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.

My Work at the Arab Episcopal School

The school is 4 stories tall and the property takes up about half of the city block. Like all of the buildings in the city, and most of the country, the school house is made of  white concrete. A tall, white concrete wall fences in the property, separating it from the rest of the neighborhood. A driveway cuts from the front of the property to the back, with a large green sliding door on either end. There are two pedestrian entryways at the front of the property, both with large, heavy, green metal doors that automatically lock when closed. Upon entering the property, you stand in a courtyard, the building on your left and right and above your head. The concrete floor is covered in colorful paintings. The rafters in the ceiling above have phrases like "Home of Peace Education" on them. On the far side of the court yard is a black top with soccer goals posted on either end. To the left and right of that are two smaller buildings.The first is small and red, and is used as a meeting space; the other one is the Church, the sanctuary on the ground floor and a meeting hall and small kitchen are in the basement. The ground floor of the school is for the Kindergarten classes. Where in America we have Pre-K and Kindergarten, here both the age groups are called Kindergarten, KG1 and KG2 respectively. The second floor houses the office, a small kitchen, the teacher's lounge, and the 1st through 6th grades. On the third floor there are classrooms for the 7th, 8th, and 9th grade, a music room, a science lab, and a computer lab. The fourth floor is incomplete and off limits to students, the school is hoping to open it within the next few years as they expand to include a 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. There is only one class in each grade. Some, like the first grade, are large with about 30 students, others are small, like the 9th grade, as small with less than 15 students. The hallways all have bright yellow railings along the walls so that the blind students and teachers can navigate more easily. There are posters written in a mixture of languages: English Arabic and French, and the most important ones have a transparent plastic cover with the braille printed on it. This is the Arab Episcopal School (AES) in Irbid.

The rafters in the courtyard.

The school is fairly young, this year is it's 11th year, but it does huge amounts of work in this community. AES is one of the few schools for blind children in Jordan outside of Amman. These students are taught to read and write both Arabic and English braille. The school doesn't just work with blind and low vision students though, the school seeks to integrate these students with their sighted peers. This is done in the hopes of normalizing and de-stigmatizing disability. Though the school is Christian, the majority of students are Muslim, as are many of the teachers, and the school offers religion courses on both Islam and Christianity. The school hopes that it's graduates will be able to compete in the world job market, and thus teaches two compulsory foreign languages, English and French.

The third grade class.

I am humbled in many ways to be part of the team at this school. At the school, I sever several functions, though my official title is "Teacher Assistant", I personally think the best title for my job is "Resident Native English Speaker." I work with two English teachers, Miss Abeer for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes, and Miss Huda for the 7th grade, both of whom I hold in high regard . In the 1st grade class I mostly help with pronunciation and grading, so that the students can have immediate feed back. In the 2nd and 3rd grade English classes, I work specifically with the low vision students. I tell them what's written on the board and give them one-on-one attention to keep them from falling behind their peers. I also do this in the 7th grade, but on top of that I also work with the class on their conversational English, by leading conversation classes. On Thursday the classes are shortened to add a period at the end of the day for special activities. During this period, I am often asked to teach conversational English classes. I've discovered, from not well received classes based around role playing, that for most of these I'm probably going to play review games in order to help them practice their English. In addition to this work, I also assisted with the office's English correspondence. I write emails, assist the school newsletters, and will soon start writing the school's Christmas cards.

Some of the 7th graders.

The students are energetic and are truly interested in everything they learn. I'm not yet a month into my work at the school, but I'm already excited to see where these children go and to be part of their journey.

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.)

So the Transition Begins

Amman's skyline at sunset.

Adjusting to a new place is always rough, even moving to a new town. When you move to a new town you don't really know where things are, you aren't always sure of the best way to get around, you don't really know anyone, and you have to figure out how the community functions. Now, imagine doing that when you don't speak the language and are functionally illiterate. That's been my last week, and will probably be my life for most of the year. It'll be smoother at some points than others, but that's okay.

Caleb and I at the Roman Amphitheater.

