Thoughts of Home

Hello All,

The past week has been a very jazz, blues and bluegrass music type of week. The current song suck in my head is Billie Holiday's "I'll be Seeing You", particularly these two stanzas have been stuck in my head:
"I'll be seeing you
In all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.


I'll find you
In the morning sun
And when the night is new.
I'll be looking at the moon,
But I'll be seeing you."

I will not lie, with the reminder that Christmas is coming up (aka stores putting up decorations, people at school talking about their plans and watching movies with Christmas scenes in it), I have been thinking more about home, family and friends.  As much as I would love to "be seeing you", at the same time I am beginning to get excited about all the wonderful opportunities and places to see with holidays and time off coming up. I also am looking forward to making my own memories in the land of the Bible (and Q'uran).  Seriously how often do you get the chance to have Christmas in the land where it all started years ago? Ideas of how to decorate on the cheapest budget possible are starting to race across my mind, as well as planning trips all over... yup, I am thinking WAY ahead of myself, but I think it's a healthy way of dealing with Christmas away from home.

Another event coming up soon, within the next week and a half, is my 24th birthday.  Unlike most of my 20s birthdays, I am actually looking forward to turning a year older... perhaps it's due to the fact I feel I am gaining a little more wisdom or it's the excitement having my birthday in another country, who knows? Currently we, Will and I, are planning a mixed birthday and American Thanksgiving meal next weekend as we didn't get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in October or American Thanksgiving this weekend. I am so looking forward to having turkey and cranberry sauce... you have no idea! :)

Other than that not too much is new. Jordan has settled down and it almost feels like the protests didn't even happen.  People still aren't too happy about the gas prices raising, but at the same time they are accepting it and moving on with life.  In some ways I almost feel like Jordan appreciates their current stable status while being surrounded by unstable countries, and are unwilling to rock the boat too much.  The people are also pretty forgiving :)!  As for me, I have started writing a little poetry, which is a new foray for me, but at the same time a nice outlet for creative energy as I have knitting needles, but no yarn. Also I started to personalize my room a bit and bought candles, so it feels more like a home.

I hope you all are doing well! For those of you in Canada or places with snow, enjoy it and throw a couple snowballs for me!!

Love from Jordan,
Kate
xoxoxox

It's Chilly!!

Hello All,

So the weather has turned chilly here in Amman, it is definitely the start of winter here!! The thing is it's not like the weather is as cold as it is in Canada (aka below 0), it's more the fact that winter here is usually wet/rainy and there is no central heating in the homes, or any heating at all. People here rely on either gas or electric heaters to keep their homes warm.  This does make a few more things difficult here, for instance laundry. There are very few people who have dryers here (Will and I do not) therefore things are hung to dry. When the weather is cold, the thick sweaters one needs to actually stay warm take about three days to dry this equals a very cold and not happy Kate! I am being a bit of a baby, but it's not nice to be cold, I was not prepared for this! On a positive note I am going to try and plan a shopping trip this week to the ballad to buy some cheap warm sweaters, a jacket and electric heater.  It's also really cute to see all the Jordanians and their children bundled up (in 16 degrees) like Canadians in our winter (-25 degrees).

Things have been a bit tense here in Jordan the last couple of days.  The government decided to raise the prices of gas, this is an important and necessary item here as it is used to power everything here;  from your stove to your vehicles and the heating for your home.  When the gas prices are raised, prices of food and other items are also raised.  In a country that is already struggling with their economy, is surrounded on all sides by countries in conflict and still receiving streams of refugees everyday, this is a huge issue especially for the many families that are already having financial problems.  As a result there have been a few violent protests over Jordan since Wednesday.  I am perfectly safe as are my friends here, but it is difficult to see the toll this issue is taking on the wonderfully welcoming and friendly people here.

