Slide Show

Try this link to see a slide show of our work project.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mhuster55/WorkProjectJuly2008/photo#s5221097555502020946
Michael

Our Work Project

Just imagine looping the following video clip for 6 hours.

Michael

Sunday In Marj Al Hamman

Hello Friends,

We went to eat Sunday dinner with some of the workers here. They have had us over every Sunday for lunch. Each Sunday our friends taught us something about working here in Jordan. This Sunday a local Alliance pastor was at lunch, and he shared about his ministry and vision for his church at Marj Al-Hamman. It was exciting for us to see a pastor with a great vision for his church.
After lunch, several of us went shopping for old clothes to wear for our painting project today (Monday,) Then all of us except Claire worshipped at the Marj Al-Hamman church. Afterward we were invited for tea downstairs at the pastor's house. After an hour or so, a falafel and hummus meal (with fool, beans, and babagnoush) was served around a table, There were no plates, everyone tore off pieces of pita bead, flat bread, or raised bread and scooped whatever they wanted into the bread. It was a very nice late night meal.
Meanwhile Claire met with some other English teachers and went to a female student's house. She had an amazing time.
Painting
Today was our first day painting. It was a very Jordanian experience. They are not as linear and task oriented as we are. We are helping the people we met in Marj do a service project at one of the government schools. It is a boys' school. The rooms are very bare, and the walls were a mess. We completely finished two large classrooms and have two others prepped for tomorrow. Meanwhile, Kim and Claire went visiting with one of the workers here and had a good time.
Tomorrow we are all going a'painting!
Michael

Escape to Aqaba

Hi friends!
We were blessed with a trip to Aqaba, the Jordanian seaport on the Red Sea. It is absolutely gorgeous there! (But very hot. more than 105 F.) Some friends met us there and we went to a big bbq on the beach in the evening. Click on the title and the link should take you to a slide show with captions. We were able to relax, but also to meet other Americans who are teaching English like we are. The trip was a real blessing to us, even if we were gone only 40 hours.
We got a cultural experience on the bus ride back. The busses were uncomfortable anyway, but about two hours into the ride back, a commotion arose in the back of the bus. Apparently a smoking stop was overdue, but we were running late, so the bus driver kept going. There was chanting from the back, the concessions woman went back to quiet things and was apparently jeered. This all took place in Arabic, so I am guessing. As soon as the woman returned to the front about 12 men lit up simultaneously. The bus driver came on the intercom, but that seemed to just add to the noise. Finally, he pulled over, everyone except us piled out of the bus and smoked. There was another commotion right before we got back. But everyone survived.
Thanks for praying for us!
Michael

Update - A Week of Teaching

Yesterday we finished the second week of teaching and the last week of the first ssession. All of us felt much more comfortable with our classes this week. We had a lot of opportunities to meet with students outside of class. On Sunday all of the Simpson students went out to a coffeeshop with a couple of students to watch the EuroCup football (soccer) final. They had a great time hanging out, even if the shop had a "fog of smoke" hanging inside.

I ended my class yesterday by thanking my class for how much they have taught me! They genuinely appreciate that I want to learn about their culture and help Americans understand Arabic culture.

There is a lot of smoking in Jordan. I think I will receive about 10 years worth of California standard second-hand smoke exposure before I return to the US. Taxi drivers sometimes smoke, bus drivers, I have even seen cooks preparing food smoking in the kitchen.

One of the reasons we are here is to get to know Jordanians, and now all of us are flooded with invitations. Claire connected with her class so well, that most of her class is going to chip in money, rent a bus, and take all of us up north to Umm Qays (link) for an all day picnic on Friday, July 11th. We are excited about this. I've lost track of all of the invitations the team has accepted. Kim and I are going to meet with two students next week, and with an astronomy professor on Tuesday evening. Kim and Claire are going out with a worker here and a student this evening at 6. So the days and especially the evenings are getting very busy.

Aqaba & Customer Service

(I don't even notice that 'q' isn't followed by 'u' anymore!) I went down to the bus station to buy tickets on Tuesday. Micah & walked in and the man at the desk did not seem to interested in talking to us. When I asked to buy tickets to Aqaba, he said they don't go to Aqaba. This confused me since one of the workers here told me they did. He wasn't very friendly, so we left.

