Clean to Dirty to Possibly Clean

This morning I pulled the tag off of the shirt I was going to wear to work today, but by the end of the day, it was no longer in pristine condition. Coloring and drawing pictures can be quite a project, especially if you need to tell them what they need to be drawing or have the outline already drawn. It gets even more interesting when they completely color one piece of paper with one color and then fold it into a paper frog. Who knew that handling that type of paper would turn your fingers the same color as well as anything you touch? Storytime is usually better, unless they spilled on themselves during lunch and then climb on your lap. In which case, you end up with some leftover mulukhiyah, a somewhat slimy green sauce on rice, on your lap as well. The baby room is next on my schedule and so far I haven't had to change any diapers. It seems like every day, I'm asked to do more and more in there, which is very exciting, so chances are rather good that I'll change my fair share of diaper before the summer is over. However, as excited as I am for that prospect, I did have one 'first' today. One adorable baby decided to throw up on me. It's not the first time ever that has happened to me, but it is the first time this summer.

Shortly after cleaning up a bit, I headed home to throw in some laundry because since today is Wednesday, that also means it's water day! Washing clothes in Jordan is a much different experience than in the States. It's much more labor intensive, but it's still easier than washing the clothes by hand. After filling up the washing machine and letting it run for about five minutes, the clothes need to be wrung out and placed in a separate compartment to spin out. Then you drain all the water and put in clean rinse water. Let the machine run for another five minutes, wring the clothes out, put them in the spinner, and then hang them on the line to dry. It's not a difficult process, but it's more time intensive. And judging by the color of the water when the machine is done, who knows if the clothes actually get clean or if they sat in dirty water for too long. Yep, definitely grateful for washing machines that work!

Artist?

Since I am the great-granddaughter of Minerva Teichert, I have been asked many times if I was an artist as well.  My response has always been one of two things.  Either, "I can almost draw a stick figure."  Or, "No, but my brother is really good."  This time the question didn't come as a reflection on my heritage but because the director at the orphanage was trying to figure out where I would be the most help.  Now, I spend the day trying to pass myself off as an instructer in the arts.  In the mornings, I help in the crafts room helping kids learn how to fold a paper frog or simply watching them draw pictures of things ranging from flowers to future career options.  Later in the day, I attempt to teach piano using an extremely limited vocabulary.  For starters I didn't know what to call the notes.  A, B, C... is not part of their vocabulary.  So I tried alif, baa, taa... (the Arabic alphabet).  I'm pretty sure I only managed to confuse those poor kids.  Today I had a lightbulb moment when one kid starting singing do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.  So now I have names for the notes, but not enough words to convey what I want to or an attention span from one kid to actually get something across.  Oh well, if one kid can play one song by the end of the summer, that's success.

Cute Kids!

The youngest child in the orphange where I am working was born yesterday.  I had forgotten how small they could get!  I had thought that the babies I held today were small, but they are at least a month old.  But most of the day is spent with kids who can chatter all day.  I can sit and listen, but between their lisps and my limited vocabulary, I only catch a bit of what they are saying.  Sometimes I repeat some of the words I heard, but until I actually pronounce it right, they have no idea what I'm saying.  A prime example is the word for frog: Dufda'.  First I heard "tufdH" but judging from the confused looks I got back, that wasn't quite right.  Then I tried "DufdH" and that was close enough that some kids could tell what I was trying to say and correct me.  Thank goodness for kids who are willing to be brutally honest!  This picture is not of the kids that I work with in the orphanage, but they are just about as cute.  I ran into these cute kids at a town just outside of Amman called As-Salt.  Some fellow interns and I had just sat down on some stairs to catch some shade when these guys came out to meet us and offer us some of their green apricots.  Apparently that's the best way to eat apricots...  In return we took their picture.  What a trade!

=)

Happy Independence Day! Yesterday...

Sometime yesterday afternoon, I was given a free, small Jordanian flag and a red and white checked shouba or small koufieya, the national head dress. Shortly after that the “Truck Club” (mostly Dodges because even in Jordan, they know quality when they see it) revved on by. Nearly 20 trucks passed by waving the Jordanian flag. Right behind them was another parade of vehicles carrying flags and pictures of the king. Flags flew from every building and giant flags cascaded down the front of some of the bigger buildings in the area. Later that evening fireworks popped into the sky from several places in the city. I sat with a bird's eye view on a hill called Al-Ashrafiya where Annie, my facilitator, lives. We had just finished a delightful meal of falafel, bread and hummus. The area of town was quiet. Cars were driving on the streets beneath us, but they were too far away to be heard. But as the sun went down, the call to prayer went out. “Allah Akbar!” God is greatest! Echoes of the reminder to remember God rung out over the city as we finished our meal. Then the city grew still with the peace of night. What a wonderful day!

