Chris and I enjoyed spending two days in Al-Mazra'ah with William, our CS host. He impressed us from the get-go with his passion for environmental causes, sharing with us his dreams of creating an educational center at his house to teach his community about topics such as water pollution and conservation (this is a key neglected issue around here), sustainable agriculture, and eco tourism.
Chris and William, an eco activist
We discussed ideas for hours, helping to outline and create a working plan to reach his goals. Although William has many neighbors, cousins, and friends (who regularly visited, randomly knocking on his door during our stay), he seems unfortunately estranged from them because of this emerging environmental passion. Maybe because he speaks (and avidly reads) English information on the Internet, or perhaps the new breed of movies (such as Home, which he says enlightened him to the water crisis around the Dead Sea), he needs to get in touch with like-minded people in Jordan who want to also create change. Luckily, we just met quite a few.
William's family outside their traditional mud brick home
The funniest thing about couchsurfing is the accidental false impression one can make on one's host, depending on travel circumstances. For example, Chris and I spent 3 days cycling and camping around hot springs and the Dead Sea, usually covered with flies and dirt, rinsing only in salt or algeified water, so we looked pretty bad upon arrival. Additionally, William's house does not have running water, so we were unable to shower and clean off for another few days. One night while talking, he asked if we are into emo, this "strange group of emotional people". Apparently his cousin had taken one look at us and told William we are part of this culture he read about online, probably into death and sad music. Odd and embarrassing, I can only blame Chris' wild, dirty hair and our scruffy clothes, but we avidly assured William that no, we are far more normal than that, and now slightly paranoid of the ways we might be stereotyped by future hosts.
Chris and William eating goliah; 3 days of sea camping= emo hair
One day Chris and I also took a trip back up the DS highway to hike Wadi Ibn Hammad. Following William's hand-drawn map, we cycled up a steep village road into the mountains, past several Bedouin camps and even an ostridge farm (??), finally arriving at the fields, where a man invited us to stop for tea. Turns out he is William's neighbor, and after calling William to assure him of our safety, he insisted we stay for ftr (lit: breaking fast). A few men and women from the fields returned for their mid day break, and together (me, breaking all social rules and eating with the men while the women secluded themselves inside) we dipped khoubs (bread) into goliah (tomatoes stewed), accompanied of course by sugar water with a smidge of tea.
Bedouin tents and lush farm fields near Wadi Ibn Hammad
The hike through Ibn Hammad lasted several hours, not quite the lush tropical oasis we read about online. We started downriver, and, unfortunately after 2 hours or so found ourselves caught at a large boulder with water cascading over that we couldn't pass. Somewhere up ahead should have been the hot waterfalls and pools, probably surrounded by moss and ferns.
Hiking up Wadi Ibn Hammad
With the sun getting low we decided to enjoy our dead end for a bit; Chris took a pair of scissors and literally chopped off chunks of my slightly ratty hair (this seemed like a good idea at the time, something I have come to regret). As a large flock of goats appeared, suddenly filling the gorge with baaahs and bells (and poop) we set off out of the canyon toward our bikes, cycling downhill onto the highway as the sun dipped behind Israel's mountains.
Sunset behind Palestine and the Dead Sea
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