19 August - The days are just soooo full

Hello!
I am trying not to distress over the rush of time as so much happens here and I am missing the chance to keep my entries consistent.

We had several full days and now are in the final crush days / hours of preparing for 3 full days (2-hour drives each direction) to some of our colleagues schools (looks like more 12-15 hour days ahead.) We also are presenting at a seminar for invited Jordanian teachers on Tuesday so we are also a-buzz with that preparation and collaboration.

...and then prep Thursday for our early Friday a.m. departure - but I WON'T think of that now.

Cultural Observation:
Eye colour:
WOW there are some stunning eye colours here. Truly.
I love eyes and paying attention to them (the eye contact here is another story)
So...1st, I remember walking down a street in Dublin on my 1st trip there and becoming very emotional when i realized essentially EVERYONE looked like me (or my relatives - cuz they were /are!!!) I had to stop and stand near a wall and just soak it all in - fair skinned, blue eyes in 95% of the faces I saw. And I clearly recall this unexpected wave of emotions wash over me.

Fast forward - Kevin in Jordan
NO ONE looks like me - no one! (another story)

But the range of dark eye colours here are extraordinary. The shades of brown (chocolate, sienna, earth, etc.), grey (slate, light, charcoal, etc.), green (light, dark, grass. apple, etc.) Captivating.
Our 1st night - we five were scouring C-town for our replacement supplies while waiting for lost luggage (see an earlier entry.) I'm tired, trying to get adapters, zero Arabic, blah blah. and walk up to a young man clerk and as I begin to speak slow English he looks up at me with the most amazing yellow-green-grey eyes.

He was the 1st and since then I am so conscious of looking now and I have been generously rewarded with a visual splendor of hues. My photos could never capture them....so so so beautiful.

FOR THE KIDS:
OMIGOSH!!!!! - I forgot to tell you (or did I - i forget because it's 12:45 in the morning!) But i have been collecting two sets of images...ready -
1) food - I think (and I hope!) I have taken a photo of almost every plate of food I have been served and I think I will fondly look back and remember every delicious moment. Or, I am afraid, I will look at them in six months and not remember what any of them are! - yikes - what do you think I will do - remember or forget?

2)I have been collecting photos of signs - some are in Arabic entirely (of course because that is the primary language here) and some are translated to English - and not always accurately. Now, please do NOT think I am feeling like a 'smarty' because often there are errors. Everyone makes mistakes especially when using two languages and I know because I am still learning other languages.

But still they are funny.

Sooooo I have included some here - look carefully and see if you can discover why i took the photo. Lemme know if you can.

And for everyone:
The best I can do is give another set of images and try to update text in the next few days loooonnngggg bus rides.

Thanks for caring to read.