Refugee Camp and Random Ramblings

Firstly I would like to appologize for the absence of pictures...just use your imagination. Haha. I have struggled recently with the internet and the blog website recently(which is why this is late) and I also wanted to wait until after the weekend because Stella and I had the privilege of helping with a donation of shoes for a refugee camp. ABS had a shoe donation and collected over 2000 pairs of shoes!!! Then we left early in the morning(several staff members and about 10 students) to head about an hour away to a refugee camp of over 35,000 people. We were set up on a roof of a two story buidling. We set up stations of measuring the children's feet and then finding shoes that fit and then also gave them socks that were donated as well. The kids were adorable. One had to show off his "fo hawk" which he was very proud of because it is an Americanish hair style. haha After going through about half the shoes some ladies came in asking for multiple pairs of shoes and were saying they were for there kids...I sure hope so and that they weren't just taking them to sell them. After a little while longer we were starting to hear crying outside the door of the roof. I walked over climbed on a water container and looked over. There were so many kids standing on the stairs waiting to get shoes and they were being pushed around by other kids and some woman also trying to get in. It was very sad and upsetting to see the struggle for something as simple as shoes. Its sad to see what they were wearing before they got there. We finally had to leave the last bit of shoes there and then leave and let them have at it because it got so crazy. Luckily we had several strong men and a police officer to keep it reletively under control. It was a really nice experience being able to learning about where they come from and to see the children happy.

I was invited this week twice to go to a hip hop class! I learned two ruetines and I would deffinitly say that I don't learn fast enough. Haha. I had to come home and practice to get it at my pace. :-P It was fun though. I went with the drama teacher from the school and she is a blast to be around. I don't know if I will go that often because its a little expensive. They had a special teacher in from turkey who was awesome...but she talked a lot. I wanted more time dancing. :-P It was still a cool experience though!

I just joined a choir! There are about 50 people and I am a youngin compaired to the others. We practice on Mondays and its FREE!!!! :-) We are learning Mozart's Requiem and we will be singing it in Syria and in Amman. We also should have the chance to learn other songs to sing for community service projects. I had to audition for it which was the first time I have ever had to do that. :-P For the audition they asked me to sing a song...so I sung "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Groban. Then they had me do some scales and then sing row row row your boat with a guy taking notes...yup they did. No joke. lol For my big finale they handed me a Christmas ornament and a toy doctor kit and told me to tell a story using the props...it was odd but I did it. Haha. Good thing they accepted me. I also had a confidence boost when during our first practice the guy who was taking notes for the audition came up to me and said that he couldn't tell me this during the audition but he said I have a phenominal voice. :-) Yea! hehe! Go me! It is an odd experience singing in this choir because the director has strange techniques but I am determined to ignore that and learn the music and enjoy the experience.

I am currently still invloved in music and the student yearbook. I have just begun coaching baketball and I am very excited about the girls I am working with. Their first game is tomorrow!

I miss everyone very much and hope that everyone understands that I am very safe and our area is not being effected by the issues in Egypt other than just discussing it a lot.

We are officially half way done with our stay here in Jordan!!!!! I know that the rest of the time will fly by and even though I will miss being here...I miss home and everyone more! I hope to see everyone again soon!

Love ya'll bunches,
Amanda

The Land of Cheese and Chocolate!

Just a week ago I was in Verbeir Switzerland. This is a very renowned ski town known for its beautiful weather, scenery, and ski/snowboard opportunities. Stella and I were able to have the chance to chaperone ABS students to a winter camp in Verbeir and then back home again. Once we were at the winter camp we were technically not needed to continue chaperoning because they had a full staff of instructors and activity co-ordinators to take care of the kids while there were there.

The plan for day one was to be picked up by bus to go to the airport to meet the kids and take them through in groups of ten to get on the plane. Then land, find luggage, be picked up by a bus to take everyone to the camp where the kids then would be taken care of by the staff. Oh how I wished it were that easy. I woke up several hours before my alarm went off with stomach pain and I was throwing up. I managed to get dressed, take some echinachea,(herbal meds from home) and pray that I would be well enough to be of SOME kind of assistance while travelling. I felt nauseous on the bus ride to the airport but luckily did not throw up. I also had the privilege of taking the first ten kids through security. Once through we let them loose in the "duty free" area and I tried to keep as still as possible until we had to board the plane. Once on the plane I continued to try and not throw up. I was pretty sure I got food poisoning somehow. After the painful plane ride which I

didn't even get to eat dinner on(and yes I happen to like plane food) I felt well enough for a short

window of time to find my luggage and get on the double decker bus that was going to take us to the camp. Home free right? Nope. Haha. I started to feel sick again. The trip was supposed to take about two hours but we were literally 2 minutes away from camp and the bus got stuck in the snow! It was to cold to walk up the steep road...we all had luggage...and we were on the side of a mountain! Finally we got up the rest of the way and I was on a mission. I found my room, luggage, got fitted for my snowboard boots, and tried to eat some rice...then crashed. Stick a fork in me...I am done. Haha.

The next morning was the first day of snowboarding

on a bunny hill and a "green slope" which is rated as easy. 44 of the 46 kids that came went skiing and the other two snowboarded. I unfortunately was given a "regular"(left foot forward) board even though I told them I ride "goofy"(right foot forward). I hadn't ridden in 9 years but

I remembered that I rode "goofy"...how could you not? Haha. So for a whole day I was switching between regular and goofy...I had fun but was confused as to why it wasn't as easy as the first time I went. I thought to myself...am I really that old and out of shape that I can't figure this out.

