Welcome to Jordan: Petra

Kajsa and I began our Jordanian adventure bright and early this morning! We were shooed out of our hostel into the 100-degree heat around 6:30 AM and met with our driver, who took us to the Jordanian border. 

While Jordan and Israel do currently have an uneasy peace, the remnant tension from past wars lingers between the barbed wire outposts in the middle of the desert. Kajsa and I pretty much zoomed through the Israeli side--we ARE practically natives, after all--and we made it to no-man's-land with no problems. We had to walk the 60 meters between the two countries, as no cars are allowed through (as far as I know).

Foreboding!

We were ordered to get rid of all food and drinks between the countries... But I wasn't about to get rid of my freaking fruit leather strips!! A girl's gotta eat! 

So, my bag is rolling through this X-Ray machine, and a twenty-something Jordanian soldier is smoking a cig and eying me suspiciously, and I'm just like--

Of course, I passed through, and snacked on some gummies to celebrate. 

Then there was the two hour wait for our tour guide to actually show up and shepherd us through the crossing... Impatient Aubs gets a tiiiiiny bit sassy, so when our guide finally showed up frazzled blaming traffic, I was like--

But--the wait was entirely worth it. The drive through the Jordanian desert was stark, and towering, and breathtaking. I've never seen a landscape this dynamic and intimidating. And, just some cool historical context, this is where Moses and the Jews wandered during their Exodus!!

I witnessed numerous things on the journey. Wild herds of camels roamed the side of the road (I about died). Men actually DO wear those checkered head coverings (I sincerely thought it was a Hollywood dramatization--it's like going to Texas for the first time and seeing guys wear cowboy hats and boots and being like OMG). 

I got to taste the most delectable olive oil of my life. 

And I listened to our hysterical and overly candid tour guide explain Jordanian culture. He insisted that religious women do not engage in "maneuvers" before marriage because "imagine a man walking into a phone store and they hand him a used phone--blech--you wouldn't want that." I was simulatenously disgusted, horrified, and entertained. 

After this eventful two-hour drive from the border, we arrived at one of the Seven Wonders of the New World: the lost city of Petra!

Built around the turn of the era (aka like 1 AD) by the Nebatians, this city was carved into the red stone of the Jordanian desert. While there are numerous homes that remain, most of the structures are actually unbelievably grand tombs. This culture's emphasis on the afterlife ensured that every individual--including the slaves--found their resting place in rocky tombs. Wow. 

 There's a seamless merging of nature and construction, humanity's will to be remembered and the earth's everlastingness, that I'd never witnessed before. I walked around the entire time with my mouth dropped open.

The main entrance to the most recognizable tomb was called "The Gorge."

The beauty of this place cannot be captured by photographs. But one of the final stops--the Treasury of Petra--almost brought me to my knees with its magnificence and the feat of its engineering. 

Just... WOW. Contrary to its name, this structure hid no money and is just a tomb for a royal family (or so they want you to think....)

From the beautiful city of Petra, we embarked on another long drive to the Wadi Rum desert, where Kajsa, numerous other guests, and I will be staying in a Bedouin camp. Bedouins are nomads who used to trek across the Arabian deserts but have begun to settle down and build towns and villages in the past few decades. Our digs are adorable.

And we hope to catch sight of tomorrow's sunrise from this campside mountain after a good night's rest!

So far, I've loved Jordan. The people, the geography, and the history have bewitched me. Can't wait for tomorrow to explore the desert and the cities!

Your favorite world traveler,

Aubrey

Easy, Not So Breezy Eilat

Kajsa and I spent the day in Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel on the borders of Jordan and Egypt! It was relaxing and beachy and UNBELIEVABLY hot--but getting here was a not-so-welcome adventure.

I had a bus fiasco this morning because duh of course I would, and I ended up showing up for our 5-hour bus to Eilat THREE MINUTES before its departure!! I was so freaking frazzled, but we made it, and I figured that would be the end of the daily drama for transportation.

But life had other plans and was like--

I was seated next to a little boy, maybe 6 years old, who kept yelling and getting out of his seat and being so obnoxious. I'm sitting there like, child, WHERE is your mother to whoop your ass? That's when I knew a) I was raised correctly because the second I even THOUGHT  about stepping out of line, my mother was like--

And I was like,

"What, me, no nothing??..."

