Christmas Card

When you walk into my house in Salem, the first thing you will see is the little box of Christmas cards on the bench on the right side of the entryway. I love this box, and it provides great reading material when using the adjacent restroom on the left side. I love reading the Christmas cards because it is a snapshot into the lives of those who have walked through our lives at sometime or another. Therefore, as is tradition, I am writing a Christmas card.
 

James 4:13 - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit," whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
 

The college group I am involved with has been studying James for the term. However, this verse seems to have more redundancy then just the past term, as I have seen these truths at work for the past year. Before sitting down to write this letter, I looked at last years Christmas letter that I wrote to get an idea of what has transpired over the year. I was taken back to death, anticipated career moves, and relationships. Despite change, and transition, one thing I hold onto is that God is faithful, therefore friends and family, I hope that I can depict this truth over the course of this letter.

A big development for the year, outside of my new career as an underwear model, is that I began an adventure through the Bible. I had never read the whole bible and honestly felt like a fraud for never getting through His word. As I went, the Bible started to become real to me. For the first time, I spent consistent time in the Word getting to know the God I claimed to love. I am now on the backstretch and have about 100 pages to get through over the Christmas break. It feels like a victory, and it is only the beginning of a life of getting to know God.
 

On the lady front, I began my first collegiate dating experience on February 7^th with a girl named Emily. She waltzed into my life and I experienced love for the first time (with a female outside my own family). I had known Emily for four years, but something changed upon my arrival back from Christmas Break. I learned so much from her, about God, people, love, and myself. During the course of our relationship, we maintained a joint journal that we passed back and forth, outlining the blessings of our relationship and how God was using us individually. Looking back upon this journal, God's hand was so clear in our relationship and I would not take any of it back. In the beginning of September, I had an undeniable prodding from God to end our dating relationship, which at the time was the last thing I wanted, but in retrospect was a blessing from above. And even now, we maintain a close friendship. Through my relationship, I was able to get a small glimpse of how the Lord loves us. I learned that in order to love someone I must first be in an intimate relationship with God as he is love and only through a relationship with Him can I have the potential to love. Secondly, I learned that love is self-sacrifice, yet it becomes a joyful thing to give for the one you love. It is like Christ and the church, in that for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.
 

The next major crossroad happened in March, when me and 5 other guys took to the road for Spring Break 09’. In truly epic style, we crossed through 8 states in 8 days, experiencing the beauty of the Lords creation around us. One of my favorite aspects of the trip was dinnertime. Each day we threw the budget out the window and indulged in a huge meal. But it was not the meal that was special, but what happened around the meal. Each meal we reserved an unlimited time for each guy to take a night and share his life story and a passage that has helped him through life's obstacles. We then memorized each of the six verses. I will never forget those times. Sitting on the South Window at Arches, overlooking the glorious snow capped Utah Mountains, with the sound of the bagpipes roaring through the red-rock was a distant second. A quick aside, the guys all decided to invest in a single pair of Exofficio underwear, which we had heard could last two weeks in a single wear. To unveil this incredible truth to the world, we took pictures at every major landmark (Grandcanyon, state borders, Arches, ect.) with just our Exofficio's. Now we are going to be featured in some Exofficio ad campaigns, after signing our model release forms, naturally. But through it all, was just reminded how the beauty of mans creation pails in comparison to the beauty of the Lord's nature.

We also experienced loss again and on April 10^th, my family made our final trek to Fresno, Ca for my Grandmother's funeral. It has truly been a season of loss as we lost Grandpa and Uncle in the past year as well. Both Grandma and Grandpa battled cancer to the end, and are now in the presence of the Lord. For the funeral, my dad, Jon-Marc and I played a version of Psalms 23, focusing on the life that my Grandparents now have in Heaven. It was a special time, yet the realities of death are vivid as they are no longer here to watch us fall in love, pursue our dreams, and walk through the challenges of life. While loss is painful, it serves as a reminder that people and relationships are what matters in life and that life without close relationships is no life at all.

In June, I graduated from the University of Oregon and after much prayer, decided to defer my employment offer in San Francisco to the following year. I also decided it would be wise to apply to graduate school at Oregon and despite GMAT scores that were lower than expected, I was admitted into Graduate school at the UO for Fall 2009. Then to completely mess up my plans, I was presented with an opportunity to go to the Middle East for the summer. Through the radical year I had experienced as a staff member of the college ministry and the a seed that was planted during my time in Cambodia years earlier, I wanted to open myself up to whatever God laid in front of me. So a few days after my college graduation, I moved to Jordan for the summer.
 

While in Jordan, I taught an English course, led a children's program, and spent time with the local workers and people. I maintained a faced paced living over the time and despite spiritual oppression and barren lands, I saw the Lord move and was moved with compassion for the area. I experienced rich relationships and had my own "call" validated; that in some form or another I am meant to declare the beauty of God. I do not know what this looks like but I have learned that I have a maker who has it under control. However, this summer I was also deeply challenged by the idea of sacrificing for the kingdom. I learned that while I am to take up my cross daily, I have to first be a disciple of Christ. Continued prayer for the release of the captives is needed.
 

To usher in the start of a new school year, I had a close call with death. In September, two friends and I took to the ocean with our surfboards at the beginning of our college group leaders retreat. My friend Walt and I ended up getting caught in a ripe tide and splattered on the rocks. While we struggled to keep our heads above water while simultaneously disconnect from our boards, live took on a new meaning. Turns out we were on a rock shelf that could have easily taken us under the rocks, but God was faithful to somehow land us on the rocks. As the tides continued to rise, we ended up being rescued by the coast guard who had to twist our arm to get us into the rescue basket to be airlifted into a coast guard rescue helicopter. This certainly changed the course of the ministry retreat, gave us a new perspective on life and a certainly a cool story to tell. I was actually able to tell the story in the high school group last week in conjunction with Psalms 18, where David declares that the Lord is his rock and fortress in times of trouble.
 

Most recently, I finished up my first term of graduate school, and was able to transfer my employment offer to Portland from San Francisco, where I will begin employment with PwC starting in January of 2011. I am leading a Home Group (fancy word for a group of people trying to figure out how to become like Jesus) out of my house in Eugene and am still involved in the College ministry as a “normal person”. I have also moved into a house about a mile from campus called "The Ranch" and live with four burly roommates. One of my closest friends, Michael, actually shares a 9x11 room with me and we are learning the ropes of married life (kidding). Sharing toothpaste, nighttime talks and lunch rendezvous on campus. I love it. At the beginning of the year we took the chain saw to two felled trees and have about a chord of wood to fuel our fireplace. Nighttime fires are becoming a special routine for the guys of 580 West 8th. It has also been an incredible opportunity to have guys over to the house. Jon-Marc and I are continuing to hold down the sibling duo at the UO and I love being in community with him. He is becoming a man of character as well as a guy who can make me laugh harder than anybody.
 

