Importance of family =Jordan...Will never forget tonight

Today was supposed to be the day we just relax as we did not have enough in our budget to tour around the country every day we are here.  However, it ended up honestly being the day we never forget.  For the first few hours, we tok the shuttle back to Berenice Beach and went snorkeling in the  Red Sea. Today was even better as we saw some very tropical fish in the deeper areas. It is incredible how many sea urchins are down there- thousands! After the beach, we went to the pool at the hotel for lunch and relaxed before our ride came for dinner. i

While at Wadi Rum last night, we made friends with our driver/sand artist during dinner at sunset. His name is Abdullah and as we left he invited us to come back tonight for dinner in his village with his family.  This is a big honor in their culture and we were excited to accept his dinner invitation with family. He came and picked us up with his friend. at about 5:30 and we drove an hour to Wadi Rum. We asked to stop along the way to pick up something for his 5 little girls. He said they loved chips so I bought them chips called Crocodiles. Before going to dinner, Abdullah showed us his Bedouin Camp he is building and the place I hope to stay at some time in the future if I ever have an opportunity to return. Around his camp, he also showed us desert watermelon that was growing- yes desert watermelon. I should have taken a picture but I decided to put away the camera during this experience until after dinner. Janell and I honestly did not feel like foreigners for the 5 hours we were with their family and it is what makes the experience something we will never forget. After the quick desert tour, we entered the little village where Abdullah lives. He showed us the boys school and the girls school which was near his house. Also, the village Mosque is right next door. He pointed out how all in his village are brothers and they all know each other. As we pulled up, his five daughters were waving in the driveway and excited for their visitors. They ranged from 8 years old to 2 years old and they did enjoy the crocodile chips :)

More family came over for dinner as the sun started to go down. At sunset, the mosque speakers made the call for prayer and we took our seats for our Iftar (sunset meal). No chairs and no silverware during the meal besides when we ate the soup. After a few did their daily prayer, we started the breakfast with a date and water. This is the traditional thing to eat/drink when breaking the fast. After the dates and soup, we had a yogurt salad and a delicious chicken/rice dish. Dessert was also amazing but honestly the experience surrounding dinner is what we will always remember. We talked and enjoyed each other's company. No cell phones except to show each other pictures of our daily lives and our families. The boys showed us video of their hunting adventures as they spend months in the desert going after rabbits with their prized dogs- salukis. The eldest daughter of Abdullah's cousin's family (Etab-17) spoke amazing english and gave me great explanations of how Jordanian schools work. It is indeed one of the top Arab countries in literacy rate and education is thankfully free. Females go to school and make up a large portion of the universities, including about 50% of the the University of Jordan in Amman. Most schools are separated by gender and they learn different things in the schools. There are uniforms and the boys school included military in this category. They go to school for about 6-7 hours a day but their weekends are Friday and Saturday. This is because of the importance of Friday in Islam. They indeed have summer breaks and winter breaks to go along with what they said- their "Christian brothers' main holiday of Christmas. Summer break included Ramadan. We talked about Christianity and Islam quite a bit; and began speaking of our different ways of life. Abdullah spends most of his nights in the desert and is constantly working. Besides loving how the entire family just enjoyed each other for hours without distractions, it humbled Janell and I to see how welcoming they were to two strangers who could barely speak 10 words in their language, were of a different religion, and lived so differently. Tolerance- the way the entire world should act. I write this as the TV above me in the hotel lobby shows the fighting in Egypt currently . As we closed dinner and had more tea...the little girls could not stay away from Janell. They loved being around her and eventually started commenting on her hair. She then offered to braid their hair and they loved it. All of the others wanted to watch and learn..fun exchange of knowledge as me and the cousin Abraham started talking football and wrestling. The night flew by and eventually we realized we had spent 3.5 hours talking and visiting. We did not want to leave and hope to return some day. We exchanged addresses and Facebook (very popular in Jordan). I gave Abraham my Butler cap and we gave the family our Westfield Rocks sign for Abdullah's new Bedouin Camp. He generously drove us an hour through the desert darkness back to Aqaba and only wanted a "Shukran" in return. i 

An amazing dinner or "break-fast" we will never forget. A family and culture that truly gets it. Close family is what creates happiness. Not the size of a home or the materialistic goods...family. We have met new friends and wish some day to host them for a meal in our house in America with our future kids running around. Shukran

Off to the Dead Sea and Amman tomorrow. ZZ