So much to say...

Sorry for the lack of posting, it has taken me this long to get internet access here in the Badia.

So I must say there could be no way to prepare for my experience thus far. I'm living in a small village called Salhiyya about 40km from Mafraq on the road towards Baghdad. I live in a small complex of about 24 apartments that are offered to the Bedouin people to give them a place to stay to save money to build a house so they can move out of their tents. It's kind of funny though even when people build a big extravagant house as a status symbol they still have their tent set up next to it and spend most of their time there. The organization I'm working with (primarily, as I'm working with many different organizations on many different projects) is involved with financing the Bedouin people in buying land as right now the Jordanian government is willing to pay for the building of a house if you have the land to build it on. The problem is that most people don't have any land that they own so Abu Ala, the head of this complex and apparently a very respected man in the area, is offering to sell portions of his own land on credit to the people so they can take advantage of this program while it is available. This project along with helping come up with funding for other types of Badia development projects such as building shops to employ the poor Bedouin and schools to educate their children are my primary focus here. I'll be teaching a pre-school in the mornings and high schoolers two nights a week starting tomorrow so that should be fun as well. Native English speakers are such a rarity here so I'm told the most valuable thing I can do to help out here is teach English. Apparently all the University level courses taught here in Jordan (and anywhere in the Middle East) are taught in English so everyone studies it from the first grade on, but there are so few native speakers out here even the most qualified teachers still struggle to convey fluency. So we will see where my efforts are best served.

The culture here is amazing, everyone is incredibly nice and welcoming. Although my Arabic is mostly useless thus far (as it is MSA and they speak a different dialect here) many people study and want to speak English so it hasn't been TOO big a problem. I have spent the last week hanging out at the Ministry of Education for the Northern Badia making friends with many of the administrators and talking to the locals. I can't cross the street without getting a dinner invitation or an offer for a ride. In Jordan (and I'm told many other Middle Eastern countries) everyone has a large sitting room where the men come and hang out and drink tea or coffee (there is a whole ceremony surrounding the serving of Arabic coffee which I will explain later) and smoke. People invite you in and demand that you drink something and hang out and usually after an hour or two food is served Bedouin style. Everyone sits around a large communal plate of rice and maybe if you're really really lucky some meat, and some yogurt on the side to mix with the rice. Sometimes you eat with a spoon and sometimes with your hand but all conversation stops and everyone eats for a bit then goes and sits back down against the wall to relax for a bit before more coffee and tea is served. The oldest son usually does all the serving and it's very formal yet friendly. Depending on the home you might watch some TV or just hang out and talk. Most of the people love American movies, though the movies that are popular out here are quite different than the ones popular in the States. The ones that everyone watches out here are not necessarily less violent or sexual in nature but just different. For instance everyone knows Owen Wilson from the movie I Spy rather than anything else he's done. So eventually it gets late and I try to leave but it takes three or four tries to convince my host that I really must go which I'm told is pretty standard practice in the Arabic world. Rarely will I meet the women in the family but on occasion I will be considered family and I will meet the wives or daughters of the people I see. Abu Ala has adopted me into his family and I got to meet his wife and daughters on one occasion and it was a real sign of love and respect. A woman I did have a conversation with did her best to dispel the idea that she is of a lower class than men but instead was revered and respected and protected from the unrefined behavior of men. It's just all very different here I guess and the separation is a part of that. One thing you can never escape is the conversations about politics. Everyone wants to talk about American involvement in Iraq, or the horrors of the Israeli actions against Palestinians and it's very interesting to get that perspective. I usually just nod my head and let people vent and try to learn what I can about the situation. I'm not well versed enough to get into a deep political discussion nor would I want to here. Everyone is very nice about it though and reminds me that they love the American people even if they don't like the actions or behaviors of the American government. I'm not going to get too political with this blog but only report what I see and hear but I will say that what we see and hear in the American news is probably more biased toward Israel than anything else.

I have made good friends with a man named Riyad who works at the Ministry of Education, he and Tariq and Abdullah all help me with my Arabic during the day and teach me a lot about the culture. The people here are incredibly poor here in the Badia and even the most well off people live on less than 400-600 dollars a month. The children play soccer in a dirt patch that they have cleared of big rocks and people have nothing here. It's interesting to sit in a tent around a fire to stay warm but see cable television with 2000 channels. There is no such thing as central heating and everyone survives on propane or kerosene space heaters. It's pretty chilly here and you always have your jacket on inside or out. There is no such thing as a toilet and I'm still figuring out what everyone does for toilet paper as I have yet to find any (fortunately I brought some from Mafraq the local city). I live with an environmental science teacher from Japan named Sei and he is hilarious. He speaks ok English and some Arabic so he helps me get around and know where everything is. He's been here for 6 months and will be here for another year and a half. He is fun to talk to and get to know so I'm glad I have my Japanese tree hugger friend here to keep me company.

I am overwhelmed by the love and welcoming spirit I've been shown here by everyone I encounter. I have to admit that I'm kind of ashamed sometimes as I know that these people would not be shown the same kindness and love if they were to show up in America. I was warned to be careful and told to be safe before coming here but I will admit that I feel safer here just miles from Syria and hours from Iraq than I would feel in many places in the US. There is a huge misunderstanding between American culture and Arab culture and I am beginning to think it's not them that have the faulty information. These people don't hate Americans or America. These people aren't out to kill infidels. These people have more Christlike love than I have seen in most places I have lived and I wish I could tell them that we as Americans would be as open and accepting to them as they have been to me... but I fear it would be a lie. I will say that I'm truly impressed by the culture here. It is a culture of love and hope, one of kindness and sharing despite incredible poverty. I still have much to learn but everything I have experienced so far has been amazing (except the no toilet thing of course).