Pictures are worth a thousand words

Time is flying by. The past several weeks I have been busy working at the school, studying Arabic, exploring Madaba and the surrounding areas a bit, finding out where my future site will be (!), playing with the kiddos, eating too much sugar, and learning to cook all sorts of things.

My host family and I dining in Madaba

I learned to make duwali!!(beef and rice stuffed grape leaves)

Cooking is a family effort

The crew making some sabanekh

Sabanekh! Spinach and onions and spices in doughy goodness. (I rolled the ones that are slightly burnt and awkward looking) 

Showing off.

Last week, I found out where I will be permanently living, beginning January 15th. I will be working in a k-9 all girls school in a town in the governate of Ajloun. The town is about 25,000 people and everyone has been telling me how beautiful it is there. There are lots of trees, perhaps not by my Seattle standards, but by Jordanian standards yes.

I'm about 75 km away from Amman.

My Peace Corps supervisors on our site announcement day! 

In Jordan, the semester is winding down and exams have begun which means there are no regular classes. My month of teaching in Ma'in has come to a close, and we finished with an all staff Mansef lunch celebration.

Myself, Georgina and Elenoire, 4 of the English teachers and our Mudira (principle) on the right.

I have gotten to explore Madaba a bit.

Downtown Madaba- wonderful cake shop on the right and the Cap (not a typo) on the left.

Sunset over Madaba, taken from my Host-Grandma's home.

Journey from Madaba to Ma'in

From my village you can see the Dead Sea. We drove to the viewpoint after a long day in Madaba. This is the closest I've gotten so far but will get down there for a float before long.

Sunset over the Dead Sea.

I got some sort of bug yesterday and got sick while at the center in Madaba (it might have been from something I ate, I'm better now). I came back to village, still sick. In America, we usually let said sick person go "sleep it off". In Jordan, we surround sick person, offer every type of herbal and home remedy, blame the cold weather, and tell neighbors that the person is sick so that they can come over and offer condolences. It's a bit overwhelming in the moment, but ultimately very sweet. I was given yogurt with garlic chunks in it (not so bad but far from delicious) and several blankets and sage tea (which is actually really good and soothing) and was not allowed to move away from the space heater. I kept crying. I felt terrible, I was exhausted, and also extremely moved that they took such good care of me! Noor (age 7) was diligent in wiping away my tears with a tissue and Jana (4) put stickers all over my forehead. I'm not sure if that's part of the healing process, but it made me smile anyway. 

I got to bed at a reasonable hour and had to teach this morning. I woke up not feeling great, but decided to go anyway because we're only at the school twice this week. I'm glad I did. I am learning that I do love teaching. Ever since I was little I've wanted to be a teacher but have always had my ifs, ands and buts about it. These past couple of years, and past few weeks in particular, have confirmed that it is something I genuinely enjoy doing. And that is a wonderful feeling.

One month in.

Today was another day at center in Madaba. Amongst other things, I learned that centipedes can spit, sheep can bite, and scorpions like to hide in sleeping bags. We had our first aid course today and went over every possible thing that could go wrong. Lessons learned—don’t pet the sheep and shake out your sleeping bag and shoes. A lot more is obiously covered during center days- some if it is repetitive and doesn’t always apply directly to Jordan, but are things the folks in DC require us to cover. After center we came to the hotel (where we all come to take hot showers almost immediately) , ate dinner, and then played the game Mafia for about 3 hours. 

Days and weeks are beginning to go quickly now that I’m more in the groove of things. A month ago today I was getting on the plane to head to DC! Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I co-teach 1^st, 7th and 10^th grade at the all-girls school down the street from me. Girls are so enthusiastic to participate. Every class I am greeted by all students standing up and in unison saying “GOOD MORNING TEACHER”. Me: Good morning! Them: “HOW ARE YOU TEACHER”. Me: I am good, how are you? Them: WE ARE VERY GOOD, THANK YOU TEACHER. Every question I ask results in almost every hand going up in the air and girls yelling “MISS MISS MISS MISS MISS MISS MISS”, begging to be called on. All the students have one classroom they stay in and it’s the teachers that move around. None of the classrooms are labeled, but people in Jordan are extremely helpful and hospitable so if I ask anyone or simply look a little confused for a split second I will quickly be escorted to my desired destination. There are 2 classes for each grade, but recently one of the 1^st grade teachers has been sick so Ala and I have been attempting to teach to about 40 1^st graders in a classroom designed for 20. It is really… overwhelming. Thank goodness they’re cute. 

