The Castle of Kerak

Last friday after church my roommate gini and i hopped on a bus to Kerak. Luckily our friend Joey came along so we wouldn't be two lone traveling girls. that'd be cool if we could travel as we like, except it would be stupid here since we're young and foreign and it has nothing to do with girl power or feeling independent.

So, I'll just stick some pictures in here and explain those:
1. Apon arrival in Kerak, we found a small and rickety amusement park where the whole city's inhabitants seemed to be in attendance. most were picnicing in the dark, but some were doing the rides. we decided we couldnt just walk on by without taking a ride on the ferris wheel that used car tires to roll the main steel frame around. I initially made a comment about how the treacherous-looking twirling swings ride would be the last one i'd EVER do, and that meant we had to go for it. kids and teenagers were spinning thier swings, pushing and pulling away from each other, and it was all mayhem that would be yelled at in the states. not here woohoo! so we pushed, pulled, spinned, and i quickly forgot about the seat itself being torn out and the steal bars being the only thing holding up my wide rear. :)OH, right, the picture itself: we met some Jordanian guys who bought us drinks. us 3 americans were actually laughing at Dia3's muscle display for the picture. he's the muscle man next to me.

2. After a night of free accomodations with a friend (an apartment of concrete floor and walls, 2 rooms, in what looked like a condemned building), we went to the castle of Kerak in the morning. This is a picture that gini wandered into, and she really did lose her balance right as i was taking it. i immediately yelled "dont die!!" so thats probably why she didnt. you know?

3. There were cool tunnels to explore. this is me in one of them, trying to get the best shot i can with flash in a dark place AND a bad camera. This day was full of imaginational fun. i was a crusader (wondering why i got recruited), and i was a servant girl that poured vinegar on animal skins that covered the wooden siege towers. why? so that the flying clay pots of fire wouldn't burn them up. gini was a sorceress. joey was secretly packing up to get away from the constant wars between lands and castles cuz he was the only one who had the foresight (that these wars were stupid) and no inclination towards religious conviction (we couldn't figure out if this was actually feasible during the crusades).