A little more than 4 months ago, I arrived in Jordan, excited for whatever life would throw at me. In that time, I've had my fair share of ups and downs, awesome experiences, and a few disappointments. But overall, it's been a pretty awesome four months.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I am so excited to leave. I miss my family. And Trader Joe's. This last week has been a whirlwind of activity, I've barely had time to relax. Mainly because I sang in the YWCA Christmas concert.
We had a lot of practices before the concert. We got Sunday off, thankfully, but then it was two intensive dress rehearsals before the concert on Wednesday. A lot of my friends from school and small group showed up on Wednesday, which made me more nervous than usual. They all knew I was singing in the choir, but now they'd hear me by myself. But the concert itself went really well. Everyone was excited for it, and we got a lot of awesome feedback. But when Thursday rolled around, I was exhausted from the night before, but we still had to give it everything. Jordan TV was there to record it professionally (I had a friend tape it for me the night before so I could show family when I get back), and a princess even showed up! You could tell we were all tired, but we put everything out there, and it turned out pretty good. Not as good as the night before, but still really enjoyable. We were all supposed to go out to eat together afterwords, but I felt really sick and tired, so I went home and crashed.
On Friday, a bunch of us got up at 7 and went to the Friday market - a huge collection of clothes, shoes, and who knows what else for dirt cheap. We all scored some awesome finds (yay for no more Christmas shopping!) and then headed to Crumbz for breakfast. THEY SERVED REAL BACON. It totally made my day. I had a fresh-out-of-the-oven bagel with cream cheese and bacon. It was amazing. We did some more Christmas shopping, then I went to see Twilight with a friend. I went to my last small group meeting (until next year, of course), and then headed home for an early night in. Saturday was a quiet day, we cleaned a bit, talked a bit, I stayed home for most of the day, and then we went out to eat dinner.
Sunday morning was amazing. We watched Good Morning America and Jeopardy, baked blueberry muffins (in christmas tree muffin tins!) for breakfast, then headed down to the balad for some last minute shopping and to pay the electric bills. Christina and I went to the gym for a few hours, then headed back home. I was supposed to teach at the English Center, but I forgot that it was a Muslim holiday this week, and it was shut. But on the bright side, I totally got some good exercise in by climbing hundreds of stairs to and from the Center. Christina left that night, and I went to hang out with some friends from school for game night. We had Betty Crocker rainbow cookies and chips and homemade salsa for dinner. After 8 ridiculous rounds of dutch blitz, I went home for the night.
And then there's today. Today was my last full day in Jordan this year. So far, it's been pretty easy-going. I cleaned out the fridge and washed up most of the dishes, watched Last of the Mohicans, then went out for traditional Arab food for lunch, with the same group as the night before. It was amazing food - we had grilled meats, fresh hummous, tabouleh, baba ganoush, fresh baked bread (we watched the woman make it), and mansaf. It was an awesome farewell feast. I went to see some classmates on my way home, because I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye to all of them yet. I still have some work left to do - I have to clean the bathroom and finish packing, but all in all, it'll be a nice, quiet evening, most likely filled with Lord of the Rings and hot chocolate. Tomorrow morning, at 6:45, I'll be off to the airport, and then on a plane to New York.
Coming up: ice skating in Central Park!!!!, WaWa's, family and friends, and teaching those family and friends how to operate an argeelah. It should be very interesting :]
A little more than 4 months ago, I arrived in Jordan, excited for whatever life would throw at me. In that time, I've had my fair share of ups and downs, awesome experiences, and a few disappointments. But overall, I have loved being in Jordan. As lonely and hard as it can be, I wake up every day, truly happy that this was the path I took. And most of all, I'd like to thank you all for allowing me to share this with you.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
No turkey? No problem!
Thanksgiving. It's one of my favorite holidays - pumpkin pie, loads of family, more food than you can imagine, the best leftovers, and because when it's all over, I can officially start listening to my favorite Christmas cds EVER. But this year was very different. First of all, you don't get pumpkin pie filling until the week after Thanksgiving. And I happen to not have any family with me. The past couple weeks, I've been almost dreading this holiday. It would be my first without family, and that's a really lonely and depressing thought. But I figured I would try to make the best of it, since I'd be heading back to family soon after.
The week before, my roommate told me we'd be getting together with some friends late afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. We'd also have a big dinner with the small group on Friday. Christina's mom had kindly brought me a can of pumpkin pie filling, so I could make a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon get-together. I was later approached by some other friends of mine from school about doing Thanksgiving with some of the other single ex-pats. I thought that sounded fun, so we organized a group of 10 of us to get together. So Tuesday I headed out to Safeway to look for turkey, pumpkin pie filling, butternut squash, and all other sorts of Thanksgiving foods. After getting over the initial heartbreak of no pumpkin pie available, we discovered big Butterball turkeys, sitting in the freezer like golden eggs. I was overjoyed, and ran to get a turkey, SO excited that at least some part of my Thanksgiving tradition would be preserved. Then I saw the price tag. $50 for a turkey. A smaller turkey. I was obviously not pleased by this development. But since I didn't actually know how to cook a turkey, I figured it was probably for the best. We did, however, find cranberry sauce and stuffing. And blueberry muffin mix with real blueberries. So it was a success, in a way.
