First blog!

So someone recommended that I start a blog for friends and family to follow along on my travels. Although I usually shy away from writing (preferring for the more visible way of documenting my trips with my camera) I thought I would give it a try! So here we go!

I'm currently sitting in a very fancy room of the Four Seasons overlooking the fascinating city of Amman. The country of Jordan sits in a very unique position being surrounded by a number of famous (maybe infamous) countries...you may have heard some of them named in the news lately...Iraq, Israel, The Occupied Territories of Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. As someone mentioned to me today, it is the only country in the world smack dab between the only occupied territories in the world (Palestine and Iraq). So it has a unique geographical place in today's world. But even more exciting is its unique geographical place in history...this is the "cradle of civilization". Evidence of human habitation in Jordan dates back to 500,000 years ago (isn't that amazing considering the Americas have only been inhabited for a little over 10,000 years?).

Jordan is home to the ancient city of Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world, The Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth (approximately 420m below sea level), Mount Nebo, the site where Moses is said to have looked out over the promised land, and Jerash, an ancient Roman city in the Middle East.

I arrived here last night, the first of a 3 week trip (I will next go to Kabul, Afghanistan). I have already met a number of interesting, dedicated and wonderful people. I'm here to monitor and support the health programs my organization is implementing for Iraqi Refugees. More information on those programs and my time here over the next few weeks!