My first week was more rough than I'd like to admit. Back home, I enjoy being independent, I love going places by myself or making plans with friends and going where ever I chose, especially in the evening. That's a little more difficult here for many reasons. One: I don't really know where anything is or how to get there. And it's really hot during the day so I try to avoid long walks during that time. Two: it's not all that common to see young, unmarried women out alone, so I feel like I awkwardly stand out. Three: I really do standout when I go places because I'm so obviously a Westerner. (I'm trying to get used to thinking of myself as White in this context, even though I would never identify myself that way.)

The Temple of Hercules.

Last Monday, I started taking Arabic lessons. I've had a lot of mixed feelings about them. While I'm in class I feel really stupid, and mildly defeated. Arabic's really hard, the structure is different and there are many sounds that we don't use in English, or at least that we don't distinguish as separate sounds. And I'm only taking it for 4 weeks (3 to go!) so I often feel like there's no point when I'm struggling to remember or pronounce words. But then I go out and I hear people talking and I can recognize words. Or like last night, I had a taxi driver who didn't speak English, and I was able to understand a little bit of what he was telling me about where we were and where we were going. In these moments, I feel encouraged. My struggles in class aren't in vain. I am learning something.

In the Umayyad governor's palace.

Arabic lessons have dominated my life for the past week. They take up the whole morning, and are exhausting. Afterwards, Caleb and I either head to the MCC office or back to Reps apartment, where we hang out, relax a bit, and study. My life can't be all work and no play though, so I have been trying to do fun things when I'm not studying. Before classes started, I had some time to get to know the city. The MCC Reps took Caleb and I to the Royal Automobile Museum last Friday. And on Saturday they introduced us to an American student, Clara, who is doing an internship and studying Arabic here in Amman. That day we walked around the hill she lives on, saw the old Roman Amphitheater, and hung out on Rainbow Street, which has a lot of cafes and is a popular hang out spot for young people and expats. Tuesday was a holiday for municipal elections (yes, after one day of class I had a day off!), so Caleb and I went to the Citadel. The Citadel is a historic site in Amman, with artifacts dating back to the Neolithic Period (which began around 10,200 BC and ended around 2,000 BC). The excavated architecture includes a Roman Temple of Hercules, a Byzantine Church, and early Islamic Mosque, and a Umayyad governor's palace. It is absolutely amazing to see. Caleb and I spent most of the day exploring the Citadel and taking pictures. While there we were, we ran into a group of young boys. The moment they saw my camera they asked me if I could take a picture of them, so I did! They looked at the picture after and were excited and went on their way. It seems that that's a thing here, the kids want you to take a picture of them because they like posing for pictures and the idea that you have a picture of them.

The concert we stumbled upon.

Thursday nights are the Jordanian equivalent to Friday nights in America, and the big thing that people do it just hang out. One popular spot to this is outside of the Abu Darwish Mosque. So Clara, Caleb, and I hung out there. We had ice cream and some sweets, and listened to a concert that we stumbled upon. I think the concert had something to do with a Islamic theology class that some boys just finished, but I'm not really sure. It was a great time. We attracted a lot of attention as a mix gender group of Westerners though. Some of the attention was from adorable little kids. There was a group of little girls who really wanted to talk to us, but were really nervous and didn't know much English. When they finally built up the courage they came over and told us hello, ran back giggling to who I think was their Dad. They came back and asked our names, and ran away giggling. They returned and told us their names, then ran back to their Dad. They asked where we were from, ran away, came over and told us they are Palestinian, and ran back. After that they had to leave so they came back one last time to tell us "Welcome to Jordan!" before heading home. Some of the attention is from random weird people. One guy was talking to Caleb for a long time, and slowly a circle of teenage boys joined the conversation, Clara and I were commenting that he had a fan club. When the original man left one of the boys told us, "He's crazy," so really they were just trying to save him. And some of the attention is from young men. There were several groups floating around us, who seemed to be trying to get the courage up to talk to us for most the night. It was all very fun though.

I'm excited to have more adventures this week, and my goal is to face the awkwardness and culture shock. I'm going to find a coffee shop to study at in the afternoons, and I want to try to go to the market at least once by myself. I'm trying not to retreat from the roughness of transitioning, and hopefully that will make it smoother in the end- especially when I move to Irbid where I really will be on my own.