=)

Fun fact for the day:
The seven points on the star in the Jordanian flag represent the seven verses in the first chapter in the Qur'an as well as Arab unity.

I Think We're Speaking The Same Language...

I should probably learn how to speak Arabic. While I can carry on a decent conversation with many adults, children don't really know when to speak slowly and clearly for the American who doesn't know nearly as much Arabic. One sweet girl was kind enough to try and help me learn the basics today after asking me a question that I couldn't understand. First she held up one finger and slowly and loudly said, “Wahid.” Then she held my hand so that I also held up one finger and again said, “Wahid.” Some children speak so fast that I don't have time to figure out what they said before those words runs into the next ones they want to say. Other kids have lisps which definitely doesn't help me understand what they need me to do. But when you do understand them and talk with them, their eyes just light up! Smiles are contagious, but I think that's one epidemic the world could use more of. =) I spent the bulk of the day with children who were about six, but I also got to spend just over an hour in the first baby room. This room has the youngest babies and currently, the youngest ones (they are twins) are only one week old! They are asleep most of the time, but I did get to hold and feed one little girl. It's only a couple more days till I see them again and I'm super excited!

=)

In Sha' Allah

The past few days have been spent waiting for something to happen. Yesterday, it finally did. We were able to meet with someone at the Ministry! Each person in the internship received either a final assignment or a confirmation of the assignment they had previously been given. I am the lucky gal who gets to work in the King Hussein Society which is an orphanage for children from one day old to six years old. Basically I'm pretty stoked to be working with children. For one, children are usually brutally honest which will be very helpful in correcting my pronunciation of many words. For two, they won't be speaking English so I'll have to improve my Arabic skills. For three, children use a different vocabulary set so I'll learn so many new words. For four, those kids are pretty dang cute! I don't know exactly what I'll be doing, but (in sha' Allah, if God wills) I'll find out tomorrow morning and then get to work!

=)

Connections

Art is something that I was literally surrounded by growing up. Scenes of what is now the bottom of the American Falls reservoir circle my living room, but the mural of Lehi and his family in the desert seems to be the main focus of the room. That painting is now a copy and is slightly smaller than the original, but I still remember so many details of that painting from looking at it every day, year after year. Detail number one: Sariah is handing a baby to Lehi. Family is also a bit part of Arab society today. I'm starting to see just how many things are done using the family as the central unit. In many cases, it's impossible to do things if you don't have a family. This is especially true in the case of women and children. Detail number two: The two younger sons, presumably Jacob and Joseph, are filling containers with water to carry with them. I definitely have a greater appreciation for water since coming to the Middle East. You'd have thought that I would realize how precious a commodity water is since I grew up on a ranch where we get 10 inches of water per year, but I'm starting to realize that I still don't quite get it. Here, even having a reservoir is pointless because the ground would completely soak up the water before you could use it. So in order to grow things, water is stored in tanks near the agricultural areas. Water is also rationed out and the water tanks in every apartment are only filled once a week. I'm also gaining an appreciation for clean water straight from the tap. Granted the store isn't too far away, but carrying those water jugs home can still be a bit of a workout. It's also pretty awesome to take a nice drink of water in the middle of the day. This usually comes from a water bottle you've carried around all day. The water is warm, but it's wet and that's the most important part. Detail number three: meat is draped over the camels backs. My mom has always said that it was so they could jerky the meat as they traveled. I always thought that sounded about right, but now I can say that the sun definitely gets hot enough to jerky that meat.

 

=)

Food Glorious Food!

