Unexpected Friendship - Em

Once again, I was blown away by friendliness in Jordan. But this time, instead of Jordanian hospitality, I experienced something I didn't know existed... instant friendship between an American and Iraqi's. I recently had the opportunity to travel with Tine on some field research. We went to the CARE building to visit a camp for Iraqi refugee children. I learned so much that day about a group of people that I hadn't even realized were living in Jordan. As we neared the building, I had all sorts of thoughts going through my mind. "How were these people going to react to me, an American?" As soon as we walked through the door, my question was answered: they were going to treat me like a sister and a friend. As we started our tour of the building, we soon found ourselves in the kitchen, where they give the kids classes on cooking. We were met by a room full of women who were making an African dish. As we entered the room, they quickly focused all their attention on Tine, excitedly telling her about what they were making and asking her all kinds of questions. Before we knew it, they were cutting up a beautiful cake for us, that looked like it had somewhere important to go. We continued our tour, seeing the different rooms and the various activities for the children. As we entered the computer room, we were greeted with the biggest smile from the teacher. I later found out she's one of the nicest people I've ever met, as we sat together listening to the music teacher play Hotel California on the keyboard. He was also one of the friendliest people I've met. He played me some other songs, and told me sometime he will find me a violin and we can play a duet together. He was a professor in Iraq for something like Nuclear Science, but since he is not allowed to work in Jordan, he volunteers as the music teacher. We also got to visit the daycare section, which I'm pretty sure made Tine's day, as she got to play with a chubby baby :) After our tour we spent a lot of our time interviewing some workers about the many struggles the Iraqi refugees have to deal with. I never thought about the fact that there are Iraqi refugees, let alone all the struggles they face. I found this day to be one of the most memorable since coming to Jordan. I learned so much about people I previously knew so little about. What touched me the most was the way they instantly opened their hearts to me, regardless of nationality, making me feel like family.

It's Slipping Away...Tine

Dear reader, it is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our tenure here. My good friend Zach began a countdown 2 weeks ago (needless to say none of us were amused so he has had to put that on the back burner for a while). Still, all 5 of us are painfully cognizant that in slightly more than 3 months, we will be bidding farewell to this incredible land, a land that resonates strong and deep within each and every one of us. This realization has put me into a pensive mood. This is not meant to be an epilogue (far from it), and to the extent that it stands as such, I beg apologies. However, during the past few weeks, I have begun to critically assess the time I have spent here and chart a game plan for the time remaining. It is not an easy thing to do. Introspection is always bitter sweet. We savor the triumphs and lament the failures. And yet I have found that it is precisely in failure that the tenacious drive to triumph makes its reluctant debut. Almost instinctively, I find myself asking that intellectually dishonest question “just where did the time go? (Even though I know full well exactly where it went, it still seems like an appropriate question to ask). Seems strange that in the beginning, time could not move any slower, but now it can’t move any quicker. Sometimes I picture myself on the periphery of time, chasing her relentlessly. The harder I run, the more elusive she becomes. If only I could grasp her in my hand, and ask her to linger, you know, just a little while longer. Even our pictures from our first few weeks in Jordan seem old. Man, am I aging? I can’t be…well, maybe.


The growth curve has been steep, but rewarding none the less. We have learned so much about ourselves. We have challenged ourselves. We have schooled ourselves. We have traversed a great many historical sites. We have toured the impermanent landscapes of this breathtaking region. We have walked where Jesus walked. We have seen the magnificent view atop Mt. Nebo where Moses died and was buried. We have traveled far a-field to wildly gorgeous and exotic lands. We have immersed ourselves in a culture we greatly esteem. We have engaged with a people we have grown to love and admire. We have been goofy, we have been profound. We have advanced, and we have regressed. We have laughed hard (I think I laugh the hardest of all in the group), and yes, we have cried. We have been confused, only to suddenly have an onslaught of remarkable clarity. Joy/sorrow, vigor/lethargy, hope/despair--all these paradigms have been ours to bear. Experience has been our faithful (but oftentimes unsympathetic) instructor. It is my humble opinion that in these 7 short months, we have had an experience worth two life-times.

