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.