The women I work with are amazing. There are 2 other volunteers working at the school with me and during break the teachers bring us tea and coffee and sometimes a full on bread, hummus, lebana, olive buffet. Once again, Jordanians are extremely hospitable. I can’t get over it. From teaching I go to Arabic class and from there I come home to eat lunch and often nap. Evenings are spent either playing/watching TV/studying with Jana and Noor and Khalid at the house or sometimes at Mama Bashar’s house (she lives across the street and has 4 teenage daughters). It’s a wonderful village and it will be hard to leave in January! This coming weekend I will be visiting another Peace Corps Volunteer in Ma’an, in the South of Jordan near Petra. I hear things are quite different in the South so I am excited to see and experience a new part of the country. 

I find out my permanent placement on December 10^th and will move there on January 15^th!!

Baa baa black sheep have you on the moon

During the first 3 months of Peace Corps, known as Pre-service training (PST), we live with a host family, have about 25 hours/week of formal Arabic class, co-teach English classes twice a week, and spend Sundays and Mondays in Madaba at “the center” with Peace Corps Volunteers and staff. It's busy but good. I may still be in what some call the honeymoon phase, but I can honestly say that I love just about everyone I have met so far- volunteers, staff, and locals.

Today was another long day at “the center” in Madaba where Peace Corps trains volunteers on just about everything imaginable- different styles of teaching, how to teach along side Jordanians, cultural norms, how to use a Turkish toilet (really), safety, health, and so on. We are taught how to integrate ourselves as effectively as possible into a new culture.

And here I am, week 3 of living on the opposite side of the world, immersed in a lifestyle that I perceived would be so different from my own. There are a lot of differences I have noticed, some I anticipated, some not, and it is really nice to have Peace Corps’ support to discuss these. But more importantly I have learned that although cultures and traditions and languages differ from place to place, people are people. We socialize over good food, awe at cute babies, cheer when we kill the mosquito that has been flying around the room for the past hour with a single clap, eat sweets, yawn a lot in the morning, feel better after a cup or 3 of coffee, practically pull teeth to get kids up and ready for school on time, ignore 2 year old tantrums, laugh a lot, visit, feel sad saying goodbyes, and love our families and friends more than anything. We just don’t see that stuff on the news. We read about the bad stuff and create this skewed idea of “the other”.

Center days are from about 8am-6pm so by the time I got home today (home being a village about 10 km Southwest of Madaba), I was hoping to nap/read/study Arabic. However, today being a particularly windy and rainy day, the power went out which causes extra excitement and pandemonium in a house full of kids (8, 5, and 2). I got out my headlamp and we lit candles and made shadow puppets on the wall, forts out of blankets, ate popcorn on the kitchen floor, and tried to keep Khalad (age 2) from knocking down candles and potentially burning the house down. It’s probably been my favorite night so far. Jana evidently just learned the song baa baa black sheep at school and sings it ALL THE TIME but her rendition goes something like “baa baa black sheep have you on the moon, yessir yessir tree tree tree…”. Her and her older sister Noor are 2 of my favorite people ever.

Alhamdulillah(thank God), everything is going wonderfully. I feel so very blessed to be here!

The journey begins

The past several days have been a whirlwind. I arrived in DC on the night of 10/27. Training started the next day. We met downstairs at noon and started filling out pages of paperwork. There was a frantic feeling in the air and even though I had only formally met a few of the volunteers already, I could tell we were all feeling the same- excited, overwhelmed, and a bit uncertain. As paperwork finished, the icebreakers began. We went around the room and stood up and each introduced ourselves. 25 of us in all. Our Staging Director, Emily, eloquently stated that for the first time since our Peace Corps journey began we were in a room full of people- none of whom we had to explain or justify our decision to join Peace Corps Jordan. Orientation was long and useful, but a blur by now.

Our flight was supposed to be on Monday, but got delayed because of Hurricane Sandy. We spent most of the day in the hotel, with the exception of a windy and wet jaunt down to Safeway to get enough food to prepare ourselves if power did go. 

Fortunately, Sandy didn’t hit DC hard but did allow for another day of rest, repacking, and J16 bonding. We played charades and listened to Connor and Laura play the guitar. Tom whistled.

 Tuesday we were told that they were able to book us a flight to Jordan. We had an hour to get our things together and board the bus. We left DC at 7:00pm on Tuesday October 30^th, had layovers in Vienna and Frankfurt where we occupied the time playing Moon Pennies and Around the World, and finally ended up in Amman on Thursday at 3:45am. 

With Moon Pennies you can buy a goose, but not a mouse

Sultan, our training manager and Bryan, our country director, greeted us at baggage claim and helped us load our belongings and selves onto the bus. We slept for a few hours at our hotel and then started day 1 of training at noon.

