Catching Up

Now that we're on winter break, I find myself looking back on the last four months here in Jordan. I’m surprised by how fast time is going by! I’m settling in nicely to my new job. When I first started, I thought there was no way I would be able to figure it all out. Honestly, I still don’t know all the aspects of my job, but I learn as I go.

We have explored some different areas of Jordan – some on purpose and some on accident. One weekend we decided to rent a car and get into the country. On Friday we went to Iraq al’Amir, which is just outside Amman. We found little fossils in the caves, checked out the ruins of the nearby palace (Qasr al’Abed), climbed the stairs to the old dovecote, and found an ancient Roman aqueduct! The next day we thought we’d take a short drive to the Azraq Wetland Reserve. We assumed that our guide book would have clear directions in it and that we’d be there in a little over an hour. It did not, and we were not. In fact, we ended up near the Syrian border (about 18 miles), where we were pulled over by the police. They didn't speak English, so through hand gestures and showing him the map in the book he gave us some directions on how to get to Azraq. Well, his directions only brought us closer to the border, so we decided to turn around and figure out where we missed our turn. Driving to Azraq really brought things into perspective for me. We drove past a refugee camp and we came within 150 miles of Iraq and 35 miles of Saudi Arabia. It’s amazing that Jordan is so close to these countries that are in turmoil, but it is calm here in Jordan. Yes, there are some tensions here, but overall this is the safest place to be in the Middle East. After all of our detours, we made it to Azraq about 40 minutes before it closed for the day. That was a bit disappointing, because it would have been lovely to just sit and enjoy the greenery and watch all the birds. As we drove back to Amman, we drove past some of the desert castles, which at some time in the future we will go back to. The drive took longer than we thought it would and we ended up returning our rental car an hour and a half late.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thursday night I was able to Skype with my family as they were just starting their Thanksgiving meal. We had to work on Thursday, so we made Friday our Thanksgiving day. It was just the four of us, but it was lovely. We had so much food left over that I was able to make two Thanksgiving leftover potpies and one batch of turkey enchiladas! These are Darren’s favorite ways to have Thanksgiving leftovers.

Darren and I have been working on making our apartment feel homey. We have hung up some tapestries (which our cat loves to play with), printed some pictures on boards and hung them on the wall, got a painting, and found some nice throw pillows. Our living room now feels like a room that is lived in!

We were having trouble with our oven, so the school replaced it with a new one! I try to bake a treat to bring in on Thursdays (Thursday is the last working day of the week). With baking 2 or more times a week, having an oven that sometimes malfunctions was a problem. I am so happy to have a new one that works great.

Our kitten has fallen/jumped off of our balcony twice now. The first time Flick fell off, we didn't know where he had gone. We searched the apartment, the stairs and then went outside to look. Chelsea spotted him in the garden below our balcony. So I ran down to Mohammad and tried to tell him what happened with a mix of English, Arabic and body language. Finally, he understood and got the key to open the gate. The second time it happened it was kind of my fault. Flick was on the other side of the railing on the balcony and it made me nervous so I tried to bribe him to come away from the edge with some tuna. He got so excited and turned around so fast that his butt slipped off the side and I watched my cat fall to the ground. Luckily he was okay both times. The Arabic proverb for cats is that they have 7 lives. We feel Flick is down to 5 lives now. He is a sweet cat in some ways: he likes to be close to his people, he just doesn't want you to touch him…which is a problem when I want to hold him. He has a crazy spell daily, where he runs around the apartment attacking his toys, jumping up on the furniture, running around like a mad man and then attacking our toes. After these spells of lunacy, he tends to calm down and go to sleep next to us.

We just finished up a Hobbit marathon topped off with seeing the third Hobbit at Taj Mall Theater. Even going to the movies is a bit of a process here. I tried to call a cab to pick us up but the first one wasn't in Amman and the second one got stuck in traffic. So, we had to start walking and find a cab along the way. Thankfully it only took us about 5 minutes to find a taxi. We made it 5 minutes before the previews started. Chelsea got all dressed up in her elf garb just to be disappointed that the theater didn't have the official movie poster to pose by. She made do with the posters they had.

On December 26^th we will be traveling to Greece! We’ll keep you posted…

The (Long) Overdue Italy Post, Part 2

Picking up where we left off: going to Sabaudia for the FOT!

