That's been this entire past week. Tuesday, we had a meeting about our residency cards...which were not completed yet, but soooo close. Actually, we've been able to pick them up since yesterday (but the CIEE office is closed during the weekend so I now need to wait till Sunday)
On Wed, I went on a field trip with my Water class to the largest wastewater treatment plant in Jordan, which treats the water for about 50% of the population. It was REALLY interesting. After that, we headed up to Irbid, way up north, to the highest point in North Jordan to see the Tiberias Lake (the Sea of Galilee). We were maybe half an hour's walk (and a canyon river and a few minefields) away from the Golan Heights. That was great to see. BEAUTIFUL view, though striking the difference between the Israeli side and the Jordinian---from where we were standing, it was desert, desert, desert, GREEN (Israel). Then we went as close to the King Talal Dam as we could but by that point it was sunset so we couldn't see anything. And it was too far away and around a bend. But the rest of the field trip was good.
Around 1:15, during the field trip, I got a call from my Dana partner saying she was really sick and not up to hiking. But I joined a group to go to Wadi Mujib so that was disappointing but still good. Later we got a call from Steward, one of the heads of CIEE, saying one of the students had the flu, possibly the swine flu, so no school Thursday or Sunday. Islam midterm is pushed forward more! After that everyone was planning their trips to Lebanon and Syria and possibly Jerusalem and everyone was NUTS! I decided to stay for various reasons. But long weekend and I FINALLY get to relax some!
Yesterday (thursday) was spent writing a paper, planning what I'm going to do for the long weekend and with who, writing a paper, and listening to the downpour. Tis winter, tis the rainy season! But that also meant that Wadi Mujib was canceled. SERIOUSLY??? Sooooooo instead we decided to visit Madaba today which was fine. Last time was better but it was still fun. A relaxing day. And now I'm sitting partially watching tv, mostly reading Sherlock Holmes in Arabic and English (happy Lilah :) ).
Every Thursday they play American movies in Arabic and last night was Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers. GLORIOUS!!!!!! I understood none of it yet all of it. Next week is the Godfather trilogy I'm so excited. Absolutely gonna stay up for that. Won't it be great, the first time I'm seeing the rest of those movies it's in Arabic.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Mawiage
This past short time has been a whirlwind. First, on the title, I was supposed to go to a marriage party tomorrow night but it got canceled. The bride's cousin died so she's having the ceremony (signing the paper) but only the groom is celebrating with his family. It's good for me because I have a midterm Monday, Tuesday (at 8:00am), and Thursday, but it's still really sad. And I really wanted to go to a wedding! Maybe later in the semester. And may our thoughts be with the mourners.
Also on the title, for those of you who don't know, I am "married" for the semester. I have had 3 run-ins so far:
1. I was praying at the Mosque with Amal during Ramadan, and afterwards this lady started talking to me about if I was a convert ("I'm learning"), and going on and on about how Islam is such a wonderful religion and it's the only way to reach God etc etc. Amal finally came over, and the lady turned to her and in Arabic said she wished I was a Muslim because she would marry me to her son. After that I moved around my rings so I'm wearing one on my ring finger.
2. I got into a taxi one night to go home; he offered me a cigarette and after I refused asked permission to smoke. (Most taxi drivers don't ask.) Then he started asking me questions--what's my name, where am I from, what's my age ("What? What? Sorry, I don't know Arabic."); then he said "I love America. I want to learn English. Where?" He didn't like my answer of University or College and kept asking. FInally he came out and asked me if I was married. After I said yes and showed him I had a ring on, he didn't speak to me for the rest of the ride.
3. Today, my taxi driver home was talking to me and also asking questions, but started with "Are you studying Arabic at the university?" (Because I needed him to ask me his questions twice because it took me a bit to understand. I'm getting better, he was only speaking in Arabic, but it still takes me a while to comprehend.) He actually asked me early on if I was married; and when I said yes the questions were "Is your husband here or there?" (there) "Do you have children?" (No) "Why not?" (After I return) "What's your age?" [usually I get this BEFORE he asks me if i'm married!] (the age to go to University) "What's your age? Like I'm 24." (Not young not old) "You don't understand?" [Seriously? You can't get that I just don't want to answer your question? Ok, then yeah I just dont' understand.] "You're cute/pretty. You're cute/pretty." Luckily at that point we got to where I get off. OH MY GOD THICK ONE!!
