Do you remember those giant stuffed animals you get at carnivals? Do you ever wonder what happens to them all after a couple days of being saturated with the smells of cotton candy, gasoline, and sweat?
I never did, but I found out where they go. They go to Amman, Jordan, on the top floor of local supermarket, with second-hand Dora-the-Explorer trinkets and Tickle-me-Elmo as its only companions. It's a lonely world.
The theme of the day is observation.
As my quirky Archeology Professor pointed out today, Jordan is the birthplace of three monotheistic religions. Though at first I (Grant) solely wanted to delve deeper into the psychological reasons why this war-torn area just happens to be the birthplace of these religions...my professor quickly made another comment discussing big-deal archeological and historical sites such as:
The Wailing Wall
Jericho
Madaba
He proceeded to tell us that the Wailing Wall is not a religious monument, in fact...it has Roman routes. Now, myself not having any particularly strong religious routes, continued to scratch a couple notes down.
However. There are a few "disney-landers" (Jewish folk apparently the word Jew is just not something you throw around so we call them DisneyLanders, I don't really know or care why) who were deeply repulsed by this fact. Even though the professor gave them sources to read which were neither Israeli nor Palestinian they still protested. So, my first encounter with religion was not with Jordanians, but with Americans. Unexpected, no?
After this class I scooted over to the gym to think about this, and prepare for the Dead-2-Red Sea Run on March 5th. After my 6K run and stretch, I decided to conclude my proximal evening studies with yoghurt, an orange, and Banana Milk. And dear friends, Banana Milk tastes exactly as you think it would--banana-ey, and creamy. I really don't know how I feel about it now that it's lounging at the bottom of my stomach.
Tomorrow is our last day of school for the week, and Friday my peer tutor and I are going to go on a bike-ride to the Dead Sea with CIEE. Saturday is reserved for painting a mural, and Sunday is as of yet undetermined.
Lessons of the Week:
1. Do not discuss religion with Americans.
2. Make a past bad event better by going back to the place of poor emotion and having a good time.
3. Let things slide.
I never did, but I found out where they go. They go to Amman, Jordan, on the top floor of local supermarket, with second-hand Dora-the-Explorer trinkets and Tickle-me-Elmo as its only companions. It's a lonely world.
*
The theme of the day is observation.
As my quirky Archeology Professor pointed out today, Jordan is the birthplace of three monotheistic religions. Though at first I (Grant) solely wanted to delve deeper into the psychological reasons why this war-torn area just happens to be the birthplace of these religions...my professor quickly made another comment discussing big-deal archeological and historical sites such as:
The Wailing Wall
Jericho
Madaba
He proceeded to tell us that the Wailing Wall is not a religious monument, in fact...it has Roman routes. Now, myself not having any particularly strong religious routes, continued to scratch a couple notes down.
However. There are a few "disney-landers" (Jewish folk apparently the word Jew is just not something you throw around so we call them DisneyLanders, I don't really know or care why) who were deeply repulsed by this fact. Even though the professor gave them sources to read which were neither Israeli nor Palestinian they still protested. So, my first encounter with religion was not with Jordanians, but with Americans. Unexpected, no?
After this class I scooted over to the gym to think about this, and prepare for the Dead-2-Red Sea Run on March 5th. After my 6K run and stretch, I decided to conclude my proximal evening studies with yoghurt, an orange, and Banana Milk. And dear friends, Banana Milk tastes exactly as you think it would--banana-ey, and creamy. I really don't know how I feel about it now that it's lounging at the bottom of my stomach.
Tomorrow is our last day of school for the week, and Friday my peer tutor and I are going to go on a bike-ride to the Dead Sea with CIEE. Saturday is reserved for painting a mural, and Sunday is as of yet undetermined.
Lessons of the Week:
1. Do not discuss religion with Americans.
2. Make a past bad event better by going back to the place of poor emotion and having a good time.
3. Let things slide.
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