Photos from school

Here is a link where I have put more photos up of the kids at school. They are at the end so you will have to get to page 7 or 8 for the new ones to start

CLICK HERE

A post by Jamie

I've gotten so lazy with blogging that when someone else writes something up, I steal it :)
Here is a blog by Jamie, my roommate who works at the same school as me.

A day in the life.......

Now that we have been here in Jordan for four months our lives have become somewhat routine. At least as "routine" as you can get in Jordan. I thought I would take this time to give you a rundown of how a typical day goes for me at the YMWA for Special Education. My day starts as 6:20 a.m. when the school bus picks Kelley and I up in front of our apartment building. We are greeted by two other teachers and our driver with "sabbah-al-heir" (good morning) and then we are on our way through the hills of Amman picking up students and teachers during our 1 hour and 40 minute bus ride to the school. Of course before we get too far into our journey we must always first stop at a local coffee stand to get a good strong cup of Arabic coffee!

We arrive at the school at 8 a.m. Our first order of business is morning stretches with the students and then we are off to our different areas of duty. Since I have been here I have helped out and visited a number of different areas throughout the school as well as vocational, but have recently settled into an area that I enjoy very much. I was asked to teach first aid/health to all the students in the school as well as in the vocational section. When I was first approached on teaching this I was excited because it is something that I know and that I enjoy doing. But, then I remembered how difficult this was going to be since my Arabic is VERY limited. A lot of brainstorming sessions took place, and with the help of everyone a lesson plan was created. In order to teach an entire lesson without speaking more than one or two words there was going to have to be a lot of visuals and hands-on activities. My first lesson that I have been, and am currently teaching them now is how to care for minor cuts. With the help of my roommates and Kelley's amazing editing skills we made a video showing someone getting a minor cut, and then the steps to care for the cut (complete with the few arabic words we do know). Once I have the students watch the video I give them a fake hand (a rubber glove stuffed with flour) with a cut on it and some fake blood. Then, I have still frame photos that I show them of all steps involved which they then perform on the hand. Surprisingly they really seem to be getting the concept, and in the mean time I am still trying to learn more Arabic. The only problem is..... I think the next lesson they want me to do is on fire safety, and I am having a difficult time convincing any of my roommates to let me start a small fire to shoot our next video!

I have really been enjoying teaching this class. My favorite part about teaching is that I get to work with one or two of the students at a time. This has allowed me to get to know each student a little better, and has also given me a better understanding of their level of comprehension as well as their deficits. The other part that I have really enjoyed is working all over the school as well as in the vocational section. Each area has its own personality, and I love to see the differences as well as getting to know all the different teachers and students.

School is over at 1 p.m., and then it is back to the bus. Depending on traffic and how many students are absent we usually make it home a little before 3 p.m. We follow this schedule Sunday through Thursday. The only variation to this schedule is on Wednesday when we teach an English class to some of the vocational students, and then on Mondays when we return home from school the five of us meet up at ABS for some much needed lessons in Arabic. Not a bad schedule at all! --- Jamie

Here's the video we made!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BXUxD51Tnc

photo link

sorry the other link didn't work!

Use this

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009488&id=123600233&l=10d829c337

Israel Photos

Israel was great. We stayed in a nice little hostel and hit up some interesting spots.
- Jewish Wailing wall
- Walking around Old City (4 quarters, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Armenian)
- Temple Mount (okay only from outside, we weren’t allowed in)
- Garden Tomb
- Mount of Olives
- Holocaust Museum
- A church
- Many many Falafel joints.

But I think pictures show it better. Here is a link to my album!

Someone said the link didn't work. if so try this.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009488&id=123600233&l=10d829c337

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are a couple blogs posted by my group members about the past couple of days :)
I will try to do my own when I get back!

Friday, November 27, 2009
Jerusalem over Thanksgiving
We crossed the border from Jordan to Israel yesterday starting at 7:15 am from our apartments in Amman reaching our final destination, the New Palm Hostel in Jerusalem just after 1pm. The time was mostly consumed by security checkpoints. The actual bus ride across the bridge over the Jordan river from Jordan to Israel soil took no more than 20 mins if that.
It seems as if we've lived so much more than a day and a half worth of time since we've arrived in Jerusalem. We began yesterday (Thanksgiving Day) by exploring the old city and walked through every quarter of it (Armenian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish). There were vendors and shops stuffed in the city walls although not quite as overwhelming as the markets in Bangkok (where we attended the Feast this year). On our way out in the evening (eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Adha) we ran into a few parades or I should say they ran into us. First there was a large group of men and boys singing in
Arabic walking together through the already crowded shops lining the city walls. Then as we were exiting through Damascus gate which was utterly packed to the brim we saw what seemed to be the beginning of a fight between two men. There was really no way to turn to get away because of the masses, but fortunately the fight did not erupt right then and there. We were shoved into the stream of people exiting the gate and thought it couldn't get anymore crowded. Alas, that was not so. Ahead and coming toward us we saw a man who was trying to clear a path and a second later we saw the reason. A marching band, yes, a marching band was coming through the already bursting at the seems gateway. Jamie made the comment "when you think it can't get any worse..." We were assuming all the parades and crowds were due to the Muslim holiday.

