Jordan Journal 7/27/12

7/27/12- Friday evening in the Chicago airport

     Finally back in America =D. So Thursday was just a free day around Madaba. I went out with the Pollards, Luke, and Hannah to shop. We had lunch in a hotel then I walked back to our hotel and carried some of Luke's stuff that he bought so he wouldn't have to carry it all around town. I took a short nap,  played some chess with Luke by the pool, then watched Jordan tv till 7:00. We left at 7:00 for a group dinner which was really nice though I got fed up with a few people due to human nature. What I mean is at dinner, several people just complained about everything or ordered expensive stuff because they weren't buying. For dinner I had meat stuffed bread which was really good! After that, we had a special Ramadan [the month of fasting in Jordan] dessert: Pancakes things stuffed with cheese, nuts or smothered in honey. So good!!!!! After dinner I said goodbye to Olivia, Peter, and Aaron [They are leaving for the airport a bit earlier than me]. Then I walked around Madaba with the JBU group minus Rachel (She's been very secluded since we got to Madaba).After spending our last Dinar, we went back to the hotel where I said by to Emma and Hannah, I'll see them in three weeks though so it wasn't much of a goodbye. I stayed up for final packing with Luke then went to bed by 11:00. I had a rough time sleeping but I probably fell asleep by 12:30, 1:00. I woke up at 6:00, showered, packed, then left my hotel room in happiness  I bumped into Dr. Susan and Alyssa as I headed to the lobby, and Krista in the lobby. I called mom with the last of my minutes, Just some small talk mostly. At 6:30 I got on Facebook [on the hotel computer] and tied up things there. The taxi arrived at 6:50 so I said goodbye to the non-JBU folks and got in the car with the Pollards (minus Emma). After a quick drive, we arrived at the airport. Overall, the process was pretty painless for me: got through security, waited for checking to open, checked my bags in a minute then through immigration in about five. I waited for a bit for the Pollards and Paulette [Olivia's mom. She came several hours early for her flight to come with her daughter who was heading off to Ireland]then we had Starbucks before another round of security at the entrance of our gate. There they made me check my silver carryon =/. More waiting... Finally boarded the plane (Window seat!!!) and right before take off, the kid in the seat next to me got moved, empty side seat!!!!!. I fell asleep during take off (all my excitement couldn't keep me awake at 10:30 AM?) then woke up when we reached cruising altitude. Sadly, a man came and sat in the seat next to me because his tv was broken which made it a bit harder to fall asleep. In fact, I didn't sleep again the whole flight despite taking a Tylenol PM. So I watched "John Carter", "Journey 2", "The Firm", "This Means War", and "The Lorax".  O_o... I really like all the movies though. John Carter was visually amazing though it had a confusing plot (and random meaningless flashbacks). Journey 2 was the worst of the movies, I'd rather not watch it again. The Firm is a 80's/90's Tom Cruise movie that was probably my favorite. "This Means War" was entertaining especially that the interactions between characters kept changing throughout the movie. The Lorax was the only movie I had seen before and I still love it =). I got to see all of it up till two minutes before the credits then we descended into Chicago. My smile grew bigger and bigger as the ground grew closer and closer. Applause broke out as we touched the ground!! We were in America, we made it. I was home!! 4:00 PM, 13 hours after we left, thanks to backwards time zones. I made my way through passport control. There were so many US citizens coming in, we had to line up against the wall and back down the hallway towards the gates! I was standing in line when Paulette came out of the w omen's bathroom right next to me. Lucky her getting to cut with me and not go to the back! As the guy checks my passport, he asks me why I was traveling, he stamps my passport, hands it back, and says "welcome back": even now, two hours later, those words mean a lot to me. We wait half an hour for out luggage, check it again, then made my way to terminal 3 (after saying goodbye to the Pollards. I even gave Dr. Pollard a high five!!). After one final security check, Paulette and I said goodbye. She had been a point of security for me today: a source of comfort. She was just always there making sure we were going the right way or making conversation even though she'd been up for over twenty four hours and had had a rough expensive day. She's a cool lady. I grabbed McDonalds and now I'm sitting waiting to go home. My flight boards in an hour (8:25) and lands at 10:30 in Denver. There mom and dad will meet me with my phone and (hopefully) Arby's. I'm so tired right now. I've been up for twenty two hours nut I can't sleep yet. I'll sleep on the plane. I'm just so happy to be back and almost home! Oh! one last thing. Luke and I decided we wouldn't shave for our entire time in Madaba so my beard is itchy!! That extra 28 hours of travel (adding in my Denver flight soon) is letting it grow quite a bit more than usual. 

