tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34721832011-04-22T06:01:48.740+03:00I grew up along the Jordan river; I used to go canoeing down the river, and my friends and I even made up a song about it titled "what will we find in the Jordan River?" By the way, this Jordan river was in Salt Lake City and flowed to the Great Salt Lake. Now I'm not far from the original river Jordan. Its half a world away, but its still a mucky little river. What will I find here I wonder?Elisabethnoreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1152109156485616472006-07-05T16:59:00.000+03:002006-07-05T17:19:16.553+03:00

The fourth of July has never been my favorite holiday (generally reserved for xmas), but its always been one I enjoyed. No matter how I've felt the rest of the year, the fourth of July is usually one day I am garanteed to feel patriotic. I love small town fourth of julys with local parades, I love fourth of July's spent at a baseball game eating hot dogs... For one day I love displays of the

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1151849754125406252006-07-02T16:52:00.000+03:002006-07-02T17:15:54.206+03:00

I've always been horrible at saying goodbye and letting go, whether it be to a person, a place, a thing... This can be both a good and a bad thing... I hold on to my physical posessions, hardly throw anything away. This means I have all these great relics of my past that I can go back and look at when I feel nostalgic; it also means I have a clutter problem, made even more difficult by the

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1148085532472655782006-05-20T03:24:00.000+03:002006-05-20T03:38:52.506+03:00

This post is a long time coming, for which I apologize. Do hate to leave the blog with a bitter note. But after Madeline left I continued to play tourguide duty for a while with my mom, and have been picking up the pieces of my life since.I am reminded of the best parts of Jordan when I'm showing the country to someone else. Friends Madeline, Greg and Chris were so enthusiastic about

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1145897116153114372006-04-24T19:34:00.000+03:002006-04-24T20:23:09.843+03:00

So after a four day trip to the south (with Madeline, friend from school and two new friends) that epitomized everything I love about Jordan, I had an experience that epitomized the worst of Jordan. I'll get to the good stuff later to end on a high note, but for now, the bad.We had just gotten home and were unloading the rental car. I set my purse down near my feet to unload, when a car drove by.

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1144888031204652892006-04-13T03:19:00.000+03:002006-04-13T03:27:11.310+03:00

I went to Aqaba a couple of weeks ago, but I just posted the photos, so I figured that merited a blog entry.Aqaba was the last major site in Jordan that I hadn't been to- had been to Petra, Wadi Rum, Dead Sea, Jerash, Mt Nebo, etc etc, but not Aqaba. I guess I just didn't get around to it in the fall, and wanted to wait till it was warm enough to really enjoy it in the spring. When my friend

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1144851150073573862006-04-12T17:01:00.000+03:002006-04-12T17:12:30.250+03:00

After the Dead sea race, I decided to spend sunday up north somewhere. Back in the fall I tried to do several day trips, just to get out of Amman, and decided to re-start that trend as its springtime and I keep hearing how pretty things get up north in the spring. I didn't really care where to go, just anywhere with greeness, but I figured Ajloun would be a good target, since I hadn't been

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1144538373991971022006-04-09T01:57:00.000+03:002006-04-09T02:19:34.040+03:00

Can't garantee the blog is back for good, but this was worth a mention. I ran (mostly) in the dead sea marathon... the 10K fun run even that was part of the Dead sea marathon... but I feel really good about it!Now to begin with, you have to understand that I have never been a runner; even at my most active I swam, I hiked, I did the eliptical, I walked, I biked, but I never ran. So, maybe

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1140388946772602902006-02-20T00:13:00.000+02:002006-02-20T00:42:26.843+02:00

Here's the whole trip- bang, and more details later only if I have time.If you have questions, use it as an excuse to contact me :-) or check out the pictures (www.ebpage.com/elisabeths_photo_gallery)Got to Cairo Wednesday eve (the 25th of Jan) with Lisa (visiting from the states) and Heide. It was one of those "wow I'm really here" moments, oh my god I'm in Cairo! The street the hostel was on,