Thank you Jeffrey and whoever else suggested to me that I should be "married" for the semester. For most people it's a wonderful deterrent. Though it IS amusing when after living with me for a month, I was sitting next to Maher and he just noticed the ring. I'm of course telling my family and people close to me it's just a deterrent; but not some others!
As for the rest of my life, these past two weeks have been the hell that go along with midterms. I've had 2 so far, which went relatively well. I got one exam back today and it was REALLY good; now I'm just hoping I did acceptable on the oral exam because those 2 grades are averaged together. And since the other half of the class is being tested tomorrow, I won't know till at least wednesday. Tomorrow is my enviro class, which will either be great or terrible. Our instructions were to memorize as much information as we can; which is AWFUL for me; but at the same time if I don't need to give numbers it's easy--it's all environmental water and pollution stuff I've learned before, and "Israel is evil and destroying the lives of all Arabs around it." As long as I remember that it'll be easy. (I've gotten SO mad while reading over the powerpoints you have no idea!) Tuesday's exam is in listening, which I hate the class so I don't really care about the midterm. Terrible way to think about it I know. I'll do the best I can, it just won't be that good and I don't mind. Wednesday I'm taking a field trip with my Waterways class to one of the major dams in Jordan, and Thursday I'll take my Islam exam. I actually did well on the last part of the Islam midterm! And we don't have that much new material so I think I'll actually do well in this class! :D
Also on Thursday will be the long-awaited trip to Dana Nature Reserve. My friend Joanna and I are going to go after my exam is done on Thursday and go hiking Friday. I've heard really good things about Dana, and this is the last weekend it's open. REALLY looking forward to this. It's gonna be a GREAT way to unwind after midterms, and we'll still be able to work on our paper together on Saturday. (Our paper in Islam is due next Wednesday.)
As for other news, I've been dancing up a storm the past few days. Culture club last Thursday was on bellydancing so I learned the basics; then in preparation for the wedding I asked Suher and Diana to teach me how to dance, so Suher invited me to her friend's birthday party on Thurs night. That was mainly me being draged onto the dance floor, copying them, and getting laughed at because I looked RIDICULOUS. But I learned, and it was a lot of fun. Then Friday night there was a huge party of a host brother and host mother, and all the students in my "family" and their families were there. There were 10 of us I believe. It was a BLAST!!! And of course, when there's music playing, you can't get me off the dance floor. There was both American music (actually popular music; one of the Abroad students put that together) and Arabic music. It was a mixed crowd, very relaxed, all-around craziness, and in general a wonderful time. Oh, and ps--EVERYONE WAS SOBER! A few people smoked cigarettes but that's it. It IS possible to go crazy and have a good time on no substances. I love this country!
Friday and Saturday during the day I basically locked myself in my room to study. But Saturday afternoon/night Amal, Tala and I went shopping for some new shirts and shoes for the wedding. A minor difference between here and America: Amal told me to tell people that we went to the mall and these shirts cost...oh 35 Dinar and these name-brand stores, but I'm a college student so I got them on sale for 15 or 20 JD (1 JD is about $1.4). Of course they're not even close to that; we went to thrift stores. And in the US that's much better then going to fancy stores. I love going places with Amal! I'm really bonding with her more than anyone else here, though I love all the members of my family. It's just easier to do stuff with her, and unlike Shireen she likes going out and shopping/looking at stores and seeing movies etc. It is just a constant reminder she's really not that much older than me, even though she has 2 kids. I see the age closeness in Maher too, but I barely spend time with him simply because he's a guy and there's a huge gender sparation in this country.
This is long enough and I'm done with my Water notes. On to the next subject!
Also on the title, for those of you who don't know, I am "married" for the semester. I have had 3 run-ins so far:
1. I was praying at the Mosque with Amal during Ramadan, and afterwards this lady started talking to me about if I was a convert ("I'm learning"), and going on and on about how Islam is such a wonderful religion and it's the only way to reach God etc etc. Amal finally came over, and the lady turned to her and in Arabic said she wished I was a Muslim because she would marry me to her son. After that I moved around my rings so I'm wearing one on my ring finger.
2. I got into a taxi one night to go home; he offered me a cigarette and after I refused asked permission to smoke. (Most taxi drivers don't ask.) Then he started asking me questions--what's my name, where am I from, what's my age ("What? What? Sorry, I don't know Arabic."); then he said "I love America. I want to learn English. Where?" He didn't like my answer of University or College and kept asking. FInally he came out and asked me if I was married. After I said yes and showed him I had a ring on, he didn't speak to me for the rest of the ride.
