Jesus Wuz Here

The morning after our Petra adventure, we decided to take the day to drive to the Dead Sea. I don't think we knew at the time what we were getting ourselves into. Thankfully, my friend Heather is crazy about seeing everything remotely possible. I owe most of what we saw to her! We drove across the Wadi Majib which is basically the grand canyon of Jordan.

 You can see the dam in the middle of this picture. We got to drive across it. The pictures don't do this place justice. It really was breathtaking. We hit it at the perfect time of day, just as the sun was setting.

The roads were super curvy, especially as we got closer to the Dead Sea.

We got to the Dead Sea around 9:00. We had reservations at the Hilton but once we got there, the hotel staff was very rude, wanted to charge us extra, wanted us to pay for a cot, etc. We decided to try another hotel. Man are we glad we did! We went next door to the Marriott and seriously, they treated us  so well. We basically were like, "Look, it's late. It's not a weekend. We need a room. We need breakfast included. We can't spend tons of money. The guy offered to show us the room before we agreed to book it. It wasn't cheap, but it was better than the Hilton. Our room was amazing! Three huge beds, massive balcony overlooking the pools and Dead Sea. We were shocked. They even included a wonderful breakfast. Seriously, I need to write them a letter. They saved us.

 The view from our balcony: Several heated pools, hot tubs, etc. There was even a 'no kids allowed' pool. Guess which one we chose ;) Straight out in the distance is the Dead Sea!

Beach on the Dead Sea

Our Balcony

This looks like a normal picture....but we are floating in the Dead Sea! Just like Jesus! LOL ok, so I don't know if Jesus actually did that but it was awesome. You always hear how you can't sink in the Dead Sea....and you really can't. It's the weirdest feeling. Actually, it's hard to keep our legs under water. They keep getting pushed back up. You can literally sit Indian style and not move. It's so awesome. We met some Asian guys who had all the props taking pictures with them. They were reading a newspaper and drinking coffee while floating around, haha. We borrowed their newspaper and took some pictures but they are on Laura's camera. I'll get them soon. 

Also, a lot of the large rocks at the bottom are completely encrusted in what looks like rock salt. So strange. This was really one of the coolest things I've ever done. It's just such a bizarre feeling not being able to sink.

After laying by the pool, we went to see Jesus' baptismal site before we drove to the airport. Apparently  this site has only been open to the public on the Jordanian side for 10 years or so because it literally borders the Israeli side and was considered a military zone. It certainly feels like one. You have to go through a checkpoint and then you buy a ticket (lol) and a creepy guy takes you on a tour. We met an American family that actually lives in Dubai on our tour which was cool. There are a lot of churches near the site. I think there was a Russian Orthodox one and of course the John the Baptist one. It's not a built up area at all, just churches and the Jordan River. You have to walk on a little path through some trees to get there.

The absolute coolest thing is that once you reach the actual spot where Jesus was baptized, you are literally 6 feet from Israel. You feel like you're at the DMZ. This is what it looks like:

So here we are facing Israel. Bizarre. This is where Jesus was baptized. Unreal. We saw some people fully submerging in the water.

Me touching the water... Apparently it's 50% sewage....But you still have to touch it of course!

That about sums it up. I'm sure I've missed something but it was just an incredibly surreal feeling being there at all. I would highly suggest going there if you ever get the chance. It's incredible.

We flew out of Amman that night at midnight. We go back to Dubai at 5:00 am and we were all at work at 730. It was a looooong day but so worth it!!! Also, big shout out to Laure for driving basically EVERYWHERE on this trip. We couldn't have done it without you!!

PETRA and other magical things ;)

Two weekends ago I went to Jordan with two other teachers. I will never be able to explain to you how freaking incredible it was. It was like a live tour through the bible. The pictures just don't do it justice. I took almost 200 so if you want to see more, just ask ;)

We flew into Amman and drove to Petra, arriving around 1:00am. Shhhh don't tell our mothers. They would not be happy. Living in Dubai, I didn't think it would be that much different....I was wrong. Jordan is a very poor country from what I saw. The roads are awful. We saw people living in tents in the middle of the desert. It's really sad. We got up the next day and went to see the Treasury....aka the thing at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, haha. You have to walk down this very large hill (definitely hard coming back up!) to the bottom. The whole time you are winding through this massive crador. It's actually really cool down there. I honestly cannot explain it so I'll just show you:

The entire place is completely covered in tombs. At first you would think these were all dwellings, but they were all completely hollowed out for graves. These first 3 pictures are at the top of the hill as you start to descend into the crevace. 

You can see that the square tomb has been completely chipped away from the mountain. 

Starting to descend....

Almost there!!!.....