Then came the actual day. I decided to skip school. No way to sugar-coat it really, but there it is. It was a holiday for the rest of my family, so I was not going to school. And I had to go get my visa renewed. So I slept in, took my time eating breakfast, read a little, then headed off to the police station to make sure I could be in the country legally for the next week and a half. On my way back home, I picked up 3 chickens, a boatload of fresh vegetables, and some Amstel, which was solely for the chicken marinade. (ever had beer-can chicken? it makes a pretty good marinade...) I made a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon party. Christina and her mom made an awesome appetizer - they stuffed dates with blue cheese and roasted pecans. Around 3:30, we headed off to Annemarie and Matt's house to hang out for a bit. We talked, and drank hot apple cider, made from scratch I believe, and sat down for butternut squash soup before I had to leave. I headed over to my friend's apartment near by, where the cooking marathon began. We cooked two chickens - stuffed the skins with chunks of butter and lemon slices, stuffed the actual chicken with fresh shredded spinach, halloumi cheese, whole pepper, and fresh garlic. The marinade also had chicken stock, clementines, lemons, lemon zest, and all sorts of spices. We made sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, caramelized carrots, fried up some green beans with garlic, as well as some crispy stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a very colorful salad. We ended up with only 5 of us there to eat, rather than the original 10 we planned for. But we all enjoyed it. There was so much food, we didn't really know what to do with it. A large part of it is in my fridge right now. Which means I totally don't have to cook until I leave in 9 days. Yes!
I woke up Friday morning, still full from the night before. Then came the best moment of the day - I got to put on Nat King Cole!!!!! It's what I love the most about the day after Thanksgiving. I got ready listening to my favorite Christmas music, then headed off for a long choir practice. That afternoon, my small group got together for another Thanksgiving dinner - turkey included! It was awesome - we watched the Longhorns destroy Texas A&M, ate until we could eat no more, and played the most ridiculous game of Scattergories. Turns out it gets that way when there are a good 15 or more people playing.
All in all, I actually had a good Thanksgiving. I missed having family around, but I still got to enjoy that time with my friends here. And we had some awesome food.
Coming up: 2 more rehearsals, then it's concert time! Scary... Only 5 more days of class, 9 more days of the Middle East, and Twilight is finally being released here. Oh, and a cumulative test, because we just finished our first patterns book. Finally.
The week before, my roommate told me we'd be getting together with some friends late afternoon for Thanksgiving dinner. We'd also have a big dinner with the small group on Friday. Christina's mom had kindly brought me a can of pumpkin pie filling, so I could make a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon get-together. I was later approached by some other friends of mine from school about doing Thanksgiving with some of the other single ex-pats. I thought that sounded fun, so we organized a group of 10 of us to get together. So Tuesday I headed out to Safeway to look for turkey, pumpkin pie filling, butternut squash, and all other sorts of Thanksgiving foods. After getting over the initial heartbreak of no pumpkin pie available, we discovered big Butterball turkeys, sitting in the freezer like golden eggs. I was overjoyed, and ran to get a turkey, SO excited that at least some part of my Thanksgiving tradition would be preserved. Then I saw the price tag. $50 for a turkey. A smaller turkey. I was obviously not pleased by this development. But since I didn't actually know how to cook a turkey, I figured it was probably for the best. We did, however, find cranberry sauce and stuffing. And blueberry muffin mix with real blueberries. So it was a success, in a way.
Then came the actual day. I decided to skip school. No way to sugar-coat it really, but there it is. It was a holiday for the rest of my family, so I was not going to school. And I had to go get my visa renewed. So I slept in, took my time eating breakfast, read a little, then headed off to the police station to make sure I could be in the country legally for the next week and a half. On my way back home, I picked up 3 chickens, a boatload of fresh vegetables, and some Amstel, which was solely for the chicken marinade. (ever had beer-can chicken? it makes a pretty good marinade...) I made a pumpkin pie for the late afternoon party. Christina and her mom made an awesome appetizer - they stuffed dates with blue cheese and roasted pecans. Around 3:30, we headed off to Annemarie and Matt's house to hang out for a bit. We talked, and drank hot apple cider, made from scratch I believe, and sat down for butternut squash soup before I had to leave. I headed over to my friend's apartment near by, where the cooking marathon began. We cooked two chickens - stuffed the skins with chunks of butter and lemon slices, stuffed the actual chicken with fresh shredded spinach, halloumi cheese, whole pepper, and fresh garlic. The marinade also had chicken stock, clementines, lemons, lemon zest, and all sorts of spices. We made sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, caramelized carrots, fried up some green beans with garlic, as well as some crispy stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a very colorful salad. We ended up with only 5 of us there to eat, rather than the original 10 we planned for. But we all enjoyed it. There was so much food, we didn't really know what to do with it. A large part of it is in my fridge right now. Which means I totally don't have to cook until I leave in 9 days. Yes!
I woke up Friday morning, still full from the night before. Then came the best moment of the day - I got to put on Nat King Cole!!!!! It's what I love the most about the day after Thanksgiving. I got ready listening to my favorite Christmas music, then headed off for a long choir practice. That afternoon, my small group got together for another Thanksgiving dinner - turkey included! It was awesome - we watched the Longhorns destroy Texas A&M, ate until we could eat no more, and played the most ridiculous game of Scattergories. Turns out it gets that way when there are a good 15 or more people playing.
All in all, I actually had a good Thanksgiving. I missed having family around, but I still got to enjoy that time with my friends here. And we had some awesome food.
Coming up: 2 more rehearsals, then it's concert time! Scary... Only 5 more days of class, 9 more days of the Middle East, and Twilight is finally being released here. Oh, and a cumulative test, because we just finished our first patterns book. Finally.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Ice Cream, Sheep, and Grammar
Not so much has happened since my last post. I'm enjoying quieter days, although they're only that way because I have to study so much more... I would like to take a moment to congratulate Bob and Ruth, on the birth of Anders, Liv and Rich, on the birth of Wyatt, and send my best wishes to John and Debbie, whose wedding I am sadly missing.
Now, in my last entry, I wrote about Ajiin and the medical screening. Ajiin got cleared for her surgery, as did at least 6 other children. One of those children left to get his surgery this past week. I was lucky enough to find out that a group of them, including Ajiin, were staying about a block away, so I have been able to visit them. A few of us took some of the mothers and children out to get ice cream, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Last weekend, I took some time off to relax and read a book, something that I haven't had much time to do lately. I found a lesser known book of Tolkien's, called Children of Hurin, which was edited by his son. It was a long and complicated read, but I really liked it. Who knows, maybe I'll actually try the Silmarillion next...
