Jordan Dec. 10 (Part 2) and National Day

Today is National Day where we live, and tomorrow is Liberation Day. These are similar to July 4th and extremely important to the nationals, as they celebrate when the country became independent of Britain in the '60s and when it was liberated from invaders in the '90s. The best part is that it means a 4-day weekend for us; some benefits of being an educator follow us wherever we go. There are lights and decorations EVERYWHERE, and apparently the celebrations get a little crazy. I've done my grocery shopping for the week, so I may just stay in for the next few days with a book. We'll see

Jordan, Dec. 10 (Part 2)
- Walked to New W. Jerusalem toward downtown. Checked into the Caplan hotel, a poor deal compared to the last one.
- Talked about our plans for leaving. We will probably leave tomorrow after seeing the Holocaust museum. Supposed to stay in Petra Thurs., then Amman on Fri. Flight leaves Sat.
- Ate late supper at "Adom," a fancy restaurant tucked away in one of the neighborhood's alleys. I ordered calamari w/ risotto, and we shared a sweet Merlot from the Golan Heights. Syria would not be happy.
- Walked back up toward the hotel to Aldo's cafe. Shared some delicious gelato with Chris and warmed up with a hot vanilla drink. The weather is much cooler here than at home.
- Chris and I went to bed, and the guys went back out. I guess they weren't totally exhausted like us old folks.

Jordan, Dec. 10 (Part 1)

I don' think I ever mentioned that I put a new album on our pictures page, which includes some from softball's opening ceremony and International Day at school.

- Woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel around 8a.m. Walked through a conservative Jewish section toward the Old City.
-Paid to walk on top of the city wall (16 ILS each), which surrounds the Old City. We walk clear from the Jaffa gate to the Golden gate (I think- I've got to check the map). Saw a good bit of the old city and its surroundings this way. Kyle hit his head on a narrow doorway and we thought he was going to pass out. He swore, but he didn't pass out.
- Walked down Jericho Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. The trees there were SO old, but probably planted just a few hundred years ago. There's a basilica built next to it, and across the road is the Temple Mount.
- Hiked UP the Mt. of Olives, which proved to be tiring, but rewarding. From the view at the top, one can see all of Jerusalem. Is this what Jesus saw, plus a few Peugeots?
- We walked back into the old city, and up parts of the Via Dolorosa. Talked to a few vendors, and ate felafel sandwiches and lentil soup for lunch. Did I mention that this is the best food I've ever eaten?
-Walked through metal detectors to get to the section of the Wailing Wall. People leaving prayers on notes, and stuffing them in the crevasses between the stones. Men walking backwards away from the wall. School kids with paper yam akas on their heads.
- Went to the garden tomb and saw Galgotha. The mouth of the supposed "Hill of the Skull" is now covered by a bus station. Convenient. The tomb was smaller than I thought it would be, and seeing probable history before me was fascinating.


Photo: part of the garden tomb

the sands recede

While visibility off of our balcony is slowly increasing, there's still a fair amount of dust floating around. My sinuses are not getting along nicely with this new season, so maybe it's not quite as good as a snow day. We had school today as usual, but there was a drop in student attendance; this is not a bad thing at the end of a long week.

Starting tonight, it's another full weekend. We have church home group this evening, and tomorrow morning, we go to the embassy church. In the afternoon, I have a softball game (at 2pm), and we're off to dinner with friends in the evening. Saturday morning, I have a student at 10am that I tutor regularly, and then it's a special surprise for Chris' birthday. At 5:oo, I'll be headed to worship team practice. Afterward, I'll just spend some relaxing time with my Valentine. It sounds crazy even typing all of this out, but we're just busy for a season.

Dust Storm

We've been living life at a faster pace these days, which I don't always like, but we are still doing well. Here is a picture of the latest event that has slowed us down a bit! Students were dismissed from school about half way through the day, and the teachers were allowed to leave after they were all gone. We made it home about 2.5 hours early, and there's a chance for no school tomorrow.

This is better than a snow day...