It's hard to switch topics and talk about the seemingly mundane happenings in my day after the previous paragraph, but I will try.  Last week Friday I spent the afternoon and early evening watching the grade 8-11 boys "football" (aka soccer) team play at the King's Academy near Madabah (seriously you should look up this school on the internet... it is CRAZY).  My friend, coworker and Jordanian older brother, Jamal, coaches the team so I went to support him and my boys :).  It was actually really awesome to watch and get to know the boys a little better;  I feel that just me going to these games has improved some of our relationships in the classroom.  Unfortunately it was pretty cold that day, and I had not dressed for the weather, so I half inched (cockney rhyming slang for pinched) the kids' sweaters and jackets to stay warm.  No worries they were all playing on the field and didn't need their jackets.  Other than that, I have been out to a few wonderful restaurants with friends, made food, met up with a fellow Saskatchewanian Canadian (it was so nice to hear the reference "cheap like borscht" and revel in the accent of home), experienced a few more Jordanian shopping centers, learned a little more Arabic, taught an English lesson (and failed miserably when my student was asked me about a few technical terms), learnt how to not burn things in my oven, rediscovered the gloriousness and calming influence of the band "Mumford and Sons", and finally I have saved mine and my roommate's relationship with the discovery of earphones when listening to music (he likes heavy metal and hip hop while I like good music :)... sorry Will if you are reading this. ps- we do like some similar music like the blues, bluegrass and some of the 60s-80s music).

I think that is all I can talk about for now, I am going to spend the rest of the day planning an English lesson, drinking my tea and watching tv shows with my lovely roommate.

So for now,
Love from Jordan,
Kate

...Is Living In Arab Kitsch

Hello All,

I am so sorry, I realized that I haven't blogged in almost a month! It has been pretty crazy! About three weeks ago my co-worker, Will, and I moved into a lovely apartment in the neighborhood of Jebel Webdieh. The following are some pictures (aka-tons of pictures):

Picture of my bedroom

Huge pretty sure antique armor in my room.

Vanity in my room.

View off the balcony #1

Our very Arab kitsch formal room.

ditto the above, plus the front door and the 80 year old cabinet.

formal room.

Hallway

Kitchen

ditto the above.

Booyah, two stoves!

Shower/bath, but mostly shower since a  bath would use up too much of our water for the week.

Bathroom/laundry room.

Family room.

More family room.

More family room.

View out of the back balcony.

The LCD screen right in the middle is close to the school.

   Other than that, there isn't too much to tell you.... life is pretty great! I am still loving Jordan, though I haven't explored too too much.  I've been to a student's farm outside of Madaba; it was a lovely farm, but we didn't get to see to much due to it being night-time when we went.  

This weekend is Eid Al Adha, a major Islamic holiday, so we have a five day weekend.... SOOOOOoooo nice. Will and I have spent most of it relaxing in our formal room watching tons of different tv shows and movies.  On Thursday I splurged and went to Ali Pasha Turkish Baths with a friend, my goodness it was delightful.  Those ladies are not afraid to get all up in your "stuff", but I have never felt so clean or so relaxed.... not to mention the unlimited hibiscus slushie they give you. Today I did actually get off my bottom and clean the apartment, hence why I actually have pictures on the blog.   We (a few coworkers) had thought about heading out somewhere to go camping, but most of us are tired and thankful just to have a relaxing time off.  We might end up going to Jerash or something for an afternoon, but until that is planned out I am thinking of making cinnamon buns tomorrow and doing some major correcting of grade 11 English papers.

Sorry this isn't very newsy, hopefully you are all doing well! 

Love to all of you from Jordan,

Kate

ps- I have had two marriage proposals, but no worries both were turned down.

pps- Met my first cockroach in the bathroom bidet... needless to say I won't be cleaning that again anytime soon!

An Update

Hey All,

So I realized that it has been almost a week since I last blogged, sorry about that.  It has been a busy week with  a few ups and downs; I wanted to wait to write anything until I was a little more settled.

Last Sunday I met an acquaintance of my Aunt and Uncle; Rasha came to Canada four years ago with IVEP, an international work abroad program connected with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee).  It was a lovely visit; we went to an Arabic Catholic Church here (very interesting as I have never been to a Mass and don't really understand Arabic) and then went shopping with some of her friends on a street with a whole bunch of super discounted shops.  Very sweet deals,  2-6 JD for clothes compared to 15 JD and upwards in a mall! I bought a very nice shirt for 4 JD that I then wore for my first day of school on Monday.

 School was interesting, but after a couple of rough days I think I'm finally figuring out what to do here and how I fit into the school.  It ends up that I am not working in the primary school as previously thought and told, but in the secondary school (aka highschool).  I'm currently working in grades 7-10 in the English department of the boy's school.  I am also helping out with the English club; editing the English side for the magazine, yearbook and monthly newsletters; and helping the guidance counselor organize his office, help find non-profit organizations for the boys to volunteer at for the CAST system (don't ask me what the acronym means because I forget), and other programming stuff.  The staff are very kind and helpful, not just professionally, but also offering help for anything outside of work. The students here take a bit of getting use to, but I think we are warming up to each other. Yesterday while helping out in the grade 10 class, the boys had a great time trying to teach me how to say their names and laughing at my Canadian accented Arabic. On a side note: they absolutely adore Canadians over here... almost every person I talk to has some relative living in Canada, or they themselves have vacationed in Canada.

