This little piggy went wee-wee-wee...

....All the way home...


I can't believe it's been a month since I left Jordan. Actually it really just hit me that it's literally been a month since I flew out of Amman.

The Europe and Middle East SALTers

I spent the first week in the States with other SALTers at MCC headquarters. It was a great time to relax and reflect with people who had just gone through similar experiences. And it definitely helped with culture shock, since I was able to slowly adjust to the US life. My parents brought me home at the end of the week, and I promptly was dragged wedding dress shopping with my sister. We didn't find a dress that day, but she has since picked one! And I have also found my maid-of-honor dress as well.

Visited Friends in DC

Things have been pretty hectic, between trying to see my friends, figuring out what I have and don't have anymore, doctors appointments... and generally preparing for my next MCC term.

Oh, did I forget to mention that I got a job? I'm starting a new international term of service with MCC. If you want to hear more about it, and follow my adventures, check out my new blog Peace, Pabulums, and Phnom Pehn.

Back to the USA

Well today's the day! On Thursday I moved out of my room at the YWCA in Husn (I've been staying in a hostel in a Amman since). Last night, the MCC Jordan team (with the 2 new members of the MCC Iraq team) got together at the Rep flat for my farewell dinner. I just checked out of my hotel and now I'm hanging out at the office until I leave for the airport at 1:30pm (less than 30 minutes).

My flight leaves Amman at 4:35, heading to Doha, Qatar. I arrive in Qatar at 7:15, where I will meet 11 other SALTers (serving in Laos, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Nepal). From there the 12 of us have an overnight flight (leaving at 1:05AM) to Philadelphia. ETA in Philadelphia: 7:55AM, Monday the 21st. From there my father is picking me up (YAY DAD!), and then I am heading straight to SALT Re-Entry Retreat, in Akron, PA. Early Saturday morning my parents (YAY MOM AND DAD!) will come to Akron and take me home.

It's hard to believe that my SALT journey is nearly at an end. I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout this year. I was blessed and touch by each and everyone person who made this experience possible. I will miss everyone I got to know here in Jordan.


A year in pictures, some of which have probably been shared before:

First week in Jordan, at the Roman Ampitheater in Amman with Caleb

Visit to Ajloun Castle in November

Visit to Ajloun Castle in November

AES Student Art Exhibition in Amman, with teachers in November

AES Student Art Exhibition in Amman in November

Ina and me at our favorite restaurant in Amman in November

Lunch at Hashem's in November

At the Security wall in Bethlehem, just after Christmas in December

Decorating an olive tree in Beit Jala, Palestine in December

Petra with Jackie in January

Picnicking in February

Church at the Jordan River in March, with Judith

Visit to Jerash in March (here at the Temple of Artemis)

Visit to Umm Qais in March

Trip to Wadi Rum for Easter in April

Standing in the Red Sea, on the beach in Aqaba in April

Desert Castles trip with Ina and Judith in May

Fighting  Ina for my food at a BBQ in June

On Rainbow Street, in Amman with Judith in July

In King Abdullah Mosque in Amman in July

Getting muded up at the Dead Sea in July

Leaving school on my last day of work in July

Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes*

On our last day all together in the office.  From left to right: Headmistess Sabah, Jana, Judith, me, Ina, Rev. Samir, and Abu Munther

Today, was my last day at the Arab Epsicopal School. It's hard to fathom that I'm not going back tomorrow morning. Or the day after. Or any day in the foreseeable future. I have been blessed to work with all the teachers, admistrators, and staff at AES this past year. The chance to be part of this ground breaking community has been more amazing than I can express. Working with students has been the highlight of my year. They made every day a blessing and an adventure.

Getting the chance to live in Jordan this year has been more amazing than I can express. For all it's fustrations, and ups-and-downs, it has been a joy to serve these people and to learn from and with them.

As Jonathan Larson wrote, in the song "Seasons of Love" in his Tony award winning musical Rent: "How do you measure, measure a year?... Measure in Love."

*Well, not exactly. More like four hundred eighty two thousand four hundred minutes, since it's only been 11 months not a full year. But the song still relates.

Pictures from May, June, and July

These past few months have been filled with adventures that I haven't posted about indepth, so here are some pictures so you can see some of what I've been up to. In May, I took a trip to visit some Desert Castles out east with Ina and Judith. Then at the end of the month, I flew to Barcelona,Spain for the MCC Europe Middle East Retreat, where I got to meet the rest of the team and reunite with some of the other SALTers. This past week, Judith, Ina, and I went to Amman, hiking in Wadi Mujib (the bottom of a canyon that opens up to the Dead Sea) and the Dead Sea.

