13: The Desert is My Classroom: Communing With Nature and Competing With the Elements

Deserts conjure images of rolling dunes and sand as fine and smooth as silk. At first glance, the desert in Jordan is harsher and more unforgiving than such saharan scenes. Surrounding Rashid is a seemingly endless landscape that confounds expectations of gently sloping sand dunes. The desert is littered with sharp rocks and gnarly shrubs that crunch and crackle underfoot. Lizards slither between stones where they hide from predators. At night, wild dogs howl and roam in packs. It is an arid setting that taxes the body and demands strength and endurance from those who call it home. For the Bedouin whose lifestyle has been redefined by cars and roads, concrete homes and satellite television, this unrelentingly daunting terrain is an oasis. I internalized this lesson over time, as the desert became my classroom.