king of myself
this tour of Jordan has been absolutely amazing. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Wednesday evening we arrived in Petra. That night we rode in taxis to a faraway place, maybe 10 or 15 minutes up and down widing roads at top speeds to a "private party". A place they opened just for us, with nargila, arabic music, a dance floor, shiny disco balls, and of course, me the star dancer (king of myself). It got pretty hot in there, but was bitterly cold and windy outside the whole time we were in Petra. Our hotel was situated very close to the ancient Nabatean city, and wondrous rock formations surrounded us.
The visit to Petra on Thursday was such an amazing experience. Not only the rock formations, but the stories and the history, the culturally rich atmosphere, and the peacefulness of the desert. While my group had lunch in one of the restaurants, I sat outside and ate an orange, and just did my own thing (king of myself). some local bedoin guys came up and talked to me, and I spoke mainly with a 10-year old boy. We spoke in English and Arabic, and while it was their job to get people to take rides on their donkeys and camels, I just hung out and talked with them. Some of them live in caves or small villages in the mountains nearby. What an amazingly simple life, minimal dependence on things, consumerism and commercialism.
Friday we visited Wadi Rum on our way to Aqaba. It was an off-road jeep tour, through the red sand and wondrous rock formations that reminded me very much of Sedona. There were caves lined with petroglyphs, and I observed camels in the backyards of homes in the village nearby. We made our way to the southern port city of Aqaba, just before sunset. I put my stuff in my room and ran out to the resort's private beach, and out to the end of its dock. I laughed and raised my arms in the air as I ran up and down the shore, overwhelmed with the joy of the week (king of myself). I have met a lot of nice people on this trip, though I fare better when I hang out by myself.
I met this guy named Abdullah who works at the hotel, who offered to walk with me downtown (as I had overslept and missed the group's meeting time for going out). I was interested in meeting a few of my friends from the group, but drama greeted me when I arrived at their location. Honestly not knowing the language has helped minimize drama overall and just do my own thing (what I do best, king of myself). Rather than get into it any further, I took Abdullah up on his offer to show me around town. Of course I had to explain to him about the drama, that it surrounded relationships, dating someone, or just the miserable existence of having to be accountable to someone. We had a fabulous discussion about life - mainly the joy of going wherever you want, when and how you wish, and being free in your life. He explained that he was named after the King of Jordan Abdullah, only he said "I am king of MYSELF". I decided to adopt that as my personal philosophy. we went up in a tall building to see an amazing view of the red sea, a few other local spots, and we walked along the beach. I was beaming the rest of the night after hanging out with Abdullah, as the drama was swept into the sea.
The visit to Petra on Thursday was such an amazing experience. Not only the rock formations, but the stories and the history, the culturally rich atmosphere, and the peacefulness of the desert. While my group had lunch in one of the restaurants, I sat outside and ate an orange, and just did my own thing (king of myself). some local bedoin guys came up and talked to me, and I spoke mainly with a 10-year old boy. We spoke in English and Arabic, and while it was their job to get people to take rides on their donkeys and camels, I just hung out and talked with them. Some of them live in caves or small villages in the mountains nearby. What an amazingly simple life, minimal dependence on things, consumerism and commercialism.
Friday we visited Wadi Rum on our way to Aqaba. It was an off-road jeep tour, through the red sand and wondrous rock formations that reminded me very much of Sedona. There were caves lined with petroglyphs, and I observed camels in the backyards of homes in the village nearby. We made our way to the southern port city of Aqaba, just before sunset. I put my stuff in my room and ran out to the resort's private beach, and out to the end of its dock. I laughed and raised my arms in the air as I ran up and down the shore, overwhelmed with the joy of the week (king of myself). I have met a lot of nice people on this trip, though I fare better when I hang out by myself.
I met this guy named Abdullah who works at the hotel, who offered to walk with me downtown (as I had overslept and missed the group's meeting time for going out). I was interested in meeting a few of my friends from the group, but drama greeted me when I arrived at their location. Honestly not knowing the language has helped minimize drama overall and just do my own thing (what I do best, king of myself). Rather than get into it any further, I took Abdullah up on his offer to show me around town. Of course I had to explain to him about the drama, that it surrounded relationships, dating someone, or just the miserable existence of having to be accountable to someone. We had a fabulous discussion about life - mainly the joy of going wherever you want, when and how you wish, and being free in your life. He explained that he was named after the King of Jordan Abdullah, only he said "I am king of MYSELF". I decided to adopt that as my personal philosophy. we went up in a tall building to see an amazing view of the red sea, a few other local spots, and we walked along the beach. I was beaming the rest of the night after hanging out with Abdullah, as the drama was swept into the sea.
posted by :: Lisa :: at 9:06 AM
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