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

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.

Ticket Home.... WHAT?

A few weeks ago I recieved my ticket back to the States! I spent the next two days going through an emotional crisis about how that made me feel- I was happy, and sad, and kind of surprised, and reluctant to admit how soon I'm leaving, while also extremely excited to see my family, and many more feelings.

So here's the deal:
July 20th - Flight from Amman, Jordan to  Doha, Qatar
Alittle after midnight on July 21st - Flight from Doha, Qatar to Philadelphia, USA
ETA in Philly: 7:55AM, July 21st

From Philly I'll go directly  to MCC headquaters in Akron, PA for reentry retreat. Then on July 26th, my parents will pick me up and I'll head back to the Eastern Shore.

Snow in Jordan

Snow in Amman

Jordan gets cold in the winter. Really cold. Which is a struggle because the buildings are designed to be cool on the inside, since it's blazing hot for most parts of the year. Most winters, I've been told, it snows once or twice, normally in January, and because it's only one or two snows the country has not invested in snow removal equipment. This partically explains why schools have a month long holiday spanning from the first or second week in January until early Febuary. This year though, the snow came early. Snow covered much of the Middle East, including parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, and even (briefly) Egypt.

Starting early last week, everyone kept talking about how it was going to snow. It was cold, but I wasn't sure I believed them. Then, on Wednesday, it was pouring rain. None of the nursery aged students came to school, and only about half of the kingergarten and first grade classes showed up. It was a cold, wet miserable day. Around noon, the Headmistress announced that the school would have a three hour delay the next day, and would be opening at 11 because the news was calling for the weather to get worse. The news was calling for snow. I was excited for the chance to sleep in, but I was worried about getting transportation to Amman after school on Thursday- one of the other SALTers, Christine, was coming to visit me and I needed to meet her.

"Snow" in Husn

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing. It was the teacher I car pool to school with, letting me know that school was canceled for the day because of snow. Snow? I looked out the window of my bedroom- nothing. I walked down to the big window down the hall, that has a beautiful view from it- ok there was a little bit on snow on some metal. Ok, fine with me. I needed to go to Amman anyway, so I called the bus service that I normally take, they told me that they had buses going at 12 and 2. I rushed to get packed and convinced a friend with a car to drive me to the bus station. I just missed the noon bus, so I used the time to check out the brand new Carrefour grocery/department store. Soon enough I was on the bus, on my way to Amman. I still hadn't seen very much snow, just a bit on cars or in deep shadows; I found it funny that it was a snow day.

Upon stepping out of the bus in Amman though I found that it was much colder in Amman than in Irbid, and it was snowing. The snow wasn't sticking to the ground, but it was falling. I caught a cab and met up with my Reps. We had dinner and then headed off to the airport, which is about 45 minutes, on a normal day, outside of the city. The farther we got out from the center of Amman, the more snow I saw on the ground, I felt a small amount of cognitive dissonance because the last time I had gone to the airport it was been at least 90F degrees outside, at the time I would never have imagined that there would be snow in just a few short months.

The morning snow/slush

We successfully received Christine from the airport, and had a relaxing evening in at the Rep Flat. It continued to snow throughout most of the night. The next morning, there was a blanket of snow on the road and sidewalks outside. I called the school Priest and found out that they had already canceled school for Saturday even though there wasn't any snow in Irbid. I decided to just stay in Amman for another day, even though I had originally planned to return to Irbid on Friday evening. Christine and I took the morning slow and had a relaxing brunch with the Reps before we trekked out into the weather, hoping that something would be open since the snow was melting. We made our way to downtown, and ended up in the Roman Ampitheater, then made our way to Rainbow Street and had a late lunch at an American style Waffle House (no relationship to the chain), since it was the only thing open. After that we headed back to the Rep Flat, where we spent some more quality time with the Reps before heading out to have dinner at a reasurant with some traditional Jordanian foods. It had started snowing again, and the roads were getting icy so we were one of the few cars on the roads, and earned some "are you crazy" looks from the locals as we climbed some hills.

The next day there was even more snow outside. We talked to some locals and found out that the roads were closed, and the government was encouraging everyone to stay inside. So that's exactly what we did. The Reps, Christine, and I spent the day playing card games, talking, and drinking delicious homemade hot chocolate in the apartment. The school Priest called me to encourage me to return to Irbid so I could attend the teacher's Christmas party, but there were no buses running. On Sunday, I finally caught a bus back to Irbid, with a little bit of rushing and panic since it was the only bus leaving. When I left, there was still snow in Amman but there wasn't any in Irbid still. Christine stayed another day, then took a bus to Israel/Palestine.

Playing in the evening snow

The snow effected schools and businesses all week; schools across the country could not open until 9. There is still snow in Amman and other places with high altitudes. It was in the news that one town up in the mountains needed food to be airlifted to it because of the roads were so impassible.