3. Today, my taxi driver home was talking to me and also asking questions, but started with "Are you studying Arabic at the university?" (Because I needed him to ask me his questions twice because it took me a bit to understand. I'm getting better, he was only speaking in Arabic, but it still takes me a while to comprehend.) He actually asked me early on if I was married; and when I said yes the questions were "Is your husband here or there?" (there) "Do you have children?" (No) "Why not?" (After I return) "What's your age?" [usually I get this BEFORE he asks me if i'm married!] (the age to go to University) "What's your age? Like I'm 24." (Not young not old) "You don't understand?" [Seriously? You can't get that I just don't want to answer your question? Ok, then yeah I just dont' understand.] "You're cute/pretty. You're cute/pretty." Luckily at that point we got to where I get off. OH MY GOD THICK ONE!!
Thank you Jeffrey and whoever else suggested to me that I should be "married" for the semester. For most people it's a wonderful deterrent. Though it IS amusing when after living with me for a month, I was sitting next to Maher and he just noticed the ring. I'm of course telling my family and people close to me it's just a deterrent; but not some others!
As for the rest of my life, these past two weeks have been the hell that go along with midterms. I've had 2 so far, which went relatively well. I got one exam back today and it was REALLY good; now I'm just hoping I did acceptable on the oral exam because those 2 grades are averaged together. And since the other half of the class is being tested tomorrow, I won't know till at least wednesday. Tomorrow is my enviro class, which will either be great or terrible. Our instructions were to memorize as much information as we can; which is AWFUL for me; but at the same time if I don't need to give numbers it's easy--it's all environmental water and pollution stuff I've learned before, and "Israel is evil and destroying the lives of all Arabs around it." As long as I remember that it'll be easy. (I've gotten SO mad while reading over the powerpoints you have no idea!) Tuesday's exam is in listening, which I hate the class so I don't really care about the midterm. Terrible way to think about it I know. I'll do the best I can, it just won't be that good and I don't mind. Wednesday I'm taking a field trip with my Waterways class to one of the major dams in Jordan, and Thursday I'll take my Islam exam. I actually did well on the last part of the Islam midterm! And we don't have that much new material so I think I'll actually do well in this class! :D
Also on Thursday will be the long-awaited trip to Dana Nature Reserve. My friend Joanna and I are going to go after my exam is done on Thursday and go hiking Friday. I've heard really good things about Dana, and this is the last weekend it's open. REALLY looking forward to this. It's gonna be a GREAT way to unwind after midterms, and we'll still be able to work on our paper together on Saturday. (Our paper in Islam is due next Wednesday.)
As for other news, I've been dancing up a storm the past few days. Culture club last Thursday was on bellydancing so I learned the basics; then in preparation for the wedding I asked Suher and Diana to teach me how to dance, so Suher invited me to her friend's birthday party on Thurs night. That was mainly me being draged onto the dance floor, copying them, and getting laughed at because I looked RIDICULOUS. But I learned, and it was a lot of fun. Then Friday night there was a huge party of a host brother and host mother, and all the students in my "family" and their families were there. There were 10 of us I believe. It was a BLAST!!! And of course, when there's music playing, you can't get me off the dance floor. There was both American music (actually popular music; one of the Abroad students put that together) and Arabic music. It was a mixed crowd, very relaxed, all-around craziness, and in general a wonderful time. Oh, and ps--EVERYONE WAS SOBER! A few people smoked cigarettes but that's it. It IS possible to go crazy and have a good time on no substances. I love this country!
Friday and Saturday during the day I basically locked myself in my room to study. But Saturday afternoon/night Amal, Tala and I went shopping for some new shirts and shoes for the wedding. A minor difference between here and America: Amal told me to tell people that we went to the mall and these shirts cost...oh 35 Dinar and these name-brand stores, but I'm a college student so I got them on sale for 15 or 20 JD (1 JD is about $1.4). Of course they're not even close to that; we went to thrift stores. And in the US that's much better then going to fancy stores. I love going places with Amal! I'm really bonding with her more than anyone else here, though I love all the members of my family. It's just easier to do stuff with her, and unlike Shireen she likes going out and shopping/looking at stores and seeing movies etc. It is just a constant reminder she's really not that much older than me, even though she has 2 kids. I see the age closeness in Maher too, but I barely spend time with him simply because he's a guy and there's a huge gender sparation in this country.
