Emmalee in the Desert

I went snorkeling! The truth is, I almost didn't go snorkeling. I'm not a confident swimmer - I won't drown, but I'd prefer to be in the shallow end where I can see my feet. I signed up for the trip with a group of friends and told them I had low expectations but high hopes for myself. We all knew we'd have a great time regardless of my success, but we'll discuss that later 😬 KAUST is right on the Red Sea - a great resource for the university's research, but also a very fantastic place to snorkel, dive, fish, and have fun. Our marina has group tours you can sign up for, or you can rent a boat (with a captain, thankfully) to do what you want. We had a guide, captain, and captain's assistant on the boat with us for a 6 person snorkeling trip. The trip cost about $40 per person and it included equipment and food - what a steal! I look like a total dork here, but real life is real life.  Photos don't do the colors justice - it was SO beauti...

School just started back up - I was at KAUST about 5 weeks (2 weeks preparing, 3 weeks teaching) and then we had a holiday. Eid al-Adha is muslim holiday that moves around in the calendar - this is the holiday during which pilgrims come to Saudi Arabia (more specifically, Mecca) to do their hajj. My muslim coworkers said they mostly spend this holiday with their families, eating, and shopping. Some travel around the country, some stick around home, some travel to Mecca or Medina. Since I'm not celebrating this holiday, it was a great chance to travel a bit. I paired up with a new friend, Caitlin, and we headed to Jordan. Amman is a 2 hour plane ride away from Jeddah and I loved the history and energy that surrounded us at all times there. In Amman, we checked out the citadel and took a cooking class at  Beit Sitti . I cannot recommend that enough - it was some of the best food I've had and I felt very proud of myself for "making it".... they gave great directi...