With just 10 days and only 4 more practices until the choir concert, we've started having multiple practices a week, all intense and running well past their original ending times. But the music is coming together, and we're all excited for the concert. Our director was given an opportunity to do a workshop with an esteemed director/composer in the States, so she has been there for the past two weeks. During her absence, one of our tenors, a Fulbright Scholar, has been working with us, which has been interesting, to say the least.
Also last week, my roommate and I discovered a sheep tied up outside our apartment. We found out that the sheep was going to be the meal for the Eid in 2 weeks, and that a local butcher was coming that afternoon to prepare it. I have never seen any animal being prepared to be eaten, so I watched some of it. I guess the one thing that stuck out for me was how unhealthy the lungs looked. Several years ago, my family went to see the BodyWorks exhibit, the one where you can see all the body parts and how they're affected by cancer, or smoking, etc. You would've thought this sheep was a chain smoker by the looks of his lungs. Goes to show how much second-hand smoke there is around here. Way too much.
We finished one of our textbooks this week - our pronunciation and writing book. We took a writing test, which I studied really hard for, and got a 100. We then started a new book, called "Petra", which deals with fuusha (classical written Arabic) and grammar. It's complicated. Grammar definitely was not my strong point in high school, but I'm getting the hang of the first few chapters because it's similar to the sentence structure we learned for French.
On Thursday, we had a SWAN (Students Without A Network) meeting. We played a game comparing lots of little known details of the group, like how many siblings we had, how many serious scars we had, how many countries we had visited, which turned out to be quite fun. We talked about the city, what we liked and didn't like about it, and what our first impressions were. Then we played some music and enjoyed some awesome home-cooked food. Christina's mom arrived that day as well, so I finally got to meet her.
Friday started out really well. I went to a friend's house to make apple pies from scratch. That afternoon, I hung out with some other friends from school and a friend from choir, where I got to help make a baked chocolate pudding. That evening, we had a class party, so we all got to hang out, eat, and chat outside of a school setting. It was a lot of fun. Then I spiked a fever, and stayed home from school the next day. I got some work done and studied for a bit, then watched a movie, and took the rest of the day slowly. Today I felt so much better, so it was definitely worth taking the day off.
Coming up: more choir rehearsals, teaching at the English center, EAGLES GAME TONIGHT!!!!!, and Thanksgiving, which really means pumpkin pie. Only the best. :]
Now, in my last entry, I wrote about Ajiin and the medical screening. Ajiin got cleared for her surgery, as did at least 6 other children. One of those children left to get his surgery this past week. I was lucky enough to find out that a group of them, including Ajiin, were staying about a block away, so I have been able to visit them. A few of us took some of the mothers and children out to get ice cream, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Last weekend, I took some time off to relax and read a book, something that I haven't had much time to do lately. I found a lesser known book of Tolkien's, called Children of Hurin, which was edited by his son. It was a long and complicated read, but I really liked it. Who knows, maybe I'll actually try the Silmarillion next...
![Ajiin :]](http://img5.travelblog.org/Photos/78054/347800/t/3143059-Ajiin-0.jpg "Ajiin :]")
With just 10 days and only 4 more practices until the choir concert, we've started having multiple practices a week, all intense and running well past their original ending times. But the music is coming together, and we're all excited for the concert. Our director was given an opportunity to do a workshop with an esteemed director/composer in the States, so she has been there for the past two weeks. During her absence, one of our tenors, a Fulbright Scholar, has been working with us, which has been interesting, to say the least.
Also last week, my roommate and I discovered a sheep tied up outside our apartment. We found out that the sheep was going to be the meal for the Eid in 2 weeks, and that a local butcher was coming that afternoon to prepare it. I have never seen any animal being prepared to be eaten, so I watched some of it. I guess the one thing that stuck out for me was how unhealthy the lungs looked. Several years ago, my family went to see the BodyWorks exhibit, the one where you can see all the body parts and how they're affected by cancer, or smoking, etc. You would've thought this sheep was a chain smoker by the looks of his lungs. Goes to show how much second-hand smoke there is around here. Way too much.
We finished one of our textbooks this week - our pronunciation and writing book. We took a writing test, which I studied really hard for, and got a 100. We then started a new book, called "Petra", which deals with fuusha (classical written Arabic) and grammar. It's complicated. Grammar definitely was not my strong point in high school, but I'm getting the hang of the first few chapters because it's similar to the sentence structure we learned for French.
On Thursday, we had a SWAN (Students Without A Network) meeting. We played a game comparing lots of little known details of the group, like how many siblings we had, how many serious scars we had, how many countries we had visited, which turned out to be quite fun. We talked about the city, what we liked and didn't like about it, and what our first impressions were. Then we played some music and enjoyed some awesome home-cooked food. Christina's mom arrived that day as well, so I finally got to meet her.
Friday started out really well. I went to a friend's house to make apple pies from scratch. That afternoon, I hung out with some other friends from school and a friend from choir, where I got to help make a baked chocolate pudding. That evening, we had a class party, so we all got to hang out, eat, and chat outside of a school setting. It was a lot of fun. Then I spiked a fever, and stayed home from school the next day. I got some work done and studied for a bit, then watched a movie, and took the rest of the day slowly. Today I felt so much better, so it was definitely worth taking the day off.
Coming up: more choir rehearsals, teaching at the English center, EAGLES GAME TONIGHT!!!!!, and Thanksgiving, which really means pumpkin pie. Only the best. :]
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I Carry Your Heart With Me...
Hey all, sorry its been a while. For starters, my long weekend was one of those times when nothing ever goes right. All my plans fell through, including my plans to learn how to cook, which is being rescheduled. But it made for a quiet weekend that allowed me to relax and do all sorts of other things that were nowhere near productive.