I feel like I just took on the form of an English major, writing an unnecessarily long paper to get a single point across. However, a man has got to do what a man has got to do. It has been a year of experiencing the Lord and his faithfulness is ever-present. Enjoy your families, friends and continue to seek Him who is worthy of all praise. Merry Christmas.
 

Ryan Steven Dangaran

Memory Verse for the Week @ 580 West 8th

Psalms 100

Shout to the Lord all the earth

Serve the Lord with Gladness

Come before His presence with joyful songs

Know that the Lord is God

It is He who made us, we are His

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,

And enter His courts with praise

Give thanks to Him, and bless His name

For the Lord is good

His mercies endure forever

And His faithfulness continues for all generation

Fathers and Daughters

What is it about a scene with a father and a young daughter that is so gripping? Is it the slight restoration of the human condition, revealing that possibly deep down people are drawn to love and compassion? Is the pure love that exudes from innocent eyes of the young girl? As I sit here, getting ready for finals, a father and daughter sit a few tables away from me enjoying cocoa together. I catch little parts of the conversation, but the stuff that really gets me is the way he looks at her. Without overly expressive emotions, his eyes proclaim his love and absolute adoration of his young daughter.

This brought me to think about the passage in the Luke talking about hating your daughter in comparison to the love of Christ. Typically this verse gives me the willies and causes me to question my entire walk, but today it solidified the love Christ has for us. Image the way that father loved his daughter, as they walked hand in hand, sipping cocoa on a cold day. Christ's love for us blows that out of the water and in comparison the love that can be experienced with him also cannot be paralleled.

The Adventure

Psalms 90: 12

So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom

My father sent my brother and I an encouragement email today, which is fairly normal for my family. In fact, I have become used to receiving letters and emails about anything from girls, to money, to biblical truths from my father. This is a tradition that I hope becomes longstanding in my family. The email that I received today had the verse from Psalms written above and was an exhortation to rejoice in the day the Lord had made. While we are to work and study hard for finals and be productive, he spoke of spending time with someone we love or doing something we love to do. In fact, my dad told me to spend time just playing guitar and singing my heart out. So I did.

This verse is a reminder that life is short, yet while we are here, each day is special and brings new opportunities. So in contrast to the idea that life is short, it speaks to living in the moment and seeking God in each moment. This reminds me of the verse that talks about not worrying about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Near Death Experiences

There are some privileged enough to know that I have an intense fear of choking. This stems from several terrible experiences as a kid and my fear has not subsided in the slightest. With this knowledge, imagine two separate choking experiences within the past month at my house and at WinCo. So what actually encouraged this post was a "feeling" of choking I had about five minutes ago. I literally thought I was a dead for sure and all my roommates were gone at the moment. Then about two weeks ago, while I was with Matt and Michael for our monthly WinCo shopping day I was sampling some meat cuts and apparently one piece went down the wrong pipe. It wasn't until a few moments after the initial swallow, but soon after I found myself running around the store looking for my roommates to help me. In the commotion, the meat went down and out of embarrassment these details were never told to my either Michael or Matt. I was reminded of how crippling my fear is, yet in the moment I will do anything to escape my perceived inevitable demise.

This summer, I looked death in the face while on my surfboard. In this case, death looked like sharp coral and the overpowering current of the ocean. This all happened at our annual staff leadership retreat at Newport Beach, OR. So upon arriving, three of us guys immediately ran to get into the waves. I know we would like to say that we were experienced Oregon surfers but this would not be true. After about ten minutes of shredding, one of the guys (Cory) yelled at Walt and I to start swimming away from the rocks. I definitely heard the urgency and figured I would do it after a few more rides. I soon found myself being pulled into the rocks like a tractor beam, which I later found out was a ripe tide. Luckily, as I struggled to paddle away from the rocks, my friend Walt was by my-side. Without saying it, we were in this together.

After fighting the waves for about ten minutes, our arms were shot and we had no other choice but to try to get up on the rocks. We knew the rocks were sharp but figured we could just jump up as we got closer. As we approached, the intensity of the waves picked up and we found ourselves being slammed into the rocks. The tide would subside for a brief second, giving us a chance to release ourselves from the leash and then it would come crashing back in and slam us. Over and over, water rushing around us, fighting off swallowing water and hitting our heads on the tough coral. At this point, Walt had drifted to the front of the rock formation and was out of sight. I began to lose my composure as I entertained the thought of his death. Moments later I saw him ascend to the top of the rock formation and I immediately was also shot to the top of the rocks. Cut and tattered, we embraced and yelled shouts of joy to God for saving us. It turned out that two other surfers were also beached and we helped them reach the top of the rocks. However, we soon found that we were stuck with no way out. The rock around us was sandstone that was unclimbable and the water around us was shallow and filled with sharp coral.

A gathering of people soon made there way to the nearby lookout to see what was happening. Communication was limited to hand signals and body signs, as the water was pounding on the rocks around us. The one sign that stuck out though was when our college pastor made a giant circle around above his head, which signaled that the helicopter was in route.

These experienced of death reminded me of several things. First, it showed me the intensity I posses when death lies in wait. This challenged me as I question why I fail to understand that so many around me are walking in death. Second, it showed me how small and feeble I am and gave me a tangible reminder that I cannot do it alone. Hence, the power of Christ. Lastly, it refocused my attention on the joys and blessings of life. There was nothing that compared to being able to hug those closet to me when I exited the helicopter or hugging my roommates when the meat finally went down to my stomach. God is good all the time, even in the times when I think He is not.

2 Peter 1:2-4

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Sick Time....Not Sick Time

I have been sick the past few days, after food poisoning from a malicious beef schwarma. I took me out of commission with the flew, runs, headaches and general stuff that is not fun. But, luckily, I have recovered and was able to spend the last few days in Aqaba with friends and just living life.

Today, my roommate Tim and I went scuba diving for the first time. We went down to 12 meters and had the chance to swim around a sunken ship. It was beautiful and once we were able to get used to the idea of breathing underwater, it was fantastic. 

And friends, I come home tomorrow. Crazy. Look forward to seeing you all.

Mansef - Meal of Champions

Four families and the short-term team all gathered as one last night. We sat around the floor around two classic and coveted Arab dishes, called Mansef. Since I arrived in Jordan, I have been hearing about Mansef all the time. It is a huge dish served at big celebration meals like Weddings and graduations. So last night, one of the ladies prepared Mansef for us and we made a party out of the deal. Mansef is served on a huge platter and you can only use your right hand to eat it. This is the best excuse to just be dirty. It is served on a base layer of bread, followed by rice, then covered with either Chicken or Lamb (traditionally Lamb). Then you pour this special sauce on it to make it soupy. So to eat it, you grab a grip of the stuff into the palm of your hand and work it around it a special way till it forms a ball. Then you use the outside of your thumb to pop it into your mouth. 