A few highlights just from the past month; I rode a donkey (800 steps) up to the monastery in Petra-what an exhilarating and terrifying experience; we adopted a puppy (albeit for 15 minutes before his true owner reclaimed him), we named him Samson Vansmanda (VanAusdle, Smith, Banda… you get it right??). I discovered him up on our roof where he had used my favorite jeans as a cushion, plate, and…water closet!; Mr. Register visited us for a week from Cincinnati, Ohio; I tried a Saudi Arabian dish “Kabsah”, wonderful; Our apartment hit 67 degrees (dear reader, this may seem to be an insignificant fact but when you note that the temperature has fluctuated from a low of 42 to a high of 57 over the last 3 months, you kind of understand why this is a highlight ) .We took an incredible excursion to Jerash (read Lena’s blog on this amazing experience); It snowed!!!!

As I stare at the clock, I am consumed with a renewed determination to make the last weeks the best yet. I have been trying to organize my pictures chronologically, and have made a mediocre attempt at that in this post. The pics are arranged in descending order, with the last picture taken a day after our arrival in Jordan. Enjoy…

Words and Pictures -- Lena

We’ve all heard the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”, and it’s true. Rarely does a writer come along that can aptly put to words what a picture can say. Even more rare though is a photographer that can capture the emotions evoked by a breathtaking vista.

I’m neither that good of a writer, nor nearly that good of a photographer, but perhaps, with both I can paint the picture of our day in Jerash and Ajloun.



Perhaps I can help you to see the vibrant new wildflowers growing at the feet of ancient olive and pine trees, all laid out like a quilt on the valley floor below,




or the hundred or so bleating sheep making their way home in the golden afternoon light, stopping along the way to munch on the tender grasses of early spring.















Perhaps I can capture the eerie cool twilight of the ancient Roman tunnels blocking out the warmth and the sun of the early afternoon.



Perhaps you will be able to feel the joy of treading down colonnaded streets as your mind conjures the generations of feet that trod those same stones. I wish I could convey the wonder of the hollow stones that ring out a melancholy note when struck by another rock,



or put in a bottle the buzzing of hundreds of honey bees pollinating the multi-hued wild flowers, performing their duty in life.



There is something priceless in seeing the wonder in each others eyes as we look out over the vista that is regally displayed, seemingly just for us. The cool breeze made even cooler by the passing clouds blotting out the warmth of the weak early spring sun. These are moments that I want to be able to convey to others, to feel as we have on this, one of many, adventures we have set out upon, but more importantly I want to have just the right words to remind myself of this day, of this time, of this year, God has so blessed us to experience. I wish I could fold up this vista, along with its emotions and place it in a pocket close to my heart, to be pulled out, unfolded and smoothed out, as pristine as the day it was captured. I’m sure that scene would become frayed at the edges from use, just as my memory will become dim and fuzzy.

Friends in High Places --- Lewis

Recently, the Jordan 5 had a visitor from back home. Mr. Register came all the way from Ohio to see how we were doing on our project. He met with a few important people and was kind enough to take us out to eat a couple of times. We did our best to show him a bit of the Jordan hospitality that we have learned. But that's not what this blog entry is about. We'll get into that in a bit.

We decided that we should show Mr. Register around at least some of Jordan in the time he had. We took him downtown and showed him around, but we found out he had already been there and seen that. We took him to the Citadel, but he had seen that too! He had been to Bethany and to a few other places, but where else could we take him that could be seen in a day (that was the limit of our traveling time)? He hadn't seen Petra before! But could that trip be done in only one day? Everyone says you need at least a week. When we had gone, we only spent one day in Petra. So in theory, if you could get there early, you could see at least most of the Rose Red City in just one day. If only we could get someone to take us down on such short notice and only charge us a small fee for each person...hmmm...Oh wait! Zach read somewhere about a bus that could take us there in the morning and that would take us back home the same day and that wouldn't cost very much! It was true! Petra could now be seen in just one day. We took that opportunity to take our guest adventuring for a day and to show him the amazing sites we had beheld with our own eyes. But that's still not what this blog entry is about.