All I have done the last two days is eat food...almost. It just keeps coming! Roommate dinner started the ball rolling with some sort of concoction from whatever we had in the closets and fridge. And even though that wasn't all that bad, in fact it was pretty good, dessert was much better. My roommate Emily had seen an ad for a Sweets Expo that night in the Royal Hyatt hotel. We really had no idea what exactly would be there, how much it would cost or even if we would be able to get in.  But get in we did. And not only did we get in, but we got a discount and a roomful of just about every dessert you can think of and some you probably can't. Venders had booths with items from waribat to ice cream to gum with small samples or bigger platters which you could buy.  The picture is my roommate  Emily and I at the Sweet ExpoToday started a bit slow as far as food goes because I was late to church, but a member of the branch was having a birthday party right after church. The meal didn't start till two when the women carried out three foot platters filled with matlube, barbecued chicken, and several other Arab and Filipino dishes that I couldn't quite identify. My plate was heaping after taking only a small portion of some of the items. But lunch didn't stop there... Three different desserts followed: cake, some type of awesome fruit salad, and halo-halo. After the party wrapped up, all of the people in my internship got together to barbecue kababs with waribat for dessert. Delicious! I love Arab hospitality! And can I say that it's a dang good thing I went running the other day...

=)

Roman Ruins

I don't know what my sister did today, but I looked at Roman ruins. Amman is a city with a great deal of history. People have lived here since the neolithic age, through the stone and bronze age till today. In fact, Amman was originally named after the Ammonites who lived here. For those of you who think that name is familiar check out 2 Samuel 11. Another cool fact about that particular scripture is that Uriah the Hittite is actually believed to have been fighting on the hill where these Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic ruins stand. This hill, called the citadel, holds an Islamic palace, ruins from the temple of Hercules (picture) and a museum that holds artifacts that range from marble statues of men to pottery fragments to coffins. Amman even holds a Roman amphitheater which I have yet to visit. However, this evening I sat outside an art exhibit that was built on top of other Roman ruins and listened to the beat of Arab music. I didn't catch all the words, but the area was alive with the music of the live band who sang a tribute to all Arab nations.

=)

Traffic...

It turns out I'm learning two languages while I'm in Jordan. Arabic, of course, as well as the art of horn honking. Crash course for beginners includes the honk that means “you are in the way” the honk that means “you better get out of the way” and the honk that means “do you want a ride?” Arabs have mastered this art, and I took the crash course while jaywalking – another thing they have mastered. Crossing four-lane traffic can be a bit disconcerting, but it beats waiting for the walk signal once you get a hang of it. Rules for proper jaywalking include:

Just do it!
Ain't no need to worry 'cause cars ain't gonna hit ya =)
You can do it.
Watch where the vehicles are coming from.
Analyze car flow.
Listen for honking.
Keep going.
Intensity
Never look back.
Go for it!

However, please keep in mind that the first rule is really the only one that matters.

Traffic in Jordan is a very interesting thing. From a bystanders perspective, the busy street is filled with screeching tires, honking horns, and many cars who don't seem to know which lane they are in. In reality, the lanes are rather interchangeable. In many places, lines aren't painted on the roads. In other places where they are, the lines are simply disregarded. The general rule seems to be: If the car fits, use it. A single lane road can suddenly fit two cars. Parking is another interesting thing. Cars line the curbs and at times, if there isn't room on the curb, the car sits in the middle of the road. I don't know how common this is, but I have seen running cars sitting in the middle of the road, with no one inside, and the car was running.........

=)

Day One - Check!

Day one in Amman, Jordan... Check! The day has just flown by. However it didn't start until 2 pm today. In my defense, I had only gotten 6 or so hours of sleep in 48 hours prior to that. I started the day eating shamaam, a fruit that is similar to cantaloupe, but is white and has a slightly different texture. Then I walked to a local shop to buy other food including hummus, pita bread, potatoes, and yogurt. After unpacking, my roommates and I walked for about 20 minutes to get to the guy's apartment and on the way back to our apartment, we hailed a taxi. I didn't actually call for the taxi, but I spoke to the cab driver – in Arabic. So I consider that to be the first taxi I've ever gotten for myself. Already learning new things!

=)

One Day At A Time

ONE DAY AT A TIME

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry.  Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.  One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its ashes and pains.  Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.  All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.  We cannot undo a single act we performed.  We cannot erase a single word said.  Yesterday is gone!

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is beyond our immediate control.  Tomorrow’s sun will rise, whether in splendor or behind a mask of clouds.  But it will rise.  Until it does we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn.

This leaves only one day … today.  Any man can fight the battles of one day.  It is when you and I add the burdens of two awful enemies – yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down.

It is not necessarily the experience of today that disturbs one’s peace of mind.  It is often the bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.  Let us therefore live one day at a time.

~Coach Bacevich