Might sound easy, but this is where the true foreigners are separated out, turns out I am still a foreigner. Me and three Arab guys were the primary devourers of our dish and when all was done only the part in front of me was still left. But I left satisfied and dirty as can be. After the meal we washed it down with some drinks, as you do not drink during the meal. Then we had brownies and ice-cream.

After we played some serious Wii boxing, where I was dominated by multiple children under 10. We also busted out the Wii Fit, which was absolutely hilarious. And finally, the young guys put together a band and put together some songs for the people. Great night, finished with a game of seven stones in the tiny backyard. Miss you all, cannot wait to see you.

Petra

(Look closely and Hannah Banana is leaning back in this photo)

Went to Petra with my English class on Friday. It is about a 2.5 hour drive and twenty students went. For those of you who do not know, Petra is a historical site in Southern Jordan made by the Nabatean people about 2200 years ago. It is an incredible collection of tombs, temples and chiseled caverns, with the main seek (Pathway) running all the way to China. It was a fun time with the class, running, walking and singing through the beautiful landscape. Best of all, I had my friend Hannah Banana, a monkey doll that Emily gave to me, joined me on my journey. I was lucky enough to take some great pictures with her and my buddies. Oh yeah, and for reference Petra is were Indiana Jones was filled and is the place where they found the Holy Grail. I wish someone would have told me that it did actually not exist.

 

Amman

This weekend, our team went on a trip to Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Amman is a bustling town, with about 5 million people in the greater area. From Aqaba, it is a four hour drive through desert, with an occasional speed bump to spice things up. We left for Amman on Saturday at noon and we arrived shortly before 5. We had the chance to see the Wolskey's old house in a small city outside Amman as well as the old center that has since been shut down. The drive itself was a little frustrating, as the youngest child was screaming at the top of his lunges for the duration of the trip. However, besides momentary frustration and a headache, we were ready for an exciting weekend in Amman. 

After quickly settling into the guest house, we made our way over to another workers house for Papa John's pizza. Most of the pizza here is Lebanese, so to have Western Style pizza was a blessing. During the meal, we had  the chance to meet most of the Amman team as well as the other students doing similar things as us. It was fun to hear stories and to see the passion that filled the room. On the trip we definitely eat like kings, so the meal was followed by the best brownies and ice-cream. After meeting the workers, us and the other students went out to watch Transformers 2. This was a riot as a large portion of the movie is filmed in the area. In fact, the majority of the final fighting scene is filled in Wa

di Rum, which is where we went on a jeep excursion the day prior. The audience was a little disappointed at the point when one of the guys says, "The Jordanian's are here" and only two helicopters rush in and get smoked after 5 seconds of combat. And now that I am part Jordanian, I could empathize with the pain.

Upon our arrival to the guest house, Tim and I moved our mattresses out to the roof and slept under the night sky. The temperature is substantially cooler and the cold breeze felt incredible, so good in fact that we slept right through the morning call to prayer at 4 in the morning. 

In the morning we made our way to the best falafel and hummus shop in Jordan, in fact, this is the place the King goes to get his share of hummus. Then we went and shopped around the old downtown area of Amman, followed by a trip to the ancient Roman ruins. We saw ruins that were from 2nd Century AD which was one of the craziest experiences I have ever had. Just the fact that the sites we were seeing and walking through were so old was unreal. We first walked through the ancient Roman theatre, which could sit 

6000 people and was built right into the side of the hill. From the top of the theatre, we could see the citadel, which is most known for being the place where Uriah the Hittite was killed. After walking through the various museums around the theatre we went up to the citadel. 

From the top of the mountain, you could look out to the largest residential area of Amman along with the largest free standing flag waving in the background. We continued on to the citadel, were ancient columns stood towering a hundred feet in the area. Most of the columns were ruined but the b

ase still stood firm. We proceeded to the Amman historic museum were pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, this is actually were the Scrolls were originally kept until they were moved to Israel. However, seeing part of the scrolls made the scriptures come that much more alive.  We walked around for a while in the museum finding many incredible artifacts, including an old Roman statue of Marcus Aurelius. After leaving the museum, we walked around the ruble of the main part of the citadel, next to the gigantic columns. 

Next we went to Fudruckers, home of the only American beef in the country. I think that it was so good that it actually gave everyone on the team the stomach sickness, but others say it was just bad meat. I thought the place was legit, as the restaurant provided valet parking as well as luxury burgers. After this, we went to an Arab church located a few miles outside the city. This was a special experience as we were able to experience the gathering of believers in a Muslin country. During the message, I was thinking how cool it would be if the Lord gave me the ability to understand the message so I could interpret to the team, and I honestly thought it would happen. Well it did not happen, but we did sing a song that said Hallelujah over and over so I could understand that. Honestly, it was sweet just trying to engage in another form of worship and gathering with the church. Afterward we meet with some of the members and pastors for tea and dinner, were we prayed and I shared my testimony. 

After a fun time of meeting with the members of the church and the young guys, we left to meet up with the Amman team from the previous night. We caught up with them at the local smoothie shop and enjoyed some laughs and stories of their time in Amman. Finally, after a long day Tim and I slept outside once more. We woke up at the crack of dawn and went to a home visit for a guy whose father had just past away. It was a little awkward sitting in the somber living room of a guy, with 9 of us looking at him, but his story was so powerful. Turns out he is a convert and has totally been blacklisted from everything as it is illegal to covert here. Just a testament how it is often a sacrifice, yet how we gain what we cannot lose. Then we eventually made our way to the Dead Sea.

On the way there, I was driving and was humbled as I passed through holy ground. As I drove I saw signs pointing to the Baptism site of Jesus, Jericho, Jerusalem, Mt. Nebo and Arron's Tomb. Places that I have only heard stories of were within eyesight and I just could not believe that I was in the vicinity of such places the God used to shape history. As we drove past Jericho, the Dead Sea filled the horizon with a beautiful blue shade that went beyond the eye could see to the south. It is actually about 60 miles long and 2 miles wide. As the weather was about 110 degrees outside, the water was also about 80 degrees which did not make it the most refreshing experience, but it was the first time I could float on water in my life. It was truly a powerful experience and again it just makes the scriptures become more alive as I put an image to the scriptures I read about. Praise Him.

No Title

Yesterday, I took my friend to the border. At one point, I was in-between two countries and this was a unique experience. As I dropped off my friend at the border of Israel, I had to drive myself back home to Aqaba. Reading in between the lines, this means that I had my first driving experience in Jordan. Now you must understand the car that I was driving. It is a 1980 busted van, that we call "Chuck." Now here I am, cruising in-between two countries, quickly approaching an armament at the border of Jordan, wind blowing through my tourist style hat that folds up on the sides, and feeling like a true Arab. At that moment, I felt that I could see myself staying here. My head rocked with the ruggedness of the road and I sang lullaby about Jordan. 

