Hello friends:
Well, THE long-anticipated official day arrived. We took care of yet another sick colleague (1 in uncomfortable state, 1 in BAD shape) and then headed to downtown Amman. It was a 9 a.m. meeting with the Minister of Education (tall, brilliant - 3 Ph.D.'s and forward thinking) and he is kind, generous in time and made a decision that positively affected our group for the better. We left ecstatic. He presented Dr. Mimi (delegation lead) with a stunning delegation gift. I broke a plate.
Yes, re-read that- I broke a plate. After being given a lovely slot and topic to address - thanks Dr. Mimi(a colleague complimented me on my delivery) and after the Minister exited (THANK YOU) the next sound was my snack plate breaking as I knocked over a juice bottle. OOPPS - can you spell 'international incident?'
We drove to a snack shop and ate before our 12 noon meeting with the Jordan Education Initiative staff. WOW - treated so well while being very high end professional yet comfortably conversational. I didn't break anything.
I was sought out for a private conversation by a professor to discuss teacher training (I now teach undergrad and grad level classes in teacher education for Heritage University in Seattle.)
Then the group headed for coffee while Dr. Mimi invited me to accompany her to the American Embassy for a 2 p.m. meeting with representatives of USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development.) New experience! It is the only embassy with soldiers outside, no photos allowed for the entire block and 2 armed, manned tanks outside.
4, count 'em 4 security checks. And with each one i shoved my stuff into a different pocket, so when surprise - what ANOTHER security check asked for my ID - i was checking all my pockets again! NO cameras, flash drives, memory sticks, CD's, phones, tech and at the final check they collected our passports.
I kept grappling with the sensation that I SHOULD feel remarkably safe but instead I felt totally ill at ease...
The meeting was yet, again, productive, generous of time and potentially useful for further professional development and University partnerships.
I did not break or take anything.
we left there and headed for dinner. Folks kept commenting on my appearance and said with my sunglasses on I looked like either a movie star or some high level security guard. Sooooo I decided to leave on the suit and play the role! - took some photos ('guarding' Sana'a and Dr. Mimi and then went to a crowded VERY local restaurant. Food had to be good, no tourists, all locals and only Arabic menu.
I sat down and the waiter spilled a tray of olives down my jacket lapel (Hugo Boss - oh wait - we saw a cologne rip-off with a box labelled Hogo Booss HAHAHAHAHA) and onto the seat and thence my pants.
The day I do NOT wear my casual touring clothes. I was ticked off.
And he kept serving, didn't clean up the floor mess, let alone my jacket. When i called him over and pointed to the floor and my clothing (I mean duh where did you think that plate of olives disappeared to??) he picked up a dirty napkin from a nearby table and started to wipe my lapel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"A clean one please!!!" i said
He brought me one.
Dr. Mimi got more from 2 other tables.
The manager did come over, was annoyed at the waiter and offered to dry clean it while i ate - so i emptied all my pockets again!!!!
I hesitantly gave them the jacket.
It was returned later, clean. I wondered if i should remove my pants and hand them to him too.
And now my goal is bed before midnight and we have NO alarm clocks set for tomorrow.
Wait til you hear of our next 3 days....
Cultural observation:
OK, so I HATE lane changers who refuse to signal. Try no lanes!!! So many roads here have no painted lines so people just kinda follow traffic flow and patterns until they don't want to. Then they just drift over a bit and kinda saddle 2 'lanes' or make a 3rd lane when there were just 2 'lanes' a minute ago!!!!!!
FOR THE KIDS:
Hi - so sorry i missed writing to you. I became so busy and to prepare for some important meetings I was awake really late working. But i hope to write daily and even go backwards to old entries and add some info and pictures.
So here is some new news:
WHERE are the animals? Seattle is a very 'pet' city so is New York - which you KNOW I love - Go Yankees, heh heh heh ;)
But I have seen hardly ANY animals - except for that camel (remember?) and goats and sheep on the farms we pass back and forth in the van every day. No cats, no dogs, VERY few birds in the trees. We saw one lizard at Mt Nebo - see the picture. This makes me very curious to research on the internet to find out exactly what kind of animals really live here. I will probably still be busy for the next many days so if you have time and learn anything about animals in Jordan, please TEACH me, OK?
hugs
bye bye everyone and thanks to the kind folks who have sent me notes - I keep each one!
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