Election Day. Yes, it was huge here too. We all sent in absentee ballots. Christina and Emily stayed up the whole night watching the results come in, and we left at 5 am to go to a friend's house to watch the final results and speeches, accompanied by Swedish pancakes and lots of coffee. We watched Obama win!!!! And then I proceeded to call my parents and let them know that we were up and watching, and to be the same old competitive child they're used to. :] We then proceeded to go to school, like normal.
That week was similarly simple: I worked, studied, and FINALLY got a gym membership at the Meridian, which has a wonderful indoor pool, and a sauna, and a steam room, and massage therapists.... Yeah, you get the drift. Thursday night was Jeff's (currently called Bing) birthday, and he and Jessey hosted "Bing's bistachio barty," keeping with our favorite theme of no p's. Last Saturday, I went to my friend Amanda's house. She had made pumpkin pie from scratch the day before, and I was lucky enough to be able to indulge in the deliciousness. We also had some awesome hot chocolate - Seattle's Best Triple Chocolate!!! - all while watching the latest season of Grey's Anatomy. And by season, I mean the first 5 episodes in a row. On Sunday, I started volunteering at a local English Center. I'll be working there for a couple hours on Sundays now. It was really fun, the girls there were all about my age, and they would rotate between working on the computers and learning how to cut hair, then would all get together to work on English. I'll be there with a couple of girls I go to school with.
Which brings us to this week. It's only Wednesday night, but I feel like its been years since Monday. A little background: a classmate of mine, Brenda, works to help Iraqi kids with heart defects get the surgeries they desperately need. She asked if I'd like to help with the medical screening they host here to see which kids can move forward to get the operations, and which ones are inoperable. I said I'd love to. The mothers and kids got in late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Monday afternoon, we had a meet and greet with other people who would be volunteering, and we found out that 5 families couldn't get across the border, and one baby died that morning. We had a couple hours after that until we'd all head out to a local church for a meeting with the families. When we got there, what we were doing here really sunk in. I met a beautiful little girl there - Ajiin. She only spoke Kurdish, so I never understood what she was saying, but we connected.
Yesterday was tough. We went to the hospital right after school to help with the screening. I brought face paints for the kids, which went over well. But not long after we got there, we found out that another baby didn't make it. A group of mothers tried to console her, but it didn't really help. We watched her fall apart, but as much as we wanted to help, there wasn't really much we could do except be there for her. Ajiin's mother knew the woman, so she was with her as much as possible. I kept Ajiin entertained for the afternoon. She certainly kept me on my toes - if I looked away for a minute, she would run off somewhere and hide, waiting to see how long it would take me to find her. We played with balloons, chased each other around, all sorts of things. The group from school I came with left around 330, but Ajiin was 3rd in line, and I wanted to be there for her and her mother when she went in. So I stayed, making arrangements to go back with another group who was staying down the street from me. I watched as mothers would come out of the screening room, looking hopeful, others who could read the doctor's face and knew they didn't have much hope. It was such a roller coaster of emotions, it was hard to keep the kids happy, when they could see so much grief. But we did what we could. Ajiin finally got in at 515, half an hour before we had to leave. I got to see her and her mother right before we left, but I haven't heard how it went. It's amazing how easily this little girl found her way into my heart.
Today, the doctors are telling the families if their child has a chance or not. I won't know until later if Ajiin will be able to get her operation. I almost don't want to know, because if she doesn't get that chance, she won't be around for too much longer. But I'm hoping for the best.
This weekend should be another quiet one. I usually don't like quiet weekends, but I'm looking forward to it. I need some time to decompress.
Coming up: the countdown has begun! 26 days until I return to the States (I told myself I couldn't count down until after the elections...), maybe some cooking, and most definitely more time in that sauna. Gotta love nice gyms :]
Election Day. Yes, it was huge here too. We all sent in absentee ballots. Christina and Emily stayed up the whole night watching the results come in, and we left at 5 am to go to a friend's house to watch the final results and speeches, accompanied by Swedish pancakes and lots of coffee. We watched Obama win!!!! And then I proceeded to call my parents and let them know that we were up and watching, and to be the same old competitive child they're used to. :] We then proceeded to go to school, like normal.
That week was similarly simple: I worked, studied, and FINALLY got a gym membership at the Meridian, which has a wonderful indoor pool, and a sauna, and a steam room, and massage therapists.... Yeah, you get the drift. Thursday night was Jeff's (currently called Bing) birthday, and he and Jessey hosted "Bing's bistachio barty," keeping with our favorite theme of no p's. Last Saturday, I went to my friend Amanda's house. She had made pumpkin pie from scratch the day before, and I was lucky enough to be able to indulge in the deliciousness. We also had some awesome hot chocolate - Seattle's Best Triple Chocolate!!! - all while watching the latest season of Grey's Anatomy. And by season, I mean the first 5 episodes in a row. On Sunday, I started volunteering at a local English Center. I'll be working there for a couple hours on Sundays now. It was really fun, the girls there were all about my age, and they would rotate between working on the computers and learning how to cut hair, then would all get together to work on English. I'll be there with a couple of girls I go to school with.
Which brings us to this week. It's only Wednesday night, but I feel like its been years since Monday. A little background: a classmate of mine, Brenda, works to help Iraqi kids with heart defects get the surgeries they desperately need. She asked if I'd like to help with the medical screening they host here to see which kids can move forward to get the operations, and which ones are inoperable. I said I'd love to. The mothers and kids got in late Sunday night and early Monday morning. Monday afternoon, we had a meet and greet with other people who would be volunteering, and we found out that 5 families couldn't get across the border, and one baby died that morning. We had a couple hours after that until we'd all head out to a local church for a meeting with the families. When we got there, what we were doing here really sunk in. I met a beautiful little girl there - Ajiin. She only spoke Kurdish, so I never understood what she was saying, but we connected.