This is long enough and I'm done with my Water notes. On to the next subject!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Long Days & Delays
Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The Good News first:
Thursday of last week went really well. The students were engaged, active, and asking questions. We talked about ballads, and I wrote some facts about ballads in our big ballad spiral notebook (I love using visuals). I began the lesson by talking about their own "small moment" stories. We talked about the word embellish, and the funniest part of the lesson was when the kids got to embellish my shared story about being interviewed for a job this summer. The lesson carried over into this week, when we talked about historical fiction as a way of embellishing the true facts of history to create an interesting story.
The Bad News now: Substitute teachers are such a downer! I mean, I know it's tough to come into a classroom as a new person, but you have to at least treat the students with the dignity they deserve. I think the tension in the classroom escalated to a point I could not have foreseen. Fortunately the students recognized that this was just a different kind of teaching style (one that involves yelling and saying "Heads down!" a lot), and they weren't going to have to deal with it forever. I'm amazed that no one cried. We were able to move forward with the ballad project, and did a whole lesson on historical fiction. My read aloud got "cancelled" quite abruptly: Before I could even begin reading, the sub got so frustrated with certain students not listening to her directives that she ordered the whole class back to their seats to write her notes of apology.
I wish I could have said something, but I know that undermining the sub's power would not have been the solution. I just felt like such a pawn in this whole thing, and I hope I didn't do anything to make the day more unpleasant.
Anyhow, more happy news is: I had a great assignment for one of my Bank Street classes. We had to find books depicting a non-traditional family structure, so I picked Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley. It's wonderful! It's got beautiful watercolor illustrations and is set in Venice. There's an emphasis on the fact that men can be nurturing and still teach young children good lessons, especially curious children. Piccolo is a single father cat raising two kittens he adopted from off the street. Talk about non-typical! Single parent, male-headed, and adopted children.
I will leave you all with a comforting image, one that makes me feel better too:
Thursday of last week went really well. The students were engaged, active, and asking questions. We talked about ballads, and I wrote some facts about ballads in our big ballad spiral notebook (I love using visuals). I began the lesson by talking about their own "small moment" stories. We talked about the word embellish, and the funniest part of the lesson was when the kids got to embellish my shared story about being interviewed for a job this summer. The lesson carried over into this week, when we talked about historical fiction as a way of embellishing the true facts of history to create an interesting story.
The Bad News now: Substitute teachers are such a downer! I mean, I know it's tough to come into a classroom as a new person, but you have to at least treat the students with the dignity they deserve. I think the tension in the classroom escalated to a point I could not have foreseen. Fortunately the students recognized that this was just a different kind of teaching style (one that involves yelling and saying "Heads down!" a lot), and they weren't going to have to deal with it forever. I'm amazed that no one cried. We were able to move forward with the ballad project, and did a whole lesson on historical fiction. My read aloud got "cancelled" quite abruptly: Before I could even begin reading, the sub got so frustrated with certain students not listening to her directives that she ordered the whole class back to their seats to write her notes of apology.
I wish I could have said something, but I know that undermining the sub's power would not have been the solution. I just felt like such a pawn in this whole thing, and I hope I didn't do anything to make the day more unpleasant.
Anyhow, more happy news is: I had a great assignment for one of my Bank Street classes. We had to find books depicting a non-traditional family structure, so I picked Papa Piccolo by Carol Talley. It's wonderful! It's got beautiful watercolor illustrations and is set in Venice. There's an emphasis on the fact that men can be nurturing and still teach young children good lessons, especially curious children. Piccolo is a single father cat raising two kittens he adopted from off the street. Talk about non-typical! Single parent, male-headed, and adopted children.
I will leave you all with a comforting image, one that makes me feel better too:
I hate midterms
I really do. Especially when I get 4 grades but have to take 6 midterms. WHY DO I HAVE 3 FUSHA CLASSES!?!? grumble. I have that, and a full week this week, and a wedding on Monday, and a paper due the next week. STRESSSSSS.
