Day at the Dunes

Though I've gone through the typical challenges that come with any move, there have been some sweet blessings along the way. One HUGE blessing was being able to come for a week during Christmas break last year. During that time, I met a girl who'd worked at the same summer camp I had worked at in Texas...she had grown up with some of my oldest and dearest friends from Camp Tejas! I know...so completely random and such a small world incident, is it any wonder we became fast friends?! How can you have the Jones' connection and not become very dear friends? Any friends of the Jones' family is a friend o' mine!:)

There are many other crazy connections that we have come to find out we have...I've done D.Now's at places where she used to go to church, a woman who was her mentor for a few years while she was living in Europe is best friends with my mentor-friend from Istanbul. Seriously, it's weird how connected we are and surprising that we haven't bumped into each other before. We've probably seen each others pictures in our friends' albums. Who knows?! It really is a crazy small world!

All that to say - my new friend, Elizabeth, had a friend from the states come to visit, which of course called for some arranging of fun activities. Living in such a small country means there is a very short list of activities from which to choose. That did not stop us! We were able to brainstorm up a day of fun in the sun (the only kind of fun to be had here, really) and we had a ladies day out in the dunes. SO MUCH FUN! We rode camels, tried on the national dress, ate some tasty kebabs in an authentic bedouin tent, and drove through the sand dunes like we were trying to outdo the stomach lurching involved with riding a roller coaster at Six Flags! Luckily I wasn't married to the driver, so I wasn't able to ruin all the fun by asking to be let out so I could walk in safety. :) Duning is seriously scary fun!

Snaps from our day:





This shot of me in the abaya is the traditional clothing worn here by the women. Westerners generally do not wear this; it was at the camp for tourist photos. Some days I wished I owned one so I could blend in...although it seems my eyes and skin tone seem to stand out more against the dark fabric. The more I stand out and struggle to find where exactly it is that I fit in, the more I am reminded that this world is definitely not our home. We're just journeying through...like nomads in the desert, not quite there yet.