Later in the evening, we celebrated the 1st birthday of one of the kids here. Honestly, I do not understand why we buy one-year olds presents, but I cannot complain about the cake that also accompanied the party. Thanks Lathe. 

At about 6:00, we headed to the beach to meet up with a few families at the local spot. This was my first time really hanging out with an entire Arab family and it was incredible. Well rather than just talking about what has been happening I will share some verses that have really affected me recently. First, I have been reading through the book of Isaiah and although it has been a challenge it has been pretty amazing to read the prophecies spoken by the prophet Isaiah. 

In Isaiah 25:4 it says, "For you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy is his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. Being here in the desert, this last line floored me. Often, shade is impossible to come by and one can feel the life being sucked out of them by the unbearable heat, yet our God is a God that provides shade.

In Isaiah 26:3 it says, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you. Then it goes on to say in verse 9 that, "With my soul I have desired to You in the night. Yes, by my spirit within me, I will seek you early." This is a great picture of consistency, through the active pursuit of our Lord in all times of the day. Verse 3 also reminds me of the necessity to constantly dwell on the statues of the Lord and His word and how we can do nothing on our own. Miss you.

Morning Swims, Deserts, Engineering and Weddings

First, if this is Emily reading this, STOP IMMEDIATELY! Do not proceed as I will tell you these stories live, or as live as Skype can be anyways.

This morning, Tim and I joined our Jordanian friend Annes for a swim downtown. Due to the incredible hot weather, Annes wanted to beat the crowds and the heat and hit the water early. We brought tea and water and meet down at the downtown flagpole in a area called "The Gondor." It is a pretty worn dock with missing planks and boats often drive through the swimming area. However, between laughing and attempting high dives into shallow water, it was a morning worth waking up early for. And after we feasted on my favorite Jordanian meal, the falafel sandwich from Muhandes. 

Next, Tim and I went with a student from class to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum is a Jordanian National Park and is known for its incredible colors, especially at dawn and dusk. Our student is an engineer for the Aqaba Water Company and we joined him on a few site visits to broken wells. Tim earned his bachelors in mechanical engineering and is invested into the subject and I went along for the ride. However, as water is a critical issue, especially in this part of the world it was a great experience to learn about how the well systems operate. However, the "work day" left some to be desired. 

After a lighting tour of the Wadi Rum area, we arrived at the work site to watch 8 guys ineffectively attempt to screw in a massive pipe into the ground.  Our friend told the guys that we were specialists from America, but I am sure they soon found out that I was far from knowledgeable in the area of water irrigation and filtration. We ended up sitting in the cool car, listening to Egyptian music while the guys worked which did not fell so good. Honestly, I felt pretty lazy. Lunch followed soon after, after which Tim and I explored the nearby Bedouin camp and desert hillside. Shortly after, we left to find some shade. Seriously, it was ridiculous in that we had not do anything and were resorting to shade. However, we did go off-roading and found this incredible cavern that overlooked the desert and camel racing course. Thats right, a camel racing course.  

Needless to say, we did not do all that much work but mostly performed observational work that like any good white collar worker. In fact, after hours of hard work in the blistering sun, the project that the workers were putting together ended up not working. After this, we headed off the wedding of a local Bedouin guy that is a colleague of our students. Upon our arrival, the groom approached the three of us and greeted both Layth and I with a kiss, but left Tim out in the cold. Honestly, I totally messed up the traditional kiss and felt totally uncomfortable, but know I have finally been initiated into Bedouin society. After I exhausted my limited knowledge of Arabic, the groom quick realized I was not an Arab and after our short visit, I did not depart to the kiss. However, it was an incredible experience, sitting beneath a hand-knit Camel hair tent, drinking Bedouin Coffee and sitting with the native nomads of the Arab Lands. 

On our way home, we decided to take the car deep into the desert. As we started to pick up speed, the sand kept getting deeper. As we ventured farther from the road, we often needed to stop and reverse to maneuver out of the deep sand in our path. After about ten minutes of driving deep into the desert, we stopped to take some pictures of the complete isolation that surrounded us. After taking so snapshots, we realized that we were completely stuck in a foot of sand. As we tried to engage the tires, the wheels kept getting lodged deeper into the sand. As Tim and I started to let out the pressure of the tires, Layth walked to find a local Bedouin that might be dwelling in the nearby camps. Luckily, a Bedouin guy came to our rescue with his pickup and we found ourselves back on the road again. After we refilled the tires with air, we ran back to the original work site to pick up a worker who needed a ride to Aqaba. The Tim and I were soothed to sleep by the foreign sounds of Arabic being spoken loudly the whole way home. What an adventure. 

The Beauty of Dichotomy

We stood on the roof of a house in the area of town called Mohandas (literally translated as The Engineers), overlooking the city of Aqaba. This city is beautiful at night, and as we looked at the faint mountain ridge line behind the city scape, the full moon began to light up the backside of the mountain as it was moments from rising into the night sky. It blows my mind, that this is the country and place that the Israelites trekked through so many years ago and now we stand in this same barren land, over looking a small metropolis. As we looked out from the roof, we could see the "christmas lights" used to decorate wedding locations, a large illuminated picture of King Abdullah II on the hillside, and the mosque towers that rise above the rest of the city buildings. At night, the towers of the mosque are lit with green lights, standing in stark contrast from the night sky. As we stood, we noticed the ridge line of the mountains that acted as the backdrop of the nearby mosque. While an ordinance declares that the tower of the mosque must be the highest point of a building in a city, the mountains dwarf the tower. While regulations declare that no point be built higher than the mosque, no one can control creation and it stands superior to any man made creation. The skies declare His glory!

As we spoke words, the moon crested the mountain line, casting light upon the city. It was a glorious spectacle, the moon casting light onto a dark and barren city. Miss you all.  

 

HSM and Gloria Jeans

So Emily is a big High School Musical fan, partly in that it is ridiculous and partly because she actually enjoys the teen drama. I myself have been opposed on principle, and until recently had not taken any part in this movement. On the 4th of July, I went to a late dinner at some friends house and the two couples have 8 kids in total. As I walked in, they had just finished playing the High School Musical Karaoke game on the Nintendo Wii. I totally desired to play, solely with the intent of building into the lives of the kids. However, we decided to move onto Wii Fitness soon thereafter and played the night away. 

When I got home, my teammates just so happened to be lounging out to High School Musical 1 and I assumed it was a sign. As I sat down to watch it I became engrossed in the music, which was actually pretty good. However, the DVD froze so I cannot speak to the entirety of the show, but I actually enjoyed what I heard. Who would have thunk? And I am anticipating many more moments with High School Musical while I am here in Aqaba.

