Well, I’m back from Jordan. What an amazing country, filled with amazing people. Hospitable to a fault, genuine and hard-working, they were not as they appeared on the news stations. The more I travel, the more I get frustrated with the one-sided negativity of the press. It’s really oppressive and overwhelming.

But I want to share a picture from Jordan before I catch you up with what’s going on in Uganda.

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Yes, yes. It’s PETRA, one of the seven wonder of the world. A really amazing place. But the one thing that stuck with me was the horse ride and (especially) the camel ride. My perspective changed the moment I legged up onto that camel. When he stood up, I was instantly seven feet taller than everyone around me. It was literally a different perspective on the world. Instantly, (other) tourists wanted my picture. EVERY SINGLE tourist I passed either took my picture or gawked at me. Maybe they were gawking at the T-Shirt, but I don’t think so. I think it was a normal reaction to the seven-foot-high, three quarter ton spitting, barking, flea-bitten, irritable dessert monster itself, or possible to the (probably) half-insane, snack-sized human that thought sitting on top of it was a good idea.

I was in an elevated position. I had the high ground. I was the man. None of the (other) tourists knew that I had zero clue about how to ride a camel, but that was beside he point. I looked and felt quite natural on the thing. Yes, I was wearing shorts and an “I hack charities” T-Shirt, but that wasn’t readily obvious. What stood out was the perfectly-tied keffiyeh (head scarf) and (I think) the fact that I did, in fact look and feel quite natural. As if me and my ancestors before me were real-honest to goodness dessert-dwellers. True Bedouins. It all came together, in one pivotal moment when I understood. I got an unexpected glimpse into history and world culture.

People riding animals were people of means. IT was simple thing that somehow I had missed all the years of my life.

There are those pictures of Lawrence of Arabia on camel-back and George Washington on horseback and they’re nice. But after less than an hour on a horse and a camel, I’ll never see those pictures the same way again.

So yes, Petra was pretty amazing. It was the place Indiana Jones should have ended his career (because that fourth movie wasn’t that great). But for me, that camel ride opened my eyes. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Shame I couldn’t fit it in my luggage.

Enjoy the pic. =)