worth it. The monastery is like a huger grander version of the treasury and it
was INCREDIBLE. I wish we could have stared at it for hours but we had to hurry
to lunch. And after lunch, 3 friends and I decided to fork up some more money
(10 Jordanian dinars.. so about 15 bucks) to ride camels back to the meeting
spot!! SO WORTH IT!! It was about a 15 minute ride and it was sooo fun. You
move a lot more on a camel (like, your hips are having a party), and when we
were trotting I was pretty sure my earrings were going to rip straight through
my ears haha. But it was so awesome and so fun and so cool and SO WORTH IT. Oh
Petra. That was such a fun and fulfilling day!!
The rest of Jordan was awesome as
well. Staying in 2 different hotels was fun (when are hotels not fun?). It was
funny having to remember not to ever get the tap water in our mouths... we used
bottled water for everything (brushing teeth, drinking at meals, etc.) to avoid
traveler’s diarrhea haha. So funny. Also, I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR FLUSHING TOILETS
AND TOILET PAPER AND WATER PRESSURE. Seriously… It’s just hilarious. Having to
carry toilet paper on us wherever we go, KNOWING that the toilet probably won’t
flush… it’s just so funny. When we got back to Israel we were on cloud 9!!! Just
knowing that the bathrooms in the JC wouldn’t give us trouble was like the best
feeling ever. Home sweet home. Haha.
Other places we went in Jordan: Mt.
Nebo (where Abraham was shown the promised land and where he was translated), Citadel
of Amman, Jabbok river (where Jacob wrestled with the angel), Jaresh (So cool!
One of the best preserved Roman cities), the Royal Automobile Museum (SO
random, but cool… I got pics of Porsches for you dad! ;) also they’re obsessed
with the king in Jordan… his face is plastered everywhere, it’s hilarious), and
THE JORDAN RIVER (Um, yeah. Just the place where Christ was baptized. What? Okay. Awesome.). It had been so rainy and
cold the day we were going to the Jordan River… I was sad that it would be like
that when we went… but (as we learned in class), the river is in the “rain
shadow” where the rain clouds disappear because the ground is so low, and the
clouds only form again up in the hills. So when we went, it was sunny and beautiful
and warm enough to take my jacket off. And it was great. ♥ I just wish we could have stayed longer.
I’m sitting in the student lounge
up in the loft area, and a bunch of people below me are watching The Best Two
Years. :)
It’s funny hearing them crack up at everything. There have been and will
continue to be SO MANY MISSION CALLS ISSUED HERE!! We had SIX this last week,
and four of them were girls. It is CRAZY how many 19-20 yr old girls here are
getting their calls this semester. (For those that don’t know, in October the
age to serve missions was lowered from 19 to 18 for boys and from 21 to 19 for
girls… HUGE change in the church and an extremely exciting time for Latter-day
Saints!! Sooo many 19 year old girls are JUMPING on the opportunity to serve
missions now.) This last week calls were made to Japan, Romania, Taiwan,
Minnesota, the Baltic mission, and FIJI!!! Yeah. It is pretty awesome and we’re
all freaking out. There’s a little joke here that all the girls are either
planning on serving missions or have a serious boyfriend at home. It’s kind of
funny. I feel like this is such a unique semester, but I’m glad to be a part of
it.
We already have midterms this
week. It makes me sick to think how much I have to study, but it makes me happy
knowing that we’re halfway done with like 3 or 4 of our classes!
I’m so glad I decided not to
bring my iPhone with me.
I’ve started a “That Awkward
Moment When…” section in the back of my little journal that I take everywhere I
go (The one you gave me Sadie!! It’s perfect!!). It’s basically the best thing
of my life and I can’t wait to share some entries with you.
We watched Indiana Jones and The
Last Crusade last night. :) I FINALLY get why people always referenced that when
I said I got to go to Petra, haha. We all squealed like school girls when that
scene played and I’m already a little sad knowing that I probably won’t ever go
back in my life. Crazy, huh? But I guess you really never know. :)
Well… I think I'll go catch the end of The Best Two Years now.
I love you guys! And thank you soo much for your comments - they are as good as warm hugs. :)
~Jennie
"/>
