I got back from Jordan the other day, and I’ve finally caught up on some sleep and some laundry, and now I have time to tell you all about it, and to share some pictures!
- Day 1:
- We spent the day in Amman, going to the Citadel, walking around the downtown area (and ate delicious knafeh!).
- Day 2:
- We went to the British Embassy to learn about what British civil servants do, and then we went to National Art Gallery and had a lovely view of the King Abdullah I Mosque from the Jungle Fever Cafe (I spent a lot of the evenings after dinner back at the cafe trying to work on my MA dissertation!).
- Day 3:
- We went to the Dead Sea and spent the day floating effortlessly in the salty water!
- Day 4:
- We spent the day in Jerash at Gaza Refugee Camp with a local organization called Basmatik Hatallim, who do children’s programs for some of the children in the camp. Then the organizers took us for a picnic type lunch in Ajloun Forest.
- Day 5:
- We spent the day meeting with the Regional Team at the UNICEF Regional Office in Amman, which was incredibly interesting. We then went to the Middle East University, to meet some other students and be taken on a tour of the university. We did some other activities with these students over the next few days, so it was great getting to meet them.
- Day 6:
- We spent the day with the other students from MEU at Madrasti Summer Camp just north of Amman in the Marka area.
- Later in the evening some of us met up with the students from MEU to play some football – it had to be late in the evening so it was finally cool enough to play! This was an absolute blast – football is such a universal language.
- Day 7:
- On this day we drove up to Azraq to go to the Azraq Wetland Reserve. It was really interesting learning about the nature conservation efforts that they are doing in this wetland, but it was SO hot! Probably the hottest day in Jordan for our whole trip, and for most of the day we were directly under the sun. Worth it though.
- Day 8:
- We spent the day with some beneficiaries of the Al-Aman Fund, where we taught some workshops on CVs and interview skills. And then we had our farewell formal dinner at the Grand Millennium Hotel with the partners of our trip – and I even gave a little speech!
- Day 9:
- This was our last day in Jordan, and we went to an SOS Children’s Village in Irbid , sponsored by the Princess Taghrid Institute. There we participated in some children’s activities, and mostly played games with the children there.
And that was it! The next day it was up early in the morning and off to the airport. I feel so lucky to have had this opportunity to go to Jordan, and to have seen so much of the country. It’s definitely given me the confidence to travel there again (which I will hopefully do soon!), and I’ve learned so much more about Jordan than just it’s tourist attractions. All the people we met were lovely as well!
megldavenport 