This entry is about one of the best days ever! I'm not going to say that it was the best day of my life. I've had several of those that nothing else can really compare to in this life. I was baptized and even got married and both those events take the big cake for best days ever. So what does taking a second trip to Petra have to do with best days ever? Well, I'll tell you. For a long time now, I've thought it would be great to have a pet donkey (or at least a mule). Personally I think they are the cutest animals alive. I don't have much experience with donkeys or horses or mules so I don't actually know what I would do if I had one, and who knows when I'll ever be living in the right place or have the money or time for a donkey. But for one half hour in Petra I had a pet donkey of my very own! How cool is that?!

You see, the six of us decided we wanted to stop and have lunch while hiking around. We hadn't yet made the huge hike up to the Monastery and needed to make sure we fueled up before then. We had to find just the right spot. we hiked up a little onto the side of a hill behind Bedouin vendors trying to sell us necklaces and knives and sat down on a huge boulder overlooking the valley right next to a cave that contained a donkey too busy with a feedbag to even notice us. Luckily, a few minutes after settling down on the boulder, a lone donkey came over to us. No saddle, no bit or ropes. Not even a feedbag or a small child to lead her on. She was all by herself and seemed to be friendly and hungry. She had smelled our food and got curious. Of course, this being one of the best moments of my life and an opportunity that I couldn't miss, I pet the donkey and invited her over for lunch! How cool is that?!



Lena thought I should name the donkey (which at the time we assumed was a boy but I think she was a girl) and so I had to choose an Arabic name. I chose Sami. It just seemed like a good idea at the time, although not a particularly Arabic sounding name. Sami and I shared a peanut butter sandwich, some orange peels, a banana, and a few ear scratches. I was her new best friend and she was mine, at least until we were finished with our lunch and had to move on. I bet she would have followed us if she could have. As we walked off, Sami got stuck behind the pedestrian traffic and we moved on to the long and treacherous hike ahead of us past all the vendors and on up to the Monastery.

She was only my pet donkey for a half hour out of a whole lifetime, but I'll always remember her and think of the time we had lunch together. Thanks, Sami, for all the memories.

Work = Fun and Games --- Lewis

I teach Design Technology at the Amman Baccalaureate School. It can, at times, be a very exciting job. I get the chance to teach kids how to design stuff, how to draw in perspective and, hopefully, look at the world around them in a different way. I like to get my students to think about how things are made and how they work. Someday my group of 6th graders will be professional designers and architects. That's the general idea. Currently I am teaching my group about mechanical systems. We got the chance to visit a local children's museum. I know I had a good time and in the process I got the chance to teach my students a thing or two. Here's the write-up I did after the trip to the museum. I hope you enjoy reading about my latest teaching adventure!

The morning of Wednesday, February 11th was a very exciting morning for the Grade 6 students. Currently, in their Technology class, Grade 6 is learning about Mechanical Systems. To help the classroom lessons come alive, the students took a trip to The Children’s Museum of Jordan located near Al Hussein Park in Amman. There were plenty of exciting exhibits for the students to, not only look at, but actually get involved with; to touch, to learn, to inquire about.

Some of the exhibits at the museum included The Energy Lab, Up and Away, The Human Body, Communications, Robotics, The Ancient Times, and Express Yourself. One particular exhibit that was of special interest to the students was the Mechanisms exhibit which showcased examples of the very reason for the exhibit, Mechanical Systems. By the end of the trip the students were able to identify seven different simple machines (Gear, Pulley, Lever, Inclined Plane, Screw, Wheel and Axle, Wedge), which make up mechanical systems. The students were also able to identify four different types of motion used by these simple machines (Rotary, Oscillating, Reciprocating, Linear). With their newly acquired expertise in Mechanical Systems, the Grade 6 students will have no difficulty working on their future technology projects because “Mechanical Systems make our every day life easier!”

