In Pictures...

I'm trying to upload a whole bunch of pictures so here are some for now.

Pictures:



The University of Jordan. The clock tower in the center was the site of several students protests during the time we were there.



Hezbollah's TV station al-Manar was always on in the lobby of our aprtment building during the war in Lebanon. On the station, videos showing militias marching around interspersed with pictures of children wounded by Israeli bombs or speeches from Hassan Nasrallah played on a continual loop.



The infamous Al-Amera apartments where I lived.



We're still unsure what the point of our visit to this place was, but at least they served us the best Falafel sandwiches ever.



Erik and I with one of the kids from the King's Academy.



These kids were really friendly and kept giving us food. They also kept trying to show of for us.



The kid on the left spoke better English than I do.



Roman ruins in Jerash. They have a big music festival here each summer, but they canceled it in 2006 due to the war in Lebanon.



These guys were actors that recreated a roman battle (major tourist trap). But when we started talking to them, one guy randomly invited us over to his house for dinner. We had to turn it down unfortunately due to time restraints, but that shows you how friendly everyone there is.



This is from a special room in a girl's elementary school devoted to the Palestinian armed resistance.



Another picture from the "Free Palestine" room depicting dead bodies being carried away from fighting during the second intifada.



A drawing by one of the students at the girl's school depicting a Palestinian resistance fighter.



This is Mt. Nebo where Moses is supposed to have died. The pole with the snakes on it is where that symbol you see on ambulances comes from.



Duff in front of one of Jordan's few Christian churches.



A really famous mosaic map in a Greek Orthodox church. It's supposed to be a really big deal.



Fuad fixing one of the beds in our apartment after Rashad sat on it. We had to fix it without the owner finding out or we would have been charged way more than the actual price it would have cost him to fix it. So that day we went hunting for some nails at a construction site, and this guy came up to us and gave us all the nails we would ever need as well as a couple of Cokes just for the heck of it.



Mensef, a traditional Jordanian dish consisting of lamb, rice, and a yogurt sauce. Notice the sheep head in the middle.



We ate at this really good restaurant a lot, and every time we went there a wedding party going on next door. So Duff and Fuad crashed a random wedding there and were likewise treated as the guests of honor.



I always felt at home when I went to this place as it was a bastion of all kinds of American culture.



This picture gives you a good perspective on Globalization.



Here our driver stops along the road in the middle of nowhere to buy onions. He had earlier refused to take us to a crusaders castle but felt that it was okay to do some personal shopping on our time.



This guy's name is Olaff. He was a Dutch student who turned out to be only 16 years after I had mistaken him for much older. When I was explaining to him that I don't smoke because because I'm Mormon, he got really confused as he thought the Mormons and the Amish were the same people. "How did you get here then if you couldn't have used modern transportation?", he asked.



The Jordan River. The side the picture is taken from is Jordan, and the other side is Israel. That means that I about 10 feet away and could have possibly jumped into Israel with a good running start.



Israeli soldiers and Christian pilgrims. We were told that it was forbidden to say anything to the people on the other side of the Jordan river, even if they were only 10 feet away.



The great and spacious building (a.k.a an Israeli visitor center for pilgrims to the Jordan river). You've got to love this picture though with the flag and the barbed wire fence. Very symbolic.



Muhammad and Gretchen at Ajloun castle. Muhammad was a student at Yarmuk university where he studied English literature. It was interesting to get his take on Shakespeare and Mark Twain.



Duff, Muhammad, and somoother guy at Ajloun castle.



The beginnings of a street riot in front of our apartment after Italy won the World Cup.



The street riot escalates.



Right before the police came and broke it up. It started up again 5 minutes after they left.



Actually being in the Middle East when this stuff happens is a lot different than watching along at home.



This kid is going to grow up to be an avid hooka smoker thanks to the habits his mom instilled in him when he was younger.



I feel bad about this picture because I didn't ask this gut for permission before hand. I just stood in the distance and pretended to take a picture of the scenery behind him. I'm pretty sure he noticed.



I bet if I had taken either road it would have led to some very eventful adventures.