more border crossings...

well, we've been busy traveling... our most recent endeavors have taken us across the ohio river, from kentucky to west virginia, then through maryland and into virgina before settling in washington, dc. maybe i should back up a little bit first. a few weeks ago, i had a chance to take a phone interview with the corporate chef from groupe alain ducasse, arranged by my old chef and good friend, bertrand. it quickly led to a few more interviews and eventually to alina and i deciding to buy last minute tickets out of amman, jordan back home to louisville... can you believe that? after 9 months of methodical planning we had to make a decision to get airborn in less than 30 minutes. looking back, i am glad we did it. the job has come through - a sous chef position in alain ducasse's new kitchen at the st. regis hotel in washington, dc. it is called adour and will be opening sometime in september.
we did get to spend a few very short days in the ville before we had to take off - one of my oldest and best friends, kate, somehow managed to delay childbirth for 10 extra days just so i could be there to see her beautiful new baby - john douglas ratliff. he is awesome - we also got to spend time with a few other friends (ainsley) and family before we had to jump in a uhaul and cruise 700 miles east to the nation's capital.
right now we are living out of an extended stay hotel, driving a rental car and using a uhaul storage as our closet... things are still a little up in the air - hopefully within a couple of weeks we'll find an apartment and settle in a bit. we still can't believe that we are back in the united states, let alone in a new city getting ready to start a new job. it all happened so fast and rather opposite of how we had planned... we'll keep you posted on how it all unfolds. david

jordan, the wrap up

our comments and observations of jordan:

• jordanian people are kind, warm, generous, and honest people.
• the most common greeting in jordan is "you are welcome to jordan!"
• jordanian people approach tourists to simply chat - they are not selling anything, nor getting paid a commission, nor begging for money…really quite refreshing
• compared to egypt, jordan seems to be more conservative and traditional. outside of amman and the surrounding area, the country has a somewhat "rural" feel.
• the natural landscape of jordan is stunning and beautiful. the rock, sand, and lunar landscapes seem almost other-worldly.
• jordan is lacking in public transportation systems. limited mini van transport is the most common mode of country transportation, which still gave us a fair amount of challenges.
• we slept in a tent on the roof in the capitol city…for only one night…
• jordan has delicious peaches, olives, and yoghurt…of course, not all combined
• how much hummus and felafel can we eat? loads…luckily, we love it!
• compared to egypt, english is not as widely spoken in jordan. it does seem that almost everyone knows how to say "hello and welcome!"
• jordanians are civilized drivers. they yield to pedestrians and don't honk near as much as the rest of the world.
• jordan has less beggars than the rest of the world also - during our entire stay we were only approached by a couple.
• masks aren't produced in jordan. we searched far and wide and were disappointed to be unable to add a jordanian mask to our collection.
• it's still a shisha and tea culture…just with fewer local women partaking
• things in jordan cost somewhat more than in egypt, but are still affordable to the western tourist.

what things cost in jordan:

• the ferry from egypt to jordan to cross the border $16.00
• double ensuite room at the mariam hotel in madaba $42.00
• a two day pass to petra $37.00
• admission to mt. nebo $1.40
• admission to amman beach $17.00
• a mud bath at amman beach $3.50
• a hired cab for the day in madaba $43.00
• a three-hour mini van ride from wadi musa to amman $5.60
• apple shisha $1.15
• internet usage at a café $2.25 per hour
• mint tea $0.75
• large bottled water $0.50
• large bottled water at petra $2.80
• 12 oz diet coke $0.50
• fresh squeezed orange juice $1.00
• felafel sandwich from a street vendor $0.35
• hummus $0.75
• fuul $0.75
• a casual jordanian dinner for two $9.00
• shwarma sandwich with french fries and salad $1.75
• a large chicken kabob $3.50
• one kilo of mixed fruits $1.00
• a local bedouin scarf $5.60
• silver earrings $17.00
• an evil eye ornament $4.20
• postcard $0.35
• postage to the usa $1.40

what's next?
.....???.............

mt nebo, bethany and the dead sea

i guess you could consider our journey to madaba something of a religious pilgrimage. throughout the last 8 months, we've made our way around the world discovering numerous buddhist and hindu places of pilgrimage. however, we have seen relatively few christian places of importance. a couple of weeks ago we climbed mt. sinai and watched sunrise at the site where god gave moses the ten commandments... since then, we have gotten more excited about the part of the world we are in and what we can see here. that trip to sinai has even inspired us to consider visiting israel to visit jeruslaem, bethlehem and nazareth. a few days ago, though, we got to see some very important christian and jewish sites right here in jordan.
our day started with a visit to the top of mt. nebo and the moses memorial church. here, at mt. nebo, is where god showed moses the promised land and also the area where moses died at the age of 120. in addition to it's religious significance, it also provided us with an amazing view of the jordan river valley, the dead sea and, of course, israel (the promised land...). afterwards we made our way down into the jordan river valley to visit the site of john the baptist's missionary at bethany-beyond-the-jordan. bethany is most importantly known as the site of jesus' baptism, but is also considered the site where the prophet elijah ascended into heaven. it was a special place and we felt very humbled to be there. after our two religious stops, we got do something dramatically less spiritual when we went to amman beach on the shore of the dead sea. we got to float in the salt laden waters, feeling more buoyant than ever - a very awkward experience. afterwards, we covered ourselves in the mineral rich mud of the dead sea and let it work it's magic. after a few more hours lounging poolside and absorbing the unique sunlight of the area (below 400 meters sea level, the area around the dead sea receives less uv rays than anywhere on earth...) we headed back to madaba where we continued the pampering with steaming, jacuzzi, scrubbing and massage at the madaba turkish bath. all in all, the day proved to be one of the most spiritually significant and one of the most enjoyable of our 8 months of travel. david