I was told that sometimes the customer service is bad here in Jordan, so we went across the street to an office. My observtion is that here if you keep asking people you can eventually find anything. So I asked about tickets to Aqaba, even though this office clearly wasn't a transportation company. Everyone joined in and told us the bus office we just left DID got to Aqaba, and even told us the price, $6 JD (about $9 US). So I went back over. This time a different man was also at the desk, and he said they went to Aqaba, and started to sell me the tickets. Meanwhile, the first man was arguing with him. Go figure! Anyway, I couldn't buy the tickets because I needed all of the passports. (Apparently, when you travel outside the Amman area, you may need passports because of checkpoints.) I went back yesterday and bought the tickets without a problem. The first man did come out of the back and give me a dirty look, though.

So, tomorrow morning we leave for Aqaba, the beautiful beach town on the Red Sea. We will also get to visit a community center at Aqaba that teaches English, and does other educational work in the community.

Two last notes: we are trying to Americanize Luke. Here he is last night trying to look American. I say, good try, old chap! Now, if we can break Luke of saying "Cheerio!" we'll be making progress. ;^) Also, yesterday was my birthday (35, but I think I'm dyslexic.) Here is my birthday brownie at Fuddruckers.

Grace and peace,

Michael

Visiting, Jerash, and Ajlun

Visiting

We were able enjoy some Arab hospitality this weekend. First, on Thursday night Jackson and I took up Raid's offer to call him anytime, and wwe met him downtown, and he took us on a walking tour of the downtown. He is very nice. He kept saying, "Next time we will..." We talked as we walked and ate knafa, a super sweet, traditional dessert. It was humbling to realize that Raid gave up watching EuroCup soccer to spend the evening with us.

On Friday, the whole team went down to the souf (market) Al Abali, the largest market in Amman. It was like a three block long garage sale. Then we did a lot of walking through the downtown, ending with a meal at Hashem's, one of the best-known falafel & hummus places. In the evening the guys went out with a couple of students, saw a movie, and hung out for several hours. So I am thankful we are getting to know some of our students and see the cultural first-hand.

Jerash

We atarted early, 7:15 AM, for a visit to two great archaeological site near Amman: Jerash and Ajlun. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the Mideast. Our friend Akef drove four people and three of us, Kim, Jackson, and I, took the bus. First Akef arranged a taxi to take us to the bus station, then he met us there and then met us there to make sure we got on the right bus. The taxi ride was about 10 minutes and cost $3 JD (I think we were over charged), and the one hour+ bus ride cost $0.75 each. The bus had cramped seat, was hot, and smokers, but it is the way most Jordanians would travel.

Akef dropped us off at Jerash at 9:00 AM and said he thought it would take four hours. I thought to myself, "How could we spend four hours at a ruins?" Once I saw the site, I was amazed. The enclosed site stretched for a mile, I think, and was full of collumnades, and huge ruins. We saw a hippodrome (track for horse & chariot racing), two ampitheaters, three large arches, at least six churched, an multiple Roman temples, and a bath. It really was spectacular!

I've included several pictures, and more are at this link. After visiting the ruins, we ate a Jordanian meal and headed for the castle of Ajlun.

Ajlun

Ajlun was a castle built by the nephew of Salah al-Din (Saladin), one of the Islamic heros in defending Palestine again the Crusaders. We repeated the Akef & bus relay to the town of Ajlun, and took a taxi up to the castle. It is huge and can be seen for tens of miles since it is on top of a peak. I was thinking, "How could this compete with Jerash?" Well, it was different, and spectaclar in its own right. In contrast to how hot it was in Jerash and on the ride to Ajlun, the breezes and height made for a cool combination. Ajlun is a boy's dream of castle! We spent a couple of hours climbing stairs, looking through arrow slits, in dark interior chambers, and up on the top. The views were spectacular.

The Town of Ajlun

Akef's car was leaking water from the radiator when he dropped us off at the castle. While we were at the castle, he got it fixed in town. When he picked us up, it was leaking again, so we went back to the town. We walked down to the bus station and saw a huge line of people. They were all waiting for busses back to Amman. The town was a very cultural experience. I didn't see any other Westerners. All but a few of the women wore headscarfs. The town was buzzing and the market was very active. Saturday evening is the end of the weekend here in Jordan. Extended families are very close here in Jordan, so many people spend their weekends traveling and visiting families. The huge line was all of the people returning to Amman for the workweek. Later, while I was reflecting on the day, I realized that we were probably the few people of our faith in the entire town.

Thank you for praying for us,
Michael

British versus American

As you know, Luke is from England and the rest of us are from the USA. Here are two pictures contrasting the clothing and posture of Luke and Micah relaxing in the apartment.