EAST BANKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Today is Sunday? Yesterday we went to Pella and the EAST BANK...we also went
to Qrim something where we had lunch and I could see the Golan Heights (Syria, Occuppied by Israel, Jordan and the Sea of Galilee.It was beautiful.
We went to the EAST BANK which is in Jordan, we could see the border with Israel
which is the West Bank, which is under the Palestinian Authority. The East Bank
is in the Jordan Valley which is green and beautiful. It is where most of Jordan's
crops are grown. Tomatoes, eggplant, bananas, Nopales (yes the same as Mexico) Sheep,
goats and we actually saw some cows. Very beautiful and alot of the water comes from
the Sea of Galilee which is in Israel, but Israel and Jordan have a peace treaty so
Jordan is allowed some water.
Water is an issue here. We get it in the hotel but most residents of Jordan
get water for just a few hours per day and some even get water delivered to their
homes to supplement what the gov provides. Speaking of water, I wonder how the
drought is going in California. We could proably use some lessons from Jordan
on water conservation.
We had orange juice and lemonade at the home of one of our teachers friends. The
home is in the East Bank, with a farm.. all spread out and gorgeous. We could see
on some of the surrounding walls, shell marks from the 1948 war. Let's just
say Israel's occupation of Palestine is NOT very popular here in Jordan and is truly
as strong a feeling in the hearts of the displaced people here as it is in the hearts
of the J's..
We also went to some Roman Ruins in Pella, we had the choice of hiking around
(it was about 100) or watching the view from the hilltop resturant. Even though
I did have my sun protective gear you all know what I did!!! Off to Zarca today
to meet the father of our guide, Jafar. Also a couple NGO's and the minister of
education?