Jordan day 2

This is the last day I'll have confirmed internet. After this, it will depend on whether there is an internet cafe nearby or not. So i'll take this chance to explain my first true day in Jordan. After going to bed at 2, Luke (my roomate for this brief part of the trip) and I woke up at 5... yep. 3 hours. We weren't tired so we got up, talked, and got ready for the day. Had a good breakfast at the hotel, and started our group orientation. The group consists of 6(?) JBU students, 4 senior staff members, 2 high school students, a girl and her mother from New Orleans, a guy from Australia, another from cornerstone university, and 2 girls from another place in the USA. There is another girl but I don't recall her story. Racheal Cotner (also from JBU) lost her passport in Chicago but will be able to make it here tomorrow or the day after: which would be nice because I really could use a friend right about now. This group is pretty great. I can get along with people, but I've never been much of a talker and these people certainly don't know me so it's kinda difficult, especially since almost everyone came knowing someone on the team pretty well.

So we had orientation in the morning. Learned more about the culture, who and where we'd be working on the dig site, and how camp life will work. I was/am pretty excited and can't wait to leave for the site tomorrow morning. For lunch, we walked around Madaba with two of the senior staff members. They helped us exchange money, buy lunch, and then showed us two crazy awesome archaeological cites within the city. The first was a Greek Orthadox church with a mosaic map of the holy land on the floor. It's from the 6th century and pretty much fantastic. The second site was a tell (a spot where something was, destroyed then rebuilt over). It contained a Roman road and temple, a mansion, and two churches. Lots and lots of mosaics as well.

We made it back around 5 and Luke and I (we only have one key) went to our room to rest. We were planning on going swimming but I fell asleep and I wake up to him leaving. By the time I was able to get up, he had already made it down to the pool with the key. I couldn't lock the door, I couldn't go down there,he left me stuck in my room. So I fall back asleep hoping he'll get me up for dinner... nope, he wakes me up at 9 once he's already eaten and hung with the group and all. So I went today without lunch and dinner. (oh right, I ordered lunch but the guy never brought it to me, I guess he wasn't happy I didn't order a drink). It's a very good thing my mom bought cliff bars for me.

So that's my first day. Full of ups and downs but a wonderful day I'm sure. Keep praying that we'll be safe and that I'll make some friends here