Blooming Freely

Adjustment

I’ve been in Amman since Tuesday and it has been quite the experience so far. We have been given a lot of time to adjust these first few days so we have had a lot of downtime. One of the activities that SIT arranged for us was called a “drop off.” We were given a few places in Amman that we had to find in small groups and had to talk to the local people. It was a lot of fun and Vivian, Patrick and I went to Shariah Rainbow (Rainbow Street) which is a hip area of Amman. Its called rainbow street after rainbow cinemas which was the first upscale cinema in Amman. We also had to find the Jordan River Foundation and The Royal Film Commission. 

The Jordan River Foundation

We finally got to meet our host families! Tolu and I are staying with a wonderful family, they have two daughters, are Christian, they are so kind, and they make the best food!

The breakfast Baba made- all natural, a lot of the food from their garden, I’m literally eating like a queen!

Yesterday, Tolu and I decided to wander around Amman. We went back to Shariah Rainbow and stumbled on Souk Jara, a famous Friday market. We walked around, haggled with the people selling local items, and bought a few souvenirs. It was so cool just to randomly find one of Amman’s special events and I felt like I got a taste of the culture first hand. 

Souk Jara

There is so much to see and I’m still kind of getting used to everything. It has been a bit of a culture shock. We start work tomorrow! 

When in Dubai…

Do as the Emirates do?

On our way to Amman we had a 12 hour, overnight layover in Dubai. While most people might take that opportunity to rest and relax, we decided to hit the town. We met up with a freshman at Duke who lives in the Dubai and she showed us the city.

Her family took us out on their boat, treated us to delicious Lebanese food and gave us a midnight tour of Dubai. We saw all of the major sites from the water and it was a tour to remember.

While we may have not gotten a lot of sleep, I’m so glad that we went out while we were there. Spending more than 12 hours in Dubai is now officially on my bucket list! There is so much more to see and do and we only just scratched the surface.

We are now in Amman, Jordan and just waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime! 

BBQ on the beach

Nothing quite says Summer like a BBQ on the beach. Though it is still technically Spring, the lack of copious amounts of homework and class time leads me to believe that the season of summer has, in fact, arrived. A few of my close friends and I headed to Golden Gardens to enjoy the beautiful weather and grill. It was a perfect evening, and a great last hurrah before I go off to bigger adventures in Jordan. 

Nothing says BBQ quite like copious amounts of junk food!

And beautiful evenings..

Road Trips

My family has never been big on road trips. In fact, if the trip takes more than four hours we normally fly. I have less than fond memories of trips to swim meets all over my home state. So, to my surprise, for whatever reason I was incredibly excited to drive from Seattle to San Francisco this past weekend. It seemed like uncharted territory, a trip that I had only ever taken from 32,000 feet, and therefore an opportunity to really see some of the West Coast (best coast). We set off, and made good time, at least enough to make a stop at sunset somewhere in Oregon. 

We did the trip in two days and after about 12 hours of driving, perhaps 15 hours on the road with stops, we made it to our final destination. Unfortunately, I was the one driving when we crossed the border to Oregon AND the border to California so I missed a few cool photo opportunities but I still got to see the state lines. However, I got to take the pictures of San Francisco as we drove into the city. 

Once in the city we went to dinner at a steak house. They gave us a free dessert of cotton candy! As a kid, I wasn’t keen on sugar so I never indulged on the treat at fairs or other big events. It was lime flavored and I enjoyed my first experience. 

We finished up our trip with a concert! We got to see Roger Waters (from Pink Floyd) perform The Wall, a classic show about Roger’s personal struggles growing up without a father, because his own dad was killed in WWII. The entire show had political undertones and an anti-war sentiment. Ultimately, he broke through is own wall and was able to be successful. The music was great, but the graphics and performance was even more cool. It was an incredible way to finish a road trip. 

Nothing beats good music…

I went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers this past week and they were awesome. Rock concerts are a lot more fun than I ever gave them credit for. 

Mmmmm Vancouver

Sushi, coffee, indie art films, and cool people.

Olympic Sculpture Park

It was a (surprisingly) beautiful and clear January day so I took a little trip to visit the local art and sculptures. The park is filled with various pieces, some of which blend in with nature, while others look out of place.

Each piece was unique and interesting. They stood out from their surroundings, yet it worked. 

My favorite part of art is the fact that many pieces are designed to make you think - who knew that a simple chair could be considered unique and different. 

2011 was great

but I’m ready to move on.

Bring it on 2012!