The only thing that I'm not super pleased about school is due to this being a Christian school with some Muslim students, my weekends fall on Friday and Sunday. This means it is difficult to plan weekends away, or travel around. Jordan is such a beautiful country, and you need plenty of time to travel around and explore it properly.  I was lucky this Friday to get out and go hiking in the Dana Nature Preserve... wow this place is AMAZING.  Those of you who know me well, know that I do not like heights or really care for hiking. Not only did I hike for about 2hrs on the mountainous terrain (where heights were definitely an issue), but I actually enjoyed it. Originally we were suppose to go to Petra for "free" World Tourism Day, unfortunately it was falsely advertised and the free admission only applied to Jordanians, Jordan residents and those of Arab citizenship.Therefore they didn't have to pay the 1 JD it normally costs, while the rest of  us foreigners had to pay 50 JD (about $75). We didn't quite understand the logic behind, hence why we went to the Dana Wildlife Preserve instead.

Currently I am on the hunt for an apartment with one of the teachers at school. We've found a pretty nice place and are hoping to hear back soon whether or not we can take it.  Both of us are getting tired of living out of a suitcase. Mind you I will be sad to leave this apartment, I've really enjoyed the time I've spent here and getting to know Margie better and the view is SPECTACULAR!

Though things are going really well here and I could see myself coming back here longer term after I finish school; there are still a lot of things I find frustrating (not knowing enough Arabic, the constant realization that this is a very patriarchal society and feeling the stares and judgement of men on the street, being taken advantage of because I am a foreigner, etc) and I miss home. I am sad about missing out on my friend's important life events, or being able to sit down and have a long chats with friends and family. I miss biting into a big crisp juicy apple, being able to adjust water temperature, grass, being understood, watching the leaves turn colors in fall, HUGS and being able to wear whatever I darn well please. I miss YOU ALL!

At the same time, I am really enjoying my experiences here, learning more about the culture, all the awesome hand gestures and sayings in Arabic, the PEOPLE.... I feel a little more relaxed here and willing to try different things. I love how concerned neighbors are here, often they know more about you and your routines then you think they do; how people will bend over backwards here to help out someone they do or don't know; how connected they are with their families; random street cats that love being petted and the funny sounds they make (seriously Jordanian cats sound different then Canadian cats); how people stop randomly on the side of the road (or highway) to have picnics or bbq something; how if you fall on the street or there is a car accident about 300 people will descend on you, help you out and ask if you are okay; how important it is to stop anytime you see someone you know (even if it is a multitude of times a day) to say hello and ask them how they are before you continue on your way; and the melodious and calming sounds of the call to prayer, which reminds me 5 times every day how fortunate and blessed I am!

I hope all of you are doing well!
Insh'Allah (God willing) I will write soon !
Love from Jordan,
Kate

ps- some pictures from the hike

Picture from the drive to Dana Nature Preserve

Ditto to the above

Office, shops and bathrooms at Dana Nature Preserve (taken from a Bedouin-like resting tent)

Caves which we hiked to and farther on

View of the valley during the hike

Interesting rock formation (and one of the fellow hikers)

View of the valley during the hike.

FIGS!!

Hello All,

Well the past couple of days have been quite busy!! From trying new fruit (do you know how awesome it is to have local oranges? It is FANTASTIC! Also figs are AWESOME... really need to nab some more of those), going to the Taj mall twice (story to follow), taking a taxi all by myself, and taking a trip to the Dead Sea.  Yup it's been a pretty awesome past couple of days!