By the time lunch came I had unconsciously taught myself to ride backwards(well it was backwards to me anyways. lol). One of the other chaperones(the school's event co-ordinator's son, Mohammad) and myself were flying down the hill and already finding any little bump to jump off of. This was his first time snowboarding and I was glad he picked it up quick. The next day they took us up the HUGE mountain we were nearby that was a part of the Alps. Mohammad and myself got separated from our snowboard instructor, the other two students from ABS, and a few Russian kids which you will hear about later. When we got to the top of the mountain, which required two gondolas and a long(freezing) ski lift, we could not find our instructor. We decided to head down a side of the mountain which Mohammad assured me was the way to the bottom so that we could meet up with our instructor.

He had skied there before so I trusted him. Long story short...we "went" down a "black" run on accident. Now by "black" run I mean a really hard run and by "went" I mean slid. Haha. It was probably the funniest thing to anyone who was skilled enough to go down and pass us. We both proceeded to get down by the following techniques: the "butt slide", the "snowball", the "I'm feeling hungry so I'll eat some snow", and my favorite the "laugh until you wanna pee

your pants because there is no hope for you to get down this without looking like a BIG MORON". I honestly was laughing so hard the whole time. I got to the bottom and since I was trying my best not to slide out of control I came to a stop...just in time to look up and realize that it was now completely flat and I was stuck. I tried my best to get anywhere. Several random people helped I'm sure out of pity. Haha. I eventually got to where I needed to go and found the runs that suited my skill level...aka...not the black runs. It was so much fun flying around on a piece of wood still trying to find small hills to go flying off of. The whole day, however, I spent trying to continue to figure out why I was having trouble with a certain turn and finally someone told me I was riding on a "regular" board and as I mentioned before I ride "goofy". My instructor, which we had finally caught up to, was luckily riding a goofy board. He gave me his and he used mine...cuz instructors are awesome like that and can switch boards.(The picture shows me right foot forward!)

I tried to now undo what I had been unconsciously doing the past few days. It didn't work...I had spent two days retraining my brain and I couldn't go back. The third and last day snowboarding(for me but not for the kids) we went to the same mountain in the morning but after lunch went up to a bigger mountain and came down to the very bottom. It was huge and took about 4 hours. Our instructor informed us a few times that several runs that we came down were blacks...and I luckily didn't fall on any of those! The whole way down I fell a few times trying to avoid people but never just cuz I needed to eat some more snow. lol

After dinner there are activities planned for the students from "improv night" to "guess that song" to "lets see how trashy the Russian teens can dress" aka "disco night". Haha. The instructors at the camp could do nothing but rave about the behavior of the ABS students. They said it is easy when you have horribly dressed kids from other countries who are so disrespectful and rude. I was very proud of the kids and a bonus was that they even responded with disgust at the behavior and attire of the Russians. Now I should explain that these are rich, snobby, spoiled Russians whose parents pretty much ditched them there. They were not there on any school retreat but as individuals and didn't care if they got in trouble. I am sure that the non rich Russians are great kids and I would love to see that country and its beautiful scenery some day.

The next day I was planing on exploring the town

of Verbeir but as I was getting ready to head out

I was told of a luncheon with the owner of the camp along with other camps all over the world. How can you say no? I did not order anything except for my own desert and the meal cost about $80 per person and that was with two kids meals!!!!!! 5 chaperones went along with 2 kids and a staff member from the camp...thats 8 people on almost $650 tab! I hope I'm never that rich. Haha. It was awesome food though...veal, salad, desert, and wine...yum! The owner was surprising down to earth and genuinely wanted to get to know his costumers. It was a very nice lunch.

So since I did not get to see Verbeir that day I tried the next day but not until after I went PARA-GLIDING!!!!(Video will be on facebook soon!) It was amazing to get to do that. It is like flying! I asked my "pilot" to do some tricks and he did some 360 spins and did a trick that made us plunge straight down to the ground. It was awesome! That is me in the picture!!!

Our last full day in Switzerland we went with all the kids(who were only skiing or snowboarding for the past 5 days) to Cailler Chocolate factory. It was the coolest tour EVER. You are placed in a room with about 20 students and the doors shut...then the room starts to move down. All of a

sudden you hear a voice telling you where

chocolate came from. You pass from room to

room seeing and hearing how chocolate went from South America to Switzerland. We saw some of the raw materials and machinery used to make the chocolate. We were also able to sample sooooo much chocolate for free but then, like all tours, we ended at the gift shop which is where, yes, I bought some chocolate. My plan is to bring at least two bars home with me so if you want a slither let me know now and I will start a list. Haha.

After the chocolate factory we went to the city of Bern which is the capital of Switzerland. It is a very antique city which was known for its "bear pits". They had pits a long time ago that they would put bears in and watch them fight. This of course is not allowed anymore. It was neat being able to see the architecture and character or the city. Our last stop was the mall for about an hour. I had time to sit and eat MacDonalds then head back to the camp with the rest of the kids who found a way to buy things like dresses, video games, and my favorite...guitar hero(guitar and all). He somehow got it home on the plane. Haha.

Our last night in Switzerland we were able to go to downtown Verbeir and watch fireworks for New Years. I will just mention that the people there are crazy and love their fireworks. Haha. Its not illegal to fire them off ANYWHERE unlike where I'm from where there are big fines for shooting off fireworks in the city limits.

The next day we packed up and got back on the bus to the airport to head back to Amman. It was such a beautiful trip in which I was able to see an amazingly clean country with people from so many different backgrounds. I will remember this experience forever.

I love and miss everyone!

Amanda