We slept fairly comfortably in our hostel dorm room at the New Palm Hostel just outside the old city Damascus gate. The beds are quite soft, there's hot water with wonderful pressure for showers, free internet, breakfast and nice heating in the rooms. Although those things may be somewhat basic I keep thinking we're in the lap of luxury here. The breakfast this morning consisted of pita with labneh spread or butter and jam/honey, cucumber tomato salad, boiled eggs, nescafe and tea. Perhaps I was quite hungry, but I thought it was all very delicious. After breakfast we set off with bus numbers in our heads (listed in the lonely planet tour guide book) as our first clue in how to get to the Holocaust Museum in the Jewish quarter of the c
ity. After walking around our entire block, finding another bus station and talking to a driver who directed us to find the green buses not the blue ones, finding another bus station with green buses (but not the right ones), asking numerous people along the way, hiking up a hill next to the old city wall and finally to a bus stop that seemed to be right according to people waiting there we hopped on a bus for 6 shekels each (approx $1.50) and headed to Mt. Herzl. The trip took no more than 15 mins and then we hiked the short distance up Yad Vashem (given a place and a name taken from the scripture Isaiah 56:4-5) to the Holocaust Museum, research center, children's memorial, etc. We were there for more than 3 hours and still didn't completely read, listen, look at all the available information and displays. It was incredible and so full of meaning at every turn. Every part of the building (including the architecture itself) was to teach something about the holocaust. It seemed their foremost purpose stated at the beginning
and that really did show through in much of what I experienced was that the Jewish people were real, they were individuals (each individual being a world unto himself). One thing that struck me with intensity was how clearly planned, organized and the carrying out the whole plan of exterminating the Jews was. It started maybe somewhat slowly with Hitler being elected as chancellor, but didn't seem to take long for the ideologies to take off, gain momentum and lead a completely selfish and racist way of conducting a nation and people to move against another group of people. The museum begins with a scroll type video of excerpts of films and photos taken of Jewish people before the second world war in their "normal lives" as German citizens and of other European nations as well. It was to show how their life was truly productive and part of the culture surrounding them. From there it went into the gradual process of government and decrees and then actions that lead to the holocaust. I can't even begin to cover how completely overwhelming it all is. We were actually pushed very quickly through the last 3 or 4 large exhibit halls due to the early closing time on Friday evenings before the Sabbath. We could have spent another 3 hours easily although in some ways I don't know how much more of that I could really bare.

When we left, we made our way back to the old city by bus again. On the way we were
accosted by a taxi driver telling us the buses weren't going anymore because of the soon coming Sabbath (more than 2 hours away) and offered to drive us where we wanted for "only" 80 shekels. However, that price compared to the bus price seemed worth not listening to him for a bit to check out the situation a little further. This lead to good results as we were on a bus headed back to the old city in less than 5 minutes after that. When we got back we entered the old city through a gate not far from Jaffa gate, but we don't know what its name was. Just inside we found a little falafel place. We got the most delicious falafel which included eggplant and hot peppers (a different variation from our falafel experiences as of yet). We walked on through the old city eating our falafel past the wailing wall and out through another gate just next to the western wall of the temple mount to the east side of Jerusalem. We hiked up the Mount of Olives and watched the sunset leading into the Sabbath over the old city.
It was amazingly beautiful. Eduardo read out passages from Isaiah and Zechariah about Jerusalem and Christ returning and the Mt. of Olives cleaving in two. It's quite simply easier to understand when we saw the whole landscape before our eyes; we read about the war that would surround Jerusalem but tonight seemed fairly quiet and peaceful. After waiting a while to see the old city under a night view we made the trek back down the mountain and around the outside of the city wall toward our hostel. When we got back around to the Damascus gate it was amazing to see the difference from last night. It was so quiet and quite deserted comparatively. All the vendor shops and parades were gone and we stood and watched many of the Jewish people pour out of the gate in their traditional Sabbath wear after what seemed to have been an evening prayer time. What a stark contrast from the marching band parade and crowds of people we'd seen only 24 hours earlier. We've now settled in for the evening and are enjoying the beginning of a much needed Sabbath. Tomorrow we hope to enjoy resting a bit, listening to a pre-downloaded sermon/Bible study on someone's computer and visting the Garden Tomb and perhaps one or two other sites within a short walking distance. Happy Sabbath!
~Audry~


Thursday, November 26, 2009
It's a happy Thanksgiving in Amman!


It's Thursday...Thanksgiving in the States, the start of the Eid holiday here in Jordan.

Eid is a Muslim holiday celebrated in honor of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Ishmael (not Isaac). Traditionally, families will roast a goat or a lamb and share it with friends and family and those less fortunate than themselves.


We had our Thanksgiving dinner this evening - roasted chicken
(turkey is a bit harder to get for a reasonable price)with all the regular works thanks to everyone helping with the menu! Eduardo even made an apple pie - Jordan has a way of bringing out hidden talents :)

Isam, the music teacher from the YMWA, was able to join for his first Thanksgiving dinner.
And thanks to the Schreibers,
we even had a few
autumn decorations!

We have a five-day break due to Eid, so we are heading to Jerusalem!
Our adventure begins bright and early in the morning...

as much as things stayed the same… things started to change

As things and events here get more and more “normal” for us, I feel like I don’t have a whole lot to write about. However, as much as things stayed the same… things started to change! I have a couple random stories I would like to share.

1. I joined a soccer team! I’m very excited about this however the season maybe ending soon but for now it is great. I go to a sports club in Abdoun (a very nice area) and I believe practice is 4 times a week. From what I have heard the age range on the team is 16-23. They are all very nice girls and the coach is really nice too. All of them speak English but of course use Arabic the most and then translate to me what to do. It is kind of different since we practice on a tennis court sized “field” which is really more like tennis court flooring…. Different for me since I have not played much on anything but grass and turf. But I’m so happy to be able to play and it’s so great for me right now and also meeting new people.