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1139860492607542322006-02-13T18:17:00.000+02:002006-02-13T21:54:52.670+02:00

a break from relentless travel posting. Today I had a meeting at books at cafe. It was a beautiful day, and it was afternoon, when the sun is just right to reflect off of the white buildings. Most of the time Amman does not seem like a particularly beautiful city to me, but there are moments when I am standing on one of the jebels of the center of the city and look out and am struck. After

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1136209710250938422006-02-13T00:29:00.000+02:002006-02-13T00:23:02.700+02:00

so much to catch up on, went to Egypt, traveled around Jordan, have seen so much. But... since I got so in depth about my christmas trip, I feel an obligation to finish that off quickly first. Hebron: We were there for a day, got a guide. Got to see the concrete barriers between the main part of downtown and the settlments flanking it, the wire mesh above the main market to keep out stones thrown

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1139082733279336312006-02-04T20:52:00.000+02:002006-02-04T21:52:13.340+02:00

Must apologize for being mia lately. For the last week and a half I have an excuse- I've been in egypt. No excuse for before that though. Still, I do have new pictures up, and will have tons more when I get back from egypt, plus interesting stories. If I fail to post, or you can't wait that long, feel free to email me.

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1135778835084620362005-12-28T15:48:00.000+02:002006-01-02T15:29:32.640+02:00

Everyone in Jordan (even those who had never been there) kept telling me how beautiful Palestine was. Those who I talked to weren't resentful that I could so easily visit and they, many of whom still had family in the West bank or Jerusalem, could not. Rather, they wanted me to go, to see the land, to take pictures, and to return to tell them about it. One student at the University said "when

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1135776511523300282005-12-28T13:34:00.000+02:002005-12-28T15:28:31.606+02:00

When we first got to Ramallah, it seemed very similar to Jordan. It was as if we had briefly entered another country at the border, but then returned to where we had been when we passed through the Qalandia checkpoint. The moment we got through the fences there were taxi drivers bargaining to take us to our hotel. Prices were more expensive, but the language was Arabic and the scene very

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1135703647022089172005-12-27T14:18:00.000+02:002005-12-28T00:58:36.173+02:00

Heide and I left Amman at about 12:30 on Tuesday the 20th. This was a bit later than planned, but I'd been told that as long as we got to the border by 2 we'd be all right. We had hired a driver to get us there, just to make things a bit easier. So we got to the border at about 1:30 or so, paid our departure tax, scanned our luggage, and sat outside waiting to get on the bus that would take us

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1135685096991305442005-12-27T13:28:00.000+02:002005-12-27T14:04:57.056+02:00

Besides the fact that I blanked over what to write about for so long (not that I didn't have things, but I had a lot of little things, and none seemed more important than another, so they all just sort of floundered), I went on a trip over Christmas with my roomate Heide, so I was not here to write.The trip itinerary was as follows:Dec 20: cross border into IsraelDec 20, 21: RamallahDec 22, 23:

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1134334463826174252005-12-11T22:39:00.000+02:002005-12-14T08:54:20.736+02:00

(editor's note: there was more to this post, but as I tried to publish, it somehow got lost. Am posting what I have to convince family that I haven't dissappeared, but will hopefully complete this later)ok, so I'll start my catching up roughly chronologically. Way back when I promised an entry on Kerak, which I visited October 29. Pictures here So Kerak is a crusader castle. Brief description

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1134333381328254842005-12-11T22:35:00.000+02:002005-12-11T22:36:21.346+02:00

... and I was already behind in my blogging when I left off. The bombings threw everything off, and after getting so far behind I haven't known where to begin. Don't worry, not in some depressed funk, just kicked the computer addiction... but not for long.

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1132009691752897672005-11-15T00:38:00.000+02:002005-11-15T01:08:11.830+02:00

So today life resumed again (Thursday was an official day of mourning, and sunday was already declared an official holiday before the bombings) with classes and so on. Yet this brought about a whole new round of demonstrations, as I think just about every university had some.I decided to go to the demonstration at the University of Jordan for a number of reasons. First, they let us out of class

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131406586313562732005-11-14T18:23:00.000+02:002005-11-14T18:48:43.090+02:00

I promised this post a while ago, but it has taken on new significance now.I say this post has taken on new significance now because the producer of "the Message"- a man named Mustapha Akkad who also worked on the entire "Halloween" series was killed, along with his daughter in the bombings in Amman.On the Thursday before eid al-fitr (the last thursday in October, whenever that was) we watched