And--

b) I'm gonna have the best behaved children on earth, because my children even think the words "what if I..." I will be like--

I figured this mother needed some assistance in whoopin some sense into this boy, but I refrained. For FIVE HOURS. I kept thinkin,

And I think it was only my proximity to the Holy Land that helped me to pass. 

But that wasn't all. At a short rest stop, I lost track of time (maybe since the driver only said the time limit in HEBREW), but after getting cut in line by a soldier with a loaded AK 47 (I wasn't about to question him), being told that the frozen mochas weren't quite ready yet (at 12:30 in the afternoon) and struggling to order some fries at a McDonald's, the ENTIRE BUS was waiting me for me and Kajsa was literally fighting with the driver to make him sit for me a few more seconds. Honestly I shouldve been embarrassed, but I was so frazzled and hungry, I sauntered on like--

And I ate my McFlurry like I had all the time in the world. 

The views, though, were beautiful. 

Beautiful, barren desert. I'm not being sarcastic either--it was stark and intimidating and STUNNING! 

And finally--after 5 hours--

Wahoo!!! Kajsa and I walked a short four minutes to our funky hostel--

--which has lots of abstract art and sculptures that either honor or make fun of religion... I can't quite tell which one. 

Kajsa and I then made our way to the beach in weather that almost cures me of my New England winter PTSD...

WOW. We waded a lot in the Red Sea, which was actually very chilly and perfectly refreshing. Kajsa thought she was gonna melt/pass out; I thought I'd died and gone to a burning heaven.

That last pic is me trying to part the sea--didn't quite work!!

Kajsa and I grabbed dinner, and befriended our waiter, Fauud, who gave us his number in case we felt like raging. Thanks, Fauud, but no thanks. 

It's now 11:30 PM and still about 100 degrees. Thank GOD our room has AC!!!

Tomorrow, we cross the border into Jordan--gonna be amazing!

Tanned and not quite toned after all that pita,

Burnin' Up Aubs

Tired.

The past few days make me wanna--

Let me explain why.

First of all, a hilarious, albeit tragic, sequence of events that I was too ashamed to share with you all a few days ago, but I figure I will now.

I have this cool app on my phone called "TimeHop," which presents me every morning with a summary of every single social media post and text I've sent on that exact day in previous years. So, on July 26, 2015, I got to see the posts from 7/26/14, 7/26/13, etc. etc. And what happened on those days, you may ask?

July 26, 2013: My six month "anniversary" with my ex-boyfriend. Awk nowadays, but sweet at the time.

July 26, 2014: My first ever kiss with a long-time crush. AWHHH. (No, it didn't work out.)

And on July 26, 2015--I logged onto my YouTube account and the first suggested video was titled "Life With Cats."

Life.

With.

Cats.

absolute, utter shock

So, in other words, I'm going to die alone. Where did I go wrong, my dear readers!!???!!

I mean, I'm joking. I know that my single status has allowed me to embark on unforeseen adventures. I'm in a foreign country with zero obligations (except the daily call to my mommy), and I get to explore the world without inhibitions or guilt. I wouldn't trade my lack of a love life for anything.

Still... When I see the daily engagements on my Facebook newsfeed of my high school classmates and college peers, I wanna yell--

Don't grow up, then I'll have to!!!!

But hey--I'm still kind of an adult!! I mean, I woke up early this morning to do dishes, to load some laundry, and to clean up the kitchen. 

I know my mom is reading this right now like, um excuse me? You know how to do dishes?

But because my family left yesterday (which I honestly can't think of right now without tears coming to my eyes), I feel like I possess some responsibility in the maintenance of the house. Michal and I are gonna take GREAT care of this home.

I strolled to the nearby market to buy an ingredient for banana bread, which I planned to make as a nice treat for dessert. 

But let me tell you what being away from home means.

It means staring at a wall of packaged dairy products without understanding any of the package labels since you don't know the language.

It means handing the cashier a 100 bill because the garble of Hebrew that was meant to mean numbers made no sense and you're too embarrassed to admit you only speak English.

It means forgoing any sense of comfort, or ease, or comprehension in order to submerge yourself in confusion and plain idiocy at times for the sake of learning culture and living in an incredible, unfamiliar place.

And I know I'm lucky and that this is an amazing opportunity, and I am taking advantage of every second--but I am exhausted. Mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically. I feel like I'm always on edge, because I never quite know what is going on around me. It takes a lot of energy! 

Which means... I need sleep. After this next episode of "Army Wives," that is.

