Day 11: Day of the Dead Sea Squirrels
Today, we decided to fulfill one of Dads childhood dreams: swimming in the Dead Sea. I woke up locked and loaded, ready to leave after breakfast. We hit the road pretty quickly. We went with two other teams, Micheal and Ali and Maria and Kim. Another person, Margo, was supposed to come but unfortunately she was sick so she had to stay in the hotel. The first car ride was about an hour, so it was a bonding road trip experience with the others. Which my dad loved. He asked them about how the couples met (both teams were a couple), because well he's Alan and he loves hearing about those kinds of stuff. I on the other hand was reading, because I'm Emory.
Anyway, first stop was St Georges church. This place was okay, but not really memorable due to the fact that it was a tiny little church with the oldest map of Jordan as its only famous piece. After we left there, we drove to a mosaic place, that employs physically disabled persons and donates their profits to helping other disabled. The mosaics were super pretty and seemed very tedious and detailed to make. In other words, I should never go into the mosaic making business. There, the owner, who is in a wheelchair, gave us a tour and served us some tea. And one cup of coffee that I somehow ended up with. It did not taste good, but didn't want to say anything. Fortunately, the owner noticed it was coffee and has someone bring me some tea. Thank the lord for that, because after one sip I killed about 50 taste buds and another sip would've killed enough to fill a New Orleans graveyard. After the tour, we decided to look around and I got some earrings made from a Jordanian stone that mimics the night sky. Its super beautiful. We also got a little surprise, which Mother you will see soon enough. Its not an animal or anything, just so you don't freak out. The surprise can not bite.
After the mosaics workshop, we drove to Mount Nebo. This is the memorial for Moses. I don't exactly know who that is but I know he's an important dude in Christianity. During our walk up to the
top, Kim, Maria and Dad were talking about if we would be able to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Unfortunately, due to my less than perfect hearing, because my siblings are so gosh darn loud, I thought they said Dead Sea Squirrels. Thus created the inside joke of Dead Sea squirrels. In my defense, my whole family is like a bunch of screeching hawks when they are using their inside voices, and don't even get me started about when they yell; so my ears are a bit poop. Mount Nebo had a beautiful view but otherwise it wasn't too significant for me. Probably because I'm not religious. At the end of the viewing and hike, I pet this super cute puppy at the bottom. Mom, it didn't have rabies, I think, but Dad let me and I put on hand sanitizer after. I don't think I'll turn into a dog zombie person.
Next destination was also religious based. It was John Baptists place where he baptized Jesus. Unfortunately, it was mostly in ruins so the place where the baptizing happened wasn't much more than a pile of rocks with a leak. We walked the trail a little farther to the Jordan River, which has
Israel on the other side. On the other side, they were preforming baptisms for tourists. There was this
dude with a big, bushy beard that made him look like Adrian Pimento (watch Brooklyn 99 and you'll get it). Anyway, the dude was very aggressively pushing people under water and this one woman didn't want to go in all the way and tried resisting, but the guy still tried to push her all the way under the water. Did not look fun.
After the aggressive baptizing, we went to a resort where we could go to swim in the Dead Sea. We
changed and started walking down. While walking down, they started teasing me about the squirrels, I thought I saw a squirrel too, but I think it was a funky looking rock. Anyway, we got down there and were totally pumped and ready to go in. Ali and I went first and immediately yelled "cold!" It was super cold, but you just had to stay in the water for a minute and it warmed. After we got used to the temperature we went in deeper. Just some background, I was told to never get this in your eyes
and mouth due to the extreme salt, but I also thought that I would have to tread water while worrying
about avoiding eye and mouth water contact. But then they talked about floating in water, so I
thought "oh they'll give us floaties or something." Well I was wrong and Dad laughed at me, but once I tried swimming I realized what they meant by floating. Due to the extra salt, people float a lot easier in the water, so when I got in the water immediately pushes your body to a flat position, horizontal to the water. It's like you're swimming on a bouncy cloud; I was able to sit criss cross applesauce (yes I still say that) without touching the bottom. It was super cool! Also, Dad splashed himself in the eye and he said it was very unpleasant in more PG-13 ways. Mom, Daddy has a potty mouth. After that, we covered ourselves in mud that is said to make your skin smoother, and washed it off. Let me tell you, the mud thing, totally fudged. Did not make my skin any smoother. After the fudged mud, we rinsed ourselves off in non salted water and went back to the van. It was such a cool experience!
After that awesome experience, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for a group dinner, also called Social Nights. Dinner was fun but tiring. We learned our next location and my dream vacation spot. ATHENS, GREECE. PERCY JACKSON FOR DA WIN!!! I am very excited to go to Greece and go full tourist mode.