Otherwise, things are looking crazy but really good. Aya's birthday party was yesterday so we had balloons and cake and Hana made chocolate again (though they weren't as good as Eid's chocolates). Quick reminder, Maher's sister is Diana; her younger child is Aya. And I was wrong--Aya just TURNED 3 yesterday, so she was 2 before. Which explains a lot about her! I mean, she's a wonderful and adorable girl and I love her, buuut she acted like she was 2. On Monday I'm going to a wedding so I need to find something to wear to that. It's not that fancy so I'm going to wear a skirt I have and borrow a shirt. But Amal, the kids and I are still going to go to the suk on Saturday so I can go shopping for myself. For funsies. :) I'm really excited for the wedding! Oh also to prep for it, I was over at Suher's house the other day and I watched one of her sister's wedding shower movie. And I saw that the dancing here, especially by the girls, is a lot of belly-dancing/shimmying...not something i'm particularly good at. So i asked Suher and Diana to teach me, and got an invite to Suher's friend's birthday party on Thursday night. And I'll get lessons there. I love how this connection stuff works.
Today CIEE brought in a special speaker for those who wanted to hear about a certain topic. So I got to hear about LGBT issues in Jordan by one of the few openly gay men in the country. It was REALLY interesting. It was seriously a different mindset then what we're used to. Unfortunately, there's no way I can explain everything appropriately on a blog, so you'll have to ask me in person. And expect to have a long conversation.
The next big trip is gonna be Donna National Park. I'm going with 2 or 3 friends and we're going hiking in a nature preserve, right after finals are done. Perfect way to de-stress! I can't wait!
Otherwise, things are looking crazy but really good. Aya's birthday party was yesterday so we had balloons and cake and Hana made chocolate again (though they weren't as good as Eid's chocolates). Quick reminder, Maher's sister is Diana; her younger child is Aya. And I was wrong--Aya just TURNED 3 yesterday, so she was 2 before. Which explains a lot about her! I mean, she's a wonderful and adorable girl and I love her, buuut she acted like she was 2. On Monday I'm going to a wedding so I need to find something to wear to that. It's not that fancy so I'm going to wear a skirt I have and borrow a shirt. But Amal, the kids and I are still going to go to the suk on Saturday so I can go shopping for myself. For funsies. :) I'm really excited for the wedding! Oh also to prep for it, I was over at Suher's house the other day and I watched one of her sister's wedding shower movie. And I saw that the dancing here, especially by the girls, is a lot of belly-dancing/shimmying...not something i'm particularly good at. So i asked Suher and Diana to teach me, and got an invite to Suher's friend's birthday party on Thursday night. And I'll get lessons there. I love how this connection stuff works.
Today CIEE brought in a special speaker for those who wanted to hear about a certain topic. So I got to hear about LGBT issues in Jordan by one of the few openly gay men in the country. It was REALLY interesting. It was seriously a different mindset then what we're used to. Unfortunately, there's no way I can explain everything appropriately on a blog, so you'll have to ask me in person. And expect to have a long conversation.
The next big trip is gonna be Donna National Park. I'm going with 2 or 3 friends and we're going hiking in a nature preserve, right after finals are done. Perfect way to de-stress! I can't wait!
Friday, October 16, 2009
So much to do, so little time
I've been SUPER busy since I last wrote (when did I last update?) and it doesn't look like that's gonna let up for the rest of the semester. I'm going to give a few big things that I remember off the top of my head.
Prince Ra'ad:
There's something insanely important in Jordan called wasta, translated to "connections". A good example is Maher's step-mother's son from her first marriage is named Ibrahim. He's is good friends with my host family, and was over one night and said he was planning a meeting at the university soon for his boss the Prince; would I like to come to the meeting and meet him? So I went to a meeting on People with Disabilities in Jordan and didn't really get to meet the prince, but I got to shake his hand. I have shaken hands with royalty. The meeting was really interesting, mainly because I was able to read what the speakers were saying off their powerpoint presentation and tried to understand what they were talking about. I caught stuff now and then and recognized a lot of words, which I think is a plus.
Classes:
1. My Waterways class is moving!!!! I no longer have to walk the 20 minutes uphill and the 15-20 min back and still be late for my afternoon classes; now all my classes are in one building! Yay!
2. My Amiyya teacher is pregnant (4 months in? maybe 5) and last class she left half an hour early because she was in extreme pain and went to the hospital. It was seriously painful watching her we all felt so bad that we were keeping her there. But she's had a small surgery, and alhamdulilleh she and her baby are fine. This coming week Najah, the head of the Arabic dept, is going to teach our classes.
