Tidbits

Well here are some other tidbits of my current adventure I thought you might find interesting:

First of all, there are some fascinating people on this trip!  There are about 28 people total, some come and go, and they each have different reasons for being here.  There are several professors and lots of people from New York.  There's one girl who's been teaching English in Damascus for the past 2 years and is fluent in Arabic; she's about to get her Masters at Oxford in Arabic studies.  There's one girl who's only a bit older than me, got her doctorate, and has been teaching at the university in Cairo and is our resident 'bone specialist'.  There's another girl who's my age (and she's precious) who was a military child growing up; lived in England for 3 years, Germany for 3 years, Italy for 2 years and went to college in those countries.  Her family is from Texas originally and she moved back to Texas (greatest place on earth :) ) after her degrees and now works on her family's farm while subbing--oh and her family is starting a Christmas tree farm, too! There's a guy who likes to make his own knives, hunt with bow and arrow and is a certified travel agent.  I mean, really, there are fascinating people here.  And they make me feel like I've accomplished nothing in my life thus far!  I'm such an underachiever, I feel like, compared to them.  Okay, I'm not really I guess...but I do feel very uncultured when I'm around them!
But that's a cost of travel--the more you see, the more you realize that you still have a loooot left to see and experience!!  *sigh*

Also, did you know that Israel dammed up the Jordan river so that it currently no longer flows into the Dead Sea?  Hmph.  I didn't know that.

And, what do you call a group of camels?  Are they a herd??  Is a baby camel called a calf??  Who knows.. but I think I've decided that camels might be the most awkward animals ever.  You should observe them sometime.  They are just funny funny things.  (I have yet to ride one, but I've seen a lot of them and my Egypt trip is up and coming so don't worry!)

Okay, so to get to our dig site every day we have to ride this old rickety bus.  And I think it's hilarious.  We fit like 25 people on this little bus that barely runs but somehow we eventually get to where we need to go. However, the other day we all piled in to head back to the hotel and the bus has to make it up this hill, you see.  Well the bus always struggles up the hill--it's like the little bus that could--but on this particular day, our little bus just couldn't quite do it!  It stalled out on the middle of the hill and about half the people on the bus had to get off and walk up the hill.  Well I stayed on the bus because I thought it was very entertaining and I wanted to see what would happen.  So the driver, along with another Jordanian man that helps with our dig, starts removing this huge 'lid' that's in between the two front seats.  This lid covers the engine.  The driver digs through the glove department to find.....a screwdriver.
And I sit there watching in sheer amusement as the driver starts messing with and jabbing the engine, right beside his seat, with a single random screwdriver.  Like that's going to work!!  Baha.
But after a few minutes, it does work indeed and the engine shakes back and forth and sways side to side as its running--which is apparently normal, for the lid was put back on the engine and everyone piled back in the bus and we made it safely to the hotel. seriously, that bus has run its course. it's like the little bus engine that could...or could not, depending on the day. poor thing needs to be disposed of. but we'll use it in the meantime. :) and it'll keep me highly entertained.


i'm really really sad i never blogged about my trips to brazil, england, austria, canada, italy, france, belgium, ireland, mexico, hungary, scotland, czech rep, or netherlands. tis a shame.

ah, well. cheers to the future!

~ "don't just count your years, make your years count..." ~