There is still no snow in Irbid. I'm praying that the weather stays like this, because I'm hoping to have a safe, easy trip on Tuesday, aka Christmas Eve. I will be following in Christine's foot steps and meeting up with her and another SALTer in Jerusalem where we are all going to spend Christmas together.

How Big is Your Life?

How big is the radius of your life? I mean it, think about that question. How far do you travel for work? For School? How far do you live from your parents and other family members? How far do you travel to go grocery or clothes shopping? How far are the other places that you go regularly? You got that mapped out in your head? Great! Now, how many people are involved in that life? How many people do you work with? Are these different from your friends? How about the people you go to Church with? Next question for you: What does the size of your life mean?

Back in the US, I was always working to give my life a bigger radius. When I stayed with my parents, my life wasn't very small. I went grocery shopping at the Walmart that was a 10 minute car ride from my house. The mall and movie theater were 45 minutes away in one direction, the place where I worked 45 minutes in another. My church happened to only be a minute or so drive from my parents' house, but the people who attend come from all over the area. But the town with my high school and favorite coffee shop and my friend's barn was a 20 minute drive away. And most my friends lived even farther. I went to college 3 hours away from my parents house and made my life there for 4 years. The daily life I had there had a physically smaller radius, I slept, studied, went to class, ate, hung out with my friends, and worked on campus. But I had ways of extending that radius. I took babysitting jobs off campus- one involved a 30 minute walk. I went to mall 20 minutes away. I took trains into Philadelphia. I rode horses at a barn 20 minutes away. I took summer jobs in different locations, one in Akron, PA another in Philadelphia, PA. In Akron, I walked around town, and took my car to a coffee shop in the next town over, and met up with friends 20 minutes away in Lancaster. In Philly, my job involved traveling all over the city and when I needed it I escaped to Swarthmore, to my college in the suburbs. I always wanted my life to involve more and new places. I tried to know people in a variety of places.

My life in Jordan is much smaller. I do most of my grocery shopping on the street next to the YWCA. I go to church a little farther up the street. School's farther away, 20 minutes by car, about 40 minutes if I'm walking and taking the bus. But, I do very little in between those two. I sometimes go to Church events at AES. Sometimes I go to University Street for coffee. When it feels too small, I run away to Amman, which is about an hour and a half away. But, all of this is augmented by the fact that I have family and friends that I keep in close contact with back in the US.

For me, the size of my life meant, and still means, that I didn't see my parents very often. Even when I was living with them there were days that we didn't see each other. Seeing my sisters was rarer. It meant that I spent a lot of time along commuting. It meant that I maintained friendships where I wouldn't see or sometimes ever speak to person in weeks, or months. Despite that, I always felt close to people.

In America, I always felt like I had a normal sized life. A lot of people commute to work and live far from their parents and go to school away from home. Sometimes, thinking about it makes my life in Jordan feel extremely small. But, in the Jordanian context my life is actually pretty big. Most Jordanians live with their parents until they get married. It's common for Jordanian young adults to tell their parents everywhere that they go. Often, young, unmarried women need their father or brother to drive them places. It's normal to shop in only a few stores, because customers are intensely loyal. Many of my students when asked about their dream vacation talk about going to Aqaba, which is about the same distance from Irbid as from my hometown to New York City. After spending my life in a culture that appreciates bigness, it's not always comfortable to step into one where smaller lives are common. It can feel like you're being watched and judged. But culturally, it means that people are much closer to their families. Decisions are made by the family. Friendships are made by the family. The people in your life are involved with everything. It means that people are more interdependent- as evidenced by the fact that people always assume that I'm lonely since I don't live with family.

So, I ask you again: How big is your life? And what does that size mean?

Has it really been a month?

 It's hard to believe that I've been in Jordan for over a month now. Sometimes it feels like I've been here for so much longer. It feels like it's been years since I was in Akron at Orientation. But, at the same time I feel like I just got here. It feels like just yesterday I was standing in downtown Amman for the first time, marveling at the little blue lights that decorate the street. It's been quite a month. I started to learn the layout of Amman. I took Arabic Language lessons. I visited Ancient Roman, and Byzantine, and Islamic ruins. I saw Irbid and Husn for the first time. I went to Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Mount Nebo, and Madaba. I attended a Lebanese indie band concert in the Roman Ampitheater. I made friends with many interesting ex-pats and a wonderfully welcoming Palestinian family. The craziest part is that at after all of that I moved into the YWCA in Husn (which is a 15 minute car ride away from the Arab Episcopal School), started living on my own, and finally started volunteering at the Arab Episcopal School.