My favorite part of the day - Zach

Like Lena said in the last blog, we do have fun being here in Jordan. Lately it has been really evident to me, and I think to all of us, what a blessing it is to be here. After 6 months, we are settled in and feeling pretty comfortable with our surroundings and our duties. We still face challenges, like how to get a class full of middle school boys to be quiet and listen for longer than 10 seconds, which can be frustrating at times. But overall, my experience here in Jordan thus far has been a great one. Some days are better than others, but the last few days have been encouraging ones. Classes have been going fairly smoothly and I am enjoying the chance to interact with the students on a more personal level during breaks and when I am co-teaching. One of my favorite parts of the day is when I walk up the stairs to catch the bus. All of the students are pouring out of the buildings, trying to make their way down the stairs to practices or to catch a ride. This is my favorite part of the day because I get more greetings and high fives in this five minutes than in the rest of the day combined, and when Emily comes to school with me, I get even more hello's. Emily and Lena come to ABS every Wednesday to have our Arabic lesson after school, so on Wednesdays I always have even more students wanting to say hello just so they can talk to my wife. Talking to the junior school kids during their break is always fun too. I practice my Arabic on them, and they usually laugh and try to teach me how to say things properly. I think I've learned more vocabulary from the 3rd grade students than anyone else, because I trust them a little more to tell me what things really mean. Teaching is challenging at times; it's definitely not an easy job like some people may think. But I think my ideal job would be Student Greeter. I could say hi to all the students, talk to them, get to know them, and not have to do the frustrating parts like trying to get them quiet and disciplining them. If there was such a position, I think that would be my dream job. Until then though, this will do.

And there is joy...-- Lena

I have noticed, as of late, that our blog has had a melancholy note to them. I thought today would be a great day to rectify this situation, because we are not a particularly melancholic group. In fact, I would say that we verge on the side of silly. So I thought today would be a good day to relate some of our more silly stories. First there was our attempt at exercise. Now some of us do better than others when it comes to moving around, however, one day (one that will go down in infamy) we decided to exercise together, our form of exercise was to turn ABBA up as loud as we could and dance around like a bunch of idiots. It was fantastic and, lucky for us, Zach decided it would be a good idea to video our endeavors. If you are a member of facebook you can see the video here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=58174207958&subj=501191784

Another incident, which we don't have video proof of is our joke evening. It was after one of our group meals, and we were sitting around telling jokes. Zach decided to tell a fairly corny joke, with the best results. The joke goes: A duck walks into a hardware store and says, "Got any Gwapes?" The guy behind the counter replies, "Of course not, we're a hardware store." So the duck leaves, the next day the duck walks into the same hardware store and asks, "Got any Gwapes?" The guy behind the counter says, "I already told you we don't have any grapes, now get out of here." Third day the duck walks into the hardware store, and the guy behind the counter says, "Listen buddy, we don't have any grapes, if you ask me one more time I'm going staple your bill shut." So the duck asks, "Got any staples?" The guy behind the counter answers, "no." so the duck replies, "Got any gwapes?" This is the point at which Tine loses her mind laughing, which in turn causes all of us to do the same...I'm pretty sure we laughed uncontrollably for 15 minutes.

Now this last tale I will tell wasn't very funny at the time, but looking back on it, it's pretty funny. I would like to believe I'm much braver than I really am. In fact I'm pretty much a sissy when it comes down to it. On our trip to Petra we stayed in the little village just outside of Petra called Wadi Musa (which you have seen videos of, or read our blog about). On our first day there we decided to take a little hike, which started out pleasant enough, and we even did a little climbing. Towards the end of our day Zach decided to follow the goats up to the top of the little mountain we were on. Of course we all wanted to go. So up we went. The trouble was we couldn't really get back down the way we came. The rocks had come loose so that trail was pretty unstable. If you could have seen the state I was in. I was scared and angry. I was pretty sure we were either going to die trying to get down, or be stuck on the mountain and die there... (the goats got down, I'm not entirely sure why I didn't think we could). The sure footed Zach led Emily and Tine to safety one at a time by the most direct route, straight down. I'm pretty sure he slid down most of the way on loose rocks, while Emily and Tine scooted their way down on their butts. I, on the other hand, was having none of that, I made Lewis take me a round about way. It took twice as long to get down as it did to get up, but we made it safely, and without a scratch. Tine and I said we would never do anything like that again....Until, of course, the next day when we went to Petra and I just HAD to climb to the opening of the lions den. Its never the going up that gets you, its the getting back down.
We live in some somber times, it seems like everywhere you look there is more bad news. It can, and is, and should be sobering. There is no way to look around at the suffering in the world and not be affected by it. I'm a firm believer that God didn't place us on this earth to be miserable. We may go through tough times, but there should ALWAYS be joy. We've been blessed with lots of joy here in Amman. Whether it be seemingly harrowing situations that turn out just fine, inane conversations around the dinner table, acting like goofballs, or visiting chubby babies at the Creche (day Care), we have joy. I can only hope that our wonderful blog followers are enjoying the simple things as well.