[So there is one more journal entry but it's about my next day home (Heavenfest!). I'm not going to post it because it has nothing more to do with Jordan and it isn't terribly interesting to you all. Well I really hope you have enjoyed my Journal so far!!!! I apologize for the bad grammar and random thoughts, but that's how my brain works sorry.]

Sanctioned by Shane: Fullmetal Alchemist pt. 2

Alright all! I have redone the Sanctioned by Shane idea and have created a grading point scale thing for all shows and movies. Books will, of course, have a different one. Since I've done this, I felt I needed to redo my review of Fullmetal Alchemist. So here we go!

Criteria 1- Story: consisting of plot and characters
     This show excels at pulling the emotion out of people. The plot itself is a story of two brothers and their search for the philosophers stone. Along the way they meet a wide cast of characters who help and hinder their cause. The real mystery of the plot dealt with how to create a stone as well as the humunculi and their quest to make one. While the show throws you through a lot of loops and twists, it leaves some gaps. For one, Scar never has his powers explained exactly and I can't believe that the recipe for making a stone isn't well known to all since everyone seems to know it later in the show.
     The characters themselves are phenomenal. Everyone seems fully fleshed out and interesting. The one exception  is the flame alchemist. You finally become aware of his full character by the end of the series but it still doesn't seem to fit with his previous actions. However, General Hughes and Major Strongarm are possible my favorite characters of all time.

Criteria 2- Animation
     The animation (at least to my untrained eye) appears impeccable. The colors match the mood and you really get the feeling of what each scene is trying to portray across. Several wow moments occurred with Greed and Teachers battle later in the season and the underground city also later in the series. However there were also a couple eh moments. One potentially awesome shot of two characters being viewed through two holes in a couch is ruined by the panning shot that obscures both their faces and shows you only a small section of the wall. These panning shots happen frequently enough to take notice.

Criteria 3- Soundtrack
     I loved the music for FMA but the only one that really struck me was the title sequence for the first 13 episodes. (the tittle sequence changes every 13-14 episodes) Other than that the music did it's job but no wow like star wars music.


Final score-
     Based on a highest score of ten with four for story, four for animation, and two for soundtrack, FMA has scored a total of 7. Each category had one point taken off for plot holes, awkward panning shots, and no wow music. 

Jordan Journal 7/24/12-7/25/12

[Sorry, this will be a short one. Next post will be my trip back to America and the last Jordan Journal.]

7/24/12- Tuesday night
     Petra is amazing and deserves to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Last night we went to little Petra which was cool. There was lots of climbing [including impossible stairs!!!]. Dinner was ok and vespers was nice. I watched an episode of "The Legend of Korra" with Luke then went to bed at twelve. I "woke up" (read after one hour of sleep -_-) at 5:30 to get ready for Petra. After the entrance gate, you walk a good mile through the canyon before you reach the city, starting with the beautiful treasury. Emma, her parents, Luke, Hannah, and I took a tour of the old city then a long hike up to the Monastery  After lots of rests, we made it! It was really quite beautiful plus a lot of scenic views.Once we got down, Luke joined up with Oliva and her mom while the rest went back to the hotel, leaving me by myself. I walked around some old churches and the tombs then made the long trek back to the entrance. [this was at one in the afternoon]. I decided to wait for the bus (coming at three) but there were no good seats or shade so I took a taxi back to the hotel. I napped a bit, then Luke came back and we watched the last episode of "The Legend of Korra" then dinner. By then my body had given up. Not only am I sick but I'm A)Mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted B) Did not sleep last night C) Terribly missing home. [Sorry for whining lol. It is hard to understand how I felt at this time]

7/25/12- Wednesday night

I got nine hours of sleep last night, woke up at 7:30, and left Petra at 8. We took the bus to Shobock castle on our way to Madaba. Many of us were to tired to care plus the castle was on top of a hill that we wold have to climb. Once we climbed to the top, we wandered around together and found a staircase heading underneath the castle. After ten minutes of wandering down in darkness, the staircase disappeared and turned into a slope. After another twenty minutes, the slope ended and we climbed out of a hole and couldn't see the castle. We started walking up a hill to discover the hole led out at the base of the hill -_- We all gave up and went back to the tourist center where we played ERS. Once those who didn't follow us in the tunnel returned  we had another long bus ride  to Karack castle which was...a  castle. We had a silent lunch (I was crabby and ready to snap at anyone so I stayed quite) then we explored the castle a bit. Two hours later (5:30)  we made it to the Mariam hotel in Madaba [where we started]. Luke and I got put in the same room as we did when we first got here in June. [sadly not true. Later Luke and I remembered we were actually one floor above our first room]. We had dinner with Hannah and the Pollards then the JBU kids decided to watch the first Indiana Jones movie. On our way to our room after picking the movie we met another group of college archaeologists  which was nice to know we weren't alone. We were probably more help top them [sharing experiences and troubles and all] than they were to us. We played poker (with starburts) while watching the movie and then went to bed.