Next, Tim and I had an awesome meeting with a guy at the local coffee shop called Gloria Jeans. Cannot go into specifics but we definitely walked through some wide open doors that were clearly not of our own doing. 

In The Thick of Things

Here is a map of the route of the Exodus that the Israelites took from Egypt. I have been reading about their journey and I connect with it on such a deeper level, as I am able to look out onto the very land the Israelites walked through. This morning, I was on the roof on the house and literally could see the Red Sea and the entire Gulf of Aqaba. Yet, it is hard to understand how in the Holy Land, most are walking in complete opposition to what was experienced so long ago. While I could see the places where part of the Exodus happened, it was blurred by the roaring speakers of the daily call to prayer of the local mosque. This is the definition of dichotomy. Miss you all.   

Coldplay vs. Backstreet Boys/Avril Lavigne

So I was mocked today for taking on the title of "Coldplay Fan." For those of you who are missing out on great music, Coldplay is a band from Britain. The conversation that led to me being mocked transpired over a delicious meal of Falafel Sandwiches with some Jordanian guys. Now when I told one of the guys that I liked Coldplay he laughed and said that he could no longer talk to me. I then responded and asked him, "Well what bands do you like?" You would not believe what came out of his mouth.

He boldly stated, "Backstreet Boys and Avril Lavigne." I stood their, bewildered and befuddled at the heresy that was spoken in my presence. We all had a good laugh, and I tried to convey to him how ridiculous his thought was. In the end, it was not so much about the artist but having a good time holding firm to our individual convictions. It will have to remain a running joke for the duration of my time in Jordan, and who am I kidding, for a while longer because you just cannot bash on Coldplay while claiming allegiance to Backstreet and Avril. 

And this morning we played basketball on the black top. The rims we played on were 9.5 feet so it was fun trying to throw down on the young Aqabawis. Honestly, I was rim checked just about every time. And most of the young guys have definetly played to much NBA Jam or watched to many All-Star game highlights for their own good. You never really know when, where, or how a shot is going to be put up when playing with the local guys. It is a hilarious time. Again, it was fun seeing different relationship come to fruition, even those with the guys from the team. 

SOS - Save our Sanity

Today we began the first of our biweekly volunteering at the local orphanage called SOS. For the first week, my teammate Ku and I had been selected as the group leaders. We were in charge of facilitating and planning out the sequence of games for the two hour slot that we would fill. We had planned for a big vacant room that would be effective for large group games. When we arrived, we were told that the kids would not be able to arrive until an hour and a half later and that we could only use a small 12x20 room that was full of tables and chairs. Needless to say, we had to rethink our approach.

Sure enough, the kids started filing into the room shortly after to beneficially give us no time to change plans. We all looked at each other a bit confused on how we would adjust to fill such a large chuck of time. We began the time with a classic hymn, "Father Abraham." It could have been the most awkward version of the song I have ever taken apart of, as the kids refused to participate in the song. And rather than having 15-20 kids as expected, nearly 65 kids showed up to add  to the chaos.

Luckily, we brought in one translator who could say something beyond "what is your name." Then we moved to the outside pavilion for the duration of the time. It was a large area but was built in four 15 X 50 foot sections so playing large group games was still a big challenge. While explaining games like red light, green light was already difficult in another language, a group home of girls was also on site distracting the kids. It was seriously a zoo, with the young guys drooling over the American girls and the troubled youth women grabbing at the young boys. Upon the first command of RED LIGHT, all the kids ran all the way to the end and in unison, yelled "I win!" 

At one point, my roommate Tim witnessed a girl full on round-house kick another little boy after he ran to steal bacon when it was her number. He learned quickly. Well Tim actually stepped in became the father figure that many of these kids have never had. I foresee this time being fruitful and a good opportunity to model discipline and love to these kids. It could also open up doors for the Life Center and give another opportunity to establish itself in the city. 

Billardo

Just got back from hanging with the guys at the local billiards club. I ran the table and was officially called the "Wahash" (the monster in Arabic). It is fun to start seeing relationships form and to further develop friendships with my teammates. While a smoke-filled room is not my typical hangout spot, it was fun to try to talk to the local guys and invite them to the class that we will begin teaching shortly. Many of the guys honestly think I am Arabic and often start going off on me in Arabic. When they see my puzzled look, they get excited that I am an American and this starts a new conversation. 

I finally shook my sickness today. I woke up a little earlier than normal which actually helped with the whole headache thing and we helped one of the families that just returned from the States with moving furniture and trimming hedges. Tim and I are naturals and will probably have to turn down hedge work in the near future. We actually had the dullest clippers ever and it was an absolute riot trying to tear these hedges apart. It was fun to begin a relationship with this family and to get to know their kids. After working, we enjoyed a great meal of Red Curry together and heard a little of their story.

Anyways, after the meal I felt ready to go and we meet some one of our friends at the Billiard place. I also finally invested in a "Shmog," one of the Arabian style cloth hat things which I will undoubtably be wearing often. I bought the red and white checkered one which symbolizes Jordanian heritage! Love you. 

You got wet, and I got wet!

This blog entry is themed based upon the title. Hopefully it will make more sense after some extrapolation and anecdotes. So the other day, I was at the beach with some of the families I had meet from the company. One of the families just arrived back from a year in the states and they have 4 kids. The smallest of the kids in age and stature is named Titus, and after dinner I walked with him to the shore of the Red Sea (I love saying that). His mother had told him that he could only go in the water up to his knees, which he did. However, as he would reach into the water to pick up throwing rocks, the water would soak his shirt and face! One of the things that we did this particular trip was to drop big rocks into the water to create a splash. One of the rocks shot up a tidal wave and splashed both me and Titus. When he figured out this act of science he continued to find rocks that had the same effect, each time laughing uncontrollably and saying, "You got wet and I got wet." It was a priceless moment.

So I had to include that story into my blog and I wanted to try to incorporate it into a larger theme of my time here in Jordan. On the trip back from this particular time at the beach, we got stopped by the police about ten minutes outside of Aqaba. The driver, my roommate Tim, has no license and luckily, the police officer was impressed that I grew up in the same state that is Governed by Arnold Schwarzenneger and Tim had a registration card for the busted van that we drive. As we continued on the road the van started to loose speed and we looked and saw that the gas gauge was past empty. So here we are, 10 minutes out of the city, it is 105 degrees and we have no phone. As the car is rolling down the hill it shuts off completely which means the power brakes no longer work. Tim quickly restarted the car as it was going and it started back up with a roar. Seriously, we probably restarted the car 15 times as we rolled into the gas station. There is not doubt that Christopher Columbus has the whole world in his hands, both big and small.

