Johnny: First let me say what an honor it is to be sharing American music abroad.
The last two weeks have been a blur of preparation, packing, getting poked like a pin cushion with vaccines, and wondering what adventures lay ahead.
“AhlanwaSahlan” means “Welcome” in Arabic. We certainly felt warmly welcomed by Karin Ehlert and her staff from the US Embassy upon arriving in Jordan last night.
Today, Brian, Danny, Joe and I had the pleasure of spending time in Amman, Jordan with our affable new friend, Emad. He greeted us with a bowl of fresh fruits from his brother’s garden.
Emad showed us around town and took us to a local mall to find swimwear. (Our luggage and instruments will be arriving to meet us later tonight - I’m sure they’re having a unique adventure of their own.) We didn’t find any athletic clothes at the mall, but I did find that elusive pair of perfect new jeans I’ve been looking for (70% Off - only $20 US)! With that bargain under my belt (literally), we hit the highway for the Dead Sea.
First, though, we each had our first ride on a camel. The ride was remarkably smooth: a steady rounded lope with a view much higher and better that the windshield of any SUV...and you can’t beat the mileage. These are amazing animals.
The Dead Sea is the only place on the globe where the crust of planet Earth recedes to an "in-depth low" of minus over 1,300 feet below sea level. This is the lowest site on Earth! Talk about deep thoughts.
The salinity level is over 33%. That’s even higher than a New York City pretzel.
There are no living creatures in the Salt Sea, except for the most simple micro-organisms.
I walked over salt-encrusted rocks and stones into water as warm as the most pleasant bath I’ve ever taken. As my feet left the end of the reachable bottom, I felt the most strange sensation. The salt level causes a buoyancy that actually pushes you up out of the water. I emptied my lungs and tried to dunk my body under and dip my head in. No dice. My feet flung up in front of me and I found myself floating on the surface of the sea as if I were in an invisible lounge chair! You could not drown in this sea if you tried.
There are no living creatures in the Salt Sea, except for the most simple micro-organisms.
I walked over salt-encrusted rocks and stones into water as warm as the most pleasant bath I’ve ever taken. As my feet left the end of the reachable bottom, I felt the most strange sensation. The salt level causes a buoyancy that actually pushes you up out of the water. I emptied my lungs and tried to dunk my body under and dip my head in. No dice. My feet flung up in front of me and I found myself floating on the surface of the sea as if I were in an invisible lounge chair! You could not drown in this sea if you tried.
I closed my eyes, relaxed every muscle in my body and had about 20 minutes of peaceful, healing flotation-meditation under the warming sun.
I waffled between clearing my mind of all things and thinking about the incredible history of this area of the world and how lucky we are to be sharing our music here.
The band and I met people from all over the globe who had come to experience this natural wonder. They were lounging, chatting in various languages, laughing, and relaxing, and most were covered head to toe in a dark mud.
After covering ourselves with the dark mud treatment (SPF 100), we invited some new friends to our concert tomorrow night at the Al Hussein Cultural Center. I don’t know if we’ll recognize each other, as I could barely even recognize Brian (“Mudman” seemed very comfortable in his most natural state).
I waffled between clearing my mind of all things and thinking about the incredible history of this area of the world and how lucky we are to be sharing our music here.
The band and I met people from all over the globe who had come to experience this natural wonder. They were lounging, chatting in various languages, laughing, and relaxing, and most were covered head to toe in a dark mud.
After covering ourselves with the dark mud treatment (SPF 100), we invited some new friends to our concert tomorrow night at the Al Hussein Cultural Center. I don’t know if we’ll recognize each other, as I could barely even recognize Brian (“Mudman” seemed very comfortable in his most natural state).
We all showered, took one last look across the Sea at Israel and Jericho, and headed off to an incredible dinner with Emad in the older city section of Amman to cap off a perfect day. Even more impressive, with a parking situation not unlike midtown Manhattan on a Saturday night, Emad got an audible cheer from the JRB for a most impressive parallel parking maneuver that defied physics!
We are ready for a full day of music tomorrow with a morning workshop at the UNRWA School in Wehdat, an afternoon radio interview with Mood FM, and a free evening performance at 7:30 at the Al-Hussein Cultural Center.
“Shukran” means “Thank You” in Arabic. Shukran, Emad.
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