Gonna sleep like a rock,

Aubs-a-lot

Checking In

This will be a relatively short post, as not a ton has happened in the past two days. Yesterday was my last Shabbat with the fam before their trip to America. I was worried this would mean a hallah-less three weeks, but it turns out that like a dozen families in the area have volunteered to take me in under their wings and keep me full and plump until the Morrises return.

For the record: this is hallah.

Usually, two to three loaves are served at each Shabbat meal to be divided among ten to fifteen people, and I kid you not, I end up consuming at least one loaf all by myself.

Anyways, bottom line, I maintain my roundness that comes from scarfing down a thousand carbs worth of bread three times a week. I should come back to Harvard looking like

Minus the purple

Right after the end of Shabbat at sundown on Saturday, the fasting day Tish'a B'Av began. It is a day of mourning meant to recognize the destruction of the Jewish temples in Jerusalem thousands of years ago as well as the numerous tragedies that have befallen Jews in the time since then. That means all religious Jews over the age of thirteen abstained from eating and drinking all day. And I was over in the corner like--

No, but actually, I'd spent the day attempting to eat surreptitiously in order to prevent any food envy, so I spent most of my afternoon esconced in my room nibbling on a random bag of nuts I'd found in my backpack. Nomnomnom. Dinner was awesome though; it was kind of excited to not feel guilty about eating for the first time in 24 hours!

Finally, I booked one of my last few trips today. This weekend, I'm heading south to Eilat, Israel, and then east to Jordan, home to Petra, one of the new Seven Wonders of the World!

As I said, this is a pretty short post. But I'm really enjoying myself, and I love this country more every day.

xox,

Aubs

Bomb Coworkers and Beach Bumming

These past two days have deepened my appreciation for the place I'm living this summer and the work I'm lucky enough to dedicate my months to.

Yesterday, one of my fellow coworkers spent her final day at the internship. Luckily, she's a fellow Harvardian AND country music lover (which we discovered due our mutual depression and agony over Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's divorce, RIP to love), so we bought tickets to attend a Little Big Town Concert together in September! This was the first event of a day that reminded me how awesome my fellow interns are.

All of the interns headed out to a small, very Israeli cafe for lunch... and instead of our usual one hour break, we took two. Oops. We tried to slyly slip back into work without our absence being noticed...

Oh so quiet

And we thought we were super successful until our boss came in and remarked, "yeah I was getting worried, where were all you guys?" Maybe if I'd had practice sneaking out in high school, I would have been better at this. (Translation: parents, I was such a good kid, appreciate me more.)

But the lunch was so fun and hysterical and awesome.

Then, later that night, one of the fellow Californians at the internship (throwin' in that qualifier because #solidarity) threw a get-together at his apartment that was, of course, America-themed, which meant all the red, white, and blue that could be amassed in Tel Aviv. 

We had the funnest time--

And all the Harvard gals gathered for a pic as well--

This internship does remind me of Harvard in a way--I'm surrounded by intellectual, intelligent, and intriguing twenty-somethings that share some of my interests and beliefs but challenge me to think differently and entertain new ideas. Plus, they're just fun!!! It makes me excited to get back to school and to get into the workplace in a few years; to be surrounded by individuals that inspire me and challenge me.

Today was all about recovery from the 3 AM bedtime and long work-week. Nava, Michal, and I spent a few hours on Herzliya Beach, roasting in the sun and relaxing. 

Nava and Michal!

The water was just as warm as the 90 degree air; floating in the sea felt like flying in a way--there was no difference between the air and water. I felt totally in my element. 

My final Shabbat with the family until their departure to America began tonight. I love them so much. Should be a wonderful weekend. 

With love,

Right-at-Home Aubs

Where Jesus Lived

Today held some incredible adventures. I explored Nazareth, Capernaum, and the villages surrounding the Sea of Galilee to learn about Jesus' life and witness where he lived and grew up.

Two other interns, one of the intern's mothers, and I met up in Tel Aviv around 7 this morning to begin the long drive up to Nazareth. Right from the beginning, we could tell that this was going to be a rather "tourist-y" tour. Our guide spouted off some basic facts about Israel and Judaism, and I was like, 

"Yeah yeah yeah. I know all of this already."

And that's when I realized that I am not really a tourist anymore. Israel has become my home--how lucky am I? So many people are lucky to have a single home, one place they feel loved and comfortable and joyful. I now have three-- home home (Anaheim), school home (Boston), and my spiritual, immersive home away from home Israel. 