2. A story: The other night Jamie and I were headed to soccer practice and we found a cab right when we walked out of our apartment. We thought we were lucky because we usually have to walk a little before we can get one. He was very nice and spoke decent English. Right away he needed to do a U-turn to go the opposite way. When he did this there were 2 men walking on the side of the road, he stopped in the middle of his turn because he could not go any further since the walkers were in the way. I remember thinking, “woah! We got close to them.” We waited a couple seconds as the men kept walking so we could complete the turn. When the driver thought they were ahead enough to keep going he accelerated and completed the turn. Okay 1 problem… the men were not out of the way enough yet. WE ENDED UP HITTING THE GUY ON THE OUTSIDE WITH OUR BUMPER! I was watching the whole thing and knew before it happened what we were about to do. The car bumper hit him in the back of the knees, which forced him to sit on the car a little until we stopped. Jamie and I were probably as wide-eyed as we could get! The taxi driver got out of the car, we then saw him showing them were the sidewalk was and how to use it. (yeh right, Jordan has the worst sidewalk system I have seen and no one uses it because there is no point). The guy who got his was okay but very very mad. He seems to exchange some not nice words as they began to argue. Next thing we know the guy who got his turns around and comes back swinging a white paint bucket over his head trying to hit the taxi driver in the head with it! The friend of the guy who got hit stopped him. The only thing better than a video of this would have been a video of us in the back seat saying, “what do we do!” I realized I had my cell phone clenched in my hand but, let’s be real, who was I going to call! Ha. Anyways they kept yelling at each other until every now and then someone would step and try to fight where the friend would step in and stop them. This went on for a while. Finally the friend pushed the hit guy away to just walk away and leave, we thought, “okay its over.” NOPE! Taxi driver all the sudden runs after them! We knew this was our escape. We ran out of the taxi back to our apartment and up the stairs. Audry laughs so hard now when she thinks about us stumbling in out of breath telling her the story. Only a minute later we saw out the window the taxi driver came back to his car and looked for us and then drove away. We thought it was safe to try again, so back out we went. We saw him parked only down the street a little talking to a guy again so we ran the other way and took the long way down to hill to find a different taxi. It was the craziest thing ever. WHO HITS A WALKER!!

3. I took my first taxi ride alone! Okay I was very nervous considering the events from the night before but I had practice and that’s the only way to go! But it turned out fine. The way there was okay, I think he went the long way trying to make me pay more but on the way home I had a very nice guy who lived in New York for a long time who spoke perfect English so that was great.

4. Jamie and I visited Red Cross/Red Crescent hospital the other day. She is a nurse and wanted to volunteer there a couple hours while we are here. They were very nice and welcoming. But on top of her doing her nursing, they asked if we would teach English to AIDS patients there. We were already looking for a way all 5 of us could come together for 1 project so this is a great thing we can all do together. Once a week for an hour.

5. We start Arabic classes Monday. The long awaited classes are now set. We have learned some already and have a better ear for it so I’m ready to get started!

6. I may have my own art class at my school. We had a talk yesterday and they are trying to use me better and make me happier doing what I like. They kind of came up with an idea that I would have my own projects I would work on with kids throughout the day other than the regular art class that they always get. This is going to be interesting. I will be in the same room as before so we will have two classes going on at once. I feel like there might be some awkwardness between the art teacher and me doing different things because we had very very different ideas on how art should be taught and how the kids should be treated. And remember none of the kids speak ANY English so that will be a big challenge for me. Other than the awkwardness I’m really excited about it and keep thinking of projects in my head.

7. We still haven’t gotten our residency cards. This is a crazy thing. However we have made friends with the bus drivers when they take us around. A couple times they have taken us out to eat as well and I think the secret has built a little bond so we have fun with them.

I think that’s all for now. This week has been crazy. We used to look at our calendar and say, “well! Any day will work for that, it’s not like we do anything else.” To now we are thinking, how will we fit in our Marathon training! Now I will have practice 4 days a week, Arabic 1 day, and AIDS English 1 day. As much as I enjoy sitting around and watching movies, I’m going to enjoy being busy!

This is the girls at the Blue Fig restaurant. Yum.

Expecting the UNEXPECTED

This is an article Stephanie wrote for the United News. Sorta taken from some of our blogs and her own. Thought it was really good and would share.

Expecting the UNEXPECTED

There are no certainties in life – there are only opportunities. Opportunities to embrace what comes at each and everyone of us throughout the course of a day, a week, a month…a lifetime… How we embrace these opportunities, what we give, and how we respond to them is what matters. These opportunities may not reveal their full potential right away, but rather require time to explore all that they hold.

The five of us serving in Jordan this year responded to an opportunity. It was an opportunity to serve with United Youth Corps for one year in Jordan working at three different projects. We are now two months into exploring all that this project holds - for us as a group and as individuals. The city of Amman has offered us many new experiences in the way of people, sights, food, etc. We have met our neighbors, some who chuckle every time they see us return from one of our early evening runs (there really is no one else who runs along the roadways in Amman – I guess we give them an unexpected experience); we have watched beautiful sunsets – even from the middle of the desert in Wadi Rum (an unexpected opportunity to join one of the Bedouin guides as he “checked on tourists” - does that mean WE are no longer tourists?!); we practice our Arabic in the many yellow taxis (which sometimes includes a round of hand gestures and charades); we have become regulars at a falafel shop, always amusing the cooks with our request for extra hot sauce.

Living in Jordan for a year, we have an invitation to live expecting the unexpected. For us, still learning Arabic and becoming familiar with the culture, there are many "unexpecteds" in daily life. At times some of these situations pose challenges and frustrations; more often than not they are rewarding. In both ways, we are given the opportunity to learn, grow, and experience something new, something we may never have the opportunity to do again. And as Jamie said, "They usually have happy endings” (like accepting the Bedouin's invitation to join him for a ride out to the desert).

Our different projects have also offered us many new experiences. Stephanie is conducting a research project at the Regional Human Security Centre and has had the opportunity to visit a Palestinian refugee camp. Eduardo is helping with the restructuring of the accounting department at the Amman Baccalaureate School by documenting policies and procedures. Audry’s experience at the Amman Baccalaureate School has taken her out of the traditional teacher’s role and given her the opportunity to organize a library and provide resources to teachers. Kelley’s days are filled with assisting the art teacher at the YMWA Center for Special Education and breaking through the language barrier with lots of smiles and high fives. Jamie’s new project at the YMWA Center is to set up a first aid program, educating all the students and teachers in first aid practices.