3.Wednesday was a REAL eye opener for me. First, in Waterways, we started on the main focus of the class, the conflicts in the Middle East. The time we're dealing with begins around WWI when Great Britian controlled the area now known as Palestine, through Britian's promise to 2 different groups of people that they could have that land, and into the time when Israel became a state. Now I've known for years and years that what Hamas did could be seen, and is seen by many, as terrorism. But getting people to admit that in the States is like pulling teeth. And although I've been prepared for attacks on Israel my entire time here, it was still a slap in the face to see the slide that described how the "Jewish terrorist gangs" forced Palestinians off their land, followed by the slide that said "In 1948 Israel declared its independence" with a gunshot sound to make the point. Whoopee, this is gonna be the rest of the semester! Also, my teacher kept saying "the Jews" and then correcting himself to "the Israelis"; it's kind of him to correct himself but that does show his opinion; which means I'm doing my best to speak from a historical American point of view and not a Jewish one. Thank god I'm good at keeping my mouth shut.
There's more, there's always more, but I need to go. So the one last thing is family! Rana wanted a picture of our family for the next group of students so I have a really good pic.
This is: Maher and Laith, Shireen and Tala, and Amaal.
This one is Amaal's kids and Diana's kids (Diana is Maher's sister). Jude is raising her hand, Aya is squatting, and Laith and Tala you can recognize. As I've heard almost every day, Aya looks a lot like me.
Prince Ra'ad:
There's something insanely important in Jordan called wasta, translated to "connections". A good example is Maher's step-mother's son from her first marriage is named Ibrahim. He's is good friends with my host family, and was over one night and said he was planning a meeting at the university soon for his boss the Prince; would I like to come to the meeting and meet him? So I went to a meeting on People with Disabilities in Jordan and didn't really get to meet the prince, but I got to shake his hand. I have shaken hands with royalty. The meeting was really interesting, mainly because I was able to read what the speakers were saying off their powerpoint presentation and tried to understand what they were talking about. I caught stuff now and then and recognized a lot of words, which I think is a plus.
Classes:
1. My Waterways class is moving!!!! I no longer have to walk the 20 minutes uphill and the 15-20 min back and still be late for my afternoon classes; now all my classes are in one building! Yay!
2. My Amiyya teacher is pregnant (4 months in? maybe 5) and last class she left half an hour early because she was in extreme pain and went to the hospital. It was seriously painful watching her we all felt so bad that we were keeping her there. But she's had a small surgery, and alhamdulilleh she and her baby are fine. This coming week Najah, the head of the Arabic dept, is going to teach our classes.
3.Wednesday was a REAL eye opener for me. First, in Waterways, we started on the main focus of the class, the conflicts in the Middle East. The time we're dealing with begins around WWI when Great Britian controlled the area now known as Palestine, through Britian's promise to 2 different groups of people that they could have that land, and into the time when Israel became a state. Now I've known for years and years that what Hamas did could be seen, and is seen by many, as terrorism. But getting people to admit that in the States is like pulling teeth. And although I've been prepared for attacks on Israel my entire time here, it was still a slap in the face to see the slide that described how the "Jewish terrorist gangs" forced Palestinians off their land, followed by the slide that said "In 1948 Israel declared its independence" with a gunshot sound to make the point. Whoopee, this is gonna be the rest of the semester! Also, my teacher kept saying "the Jews" and then correcting himself to "the Israelis"; it's kind of him to correct himself but that does show his opinion; which means I'm doing my best to speak from a historical American point of view and not a Jewish one. Thank god I'm good at keeping my mouth shut.
There's more, there's always more, but I need to go. So the one last thing is family! Rana wanted a picture of our family for the next group of students so I have a really good pic.
This is: Maher and Laith, Shireen and Tala, and Amaal.
This one is Amaal's kids and Diana's kids (Diana is Maher's sister). Jude is raising her hand, Aya is squatting, and Laith and Tala you can recognize. As I've heard almost every day, Aya looks a lot like me.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wesleyan Wishlist
Hi Everybody!
I want to extend courage and patience to Lilah for her visa troubles and anything else that may be affecting her stay in Jordan. I hope you work it all out soon!
For the past two weekends I've felt like a Wesleyan student on some sort of extended trip to the city. Not so! I am an Urban Education Semester student, and I will maintain that. After this weekend's Pledging visit (yes, I am returning to Wesleyan again this Friday), I have no more officially scheduled visits back to the school.
It's been nice to see Todd and have him get to know my life here in the city. We went to the Columbia pledging ceremony, which was a great experience. I am so happy to have siblings here, right at 116th and Broadway : ) Besides going to the lower east side + alphabet city, we ran into Michelle Katz! Great fun and great Wesleyan reunions seem to happen spontaneously.
