Now I understand I am well over due for a blog post. I apologize to all my faithful readers, I have been so busy (a good busy) that I have not have time to blog. So this will be a longer post to make up for that. I was sitting at my desk the other day and couldn't believe that it is already March!! I mean where did the time go? I remember in August saying that the year was going to be so long, but it has honestly flown by. I am amazed that I have already been here for 7 months and in just 3 short months I will be home for summer vacation and my first year in Kuwait will be gone. It has been an amazing adventure so far with lots of ups and downs (more ups then downs).
Back at the end of February I took a mini vacation with some friends to Amman, Jordan. I went with; Thelma, Laurie, Karla, and Martha. Kuwait was celebrating National Day and Liberation day so we got 5 days off from school. So we took the short trip to Jordan for some R&R. It was an amazing trip. We spent the first day settling in and going the The Citadel which is an ancient city with ruins. It was cold and windy but it was a lot of fun. We also had lunch that day at
Hashem which has the best hummus and falafel in all or Jordan. They had no menus and only served 5 dishes it was one of the best meals in Jordan.
On the way home from The Citadel we took a taxi and we hit the jackpot because our taxi driver was in the lonely planet guide book. He told us he could take us anywhere we wanted during the week in a van and he would give us a cheaper price than our hotel we were staying in. So we took a chance and used him for the following day.
The first full day was spent going to Madaba city of Mosaics, Mt.Nebo, and the Dead Sea. It was a long and exhausting day but was so cool. My favorite part of the day was floating in the Dead Sea. It is so salty that you naturally float no matter what it's a really weird sensation but so cool. The Dead Sea is also the lowest point on earth. After floating in the dead sea for a little while we got covered head to toe in this special mud that is mined from deep in the ocean and supposedly has healing powers. So we got covered head to toe in this mud let it dry then went back into the dead sea to wash it off. It was really neat. I still can't get over the fact that I got to float in the dead sea so cool. Here are some pictures of the things from day one.
Day #2 was dedicated to Petra which is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was in the southern part of the country and a 3 hour drive to get there. Needless to say we left very early. We made a few short stops along the way and made it to Petra around noon time. We immediately paid for our tickets and were off on our way. We decided to pay for a tour guide to get the full experience. The tour/ trail is about a 2 1/2 hour walk each way. It was all downhill going which meant all uphill coming back. The tour was great and we had an amazing tour guide and who we had a lot of fun with. On they way back they offer carriage rides which we happily payed for and cut our commute time back in half. After arriving back we had a 3 hour car ride home....(gross I know) most of us fell fast asleep as we were exhausted from all the walking. Here are some pictures from one of seven wonders of the world.
Friday our last full day in Jordan was spent going to a couple places. The first stop was this hill where you were standing in Jordan but could see Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. It was so surreal and cool to be one place and to see all those countries.Take a look Israel to the left, Syria to the right and Lebanon way off in the distance.
After that we made a few more stops a couple at different ancient castles. The last stop was Jerash the most well preserved ancient Roman city in the world. It was really cool and nice but you could tell our group was exhausted and while it was great to see by this point it was 3pm and an ancient ruin is an ancient ruin is an ancient ruin.....lol
Since returning from Jordan I have started rehearsal for Shrek the musical. I was cast in the ensemble as a couple different characters. Papa Bear, Duloc Villager, and a Rat in the tap dancing scene. We have had a couple of rehearsals and it is so much work but I have met some amazing new people and we are all having a great time. More details to follow with this.
Also last Thursday was my birthday. I am now officially 29. It was a pretty good birthday, I got to talk to everyone in my family. It happened to be my friend Karla's birthday too so a bunch of us went out for dinner at the olive garden. It was a lot of fun and nice to celebrate with friends.
Lastly I have decided to paint my apartment.... I know I'm nuts to be doing this with so much going but hey I like chaos I live for chaos. I am painting my entrance way/ dining room/ living room a soft grey and my bedroom a greyish blue. The entrance way has been completed and so has the dining room. Next up will be the living room which is a big project. I will post pictures once it is completed.
Well............I guess that is all for now. Life is good and things at school are good and I am feeling pretty settled in here in Kuwait. I can't wait to see what the next chapter in the adventure is. Stay Tuned!!!!!!
