Jericho Resort Village

... uit, samen met een Luxemburger, Thierry. Daar raakten we gezellig in het Duits mee aan de praat, en samen liepen we naar de Zee/See toe. Daar bleek de entree focking 50 shekel (10 eu!) te kosten! Voor een beetje strand!! Gelukkig kunnen we al heel goed zielig kijken, en op vertoon van onze studentenkaarten (Thierry werkt al, maar dat hoefde de mevrouw niet te weten..) mochten we dr voor 30 in.

Water met 30 procent zout is ...

... pretty well liked, as was his father.

We've talked to a number of people that have gone to, or tried to go to, Syria. Apparently you usually get hassled at the border, but you can make it in if you try hard enough. That said, you will definitely NOT get in if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, though they will just stamp it on a piece of paper that is stapled/taped into your passport so you can remove it if you have that set of circumstances.

... We got in good shape in Nepal, but the desert heat will take something out of anyone, really.

Of course on the other side of the valley, near the remains of a castle built in Crusader times, is "The Basin, by Crowne Plaza Petra." Honestly, you can find a resort hotel or a resort restaurant anywhere. Needless to say we did not stop and have a bite to eat.

Many people offered us donkey rides up to the Monastry. I was tired, the sun was killing me, and ...

... night that I went to as there was also the art exhibit of student work that included a silent auction of some of the work.  Wednesday the concert was then presented to the elementary students and in the afternoon to the middle and high school students. Utopia Projects were done in Language Arts by the 7th graders.  Classes could come in and look at the students work and vote on which place they would like to live in.  The projects were fun to see and listen to the ...

... to open up their suitcases, briefcases, etc. to be inspected. Boy, were they thorough, opening my various lotions & potions to test them, spraying my perfumes to make sure they were legit, etc. I was mortified but my driving companions were getting quite a kick out of it. When they got to my prized Iranian carpet that really raised eyebrows and they called a few other officers over to take a look. They ...

... had a picture taken of group in front of the Treasury. We picked it up at the Visitor Center after we walked back and it turned out great! Then we (thirteen of us) took the bus back to the hotel, we left at 4:30 pm and arrived at the hotel at 4:45 pm and now we will clean up and meet at 6:30 pm for our Jordanian cooking class. We met in the hotel lobby and left at 6:40 pm for Petra Kitchen. What a fun night! Pam, Cindy and Jewel didn't come with us. We met our fellow ...

Today was Eid al Adha, a Muslim holiday. Aunt Jen told me we were going to Jericho, with the Al Jundis, my adopted family in Jerusalem. Apparently Aunt Jen always had traditional "Al Jundi" days with Sami and his brothers, Azzam, Mazin and Riyad, their wives and kids. Aunt Jen keeps talking about how big all the Al Jundi kids have gotten since she first met them, seven years ago. I asked Aunt Jen if in seven years she would comment on ...

I enjoy hearing from each of you. I am trying (if you can't tell) to see beyond what this class is teaching. I want to go beyond the history and geography and experience the places. I want to see the ancient ruins and picture life as it was and then see it for what it is now. For me this goes beyond the syllabus and grades. Yes I am taking this for a graduate credit but what I want more than credits is the experience - not just so I can say "Oh yeah, Bethlehem, I been there." Yes, I want ...

Back in Seattle, a 100-year-old house is old. On the East Coast, 300 years is old. Jericho is 7,000 years old!!! One of the oldest cities in the world. The foundations of stone gates, towers and homes still exist. What brought it down? Joshua and his troops marching around seven times. Doesn't make scientific sense. But ...