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131640106586175342005-11-13T11:02:00.000+02:002005-11-13T12:47:23.843+02:00

Well I guess Its been 3 full days since the attacks, and I haven't said anything since the first night. The first day I was still waiting to see what the response would be, Firday I actually was quite busy, and I have no excuse for not posting saturday. But I do want to write a bit about Amman's responses to these attacks, because I think its very important that people understand that Arab/Muslim

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131575416295909182005-11-09T23:18:00.000+02:002005-11-10T02:53:26.990+02:00

Its amazing how life can change in an instant. In one moment I am shopping in a very western mall with a friend and eating Ice cream, and a few minutes later Rivda's phone rings. I hear her say in Arabic "a bomb at the Radisson?" (I'm desperately hoping I've confused two words in my translation). Suddenly everything is different. I am scared, but cherish a dim hope that as a single bomb it might

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131380639339404022005-11-07T18:00:00.000+02:002005-11-08T01:22:44.736+02:00

Before I begin, I had a request for some definitions.Wadi: I'm told it translates to "valley", but it also refers to seasonal riverbeds. Thus a lot of wadis look a lot like your typical southern Utah canyon.Siq: (see eid adventures part 1) I'm not sure what "siq" actually means, but in the context of Petra it refers to the long narrow gorge that you walk along before it opens up onto a

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131322662014704632005-11-07T02:07:00.000+02:002005-11-07T02:17:42.090+02:00

a brief break from eid adventures (there will be more I promise, and pictures too) to comment on Arabic studies so far (for those of you who worry I may be having too much fun).I may have said to some of you early on that its really necessary for me to create opportunities where I have to speak Arabic, because its far too easy to get by in Amman without really using Arabic. Fortunately I have

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131256022894630532005-11-06T07:34:00.000+02:002005-11-07T01:34:15.270+02:00

So there's part of me that wanted to stick around Amman for Eid to see what happens culturally at the end of Ramadan, to taste the eid sweets, to call on my friends, etc. But the stronger part of me ended up being the little voice that says '4 day weekend- you have to go somewhere.' So originally I thought it'd be a great time to go out of the country, but my brief internet search for tickets

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1131219395106081382005-11-05T21:29:00.000+02:002005-11-05T21:36:35.116+02:00

On Thursday Ramadan was officially over and Eid al Fitr began. During the last week of Ramadan I actually started to get sentimental about the whole thing- I worried I hadn't been to enough iftars, hadn't sampled enough sweets... should I have tried fasting? Did I get as much out of Ramadan as I could have? I made an effort to get together with friends on the last night of Ramadan that I was in

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130928753174807252005-11-02T12:19:00.000+02:002005-11-02T12:52:33.236+02:00

I'll have to finish updating last week later- this weekend is Eid al fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, and I'm going camping

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130922764027594792005-11-02T10:13:00.000+02:002005-11-02T11:12:44.096+02:00

slowly catching up on the last week....So Becky and Kevin and James live in this wonderful apartment by the University with a fabulous view. The apartment itself is very nice, but clearly the best part about it is the food. The apartment comes with food you say? Yes, yes it does. When Becky and Kevin had a house-warming party a month or so ago we all met their landlord Samia and her family, who

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130803638425177412005-11-01T02:00:00.000+02:002005-11-01T02:24:26.250+02:00

oh dear, I'm getting behind on blogging (and on posting pictures)to look forward to in future posts:-Samia's cooking class-a day-trip to Kerak-"The Message"... and morefor now though I'd like to share the highlight of my weekend, and that was celebrating Halloween in Jordan. Now, I know of a number of Halloween parties that took place here, but most of them were at the houses of westerners, which

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130621337509655932005-10-29T23:00:00.000+02:002005-10-29T23:28:57.586+02:00

So I haven't mentioned much about classes lately. I decided ultimately to stay in level 5, which I think was the right decision. After about 2 weeks in the class they decided to split the 30 or so person class into two groups, so now I have a class with only 16 people, which is actually smaller than the level 4 class. Now that the class is smaller we joke around a lot more as a class, and I