Anyways, after a little catnap and a whole cup of coffee, we arrived in Nazareth, the city in which Jesus grew up. We first visited the Church of Annunciation.

That's me!

I adored this church. First of all, quite a bit of Latin was engraved on the walls of the church, so I had the amazing opportunity to actually utilize this past year of learning a dead language. I felt pretty itchicated (translated to educated, if you're not privy to my family's pronunciation).

Anyways!

Broad view of the top floor to the left and bottom floor to the right

This church is built on Mother Mary's home, which was actually a cave and the site of the Angel Gabriel's appearance.

Mary's home!

The second floor of the church holds a chapel. My absolute favorite part of this church was the contribution by almost every country in the world that holds Christian congregations. Each country was asked to donate its own interpretation of the Madonna and Child. You might be able to see some of the stunning mosaics on the left wall; some countries even sent in statues and paintings. I loved how the different cultures of each country shined through each piece of artwork.

The chapel

The top of the church was a lighthouse, due to the beautiful verse in the Bible about Jesus being the light of the world. Makes me want to put a lighthouse on top of my mansion. That will be filled with 35 dogs. But I digress.

The Church of Annunciation

We made the quick walk to the Church of St. Joseph (more Latin, more vindicated Aubs). This church held Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' home that he grew up in.

The home!

 It gave an awe-inspiring sense of wonder, and fulfillment, and joy. And it also helped me to realize an elusive concept that I've only begun to learn in Israel. I first stumbled across this epiphany in Jerusalem, when I encountered the Via Dolorosa, or the walk that Jesus took through Jerusalem with the cross. "This," signs would proudly proclaim, "is the exact spot at which Jesus stumbled."

"And here," another sign would carry on about five minutes down the path, "is the exact spot where he took a sip of water."

Those are the agreed-upon sites. Then, there are points of contention, especially between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Where exactly was Christ held before his execution, and where exactly was this or that miracle performed?

And now I realize--it doesn't matter in the slightest. The historian in me shrieks, shudders, and cowers from this spiritual conclusion; part of me needs to know the exact second, position, and tone in which every action took place. But now I realize, that when it comes to matters of religion and spirituality and the heart, perception is just as, if not more, important than reality. Is this the exact village in which Jesus lived?

Maybe. Maybe not. But does it evoke feelings of gratitude and wonder and adoration for the man that died for the sins of humanity? Absolutely. And I truly believe that is what matters. It is not whether or not I am truly walking in the footsteps of Christ. It is more that being near the spot and watching other faithful believers fall on their knees in praise and knowing that God is happy I'm at least trying to see where He lived and learned and grew up is more than enough.

But, like, it'd still be nice to know...From a historical perspective, of course.

Onto the Church of Multiplication!

Me!

This was where Jesus performed the miracle of multiplying the bread and fish to feed the multitudes. Supah cool!

Burned.

Only a month ago, some extremists attempted to burn down this church and graffiti the walls. Luckily, they were able to stop the fire! But the damage still shows.

The exact site!

This was a very humble but beautiful church. It sat right on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. We then drove on to Capernaum, the city in which Jesus performed his ministry.

St. Peter's House

This was St. Peter's House, where Jesus lived for the last years of His life. 

The ruins

You can honestly still tell that it was a stunning city in its day.

yooo.

The beautiful, partially-restored synagogue sits in the middle of the the city. I had to teach all these tourists about Judaism. Ugh, clueless Gentiles. Geez.

Columnssss

I got to sit on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water (one of my favorite biblical stories, by the way).

Artsy

The Sea of Galilee is filled with black volcanic rock and ash. It was such warm water. I wanted to soak in it literally forever!

The tour moved on to its last stop: the Jordan River.

So clean and clear!

This is where Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist. One of my friends got baptised in the water, and a few people tried to convince me to join. I don't know--this experience has definitely deepened my faith, but not in the most traditional way. I didn't feel comfortable consenting to a baptism when I still don't quite know where I stand on religion or what my spirituality really is. So I watched the touching ceremony take place. 

Also, how hilarious is this picture?

Smartest kitty in the land

I got home a few hours later and sat down for dinner with the fam. We had an impromptu Hebrew lesson, and I realized I basically know the entire alphabet. Wahoo! I tried to spell a few words, and my attempts spurred some chuckles and compliments of how "cute" my spellings were. I tried hehe. 

Anyways, wonderful day. Learned so much and loved my experiences. 

Walking in the (possibly metaphorical, possibly physical) footsteps of Jesus,

Aubs-a-lot