some guy in lebanon

Ok, hello everyone back home! I have so much to say, so please stay with me…!

Two weekends ago, I spent a weekend with my program traveling around the south of Jordan, staying a night in Dana, which is a huge nature preserve, hiking up a huge mountain and meeting a lot of very nice Jordanians. The next day, we went to Wadi Rum, which is essentially Jordan’s Mount Everest. It’s essentially a gigantic sand box that used to be under an ocean, so imagine being at 20,000 leagues, only it’s all sand and you’re cruising along on the back of a pick up truck in 110 degree heat. It’s absolutely breath taking – the rock formations go up thousands of feet into the air, straight up. I’d never seen anything like it. We slept there that night, and rode Camels the next morning. Camels are my new favorite animal. They sound like frigging dinosaurs. We then went to Aqaba, where we spent the day on the Red Sea snorkling. Actually, we were right across from where those jerks blew up a resort last week in Egypt.

Then this past week I continued my recent addiciton: Spending 2 hours a day at the gym. I haven’t felt this good since I was 18 playing lacross, and today I officially benched 150 pounds! So Ned, watch out, I’ma beat the crap out of you when I get back.

My friend from GW, who’s studying at American University in Cairo came on Wednesday and stayed through last Sunday, which was a long weekend due to the Orthodox Easter. We saw Wadi Rum again, plus spent a lot of time traveling and seeing the sites in Amman. He, Josh, had just come from Lebanon after being rejected at the boarder into Syria. He also brought me, as a present, a bottle of Jack Daniels, which of course I had to give to my room mates because THANKS JOSH BUT I HAVEN’T HAD A DRINK SINCE DECEMBER. So nice to know what my friends think of me, though still, a nice gift.

This past week after Josh left, I’ve been trying to stay dry (it rained for two days) and been going to the gym, and trying to actually get healthy.

By the end of the weekend, it will be May!!!

PS We got a boot leg copy of V for Vendetta here and I have to say it is the most important movie to be released in America since Oliver Stone’s Malcolm X. Everyone must see it at once!

Miss everyone at home, can’t wait to see you all,
Will