Even though today is only our second day of adventures, this amazing trip has already been packed with entertainment that could last for a week!
We started off the day by traveling to the city of Ajloun, where we got to see a beautiful Greek/Roman castle that gave amazing views of the city and all it offers. I have an infatuation with castles and any sort of ancient royal architecture, making it such a wonderful first stop of the day. When I first thought of what Jordan would contain, I never considered that there would be one castle, let alone a couple others all in wonderful condition.
I tend to get car sick, so we stopped at a local pharmacy to get medicine. As we arrived back on the bus, our tour guide brought us the most amazing, fresh bread I have ever had. As a carbohydrates fanatic, this was truly something I cherished, for I would never experience bread that amazing back in America.
Our next stop was to lunch, where on our way we stopped by ancient ruins of Gadara, called Um qais. Like the castle, and many other ancient ruins we have visited, the architectural design and the sustainability over many years, truly made a lasting impression on me. Um qais also provided amazing views of the Golum Heights and the Galilee River, which with every turn of the head got prettier and prettier. The lunch was amazing and contained an atmosphere full of peace and beauty, that rang around the area. I truly enjoyed exploring what Gadara had to offer, and just sitting at the top of the world, with just me and my thoughts.
After such a serene morning and lunch, we headed on our way to see U.S versus Paraguay in the U17 FIFA Women's World Cup. As we were driving by the driver pulled over telling the men in the car to get out. We had just witnessed an accident, that happened on a highway in a car with a man, a woman, and a baby. This was at first completely terrifying, however the love and care all the strangers had for the injured people was truly unforgettable. The driver of our van had no hesitation to pull over and help the people in need. Something completely opposite from America, where everyone tries to avoid accidents at all costs. Luckily everyone survived and help came extremely fast, but I will never forget the big hearts each and every person aiding he injured had in them.
Finally we got to the soccer game, which may I say, was one of the funniest moments of my entire life. As we arrived, the U.S. team, as expected, was already in the lead. As we entered the whole audience started USA at us, and they were very intrigued that a blond, American girl, was all the way in Jordan. Before I knew it, it was half time, and around 40 Arabic boys, surrounded me, asking me for "selfies," just because I was from America! This caused a bit of commotion which forced security to have to move me into a private section in order to protect me from any possible danger. I have never been treated so much like a celebrity before, and tried to take as many pictures with the boys as possible, because for many of them they do not see American people very often, so we are exotic and intriguing in their eyes. Because we had to be moved to a private section, we fortunately got to meet the U.S. Ambassador of Jordan, who was a very dignified and regal lady, with so much love for soccer, and the USA team.
Today was one of the most memorable days of my life, due to the new connections I made, crazy adventures, and of course, Soccer!
--Tori