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130362580137284192005-10-26T23:14:00.000+02:002005-10-26T23:36:20.793+02:00

So my first Ramadan post demonstrated some anxiety over what to expect over Ramadan. I hope my post on Iftars demonstrated a number of the good things about Ramadan. Indeed I'm loving the Ramadan decorations (not sure if I've talked about those yet- the city is not as decorated as an American city in December, but still a number of houses have Ramadan lights on at night, and the grocery store is

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130259808247681632005-10-25T16:46:00.000+02:002005-10-26T23:13:59.836+02:00

So yesterday I went back to the Iraqi school. I'm hoping I can possibly start regular volunteer work there, since obviously they don't get a lot of money pouring in. Yesterday I just helped the English teacher in her class passing out papers and helping the students a bit with their work. We talked however about potentially starting up a remedial English class. I guess the English classes

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130192332713440282005-10-24T23:39:00.000+02:002005-10-25T15:12:46.216+02:00

Continuing where we left off... After the moon came out I did a bit of moonlight scramblings on the rocks near us, which was fabulous. I had a flashlight, but didn't need to use it at all. So, round about 10:30, most of the people are going to bed. I don't feel particularly ready to turn in yet. So I hear that some folks are planning to do a moonlight climb of the mountain accross the way.

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1130086275707987752005-10-23T18:41:00.000+02:002005-10-24T17:24:38.686+02:00

See the story in pictures at: http://www.ebpage.com/elisabeths_photo_gallery/wadirumIts hard to know where to start... Wednesday and Thursday were pretty full, with several parties and receptions and Fulbright bonding, but there's so much to say about Friday and Saturday that I think I'll have to jump ahead to friday morning.I guess I'll start with Justin running over my foot. So anxious to get

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1129649410804075542005-10-18T17:11:00.000+02:002005-10-18T17:30:10.870+02:00

I have learned a lot since I've been here about interactions between Palestinians, Jordanians, those who are of Palestinian descent but call themselves Jordanians, those who were born in Jordan but call themselves Palestinians, and the whole gamut of national identity. Thrown into the mix in the last few years is a huge influx of Iraqis in Jordan. At both of the foreign students' events I've

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1129407064686734662005-10-15T21:39:00.000+02:002005-10-15T23:41:39.523+02:00

Ramadan is much nicer when you have iftars to go to. (an iftar, if I haven't explained yet, is the meal that Muslims eat to break the fast after the sun sets during Ramadan- right now its about 5:15). During the first week of Ramadan I did not go to any Iftars, so I was frustrated with the cafes being closed, but did not get to experience the positive aspects of Ramadan. This week I've been to

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1129391654066401422005-10-15T16:55:00.000+02:002005-10-15T18:53:39.886+02:00

Last week I went to a professional basketball game in Amman. For only 1 JD a ticket its a fairly cheap form of entertainment, and basketball is one of the few sports I can enjoy just as a sport, and not only if my team is playing or if theres a party or its a playoffs game. However, for only 1 JD a ticket one has to wonder how on earth they can afford to pay the players. Granted Jordanian

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1129210549050353342005-10-13T15:14:00.000+02:002005-10-13T15:35:49.096+02:00

Not about Jordan, but if I'm "between two Rivers Jordan" I suppose I should talk about the other side of the world from time to time...This is simply a shout out to Ben Page (featured below) who, at the ripe age of 16 has led the Rowland Hall St. Marks Cross Country running team to their first regional victory since 1992 (for the boys- the girls won too, but not sure the stats on that). He got

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128981528977312682005-10-10T23:41:00.000+02:002005-10-10T23:58:49.026+02:00

Well I THOUGHT it was a good neighborhood....... ok just kidding. Although, this picture was actually taken last night about two doors down from us. I was walking back from the gym and heard sirens and saw a huge plume of smoke. I was nervous for a bit, but as I was walking along I saw a bunch of people excitedly heading in that direction. When I got closer I asked someone if they knew what

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128896086090393312005-10-10T07:58:00.000+02:002005-10-10T00:14:46.160+02:00