Yesterday was tough. We went to the hospital right after school to help with the screening. I brought face paints for the kids, which went over well. But not long after we got there, we found out that another baby didn't make it. A group of mothers tried to console her, but it didn't really help. We watched her fall apart, but as much as we wanted to help, there wasn't really much we could do except be there for her. Ajiin's mother knew the woman, so she was with her as much as possible. I kept Ajiin entertained for the afternoon. She certainly kept me on my toes - if I looked away for a minute, she would run off somewhere and hide, waiting to see how long it would take me to find her. We played with balloons, chased each other around, all sorts of things. The group from school I came with left around 330, but Ajiin was 3rd in line, and I wanted to be there for her and her mother when she went in. So I stayed, making arrangements to go back with another group who was staying down the street from me. I watched as mothers would come out of the screening room, looking hopeful, others who could read the doctor's face and knew they didn't have much hope. It was such a roller coaster of emotions, it was hard to keep the kids happy, when they could see so much grief. But we did what we could. Ajiin finally got in at 515, half an hour before we had to leave. I got to see her and her mother right before we left, but I haven't heard how it went. It's amazing how easily this little girl found her way into my heart.
Today, the doctors are telling the families if their child has a chance or not. I won't know until later if Ajiin will be able to get her operation. I almost don't want to know, because if she doesn't get that chance, she won't be around for too much longer. But I'm hoping for the best.
This weekend should be another quiet one. I usually don't like quiet weekends, but I'm looking forward to it. I need some time to decompress.
Coming up: the countdown has begun! 26 days until I return to the States (I told myself I couldn't count down until after the elections...), maybe some cooking, and most definitely more time in that sauna. Gotta love nice gyms :]
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pumpkins, Washing Machines, and Opportunities
Almost 2 weeks since Wadi Rum, and things have been crazy. Really crazy.
Last week, we jumped into some new lessons the day we got back from our long weekend, which was a headache and a half in itself. I went to some extra practices for choir to try to learn some of the Arabic pieces we're singing. Speaking Arabic is tough - there are a lot of letters and sounds we don't use in English, and it's something all of us learning the language struggle with. But to then sing in Arabic... It makes speaking look like a cakewalk. Anyways, I also spent a lot of time working on learning the Alto part for Coventry Carol - it's a beautiful, haunting piece that was arranged for 3 women, Sop. I, Sop. II, and Alto. We were told that tryouts would be that Wednesday, for anyone who wanted to sing the piece, as written for 3 women, in the concert. So I figured, why not? I practiced, and then tried out with two powerful sopranos. It sounded pretty awesome. I also tried out for a descant part in a funky Caribbean-style piece, and got the part with 3 other women. It's way cool.
On Thursday, we celebrated Christina's birthday in true American style - we had a pumpkin carving party. We ordered Papa John's, made punch in a big bowl, had loads of cupcakes, chips and dip, soda... And then there were the sticky buns. I didn't really know what to do for Christina's birthday, so I told her I would make the sticky buns she thoroughly enjoyed. I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I added butterscotch chips and some rum to the sticky sauce. And they tasted awesome. We did some serious pumpkin carving, too. Christina did Obama's face, with the help of Jesse, Emily did Palin's face, really it was Tina Fey.. :], and I stepped outside of the political arena and carved Dwight's face (for all you who are not avid watchers of The Office, he is a hilarious cast member of The Office. And you should start watching it...).
On Saturday night, I made my first trip out to Ashrafiya, another part of town. Some friends of mine were all getting together for a girl's night in, but I was really late in getting there so I missed the creation of the delicious lasagna. But we ate it, and had the most amazing apple spice cake with cream cheese icing EVER. Then it was movie time - and we went Bollywood with Bride and Prejudice, still one of my favorites. We made pancakes and omelets for breakfast the next morning, and YouTubed the Axis of Evil comedy tour - which is soooo funny because we totally get it. Now that we live in the Middle East and all...
On Monday, I helped a classmate tutor some Iraqi kids in English, which was interesting. They were young girls, but they spoke so fast, the little Arabic I had didn't help. At all. But it was still and experience. Tuesday was good and bad. Good - we FINALLY got a new washing machine. More about that later though. Bad - a pipe in our bathroom broke. It was raining. When the guys came to fix our pipe, they broke it even more, and pretty much flooded the bathroom. They fixed it after a couple hours. I was working in the bookshop, and the internet died. Not on my computer, but the wireless in the shop, and it was down for half an hour. I don't know when or if it started working again that day, I had stuff to do, so I headed back to a friend's house to use her internet. And when I went to open the internet, it wouldn't work. But Skype would. That was it. So I went home. It wasn't a fun day.
Wednesday, however, was a much better day. I used our new washing machine. Which is ghetto-fabulous. Seriously. We have to fill it up with water from the shower head. And we have to put the pipe where the water drains out of in the toilet, so it doesn't flood everything. And after the clothes are washed, you have to put them into this little bucket thing on the other side to spin the water out of the clothes. And there are holes in the drain pipe. So it still gets water all over the bathroom floor. But IT WORKS. It didn't flood anything, my clothes got clean, and as ghetto-fabulous as it might be, it's so much better than not having one. We also had a massive thunder storm. Bucketing water. I would've run out in the rain, which is so much fun, but itwas also really cold outside. Yes, cold. It's really only in the 60's, but when you've been in the 100's for so long, it feels ridiculously cold. We put our carpets down, and we're walking around the house in thick sweats, warm slippers, and scarves. I also spent most of the day at an Arab friend's house, and her grandmother invited me over this weekend to learn how to cook some traditional food. Best of all, I totally responded to a question, in Arabic, without thinking. And it came out right. Milestone!!!!