"Amal Means Hope" -Em

I signed into Blogger, with a mission in mind. I had decided to write a blog about names. Much to my surprise as the Blogger page loaded, I was not alone in my endeavor. Another "blog artist" (of whose blog we follow) had created a blog entitled "Power of a name". Although I only know that this person knows someone I know, I somehow feel connected through a common idea. My thoughts on the subject are not quite as profound, but I thought I should share something I have noticed about names upon coming to Jordan.

Ever since we came to this lovely country, we have been meeting and getting to know different people. Since my first day in the weaving class at the YMWA, people have been telling me the meaning of names. One of the teachers in weaving is named Amal - I don't know how to spell it in English, but she told me it means "hope". Heba means "gift from God". Sajidah - "one who prays". Someone once asked, "What does your name mean?" My answer? I had no idea. In fact, I couldn't tell you what any of my family members' names mean. I'm pretty sure I was named after Emily Dickenson, but that's all I really know. So I looked it up online and found out that my name means "laborious" and "rival". Which translates into - difficult, painstaking, enemy, competitor, adversary... the list goes on. Needless to say, I'm not very excited to tell everyone I meet the meaning of my name. Now, it is true that one of my students calls me enemy, but surely she doesn't mean it... does she? Anyways... Hopefully I can overrule these attributes by the way I live and the way I treat other people. In fact, we are actually told in the book of Revelation that one day we will receive a new name, that God will actually write His name on those who overcome! So despite those seemingly unpleasant descriptors of the name Emily... there is hope! And hope is what keeps me going! With all of the death and destruction going on so close to us here in Jordan, it is easy for me to get depressed... but as I learned in the research of my name, there is hope! Someday we will all have a new name and a new nature. No more "enemies", no more war, and definitely no more death! So, even though "Emily" doesn't exactly mean what I want it to, whenever I think about names, I'll think about hope. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."(Revelation 21:4)

The same old story--Lena

Despite the distance between us and the fighting in Gaza it seems to be never far from our minds. I believe that despite what politicians would have us believe the world isn't all that complicated. In fact, looking around at the conflicts in the world today (Israel and Gaza included) I'm reminded of my little sister and I when we were growing up. You see, despite being pretty good friends as children we fought. We fought a lot. In fact anyone who knew us from about age 2 to about 20 knew about our fights. We were notorious. First I would like to say that despite the narrative you are about to read my sister and I love each other very much. My sister is all grown up and a good wife to a good husband (Neil), and an amazing mother to two of my adorable nephews (Riley and Blake).

I can honestly say that I don't remember what most, if any, of our fights were about. Sometimes it was our rooms, sometimes clothes, sometimes cleaning, and sometimes, seemingly, about nothing. Like the fighting in Gaza, the reason doesn't seem to matter all that much. Many of our fights would culminate in both of us grabbing huge handfuls of hair and pulling with all of our might. Eventually we would end up with our heads practically touching the floor yelling, "YOU LET GO!" "NO YOU LET GO!" Eventually we would tire out and decide to let go at the same time. We usually had several false starts where we would count to 3 and one or both of us wouldn't let go. When we finally did release each other, it was never without casualties...we would both have huge chunks of hair left in our clenched fists. Just like neighboring countries, we didn't trust each other to do the right thing, and apparently justly so. Both of us would have had our reasons for doing what we did, and feel totally justified in doing it no matter how much it hurt(again, just like our neighboring countries), neither of us willing to say we were wrong. After awhile both of us started losing feeling in our scalps and the loss of hair became commonplace, the same way people can become desensitized to the mounting death toll around them. Thankfully my sister and I have grown up, and an even bigger blessing gained God's Holy Spirit. We don't always agree, but the hairs on our head can go on to live long lives these days. God willing, Christ will return soon and the people on earth can gain peace like the hairs on our heads.