The Treasury: OMG AMAZINGGGGG. There was a little cafe down here too. I say cafe, I mean a shack that sold Pringles and Fanta.  I seriously have a million pictures of this. It was incredible. The coolest part is that you are at the bottom of what feels like an open cave. You're surrounded by high rock walls all the way around. 

Once you get to the bottom and see the Treasury, there is soooooo much more to see. We're talking hundreds and hundreds of tombs hollowed out of the rock. Our guide told us that Bedoin (native) tribes lived in these toumbs until 1984 when the government built them homes close by. Apparently 6 families still live in the tombs. Here's just a few pictures of the area around the Treasury. All of this stuff dates back to the time of Christ. Imagine!

 Inside a tomb

Inside a tomb looking out

Laura holding up a tomb. Check out the colors of the rock.

Tombs Everywhere!

Inside Tomb

Inside Tomb

So, after you reach the bottom....you have to go back up...wayyyyyy up to another tomb that looks like the Treasury, which was later used as a monesetary. OMG this hike....was insane. It was compiled of over 800 steps carved out of stone. I reluctantly decided to join my friends and ride a mule to the top. Lots of people do it and I didn't think much of it until I saw the winding cliff/stairs to the top. We are talking drop off cliffs into the abyss. There is no way this hike would be legal in the US before they put up some railings....which there were NONE! It was terrifying. So, here I am on this mule. We were supposed to have a guide on a mule with us but the sketch ball fell behind and sent his son on foot in stead...who was 10 years old! My mule was not having it. He kept wanting to go back and the boy had to keep hitting him with a stick. So, we go about 10 minutes in and I'm staring up the winding, rocky, fall off a cliff to your death stairs and I want off this mule.....but I decide to just stay on. About 10 seconds later, my mule falls off probably a 2 foot ledge and I get thrown to the ground on top of rocks! My friend Laura said she was absolutely sure they were going to have to take me to the ER after seeing me fall. I had sand allllll over me, in my ears and mouth and eyes. That night, my butt (sorry) had the biggest, blackest, purplest, most disgusting bruise I've ever seen. It was at least the size of 2 tennis balls. I had to show Laura to make sure I wasn't going to die, haha. I still have scratches and bruises on my arms and legs. It was seriously the scariest thing ever! A US marine saw me fall and came running over to help me. Those good ole Marines, always ready to help a fallen American, lol. Other passers by were so nice and one guy on a mule offered me a free ride...no thanks.

So, we obviously decide to finish the hike on foot....which was somewhat painful and scary, but sooooo worth it. 

Laura and Heather on the hike

Imagine going up that on a mule......no

When you get to the top, you are greatly rewarded with this!

It's almost cooler than the Treasury because it's so high up on a mountain. We sat and had mint lemonade at the cafe up there. It was absolutely magical.

A little farther up

We also saw a guy who was definitely a local, not climb but RUN up this mountain and sit on the center thing at the top! It was ridiculous!

So, you get to the top and everyone is all "Go a little farther and you will see some amazing views." We were all like, "Are you kidding me?" but we did it. It was cool, but it was hazy up there so we couldn't see much. The coolest thing is that there was a little cafe at the peak too, with a guy and his camel, haha.

On the way down, we realized that the 'girl falling off the mule' story had spread, lol. Several people asked me if I was ok and a couple local boys went by us laughing and saying, "Never go up on a mule. Always donkey! Always donkey! Everyone knows that!" Apparently donkeys are better, lower to the ground, more stubborn and all that. Who knew? Another little local boy was like "How was the mule ride, hahahaha." One of the ladies selling trinkets on the hike asked if I was ok....turns out he was the mother of our little boy guide. Thanks lady. Apparently I'm a celebrity in Petra. Drop my name if you ever visit.

We went to a cooking class that night with about 30 other strangers and it was so much fun. We drank wine and learned how to make some arabic food. We met an American girl who we hung out with again while at the Dead Sea. Stay tuned for the rest of the trip. Dead Sea, Jesus's Baptism spot, and more to come!!!

Christmas in Dubai and Edinburgh!!

I stayed in Dubai for Christmas this year, which was actually really fun. My friends Karen, Laura, and I did an all you can eat dinner (basically a nighttime brunch). It was awesome. They had an entire room for desserts!! They had everything. There was even a whole pig which had a label that said, "contains pork" you know, so the Muslims don't accidentally eat it...

So the paper crowns are a british/everyone but Americans thing apparently. I had never heard of them but apparently they're a big deal. The silver thing on the table in front of Laura is called a cracker (I've seen them in stores in the US, but I thought they were full of crackers that you eat....lollll....). Anyway, they have a paper crown and a prize inside. You each pull a side and whoever gets the largest side gets what's inside. I got a paper fan. Unfortunately there were whistles in some of them.....and there were kids there. Draw your own conclusions about that.