I imagined that I would have this crazy social life during my time here in Aqaba and was excited to meet my first Jordanian bud while snorkeling. See, often time the rock is dropped and two people are effected but it takes additional effort to have a relationship come to fruition. Therefore, I called my friend Thursday night to plan a time to get together. He answered the phone by saying, "Why did it take you so long to call?" In the Jordanian culture, people are the priority so when I said we would hangout when I meet him, he expected to hangout much sooner than a week after the fact. I am learning. So Tim and I ended up meeting him at a hotel downtown. Now I thought it would just be us but Tim ran into two other guys he knew from class and my friend also brought his brother, his brother's friend and his uncle. So we went from three to eight, which led to such a fun time and awkward embraces. During the time together, we talked of many things, including religion, American credit cards and why people are poor in America. I hope this friendship continues to grow because I really like my friend a lot.

When his brother arrived, I had already meet him once before this, he went in for the Arabic greeting which is a series of kisses on both cheeks. I had seen Tim do it before and once with a guy named "Captain Khalid," the 8th strongest man in Jordan! So needless to say I was scared by that experience and was hesitant to greet anyone in such a way. So when my friends brother went in for the kisses I closed my eyes and engaged in this cultural embrace. Minus the whole rubbing against beard, it was a great experience! 

We are continuing to plan for the English classes that will begin this next week. I will be teaching a conversations course to more advanced students. Still not sure class sizes and exact details but am excited to get into a rhythm and to meet more Jordanian people. I am learning a great deal about myself here and have found myself battling on multiple fronts. It was a larger transition that expected, arriving in Jordan soon after a major life change with school and opening my life up to a potential new direction. On top of this, I have struggled a little with the fact that I am only here for a short while and want to help and grow but at the same time know that I am not here for myself. If nothing else, I am going to continue to look ahead and take each curve in stride. So here is how it all ties in, while some things like throwing rocks can be dangerous sometimes you just have to live a little. 

I am also really enjoying my team. They are different from other people that I have interacted with. I am getting to know my roommate better each day and is very different from me in many ways. However, we connect on many levels and really balance each other out. I have learned so much from him already and is challenging to hear his perspective on his time here in Jordan. He is very gifted and is potentially going engineering background for product design. I almost feel like we are brothers, both walking through this adventure together, not sure if he feels the same but probably. The girls are great to, they are very culturally versed and their fixation on cultures is a little different than I am used to. But again, they are a blessing and taught Tim and me the other day how to make "Mong Style Fried Rice Made in the Jordan Valley." It very much feels like a small family, as Tim and I have taken on the older brother roles, watching out for them and helping snorkel and stuff.

So here is the clincher, despite the hard times, I want to continue to place myself in a position to be splashed, in the face of both danger and discomfort. Miss you all.

Manville

Marhaba (hello in Arabic). Tonight we went down to the "Ballad," the downtown area of Aqaba with the crew. After a long day, we went to the Ballad to eat and peruse the area. Before I tell you of the adventure that was had, I want to let you know that we had our first lesson of Arabic today and did a personality test of sorts. Our Arabic teacher is Armenian and was born in Bagdad. It was exciting to begin to learn the language as it is a big step towards engaging the culture. I was also encouraged that I had remembered a lot of what I had already heard from conversations with people in the past few days. After this, we did a personality test to begin the conversation of goals for the summer. First off, I do not really like planning goals or having things too planned out, yet I am seeing the value of looking ahead. It was an encouraging and challenging time to identify areas of growth of the summer.

The personality tests was called DISK, which is an acronym for something. The test itself was brutal as I felt like I was all of the possible answers for all the questions. I ended up as an "I," which is accurate as it stands for inspirational! Just kidding. I mean tests like this are frustrating because it is fairly easy to look behind the question to what characteristic it is pointing to. Therefore, it is easy to fudge the results. However, I did struggle through and tried to answer as honestly as possible. But I did turn out an "I" and the team agreed that I was clearly an "I." I am not sure of all the specifics, but basically an "I" is a optimist encourager that takes charge of the group through his example and in turn, inspires. I will let you know more of what this means as we will discuss it more in depth tomorrow. 

So at the Ballad tonight we found Manville. As the girls went shopping, the guys walked around the Ballad. We took a step down an alley and found a group of probably 300 guys hanging out. Seriously, their was not a girl in sight and this disturbed me at first. Picture this, a football field area where the first 20 yards was uncovered and had 5 rows of chairs. Guys formed circles and sipped on hot tea and hukka while some were watching King Kong an a little T.V. and the others were watching WWF Women's wrestling. Next to this was a covered area with a similar seating assortment. However, three T.V's with a low-budget Egyptian soap played and pumped sound into the area with a series of cheap speakers. Again, tea and hukka were shared by all. Then, next to this was the big covered area where 200 guys sat, watching either WWF, the Egyptian soap, or Terminator. As we took a seat, we ordered tea and enjoyed the brotherhood that evolves  when you put 300 guys in the same area with bad film, tea, and hukka . My life will no longer be the same. 

Running in Hot Weather

Before I forget, I wanted to share a quick anecdote about my recent running adventure. After a quick lunch we had some free time before our next meeting and Tim and I went home. Tim was feeling tired from a late night but I wanted to go work out. We now have a gym membership but I needed Tim to go with me to go to our gym as I do not quite know how to get there yet. So I figured I would just brave the elements and go running outside. Now, this was in the heat of the day and it was closing in on 105 degrees. However, I was aware of the harsh conditions and brought 2 liters of water on my journey. I started the run and stopped every few minutes to take pictures of the local beauty, like sand boxes and dead cats and stuff. About 20 minutes into the run, I had no water and every limb in my body was cramping. I was not sweating because the heat was so fierce that the sweat would dry right off my body. I knew I was in trouble and began to walk home. I finally made it home and as soon as I took a step into my cool living room my body let go the sweat floodgates. I did not stop sweating for the next 15 minutes. Safe to say that I will never do that again, and from now on I will just sit at home in the air conditioned family room. Love you all.

Groupies

The rest of the company team arrived on Sunday and it has been a busy two days with orientation type stuff. The team, now consists of Tim and I, Gene and Jessie, and three college girls from the states. The girls are from an ethic group that is a small tribal community near China. They are from different parts of the US, but all happen to be from the same ethnic background and it has been awesome getting to hear about their history. One of the huge aspects of orientation was learning the Jordanian culture. As I have written before, hospitality is huge and is one of the seven virtues of the country. The girls really took this on tonight as they had us all over for a common meal shared their tribe. It was a pretty standard Asian meal, but was a nice change of pace from the Arab food I have been devouring the past few days.

After dinner, we sat around a fire in the backyard of the guest house. We basically drove around the city and found extra wood sitting around construction sites for the fire. It was a strange experience at first as we were sitting around a fire, in 80 degree weather at night, being lullabied by prayer from the local mosque. You see, the five prayer times are projected across the city from loudspeakers from the mosques, so we get the chance to hear it five times daily. It was such a reminder of what is really going on around us, making the bonfire just that much more special. We sang, roasted (Smors that is), danced, and let loose with some classic lyrical improve. It is cool to see the team clicking after this short time, and in a culture that is oppressive it is all the more important for unity.