Just Next Door -- Zach

Our neighbors have been on the news all over the world lately. Not our next door neighbors here in Amman, but our neighboring peoples, Israel and Gaza. Attacks on Gaza from Israel have been going on for about 12 days now, and it seems like it is the only thing on the news & on people's minds, not only here, but across the globe. We are less than 100 miles from Gaza & less than 50 miles from Jerusalem. We live among Palestinians who are not happy with what is going on; some even have relatives living in Gaza. Naturally, since we are living in this part of the world, people keep asking us what is going on here. "Is it affecting you?" Well, it is definitely affecting people we interact with every day. It is affecting the world. From what I hear from home, it is just as much in the news and on people's minds there as here. Everyone seems to want the same thing...peace. Everyone wants peace, but ironically, people look to war to force others into peace. The world is seeking something they cannot obtain on their own. Hopefully the hundreds of deaths & the fighting in Gaza will come to an end soon, but will there really be peace? Not yet. True peace will not come to be until God intervenes and brings peace to this unpeaceful world. So is it affecting us? Yes. Maybe not in the form of rockets blazing overhead or hostility from locals, but we do see people mourning for their families. We see students bringing in money to school to donate for humanitarian needs in Gaza. We see people wearing green, sometimes with painted faces and Palestinian flags wrapped around them. But most of all we see the need for true peace on the earth. The fighting just next door is affecting us, if in no other way, by showing us even more clearly that we need something better. We need peace, but we can't do it on our own.

Cabin Fever --- Lewis

"Cabin fever" according to Wikipedia, "is an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in, for an extended period. Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, forgetfulness, laughter, and excessive sleeping."

Being from Western Washington I know what it is like to get out of the house on a rainy day and go adventuring through the woods or to the park, or even down the street to a local coffee shop. But being here in Amman things aren't quite the same. Although it's not as cold here as it gets just yet, it feels so much colder because our floors are made of marble and we haven't bought diesel to turn on our central heating (which we are told isn't that effective in the first place). So we sit around inside all day huddled in close proximity to our little electric heaters, but not so close as to burn our blankets we have wrapped tightly around ourselves nor our new slippers which have rubber soles. Sometimes I run over to the window and open the blinds long enough to soak in a little sunshine as the sun is setting at the perfect angle to be directed inside with us. It's really only about 50F here right now, but all of us wish it were a little warmer.

We are used to getting up early and heading off to work where the heaters are run all day and we are, most of the time, running around after our students (all except Tine who is currently in the warmth and comfort that is Zambia) so we manage to keep quite warm. Zach and I, however, are currently on Winter Break which gives us quite a bit of extra time. We have time to do all kinds of things like catch up on our Bible study, read a few new novels from the ABS library, watch television (which gets old after a while), or perhaps venture out into the city in pursuit of some adventure. Oh wait, it's cold outside so the last option is a little iffy. Actually, for two days straight it rained, including one day and night that was rather blustery. The two of us braved the elements that day for a few hours on a search for some falafel sandwiches. The wind was blowing harshly that afternoon and, if not for Zach, I surely would have been blown into oncoming traffic as we crossed the street and then I would never have met Jimmy.

Jimmy is the owner of new neighborhood falafel shop. I say new because we only this week discovered it existed. Jimmy, whose Arabic name is actually Jamal, moved back to Jordan from the US about five years earlier. He had lived there as a cook for about ten years. Currently he has (if I remember correctly) two children in attendance at various universities in the states. The crazy part of this story is, as it turns out, not merely the fact that Jimmy lived in Ohio but the fact that he lived in the same town that Zach and Emily had lived in. What a small world? How odd is it that we had to travel all the way to Amman to meet one of our neighbors (well potentially they were neighbors depending on time and exact location of course)? We left Jimmy with smiling faces because we had met and friend AND because Jimmy had given us free falafel sandwiches because we were his neighbors both in Ohio and, since we live so close to his shop, here in Amman.