On Saturday morning, I moved all of my possessions into the living room and ran to my last Arabic class. After that I said my goodbyes to my classmates, made promises to let them know when I visit Amman, and hopped into the Country Reps' car. We dropped Caleb off at the airport shuttle to take him to his new home, and set off to Husn. The Country Reps helped me move my bags into my room, walked around the town with me while I found grocery, said their goodbyes, and left me on my own. My Saturday night, I was officially living on my own at the YWCA.

I enjoy the independence of living on my own. I like making my own schedule and routines. I enjoy the opportunity to explore the town at my own pace. But, it's a challenge as well. I'm still learning what amenities the YWCA has, and its schedules. I know where I can store my food. I've built up my bravery to light the gas stove with the lighter, even though I think I've going to burn myself every time. I figured out how to use the showers, though I've been taking cold showers since I still don't know when the hot water is actually on. I figured out where I can buy fruits, vegetables, hummus, and bread. Meat it still an issue because most of what I've found in the stores here is processed (i.e. chicken nuggets, that sort of thing.) I've discovered that cooking for one is not nearly as much fun as cooking for several, and thus have become extremely lazy about actually making food for myself. Since Saturday, I've made 3 or 4 salads and eaten too much pita and hummus. Can you blame me for eating so much hummus and pita though? It's so good, and super cheap! I get the hummus fresh from a shop down the street and a kilo of pita still warm from the bakery a few doors down for less than $2 combined. I've made pasta a few times as well, but until I get a better plan for buying meat I don't think I will do much actual cooking.

Monday was my first day at the Arab Episcopal School (AES). I felt pretty lost most of my first day. School has been in session for several weeks now and the schedule is pretty routine for everyone else by now. I just tried to follow along. I'm working with the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 7^th grade English classes. I love being around kids and teaching. All of the classes are fun. The 1^st graders all clamor for my attention and want to tell me what things are called in English. The 2^nd graders have started trading the Arabic names of things for the English names with me and desperately want me to call on them when I help with conversation. The 3^rd graders impress me every time I'm with them, with their vocabulary and their quick grasp of English grammar. The 7^th grade is silly, and has much better reading comprehension than I had after 3 years of high school French.

With all of the classes, I particularly work with the low vision students, helping them write and making sure they are paying attention and comprehending. In the lower grades I've also been assisting with conversational English and checking work in and out of class. I'm supposed to run a conversational English class once a week, I'm not sure what exactly that entails but I'm excited. Tomorrow I'm going to start assisting with the English correspondence in the office.

There is no doubt in my mind that the next 10 months at AES is going to be a challenge, but I'm excited to face it. I love every minute I'm with my students, even when they are driving me up the wall. I can't wait to look back in July and see just how far both my students and I have come.

(I apologize for the lack of pictures, my internet here is too slow to load them. I will post some the next time I'm in Amman or when I have access to faster internet.)

Safe and Sound in Jordan!

MCC's Meeting Place.

Honestly going in to SALT Orientation last week I didn't really see the point. I was especially not into how everyone seemed so excited to become best friends with people that they weren't going to see for 11 months. But it truly was worth it, and I've so glad that I did it. Orientation was a time and space of transition, after we'd already said our goodbyes to our families and friends, where we were in fellowship with people going through the same thing as us. We were able to talk about our fears and our hopes. Over the week the SALTers serving in the Middle East (Jessy, Caleb, Christine, and I) became very close. We are so excited to see each other at regional retreats, and are hoping that we are able to schedule our vacations together.

The Middle East SALTers.

Yesterday was the big day! Well, yesterday according to when I slept, in reality it was Wednesday, so two days ago. Jessy, Caleb, and I had the same first flight to London. We were able to sit together on the plane, though I'm not a very good travel companion. As soon as the plane took off I found a movie and watched it, so I wasn't the most talkative. Caleb at least found my "random" laughter funny. I tired very hard to sleep, but I don't think did. Eventually we landed in London. Every other time I've flow to London I've flown to Gatwick, so this was my first time in Heathrow. It's HUGE. We had to take a train and bus to get from the terminal we landed in to the terminal our flights were leaving from. Once we got there we had to go through security again- I managed to forget that I filled up my water bottle in Philly so they had to check my bag, I spent the whole time apologizing to Jessy and Caleb about it. Caleb and I had a 2.5 hour layover, so we were able to sit and relax for a bit before finding our gate. Jessy had a longer layover, so she hung out with us until we boarded. Finding the gate was an adventure. According to the sign we read it's supposed to take about 20 minutes to get there from the main part of the terminal, so Caleb and I speed walked the whole way, with Jessy trailing behind us laughing. She was right, it did not take us nearly that long. But, we did have to go up and down, and around, and even took a sky walk at one point. From the gate Caleb and I said our final goodbyes to Jessy and left her to catch her own flight. I slept for most of the flight from London to Amman. I woke up just as we were flying over Israel. I didn't have a window seat so I didn't have the best view out the window, but it was still amazing to look at. I've never been to a desert before, so it was crazy for there to just be desert as far I could see. We landed, changed our money, and got our visas. The line took a while so we were able to people watch. There were a large number of people just sitting around, not in a line, which I still don't understand. And there didn't seem to be any women traveling alone, so I'm glad I was traveling with Caleb because it made me stand out less. The MCC Reps, Gordon and Carolyne, picked us up at the airport. It was great to actually met them after emailing back and forth for so long.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