A couple of days after Christmas I flew to Edinburgh, Scotland to meet my boyfriend. It was freezing and raining and gorgeous! I had been there before but my boyfriend is Scottish and he went to college there so we got to see a log. There are Christmas markets all over the city. You can get mulled wine or cider and just walk around with it! I had part of a haggis burger and it was pretty good, shockingly.

Scotland Photos:

These houses are right next to the Edinburgh Castle.....I told Raiph I was going to become a rich and famous writer so we could live there. He doesn't believe me. Can you believe that????

New Year's Eve!!

I met Raiph's cousin Victoria.

I couldn't give 2 shits about Harry Potter but this is the pub where J.K. Rowling wrote the first book!!

The Edinburgh Castle is situated on an extinct castle...

We went to Mary King's Close. OMG LOOK IT UP! Here's the link. I can't even describe how cool it was!!! Basically houses used to be 15 or so stories high. If you lived on the top, you would have to traipse through 14 other houses up the stairs to get to your house. The government took off the top houses and sealed the ones underneath to build a government building. People kept living down there! One guy passed out on our tour when we were in the black plague room, haha.

Here's the wikipedia article. Read it!:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_King's_Close

Sorry if Santa was late to your house...he was ice skating at Dubai Mall.

My birthday is in December and this grade 1 class made me a card! These girls are so hilarious.

Laura made me a birthday cake....in the microwave in a Tupperware thing. She's the best, lol.

Birthday Dinner at the Jumeriah Beach Hotel.....check out the Burj Al Arab in the background!!!

Sorry if this was written quickly, but I'm sure you will enjoy it anyway!!

Bubbalicious!!

Ok ladies, here's my obligatory blog post for this 6 month period ;)

Basically the weather is perfect right now.....until the end of April when we will all want to kill ourselves due to the heat. So, for now we are enjoying it. There's been a few beach days.


The most exciting thing I've done recently is go to the Valentine's Day brunch at the Westin on the Palm. It's called Bubbalicious. You can get anything from champagne to a watermelon or coconut filled with liquor. This is by far the most extravagant brunch I've been to yet. It takes forever to walk from one side to the other. It takes up the whole bottom floor of the Westin, and outside. Basically all the restaurants are connected and you can walk through them all and eat whatever you want! Nothing can ever do this brunch justice. It even had live entertainment and a massive playground for the kids. It costs about $130..... I know, I know, ridiculous. But I can tell you that the amount of food I had probably would have cost that anyway, haha. They even had a tree with bags of gummies all over it! I'm obsessed with gummies so that was awesome.

My friend got a teapot full of gin. Yes, a silver teapot. She's British. They like their teapots. I stuck with the mojitos and margaritas in coconuts basically because walking around with coconut is awesome. The concept at these place is like Willy Wonka's factory of alcohol and food. Ok, time for some pictures which is what you guys want anyways so here we go!!:

Yes, that is a syringe...it had some sort of pineapple shooter in it. Notice my bag of gummies off the gummy tree! 

This was our view. We got a table outside right by the pools and beach!! Like I said, the weather is perfect right now.

This was insane. This woman flipped this table in all directions in the air. We were sitting right in front of her. Crazy/super weird.

Yup, that would be about 50 hoola hoops. 

This isn't even a tenth of the dessert display but I had to take a picture. Look at all those V Day themed cakes. Awwww. Too bad my boyfriend is in Turkmenistan at the moment. Oh well.

This is what the beach looked like this weekend....just in case you wanted to know ;) I must admit, I had on a little less than these ladies.

This is my friend Laura. She's been living in dubai for 8 years!! Thank god we found her a boyfriend this year because she was threatening to leave us!!

***One surprise we got lately is the fact the Sheikh gave us a day off when we won the World Expo bid. If you don't know what that is...google it. Apparently it's a huge deal. All we care about is the fact that it is making our rents go up, but oh well.

***The bummer of the week was the fact that I was supposed to go see the ROLLING STONES in Abu Dhabi with my boyfriend's mom...but my bathroom decided to gush water from the ceiling so I didn't get to go :( Oh well, Justin Timberlake is coming soon so I'll just have to go to that.

***Cool thing of the week: Laura and I have been getting a meal serviced delivered to us in the mornings before work. We get 3 meals and 2 snacks. They just leave a cooler outside your door and you put the empty one out each night. It's AWESOME. It's a diet service but it just tastes like normal food. We also started buying dresses online. They deliver them the next day and you can pay cash on delivery.....dangerous. 

Ok, you should be somewhat caught up! Shew. That was exhausting. Have a great week!!

If you're wondering....no I am not saving that much money. Must marry well!!