Trip out east to see the Desert Castles.

Qasr Azraq

Qasr Amra

Arabic dancing lessons.

Mediterranean Sea in Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

Dead Sea

Dead Sea

Floating in the Dead Sea

Wadi Mujib

Amman

King Abdullah Mosque in Amman

Dead Sea Mud

King Abdullah Mosque in Amman

Ramadan Kareem!

My last few weeks here coincide with Ramadan, the month in which Muslims around the world fast. This means that Muslims do not eat or drink (as well as other things like sexual relations and smoking) during the day, between sunrise and sunset. Ramadan is a time of reflection.

 In majority Muslim countries, as a courtesy to those who are fasting, those who are not fasting (including but not limited to Christians and other non-Muslims, pregnant women, the sick, young children, and women who are menstruating) do not eat or drink in public during the day. This keeps us from tempting those who are fasting to break it. Muslims who are fasting, break their fast in the evening after sunset and eat pre-fasting before sunrise (and can eat anytime between as well). Many businesses chose to open late or have shorter hours during Ramadan, since the majority of the population of Jordan is fasting. The vast majority of restaurants open only in the evening and stay open late into the night during this month as well.

I pray for blessing on those who are fasting, especially because it's extremely hot during this time of year in Jordan and not getting to drink water during the day difficult on the body.

Ramadan Kareeem, my friends!




Fun fact: Many people put up decorative lights for Ramadan, like how Christians put up Christmas lights!

Cultural Differences

I was sitting on the floor of the hallway, chatting with one of my dormmates, Randa, the other night while she cleaned a pair of shoes. We chatted about her classes, about Ramadan, and other things. Every once in a while she would start apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" she said.

For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what in the world she was apologizing for. So I replied to her, "What are you apologizing for? I don't understand."

"My shoe. I keep accidentally pointing the bottom of my shoe at you."

Right, in the Middle East it is an insult point the sole of your shoes or your feet at people, because they are dirty and are in contact with the ground. There are probably other reasons too, but I don't know them. That's the reason I tend to be careful about how I cross my legs.

I giggled, "Oh right. I didn't even notice. That's not a thing in my culture, I didn't think about it. Don't worry. I won't take it as an insult. Do what you need to do!" And we continued chatting.


 I can't believe I have less than 3 weeks left in this country. I have been blessed to experience this culture and to start to understand some of the nuances involved.

One Month... WHAT?

Can I just say something crazy? I have less than a month left here is Jordan. It's pretty insane. Things are coming to a close at school. The students have finished final examinations and are no longer attending school. New teachers are being interviewed for next years staff. The final newsletter for the school year is out. It's hard to imagine that in a few short weeks I'm going to be back in the States. I'm excited to see my family and friends again, though I am sad to leave all the relationships I've made here.

Final Countdown!

Yateek Ilaafiyah

There are four different ways I can call home: using the phone at my Reps' flat, using Skype if I have good enough internet, using an international calling card, or using my regular phone plan. On Easter, while I was in Aqaba, I decided to surprise my parents with a phone call, and ended up using my regular phone plan since I couldn't find any stores that sell international calling cards. My sister and her boyfriend were home for Easter, so I got to talk to them too. Mom was the last person I spoke to. I greeted her, then suddenly the call disappeared.

Once I figured out that my phone ran out of money, I ran to the phone store next to my hotel to buy some minutes. I wanted to buy 10 Jordanian Dinars (JD) worth of minutes. When I asked how much, the salesman told me 20JD. I gasped and refused. He, in English, claimed that it's tax, blah blah blah to try to get me to pay it. I told him, no, it's never more than 7.50JD for a 5JD card in Amman and Irbid. He relented, and had me pay 15JD. On my way out of the store, I told him "yateek ilaafiyah"- which is basically "bless your work", but something only someone who lives in an Arab speaking country would know to say. All the salesmen in the store laughed, surprised that I knew it. The man who sold me the phone card apologized for treating me like a tourist, since I obviously wasn't.

I was proud of myself. I might not speak Arabic, but I'm getting a hang of the Arabic niceties.

