15-year old North Bend resident and Eastside Catholic HS sophomore, Jack Mandelkorn, recently spent his mid-winter break far from the Snoqualmie Valley… in the Middle East after an invitation to intern for Experience Jordan, an adventure travel company.
Jack spent his time documenting a small Experience Jordan crew that was biking and camping across the country to scout a new mountain bike route for the scenic Jordan Trail. The path scouted, which traversed through mountains, canyons and deserts, villages, Roman ruins and ancient archeological sites, showcased Jordan’s natural beauty in an effort to promote tourism and cultural immersion.
During the expedition Jack was responsible for photographing and filming the journey. He also contributed to Experience Jordan’s website programming and tackled some writing projects. His mom Laura said now that Jack is back home, he is creating a promotional video from footage gathered.
Laura explained, “For Jack it was an amazing experience and an opportunity to learn about a part of the world lesser traveled and often misunderstood.”
Beyond exploring outdoors, Jack also interacted with locals, sampled local cuisine and enjoyed a Jordanian homestay. Laura said Jack was enthused to be part of this project creating positive awareness for the region to help create jobs and improve relations between countries.
She added, “The Jordanian people were more than welcoming and delightful, and Jack had a fantastic time.”