Today we took a driving tour of the city and saw the dichotomy between the traditional Arab nation and that which is heavily influenced by affluent nations. Less then 10 minutes from my posh pad, are brick huts and tents of the bedouin people. This is a place where goats and camels are common, and very little women were seen outside the home. Just minutes from this area was a new development called Soria. Large influx of capital from The Ameratis, and western countries have given nearly $26 Billion in invested capital to build a ridiculously exclusive 5 star housing and hotel complexes. Right now Jordan is considered a free economic zone and many of the typical economic regulations including taxes and policies on earnings have been minimized to spur growth. As you can imagine, this new push for growth has huge possibilities for the Jordan country and I am excited to see how I could possibly get involved. It is such a stark contrast to the traditional Arab society that exists just minutes away.

Tomorrow we start language tutoring, were we will be having Arabic lessons for the day. We will do this for 1.5 hours every week to fully immerse ourselves in the culture. I miss you all and look forward to hearing of your adventures upon my arrival. 

Shopping, Falafels, and Toilet Sprayers

Went out this morning to the equivalent of a downtown shopping area. It is near the tourist area of town and is in close proximity to the beach and massive Jordanian flag. We stopped into a local place with outdoor seating and enjoyed a series of traditional Jordanian dishes. The main component was a flat little bread that you would then dip into a collection of hummus with different goodies in the middle. The other staple food was the falafels that you would place in the bread and dip into the hummus mix. Honestly, the aesthetic appeal is just not there for me, but I want to try everything while I am here and it actually was quite enjoyable. We finished the typical breakfast, which often is not eaten until 10:00, with tea and a mango fruit smoothie.

Then went and walked around the local shopping area, in pursuit of hair clippers, an alarm clock, and aloe. Through the shopping area, most stores had the exact same offerings, but the Arab people find pride in owning their own stores. However, many of the stores had some quality offers such as Croc shoes, American watches and Jergens lotion. Then about every third store is a shop called "Ducans", that are basically mini 7-elevens that sell cheap sodas and 2 liter water bottles. With the extreme heat, water is a must and a huge 2 liter jug is only 500 fils, the equivalent of 75 cents.

So every Sunday, we have a meeting with the believers from around the area. It was a powerful time of fellowship and encouraging one another. There were about 8 of us, most from the US and two from South America. It is fun to hear stories and how each person arrived where they are now. One of the guys is a flight instructor for Jordanian flight school and has been here for the past three years. A different but effective avenue as a tent maker of sorts.

While at the meeting, I took a restroom break and arrived in the hottest bathroom of all time. I did my thing as soon as possible and noticed an interesting contraption on the back of the toilet bowl. I knew it was a bidet of sorts and wanted to figure out how to us it. As I was standing, facing the toilet I pressed down on the side of the unit and a large stream of dirty water launched out and sprayed all over my pant leg. You might want to write this down: Do not push down the bidet button while standing in front of the toilet!

Snorkeling for a Sunk Ship in the Red Sea

Went to the beach of the Red Sea today with the Wolske's to relax for the holiday. Here in Jordan, Friday and Saturday are basically taken as a holiday and are recognized as the weekend. It is typical for families to go the beach together, and when I mean go I mean like 12 + hours at the beach. You see, family and hospitality are valued highly by the Jordanian people and it is not uncommon for them to keep entertaining guests and spending time with family all day long and deep into the night. 

From the beach where we were located, you could look out and see 4 countries at once. To the left of the beach about a mile down was Saudi Arabia, Egypt is located directly across the Sea, to the right of Egypt at the end of the Gulf is Israel and I was obviously in Jordan. The beach was filled with people and shade was sought after like gold. Lining the rocky sand was little coverings made of of straw that acted as the best form of shade around. After searching around we landed a spot close to the sand soccer field and the water. After some Jordanian style pizza, Gene and I went snorkeling around the reef of the Red Sea. 

It was my first time ever snorkeling and as the Red Sea is so salty, I found the buoyancy to be the first surprise. With the big daddy fins I glided through the water around the reef  that started about 10 meters off of the beach. We swam among the coral and saw the most incredible colors and sights below. I kept my eyes peeled for Egyptian horse carts and luckily did not see any. One of the cool parts of the area of the beach we were at was that 20 years ago the government sunk an old ship off of the coast to help encourage the reef growth. I guess the reef uses the ship as a foundation to grow off of and around. The ship is identified by a huge floating buoy and Gene and I swam out to it during our snorkeling session. As I got closer, I had the most scared feeling that someone or something was going to come up out of the ship and grab me and take me below. As I swam over the remains of the ship I could not help but be filled with a slight state of eeriness. The boat was about 10 meters below but the details of the ship could be clearly seen. 

Back on land, I meet a new friend named Ahmad, who is a taxi driver. He has offered me his driving services for free and I spent some time meeting his family. During the time I was offered tea, which is the staple of Jordanian hang out times, which was amazing ("Zachy" in Arabic). However, in meeting his family I never was introduced to his three sisters and we instantly separated into a circle of guys and a circle of girls. Ahmad and me spoke of the way marriage works in Jordan and how when he wants to marry he will ask the permission of the father before he has every spoken to the girl. After our tea and chat, we swam back out to the ship which was scarier the second time. It was fun having him explain to me the different fish and identify things I did not notice the first time. We then played soccer and volleyball. We played volleyball with 9 Jordanian guys and they were laughing the hardest during the whole game. I would laugh because I was forced to create dialogue that I perceived them to be having in my head and then I would respond in English ("Ingglezy" in Arabic). This caused them to laugh even harder and it was such a fun time.

Then I got home and decided that as Tim was gone, it would be a perfect time to put clothes away and cut my hair. As the only outlets are in the kitchen I took a mirror and set it up near the sink and planned on cutting my hair in the sink. I started and the blade moved slowly to the point where it was pulling my hair out like in the days when my sister pulled hair (She actually never did that). I messed with the settings on the converted and thought that maybe my clippers just needed a charge. After some time, I plugged them in again but to the same result. I then figured I could just plug the clippers right into the adapter without the converter and they started up with the most force I have ever heard. Naturally, I smiled and started cutting my hair for the seven seconds the clippers worked. So it turns out the plugging in an item that can only handle 120 Watts into a socket that gives out 240 Watts will kill your appliance. Now I have no clippers and will be resorting to the good old barber.

My roommate has 7 friends over from Boston and they are spending the night with us tonight. They are all asleep now but it was exciting to hear about their journeys and compare challenges and adventures of our time in the Middle East. To my family and friends, you are missed.