We are still at the beginning of learning all that this year in Jordan holds for us – the expected and the unexpected. We look forward to sharing parts of this journey with you!

This is what we unexpectedly came home to find our kitchen and washer looking like. We found it funny enough to take a picture.

this is Jamie's Speed heater (heats the water in our shower) - was very unexpected when she was in the shower and this happened :)

Thailand

I guess you guys haven’t heard from me in a while. I think first I will tell about the trip to Thailand. We left the airport on Thursday evening and took a 2-hour ride to Kuwait City; next leg was 7 hours to Bangkok Thailand. We arrived at the hotel at about 1. They boys (Justin, Jamie and Jonathan) had already been there for a couple days. We got to our rooms and found out the guys were on the same floor as us (17th, the view was really cool of the big city) and went to their room, no answer. Called a couple times, left a message, knocked a couple more times, nothing. I was starting to get a little upset, oh well us girls would go find something to eat, I knocked one more time as the elevators were coming and they were there! It was sooooo great to see them all. I hadn’t really talked to Jamie but a few words since he went to Ohio and saw Jonathan a week before I left but it was great to have them all together in one spot! We all (the boys and Jamie, Audry & me) went to a little hole in the wall place for food. We were already very tired. The time difference is only 4 hours but we had an overnight flight and I slept maybe an hour the whole time. Next we went to the suit shop. The boys had begun looking to get custom tailored suits made but hadn’t made any decisions yet. We picked out fabric for each of them and they measured them and picked out styles and such. It was really cool, and they paid only $80 a suit! Also, if needed they can get them done in 24 hours. After that it was pretty much time for the first church service that night at 7 and the off to bed! Slept amazing.

One of my favorite things about Thailand was the complete difference it is from Jordan. Neither were the U.S. but it was refreshing to have a change. In Jordan everything is dry, sandy, shades of tan, Muslim, and conservative. In Thailand it was tropical, humid, greens and colorful flowers, and Buddhist. Very very different cultures. But way cool that I get to see so much variety. The hotel was really nice, 5 star I think and included breakfast, which was a huge buffet. Saturday night we went to dinner and a show. The Siam Niramit Show was a cultural show about Thailand by dancing to show stories. The show was okay; I think I missed a lot because later a lady was telling me that she had been reading about Thailand history and caught/connected many things that I had no idea were happening. The best part I thought was the stage design. One part a river opened up in the floor of the stage and a bunch a rain stormed from the top. That was really cool. OH and before I got picked up by an elephant! The guy asked me if I wanted and I thought he elephant would eat me but I stood next to him and put my arm over his trunk and he just rapped it around me and lifted me up! It was very weird and slightly scary but how many people can say they have done that! :)

The next day was supposed to be a tour of the Grand Palace. Justin and I however, did not make it. I skipped lunch and took a quick nap before and when I came out to the busses to meet the boys Jamie said, um Justin is having problems, he might not make it. Apparently the ATM he tried to use was not working and ate his debit card and would not give it back. Since it was a Sunday no banks were open and no one would come to open it up. We ended up on the phone forever and then just canceling his card. Jamie and Jonathan said the Palace was really good though. I have pictures posted but can’t tell you much about it. We ended up going to a mall and finding a Mexican food place! There is NO Mexican in Jordan and since it is my favorite, I feel a little deprived. It was amazing. We met back up with Jamie and Jonathan and went back to the Thomas’s suit place for their fitting. They tried on, made some suggestions, also, Jonathan decided he wanted another one and we brought more people with us so we picked out more fabric and got them measured. We went to a place with a bunch of shops and looked around and bartered a bit. They are crazy about bartering here and they boys were really good at it, I think they flirted a little.

The next day we went to a Floating Market. I think it was one of the coolest things we did there. We road a boat on this man made river where all these people have houses along it and their own boats when we came to the market sections where the sellers are in boats selling their stuff and buyer are either walking around at the main place or in their own boats buying stuff. I just loved it.

Our next tour was to the River Kwai. We went to the Bridge over the river Kwai which has been in several movies. Then we took a train on the Death Railroad. This was a railroad that POWs built and tons died. From there we took a boat ride on the river.

Other than tours we did TONS of shopping. We also road in tuk tuks and one night a group of us went to karaoke. Besides the tours I would say most of our trip consisted of walking, shopping and eating. We also got massages! Prices there are very cheap, and you can barter so its pretty affordable once you are there. All in all it was a great trip, like always, it went so fast.

I have tons of photos online. There are 2 albums. Here are the links.

Thailand Photos 1

Thailand Photos 2

Happy Feast!

Hi blog world. I don’t have a lot to update on. We had a quick week and are getting ready to leave for the airport in 1 hour and 30 min. School has been pretty much the same. We found out we will stay in our places (the art room in the school) until October and then possibly switch but not sure. School without Ramadan is much better! We have been eating in public and invited into offices for coffee, yuck. Tine will be leaving us, she will be moving back to the U.S. Friday so we will miss her! Jamie and Justin made it to Thailand! Jonathan is trailing 24 hours later. I talked to the boys once last night and once today. Last night they were so funny and very awake for traveling for 24 hours and it being 3 am in Thailand, however with the 12 hour time difference it was 3pm central time. Today they said the hotel breakfast was amazing and they went shopping and got great prices on some shirts and other things! I’m jealous! Shopping without me!! How could they! I’m so excited to get there and see them! I will arrive at 10:50 am on Friday. It is a 4 hour time difference for me so that’s no too bad. Okay so that’s all! Lame update I know but thought I would send a message for I leave. Hope everyone who is going to the feast has a good one!

Wadi Rum

The past 2 days we spent camping in the Wadi Rum desert. Originally I was not too excited to go but always going with the flow and it turned out to be the best thing we have seen in Jordan so far and in the top of my experiences ever. Since we were not sure what to expect we loaded up our tiny rental car with mostly blankets & pillows, a change of clothes, and food. It was a 4-hour drive toward to Saudi boarder.