We caught our train and made it to the train station near Sabaudia without any incident. When we arrived, we found other Church members waiting for the van to pick them up. We all had a lovely chat and tried to figure out where we had met before.

We arrived at La Kufra hotel about an hour before dinner was to be served. The Italy Feast site revolves around food. We would spend about 5 hours a day (when we weren't on a tour) in the dining hall. The food and wine was so delicious.  It was also great to spend that time meeting new people and getting to know old friends better.

Over the course of the week, we went on four tours with the Church group: the Vatican Museum, a WWII museum, Pompeii, and a return to Rome.   

Vatican – The Vatican was great to see, but it was too crowded to even enjoy the beauty of the art that it had to offer. Some of the statuary inside was just breathtaking. The painted ceilings were inspiring. But you couldn't really spend too much time looking at them, otherwise you would get separated from the tour group.

WWII museum – Piana Delle Ormo Museum is not just about WWII, but also local Italian agricultural history, and vintage toys.  They also sell original WWII equipment!  A huge place…

Pompeii – We decided to do a self-guided tour of Pompeii because we wanted to see as much as possible in the short amount of time we had there. We ran into a young American couple that had a map of the ruins. We took a picture of it and made our way around to the different areas. We searched for the concrete casts of the people who died when Mt. Vesuvius buried the town. They were harder to find than I feel they should have been. There was also a lot of reconstruction and restoration happening, so we were not able to enter many places. It was amazing to see some of the buildings that still have the plaster and paint on the walls.

Roma – When we went to Rome with the group we didn't go on the tour of Rome because we already spent 3 days exploring the city. So we used this time to do our shopping! Darren picked out a Roman helmet as his Feast present and I picked out a pair of Italian leather boots as mine.

The (Long) Overdue Italy Post, Part 1

Okay, so we know it's been over a month, but here it is: the Italy post!

At the beginning of October our school went on break for the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice, which was convenient for us since we were going to have to take off for the Feast of Tabernacles anyway.  They didn't align perfectly, though, so we wound up with a few days free before the FOT.  The closest FOT site we knew of was Sabaudia, Italy, so we decided to go explore Rome on our extra days.

Our first day in Italy was a little...hectic.  After getting through the airport and being fleeced at the currency exchange kiosk, we made our way to the train station.  Things were going okay, but then we changed to the second train, which passed right by our stop!  We got off at the next stop, but by then we were about 10 miles away.  Thankfully, there were some Mormon missionaries at the train station who told us which train to catch to get back.  Finally back at our stop, an Italian lady told us that our hostel was close and to wait for the next bus...but 10 minutes later she got a phone call telling her the buses were running late.  At that point we decided to walk - with our luggage down a busy road with no sidewalks.  The hostel was actually less than 1 mile away, and we got checked in without incident.
For the next three days we got up early and caught a bus/subway into town and explored for 12 hours or more.

Day 1 we started out at the Roman forum, explored nearby, then headed north for the Spanish steps, etc.

Pantheon

Plaza Navonna

Day 2 we went out to some Christian catacombs, then explored the Jewish sector, Trastevere, and the Janiculum hill.

Day 3 we explored a little more of Rome, then visited the Villa Borghese art museum before taking our train to Sabaudia.

Our First In-Jordan Adventure

Things have been pretty hectic around here for the past month, but we'll try to get caught up.  First on the list, our first adventure in Jordan since moving back in August.

The last weekend in September we rented a car and did some exploring.  After picking up the car on Thursday night, the first stop on our list was...IKEA!  Yes, Amman now has an IKEA and we needed to pick up a few things for the apartment.

Now to the more exotic.

Friday morning stop number two was the Abdali souk: basically a giant second-hand shop that's only there on Thursday night and Friday.  Most of it's super cheap, and you never know what they're going to have.

Stop three: the Dead Sea!  We used our ABS discount to get into a private beach and spent half the day chilling out either in the sea or the pool.  Very nice!

After that was the Dead Sea info center and scenic overlook, followed by the lookout at Mt. Nebo.

The next day we went for a drive up into the Dibeen Forest, north of Amman, and took a walk in the woods.  Trees, while somewhat rare in Amman, are plentiful there, and there's even one section fenced off as a sanctuary for fallow deer.

And that was it for that adventure.  What's next?  Who knows...

We Got a Kitten!

An Ode to Our New Cat, Flick

 The Miniature Menace,

           runs out of sight.

The Little Leaper,

           that likes to bite.

