Forgive the lack of posting... between being ridiculously sick for about a week and a half and then being swamped catching up with work it's been an interesting few weeks.

First of all, working with 5 year old's every morning does take its toll every so often. In this particular instance, the toll was created by the speed at which virulent disease spreads and although it may have a minimal impact on the kid, it will wipe out an adult who has much less time on their hands to sleep and get pampered by mom. Way to go kids you totally wiped me out!

The kids are great though and are a joy to teach. They have all warmed up to me now and so the highlight of my day is going and spending a couple hours at the pre-school and laughing and joking around practicing English with the kids. I think one of my favorite students is this small quiet boy who doesn't interact with many of the other kids. The other teachers relegated him as someone who could have some developmental problems as he hardly talked at all. He sat in my lessons where I was teaching simple words and phrases in English and I noticed he'd grin when I made small comments or jokes to myself (I hate to admit I do this but making funny comments I'm certain no one around me will understand is one of my simple pleasures here). I noticed this boy smiling and started to talk to him to see if he understood me but of course he ignored it. I continued to make jokes that a 5 year old boy couldn't resist laughing at and he finally started cracking up. As it turns out the reason he's so quiet is because he hasn't had much exposure to Arabic over the last few years. He has lived in Pakistan with his parents for the last few years and speaks fluent English and Urdu. After I finally got him to open up we sat outside eating some snacks and he told me about how he was living with his grandmother now and how he missed his parents in Pakistan. It was kind of heart wrenching to hear him talk about different experiences he's had in his life and how now he didn't know if he'll ever see his father again. He's had to grow up a lot for being 5 years old...

These days I spend the rest of my time after teaching working on putting together information, doing research, and editing various proposals that are being submitted by different organizations out here for funding. It is interesting to work with various groups and see what they are doing to enact economic and social change in the region. There are many people here who have some fantastic ideas and have an earnest desire to do good for the people in the Badia but unfortunately their endeavors are stymied by a lack of practical business knowledge (and the inherent corruption that exists in the world of NGOs). The problem that you see at times is that people who truly want to help lack the power or ability to get funding due to their gender, or lack of education, and instead have to appeal to other more connected or powerful people/organizations to get something done. These other organizations and people are not usually based here in the Badia and usually have different priorities. The problem is that apparently it is not uncommon to take a plan with a budget of 3,000JD to one of these larger groups or individuals and have them ramp the budget up to 30,000JD and pillage the difference. I'm sure that doesn't happen all the time and I hate to give anyone a bad impression but it's a dicey world so you have to do things a bit differently. JICA took an interesting approach after seeing two million JD disappear from an account in a matter of weeks, they don't give funds anymore but rather actual material goods that aren't easily liquidated. Regardless I'm learning some pretty valuable lessons about dealing with bureaucracies, grant writing, business plans, overcoming corruption, and encouraging mutual purpose to achieve goals. Combined with the skills in research and dealing with a foreign culture these skills should do me well by the time I'm done here and set me up to do something substantial out here.

I am seeing so much and learning a ton. I have attended some pretty neat weddings, learned to dance and sing like a Bedouin, and have finally discovered the real force of change and progress out here... I will have to catch you all up on some of my experiences here over the next few days.

My walk with a shepherd

I had the opportunity to walk with a shepherd the other day. We walked slowly from field to field followed by exactly 36 sheep. I know it was exactly 36 because I was introduced to each one by name. The shepherd told me all about the temperament of each sheep and what it liked to eat and do. He told me about how old it was and which of the other sheep it did and didn't get along with. The shepherd spoke of his sheep with such love and tenderness that it was easy to see how much he cared for them. The shepherd led the sheep from pasture to pasture calling to them every now with a very specific sounding call... brrr ho ho ho, brrr ho ho ho. The sheep followed loyally and did not need coercion. The shepherd explained that each shepherd's call was unique and when we passed another herd each shepherd was not worried about the sheep getting mixed as each sheep knew the call of its shepherd and would follow. The shepherd did not round up the sheep when it was time to go but rather just began walking and started calling to them. When we stopped at various pastures, occasionally there were things that the sheep should not eat. The shepherd kept watch over the sheep to keep them from eating anything they shouldn't and carried a long, thin, and hollow plastic tube. I imagined this was to hit the sheep with when they misbehaved but I never once saw him hit any of them. If they would not listen he would swing his tube which made a howling noise and strike a rock or tree beside them. This would frighten the sheep and they would obey the shepherd but the shepherd still was still very tender and caring even when the sheep were disobeying him. At one point a small lamb wandered too far from the flock so the shepherd left the flock to go find it. The lamb was behind some buildings in town and was crying out to be found. The shepherd said that when the small lambs get lost they just sit there and cry out for help. The shepherd said that sheep don't like to be alone and it was obvious that when this lamb saw the shepherd it was relieved and stopped crying out. The shepherd was diligent and alert watching for danger and protecting his flock. He loved his sheep and they were his charge. He led them from place to place providing for them the best grazing he knew of and the best places to find water and food. In the desert here it can be difficult at other times of the year to find water or abundant grass but the shepherd knew where to go and could lead the sheep.
Many have used the analogy of the shepherd in the past so I figured I would take a minute to describe what I learned about shepherds the other day on my walk. There are times where we must follow a shepherd, and there are times where we are responsible to shepherd others. I will leave the interpretation to you but the simple lessons I gleaned from my walk with the shepherd I won't soon forget.