Desert to the Red Sea

The desert in Wadi Rum

 I've always loved Easter. I even enjoyed the holiday last year when I spent most of the weekend huddled in front of my computer, surrounded by books, finishing my first complete draft of my thesis. This year was extremely different from past Easter's though. It was my first Easter away from home, and my first time celebrating in an unconventional way. School is closed for the holiday, so I took the opportunity to travel to the south of Jordan, while the weather is nice.

Exploring Wadi Rum

I spent Easter Weekend in Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a desert nature preserve, covering about 280 square miles, and is bordered by Saudi Arabia. The desert has signs of habitation dating back to 800 BC. It's an amazingly beautiful area. I arrived there early Friday afternoon, and met with my wonderful tour guide, Tyseer. He's friends with the other volunteers at AES so we were looking forward to finally meeting about hearing about each other for so long. After a cup of bedouin tea, we headed off on our tour. On our way out of the village with ran into a Northern Irish woman wandering on her own and convinced her to come along with us. 

Sunset over Wadi Rum

During the jeep tour, we explored some canyons and rock formations, before settling down to watch the sunset. Afterward, we made our way to the bedouin camp I stayed at for dinner (a chicken dish that's cooked in a hole in the ground). Two volunteers from the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf (HLID) were there with their families, along with many other interesting travelers. After an hour or so of star gazing, I admitted defeat and headed off to sleep in my tent. Bedouin tents aren't like what Americans would think of when they think of a tent- they are made of goat and sheep wool, are elevated off the ground, the floors are covered in rugs, and are large enough to walk around in.

Walking across the desert in Wadi Rum

The next morning, after breakfast, I joined the HLID volunteers and their families on a hike across the desert. We walked from the campsite to the village, and up to a spring. The trek took about 2 hours, and somewhere along the way in the direct sun and soft sand I managed to get sunburned and to aggravate an old knee injury. After a lunch of falafel sandwiches at the spring, the group hiked back down to the village, and Tyseer and I set off on a tour of east Wadi Rum. 

Driving in Wadi Rum

When we were out past where most tourists go, Tyseer asked me, "Do you want to drive." I replied, "Of course!" and jumped in the driver's seat. Apparently I'm not a bad desert driver- I managed to not hit a rock or tree, not flip the car, or get it stuck. It was both terrifying and exhilarating- especially after Tyseer told me that he didn't have a spare tire if I popped a tire. Tyseer seemed to approve of my driving and allowed me to drive for about an hour, out near the Saudi border. 

Camp fire to combat boredom

We stopped for a cup of tea with some picnickers we meet, then headed back to the main part of Wadi Rum. Tyseer was showing off, driving on the side of a hill, when he hit a rock and popped a tire. I just smiled and told him, "At least it wasn't me." We had no cellphone signal, so we had to wait until the picnickers we met drove back our way. So we rested in the shade of a mountain until the picnickers came back. They did not have a spare tire we could use, but drove us back to where we could get enough signal to call Tyseer's brother. We found another hill to camp out on while we waited for Tyseer's brother. I went exploring on a rock formation, and Tyseer built a camp fire. Eventually, his brother arrived to rescue us in his pickup truck. His truck was set up for tourists to sit in the bed, but the tarp to block the sun was not up. So instead of sitting, I took the more exciting route and stood at the back of the cab holding onto the pole. The pole was a bit large for my hands so I had to wrap my wrists around it. Going over the bumps and sand dunes left my wrists bruised, but I'm so glad I did it.

Sunset over the Red Sea

We stopped for dinner at Tyseer's cousin's camp. I was so exhausted that Tyseer decided to just set me up in a tent there instead of driving back to his camp. On Easter Sunday, I awoke to wind and a sky full of rain clouds. As I was eating breakfast it started raining. Rain in the desert is beautiful. I returned to the village and waited for my taxi to my next destination. After about 3 hours of waiting I was ready to go crazy with boredom and begged Tyseer to do something, so he convinced one of the boys to give me a short camel ride. After short goodbyes, I took a taxi to Aqaba.

At the beach on the Red Sea in Aqaba

Aqaba is a port city on the Red Sea, across from Israel and the coast of Egypt is also visiable. I spent my first afternoon there just walking around, getting the lay of the land, with my knee protesting my every step. On Monday, I was planning on visiting the beach and some archeological sites, but I could not handle the walking. Instead I went to the beach and read for a while, then got a massage at a women's spa. It was a nice relaxing day. This morning, I slept in, then took the bus back to Amman. I'm staying the night at the Rep Flat, and will spend the day in Amman tomorrow before returning to Irbid for school on Thursday.

Standing in the Red Sea