This is how Wikipedia describes it (so it’s gotta be true): Wadi Rum is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southwest Jordan. It is the largest wadi (valley) in Jordan. The name Rum most likely comes from a root meaning 'high' or 'elevated'.

Their website says: Wadi Rum is a protected area covering 720 square kilometers of dramatic desert wilderness in the south of Jordan. Huge mountains of sandstone and granite emerge, sheer-sided, from wide sandy valleys to reach heights of 1700 meters and more. Narrow canyons and fissures cut deep into the mountains and many conceal ancient rock drawings etched by the peoples of the desert over millennia. Bedouin tribes still live among the mountains of Rum and their large goat-hair tents are a special feature of the landscape. There are many ways to enjoy the attractions of Rum, including jeep, camel and hiking tours and you can stay overnight in a Bedouin tent and gaze at the amazing panoply of stars. To safeguard its unique desert landscape, Wadi Rum was declared a protected area in1998 and an intensive conservation programme is now underway.

When we got there we went to our hotel, okay so tent. It was a place called the Rest House where they had small tents set up for people to stay in for only 3JD a person/a night. It was a lot nicer than expected, there were mattress pads in there and blankets and pillows in these 2 man tents. We laughed that the mattress there was softer than our ones at home.
We arrived at about 4, got things organized for our tour the next day and then took a couple mile walk (in soft sand) to a spot where our book suggested was good to watch the sunset. We sat on a rock and started to watch a not so exciting setting of the sun when a man (who we could tell was a resident) in a tour jeep pulled up and asked us if we wanted to be taken to a sunset spot a ways away for free (he had to check on some tourists and was going that way and back anyways). Of course free was the key word so we jumped in the back and off we went. It was a very bumpy ride on the sand (and later found out he was driving extra fast so we didn’t miss the sunset). He dropped us off on a sand dune where we could watch, oh yeh, and then left us… near the Saudi boarder The sunset was amazing however we were a little worried we wouldn’t have a ride back and would be sleeping there that night. Well he DID come back and then drove us all the way back to our camp. Once it got dark the stars and moon were the best I have ever seen them look. It was a beautiful night and all against the mountain was unbelievable. I kept saying how a picture can’t even start to do justice to what it was like being here so I’m sorry that you all will not get even a fraction of the experience. Anways, the guy who came back for us was a very nice guy and invited us to have tea with him, so we did. We found out he was a climbing guide and his name was in our tour book as being the best. He owned a Bedouin resort for tourist to stay in (this was another option for a place to stay but they usually charged 20-60JD a night hence why we opted for the tents) and his place was book for the next 6 months. He lived in a house there and owned a camel for fun, as well as I think 6-7 trucks that people who worked for him used. He seems like a real nice guy who just wanted to show us a nice view and chat over tea. After a while 3 other guides came up to sit with him and I started giggling at the fact that here we were the 5 of us sitting at a table having tea with 4 locals in their white dress-like robe thinger and their turban looking hats. Way cool. By this time it was getting late and we still hadn’t had dinner. We had brought a tiny grill, which was an adventure to light and make work. Eventually we got it and had a nice meal of steak & veggies on skewers with baked potatoes. After that we went to bed.

The next morning we woke up and met our driver/guide for an 8-hour jeep ride around Wadi Rum, which would hit most of the prime spots. He was one of the guys that we had met the night before while having tea. The jeeps were pretty cool, decked out with 2 benches in the back and a canopy over top. Our driver’s name was Mohammed (which we like since ½ the people here are named that). We had a great time going around seeing a siq, rock bridges, sand dunes, Lawrence’s house (from Lawrence from Arabia), and things like that. He encouraged us to climb things with him (barefooted), which was so fun and really cool. The mountains that we climbed (except in the siq) were pretty easy to step up so we were able to get to the tops of them pretty easily. He took us to a Bedouin “house” or tent where we got to sit on mats and drink tea with a guy and his son that lived there. He also played us a little music. It was cool to get to mingle with locals. You will all have to look at my pictures so get a better idea of what our 8 hour tour was like but again you can never see it ½ as well as being there. All in all it was a great trip and again one of the coolest things I have done yet. We drove back that night and now it is the weekend.
This next weeks schedule is looking good! We start back at school Sunday and then take the day off for Atonement (one of our church holydays) on Monday and then school Tuesday & Wednesday AND THEN we leave for Thailand on Thursday! Justin, Jamie & Jonathan are all leaving on Tuesday and will be there before us on Wednesday night/Thursday morning at like 1-2 a.m. We get there Friday at 11 a.m. We are so looking forward to it!

So instead of littering this page with pictures I have a whole photo album dedicated to Wadi Rum (there are over 100) CLICK HERE!














Photo of us on a rock bridge

Link to Wadi Rum Website http://www.wadirum.jo

Busy Week!

These last couple days have flown by. Let me think where to start.

Wednesday we went to school as usual and then went to Jerash (Roman ruins) with our visitors that afternoon. We walked around for a little bit getting some pictures and video and then went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. Earlier that day they crew went to the other school (ABS) to film around there.

Thursday was a sad day…. Swine flu day was a hoax so they took it back and we had to work. Okay so work isn’t that bad but when you think the week is done and then they tell you just kidding one more day, it is sad. Anyways, Thursday was different anyways since only about ½ the kids or less showed up. (Remember the week break was next week so they must have started vacation early.) I had one class in the morning and then sat around the rest of the day. On the plus side I finished a book I was reading! The crew went to visit the Princess at the Royal Palace that day. They said originally she would only have 5 minutes to talk and they ended up spending about an hour just for the interview as well as longer chatting, then were invited to another room for tea. From what I hear they had a great shoot there and a great experience hanging out with Princess Sarvath. She is the reason why we are here. She is the patron of the school we are working out and the one who worked with our church years ago to send college kids my parent’s age to do the same thing we are now. Hence she has been with our program for a long long time so it was great to have an interview with her as the put together the video about this project. They then went to Stephanie’s work and then to Tine’s for dinner. We hung out around here and then walked down to the falafel shop for dinner. (1 falafel=20 cents)

Friday we were up bright and early to go to Petra. We rented a small bus to fit the 9 of us in as well as a driver. We left at about 6:30am. It is about 3.5 hour drive. Petra just got added to the list as a new “World Wonder.”