Zach and I continued on our journey down to a local "library," the local name for a shop that sells paper goods and various writing utensils as well as all kinds of other odds and ends, but doesn't lend books. We managed to pick up some ink pens and some yarn for our wives as well as a new USB storage device for myself (I was excited that I got it so cheap and Zach pondered buying one for himself).
We returned home safely and only slightly damp, as it wasn't raining by the time we had made it out the door. This whole ordeal took us no more than a couple of hours. If it were a sunny day when we awoke that morning, we had planned a hike to a nearby neighborhood to scope out some old architecture and to discover a little more about our surroundings.

It's amazing how little one can get done when there is "nothing" to do. The rest of the day, at least for me, was very unproductive and when the wife got home she wasn't that pleased with the falafel sandwiches, although she always fancies a new pen or two (she likes to write). It's not that I had intended on doing nothing and sitting around all day. It's just that the weather had thwarted our plans and us guys aren't too keen on coming up with stuff to do on our own. We actually get quite bored at home alone without the wives. Who would have thought that we had become so boring?

To continue the definition that I lead into this blog post with (again according to Wikipedia, as to give credit to a more credible source than myself), "The word" still referring to Cabin Fever, "is also used humorously to indicate simple boredom from being home alone." As it turns out, Zach and I (or at least myself) have suffered slightly from the effects of Cabin Fever. Our condition could get worse here in the near future (actually starting tomorrow) because we are still on break from work but our wives are still going to be working. Soon enough the monotony of the daily lack of routine will be over and we will be back at school, warm and cozy running after crazed youngsters who we only want to help, all the while keeping up with paper work and grades and wishing to be back on break again.

Emily and Lena will soon enough have their own taste of Cabin Fever. They go on break the day we go back to work.

***PS - To show you how boring I knew this break had potential to be, and to add to the vicious effects of Cabin Fever, I decided to schedule an exam for myself during the early part of my break. I came home from work on Monday and the very next day I took a cab to a different part of town and proceeded to take the GRE (GRE stands for Graduate Record Examination). It's basically an entrance exam for graduate school. I painstakingly studied away many nights in preparation for this exam, and by "painstakingly studied away many nights" I mean I studied a couple of times and took a few different practice exams. There are three parts to the general GRE exam (the version of the GRE that I took): (1)the verbal reasoning section, (2)the quantitative reasoning section, and (3)the analytical writing section. The writing section has to be read by an actual person to be scored so I don't know the conclusion of that area. Although I can't say that I am a brilliant essay writer I once got an A+ on a paper in high school that was basically an essay about nothing, according to my teacher, but he loved it. On the practice tests I took I was averaging above 500 (out of 800) points on the verbal reasoning section which is only slightly above average. On the actual exam I scored a measly 400 points. I give credit for that low score to the fact that I don't read a whole lot. In the quantitative reasoning section (basically a math section) I was averaging above 600 (again out of 800) points which was again only slightly above average, except for engineering students whose average score is somewhere above 700 points. On the actual test (this part is amazing and what I consider to be a miracle) I managed a score above 700 points up there with the engineers! That's good because I happened to study engineering in college and getting a score up there with the rest of the engineers makes me feel like I did take something away from college.***

"Life is Like a Box of Chocolates"...Tine

Tucked away in the heart of the Middle-East, the last thing you tend to expect is guests (much less UCG guests). I mean, it’s not like brethren just happen to be “in the neighbourhood.” But believe it or not dear reader, since my last blog...we’ve had three!

Our first guest was Michelle Mills, a native of New Zealand who now lives and works in the Emirates as a journalist and editor. She was in Jordan for business and we made plans to spend the weekend together. This was quite a pleasant surprise because apart from the Hook family in Kuwait, we were unaware of any other UCG members in this region.
One of the things we were able to do was take Michelle on a historical tour of downtown Amman.
Our first stop was "the Duke's Diwan."--The oldest townhouse in Amman. The townhouse was built in 1923 and operates under the patronage of the Duke of Mukhaibeh who has since turned it into an intellectual and cultural haven where scholars and artists can retreat and ruminate. Post Duke's Diwan, we made a stop at a second hand bookstore where Michelle bought some “antique” legal tender while I bought an old cook book and dug up a dusty and obscure manuscript of English prose which I acquired for 0.5JDs ( I convinced the vender that the prospects of him finding a more generous buyer were slim to none:-). Next stop--the splendid Roman amphitheatre, a 1900-year-old historical Bonanza, where we indulged Michelle as she went crazy with her camera.