This weekend I had wanted to go to Madaba, and as luck would have it Christie, Ambar, Steve, Barbara, James, and Steve's friend Monica were already going. Madaba is a very short drive from Amman (though we had to go through a major detour.) It is a very christian town in many ways- there are a ton of churches for example- but for all I'd heard of the number of christians in the town I was

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128677599039806142005-10-10T07:51:00.000+02:002005-10-09T23:53:08.410+02:00

Well I haven't written much lately because I've actually had my days too full to write (well ok, I've also had internet problems). So on Monday I took a placement test at the Language Center at the University of Jordan to determine which class I would be in- I actually studied for the placement test most of last sunday, afraid that I would make stupid grammar and writing mistakes from not having

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128372136168655972005-10-03T22:26:00.000+02:002005-10-03T22:42:16.220+02:00

Tomorrow is the beginning of Ramadan in Jordan.We've known since we got here that Ramadan would start sometime around the 5th of October. The thing is they don't announce exactly what day it starts until the night before. Here's a holiday that lasts a month and completely changes the way life and businesses operate, and you learn when it starts the night before- it completely baffles American

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128209985423480532005-10-02T01:21:00.000+02:002005-10-02T01:39:45.443+02:00

When I meet Jordanians now, I often ask them where they would go shopping if they were me. This does two things. First, it gives me ideas of where to go shopping. Second, often people volunteer to go sometime with me if I would like, so it gives me an opportunity to hang out with them. So this past week at a party I met a girl who told me about a Friday flea market in Abdali. So Thursday

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1128035307089241782005-09-30T00:33:00.000+02:002005-09-30T01:08:27.140+02:00

Wednesday I hopped on a bus to Irbid (a bit farther north than Jerash). The bus ride alone was worth the trip. I sat next to a fascinating woman who lives in Irbid but commutes every day to and from Amman (about 1.5 hours each way, not counting that you might have to wait a bit for the bus.) She told me that she had wanted to continue studying when she was younger, but after getting her

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127859751416564272005-09-28T01:06:00.000+03:002005-09-28T01:22:32.773+03:00

Today I took a half-day trip to Jerash. This was the first trip I've taken on my own in Jordan, and it worked out quite well. The bus from Amman to Jerash cost less than the Taxi from my house to the bus station, so theres no excuse not to travel around more. I was the only westerner on the bus, but I'm ok with that. I didn't really feel uncomfortable traveling alone, except the feeling one

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127846271234558892005-09-27T21:24:00.000+03:002005-09-27T21:37:51.306+03:00

This is a bit of a tangent...So I changed the blog description a bit. In the new description I mention a song we came up with. "We" refers to my Girl scout troop (insert geek insult here). Our troop was a mariner troop, so we focused on swimming, boating, knot tying, etc. Every year we would travel to a competition in California. We were the only land-locked troop at the competition, so we

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127780404492556882005-09-27T03:00:00.000+03:002005-09-27T03:20:07.596+03:00

The theme of the last few days has definitely been movies.So on Saturday I walked over to Jebel Webdeh to check out Darat al-funun, an art museum. Its not that far a walk as the crow flies, but you have to cross some major streets, so I've been trying to figure out the best way to get there. Thus, it took me a long time to get to the museum because I was walking a roundabout way. Anyhow, the

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127504237403369222005-09-23T21:53:00.000+03:002005-09-23T22:37:17.446+03:00

By thursday I hadn't eaten mensaf, the Jordanian national meal, yet, it was high time to go shopping, and it was imperative that I get myself out of Amman and explore other parts of the country....these problems are unrelated, but due to their combined solutions this entry could be titled "how to get the most out of 36 hours in Jordan" or alternatively "how Elisabeth tried to kill herself with

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127312717498235652005-09-21T17:05:00.000+03:002005-09-21T17:25:17.536+03:00

On Monday they took the Fulbrighters on a tour of the University of Jordan. The University campus has a really nice feel- its covered in trees and has lovely shaded walks. There is a nice clock tower in the center and a giant chess set by the student activity complex (see below).The buildings at the University leave a little more to be desired. The language center is brand new, (I think the

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1127052540389176532005-09-18T16:29:00.000+03:002005-09-18T17:09:00.426+03:00

