Petra

It is not everyday that I get to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I would like to make it more of frequent hobby though.

I would say Petra is the coolest place I have ever been. I recommend that all of you go and visit, and then invite me to come along because I have much more to explore to and learn about Petra.

However, in my two days of being there, reading some lonely planet, and talking to locals, I can share a little bit about the beautiful site.

The first thing that a few of us students did to get pumped for Petra before we went was watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The film was misleading because it gave me the false hope that I could find the Holy Grail. However, it did give me some awesome one liners to quote while I wore my new and cheap Indian Jones hat.

It was a fun two day experience. Petra is about four hours away from Amman, so that meant that we got a bus to travel in, as well as a hotel to party in. (That is completely true, there was an Arabic Dance Party).

                                                                                                                                                                      

We entered the site of Petra on Thursday afternoon, and got to see the treasury, which is probably the only part of Petra that most of you have seen on post cards, documentaries, oh and Indiana Jones.

Petra is much more than that. It is filled with many caves, ancient buildings and local Bedouins. I had many experiences and conversations with Bedouins over cups of very sweet tea, watching the sun set, and riding donkeys.

We stayed at one of the furthest points from the gate at Petra to watch the sunset. It was after closing hours, but it was okay since we were with locals. After the sunset it got dark quickly, so it made for a beautiful night walk through Petra.

There are special tickets for "Petra at Night". This ticket costs 15 JD (over 25 Canadian) to walk and see the treasury at night with candles lit in front of it. Since we were still trekking from the Monastery we were able to see the beautiful candle lit treasury for no extra charge. However, the security did not like us stopping for photos and constantly repeated that it was time to go.

We got back to the hotel, ate at a buffet, and then had the opportunity to dance after supper. I did participate a little this time, and I had fun but my Arab dancing ability has a lot of room for improvement.

The next morning was filled with more wandering. I hiked up to an ancient sacrifice site and wandered down through a much more secluded section of Petra, but still had many interesting buildings, caves, and cups of tea. The group I was with also happened to find a donkey leg in the middle of the sand.

These are just a few highlights from my two days in Petra. There are a few photos on the bottom  to show some of my incredible experience. However, no amount of blogging or photography can capture the beauty of Petra. I was in absolute awe with the beauty of the site, the history of Petra, and the hospitality that I received.

Service Project

A part of the schedule of the program I am in is to participate in service projects on Tuesdays. My service project is volunteering at a school in a city called Zarqua. It is about an hour, by public transit, from where I am staying in Amman. It has been fun figuring out how to use taxis and busses to get to the school. The combination of limited Arabic and still trying to figure out the layout of Amman guarantees for travel to always be an adventure.

I have now done two days at the school, and it has been a blast. The school is popular because it has many English speaking teachers and administrators. That means that many parents will send their Arabic speaking children to this school so they can learn English. It also means that English speaking parents will send their children to this school so they can understand what they are learning. Therefore, there is combination of Arabic and English classes. I love it since I am trying to learn Arabic, so the quick translations are helpful for me. However, I see it being quite difficult for teachers who can not speak Arabic, and therefore have little hope of being able to control a class.

My role has been interesting so far. My first day consisted of shadowing classes to just get a feel of what the school was like.  I had a bit more purpose on the second day. I spent the whole day in the library with students who needed more individual face time with their English. It was fun, because that usually just entailed helping students read story books. One period I was assigned with a student, who spoke almost no English, that needed help in Science. It was incredibly challenging. The concept of cells is difficult enough, and not being able to communicate in same language is quite the obstacle to add on.

It was an eye opening experience. I can definitely empathise with people struggling to learn a new language. Arabic has been tough so far, and I can see English being a struggle with many students. It is nice being on both sides—the student and the teacher—because it helps me know how to learn and teach more effectively. 

Church

My parents would be proud that I found a church to go to on Sunday morning, my siblings would be more proud that I went to a good lunch spot after.

Two other students and I went to an Episcopal Church on Sunday morning. The service was in Arabic. However, since the Anglican Church is liturgical and English bulletins were provided, I could slightly follow along. I had no clue what the sermon was about though, but that is okay. I have only been in Jordan for two weeks, so there is time for my Arabic to improve.

After the service, there was time for coffee and snacks (My Church in Hinton will be very impressed by that). The congregation was quite welcoming and very kind to three obvious foreigners. That is also just a reflection of Arab culture. Locals have been wonderful hosts to me so far. Proof of that has come from needing to go into a neighbours yard to retrieve a volleyball and then being asked to come over for coffee some time. A much larger example would be being able to attend a Church in predominantly Muslim area.

Christians make up a very small population of Jordan, but they are generally treated quite respectfully. That was made evident when I was talking to a Christian about her experience growing up in Jordan. She said that she has never felt religiously discriminated in Jordan. Many of her friends are Muslim. She would invite her friends to come over for festivals and holidays such as Christmas. Her friends would repay the favour by inviting her over for Islamic celebrations.

And this is just one discussion I have had. Therefore, I am not going to draw conclusions about Christians living in Jordan after talking to one person. However, I can say that I have felt incredibly comfortable so far talking about faith with locals. That makes me excited to continue this semester learning about how faith shapes people’s lives.

A Week of Celebration

Once a year I have a birthday and once every ten years I get to enter a new decade. I just happened to have both those millstones take place while being in the wonderful nation of Jordan.

I will admit, it was interesting being away from home for my birthday.  My sister did make me pack a card that she, and some friends and family, made and signed. She also gave me a little collage of family pictures and some Reese chocolate! (Thanks Julie!).

I tried to get a hold of my family to say hello but the time distance and lack of strong internet connection made that difficult. Two classmates were very kind to come with me to an internet café after Arabic class so that I could make calls over Facebook. We all shared one chocolate muffin to justify being able to sit and use their internet. It was essentially birthday cake and a party. 

Even though I was not with my family, I still felt very included in Jordan. Some classmates sent some nice text messages on my Jordanian cell phone. (The fact that there are only nine buttons to text with made it all the more special). The Program Director, Dr. Doug, treated the group to homemade ice cream that was served with chocolate cake. The cake also happened to have fire work styled candles on it… so that was cool. Dr. Doug also read me a Dr. Sues book about birthdays. It was read in a very participatory fashion, so that also made the birthday more special.

The party also celebrated two others. One of them experienced their birthday on the day of their flight. So with the way that time zones work, she actually had shortened birthday. I hope the Dr. Sues story made up for it.

My Birthday was great, but I think I had even more fun at a local party in the neighbourhood.  The party was essentially a family gathering, but they also welcomed twenty North Americans (the whole MESP group) to be a part of their party.

The party was an opportunity to participate in Arab culture. It was a chance to see some Jordanian traditions, taste incredible food, listen to accordions, and watch dance. After a while of accordions and dance, the kids at the party started playing soccer. Naturally, I migrated to that section of the party as well. The kids were welcoming to me and very excited to teach me about Arabic soccer terminology. It was also fun to talk and relate about which soccer teams and players that we personally liked.

Dance and soccer seem to be two things that are present in many cultures. My experiences in El Salvador had a lot to do with both dance and soccer. With both my month in El Salvador, and my first week in Jordan, I was overjoyed and honoured to experience ordinary fun events. What made those experiences possible was how welcoming and inviting people have been. It has not been an everyday occurrence in my life to see a family host an extra twenty people that they have never met.

Those twenty people are pretty awesome though. I have not been here too long, but meeting people my age who have a passion to come to the Middle East and display a willingness to learn about a different society and culture is incredible.