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before, but weekends here are Friday and Saturday.  Therefore Margie was off on Friday and we decided to take a trip to the Taj mall to partake of the 70% off sale at H&M and have a Starbucks (yes, they have Starbucks here!).  Unfortunately we didn't realize that stores do not open until 2pm on Fridays, after prayer, but we did get some delicious Starbucks.  Once we returned home Margie left to go on a hike in the gorge of Wadi Mujib (sounds pretty sweet, and I think I will do one in the future) and I settled in for what I thought would be a relaxing evening in the apartment.  Little did I know I would actually end up spending the rest of the evening at the Dead Sea with Whitney (the other current house guest) and her coworker Joel (who is from Canada... yay, Canadians unite).  It is absolutely gorgeous! Seriously! It was a hazy day, but if you looked hard enough over the red sand hills you could see Jerusalem.  Unfortunately I did not have a bathing suit, so I just dipped my toes in, but it was fun to watch the rest of the people float and spread the mud all over themselves and enjoy the scenery and soothing sounds.  I would love to go back, when I actually have a bathing suit, but it is super duper expensive 25JD to gain access to a private beach from a hotel (mind you that does include a food voucher). 

Today started out with a skype convo and breakfast with my sister; it's the first time I've used skype here and I wasn't disappointed... it was really lovely to see a familiar face! After that I took a taxi to go check out a possible apartment/roommate I found on an expat site.  That was an experience! First of all it was the first time I have taken a taxi all by myself and then I mispronounced the landmark name and I was taken in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. After a minor freak out/ realizing I was in the wrong place, I stopped to ask a different taxi driver where to go.  This taxi driver unfortunately was already waiting for a customer, but offered to stop another taxi for me and give the driver directions; just as he was about to do that, his customer came back which resulted in a funny conversation:

      Customer (a gentleman from Texas) to taxi driver- "Are you being mean to this young lady?" (said jokingly)

      Taxi Driver-"No sir, I was just about to help her find a different taxi"

      Customer- "Well that's not a way to treat a lady! You are going to give her a ride and for free!"

So I ended up getting a free ride to where I needed to go, with a older Texan gentleman (I say gentleman, because he even opened the taxi door for me) working in Dubai and in Amman for business.  We had a lovely conversation on the way. I guess this gentleman always uses this driver when he is in Amman, and told the driver to give me his number and to take care of me if ever I needed anything. I am so thankful for the small kindnesses I experience everyday, it makes this place seem a little less overwhelming and more like home.

After the apartment visit, I decided to take another taxi to the Taj Mall.  I really needed a few short sleeved shirts since it is not as scandalous here as I thought it would be and it's crazy hot here, as mentioned in previous posts. Taj mall was a mall; I do find shopping for clothes here a little disconcerting. The few stores I have been in tend to be male staff and they follow you around the store... I find it annoying in Canada when women staff do that, but here with male staff it really turns you off of shopping.  So to cheer myself up/congratulate myself on the accomplishments I achieved today, I bought a frozen yogurt from Pinkberry and picked up some fruit from Spinneys (a grocery store... seriously one of my favorite places here).  Then I came home to eat, have a nap, make some phone calls and write this entry. I am still thoroughly enjoying myself here, even though it still seems like a bit of a dream. I am also slowly becoming a little bit more confidant and independent, which is very nice as I feel like I am returning back to my normal self.

So for now

Love from Jordan,

Kate

                                                                     Dead Sea

                                                     The Dead Sea Spa and Resort

                                                            Looking over to Jerusalem

Sunset at the Dead Sea

Some Pictures

It's HOT!

Hello All,

So it is hot in Jordan, I don't mean warm... HOT! I feel like I am constantly sweating; nights are wonderful... not too cold and not too hot, but during the day it's nice to hide in the apartment and wear tank tops.

Other than a lovely brunch on Saturday morning (and meeting plenty of wonderfully inspiring people), the past two-three days have been rather quiet.  Most of them have been spent in the apartment trying to get over jet lag.  I also must admit that I have been rather chicken about going out and exploring by myself, but today I did it! It wasn't anything super brave or awesome, just around the block to buy some food... I'm not really quite sure what I bought, but it was DELICIOUS... with a naan bread bottom with delicious meaty (lamb maybe) spicy goodness on top and a guava juice! I don't normally eat meat, but at the time I was kind of flustered and just wanted to buy something to eat.  The shopkeeper was very kind and we had a bit of a conversation before I walked home. Tomorrow I think I will go on a quest to find manaqeesh or baked bread with cheese and zatar (thyme) and perhaps some sweets.  Also finding a bank would most likely be a good idea... eventually I will get to Rainbow Street, which is close to where I will be working.

What else can I tell you?  Noosa (the cat) and I have become friends... my current roommates haven't been home much in the past couple of days; one is working long days, the other is on a trip, so Noosa and I have been keeping each other company. Other than that, not much... I will try to take some pictures in the near future to let you all see a bit of where I am living.

Love from Jordan,
Kate