But best of all, choir. First of all, I was feeling really sick, and I didn't really wanna be there. But I went, and I'm so glad I did. We did a lot of work on the Caribbean piece, where the four of us get to do the funky descant. But only two of us were there, and we got compliments, and the accompanist said we were awesome. And it sounded really cool. Then the director called a bunch of names for people to come see her after practice, my name included. So we went to talk to her, and she said we would be a small group singing some really jazzed-up renditions of Let It Snow and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, with some crazy harmonies. This, I was really excited for. She hand-picked us, I felt special. And I found out that I got the Alto part for the Coventry Carol. So pretty much, it's gonna be an awesome concert. I'm sooo excited.
On the down side, I've had to cancel my trip to Syria this weekend, for a number of reasons. I'm really sad about that, but there's always next semester. And it means I get to learn how to cook some cool food.
Coming up: our electric sawba, attempts at renewing my visa, and who knows what else. Everything changes in the Middle East.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Wadi Rum
Thursday Night
I get back from a meeting, exhausted from a tough week, and I start packing. I make several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, buy a flashlight, some pringles, apple juice, some apples and cucumbers, and some pita to snack on. I also pack several liters of water, apparently water is expensive in the middle of the desert. We've been told to have a passport with us, just in case we're stopped at a checkpoint on the way and have to prove we have visas to be here. I pack light clothing for the day, and really warm clothing for the night. Suntan lotion and mosquito repellent go in too, as well as one of my books so I can study on the long ride out. Christina's birthday is on Friday, so some of our friends are over to hang out and celebrate over her newly purchased mini-hookah. I head to bed by 1030.
Friday
I got up at 650. Ouch. But I had to - I had to have time to finish packing, double check that I had enough food and water, I had to take a shower and eat breakfast. I took some time to leave a note on Christina's door wishing her a happy birthday, then I ran out to be at the school by 8. 50 of us from school pile onto a bus, still looking half-asleep. There were 14 kids under 10, 13 under 7. We left just before 9. I sat in the back of the bus with Bill (one of my classmates), his wife, and his three kids, who made the sticky buns with me a couple weeks ago. They kept me occupied pretty much for the whole 4 hour drive. We got to Wadi Rum a little after 1 - and it was gorgeous. There was a lot of sand, but the rock formations were so cool, especially the way the sun hit them. A lot of people in the group said it looked just like Arizona, but not having ever been to Arizona, it looked foreign to me. Apparently if I ever go to Arizona, it'll look like Wadi Rum.
We settled into our tents, and then most of the families and couples went on a hike up a rock formation on the campsite. I stayed behind with a couple friends to rest and enjoy the cool breeze for a while before chaos would erupt upon the return of the mass of young children. Around 4, we all headed out for an hour long walk through the desert to this little hill for a sunset walk and fellowship. The kids ran almost halfway, kicking a soccer ball, until they were too tired to go any longer. By the time we got to the hill, I had sand dunes in my shoes, and the sun was beginning to set. We took pictures in front of some of the cooler rock formations and watched the sun set. It was beautiful - sitting on top of the hill, it was quiet and peaceful. We chatted and sung and played with the kids for a while, and some people from the camp brought some sage tea up to us. When it started getting dark, we loaded the smaller kids into the jeep, and the rest of us set off to walk back to the camp. When we got back, we had about half an hour to chill before dinner, so I took two of Bill's kids out to the back of the camp where it was darkest, and we watched the stars for awhile. There were so many - I had never seen stars like this before. We tried picking out constellations for a while, and while we were chilling on the ground, we saw a satellite going past, and a shooting star. It was the first shooting star the kids had seen, so they were really excited. They ran back to tell their parents, and we all headed to the middle of camp to eat dinner - pita, cheese, steamed vegetables, rice, lamb kebab, and barbecue chicken. After dinner, we gathered around a fire to roast marshmallows, make smores, and my new favorite - stuff chocolate into a banana, wrap it in foil, throw it in the fire for 5 minutes, and you get melty chocolate banana yumminess. We talked about everything from the science of smores to politics to the ridiculous amount of homework we all had waiting for us when we went home. The moon had risen, and it was really bright, so it was really difficult to see the stars, which made us all sad, we were looking forward to more star gazing. We all packed it in before 11, we had to be on the bus by 9 to get to the visitors center for the jeep rides.
That night, the baby in the tent next to us cried almost the whole time. Most of us didn't sleep very well. I didn't sleep at all.
Saturday
630 am, I was still awake. I threw on my sweats and flip-flops, and went on a walk around camp. It started to get light, and I realized that I was up in time to see the sun rise. I ran back to my tent to get my camera, and I wanted to hike up the rocks next to camp for a better view, but the sun was rising fast, so I sat in the middle of camp and watched it rise. Breathtaking. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun rise, and this one was pretty awesome. After the sun was up, I got dressed, and some of the kids were up, so I took them on an early morning hike up the rocks before breakfast - with their parents' permission, of course.
By the time we made it back down, most of the camp was still asleep, so we had early breakfast - pita and cheese again,cucumbers and tomatoes, jelly, boiled eggs, and tea or coffee. By 9, most of the group loaded onto the bus, and we left for the visitors center for the jeep tours. We split up into groups - our group was the biggest, with 7 adults and 5 kids. We piled in the back of the jeep and drove off, excited for what the next 3 1/2 hours would bring. We hadn't even been on the road for 5 minutes when the engine gave out, and we pulled over. Our driver got out, popped the hood, played around with some things, and we piled back in to try again. This time, we didn't make 30 secs before breaking down again. So we waited. Our driver, in true Arab style, waved past all the cars that drove by. Finally, we convinced him to call for another jeep, and when it arrived, we all piled back in an continued our journey through the desert.