Loren of Arabia

Sheik to Shabab... all a good time!

Really this was a pretty good week!
It began hanging out in Dafyanna with Sheik Talal Al-Madi in his home which was a lot of fun. His brother is Bader Al-Madi who was my contact to get out here so hanging out with his family was a good time. There was a wedding celebration going on so I got to go sit in the Bayt Shar (tent) and eat Mansaf which was really tasty. It was my first time to eat mansaf with my hand and I'm told that's kind of a "must do" while here in Jordan. Fortunately I've been here for a bit so I've gotten used to the mechanics of everything as well as using my right hand for things (I'm left handed so it can be tough at times). The food was great, the company was amazing and I really enjoyed myself. I hung out with Sheik Talal and Bader's youngest brother Ahmed and his friends that night which was also a really good time. They played playstation chatted and then when some of the older uncles showed up they began reciting bedouin poetry. The poetry was beautiful and sounded just amazing with it's meter and rhythm, I just wish I could have understood more of it. They asked me if I knew any poetry but all I could think of was a couple inappropriate limericks so I decided to pass. After chatting with some of the older gentlemen there sitting around (who I later found out were pretty important government officials so I'm glad I didn't say anything wrong) they decided that for me to be truly Bedouin I needed to dress like a bedouin, so one of the men got up and brought me back a gift of a Shemagh and Thob (head covering and long dress like shirt). I got dressed and I have to admit it was rather comfortable and I looked good. I understand why so many people wear them and if I could wear it every day and get away with it then I totally would. It was a generous gift and I really appreciated it and it was just another way that I felt accepted into the culture here in the Badia. Also last weekend a bunch of SIT (school for international training) students came into the Badia so I got the great chance to meet them and get a little dose of western culture. A guy from the Midwest named Luke came to stay with Shlash so I hung out over there a lot and helped Shlash show him around the area a bit. We checked out this big black mountain where they mine all this volcanic rock out west of here and took some pretty amazing pictures (check my facebook for them as blogspot sucks for uploading pictures). We checked out this small zoo in a nearby village and I got to play with a wolf and see a hyena pretty up close and personal. We went and saw some camels of course and did a lot of cooking and eating back at the house in Subha. It was a pretty good experience but made me grateful I was living in the Badia over Amman as despite the fact that I haven't been taking formal classes like they are my language is pretty good and I can hear things pretty well. Don't get me wrong the language is still a pretty big struggle for me but it's coming and I'm understanding a lot more now despite my inability to speak well.
This week was pretty mellow and other than teaching at the pre-school (which is a blast I might add) I took a day to go to Al Ilbayt University to talk to some language professors and try to get a book in Amiyya (coloquial) instead of Fusha (formal) Arabic. It seemed like a good campus and everyone was really friendly (especially a few of the girls yelling out Ya Inglizie!!) so it's good to know I still got it despite my hessian beard and long hair. After hanging out on campus for a bit with the guys (shebab) we all went to Mafraq and ate some pretty good food and chatted for a while. I'm pretty tight knit with these guys now in the Al Oun family and they are just a blast to be around. Ahed is the oldest and is pretty loud and boisterous but a good time, Sammi is a cousin who's mother is from Syria and is going to Al Ilbayt while living in Subha, Shlash is just Shlash and not much else can be said. Shlash has helped me a ton out here and I have him to thank for being so well integrated into the culture out here. He's just a straight shooter and isn't afraid to tell me how he really feels or what he really things which I appreciate. Shlash is an English teacher here in Salhiyya and is planning on getting married in a couple weeks so that's been exciting for him to get ready for. The rest of the guys give him a hard time about it so it's nice to know that apprehension and concerns regarding marriage and of course friends ribbing you about things is universal and knows no culture.
Yesterday we all went to Amman (Sammi, Shlash, Ahed and I) and met up with Niel, Shlash's brother who is studying English at the British Counsel there in the City preparing to take the TOEFL. We stopped by the Mormon Cultural Center there and chatted with a couple of nice senior missionaries. I think they were a bit surprised when I showed up this obviously American looking guy with 4 Bedouin in tow. They were nice and we sat in their living room and chatted for a while before going to our other meetings for the day. We stopped by a couple malls which were all pretty new and western but at the same time felt very 1990 in their planning and layout (yes I was raised by a real estate developer). All in all Amman is really nice and western, but also crowded and I can see the allure of living in the Badia. Shlash explained to me as we were driving home that living in Amman comes with a cost, a cost of living with drugs, crime, and all other onslaughts against moral family living. Living in Amman meant you could have nicer things and make a better salary but at what cost to your family and well being? I explained to him that living in any city came with some costs like that which is why many people in the States live in suburbs. The problem here is that suburbs don't develop as much as far fewer people have access to cars due to the fact that they are crazy expensive here! There is a pretty big disconnect between rural and urban without much of a transition suburb which is very interesting to see. I guess I'm glad to be living in the rural areas as it's much closer to the suburban lifestyle I'm used to. It was a great day trip and I had a great time hanging out with the guys and meeting with various folks about increasing support and humanitarian efforts here in the Badia.
Speaking of humanitarian efforts... I have a shameless plug for all of you. If any of you know someone who would be interested in doing some volunteer dental or medical work out here for a bit (2 weeks or 2 months or really any amount of time would be great) we have the facilities out here but not the manpower. Give me a shout if you know of anyone who would be interested in coming and helping out for a bit.