Last stop: the "Hill of the citadel"--an ancient Roman fortification that showcases ruins from the Temple of Hercules and the Umayaad Palace complex. After touring the site we did silly impressionisms on the ruin mounds and then made a whirlwind tour of the Jordan archaeological museum (dead sea scrolls anyone?).

Michelle, what a sport! We tried to wrestle another visit from her, we’ll see if it worked.

Our next two guests were Shannon & Samantha Sweat. Shannon was born and raised in Africa (she actually grew up with my aunt!), and has been through several continents before settling down in Dallas, TX. One unsuspecting morning, we received an email from Mr. Horchak saying that Shannon and her 7 month old baby Samantha would be in Amman on a 6 hour stop over and was enquiring as to whether we could “put them out of their misery.” We obliged. Emily and I made our way down to the airport (in very interesting circumstances), picked up the Sweats and brought them back to our apartments where they relaxed and had dinner before heading back to the airport. As an aside, Samantha is the most agreeable baby I have ever met. She sat on a blankie with wooden spoons and plastic bowls smiling the entire time, not once did she cry or fuss (and this is not an exaggeration.) Her mother said she had been that way the entire trip and Lena told Lewis that if he could promise her that their baby would be that way, she would consider having one. Lewis said he couldn’t make any promises...

XXX

The Dead Sea -- Zach

3 days and 2 nights at a 5 star hotel at the Dead Sea sounded like a pretty nice get away. The catch? Take 14 students with you! Last week I got to tag along with Lewis and the Robotics team to the annual First Lego League robotics competition at the Dead Sea. The students had been practicing for a couple months to come compete against 58 other teams from Jordan & some neighboring countries. Lewis is the coach for one of the 2 robotics teams at ABS, and I volunteered to help supervise...field trip mom was my official title. We got to spend a lot of time with the small group of students and get to know them a little better. I haven't laughed as much as I did in those three days in awhile. There were definitely frustrating moments too though. The boys found it hillarious to try to teach Lewis & I some new Arabic words, telling us they meant one thing when they meant something totally different (as if Arabic isn't hard enough!), but one of them would always flash a sneaky smirk or let out a giggle, so we knew something was up. It's amazing how you can go to the other side of the world and kids are still kids! We enjoyed the warm hotel room, hot showers, swimming in December, and the beautiful view of the sea, but the best part was spending time with the students. Sometimes they are challenging and they test my patience, but for some reason I always want to come back to them. The good out weighs the bad I guess, or maybe it is because I see in them myself just a few years back...

Growing Older -- Lena

Today was my birthday, or rather, it still is, for a few more hours at least, and this has put me in a philosophical mood, well, as philosophical as I get. You see 29 years ago today I graced my family with my presence (trust me, this is said with a good deal of smirkiness, and very little seriousness). This makes me the oldest of our little group here. Well, I've always been the oldest, but since there aren't anymore birthdays for a few months, it feels as though I've widened the gap. It has been a very good birthday. I had the opportunity to speak with my parents briefly on the phone, some of my fellow teachers at the Bunyat Centre threw me a little party and gave me some delightful gifts, and my wonderful Jordan Crew family baked me a cake and gave me some invaluable gifts (chocolate and warm socks). I'm not sure what 29 is supposed to be like, but hopefully I do a good job of it. I had just gotten comfy with 28, but I suppose time stops for no man (or woman). If someone had asked me at 19 where I would be in 10 years, I doubt Amman, Jordan would have been anywhere on the list. This is the beauty of life, we never know where God might lead us, I've been truly blessed that my path has been fairly scenic, and graced with so many wonderful friends and family. I've included a couple of pictures of me and my family when I was at my cutest. What are families for, if not to post embarrassing photos for all the world to see?!