Our Country Director, Bryan, welcomed us. He shared with us facts about PC Jordan: Peace Corps Volunteers began their work in Jordan in 1997 and since then more than 500 volunteers have worked in Jordanian communities. We are the 16^th group to arrive – J16. Once the J14s leave in January, I will be one of about 60 Americans serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Middle East.

The rest of the day we met a lot of PC Jordan staff, went over the Emergency Action Plan, medical information, got our cell phones, a little bit of money (dinars) and more information than I can recall. We all had to get flu shots and a few other immunizations. Directly after getting mine I came upstairs to “rest” before dinner. I slept the most intense rest I may have ever slept in my life. My roommate later told me she had tried to wake me up for dinner but it was a no-go. I woke up around midnight and was wide-awake most of the night. I drifted in and out of sleep but was soon awoken by morning prayer- loud, beautiful songs that are sung twice in the morning (for several minutes each time) before the sun comes up. Since then I have been laying in my hotel room, watched some Arabic pop music videos, watched the sunrise, and am now eagerly awaiting for it be 8 o’clock so I can go get breakfast.

Amman sunrise from my hotel room

In one week I'll be where again?

  Since finding out that Jordan would be my new home for a couple of years, I have been defending that country as if I was born and raised there. The face- that concerned, sorta excited, but confused cringe I get when I tell people I'm moving to Jordan- I hate that face. I feel like it's my duty to be on the defense- list 10 reasons why Jordan is safe or spit out statistics of crime rates in the US, to put things in comparison.

After months of reassuring myself and others that Jordan is indeed a safe and wonderful country, I read this in the paper: Jordan foils al-Quaida plot. When I first read it, I freaked out and for the first time started second guessing my decision to move. I spent about 2 hours googling terrorism (bad idea). Panic and anxiety ensued. I'm leaving in a week and holy sh*t, this is real. A couple hours of reflecting on this tossing and turning in bed sleeplessly, I suddenly realized that this story is a positive thing. Apparently,  authorities have been monitoring this group since June, so Jordan is as safe (if not a degree safer) than it was back then. I should feel reassured that the Jordanian government and security forces are well trained and keep close watch on suspicious groups. Okay. Deep breath. Now, more reflection.

Directly after a disaster we become preoccupied with it- obsessed with it sometimes. We are reminded that life is finite and that is terrifying to us. Following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, I remember researching the Cascadia Fault line that runs from Southern Canada to Northern California and learning that a giant earthquake is likely to occur in Seattle within the next 200 years. Following the shooting in Aurora I researched US serial killers. There have been a lot of them. 

It's hard not to let the fear of the what-ifs paralyze us.

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. - Helen Keller

I know that I am going to a part of the world that we hear about in the news constantly. It is a very tumultuous time and US relations with the Middle East are tense. Extremists and terrorism are a threat. I am not ignoring this or pretending that it is not a threat. Instead, I put it in perspective that even though it exists, it will be by no means a daily reality. Current Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Jordan remind me that day to day I will be working on lesson plans, having tea dates, getting to know the neighbors, doing chores, studying Arabic, playing with the local kids, and being over-fed by my well intended new community. Just as I am too distracted by friends and family and work and every day blessings to worry about the what-ifs while living in Seattle, I remain confident the same will be true in Jordan. 

That funny in-between stage

I got my flight itinerary the other day. I leave in less than a month! Excited nervous overwhelmed emotional. I fly into DC, have two nights at a hotel with the other volunteers, and then we fly out together and get into Amman at 3pm on Tuesday October 30.

Deepak Chopra writes "All great changes are preceded by chaos". I like change- I thrive off of change even. Staying in one place doing the same thing for too long makes me antsy. Even though the act of change itself is hard, it's this in between stage that's killer. Things have most certainly been chaotic, to say the least.

I was walking through the arboretum and couldn't help but compare the changing leaves and clear cut signs that Fall has arrived to this weird in-between stage that I'm in. Nature has a way of changing so eloquently and effortlessly- something that we as humans aren't so easily capable of. Trees actually have chemicals that they secrete during fall that forces the leaves to fall off. We don't produce these same chemicals, so letting go is harder. But just like trees, we need to let go to prepare for future growth.  Whether it be physical things (like 24 years of accumulated what-not in the closet at my mom's house) or emotional baggage, I gotta let a lot of it go to prepare for this new step.

I have a lot of wonderful people in my life here who have been beyond supportive of my decision to move. I'm so grateful for them but it makes leaving that much harder. But, as they say, change is the only constant so I better just keep rollin with it.