I'm staying at the MCC Reps apartment while I'm here in Amman. I can't remember the name of the hill we live on, but it's near the Blue Mosque, which is gorgeous. After dropping my stuff off at the flat, and changing out of my jeans (it's a bit too hot for those), we all went to dinner downtown. We had wonderful pita and hummus. Then we just walked around downtown for a while, including the market.

Caleb and I definitely dealt with adjusting in different ways. Caleb had question after question to ask the Reps about Jordan, MCC, and our schedule. I just wanted to observe. I felt like the most productive use of my evening would be to start figuring out the appropriate way to act as a young unmarried woman. So, I tried to note how many women I saw on the street, who they were with, what they were wearing, who they spoke to, and so on. Navigating gender roles here is definitely going to be an adjustment, but I knew that coming in.

Downtown Amman

Amman is so interesting, and I'm really excited to get to explore it. Arabic lessons start on Monday, so until them I'm going through in country Orientation with the MCC Reps. But for now it's the weekend, weekends are Friday and Saturday here, so we're taking a bit of time to relax and just take things slow.

Letter from my Father

Dear Hannah,

You are about to embark on an international career, with a year working in Jordan. You will be departing in the midst of terrorist threats and shut-downs of American and other embassies in many countries. Am I worried and concerned, and do I want you not to go? The answers are, “yes” and “no,” in that order.

How could I not be concerned? I love my daughters, and I even worry about the “safe” one in Charlottesville, VA. Do I want either of you to change your goals and choices in life because of my parental protectiveness? No!

Laughing at Graduation

Both of you are intelligent people, wise (I think) beyond your ages. You have made your own choices for years, and are following the paths you have chosen, for which you have taken very specific educational paths. You are going to do what you choose. That is a good thing.

Why should you not choose to work abroad? I did. For many years. In many places. In the midst of civil wars, droughts, and political unrest. In countries ruled by leftist and right-wing dictatorships, by the military, by (often oppressive) “Christian” and “Muslim” leaders. In extremely rigidly controlled societies, with privileged economic and political classes and extremely poor majorities.

How could I object? My first overseas assignment, 49 years ago this month, was in the Congo, in 1964. In the midst of a civil war. I flew there just days after a group of Americans were taken hostage in Stanleyville. That group included a friend from college (he was later rescued).

We make choices; we have options thrust upon us. We can’t always not choose risk if we want to impact those around us.

Bless you, Hannah. We pray the Lord’s safekeeping of you, and for those around you. Go in peace, and come home, at least for visits, once in a while.

Go change the world. Make it better. Amen.

Love, Dad

Traveling During a Travel Alert

I was going to wait until tomorrow to post, since then I'd be able to announce that I have one week until I leave for Jordan, but I figured I should probably address the embassy closures and travel alerts recently instated by the US Department of State. These events have not had an effect on my travel plans. I am still going to Lancaster for Orientation on the 14th, and I am flying to Jordan on the 21st. I received my ticket yesterday, I am officially flying from the Philadelphia Airport to Amman with a brief layover in London, England (Heathrow). I leave Philly at 6PM on the 21st, and will arrive in Jordan at 4PM Jordanian Time (9AM EDT time) on the 22nd.

In short, the US government issued a worldwide travel alert for all Americans and temporarily closed a number of embassies and consulates in response to threats of terrorist attacks. These actions were taken as a cautionary measure, in order to keep Americans traveling, working, and living abroad safe. The travel alert does not mean that Americans cannot travel internationally at this time. It just means that Americans need to take caution, and should register with the government, so that the government has a record of their travel and can contact them in case of emergency. The travel alert is set to last until August 31st, so I will be traveling during this alert. The US has temporarily closed at least 25 diplomatic posts throughout the Middle East and Africa. The embassy in Amman, Jordan is closed but is set to reopen on Saturday, August 10th, along with many others in the Middle East. The embassy should be open by the time I arrive in Amman on August 22nd.

I appreciate prayers and well wishes during this uncertain time, for my safety, for the safety of other travelers, and for the safety of all the civilians who are just trying to live their normal lives despite the turbulence around them. Pray for peace and understanding.