Here’s some Petra info:

- Petra was first established sometime around the 6th century BC, by the Nabataean Arabs, a nomadic tribe who settled in the area and laid the foundations of a commercial empire that extended into Syria.

-carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago, turning it into an important junction for the silk, spice and other trade routes that linked China, India and southern Arabia with Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome.

-Entrance to the city is through the Siq, a narrow gorge, over 1 kilometer in length, which is flanked on either side by soaring, 80 metres high cliffs.

-As you reach the end of the Siq you will catch your first glimpse of Al-Khazneh (Treasury). A massive façade, 30m wide and 43m high, carved out of the sheer, dusky pink, rock-face and dwarfing everything around it. It was carved in the early 1st century as the tomb of an important Nabataean king and represents the engineering genius of these ancient people.

I have several pictures of walking through the sig, the treasury, and camels & donkeys they wanted us to ride. We took a hike up the mountain where we could view the Treasury from the top. To really explore everything they say you would need about 5 days. We only took one hike. One thing I found cool was a carved out cave that was carpeted with a bed inside as well as dished placed in the wall cracks. We stayed until about 4 and then drove back. We stopped at our favorite hole in the wall local Kabob & Swerma place. It was packed so we took it to go and all piled round our little dinning room table.

Saturday was a holy day for us (Feast of Trumpets) as well at a church day so we met in our apartment and there were 9 of us! We almost doubled our attendance AND we got 2 live speakers. After services we had lunch (lasagna) talked for a while, and it rained! It was the first rain we have seen here and felt so good in this desert. Later we had a bible study and then went to a really good place for dinner. It was outside under a tent canopy and we sat on these couches with a table in the middle with a round inset circle where all the food sat. As always we had kabobs. It was a great atmosphere.

Sunday was our last day with our visitors. As well as our first day of break for the Eid. We woke up at went to the hotel to get personal interviews with the film crew and then said our goodbye. They are headed to Israel for the next couple days before going home. We felt a little lost to not have anything to do or any plans. We have a whole week of break and as of now, no plans. We don’t mind not having plans but the fact that this is our only week break together it’s a little disappointing. We do not have our Visa’s in check so we can not leave the country (which was our original plan) as well as until we get our residence cards everything costs 90% more for us. (i.e. Petra was 21JD for us and 1JD for residents). We decided on movie night and I was the most excited I have been yet when we found Mike’s DVD’s just down the street from our place. There they have all the copied movies you could ever want. They have old, new, and some still in theater videos. The best part is the each movie is only 1JD each. They also have a deal if you buy 5 you get 6^th for free and same with 10 get 3. Jamie and I ended up getting 14! We bought 10 and he gave us 4 free as well as chocolate while we shopped. I will now officially be caught up on my movies. It great, just like Redbox except you don’t have to return them! I think this was my most exciting adventure yet :) ha.

Today we are lying around taking it slow this morning. Not sure if we will do anything, probably run at some point, watch a movie! So you are now all officially updated on my week.

P.S. this is when the camel tried to bite me.

Don't forget to check out my photos!
LINK TO PHOTO ALBUM!

Filming day

So I got really sick! Sunday I only got a couple hours of sleep and woke up to my alarm for school and decided I would take a “sick day.” And since I’m technically a volunteer apparently I have unlimited! Had the worst sore throat for a couple days then came the runny nose and cough, but the cough was so bad to the point it was very painful to do it. Did go to school Monday even though I probably should have stayed home another day. Been taking every home remedy we can think of this includes 10 different vitamins (yes my mom is Dr. Quinn and packed them with me) +2 liquid thingers from mom +zinc tablets +straight fresh garlic +honey +salt water gargle +salt vinegar gargle +shots of lemon juice +cayenne pepper +emergen c or airborn +juice! Might be it or might be a couple more, I have started to loose track! Anyways today I’m feeling so much better and its only day 5 of the cold! Hardly had to cough or blow nose, throat it doing good my voice it just still not good. Every now and then it goes completely but mostly just raspy & low. So enough about that!

Mr. Horchak came in Sunday night but we didn’t see him until Monday evening and all had a nice dinner with him and then headed to the hotel to meet Clay & Clint (the video guys). Today they came to the school to film. It was the oddest thing. I learned that the school totally shuts down when visitors come. They stack the classrooms how they want them. In art we got 5 kids in the morning and then went very slow getting started. Then I realized we were waiting for them to come film us. We started the project and put one thing on the cards to look like they had already started. We then sat and waited… the teacher said this is what they do when visitors come and sometimes they wait an hour. We ended up sitting there in pretty much silence not doing anything for at least an hour maybe more. Finally when they came into our class room the teacher started working like she had been going the whole time. I had 2 kids to help with the project and she had 3, I think she forgot because she ended up helping one of my kids first and then starting on her own. My kid took a couple minutes to finish his (with not much help from me since he was old enough to do it himself) and then I was done and just sat. So it made for I’m sure pretty exciting TV. I’m sure they only need a couple seconds of me working but I was disappointed that we didn’t get to interact with the kids on film. Since we can not speak to them we mostly get to know their funny personalities (good & bad, but mostly always humorous) as well as their smiles and high fives and saying “hi” a hundred times a day since that’s the only word they know in English). I feel like in the effort of them to control & contain the environment; they lost the realness of the children and their personalities. It was funny to hear that they do no learning when visitors come and sometime the kids don't even get to eat. I don't think all of them go to today but since its Ramadan it's not as big of a deal. I guess this has happened before because they had the system down. I got to peak in on ceramic class and make some flowers with the kids, I loved it! I can't wait until I get to go help out there (if they let me). Anyways, oh well we will see what they come up with I guess! It will be a nice memory for us to have the video to remember all the kids.