We stopped first at a Bedouin camp that was set up near a spring in mountain. A pipe was run from the spring all the way down the the camp, so camels and people could get water. I tried to purchase a head scarf, but the guy selling them got way too close and kept telling me how beautiful my blue eyes were. I was creeped, so I went back to the jeep to eat some of the amazing cookies a woman from our group had made for the trip. We saw loads of camels while driving through the sand. I got excited, maybe I could find a guy who would let me ride one. I have wanted to do that forever. The next big stop was at this canyon - two huge rock formations with a big split down the middle. We went to explore it, and there were cool inscriptions (that I can't read, I already tried...) on the wall, and there were carvings indicating that it was a "holy place" - or at least considered to be at one point, probably before tourists invaded... I was walking back with some friends, and I saw this teenager walking down the sand dune with three camels in tow. I grabbed Amy, a second semester journalist (and one of my tent mates) to negotiate with the kid so I could get a picture on the camel for cheap. So the kid had the camel get down so I could hop on, and then the camel behind me started getting all up in my hair, I was worried he was going to eat it or something. But he didn't, and the camel I was on got up, I got my picture, and I thought I was gonna get off, but the kid started walking off, camels in tow, and here I was, no clue what was going on. So I went with it for a bit, and then asked the kid to let me off. The camel went down front ways first, and I really thought I was going to fall off. But I managed ok. I was so excited for those few minutes. I FINALLY got to ride a camel. About time... And then my camera died.
We set off again, through the sand dunes, and we were well on our way up one when our engine died again. This time, we were in the middle of nowhere. There were no Bedouins, no jeeps, no people, and no cell signal. We're thinking, great. We would get two messed up jeeps in a row. It's my luck. And apparently there a a couple other people in our jeep who have the same issue I do - that "adventures" follow us everywhere. Our driver "fixed" the issue with a plastic bag, not sure how much that really helped, but we didn't break down again. After a while, we got really close to this rock face, and we see this boulder on the left, and part of the rock face jutting out on the right, and so not enough space for the jeep to get through. But our driver keeps on, slows almost to a full stop, and crawls through the space, with barely an inch on either side. It's safe to say we all though he was going to take the top of the jeep off with that move. But he didn't. We were impressed.
The last stop was this massive sand dune. I thought, why not?, kicked off my shoes and socks, and starting climbing up it. It was really tough to get footing, and every step was exhausting, but I made it all the way to the top. Then I decided there was nothing better to do than to jump off the side of it. So I ran and jumped (not getting nearly as much air as I thought I would, nothing to really leap off of...) and tumbled down the side of the dune. When I stopped halfway down, I flipped onto my side and rolled the rest of the way, picking up about 6 lbs of sand in the mesh lining of my pants. It was so much fun. I got up to walk back to the jeep, and quickly discovered that I had rolled down the side of the dune that had been baking in the sun all morning. I couldn't take more than 5 steps before it felt like the bottoms of my feet were burning off, and I had to sit down and let them cool before attempting a few more steps. My group thought this was hilarious, but I eventually made it back to the jeep, and proceeded to dump all the sand out of the bottom of my pant legs.
After almost 4 hours in the desert, we headed back the the visitors center to go back to camp before the long ride home. We ate lunch at camp, checked that everything was packed up and no children were left behind, then we loaded up and headed off for the long drive home. You could tell that everyone was tired, for more than half of the trip, the bus was quiet - almost everyone was asleep. Close to 5, we stopped for dinner, and the last hour was noisy again, all the kids awake and energized after soda and food. We got home just after 7, exhausted, dirty, but having thoroughly enjoyed the past 2 days.
I get back from a meeting, exhausted from a tough week, and I start packing. I make several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, buy a flashlight, some pringles, apple juice, some apples and cucumbers, and some pita to snack on. I also pack several liters of water, apparently water is expensive in the middle of the desert. We've been told to have a passport with us, just in case we're stopped at a checkpoint on the way and have to prove we have visas to be here. I pack light clothing for the day, and really warm clothing for the night. Suntan lotion and mosquito repellent go in too, as well as one of my books so I can study on the long ride out. Christina's birthday is on Friday, so some of our friends are over to hang out and celebrate over her newly purchased mini-hookah. I head to bed by 1030.
Friday
I got up at 650. Ouch. But I had to - I had to have time to finish packing, double check that I had enough food and water, I had to take a shower and eat breakfast. I took some time to leave a note on Christina's door wishing her a happy birthday, then I ran out to be at the school by 8. 50 of us from school pile onto a bus, still looking half-asleep. There were 14 kids under 10, 13 under 7. We left just before 9. I sat in the back of the bus with Bill (one of my classmates), his wife, and his three kids, who made the sticky buns with me a couple weeks ago. They kept me occupied pretty much for the whole 4 hour drive. We got to Wadi Rum a little after 1 - and it was gorgeous. There was a lot of sand, but the rock formations were so cool, especially the way the sun hit them. A lot of people in the group said it looked just like Arizona, but not having ever been to Arizona, it looked foreign to me. Apparently if I ever go to Arizona, it'll look like Wadi Rum.
We settled into our tents, and then most of the families and couples went on a hike up a rock formation on the campsite. I stayed behind with a couple friends to rest and enjoy the cool breeze for a while before chaos would erupt upon the return of the mass of young children. Around 4, we all headed out for an hour long walk through the desert to this little hill for a sunset walk and fellowship. The kids ran almost halfway, kicking a soccer ball, until they were too tired to go any longer. By the time we got to the hill, I had sand dunes in my shoes, and the sun was beginning to set. We took pictures in front of some of the cooler rock formations and watched the sun set. It was beautiful - sitting on top of the hill, it was quiet and peaceful. We chatted and sung and played with the kids for a while, and some people from the camp brought some sage tea up to us. When it started getting dark, we loaded the smaller kids into the jeep, and the rest of us set off to walk back to the camp. When we got back, we had about half an hour to chill before dinner, so I took two of Bill's kids out to the back of the camp where it was darkest, and we watched the stars for awhile. There were so many - I had never seen stars like this before. We tried picking out constellations for a while, and while we were chilling on the ground, we saw a satellite going past, and a shooting star. It was the first shooting star the kids had seen, so they were really excited. They ran back to tell their parents, and we all headed to the middle of camp to eat dinner - pita, cheese, steamed vegetables, rice, lamb kebab, and barbecue chicken. After dinner, we gathered around a fire to roast marshmallows, make smores, and my new favorite - stuff chocolate into a banana, wrap it in foil, throw it in the fire for 5 minutes, and you get melty chocolate banana yumminess. We talked about everything from the science of smores to politics to the ridiculous amount of homework we all had waiting for us when we went home. The moon had risen, and it was really bright, so it was really difficult to see the stars, which made us all sad, we were looking forward to more star gazing. We all packed it in before 11, we had to be on the bus by 9 to get to the visitors center for the jeep rides.
