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!

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

Eid Milaad Saeed!

Birthday cake number 1

A while back, Ina and I realized that we share a birthday- March 23rd (though 2 years apart). We immediately began teasing Judith about how she had to plan an epic birthday for us. And she did- even though she sadly was not able to actually be with us on our birthday due to a medical emergency (don't worry she's fine, she's back in Germany for a few weeks to get herself fixed and will hopefully return to us completely healed soon).

Showing off part of my present from Judith- curly hair products!

The celebration started Saturday evening. Ina and I (because of the awesome planning of Judith) baked our birthday cake, using Ina's Mother's carrot cake recipe. The next morning we greeted each other with happy birthday wishes, then went out for brunch. Afterwards we walked back to Ina's apartment, stopped to buy cookies, and decided to spend the afternoon on the roof, soaking up the sunshine. There we opened up our birthday presents, made use of the nail polish Judith gave us, and relaxed (gleefully interrupted by a friend who called us and insisted on singing "Happy Birthday" to us multiple times in both English and Arabic). After church that evening, Ina's host mother had us over to celebrate and eat the cake we made. I wrapped up the day with a call to my parents.

Surprise cake from the school.

On Monday, we shared the cookies we bought with the teachers and staff at school- then were surprised with another cake and small party by the headmistress and priest. The festivities are to be continued on Friday with the Reps who are taking us to Umm Qais (where Jordanians claim Christ drove the Legion from the man and sent it into a herd of pigs) for lunch.

I could not have asked for a better 23rd birthday. Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes, and I can't wait to open the presents that are currently in the mail from my parents and Aunt Cathy!

 

Eid Milaad Saeed = Happy Birthday (in Arabic)

Almost Half Way

I'm almost half way done with my SALT term. *insert cliche statements about how the time has flown* The following countdown is not very precise, but I thought it would be nice to show you all anyway!

Countdown:

12 days until the second semester of school starts
2 months (minus 1 day) until my birthday

3 months until Easter Vacation (and hopefully a visit from a friend!)

4 months until Retreat in Barcelona

5 months until the end of the school year

6 months until I'm back in the States

I guess I better start figuring out what I'm going to do after this year is over, huh?

A New Years Prayer

God, as I welcome in this new year, I think of all I have to be thankful for from this past one. I am thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful that I have a family that supports me in all I do, that loves me and trusts me. I am thankful for new memories with old friends, and the chance to make new ones. I am thankful for the opportunity to make friends with different life experiences from my own, and the chance to experience life together for a short while. I am thankful for the strength you gave me to get through the hard times, oh God. The strength to stay up all those hours writing my thesis, and to not let it drive me insane (well, any more than I already am). For the strength to keep going even when the future was uncertain and bleak. For the strength to say “see you later” to those I love. For strength when I've felt alone and lost in this new place and culture. And from the bottom of my heart I thank you God for the opportunity to see and experience all the new places that I have.

But, God, these opportunities make me also cry out to you. As we read of the angels proclaiming “peace on earth,” I cry out to you to make it true, oh God. I look around me, and at everything I've done and seen this past year, and I do not see this peace you have called for. I see young people shooting each other on the streets of Philadelphia and other cities across the US. I see children dying in school shootings. I see women and children being injured, killed, and mentally scared from abuse received in their homes. I see women being blamed for the fact that they were harassed, assaulted, and raped while the perpetrators suffer no consequences from their illegal and immoral actions. I see women and people of color struggling to make it in a world that is structurally biased against them. I see young Black and Latino men getting targeted by the police just for being young and of color. I see Middle Eastern and Arab men being consistently targeted by security officials, just for their race and heritage. I see children who are unable to go to school or play because of violence in their communities. I see children and adults being harmed by addiction and violence. I see women being forced into human trafficking and made to think that that is their rightful place. I see families having to flee their homes, their towns, and even their countries because of war and violence. I see children who will never know life without PTSD, and adults who will spend the rest of their lives dealing with it as well. I see people who don't feel safe in their own communities, because of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, or religion. I see people having to go through check point after check point with armed guards and intense questioning, just to get to the next town over or even to go pray at their place of worship. I see people being denied access to their ancestral homes that they still think of as their own. I see governments invading the space and the lives of others whom they promised to leave alone. I see countries spreading their power and influence for their own gain without any mind to the negative effects it brings. I see people dying needlessly, from war and lack of access to medical care or food or water in a world where violence is unnecessary and there is enough food and medicine that no one should be lacking. I see a world where people have lost the ability to imagine the end to violent conflicts and occupations.