On another note only 4 days till Ramadan is over!!! So excited! And tomorrow will be our last school day with it! We actually are getting this Thursday off as well for what we call, “National Swine Flu Day.” So we made it up but I guess the government said there is no school so the holiday Eid (we get all next week off for that) will be extra long since the swine flu has been gaining power over here. Last I heard there were a little under 200 confirmed cases, I think in Amman. Not sure and I think that was this weekend when I heard it.
Tonight we went to the Iftar at the school where the others are work (ABS). Princes Sarveth was there and we got to say hello to her and shake her hand. There was a nice traditional Arabic band playing music and we had a nice dinner.

Going to bed now, need my sleep to heal! Tomorrow is the last school day of the week and then we are going to Jerash afterward. I’m sure there will be photos for that! Haven’t taken much lately. Of course after Petra this Friday there will be more!

Peace out brussel sprouts.

I should be sleeping...

Despite the fact that I am sick, I am up at 11:45pm because I’m just that dedicated to you. Okay yeh you’re right, I can’t sleep. AND I have to be up bright and early at 5:30am! AND to top it off, tomorrow is the Iftar for my school so the kids and I will be staying at school until the iftar starts at about 6:45pm then eating THEN probably a long bus ride home. Don’t get me wrong, the iftar sounds great and all, I am just dreading staying at school all day and no nap, ESPECIALLY since I am still up right now…. And have a cold, yuck. We went to the store the other day and bought a bunch of snacks since everyone else will be fasting all day. So ready for Ramadan to be over, only 7 more days!

This past week not much new has happened to tell about. We are getting use to the kids and how we are treated and how to treat them. The past couple days I’ve had the chance to talk with the art teacher I’m with at lot since we have only had morning classes. I have learned a lot from talking with her and she says the same as we swap stories about our different religions and countries. She was so surprised to hear that there a some Christians (like me) that don’t eat pork, also surprised that we have a day of fast like they do (except for ours is a day, not a month, THANKFULLY!). She also said I can eat my food in her room! Since she is pregnant she is not fasting right now so we eat together every now and then. I was very excited to stop stuffing my face in the moth ball bathroom. I have also started a little word bank of words Arabic words I have picked up and she is teaching me more. I also think she shared her cold with me :( no fun.

Sunday is Eduardo’s birthday and since we are going to be gone his wife, Stephanie, schemed up a plan. She made one of his favorite cakes (tres Lecha=3 milk) and then we took him to one of his favorite U.S. restaurants… Fuddruckers. It was all planned out so 1. he didn’t know she made a cake today (she is very sneaky) and 2. we got all the way to the restaurant in the taxi without him knowing where we were going until we walked up to it. Tine also came along so today we set our record by getting 6 people in the taxi.

Next week is going to be such a great busy week. Mr. Horchak (a minister from Dallas, TX) is coming in to visit on Sunday. Then 2 guys that work in the video department at the church home office (the guys Jamie is working for) come in Monday. They will be shooting a video of us at our school and some shots of the town to make a video about the project. I can’t wait for all of you to see it since it will be the best look you can get into our life here. Tuesday they will come to my school and Tuesday night we have another Iftar at the other school where Princess Sarveth would like to meet us. Wednesday & Thursday they will visit the other work places and we will travel around town a bit. Friday we will go to Petra. THEN the whole next week we have off for their holiday of Eid. This marks the end of Ramadan. After that we will have a few days of work the next week and we are all off to Thailand. This is what I am most excited for because I will get to see my 3 boys! Justin, Jamie & Jonathan, (boyfriend, brother, cousin) the flying J’s will be traveling together to join us for the feast for 10 days there. This next month is going to fly by!

Okay now for some sleep please!

My B-Day

Well it was my 23rd birthday yesterday. We are getting a little more into the groove of working with the kids and figuring out how things work there. Jamie got switched over to Music class and I am still in art… maybe for the year? The music teacher is really cool too, he is my age and speaks really good English and has lived in Texas before and is ½ blind. He tells us things no one else will. Like the word in Arabic for foreigner, he taught us the word because that’s what people there use when they are talking about us in Arabic. Not that it will help us much but I guess we will know ! ...or just be more paranoid. The biggest difficulty is the language barrier. It makes it very hard for us to do anything with the kids because of it and can’t really enforce rules that way. For instance, the teacher stepped out of the room to talk to another teacher by the door way, in the meantime two boys started hitting each other and running around the room chasing each other and wrestling. I know the word for “no” so I keep saying “LA! LA!” but they know we have no power so that didn’t help, I also tried to step in front of one but he was bigger than be and that did nothing either, the teacher was right there and one girl was yelling “MISS MISS!” as her…. But nothing, finally I went over to tap on her solder and told her I needed help.

I was a little late for dinner (with the group) since I was talking to my mom so everyone was already in the other apartment waiting for me. When I got there they started singing Happy Birthday and there on the table was Papa John’s Pizza! I was sooo excited. It was the best idea, I had seen it a couple times driving and told them it was my favorite pizza from the U.S. so they thought it would be great for my birthday dinner, which it way! They also made me a Funfetti cake, which is also my fav ☺ it was a good night. Thanks for the messages also, there were nice to read.

One of the staff at the school also gave me a pretty necklace with a snail on it. He said he felt bad we couldn’t have a party since it was Ramadan. It was very nice of him to get me a present though!