My UES project is developing smoothly. I'm making a timeline for it now, which should be done by tomorrow. Basically, I'm introducing historical fiction to the students by having them read and listen to ballads. We've read a children's book about women pirates (The Ballad of the Pirate Queens), and we've discussed what we think makes a ballad.
- Who writes them?
- What kind of stories do ballads tell?
- What makes them easy or hard to understand?
- Can you read them, sing them, or both?
- What do you notice about the language?
Next, I'll give them handouts explaining the components of a ballad. One may be about subject matter, one may be about verse, and one may be about rhyme scheme. I have to play around with what makes sense. Hopefully I can get some fun ballads on CD's. After we've talked about what ballads are (maybe two to three weeks), we will embark on our own mission: To create a ballad based on a piece of history that the students are drawn to. This will link to their study of historical fiction. I am really enjoying the study of their interactive read-alouds. It's a treat to hear their conversations about the text.
Writing and illustrating these ballads should be super exciting, and I have confidence that the students are capable of it. We've already discussed how to make illustrations informative, and I think they will use this knowledge in their books.
Classes at Bank Street are going well. I can feel the reading and the work a-piling up, especially now that I have a more active role in the classroom. After this weekend of merriment, the work really begins.
Cheerio,
Becky
I want to extend courage and patience to Lilah for her visa troubles and anything else that may be affecting her stay in Jordan. I hope you work it all out soon!
For the past two weekends I've felt like a Wesleyan student on some sort of extended trip to the city. Not so! I am an Urban Education Semester student, and I will maintain that. After this weekend's Pledging visit (yes, I am returning to Wesleyan again this Friday), I have no more officially scheduled visits back to the school.
It's been nice to see Todd and have him get to know my life here in the city. We went to the Columbia pledging ceremony, which was a great experience. I am so happy to have siblings here, right at 116th and Broadway : ) Besides going to the lower east side + alphabet city, we ran into Michelle Katz! Great fun and great Wesleyan reunions seem to happen spontaneously.
My UES project is developing smoothly. I'm making a timeline for it now, which should be done by tomorrow. Basically, I'm introducing historical fiction to the students by having them read and listen to ballads. We've read a children's book about women pirates (The Ballad of the Pirate Queens), and we've discussed what we think makes a ballad.
- Who writes them?- What kind of stories do ballads tell?
- What makes them easy or hard to understand?
- Can you read them, sing them, or both?
- What do you notice about the language?
Next, I'll give them handouts explaining the components of a ballad. One may be about subject matter, one may be about verse, and one may be about rhyme scheme. I have to play around with what makes sense. Hopefully I can get some fun ballads on CD's. After we've talked about what ballads are (maybe two to three weeks), we will embark on our own mission: To create a ballad based on a piece of history that the students are drawn to. This will link to their study of historical fiction. I am really enjoying the study of their interactive read-alouds. It's a treat to hear their conversations about the text.
Writing and illustrating these ballads should be super exciting, and I have confidence that the students are capable of it. We've already discussed how to make illustrations informative, and I think they will use this knowledge in their books.
Classes at Bank Street are going well. I can feel the reading and the work a-piling up, especially now that I have a more active role in the classroom. After this weekend of merriment, the work really begins.
Cheerio,
Becky
Friday, October 9, 2009
Don't worry be happy now
To start out, so everyone knows, so far the issues across the border haven't really affected me (knock on wood). Except that I received an email from both CIEE and the US Embassy giving me a heads up on what's going on and reminding the students to stay away from rallies and keep a low profile. They're on top of it and I'm trying to read NY Times World and Al Jazeera daily (or at least skim it).
Wednesday I went with my Arabic class to the different mosques around town. We visited King Hussein Mosque in the middle of the city but couldn't go in because men were praying and barely let the boys in our class go in. We left that soon after and traveled to King Abdullah Mosque, the beautiful blue one. The girls had to wear these robes, it was really funny.
We walked around inside and saw their museum and then went into the praying area (it is NOT called the main sanctuary XP) which was BEAUTIFUL. We also went into the parliament house and the women's quarters, which were very nice. Much nicer than the next mosque we went to, which was acceptable. Then we traveled to the last mosque, I believe the mosque of King Abdullah II. It was breathtaking. You walked in and there were trees and birds singing; the main space was GORGEOUS (we got to go in, also after donning the robes, because it was before men came to pray) with soft carpeted floors and the walls and everything were pieces of wood that were fitted together without glue or nails. It was really a work of art and fit for a king. Here, we saw the sunset over the city through trees and listened to the call to prayer. It was the best sunset I've seen in a very long time.
