I visited Jordan as part of my engineering ethics class field trip. This was almost 10 months back when I didn’t have my website built but I still have good memories of that trip and thought it would be nice to share it on my website. Although I switched to studying Math and Computer Science now, I was a bit more inclined to studying engineering at that time and that was the reason why I took this class – it was one of the requirements for engineering. So, on the morning of 11th March 2023, we took a flight from Abu Dhabi to Amman, Jordan.
My first impression of Jordan was great. It was a breath of fresh air, literally, with all that greenery, a welcome change from the arid vibe of Abu Dhabi. The airport seemed a bit off the beaten path compared to the ones I’d been to before. Instead of being in the middle of the city, like in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, it felt like we had to take a little journey by bus to get to the city, and the landscape was just acres of green.
Our destination was the Ajloun Forest Reserve, supposedly the highest point in Ajloun. I shared a room with Sesath, Andrew, and Emman, and we made some pretty cool memories. Sesath and I got close during this time; he was like a free bird, easy to talk to without any judgment. Our room was a bit cramped, no bed for all four of us. So, we decided Emman and Andrew could take the bed, and Sesath and I took the couch-turned-bed thing. It was freezing in the morning, and we had to be at the construction site by 8 AM.
Our class involved volunteering as construction workers to build schools in remote places in Jordan. We’d take a bus to the site, learn the ropes of the trade, and try to do the work as if we were actual construction workers. I quickly became a shovel pro. It’s kind of funny now, thinking about it, but my goal was to shovel like a champ, and I did. After a day of hard work, we’d be dead tired, but the food was fantastic. Chicken and rice were my favorites; I still get excited seeing them in my dining hall. I had this weird thing with milk, and didn’t tell many people about it. After a day of shoveling, I’d go to our mini coffee stand, grab all the milk, and down it. At one point, I realized I left not even a drop for others to have with their coffee. Maybe Jordanian milk was special, or maybe I just craved it after a day of hard work. Who knows?
Working with shovels and bricks opened my eyes to the daily struggles of these workers and the challenges in rural Jordan. We talked to locals, and their problems weren’t all that different. Money spent on education, conservative attitudes around marriage – it all sounded familiar, just in a different setting.
After almost three days at the construction site, we headed to Petra. Petra was something else. It was half-built, half-carved into the rock and was surrounded my mountains riddled with passages and gorges. Historical sites always get to me, and Petra was no exception. The buildings and stuff we saw were centuries old, and I could feel the history right in front of me. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life, imagining what life was like 2000 years ago.
After Petra, we went to the Dead Sea, another wonder. The water was so salty; it stung if even a tiny bit got in your eyes. I could float like a boss, but getting up was a struggle because the water was so dense. I couldn’t stand up! I spent the whole time floating until I started panicking, swallowed some water, got it in my eyes, and someone had to help me stand up. The salt was so strong; it caused cuts on my feet just from being in the water. We spent the night there, at Hotel Crown Plaza and flew back to Abu Dhabi next day. Jordan was definitely an eye-opener for me and I am enthused to explore more wonders like Jordan in the future.
Here are Bonus pictures:
