Costumes, Community Service, Cakes and Candles, and Confusion

So I want to apologize for another long break between blogs.

I really thought that I had already written about several things that have happened recently.

I still think I did but can not find it. :-/

(Please let me know if you have already read something about the play and community service project that I will write about now.)

This has been a very rewarding trip so far and I can't believe how blessed I am to be doing something so fun and inspiring and then being able to inspire in return.

"Costumes"

A few weeks ago was the Theater Production of "The Wave". It is based on a movie called "Die

Welle(German) which was based on a real life occurrence at an American college. I am very proud of the students because they worked so hard over a three month period to do 2 school performances and 2 public performances in their school theater.

Both Stella and I heard about the play not to long after school started and offered to help. We began by attending auditions and giving our input on who should be cast and as what characters. There were a few girls that sang when auditioning and I found out that there would be a song in the play and was quickly volunteered by the director to help in this area.

The cast was chosen along with the backstage crew, a props team, makeup girls, and a stage

fighting group for a "gang fight" in the play. The weeks went by and so did rehearsal after rehearsal. At least 4 a week for 3 months.

I was able to see a group of scraggly kids slowly progress into actors with characters who worked together as a team to memorize their lines and put together a play to remember.

The play is about a teacher who for "project week" at school unknowingly gets autocracy.

He was hoping for anarchy along with the students but has to change his plans.

He discusses what autocracy is with his students and they insist that it is not necessary to discuss the subject because an autocracy would never happen again in Europe. The teacher sets out to prove them wrong. He tells them that sometimes

characteristics found in an autocratic government aren't wrong but beneficial.

He starts with making them call him by his last name and be more formal. He also has them straighten the desks and stand when speaking.

The students soon choose to all wear white and they then stick together to help a school reject when he is bullied and they only help because he is a part of their class project. They also choose a name for there group("The Wave") and a logo.

Soon the students are behaving with a power hungry sort of pride which is fed to them by the

teacher who is also unaware of his behavior. The students graffiti their logo all over town and refuse students to parties if not wearing a white shirt or if they are not a part of "The Wave".

Little did the teacher know that he and the students were becoming power hungry and getting out of control. The school reject spray painted their logo on the town clocktower and is the

one being effected the most by "The Wave". Being the school reject made him depressed but now having "friends" he feels a part of something and is one of the most loyal members.

Several students refused to conform to "The Wave" and they are ridiculed for it. One of the members of " The Wave" is dating a girl who refuses to join and he ends up getting so fired up and aggressive because of this group that he hits his girlfriend across the face later to realize what he has done and that it is "The Wave"'s fault. His girlfriend and another

student write an article in the school newspaper about "The Wave" and try to spread it around at a party which soon breaks out in a huge fight that including a Neo Nazi gang. The teacher holds a school assembly for only "The Wave" participants and the boyfriend voices his concerns after hitting his girlfriend and his realization as to what "The Wave" has done to him and that everyone has turned into the same thing.

The teacher soon realizes what he has done and

apologizes to the class.

All of the class is confused. The teacher explains that indeed an autocracy could happen again and it did. He tells them "The Wave" is over and the students argue insisting that they can make things work and stay together. Finally the school reject(end: read at your own risk. lol Don't read if you wanna watch the movie.) pulls out a gun and insists that "The Wave" go on. A student approaches him and then he shoots the student.

The teacher then talks him into lowering his gun but all of a sudden his turns the gun on himself and commits suicide.

THE END.

It was such a powerful play. The students really got into their roles and the audience couldn't help but get caught up and at times felt a part of the play. I am so proud of them for all that they have done. I am blessed to have been able to help with such an amazing part of the school and I am

privileged to have gotten to know the students on a more personal level. At the end of the performance they gave Stella and myself flowers for helping out. It was so sweet of them and I was caught off guard. I hope to help out with the younger kids' play next semester.

"Community Service"

After the drama week was over I had the opportunity to accompany some 9th graders to do some community service for a school in a poor area. I am not going to go into much detail because you can read about it in the United News...I WROTE AN ARTICLE!!!! :-P Its called "A Physical and Spiritual Stamp Through Inspiration". (At least I think thats what it will be called.)

The students painted the school and an artist started painting some pictures and I was able to help. The students had fun making a mess on themselves with the paint and managed to make some of it on the walls. haha. The principal also came and the students were so determined to get paint all over him but he was more determined to not get it on himself.

"Candles and Cakes"

I ended that week with my birthday!!!! Friday night all four of us volunteers ate together and Amber made me a cake!!! :-P Stella and I set out to head to our friend Ghada's house who made me cheesecake!!!! It had one small candle on it and Ghada sang me happy b-day in Arabic. :-P We hung out with her and drank tea while chatting. It is also fun to be around her.

She then told us of a Sushi place to go eat at because I had been craving Sushi. She dropped us off and we met up with another friend of ours. It was a Chinese and Indian restaurant so I had Indian food and Sushi. YUM! Our friend took us home and presented me with yet another cheesecake...I am pretty sure I gained some weight. haha. He had these really cool candles that were pretty much fireworks!!! They were saweet! I received many "Happy B-day"s on facebook from friends here and from home.

"Confusion"

We were told by different people that there would be snow Monday...then some people said there would be no snow. So Monday morning comes around and I got a text message at 4am saying that the school would not open until 10 because of SNOW! Yes it had snowed! I looked on my window ledge and there was almost 3 inches. Then I went back to bed. haha. Then I received another text at 7ish saying that the school would not open until 10 because of snow...I was a little upset because I was sleeping and I already knew that! haha. Then at 8ish I received another text saying that school was closed the whole day...I was happy again and slept some more. haha.

Wednesday night I was in the shower and had one leg shaved...then our power went out! :-/ I wrapped myself in a towel and headed out to find my flashlight. Stella, having also just got in the shower, was also in a towel and we both tried to find out why the power went out. I'm sure we looked pretty goofy running around our apartments in the dark in towels. Haha. We both got dressed and found out that only our apartment lost power. I finally found my flashlight and checked the breakers...nothing out of the ordinary. Our neighbor had the building door man/maintenance man check the power switches in the basement and the power came back on. I finished my shower and Stella decided to wait till the morn to finish hers. haha.

Stella and I have this upcoming week off from work but the following week we will be traveling to Switzerland for a school ski/snowboard trip!!!!!! Keep a look out for snow and crash stories from the land of cheese and chocolate.

I miss and love everyone!!!!

~Amanda

Journey to Jerusalem!

I woke up bright and early Sunday morning at 5:30am and started my journey to Jerusalem with the other 3 volunteers. It was an hour drive to the border by car and we arrived an hour before the doors opened. A few others arrived later so there was about 10 people by 7:30 but then a few minutes before the doors opened at 8am two buses showed up full of people. We all of a sudden found ourselves struggling to keep ahead of them. A concept that has not made it to Jordan is that of "lines". We were pretty much shuffled around in a mass of people for about an hour and a half. There was such a small amount of space allotted for paying your exit tax and for taking care of your passport checks. There were three windows total for all required approvals and everyone would push by each other to try and get ahead. One lady was almost knocked over...I think she would have been if I wasn't behind her to help her. I don't know why everyone was rushing so much because the bus that is the only way of transportation across the border had to wait to take people until it was full. So no one could leave without each other anyways. The Jordanian guards were very friendly and patient. At least with us they were because we were trying to be friendly so that our process went smoothly. There was one lady that I don't think got the concept of being patient or friendly. She was rude and pushy. She started several arguments with other waiting travelers. We didn't receive our passports back until we were on the bus ready to head over to Israel. Several times along the few miles between border crossings we had to stop several times to have us, our passports, and the bus inspected. Once we arrived at the border crossing on the Israel side we had to go through a series of checkpoints and metal detectors. One that we were luckily able to skip because we did not have big luggage...just backpacks. Darren was asked several times "you have weapon?". Haha. It was quiet funny. (He didn't for anyone who is wondering. Haha) Finally at the last checkpoint we were asked why we did not want our passports stamped and we had to explain that because of our work at the school we could be traveling to countries for sporting events and we did not wish to have the stamp because it would hinder our entry to other surrounding Middle East countries. We proceeded then to exchange money and find our bus to Jericho.

We decided to stop by Jericho on our way to Jerusalem. There was not much to see in regards to the ruins of the old cities there. We did however get to visit "Hisham's Palace". One of the most common mosaics is found there. The mosaic is of a tree(most commonly said to be a pomegranate tree) with grazing animals at the bottom. On one side is a lion attacking one of the animals. This mosaic is said to be an example of the cycle of life. It was really interesting to learn about it.

We travelled by van to Jerusalem where we had to, yet again, go through another security checkpoint in which they were unsure as to why our passports weren't stamped. There was never any problem with travelling with this requirement but the people are in some ways defensive of there country. The Palestinians who call Israel Palestine insist on letting us know that its there country and not the Jews. They were never angry or harsh with us but it seemed instead to be a pride and informative attitude that they had. We of course chose to not take sides but instead just listened and learned about their story.

Once we were in Jerusalem we were walking toward the street and we did not see any taxis so I flagged a young man who just dropped of his mom(or so it seemed). I asked him where Damascus gate was and if there was a way to find a taxi. He kindly offered to take us for way less than a taxi would have been. It was an added bonus being in a BMW because taxis are usually the runt of the litter when it comes to cars. Haha. On our way we tried to communicate as best we could with our limited Arabic and his half way decent English. He stopped and bought us a fizzy orange drink(similar to Fanta) and soon thereafter he cranked up his radio and in no time we were singing at the top of our lungs with him to "Pump Up the Jam". It was by far the funniest thing to date that we have done. He was dancing quiet horribly with his arms all while driving and singing with an Arab accent. I can't even describe it and I was very upset at myself for not taking a video!

We soon arrived near the Damascus gate which was full of vendors just looking for someone to bargain with. I also thought it was interesting that a lot of them had huge bullhorns. Our hostel was located nearby so we checked in and ditched our bags to find some dinner.

The hostel was very nice with the four of us in a room with six beds and a private bathroom and shower. It also had free internet which I used to its fullest and a sitting area where we met and chatted with many backpackers from all over the world.

The first full day in Jerusalem we were able to see

a lot without rushing. Everything was located so close to where we were staying and we were able to walk everywhere. In the morning we saw the old city of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall, the Temple Mount, and the Dome of the Rock. In the afternoon we went to the City of David, Hezekiah's Tunnel, the New Pool of Siloam, the Old Pool of Siloam, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, and Via Dolorosa. I told you we were able to do a lot! Hehe. Several of the locations of course were approximate or possible locations. It was one of the most amazing days I have ever had and I will never forget it. It was incredible to see the Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock so close up.

The Wailing Wall was like watching everyday life for the Jews that lived there and it was nice to be able to see it so busy and lively.

The Dome of the Rock (and a pretty tree!)

The city of David was where we entered Hezekiah's Tunnel and we were able to enjoy some beautiful scenery including a nice view of the Mt. of Olives.

I am so blessed to have been able to see all of the different historical landmarks of that area but Hezekiah's Tunnel was one of my favorites. In some places we were almost waist deep in the freezing cold water and walked 533 meters through a very narrow tunnel that also had very low ceilings. Doesn't sound much fun? Trust me...it was a blast! Amber and Darren are in the picture to the left.

Our second day in Jerusalem was during an

Islamic Eid so most of the shops and tourist spots were closed because they are run by the Islamic people. So Stella and I slept in a little bit while Darren and Amber went to the Citadel. Stella and I walked around the Jewish section of the old city and it was beautiful. We ate Gelato and talked with the two guys that worked at the Gelato store about some differences and similarities in our religions. They were very interested. We were soon talking about the dietary laws and they seemed very excited to talk to someone who was not Jewish that seemed to relate to some

of their veiw points. After that we went to the Garden Tomb and Place of the Skull. Then Stella and I decided we needed to walk off our treat/sugar splurge so we walked all over the city trying to find the Israel Museum which was supposed to open. Along our way we were told multiple times "you can not walk there!", "You must take a bus.". We

however are cheap(and we couldn't find the right buses. Haha) and insisted on trying to find it on foot. We eventually did find it after a wrong turn or two and it was worth it. The museum was very interesting. We saw more mosaics and the "shrine of the book" which is where you can see the dead see scrolls found at Kumran(Qumran). We were also able to see a 1/50 scale model of the Old City(pictures) how it used to be during the 1st Century. It was very detailed and spectacular to see.

Our last day in Israel was spent at the Ein Gedi nature preserve. We were able to hike up a river and pass by several water falls. I got in almost waste deep in one of the pools to cool off and it was very refreshing! After Ein Gedi we went to Masada where we were supposed to stay the night but once we got there we found out that our hostel, called the "Masada Backpacker", which we booked online, was for Malaysia and not Masada. So we decided reluctantly to go home early. We grabbed a bus and headed to the border. The bus was full of sleeping people and the only people awake were those that filled the isle. We stood in the isle for almost an hour and the lady asleep in the chair beside me kept hitting me with her head and she did not once wake up. Haha. Once the bus dropped us off, we found out that we could only take a taxi through the first checkpoint into the border crossing and we piled the last of our shekels into the taxis driver's hand and headed for the border crossing. We were tired and in a rush to make it through the crossing before it closed. We just happen to get on the wrong bus to cross the border...we got on the Palestinian bus. We arrived on the Jordanian side and the guard took our passports and ushered us aside. I was at this point just ready to be home but I could not help but laugh at all of our misfortunes. After all, those are what makes a story. Finally we were shuffled through hallways to the correct side of the building(the tourist side) and very easily made it through our check points.

All in all we had a incomprehensible unbelievable time on our journey to Jerusalem and will remember it for the rest of ours lives. If you would like to see more pictures then just check out my facebook at http://www.facebook.com/futurepopstar124 . It was nice to be able to put images to places we have grown up learning about and now have an even larger foundation for our beliefs.

Love Always,

Amanda

Arbitrary Amman

First I want to say that I am sorry for the long gap between blogs. I have not been feeling well and it has drained me of energy. My neck has been tight and inflamed on my left side which has caused neck and shoulder pain along with headaches, dizziness and fatigue. The school doctor prescribed me some anti inflammatory medicine along with a muscle relaxer and it hasn’t helped much over the past week…but she just informed me that I should just take more at a time. :-/ lol She said if in another week I am still having pain that she will recommend an orthopedic doctor which will then send me(hopefully) to a therapist to get it worked on. Prayers appreciated.

Ok so enough about that…on to fun stuff…

About a month ago the school (ABS) had the official opening of their brand new KG building. Stella and I were able to attend and we had the privilege of meeting HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan who is the patron of the school. They hired an artist to paint beautiful murals all over the building. The KG library looks like a rainforest.

A couple weeks ago I ran a 10K Marathon (6 miles). There were over 7000 participants and they were all running to benefit the King’s cancer fund. Parts of it were tough because at the beginning there were several hills and it was so hard to breath because the air is soooo dry. I’m sure I sucked up an entire sand dune. Haha. Also, the teenage boys who sprinted the whole time kept bumping into me! I’m sure they were doing it on purpose because there was PLENTY of room to go around me. Almost all of my cross country students ran the 4K and one little boy came and walked because he had hurt his foot a few days before. My students are from 3rd to 6th grade and are ADORABLE. :-P Several have already found me on facebook. Lol We ran on a Friday morning and that weekend we had several visitors come stay with us. One was from Australia and two were from the states. It was nice to have our attendance for Sabbath services almost double. :-P

Last week Stella and I were able to go see the YMWA where Amber and Darren work. It was a blast! This is the school for the mentally challenged. We met some of the kids and I took a lot of pictures of some of their classes and facilities. They have three areas of the school…KG, Elementary, and Vocational. The KG works with students in reading and writing and beginner school concepts and the Elementary works more on art, music, PE, and other stimulating activities. Amber works in the art class for the Elementary section. The Vocational section teaches them job skills. Darren works in the woodshop. The students build beautiful pieces of furniture and children’s toys. Another skill the students are taught is how to work with clay and make pottery along with other items. They are also taught landscaping and have a wonderful variety of herbs, vegetables, and other plants that they plant and tend to. The teachers and staff seem to be very dedicated to the needs of the students.

Stella and I have been able to participate in fun activities outside work. The staff at ABS plays volleyball every Tuesday afternoons and even though I’ve had to review the rules with them several times they seem to have it down now. Apparently they thought kicking was legal in Jordan for volleyball. lol I had to make sure they knew that volleyball was different that football (soccer).

Stella and I were also able to go to the King’s automobile museum with an American friend our age who also works at the school. Her name is Jane and I help her a lot with musical theater and choir. The museum had way more cars than I thought it would…ranging from Rolls Royce to Bugatti. They also had many motorcycles because the kings apparently like Harley Davidsons. It was very interesting learning about the country from a car’s life and perspective. Haha. I recommend it to everyone that comes to Jordan and likes cars (English audio guides available. Lol). Oh and it was really cheap to get in. :-P

Just this past week on November 4th all four of us were invited by HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan to a charity dinner. It was 50JD ($71) a plate…but we were free of course. Oh the perks of knowing the right people! J It was beautifully decorated and there were two musical guests. One was a quite young looking violin player who was amazing and one was a woman maybe a little older than me who sang Arabic music…and as some of you might know sounds like a bunch of wining. Lol The food was amazing. It was a four course meal that included salmon and salad, mushroom risotto, Filet with mash potato, and some nasty chocolate coffee desert which everyone else loved. Ew coffee. We arrived at 7 and people started showing up at 8 and we didn’t eat till….after 10!!!!!!! That’s how they do things in Jordan. Haha. The Princess was smart…she didn’t show up till about 9:30. We went over to speak with her and she introduced us to her husband HRH Prince Hassan (not the crown prince). He was a short chubby bald man who was hilarious. He told us a story of when his wife went to the YMWA and one of the autistic students hugger her and picked her up to where her feet were dangling. The way he told the story was hilarious especially with an Arabic accent. They are very down to earth friendly people. Princess Sarvath asked us before we left if

we wanted to attend a charity polo match as her guests of honor!!!! I don’t think I should get used to this kind of treatment. Haha. It was very interesting to learn how the game is played. One of the players was her son and he scored two goals. The end score was 5 to 5. J At “Half time” (my terminology…I don’t think that’s what they call it. Lol) everyone ran out on the field and once we figured out that they were repairing the divots we ran out there too! (Well us three girls did…we left Darren to babysit purses. Haha) Well that’s all for now from “Arbitrary Amman”. Lol Stay tuned next week for “Journeys to Jerusalem”!!!!

Love ya’ll
!

An Indescribable FOT!

My Feast of Tabernacles this year in Jordan was a feast that I will never forget. Darren, Amber, Stella and I took a taxi down to the Meridian Hotel opening night to greet the feasters and tackle(hug) any friends that we had not seen in a while. We had our first dinner with the over 100 people that came and were very happy to have people to share the feast with. The next day was the first Holy Day and we spent it chatting and fellowshipping with all the brethren after services and then again at dinner.

The first day of traveling was on Friday morning when we had to be

packed up and ready to go to Jerash and the Dead Sea. Jerash was a site of ruins which was very interesting to see and hear about. One of the really cool things about it was that there was a huge column that moves. Our guide put a spoon in between the tall column and the base and then pushed hard on the column and it was pretty cool to see the spoon move up and down. Their was also a Roman amphitheater which we were able to explore and when we entered 4 middle eastern people were playing instruments. One of them was

playing the bagpipes and I thought it was quite funny because the bagpipes are not from the Middle East or Rome. It was still pretty cool though. If you stand in a certain spot at the bottom on the

theater then you you can talk at a normal tone and everyone could hear. Someone from my church kept mentioning to the guides that I could sing and she was trying to get to them to make me stand in that spot and sing something. It was funny. After we explored a little bit(and by this I mean...climbing all over things. lol) we got a group picture of everyone that was attending the feast in Jordan all sitting in the amphitheater. Then...they asked me to sing. lol I guess she kept asking and so I stood in the "spot" and they asked me to sing Amazing Graze and I sang only the first verse then stopped and immediately afterwards the bagpipe started up again and played Amazing Grace. It was kinda hilarious...but really cool. Hahaha. The video will be on facebook soon...it didn't let me upload it on here for some reason. (The error message was in Arabic. lol)

That night we arrived at the Dead Sea!!!! I was so excited. The next day (The Sabbath) we went to Pella to have services. Luckily it was an easy day of no walking or hiking around. We had services together on the back porch which overlooked a beautiful valley and ruins of Pella. We ate lunch and had a chance to listen to them talk about the importance of the area. Pella was originally named by Jacob "Penuel" (the face of God) which we know to be the place that Jacob wrestled with

God and where God changed his name to Israel. Every time I think about it I can't believe that I was at the same place that God was once physically on earth. It is incomprehensible sometimes.

Later that day we went down to the water to float and it was so cool...can't explain the feeling. If

you tried to stand up or just keep your feet down in the water then they float back up. It was

fun to watch people fight with the water and bob up and down. lol Several people kept flipping all over the place...including myself. haha I got just ONE drop of water in my eye and it BURNED! lol We all knew before hand to be careful but literally on my way out one tiny drop got in my eye and I had to flail out with only one eye open. Luckily the life guard is ready and waiting with bottles of water to pour on people who are in pain. lol I had to put on the Dead Sea mud that everyone raved about. It was kinda weird...especially cuz I'm rubbing it all over myself. Haha.

Sunday we went to PETRA!!!!! (Insert Indiana Jones theme here) lol It was what I was looking forward to seeing the most and it was by far the most amazing. I did not know how extensive the area was and how amazing everything looked. A lot of the things to see were very preserved and others you could tell had been worn by weather. There was also a lot that has been recently uncovered and they are still working on it.

On Monday we had a short bus ride to Wadi Rum

to ride what they called 4X4 Jeeps...they were small old Toyota trucks with benches in the back. hahaha. It still worked. We drove all over the desert and soon came to a Bedouin tent which had trinkets to buy and camels all over that we could ride. They served us tea and rubbed squares of stone like perfume on us...they smelled good...and smelled real not like chemicals. They also lit Myrrh and walked around so we could smell the smoke from the incense burner. It all smelled really good. They pointed out on a rock where they had carved pictures in the stone of camels and other things. We negotiated a cheap rate to ride the camels and then we got on and as they stood up I couldn't stop giggling

because it was the funniest feeling. One second you are staring straight down at the camels head which is on the sand and the camel's bum is in the air...then the next second you are staring into the sun because the camel decided to finally use its front legs. Hahaha Once we rode in a circle around the tent we had to do the whole thing backwards and again I giggled a lot...it was funny! We got back in the "Jeep" and it took us towards another tent. There was a cavern which Brett, Zach and myself tried to run to the far side and all the while I was yelling random things because there was a really good echo coming from the far side. On the way to the end of the tour we ate lunch and drove down this HUGE hill which was almost like a roller coaster. I would definitely go back to Wadi Rum and camp over night which is an option. We'll see. :-P

Finally we get to SCUBA day!!!! I have never been scuba diving and this was my chance to go. We went about 12-13 meters down which is over 40 feet. We had the option to go once or twice(this was for those who weren't certified...the certified people went with a different group).

I chose to go twice and everyone is partnered with an instructor...one on one. My first dive the instructor caught an eel which he let me touch and we saw a rock fish which was one fish among the hundreds of fish I saw. On our way out we saw a Lion fish and we played tic-tac-toe in the sand under water. I was going to let him win then he stuck his tongue out in the water at me. The second time I went I saw a very bright fish which I forgot to ask later what it was...but it looked like a snail without a shell and moved just about as slow across the sand. Later one of the instructors caught what looked very much like a puffer fish and we were able to grab it and feel the weird balloon like body. It was really cool. There were tons of sea urchins and coral which was really pretty and I only cut myself once on the coral and that wasn't even when we were scuba diving but when we went snorkeling. haha. It stung a little bit but I was fine. I made friends with one of the instructors who is of Jordanian decent but grew up in Canada. She said she would help us get certified to dive and she is also a pilot and offered to take us flying as well!!!!

Our last day was a trip to Mt. Nebo and from there we were supposed to be able to see places like Bethlehem and Jericho but it was kind of hazy that day so we could only see a little past the Jordan River. For the Last Great Day we were back in Amman and that night after sunset we took some of the young adults back to our apartment to show them around. Everyone at the feast seemed to have a good time and we all bonded together through the difficulties with sickness and heat. I have TONS of pics that will be uploaded to my facebook and I recommend everyone go look at them because I can't put them all on here. They will also have captions on them which everyone should read and comment on. :-P I hope that all the feast around the world were as amazing and inspiring as mine. I hope to see everyone again soon!

Love,

Amanda

We are Palestinian

Hello again everyone...

I am sorry that it has taken me a while to write you. My computer has decided that it works when it wants to. haha. So let me try and catch you up. We have done a lot of exploring lately including seeing the Citadel, the Roman Theater, downtown Amman, ate pastries, and became Palestinian. Don't worry...I will go into more detail in a minute. First I would like to actually talk a little bit about the school now that I have work. haha. Stella and I share a REALLY small narrow office and we moved our desks around literally 10 times to see what worked to avoid glares from a window and not having my back to the door all while making sure we can MOVE around while in there. haha So I think we've got it figured out. At first we only had desks...Stella's chair was crooked but she has a new one now. We eventually got computers and to let you know how old they are I will just tell you that they have floppy drives. haha. If you don't know what that is then you are to young and just get the idea. We eventually got a printer as well but we are still waiting on a phone...I've gotten used to hunting people down anyways and its good exercise. Our first project is creating a spreadsheet to compare other competitive schools to ABS and then I got a task from the principle to create a display for all of the flat screen TV's around the school of the graduating class and students who have received awards. Its taken me a while because I needed to much from other people...like pictures...and names attached to those pictures. haha He wants the College and mapped location for EVERY student that graduated last year. It is a fun project but I don't have enough time and I don't have all of my resources to get it done. I have also observed girls and guys basketball. I officially dislike the girls coach because he thinks teaching inexperienced girls to dribble between their legs and behind their backs is fundamental. I was not happy with ANY of the drills he taught. Sonny(the head of Phys Ed) told me that any one who plays a sport in Jordan thinks they are a national champion since no one plays sports their really. So Sonny says that the coach thinks he's a genius. haha The boys coach however IS a genius! He is so great with the boys and runs really good drills. I wanted to help him full-time instead of with the girls...but I really am needed with the girls. haha Several kept asking why they had to dribble between their legs and that they needed to learn beginner skills. I tried to not get in-between the coach and the girls. haha Oh...the coach...coached in Arabic. hahaha I kept asking the girls what he was saying. We have also volunteered to help with the drama program as they put on a play based on the movie Die Welle(its German!!!). We have helped with auditions and I believe I will be able to help with the singing part of the cast!!!! :-) So excited to do so much at the school. At first we were bored...now we are so busy!!!

This is already to long and I have yet to tell you about our trip around Amman. We went to the Citadel which was a temple for Zeus.(Thats part of a hand and an elbow of supposedly a 44meter statue that once existed.) It was pretty cool...I took some pictures that I already posted. We also went to the Roman theater but it was closed so I took a pic through the gate. After that we walked through downtown Amman and passed by TONS of shops on our way to get coffee/tea.

I got Pepsi. ;-) Abu Hasan (Mohammad, the YMWA bus driver) drove us around to everything because he is awesome. lol He took us to see some of his family where we were invited back the next night for dinner. This is when we became Palestinian! After we ate food made of rice, grape leaves, zucchini, chicken, and eggplant(EW! lol) one of the ladies of the house came in with a handmade Palestinian dress and proceeds to try and dress me...by the way...already dressed. hahaha. She also put a Hijab(head covering) on my head. She took a picture then told me(in Arabic of course) to take it off and put on another one. By the time I had that one on Stella and Amber were also being dressed. It was HILARIOUS. I was almost crying at how excited the ladies were and how they kept taking pictures with us. They would joke around too but we never knew what they were saying. haha. Eventually even Darren had traditional Palestinian dress on. Don't worry...it was a male version of a dress. hahaha.

We have been enjoying the fact that we have other church people here early for the FOT. The Ericksons and Registers were kind enough to come early and conduct meetings during the day and keep us company at night.(I had my first beer in forever!!!) I feel like I'm forgetting something but if I remember I will write a short note. I hope everyone has a good, safe, and inspiring FOT!!!! Don't forget to inspire others! Miss ya'll bunches!

Love,

Amanda

Iftar! Feast!

So I thought I should probably give some background on Ramadan. So they follow the moon cycle for all their holy days and Feasts. Right now we are in Ramadan where they fast from sunrise to sunset(for about 30 days) and then have a big feast right at sunset called an Iftar. We have been invited to one and the food was very very good. I have also now tried both Turkish and Arabic coffee. Ew. lol The tea however is very tasty. We were invited to someone's home last night(Thursday night) for tea/coffee and we met the whole family. The 13 year old boy totally had a crush on me. He kept saying "excuse me" and asking me a bunch of questions about me. Like what kind of movies I like and he said if it gets late that I could stay there. lol His sister was asked if she had to pick one of us four to stay who would she pick...and He pointed at me. Haha. He wasn't even asked. The grapes here have seeds and the apples are amazing. They also have a pastry that has nuts or cheese in it...the cheese one is weird but the one with nuts is so good. I don't like my cheese sweet. haha.

We have several inside jokes already...like "Watch out! A rock!" This came about because they don't really have sidewalks here. If there is a sidewalk then it is covered in debris. haha. They are building a lot here in Amman because the city is growing from all the refugees. Another one is "Have you tried the butt sprayer?" You should give it a shot!" I like the pun on that one. LOL. So they takes me to another topic...the toilets. They have three kinds. Regular, squatters, and bidet. Let me know if I need to explain any of those. lol Luckily at my school they have the regular kind.

The school is very nice. If you would like to know

more...abs.edu.jo Our office is

the one with the monitor showing through the door. There are more offices on the wall to the left and down that hall and then some behind me down the hall the other way. I will put up more pictures once I take them. I will be working in the marketing department and also volunteering in the drama department. What I am most excited about is working with the Varsity basketball team. They will be taking a trip to Beijing(sorry I had Bangkok on here. I don't know what I was thinking. lol) for a tournament which I will probably be a chaperone for!!!!! The tournament does not occur on the Sabbath! I am very excited. The athletics department head is working out the details and getting final approvals. They do not have a lot of qualified people for the athletics department. They have teachers who don't know a lot about certain sports helping out. One of the boys has already expressed his concerns about the basketball program. Haha. We are almost settled in the the school and we will have next week off for "Eid Al Fitr" which is pretty much the end of Ramadan so there is more feasting and holy days.

I hope everyone is enjoying reading my blog! Happy Sabbath!!!!!

Love,

Amanda

"Amman with Ahed"

WHOOOOOHOOOOOO! We just had the most amazing time going to a club and seeing the nightlife in Jordan! Don't worry...we were safe because we went with Ahed and her cousin. So she took us through the city. They give directions based on the circles in the city which are round abouts. We went to 1st circle which she said were some of the oldest streets. She pointed out several things that we should know...mostly hospitals and anything related to the royal family. Also good shopping and eating places. lol So we squished all four of us in the back seat of her car. I got to be the one that ducked when we passed a police car. So we got to the Blue Fig and ate some "sweets" and drinks. I had something similar to a Mojito(Lime and mint) without alcohol. They can't drink during Ramadan. The first time Ahed introduce Stella to someone she said "this is Liza...wait...who is Liza?...You're not Liza." lol It was so funny...then later that evening she introduced Darren as Andy then said again "Who is Andy?" LOL. Then we said "Andy and Liza!" She was so funny. We had beans at the club and you squish the insides out and eat them. Amber was the best at it and I think I was the worst. Haha. There was a sweet ball thing that we ate and I bit one in half to try it and realized that I should have ate the thing whole because it squirted EVERYWHERE...its the juice filled kind. lol After that we were walking outside and waiting for the valet(its about 1 dollar!!!!) and there was a FERRARI!!!!!! I walked closely to it! Hahaha. I wanted a pic but no one would take one of me and the car. We went to a place called Rainbow street. Don't worry...it was ok. lol We had REALLY good ice cream...almost as good as Gelato! One our way back she showed us the hotel we will be staying at for the feast...if we don't have to stay in our apartment. Something else funny happened but I don't remember right now. So when I remember I will make a comment. Lol. I hope ya'll are enjoying my blog!

"Getting to know Amman"

So we've been here almost a week now and we are enjoying the amazing food and scenery. We like walking around and exploring. I have spotted a few restaurants I would like to try and there is a produce stand around a few corners that have better veggies than the main grocery store. A taxi man already tried to charge us 7 times the amount that it took to get home and the lady across the hall told us to threaten them by telling them we'd call the police and report them because its against the law. lol They honk ALOT here and we have been honked at VERY frequently. They also like to wave at us...the Americans. lol

We had our first day today at the school. The people we will be working with are nice. They are putting me in the Marketing area and Stella with Finance although I REALLY wanted to work with the kids. :-( The principle did mention that I would get to work in the sport complex possibly with basketball...so I guess they did see my experience in that area. We don't know any details yet but we should within the next few weeks. School doesn't start until September so we will settle in then take off time for the feast.

All the people in our building are nice...there is the doorman who speaks no English but its fun asking him things through charades. Andrew is an older man from Australia who works with the IT department. Selma is from Turkey and will be teaching religion and philosophy. The couple that is on my floor across the hall is Sarah and Adam...she is British and he is a Jordanian so they are so fun to talk to. lol

Thats all for now because its dinner time!

"The Journey"

Amanda's Adventures in Amman

I am a stranger in a foreign land! So my journey started at the DFW airport...they wouldn't let me on the plane! The lady at the counter told me that I could not fly because I did not have a return ticket. I told her the reason that I was going to Jordan and that I didn't know when I would be returning. She was not budging...so I called several people thinking I could somehow get someone important in Jordan to vouch for me. I couldn't get a hold of anyone other than Mr. Register and I told him that I was going to use a different check in counter. He said that would be a good idea and to use my "charm"...I'm not sure what charm he was refereing to. lol Once we walked all the way to the other counter I realized I didn't have my tickets so I ran back to the other lady and she REFUSED to give them to me and kept quoting her rule book everytime I asked a question. I was so frustated. lol By the time I ran back to the other counter and tried to check in again my dad had called the airline(coughs**American Airlines**coughs) and they had said that all I needed was a manager approval. After we told the new lady that and she did a little typidy type...all was well!!!! So I went through security almost easily...they had to open my carry-on because there was a suspicious metal box. It was my dominos...what?!?!? They are heavy? Its not like I was gunna check them! lol So the security gaurd teased me for secretly being a card shark after he saw the 6 decks of cards that were also in my bag. Yes, those are necesities. So I get on the plane and the inform us that the maintenance crew just left and the plane won't start so that are getting a truck to "jump start" it. He explain it in a more expert teminology but I will spare you that. So I am finally on my way about 30 min late(good thing I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago). I land and realize that they gave everyone else their conecting gate except mine so I hunted a tv down and found out where I needed to go. I had to exit the airport completely and take a tram to the international terminal(good thing I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago). I had to check in again and double checked to make sure that my bags were checked all the way through to Amman.(good thing I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago) Once I was finished with that I found the next security check point and got in line...the long line...to the one, count it, one security check point for the WHOLE international terminal(good thing I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago). I found the gate and Darren and Amber (the married couple here with us)were already there. We waited a while to hear from Stella(the fourth one going and my roommate). Her plane was delayed 2 hrs and she got there with only an hour and a half before our flight. We stayed out of line to board for as long as possible to wait for her but eventually there was no one left and we had to get on the plane. NO sign of Stella. I am periodically getting texts telling me she is on her way but not until about 10 min before the flight was supposed to leave did she rush on(did I mention that it was good thing I had a 4 hour layover in Chicago? lol).

So we are all safely on our way to Amman.

The plane ride. I couldn't sleep the whole 12 hrs! I had a lady(who I am sure was really nice) next to me who didn't know that the arm rest is a dividing line...as in she should've stayed on her side!!! She had boney elbows. She spoke Arabic and no english...although she did say "chicken" when dinner came around. She kept praying and bowing and what seemed like spitting and mumbling to herself in Arabic...then she slept and snored. Yea me. lol I had to plug in her headphones, lean her seat back, and buckle and unbuckle her seatbelt for her. She kept saying what I thought was thank you and would continue to talk even though she should have know that a blonde American doesn't speak Arabic. It seems to me like they all think we can understand them. We had chicken and rice for dinner and then I was still hungry(since I hadn't eaten for over 24 hours) so I asked for more food! lol She gave me meatballs...BEEF meatballs! I love the food here! We had chicken sausage in our breakfast too! Yum. So when we landed it was pretty easy to go through the airport and exchange money to get our visa. We waited for our bags and Darren and Amber's came out quickly but mine were the last to arrive and Stella's didn't come at all. lol She had hers show up yesterday.

Our ride to the apartment was fun...it was hot and I was stuck with my feet on the hump. lol They drive was crazy here which was quite entertaining. I took pictures and they are on my facebook. I also took pictures of our apartment and the view from the windows and roof! The roof is amazing and I think I will spend a good deal of time up there. Check out the pics...you'll see what I mean.

We are all settled in and we already went to find a place to eat...IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD! Chicken scewers with grilled whole onions and tomatos along with some amazing sauce. Something else also came with it that we like to call spicy pickled cucumbers...we are not sure what it is or how it is made.

It is really hard to sleep with 90 degree weather and no AC! Yes that is correct! We have nooooo AC! Tonight seems to be the coolest so far so hopefully I can catch up on much needed rest. We had our first Sabbath today and it went well...tried to watch a video but it loaded to slow so we just listen to it on mp3 instead. We try to do the basic church format...3 songs, prayer, sermon and then 1 song and closing prayer. Darren will be giving a lot of prayers. :-P

Stay tuned for the next edition of Amanda's Adventures in Amman. LOL

Love and miss ya'll!!!

Amanda