Jun 2, 2010 - A day late!

Departure day! We packed our things, cleared the room, waited around until it was time to go to the airport - the usual. On the way, I had an uneasy feeling that I hadn't either checked that our passports were still in my bag and that I hadn't double-checked the time of the flight. I'd had the time as 1640 in my head for several days, but couldn't be certain that it was right. Perhaps it had been 1440!! Still, everything was in the boot of the car and we were nearly at the airport - nothing to be gained from stopping the car in a flap. So I...

Jun 1, 2010 - Jordan

Thanks Alan for the message. We are both thrilled and sad to have missed it. And also to Mum & Dad T. Good to know the 1st parcel has arrived. Have had the best time in Israel including sailing on the Sea of Galilee. The border crossing into Jordan was interesting and we were met on the other side by a new guide. Had an amazing day at Petra but very hot. Today we went to a mosaic workshop set up to give employment to handicapped women and then to Mt Nebo to look into the promised land as Moses did before he died. Then the rest of our tour...

Jun 1, 2010 - MAY I fill you in?

Busy busy month, next month will be even busier 10. VRT - Volunteer Reporting Tool: this keeps track of activities each semester, which is actually kind of awkward, since my job doesn't go by semesters, and my busiest times are not accounted for under the dates provided in my VRT. Anyway, we received our VRT's this month, and I finished mine a couple weeks ago, just waiting to see if anything pops up that I need to account for before I send it in. 9. I had the opportunity to eat lunch at a 4 or 5 star resort, Taybet Zamman, in Taybeh, when...

May 4, 2010 - (April)شهر 4

Hard to believe I've been here for 6 months, and I'm already done with 4 months of service; time has flown by. Even though it was amazing month, I don't have a full top 10. 9. At the center I've been teaching university students. It's just through June. I teach a group of mostly girls two days a week, and two different days I teach a group of shebab (young/unmarried men). It's a conversational class. While some people are relatively advanced, I take at a basic level, because they can all use a little improvement.Because it was organized by...

Apr 1, 2010 - Jordan and The Dead Sea

We spent one day in Jordan at the Dead Sea. It was a relaxing afternoon hanging out at the resort area. We were laughing, we were reading a book about the Arab-Israeli conflict, looking at the West Bank. Swimming in the Dead Sea was insane! The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest land point, elevation wise, on the earth. It's way below sea level, but I don't remember by how much. We just walked out until we couldn't walk any more. We were standing upright but not touching the ground. We would try to touch the bottom and couldn't. It was...

Mar 30, 2010 - MARCHing onward

The top 10ish for the month are as follows: 9. I have a new Arabic teacher. previously I had been going with Suzanne to her landlord's wife. The problems with that were: Suzanne and I are on very different levels, and want different things out of classes; we were all friends, so we'd spend most of the time chatting, inevitably in English, as the topics we discussed were not within Suzanne's and my vocabulary. The mother of one of the girls at my sister offered her services, since she lived in the US for 18 years, teaching Arabic to English...

Feb 28, 2010 - February Top 10

A friend of mine serving in another PC country had a great idea for blogging, so I'm copying her... a top 10. 10. Internet Bill: in a change of character for my site, something cost me less than it should have, my internet bill. The bill I got said JD3.46, they charged me JD16. It should have been JD33, and I paid only JD16. I'm not complaining, and my landlady advised me not to correct them. 9. Visiting Hussein bin Talal University: I went with a girl from my English Conversation class to her classes at the university. 3 of the 4 classes...

Jan 29, 2010 - It's only just begun

Hello everybody, as I said, after getting Internet, I can update more! The ET rate here is in the top 5 for PC worldwide, and an unofficial/informal study revealed that there is a correlation between length of service and amount of time spent on facebook here, favoring internet access. When I signed up for Peace Corps, I was thinking 3rd world country, no electricity, living in a hut; Jordan is not really like that. There aren't any volunteers in areas where people still live in tents (so I guess Jordan isn't "In tents"...), and all...

Jan 28, 2010 - Links to additional pictures

Additional trip pictures can be found on Facebook (open to all, not just members) at: Egypt #1: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88156&l=b3fdd3bce3&id=567471817 Egypt #2: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88174&id=567471817&l=7859b1765d Egypt/Jordan iPhone photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=82953&id=567471817&l=e63ec7a5ba (clandestine tomb/temple photos w/out flash) Enjoy! -E

Jan 12, 2010 - Getting settled

Ok, it's been a while, or at least a lot has happened... I am finally at my site, in my house, and into a routine. Well, the routine will only last for a month, since it is winter break and there are currently a lot of girls at the center every day, all day. There are usually about 50 girls throughout the day. I start the morning off with a short aerobics class, enerjizer style, which means choreographed aerobic moves to upbeat "eshnabi" (foreign) songs.I then have some time to prepare for the English classes. 3 days a week I have a class...

Dec 23, 2009 - Finally a PCV

So today we swore in, we are finally, officially PCV's, and not PCT's. The oath we take is the same oath that all federal employees take, including the President, even though we are not actually federal employees... but "3dy!" (relax, normal, it's nothing). We still have one more day training, i think it's about how to figure out which secondary projects are plausible and sustainable. On Christmas we go to the city and the 26th we have our Christmas dinner. We've been so busy, I haven't had the chance to feel the Christmas spirit. Today I...

Nov 30, 2009 - Holidays and anticipation

Today is the last day of Eid, sort of the Christmas here. It is the holiday that thanks God for providing the sheep for Abraham, so he did not have to sacrifice is son. It is a four day celebration, starting on Friday, and going through Monday... all of which are national holidays, so no school, unless you are a PC trainee, in which case it's only 2 days (which sucks for our LCF's, who more than likely would like to celebrate with their families, but they get to come back to village and teach us instead...). People get new clothes, and the...