I saw more old stuff

This past Friday I was asked to help bless the sacrament........in Arabic.  That was another first.  I didn't mess up! :)  When we started singing the sacrament hymn and the Jordanian brother and I lifted up the white sheet to begin breaking the bread, I was surprised to see an entire (large) loaf of bread sitting on the bread tray.  We gave each other the "huh?!" look for a split second, tore off a chunk, and started breaking it.

Following the Arab Branch (I think it's technically called the Amman 1st Branch, or something like that) Sacrament Meeting, the branch president came up to me and said, "Brother, we would like to take advantage of your presence."  

Daniel:  "I'm happy to help."

President:  "We would like you to teach Sunday School for the remainder of your time in Jordan."

Hesitation

Yes, I admit, I hesitated as my mind contemplated teaching Sunday School in Arabic.

So this will be another first for me -- teaching Gospel Principles in Arabic.  It will be great for broadening my vocabulary.  Fortunately, the meetings in Arabic last no more than 30 minutes each.  Even the block of English-speaking meetings is only 2 1/2 hours here.  The Church is truer in Jordan.  Ha!  It's perfect for my 5-year-old-child attention span.

The other night I was eating dinner next to two Middle Eastern-looking males who sounded like they were speaking Arabic, but I couldn't understand what they were saying (partly because of the noise in the room and partly because of the dialect they were using).  When I heard them mention Qaddafi I realized they were Libyans.  A few minutes later I heard one of them mention the Nims (النمس).  Nims in Arabic means "ferret" or "weasel," but he was referring to a famous Syrian TV comedy actor who looks very much like me (click on that link and look at the photos).  When the Libyan mentioned the Nims I looked up at him, made eye contact, and said, "Ah, I see you are talking about me."  He was shocked.  He probably didn't expect the gringo to speak Arabic, and I'm sure he didn't expect me to know about the Nims.  He started laughing and said, "You know the Nims?!"  I told him that it has become somewhat of a nickname for me during my travels in the region.

 Saturday morning I left early and drove north to the ancient city of Jerash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerash).  I wandered around and took pictures for an hour before the tourists showed up.

 I like the pretty prickly purple flowers all over that area.

 I even arrived before the tourist police.

 Following my morning exercise at Jerash I drove 20 minutes west to the Ajloun Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajlun_Castle).  This is the tea/coffee man outside the main entrance.  He asked if I would like some coffee or tea.  I replied, "No, thank you, but I'd like to take a picture of you."  He gave me a good pose for the photo.

 There was a high school class of what appeared to be Arab (or Middle-Eastern) girls and Asian boys also exploring the castle.

Mom, why don't we get a couple of carrier pigeons and practice sending messages to each other?  That way we can communicate when the massive earthquake hits Utah, or when the cyber-terrorists take out our communication networks.

Daniel:  "Hi Mom.  Do you have extra toilet paper?"

Mom:  "No, but even if I did, my pigeon can't carry a roll of toilet paper."

Daniel:  "Oh, good point.  How's life in Provo?"

Mom:  "Everything is destroyed."

Daniel:  "Okay, cool.  Same here."

 View of the castle from down below.

 Artwork on the walls on the side of the road.

 Random jet

I enjoyed Ajloun.  It's pretty up in the hills.  The weather was absolutely perfect as well.  The temperature was around 70 degrees, the skies were partly cloudy, and there was a nice breeze.

 This morning (Jordanian Independence Day) I got up early, picked up Brady and Isa (two BYU students over here for a summer internship), and we drove out to Wadi Mujib (next to the Dead Sea).

 You pay the equivalent of about $25, grab a life jacket, and start walking/swimming up the river.

 Isa going up.

 Random dude with chicken legs and extremely pale skin. :)

 I really liked the natural color and designs in the rock.

 The large waterfall is the signal that you have reached the end of the path.

Then you turn around and walk/float all the way back to the beginning.

On our way back through Amman we ran into a motorcycle parade.

We stopped to pick up three massive falafels ($1 each) before returning to our abodes.  I wish I could beam some falafels back to you guys.  Falafel balls and a delicious sauce stuffed into a large, soft sesame seed bun.  Mmmm.  "AL OSRAH" means "The Family."

Wadi Mujib is my favorite touristy thing I've done here so far.