Gerbil Chariot, away!!

Ohhhhhhhhh my.
WHAT A WEEK/WEEKEND.

This past week was our second full week of digging... and really, we don't do full weeks of digging, because Fridays are short days because of the Sabbath.

Wes and I closed our square- so long, cistern.
We finally hit bedrock (Or, a plastered floor, rather.. so we didn't dig through. Heck, it might've been bedrock, just plastered. The whole cistern is plastered, probably as a means to keep their water source protected and clean.)

So, we drew the sides of our squares- well, 2 sides.
Wes drew one, I drew the other.
I used my eraser a lot- Wes didn't. lol
But we got it done, and they look pretty good.

Our new home is here:
(disregard... stupid internet.... I was going to upload a picture... but nevermind!)

Audrey's second square. Inside what I think is probably a store room.
Our fieldsup thinks it's probably where looters put all the extra dirt- So, all the newer pottery will be on the bottom, and the older pottery on top, because when looters dig for rich stuff, they cavalierly throw dirt (and whatever is in the dirt) wherever they want...
Therefore- fieldsup's hypothesis.
Which makes total sense.

That's what I like about this work- it makes sense. I like the problem solving.
And in the Near East, people are constantly reusing things for logical reasons- each generation, each decade reuses what we now find to be timeless and historical and precious for logical and understandable reasons-- Like, the car parked in a burial tomb. Sure, it may be a burial tomb, and it was probably looted... And now there's a car parked in it- but seriously- where else would they park? Pretty logical.

Anyway.
New hole.
Today was our first day joining Audrey in the new hole.
And on our first day- we had a cave in.
Really, it was my fault. The rock I was using as my seat (for about an hour, mind you!) was suddenly not as stable as I thought and it totally just collapsed the wall.

Lessons learned- we cleaned up the hole, tossed out the dirt, and kept going.
In the collapse, I totally uncovered the wall of the store room though.. which is awesome.
I mean, it was totally a mistake- but an awesome mistake.
Now we have proof that it IS a room, instead of hypothesizing.


This weekend, we TRAVELED.
I am SO tired.
Friday, on the way back from the dig site, we got to tour a Green Home- a home made from plastic bags, dirt, a bit of cement and some water. Crazy awesome.
It was made for $2,000jd.
Which is even more awesome!
Such sustainable living!

Then we all went back to the hotel, ate, showered, napped, etc.
That night, some friends I went to the Blue Fig, a coffee cafe and bar, enjoyed ourselves for a bit, then 3/4 of us headed to Books@Cafe, another cafe/bar/hookah joint.
The evening was mucho fun.
I mean.. really really really fun.

Then saturday, we SLEPT IN.
It was GLORIOUS.
I slept till NINE. incredible.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Amman Citadel and saw things like the ampitheatre and Temple of Hercules and other such wonderful things- I took lots of photos. I can't wait till I can upload them.

Sunday, we headed to Jerash, a very well preserved Roman city- some say it's even better than Rome itself.
It was pretty dang awesome. I also took lots of photos of it..

Next, we headed to Ajlun Castle.
It kind of looked like every other castle... but it was neat, still! And I took lots of photos.

After Ajlun, we went to Bethany.
I was actually very very excited about this site.
A lot of people in our group weren't, which was a bit of a buzzkill, but that's okay! I still had a wonderful time, took some photos, and got to dip my feet in the Jordan river like all the devout old women.
They were SO sweet, dipping their feet, their hands, their wooden crucifixes into the water. I could cry- they were so precious.

Directly across this now-tiny river was the West Bank.
Crazy, right?
So I took a few photos- it was pretty anti-climactic, but still awesome to know that I was on the East bank, and could see the west bank.

The baptism site of Christ was also pretty anti-climactic, but still pretty neat, and awe-inspiring to know I stood in a place where Christ walked.
The tour guide said they knew it was the site because of the marble stairs. (That's pretty much the only part I caught- his accent was THICK)

(I'm not supposed to say this, Because Rachel's mom reads this and she worries-- but Apparently Bethany is a seriously dangerous place- or WAS. It apparently use to be a border, and there are still land mines; it's a pretty heavily guarded area by the military. We took a bus tour, and then were led through a gated path by a tour guide. SO, don't worry, Fay! No danger to us! I promise neither Rachel, nor I, stepped on a land mine!:D)

After Bethany was the Dead Sea-- which was much appreciated after the long walk through Bethany to see the Baptism site of Christ.

The sun was shining, the temperature was perfect. It was wonderful.
But let me tell you- It was SO strange to float in water.
FLOAT.
I thought it would take some effort, like, "oh, I'll float, but here, I'll give the buoyancy a little help..."
Nope. You float. It's difficult to swim, hard to switch from tummy to back or anything else- if you stay in one position, you're golden! lol

We all floated and enjoyed our time, then we dug up mud and rubbed it all over our skin and such.
Crazy how soft it made us...
(that sounds creepy. BUT we all agreed it made our skin SO soft!)

After that, we all headed home (back to the hotel).
And slept. lol

Then today, we dug.
SO tired and in serious need of showers (We were stinky, for real.).. but we had great days.

I felt SO much better today- I've been feeling pretty ill just about every day we've been here with stomach issues-- my tummy just doesn't agree with Jordan.
So, three weeks in, genius that I am.. I realized that even in the states when I drink too much juice, my stomach hates me.
SO. I just didn't drink juice today. (I also took my cipro today, too...)
I feel great! Yay!

It's way easier to enjoy the trip when you don't have to spend half of it in the bathroom...
(that's probably too much information... but 'round here... we talk about it. haha. Because we ALL have issues sometimes. It happens to EVERYONE. Dr Walker wasn't lyin'!)

Hmmm... what else...
I'm trying to finish my Jodi Picoult book in a timely fashion so Rachel has something to read. ;D
She's read 7 books since we've been here-- the girl reads FAST.
She read 5 of her own, one of mine, and she's working on her 7th now.
....I just want to finish one! haha :) Maybe more if I get around to it!
Maybe I'll read slow... just so I KNOW she'll have something for the survey. lol

Man... I can't believe this is week 3. That is CRAZY.

Know what else is crazy? I forgot what month it was... what the date was... And therefore, I totally forgot it was memorial day.
It's so different "celebrating" memorial day here... Because now I have such a completely different view of a lot of things..
Basic things like... being able to drink my tap water without getting sick- that's a big one here. We pay for bottled water so we don't get sick.
Being able to walk down a sidewalk by myself in America. I mean... I don't think I would feel at all threatened walking here alone.. but I don't think I would feel comfortable. Much like.. I wouldn't go to the Souk (open air market) without a group of girls, and at least one fella... Or, just a guy friend. Always with a guy.

I am grateful to be American. I am grateful for the ability to have clean water. I appreciate that I could play in the sprinklers every now and again when I was a kid. I appreciate that while we might not have lived in the fanciest or nicest house on the street- I had a house. I had clothes. I had a roof over my head that didn't leak or let animals in. I had food to eat and family that loved me. I grew up with a faith that has never failed, even with my logical academic mindset caused the idea of "religion" to fall away.

I hope everyone gets the chance to see a "third world country" and understand the gratefulness I feel today.

I'm not homesick- But I do wish I could be home for the holiday.

Today was wonderful. :)