That night, the baby in the tent next to us cried almost the whole time. Most of us didn't sleep very well. I didn't sleep at all.
Saturday
630 am, I was still awake. I threw on my sweats and flip-flops, and went on a walk around camp. It started to get light, and I realized that I was up in time to see the sun rise. I ran back to my tent to get my camera, and I wanted to hike up the rocks next to camp for a better view, but the sun was rising fast, so I sat in the middle of camp and watched it rise. Breathtaking. I can't remember the last time I saw the sun rise, and this one was pretty awesome. After the sun was up, I got dressed, and some of the kids were up, so I took them on an early morning hike up the rocks before breakfast - with their parents' permission, of course.
By the time we made it back down, most of the camp was still asleep, so we had early breakfast - pita and cheese again,cucumbers and tomatoes, jelly, boiled eggs, and tea or coffee. By 9, most of the group loaded onto the bus, and we left for the visitors center for the jeep tours. We split up into groups - our group was the biggest, with 7 adults and 5 kids. We piled in the back of the jeep and drove off, excited for what the next 3 1/2 hours would bring. We hadn't even been on the road for 5 minutes when the engine gave out, and we pulled over. Our driver got out, popped the hood, played around with some things, and we piled back in to try again. This time, we didn't make 30 secs before breaking down again. So we waited. Our driver, in true Arab style, waved past all the cars that drove by. Finally, we convinced him to call for another jeep, and when it arrived, we all piled back in an continued our journey through the desert.
We stopped first at a Bedouin camp that was set up near a spring in mountain. A pipe was run from the spring all the way down the the camp, so camels and people could get water. I tried to purchase a head scarf, but the guy selling them got way too close and kept telling me how beautiful my blue eyes were. I was creeped, so I went back to the jeep to eat some of the amazing cookies a woman from our group had made for the trip. We saw loads of camels while driving through the sand. I got excited, maybe I could find a guy who would let me ride one. I have wanted to do that forever. The next big stop was at this canyon - two huge rock formations with a big split down the middle. We went to explore it, and there were cool inscriptions (that I can't read, I already tried...) on the wall, and there were carvings indicating that it was a "holy place" - or at least considered to be at one point, probably before tourists invaded... I was walking back with some friends, and I saw this teenager walking down the sand dune with three camels in tow. I grabbed Amy, a second semester journalist (and one of my tent mates) to negotiate with the kid so I could get a picture on the camel for cheap. So the kid had the camel get down so I could hop on, and then the camel behind me started getting all up in my hair, I was worried he was going to eat it or something. But he didn't, and the camel I was on got up, I got my picture, and I thought I was gonna get off, but the kid started walking off, camels in tow, and here I was, no clue what was going on. So I went with it for a bit, and then asked the kid to let me off. The camel went down front ways first, and I really thought I was going to fall off. But I managed ok. I was so excited for those few minutes. I FINALLY got to ride a camel. About time... And then my camera died.
We set off again, through the sand dunes, and we were well on our way up one when our engine died again. This time, we were in the middle of nowhere. There were no Bedouins, no jeeps, no people, and no cell signal. We're thinking, great. We would get two messed up jeeps in a row. It's my luck. And apparently there a a couple other people in our jeep who have the same issue I do - that "adventures" follow us everywhere. Our driver "fixed" the issue with a plastic bag, not sure how much that really helped, but we didn't break down again. After a while, we got really close to this rock face, and we see this boulder on the left, and part of the rock face jutting out on the right, and so not enough space for the jeep to get through. But our driver keeps on, slows almost to a full stop, and crawls through the space, with barely an inch on either side. It's safe to say we all though he was going to take the top of the jeep off with that move. But he didn't. We were impressed.
The last stop was this massive sand dune. I thought, why not?, kicked off my shoes and socks, and starting climbing up it. It was really tough to get footing, and every step was exhausting, but I made it all the way to the top. Then I decided there was nothing better to do than to jump off the side of it. So I ran and jumped (not getting nearly as much air as I thought I would, nothing to really leap off of...) and tumbled down the side of the dune. When I stopped halfway down, I flipped onto my side and rolled the rest of the way, picking up about 6 lbs of sand in the mesh lining of my pants. It was so much fun. I got up to walk back to the jeep, and quickly discovered that I had rolled down the side of the dune that had been baking in the sun all morning. I couldn't take more than 5 steps before it felt like the bottoms of my feet were burning off, and I had to sit down and let them cool before attempting a few more steps. My group thought this was hilarious, but I eventually made it back to the jeep, and proceeded to dump all the sand out of the bottom of my pant legs.
After almost 4 hours in the desert, we headed back the the visitors center to go back to camp before the long ride home. We ate lunch at camp, checked that everything was packed up and no children were left behind, then we loaded up and headed off for the long drive home. You could tell that everyone was tired, for more than half of the trip, the bus was quiet - almost everyone was asleep. Close to 5, we stopped for dinner, and the last hour was noisy again, all the kids awake and energized after soda and food. We got home just after 7, exhausted, dirty, but having thoroughly enjoyed the past 2 days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)