I definitely had some middle-school youth group retreat flashbacks. Once we all got into the camp, Ahmed (CIEE employee) had us gather in a big group, and he stood at the front with a sheet of paper in his hands, explaining that we were to sleep two to a tent, girls in these tents, guys in those tents, et cetera, et cetera. My friend Katy and I went and grabbed tent 15, put our stuff down, and got ready for dinner.
Mmm. Dinner. It was a fairly simple buffet deal. But tasty. I'm going to miss kebab when I go back to the States... among a whole list of other delicious foods. But I digress. My friends and I hung around that area for a few more hours, chatting on the low couches and looking over at the fire. We spent a long time trading riddles and trying to figure them out together.
(A man walks into a restaurant and orders albatross soup. He tastes one spoonful, gets up, leaves, and kills himself. What happened?)
After staying up and hanging out for a few more hours, most of my friends went to bed. I did not - for a variety of reasons. The biggest, stars. I grew up in the suburbs, I go to college in a city, and I live right now in an even bigger city. I miss stars. Thinking about my trip to Wadi Rum, one of the parts that I most looked forward to was seeing stars in a completely dark place. How wonderful would that be?
Well. I forgot about clouds. Of which there were a few. And the moon, which is surprisingly bright. I guess the city lights dim that out, too. More than that, though, was the fact that we weren't staying in the sort of "camp" that I expected. Our tents had beds in them. With pillows and sheets. There were bathrooms, including showers, and the fact that there were bathrooms necessitated that there be lights outside to lead one toward the bathrooms. Even in what you think might be the middle of nowhere, there are still so many lights.
I did end up lying in the sand for a little while in the middle of an open space in the camp area. There were a few other people who had the same intentions as me, and we spent a while wandering around the camp or just sitting by the fire. The fire was probably the second most interesting part of the evening in the camp. It was very quiet, very warm, and very peaceful. Only a few other people were there - an American classmate and a few local Arabs. We didn't really speak to one another. We just... sat. Or watched. Or something. I don't think I would be able to recognize them, by day or by night, but it seemed like they belonged where they were, exactly where they were, sitting by the edge of that fire. Maybe they were the proprietors of the hotel, or night watchmen of sorts - I don't know. But they belonged, as if they were the essence of Wadi Rum, and I felt privileged to be an observer.
Hoping that there would be more starshine outside the camp, I wandered out. Just a hundred feet, maybe, to see if it would make a difference. (Some, but not enough.) As I was standing at the sign outside the camp and thinking of going back, a figure walked toward me. Good/bad? I don't know. Tense. He had very broken English, and I of course had very broken Arabic, but we managed to communicate that he was a local camel herder hanging out for the night before our group's ride the next day. He led me over to where three camels were sitting, awake. (I have something in common with camels.) This was without a doubt the most interesting part of the night.
Although I was hesitant at first, he showed me how to introduce myself to the camel and how to pet it. I know I've heard that camels can bite and spit and do spiteful things, but they were just so sweet. My herder friend had me put my hand at its mouth, an action that was returned with what I can only describe as nuzzling. After that, I petted their noses and the tops of their heads. (Surprisingly fluffy.) It was so, so, so amazing. I got to pet all three of the camels that he had out there, and when I left to go back to camp, he shook my hand and said that his name was Ibrahim.
Weird. Just a few minutes before, I had thinking about how he looked like a picture-Bible Abraham. Long robe, long hair, crooked teeth, camels. How cool is that? After hanging with Ibrahim and his camels, I decided to turn in for the night. The camels were surprisingly soft, the beds were surprisingly warm, and I slept well.
Coming up in part three: camel ride.
Here is my thought: He detected the taste of a powerful but slow acting poison in the soup that causes a hideously painful death. He prefered a quick exit.
ReplyDeleteI bet now you are going to want a camel as a pet.
Riddle guess: He had an albatross around his neck. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross_%28metaphor%29
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous about the camel, myself. That sounds like an awesome experience. It's not every day you get to see one up close, let alone be able to interact with one. Too bad we can't reinstate horse and/or camel travel here. It's a little slower but heck, think of the traffic, pollution and accident reduction!
There were two people who knew the albatross riddle, and three or four of us who didn't. We spent at least a half hour figuring it out. It's the sort of riddle that you're supposed to ask yes or no questions of - Had he ever had albatross soup before? Was he eating alone? And so on.
ReplyDeleteAs far as pollution goes, you'd have some water contamination issues to deal with. Camels leave a lot of... presents. But yes, I'd really enjoy riding a camel down the streets. If a sports car is a spiffy status symbol, then I bet camels are off the charts.