Today (Tuesday) we had a shorter day since we went to the police department to renew our Visas, not much new to talk about but one interesting thing happened today. The teacher had a meeting and I guess when that happens they just leave the kids by themselves, which is not a good idea. Four of them were sitting in the art room, which I actually didn’t know and wasn’t told to watch them. I notice one grab a broom and shut the door so I went to do damage control (because I’m so good a making them listen right). Turns out two were fighting, hitting each other and another one was just grumpy causing trouble. I got them some paper to color on so they would have something to do and then had to stand between the hitters because telling them no, or LA didn’t help. I managed to keep them from killing each other (notice I didn’t say peace) until the teacher got back. The art teacher is 2 months pregnant and she told me that in the meeting they discussed that when she is sick and when she has her baby and will take some time off work that they want me teaching the class. The idea of actually helping sounds great however I’m not sure how I will be able to tell them what to do as well as keep them from fighting. We will see! Only 2 more days of work and then it’s the weekend again!

I have several new photos all of the kids at school, click this link!

Photos & Videos

I have a couple of new photos and videos to share.

Part 2 of the "Party Bus" this kid in the first 5 seconds can dance!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynZHYb2VWE

Next is a short clip from the Iftar we went to. Just shows it a little better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzCq-GRNJ50

And this is the link to my facebook photo album.

The Dead Sea

We had a great first day of the weekend. We rented a very small car and all loaded up and headed to the dead sea. Eduardo is used to driving in Mexico so he was up for the crazy Jordanian driving. The dead sea is about 30 minutes away. We ended up going to a hotel side beach instead of the public beach since it was only 3JD more. It was a very nice place with chairs and umbrellas and a couple pools and ofcourse the beach. We first headed down to the sea and floated around a bit. It’s a very strange feeling to be able to float. Also sometime if I was positioned straight/or standing my legs would come up from under me and I would kinda roll so I was floating again. For some background information the sea is 1,385 ft below sea level, the lowest elevation on the earth’s surface on dry land. It has 33.7% salinity and is 8.6 times as salty as the ocean. It’s salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot live.

Next it was time for a mud bath. There was a section of the shoreline that was very muddy. All you do it reach down and grab a chunk.

This is a passage from a website about the mud...
Improves blood circulation and natural skin generation.
Fine mud grains, cleanse the skin and remove any dirt particles, impurities and toxins.
Proven to provide effective relief for skin disorders such as psoriasis, eczema, acne and wrinkles.
Moisturizes your skin and helps natural skin hydration
Gently peels away dead skin cells to reveal more youthful, healthier skin layer
Dead Sea mud has many amazing health properties, and in addition to the ones listed above also helps treat and relieve some other ailments. These ailments include arthritis, muscle stiffness and aches, rheumatism, joint inflammation and even itchy, dry skin.
So how can some simple, all natural mud be so effective at helping so many things and cleaning your skin so well at the same time? The answer lies in what you can't see - the high concentration of salts and minerals present in the mud. You see, as the Dead Sea evaporates year after year (it's not connected to any other body of water), the salt and minerals which are already present in high amounts get absorbed into the mud at the bottom of the sea. This mud is then extracted and packaged, with all the impurities removed. The minerals which are present in the mud are all natural minerals which your skin needs every day. By using Dead Sea mud, or a mud mask, you are basically feeding your skin these essential minerals. Minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, bromine and calcium are all needed by your skin to help maintain the right moisture levels and hydration.
Another very powerful effect of using Dead Sea mud is the fact that as it dries, it pulls out any toxins that may be present in your skin cells from your everyday diet. This leaves the skin completely clean, refreshed and pure on top of infusing it with the minerals. At the same time it firms your skin and tightens it, giving you an exceptional anti aging benefit and leaving your skin looking younger. Because of this dual effect of exfoliating, cleansing and providing essential minerals, Dead Sea mud is able to help with so many various ailments or to simply keep you skin looking young and healthy for a long time!
Tip: Mud masks made with Dead Sea mud have also proved to be very helpful when applied to a scalp for hair roots strengthening. These masks help to stop hair loss and enhance new growth. They proved to be 4 times more effective than any other product of the kind during comparative tests with many other popular cosmetic brands.

Anyways, you cover your body with this mud, as seen in photo.

Next wash off and then shower off. We got back to the pool area and laid out on chairs and swam a little and read a little. We stayed until sunset and watch it go down under the mountains. We drove back in our tiny car and ate dinner together. A great day and a nice way to spend a Friday night. Tomorrow we are going over to Tine’s to have church at her place then back to work on Sunday. I may never get used to a Friday-Saturday weekend…

Party Bus

We had to get a blood test Wednesday for our Visa’s. A bus took us to a little sketchy building with a bunch of people in lines. We were directed to a room with many people in there and in the front was a desk and next to that was a lady who was taking everyone blood right there in the same room. I was so nervous, in the past I have turn a little white and tipsy from needles/blood so the fact that I was sitting in a room with all the blood and people and needles, I thought for sure I was a goner. BUT I survived! It wasn’t too bad, the build up was worse and I made sure to sneak some food and water on the bus. Once we got back no kids came to art class so we sat around and talked to some teachers. The bus ride home was the most excitement we have had all week working at the school. The driver put in a tape (yeh a cassette tape) and blared the music. The kids were clapping and yelling and dancing around. It was so fun to watch them. Here a video clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wkrxWLgD6c

Last night was our first Iftar. It is the dinner party they have after sundown during Ramadan. It was in a really nice place called Sports City. There was a huge pool with a bridge with water flowing from it and lights and table set up in the GRASS, yes green beautiful grass. I already miss grass so much. I took my shoes off just to feel it for a little bit! Anyways, a big spread of food and dessert. It was thrown by Prince Hassan and his wife Princess Sarvath, but we only saw them from a distance, Prince Hassan also gave a speech, but it was in Arabic so not sure what it was about. We had a nice time and got some good food.
p.s. Prince Hassan is the late King Hussain's brother. He would have been King when King Hussain died but 2 weeks before he died, Hussain named his son to be King.


Added a few more photos. Click HERE!