CAMEL DAY!!!

     Mark your calendars, because June 12 is Camel Day, complete with Camel Day hand motions and theme songs. On Camel Day, we left the green, blooming coast and headed for the Jordan Valley. As we drove, the land began to look more like I expected Israel to look. There were towering mountains with not a speck of plant life. Surprisingly, rocks and sand can be quite pretty. We did some souvenir shopping in Jericho, saw a monastery on the Mount of Temptation, and drove by a very old sycamore tree. It wasn't the original, but not too much later than the wee little man we know so well.

     At the Dead Sea Scroll caves, Dr. Ratcliffe did all but squeal like a schoolgirl. After teaching about the manuscripts found there for years, she was finally in the place it happened. Your Bible is what it is because of these scrolls. If you've ever wondered how accurate the text was after so many years, here's a fun fact. The best text we have is the Masoretic text, much of our modern translations rely heavily on it. About 1,000 years earlier than the Masoretic, the Dead Sea Scrolls were written. There are only 6 differences between the two. 6!

     Next, we went to the Dead Sea. The sand there is a weird mustardy color. Ivy and I went for a float and it was one of the strangest experiences I have ever had. I couldn't stop giggling! Then, like slow motion bumper cars, Ivy and I drifted toward each other and gingerly bounced away. We cracked up. When we finished, we had to shower off so our skin wouldn't freak out. Still, our skin felt weird and slimy for a while.

     And theeeennnnn....drum roll please.... CAMELS! We drove up some more dirt and rock covered mountains, a place that looked devoid of anything at all. Out of nowhere, we saw the patch of green that was the bedouin camp. We hopped off the bus and sat down on cushions surrounding a small fire inside a big tent. A bedouin man came to teach us about the hospitality traditions of his people. He also explained that the bedouin way of life is beginning to fade. He had been born in a tent, but now lived in a house. I was a little sad to hear about what life was like for women, but we had a some fun getting into character. An important part of the hospitality was coffee. There was a wooden container of coffee beans with a long handle sticking out. This was used not only to grind the beans, but also to make music. It must have taken years of practice to do both at the same time. There are many important nuances to being a good host or a respectful guest, but a fun one is the amount of coffee the host puts into the guest's cup. If the cup is only partially filled, it is appropriate to stay and continue drinking and visiting. If the host gives the guest a cup that is full, he'd better be on his way. This kind of cup says, "My heart is full of you".

     I know, I know, I told you we were at camels. Here they come. After learning about the bedouins, we went outside the fence around the tents (do I detect a rhyme??) to the camels. One of them was rolling around like a puppy in the dirt. Camels make the most awful noises and have even worse teeth. But as long as their mouths are shut they're pretty darn adorable. We paired up and sat on either side of the hump. The camels were tied in lines of about 5. Carefree as can be, the camel behind me walked up and used my knee to scratch his neck. We walked around the camp for a while. As soon as she stopped crying in terror, 10-year-old Grace began to name them all and sing about Camel Day. It was a very successful holiday, if I do say so myself.

     We all agreed that the bedouin camp had the best food we ate the entire trip. We sat on cushions at low tables and enjoyed some delicious, fluffy bread and (finally) identifiable meat. The low table made the meal into a very shared experience. We enjoyed each other as much as the food. After filling our bellies, we slept in another tent. Our entire group was in one tent, which if phrased just right gets us in a bit of trouble :P Despite having a pretty thin pallet to sleep on, another group of girls being obnoxious at 4am, and the desert getting a little cold at night, we all really enjoyed the experience. I think most of us would have been happy to stay a few more nights.