Home Sweet Home

Been a Jordan resident for about 16 hours and it has been a full day. It began by meeting three Arab college students on the plane ride from Amman to Aqaba. They were very affluent and were going to be spending the weekend on their fathers Yacht in the Red Sea. Apparently in their world, private drivers, Yacht's and trips to Dubai are standard. They actually invited me to join them for a poker night but I had to decline due to my commitments to the center. It however was a good introduction to the widely diverse Jordanian culture.  Two of the students were actually women and payed little attention to the cultural traditions of the women of Jordan as they engaged me as if I was a close friend. Even in my first day here in Jordan, I can already attest that this was not the normal interaction between men and women. In fact, most women I saw today were covered in full Burkas (Only their eyes showing) and would not even look into the eyes of a man. Additionally, most women walk behind the man as a sign of submission, which I do not think would fly in my relationship.

My residents for my tenure in Jordan is a nice house that is completely furnished, has a front patio and three bedrooms and two baths. It is located in the 8th area, as the residential areas are sectioned off into areas. We have our own parking for the busted van named "Chuck Norris" that Tim and I drive as well as a full AC system. The house has nice tiled floors, a spacious kitchen with all the amenities of your typical American kitchen. I was shocked when I walked in a saw the place. The guest house also has quality furniture that is reminiscent of a pottery barn magazine. Luckily, Tim enjoys playing music and games and so we have spent our down time bonding over Jam sessions and Settlers of Catan. As I have talked of my roommate but not expounded on him, I am sharing a room with a guy named Tim who has been in Jordan for about a year. He is also 23 and is patiently educating me about the culture and language of the area. Upon my arrival, immediately following a quick breakfast with Gene and Jessie, Tim took me to the local gym and we spent an hour running and pumping the iron together. This will be a good place to meet people and engage in the culture outside of the typical day at the center. Tim is a great guy who played hockey in college and also dabbles in music. I am stocked to get to know him better.

The weather was almost unbearable, as it was 85 degrees when I exited the plane at 8:20 in the morning. Coupled with my jet lag and serious depravity of water I was struggling prior to lunch. Once I got food in my system, which was an incredible mix of chicken, rice, yogurt and a salsa mix, I felt better and took a brief nap to get ready for the first interaction with students from the center. On the second day, Tim and I went and meet the guys for a game of basketball and soccer. We played with the locals until it was too hot, "Shoab" in arabic, which meant it was well over 100 degrees. One of the guys I meet, named Ahmad was showing me his music collection and we ended up jamming to his favorite cuts of Avril Lavinge and Backstreet Boys!

I will be working at the  center in an area called Mach Dude (totally messing up the name) and is a restored building that was believed to be haunted by the natives. The first floor is a coffee shop, second floor is English classrooms and the third floor is the women's aerobic center. I had the opportunity to attend the English graduation tonight and meet many of the students that will be continuing their English education next term as well. I meet two guys named Muhammed and Ali and had the opportunity to hear about their lives, family and faith. This is a very excepting culture and it is pretty easy to extend relationships beyond the teaching platform. I am excited to see how these relationships develop and enjoy the special aspects of the culture. 

Besides my accommodations, I was also surprised with the fact that Mcdonalds, Burger King and Safeway are located in Jordan. I vowed to Tim that I would not eat out at American fast food while in this country. I am also surprised that the culture here wakes up late, around 9 and works late till about 9. This culture stays up very late as last night we played Settlers with some of the Shabob till about 2. It is not uncommon to see families shopping for groceries at 1 AM. Well I am off to see the city. See ya later.

Arab Lands, Ready and About

So I have been in the air for 16 hours, spent 16 hours waiting at the gate, 1 hour in Frankfurt, and have 1 hour left of flying before Aqaba. Honestly, I have loved the waiting time for two reasons. First, it allows me to soak up the experience without rushing into it, and it allows the excitement to marinate. Minus the fact that I am the only guy in the Middle East right now wearing shorts and Chacos I am ready to go. 

On the plane ride from Portland to Frankfurt I meet a high school kid named Lars. He was a big guy from Northeast Germany. He was doing a study abroad in Grants Pass and had not been home for 11 months. Cool kid and we are going to maintain contact over the internet. He has been dating this girl starting three months prior to his departure for the States and had made him a calendar for his birthday that had special pictures of them all the way up to his arrival date home. Totally reminded me of Em and Lars and I reminisced of our girlfriends together. It really helped dull the pain of leaving Em, family, and friends!

I had the opportunity to read quite a bit in Frankfurt and also spent a good amount of time napping, sprawled across the waiting room seats with my arm wrapped through the strap of my bag. During my time in Frankfurt, I really experienced the harshness of the culture. First, I wanted to try a German beer that Lars recommend for me and as the drinking age is 16 I felt comfortable drinking with the lad. The lady instantly said no to Lars as he asked for me in German and she said no to me as well. I was a little taken back and she informed us that we had to be 18. I assured her I was well over 18, and she requested my ID. After looking over the ID she said she did not believe me and handed me a hand crafted German beer anyways.

Next, I had a question about the money exchange and how much some of the coins I had were worth. I wanted to eat but did not know if I would need to exchange for more Euros. They had a 1 and 2 on them but Lars had told me that they also used cents so I was wondering if these were Euros or cents. I said to the lady, "Are these just 1 or 2 Euros or are they cents?" She laughed and said she that my question was dumb and that she was glad she was going home. From this I inferred that they were in fact Euros. Thanks.

The flight from Frankfurt to Amman was great. We passed over the Alps on the Austrian side which were incredible. The peaks were spread out over different distances and so it had an interesting blend of white-capped peaks and green hills from an aerial view. It was also set against the backdrop of a ruby red sunset. We also had an amazing meal of chicken and I sat next to a government technician setting up "stuff" in Baghdad. 

Oh yeah, and I am totally getting used to full head coverings for women. It is so apparent that God is a God of the nations, all of them. See ya.

Airport

I have entered the International Terminal at the Portland Airport. Stayed up late packing, so I am a little tired but very excited to begin reading The Last Lecture, a book I have been wanting to read for a while. On our way to the airport, we ran into snails-pace traffic about 45 minutes from the airport. The only thought in my mind was that we were going to have to go straight to the airport rather than stop at REI in Portland. Based on a road trip I took over Spring Break I found a particular brand of under garments that one can wear for an extended period of time. As the elements will be quite grueling in Jordan, durable underwear will be an important item to have. So I left this morning with the intentions of buying two more pairs and had no other under garments packed. Therefore, with the traffic, I might have been forced to leave for Jordan with only the skivvies I had on. Luckily, traffic subsided and we were able to stop at REI.

I am pumped for this adventure, excited for the long travel time, and absolutely unsure as to what to expect. Stay posted. The first leg of the trip is Portland to Frankfurt. It is ten hours in the air, which could be three potential movies, three meals, reading both the Last Lecture and Lonely Plant Jordan, and conversations. The possibilities are endless but I better get off this CPU before I miss them. See you in Germany.