Anyway, first stop was St Georges church. This place was okay, but not really memorable due to the fact that it was a tiny little church with the oldest map of Jordan as its only famous piece. After we left there, we drove to a mosaic place, that employs physically disabled persons and donates their profits to helping other disabled. The mosaics were super pretty and seemed very tedious and detailed to make. In other words, I should never go into the mosaic making business. There, the owner, who is in a wheelchair, gave us a tour and served us some tea. And one cup of coffee that I somehow ended up with. It did not taste good, but didn't want to say anything. Fortunately, the owner noticed it was coffee and has someone bring me some tea. Thank the lord for that, because after one sip I killed about 50 taste buds and another sip would've killed enough to fill a New Orleans graveyard. After the tour, we decided to look around and I got some earrings made from a Jordanian stone that mimics the night sky. Its super beautiful. We also got a little surprise, which Mother you will see soon enough. Its not an animal or anything, just so you don't freak out. The surprise can not bite.
After the mosaics workshop, we drove to Mount Nebo. This is the memorial for Moses. I don't exactly know who that is but I know he's an important dude in Christianity. During our walk up to the
top, Kim, Maria and Dad were talking about if we would be able to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Unfortunately, due to my less than perfect hearing, because my siblings are so gosh darn loud, I thought they said Dead Sea Squirrels. Thus created the inside joke of Dead Sea squirrels. In my defense, my whole family is like a bunch of screeching hawks when they are using their inside voices, and don't even get me started about when they yell; so my ears are a bit poop. Mount Nebo had a beautiful view but otherwise it wasn't too significant for me. Probably because I'm not religious. At the end of the viewing and hike, I pet this super cute puppy at the bottom. Mom, it didn't have rabies, I think, but Dad let me and I put on hand sanitizer after. I don't think I'll turn into a dog zombie person.
Next destination was also religious based. It was John Baptists place where he baptized Jesus. Unfortunately, it was mostly in ruins so the place where the baptizing happened wasn't much more than a pile of rocks with a leak. We walked the trail a little farther to the Jordan River, which has
Israel on the other side. On the other side, they were preforming baptisms for tourists. There was this
dude with a big, bushy beard that made him look like Adrian Pimento (watch Brooklyn 99 and you'll get it). Anyway, the dude was very aggressively pushing people under water and this one woman didn't want to go in all the way and tried resisting, but the guy still tried to push her all the way under the water. Did not look fun.
After the aggressive baptizing, we went to a resort where we could go to swim in the Dead Sea. We
changed and started walking down. While walking down, they started teasing me about the squirrels, I thought I saw a squirrel too, but I think it was a funky looking rock. Anyway, we got down there and were totally pumped and ready to go in. Ali and I went first and immediately yelled "cold!" It was super cold, but you just had to stay in the water for a minute and it warmed. After we got used to the temperature we went in deeper. Just some background, I was told to never get this in your eyes
and mouth due to the extreme salt, but I also thought that I would have to tread water while worrying
about avoiding eye and mouth water contact. But then they talked about floating in water, so I
thought "oh they'll give us floaties or something." Well I was wrong and Dad laughed at me, but once I tried swimming I realized what they meant by floating. Due to the extra salt, people float a lot easier in the water, so when I got in the water immediately pushes your body to a flat position, horizontal to the water. It's like you're swimming on a bouncy cloud; I was able to sit criss cross applesauce (yes I still say that) without touching the bottom. It was super cool! Also, Dad splashed himself in the eye and he said it was very unpleasant in more PG-13 ways. Mom, Daddy has a potty mouth. After that, we covered ourselves in mud that is said to make your skin smoother, and washed it off. Let me tell you, the mud thing, totally fudged. Did not make my skin any smoother. After the fudged mud, we rinsed ourselves off in non salted water and went back to the van. It was such a cool experience!
After that awesome experience, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for a group dinner, also called Social Nights. Dinner was fun but tiring. We learned our next location and my dream vacation spot. ATHENS, GREECE. PERCY JACKSON FOR DA WIN!!! I am very excited to go to Greece and go full tourist mode.
Top of Mount Nebo
(Left to Right) Kim, Micheal, Maria, Emory, Ali, Alan
Pretty Mosaic
Jesus Baptizing Ruins
Dead Sea
Floating
Covered in Mud
One day you’ll think back and wonder if maybe that cup of coffee was actually the best coffe you’d ever had in your life. :)
ReplyDeleteDon’t feed the squirrels.
"I on the other hand was reading, because I'm Emory" - my favorite line.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun trip to hear about! So many cool stops I would have loved for sure. I am thinking you are a little young to need softer skin - maybe that's why you didn't feel much different :-) Hang on to that as long as you can. I love Percy Jackson - can't wait to hear about Greece!
ReplyDeleteEmory, I think your teachers that are reading this are thinking of the next J-term course you need to create and take - Religious studies. Can't wait to see my surprise that doesn't bite!
ReplyDelete"New Orleans graveyard" ... you are just a gem Emory. Alan did not learn that type of language from me; I try to say things like 'fudged mud' when I am mad. I like how the sun looks on the dead see water, it's more matte than glossy. And Muddy Alan looks like an action figure, sorta.
ReplyDelete