God, I cry out for your peace. I cry out for a peace that does not simply end violence, but one that enacts justice and mercy, that erases all structural violence and allows for equity and equality for all, one that allows everyone to live life to the fullest. I cry out, oh God, for you to give us your eyes. For the ability for everyone to see those they deem the other as an equal human being deserving of love and respect. I know that this will not come easily. I beg of you to give your strength to everyone to work for peace and social justice, and not just charity. I pray for the strength for your people to move forward even when the future seems bleak and the world unchangeable. I pray that you remind us that you have already called for peace on earth, and that to work for anything else is an act against you and all of your creation. I pray that we humans stop condemning each other for our differences but love each other knowing that we are in no place to judge.

God, I pray that this new year will be a time of steps forwards towards true, positive, peace. I pray that you give me the strength to always put that first in my vision, and that you impress it on the hearts of others and give them the courage to take steps towards a radical vision of peace.

In your holy name, I pray. Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas from Jerusalem!!!

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.

Holiday Season Abroad

Judith and I with the Christmas Tree at Church

This holiday season marks my second holiday season abroad. The first time, I was in Belfast, Northern Ireland on my semester abroad.  For Thanksgiving weekend a friend who was studying in London flew over to visit. I didn't have class that day so just hung out for most the day, then we joined my classmates and Professors (a mix of Americans, Northern Irish, and Internationals) for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a wonderfully eclectic dinner on that rainy, cold evening. The whole city was decorated for Christmas by mid-November. I would wander the streets looking at the Christmas lights. I'd hang out outside of City Hall with a cup of tea just so I could look at how beautifully decorated it was. I attempted to not spend money at the Christmas market, which was one of my favorite places in the city.

This Holiday season is a bit different. Thanksgiving was a long, hectic school day. Afterwards, Judith, Ina (the German volunteers at AES), and I hopped on a bus to Amman, where we had dinner with the (Canadian) MCC Reps and another American friend of theirs. We spent the even chatting, with a large focus on cultural differences between the three nationalities represented as well as the one we are all living in. The next day Ina, Judith, and I explored the Roman Ampitheatre then headed back to Irbid. We spent the week leading up to, and after Thanksgiving, making handmade Christmas cards for the school. Slowly over the past few weeks, Christmas decorations have started popping up in a few store windows, especially in Husn which has a relatively high Christian population. Last Friday, Ina and I helped the Headmistress and Pastor's children start decorating their apartment by putting together their tree and getting out the decorations. Last night, the Church in Irbid had it's first Christmas event- the decorative lights were turned on and the children's chorus (lead by the talented Judith) performed.

The Christmas traditions here feel a little different than back home, or in Northern Ireland. There is still lots of Santa, and trees, and lights and ornaments. The children sing Christmas Carols about sleigh rides, and snow, and other things that make me wonder if they even understand what they're singing. But, they're mixed in with palm leaves and sand and other things that feel more locally appropriate.

The biggest difference between this holiday season is that I know that I'm not going home. This will be the first year that I won't be at my parents' house for Christmas, waking my sister up earlier than she wants to open presents, hanging out in pjs with my cousins, and avoiding kitchen so that I don't have to help my mom with dinner. I'm going to miss it terribly, I know. But, I also know that I have some absolutely amazing Christmas plans in the works, something that I few people ever get the chance to experience. I'm not going to talk about it just yet, because things are not set in stone. But for now, just know that I will not be sulking alone on Christmas, dear reader.