[So the next and last post will be my last day in Madaba and my trip home]

Jordan Journal 7/21/12- 7/23/12

7/21/12-Saturday Afternoon

[continuing from the last post when we left the school Friday morning]
      I was feeling crappy so I took some Ibprofane and dramomine before we left and I basically slept the entire way to the baptist site. [This is one of the traditional locations for Jesus' baptism] The baptism site was nice but really hot. Nothing super special except  a beautiful church. All the big tourist stuff is across the Jordan river in Israel. After walking around we went to the dead sea. Again, I was super tired and sick so I wasn't super focused. However, once we actually got into the dead sea, it was pretty cool! You can actually float in it! We then had a three hour drive to Aqaba, which was long and hot. We made it to the hotel near sunset  we ate McDonald's for dinner, chatted with some friends back home, and then I heard on the news about a shooting in Colorado. [This is the Batman midnight premiere shooting]. I really hope it all turns out ok. I slept pretty well considering I had been on a bus all day. Today we went to the red sea. After snorkeling  I kind of chickened out of scuba diving. I sat by the pool and rested a lot. Even now I'm just so tired. I might be coming down with something. I really want to enjoy my trip but mostly I just want to sleep. I don't know.. Tomorrow is Wadi Rum so that should be good.

7/22/12- Sunday morning [Not Wadi Rum yet]
     So last night reminded me a lot of home. The 5 JBU kids, minus Rachel, and Olivia walked around Aqaba. We found this restaurant in a huge complex and ate there. The food was ok but the conversation was great. It took awhile for Olivia to join the conversation but that makes sense since the 5 of us all know each other. [If I can remember right, the conversation was great just because we actually could sit over a meal and talk about things including things we like or don't like on the trip.] We came back to the hotel room and watched "Up" in Luke and my room. We all brought snacks too so it was nice. This morning Jennifer left for home so it was kind of weird since the 5 of us had bonded so well. The good news though is that I slept in as late as I wanted!!!! so basically 8:30!

7/23/12
     Almost done with the trip... I'm a mixture of joy and sorrow, mostly Joy. I miss everyone so much. I don't have any problems with the food, living conditions, etc. but I want my friends and family. Sunday we left for Wadi Rum. [You should seriously google images of this place! There is no way I can describe it and do it any sort of justice]. That place is gorgeous. I could totally believe it was an alien planet. It is a national park desert valley of sorts. We took a tour of it in three "jeeps". We visited a bunch of landmarks and places we could climb around. (Like a giant bridge!) I was in a jeep with Luke, Hannah, Emma, and her parents and we had a lot of fun! After we watched the sunset [which is also to beautiful for words], the jeeps raced (and I mean raced) through the desert to our camping spot. During the sunset though Luke and I spent a lot of time talking about Physics, time, and planets. I really would like to learn more about them. Our camp was set up against the rock wall facing this wide expanse before another huge rock wall like this ]_!_____[. The ! is our camp. [Yes that was all in my Journal]. four other people (two couples on separate tours) also joined us for the night. We all sat under a tent with a fire and talked for a majority of the night while drinking tea and watching other people dance. There was this Canadian couple who were spending six weeks touring around the Middle East which is the main couple we talked with. It was really nice to talk to other people outside our group having similar experiences to us. Around ten the food came out (which was cooked in the ground!). A majority of the Abila group pulled our mattresses out of the tents we had and out into the courtyard to sleep under the stars. [Also, you guessed it, to beautiful for words]. I woke up at seven, had breakfast, headed back to our bus, and drove to Petra! =) Well actually it is the city Petra outside of the ruins of Petra. We ate lunch then checked into a hotel. The place is built into a cliff so that we checked in on the sixth floor and had to go down to our rooms. Later this afternoon we'll visit Little Petra then tomorrow is Big Petra! But right now I am sick and tired. Nap time.