Today, Jordan held a Centennial Parade celebrating 100 years. It was the 1st parade they've ever had where they closed off streets, and I must say they did an amazing job. There were people from the schools and Boy Scouts and from the army and giant cars with I guess floats on them (covered in stuff, not actually floating; what are they called? I'm tired.) and it was just tons of fun. I went with Amal, Tala, Colin, and Dan. I'm probably roasted at the moment; I was out in the sun w/o sunscreen from 2:30 till sunset. But it was soooo worth it! :)
Tomorrow is Wadi Hassa, a hike through water and up/down a waterfall, lots of fun. I'm looking forward to it.
Wednesday I went with my Arabic class to the different mosques around town. We visited King Hussein Mosque in the middle of the city but couldn't go in because men were praying and barely let the boys in our class go in. We left that soon after and traveled to King Abdullah Mosque, the beautiful blue one. The girls had to wear these robes, it was really funny.
We walked around inside and saw their museum and then went into the praying area (it is NOT called the main sanctuary XP) which was BEAUTIFUL. We also went into the parliament house and the women's quarters, which were very nice. Much nicer than the next mosque we went to, which was acceptable. Then we traveled to the last mosque, I believe the mosque of King Abdullah II. It was breathtaking. You walked in and there were trees and birds singing; the main space was GORGEOUS (we got to go in, also after donning the robes, because it was before men came to pray) with soft carpeted floors and the walls and everything were pieces of wood that were fitted together without glue or nails. It was really a work of art and fit for a king. Here, we saw the sunset over the city through trees and listened to the call to prayer. It was the best sunset I've seen in a very long time.
Today, Jordan held a Centennial Parade celebrating 100 years. It was the 1st parade they've ever had where they closed off streets, and I must say they did an amazing job. There were people from the schools and Boy Scouts and from the army and giant cars with I guess floats on them (covered in stuff, not actually floating; what are they called? I'm tired.) and it was just tons of fun. I went with Amal, Tala, Colin, and Dan. I'm probably roasted at the moment; I was out in the sun w/o sunscreen from 2:30 till sunset. But it was soooo worth it! :)
Tomorrow is Wadi Hassa, a hike through water and up/down a waterfall, lots of fun. I'm looking forward to it.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Illegal Immigrants
Guess what! For the past three days, I've been staying here illegally! Usually, CIEE receives our residency visas a week or two after we arrive, but this semester it hasn't worked out. So everyone who hasn't left the country has been here illegally for a bit. Whoops! I got a text and a call from Ahmad (one of the CIEE coordinators) saying meet him at the Laungage Center NOW. Then 6 other students and I went to the Shmesani police station and got a visa extention. It took FOREVER! But I got it and I'm legal for another month; hopefully by then I'll have a real student visa. (I'll be a real boy!) All in all, there are about 30 students with this problem. He decided to get my group today and the rest are leaving classes tomorrow. Best of luck to them!
Otherwise, things have been good. It was great seeing Becca last Friday night; I REALLY enjoyed her work partners. And I got to meet a Jordanian billionaire (multi-millionaire?) which is something to boast about. :)
Saturday I went with people to Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, or the site where John baptized Jesus. It was really nice. Tho it was amusing how I was standing in a Muslim country (with armed guards all over), at a Christian holy site, with the Israeli flag flying big and strong across from me.
No!!! Maher just, and I mean just, got a job offer from another country (Saudi Arabia) to work there until May. And the whole family (minus Shireen) will be leaving in a few weeks. BOO!! It's gonna be VERY different without the children here. I'm glad I'm here to keep Shireen company, but still...I'm gonna miss them like CRAZY.
Otherwise, things have been good. It was great seeing Becca last Friday night; I REALLY enjoyed her work partners. And I got to meet a Jordanian billionaire (multi-millionaire?) which is something to boast about. :)
Saturday I went with people to Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan, or the site where John baptized Jesus. It was really nice. Tho it was amusing how I was standing in a Muslim country (with armed guards all over), at a Christian holy site, with the Israeli flag flying big and strong across from me.
No!!! Maher just, and I mean just, got a job offer from another country (Saudi Arabia) to work there until May. And the whole family (minus Shireen) will be leaving in a few weeks. BOO!! It's gonna be VERY different without the children here. I'm glad I'm here to keep Shireen company, but still...I'm gonna miss them like CRAZY.
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