So the last several days seem to be dominated by little things that need to be done for the apartment- we need new diesel fuel to heat the water, we went to get the internet connected, the fridge didn't work, I can't figure out how to operate the oven, etc. Our hars Wajih installed a new bracket for the shower yesterday, and somehow when he was done the shower head didn't work (the shower head

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1126904319205091892005-09-16T23:41:00.000+03:002005-09-16T23:58:39.213+03:00

Yesterday was the last day of orientation, so from this point I probably will not see other Fulbrighters (excepting my roomates) as often as I have so far... still I bet we'll run into each other. Case in point: today I went on a long walk which ended at a supermarket near our house where I ran into a group of them totally by coincidence. Anyhow, last night some folks arranged a dinner at this

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1126696739345920622005-09-14T23:17:00.000+03:002005-09-14T14:18:59.350+03:00

Wow, its been forever since I've posted. It was very expensive to get online from the hotel, and I kept saying I'd go to the internet cafe, but I was kept too busy to make time to go.So, what have I been up to? Well...Last saturday a group of us Fulbrighters went to citadel hill in Amman, which was amazing. I'll upload pictures soon (as soon as my online photo gallery works.) There is so much

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1126264410847492142005-09-09T13:56:00.000+03:002005-09-09T14:13:30.853+03:00

Well folks, I'm in Jordan! I arrived on wednesday afternoon, and today is Friday.The plane ride went well for the most part, though it was 11 hours long. Another Fulbrighter named Sara arrived at approximately the same time. Actually, we are sharing a room. Its funny, they emailed me the day before I arrived and apologized profusely that they could not put us each in our own room, but could Sara

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1125989722619759992005-09-06T09:51:00.000+03:002005-09-06T09:55:22.623+03:00

Tonight was my last night in the US for the whole of 2005, and really for the better part of the last year. It was a good night, in that Robyn and I went shopping, went to dinner, and went out to a couple of bars. But really what surprises me most is the fact that it bein my last night really doesn't bother me or frighten me much. Seeing my friends in NYC makes me jealous of the fact that they

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1125648409641276332005-09-02T10:58:00.000+03:002005-09-02T11:06:49.646+03:00

Today (or rather, as its past midnight, yesterday), Mom and I ran some last-minute errands to buy things before my trip. (I also took the GRE, but really, lets not talk about that). We were very productive... it helps that its the last day. For example, I had wanted a pair of shoes to fill a particular niche: decent looking shoes that I could wear with a skirt, but that are comfortable to wear

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1125514098349020842005-08-31T21:38:00.000+03:002005-08-31T21:48:18.356+03:00

So, finally a post about Jordan... or rather, my preparations for traveling there...I leave friday night- meaning I have to go to the airport in about 56 hour or so. In the meantime I have to finish cleaning my room (it never got entirely clean over the summer), finish packing (I have a pile of clothes I plan to take, but I need to decide which bag(s) I want to take so I can put the clothes in

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1125296055941486102005-08-29T08:49:00.000+03:002005-08-29T09:14:15.976+03:00

In an endurance race, the guy who comes in last clearly had a much harder race than the guy who came in first. In this weekend's bike race, everyone started at 6 AM. The first finisher came in at about 4:15 pm. The last finisher came in after 10 PM. He'd been riding with a headlamp on a very techical mountain biking course for about an hour and a half, and he'd been going for 16 hours. But

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1124947322210969222005-08-25T08:04:00.000+03:002005-08-25T08:40:28.486+03:00

I'll have the next 9 months to talk about Jordan, so more from Utah...This past weekend we went to the Utah Shakespeare festival. At least two members of our family have been every year since 1995- I've only missed one year. Since we've been going for so long, the traditions surrounding the festival have changed for us. At one point we used to go mountain biking during the day and playgoing at

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3472183.post-1124842399528272172005-08-25T01:30:00.000+03:002005-08-25T00:59:30.116+03:00

This blog is intended primarily to record my experiences in Jordan. However, as I am not in Jordan yet, I choose to record a few things from the past week in Utah. In no particular order, we start with monday:Monday's hike proves that Mom's expression "if you don't like the weather in Utah, wait 30 minutes" is true, but so is its converse- if you like the weather it could easily turn bad on you.

Elisabethnoreply@blogger.com2