Petra! and more Petra!

Hey guys, sorry for the long absence, I've been pretty busy lately. Midterms are done and passed (al-hamdalilah!) and there's only 6 weeks left in the semester! Unfortunately, 6 weeks is hardly enough time to see everything there is to see and write two papers at the same time. But on the bright side, I saw so much over the past two weeks. Last Saturday mom and dad came to this great land to visit. We started out with a day trip to Jerash, and ancient Roman town north of Amman. We saw lots of beautiful ruins and some really cheesy sword fights and chariot races. Next on the itinerary was Petra. I had already gone to Petra the previous week with CIEE but I was so excited to go back and be a tour guide for my parents. The place is so expansive that I still didn't see everything in the two trips, and I think it would take at least 4 days to truly explore it completely. Both parents had a great time especially after we reached the high place of sacrifice after a grueling 45 minute walk up steps. The view was breathtaking and something I hope to see again.

We spent the end of the trip in Aqaba to warm up after a chilly Petra. The beach was absolutely beautiful and the hotel was fantastic (I was ecstatic when I found bacon in the executive lounge!). We all got a healthy dose of sun and felt pretty content after our three days there.

I was sad to see my parents leave, but glad I'll be seeing them again soon! I'm glad they made the trip out to see me, and even more glad that they had a good time!