One of my Rhodes classmates, Heather, came in from the States on Wednesday night and so I got to see her and our mutual friend Sara. Sara is pretty amazing and she won't say, but she is. Today, she took Heather, another friend Zaina and me to Gilead, a bit west of Amman, to a house that her family uses for vacation (I guess that's what it's for) where there is pool. We made the 30 or so minute drive and it is absolutely beautiful going there. I thought we had hills in Arkansas, pshhhhhhhhh! They have NOTHING on the hills--err, mountains--here in Jordan! Olive trees, beautiful white rock and homes were scattered all the way there to Sara's house and and I couldn't help but to be in total awe. The scenery in Jordan is second to none, in my opinion!
We got to Sara's house and pretty much immediately started to swim. Now, mind you, in packing for this trip, I forgot my bathing suit (those who know me know that I only have one just because--I actually don't really like water activities much) and so I had to go with a tshirt and shorts (Thank goodness Sara brought extras!). I'm totally okay with that though. And I also wasn't getting this hair wet. Y'all already know!! HA! Outside where the pool is there is a covered area and after my short stint in the pool (I pretty much got in for ten minutes then got out), I situated myself where the top half of my body was shielded from the sun and kept my legs exposed. I think that it got about 87 million degrees hotter today and the shade made a HUGE difference! (I can tell that my legs got a little color--shoutout Tabitha, always making fun of my little sad pale legs haha!)
Also at Sara's house, we had a wonderful Arabic meal of grilled chicken, onions, hummus, a paste of eggplant whos consistency is like hummus (I've already forgotten the Arabic word for it), two types of breads and fries. Y'all, I LOVE the food here! I have finally given in and realized that hummus is so good. We are doing it all wrong in the United States (for large part, that is)! After our meal, we went back out for a while and chatted out in the sun--by that time it had cooled off significantly so I quit hiding from the sun so much haha!
When we left Sara's house, she continued to be the gracious hostess and took us to her family's stables where I did something I've never done before. I actually rode a horse! First off, I have to brag on Sara. She is one of the most modest people I know and she will not brag on herself...So I will! Sara is a pretty avid equestrian and she's even won competitions. Y'all, she is good!!
While she went for her riding lesson, Heather, Zaina and I got to ride a few horses. Sara's father (mashaAllah--in this context, it means, how great is he...this word is hard to explain because there's no real one-word equivalent) got us all situated on our horses and we were off.
That thing on my head underneath my helmet is a little hairnet thing. Because lots of different people come to ride here at this stable, we had to put those hairnets on before our helmets. Just protocol. Anyway, so can I just tell you that I was more than a littel bit scared. I've never ridden a horse before, so I was NOT comfortable at all sitting atop a beast weighing tons more than I do (hyperbole of course, but you feel me). I was really freaked out but I knew that if I did not at least try, I would feel horrible for having this once in a lifetime experience without doing something I've never done before. I am really glad I got on that horse. The trainer was explaining to me what to do (in Arabic, but I understood his drift haha!) but I just did not catch on very well. I think that's why I was so freaked out. One time, my horse even started trotting and I about lost it! KHALAS--FINISHED!! I was so done with the horse at that point!! I got off that horse extra quickly and let Zaina try it out. Then I got mad at myself. Damnit for me letting my fear get the best of me. I watched Heather (who is really good at riding too!) and Zaina ride for a bit then I decided to give it another try. This time I got it a little better, mostly because I'd been watching the other two girls, and my horse started trotting again. After about ten minutes of this, I got tired and said khalas again but this time for good. In the words of my "Big Sis" Laura, horse riding is "not my ministry!" So glad I tried again. Below I'm pictured with my second horse, Zaina (same as Sara's friend!! MashaAllah!)
That was fun, but I think I'll keep my place watching horse races and the jewels of the Triple Crown HA!! After we all got done riding, we left Gilead and headed back to Amman. One the way to Gilead, I saw something that made me happy. There was a small church and right next to it was a masjid. I have seen very few churches, much less next to any mosques, so I was very pleasantly surprised. It made me think of our two religions' similarities and common Abrahamic and Mosaic root.
I'm getting ready to go hang out with Sara and some of her friends and Heather for a little while, so until next time, salaam,
jMed
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