The Furry Fiend,

           who only looks sweet.

The Toothed Terror,

           that gnaws on our feet.

The Clawed Creeper,

           that thinks he is clever.

The Ankle Ambusher,

           attacking wherever.

Yes, you look cute,

           that’s to your credit.

We rescued you,

           don’t make us regret it!

Darren's First Jordan Post

Well, I think the dust is finally settling from our whirlwind start. Arriving in Amman on Friday evening and starting work on Sunday morning was…fun. Oh, and grade 12 started a week early, so on Tuesday (that’s right, the 3rd day) I had to teach my first class! As for classes, originally I had grade 8 World Religions, grade 9 World Religions, grade 10 World Religions, grade 11 World Religions (x3), grade 12 World Religions (x2), grade 8 Social Studies, grade 9 World History, and grade 10 World History (x3). But the guy in charge of scheduling thought that was a little heavy, especially for a new teacher, so he gave my grade 12 classes to someone else. This, of course, is not a daily schedule, but spread over a 2-week "cycle" in which I teach 32 classes. Needless to say, I stay pretty busy!

In my office 

I’m still getting used to the "cycles" and everything else that goes along with the International Baccalaureate Program. Also, the school is struggling to migrate to a new record-keeping platform, so we've had trouble with class schedules, room assignments, class lists, and submitting attendance. In the last month, my schedule has been changed 3 times, I don't have my own room but float for every class, I just got the list of students in my grade 11 classes (although I was warned that they may not be up-to-date), and the other day was the first day I could submit attendance for my middle school classes electronically. Stress level slow and steady…

Lest I sound like a big, fat whiner, it's not all bad, by any means: the people here are as nice as we remember, the food is fabulous, and I like the classes I'm teaching. I just try to keep up with everything and not stress out too much. It will all fall into place with time, I'm sure.

Downtown Amman

Other than work, we’ve not done too much. The first break is coming up soon for the Eid al’Adha and we are heading to Rome! The FOT starts during the break, so were are extending our trip and staying in Saboudia for that. Once we get our residency cards we can do some more travel inside Jordan.

Amber's First Jordan Post

Well friends, it has been a month since we touched down in Jordan. We hit the ground running! We had one day to rest and recoup before we started our new jobs. We started out with a few days of orientation mixed with really bad jetlag. This caused us to want to sleep during the middle of the day, which was really inconvenient when you are supposed to be listening and absorbing information. After a few days of this, Darren and I got to start our real jobs. I have never been an administrative assistant and this is Darren's first year being a teacher. Now we are half-way around the world doing jobs we have never done before. We were both nervous and excited about the new opportunities!

My desk

Almost my entire adulthood I have worked with kids. For the last 3 years or so I have been wanting to try out a secretary-type position, but with no experience to speak of in that area, no one would hire me. I can't blame them, but it was really frustrating. When Darren looked into teaching at the Amman Baccalaureate School, they got back with him right away; they also inquired about me, and if I would be interested in working for the school, as well. It just so happened that they promoted two people in the Middle Years office, which left the Administrative Assistant position open. So I was offered this position, and I accepted it. I was so excited to learn that I would be working for a lady that I met when we lived in Jordan 4 years ago! She is a wonderful boss to have, and she is very patient with me. I try hard to be useful in the office, even if I'm not quite sure what I should be doing.

My first day in the office, I answered the phone a few times. The people on the other end started to ask me questions that I couldn't answer, and I didn't know how to transfer calls yet to get them to people who could help them. So, that is when my fear of the phone started. I turned down the ringer for the next two or three days till I learned more about the school. I am no longer afraid of the phone, which is good, because that is a big part of my job. There were large parts of the day when I wasn't sure what to do. So, I decided to organize the cabinets so at least when people came in asking for different supplies I could actually get them what they needed. You know how when you organize and clean things you get to a point where it becomes a huge mess before it becomes clean and tidy? It never failed that as soon as I reached this point people would come into the office and look at me like I was a bit crazy.

I have discovered a great love and appreciation for post-it-notes. They are a lifesaver when you need to jot down some quick notes. In a day I do many different thing ranging from answering phones, calming frustrated parents, keeping an eye on kids that are in trouble, filing endless amounts of paper, helping kids find their classes, and anything else that may pop up.

The work week is Sunday through Thursday. It is my goal to bake something different for each Thursday of the school year. When people come into the office I tell them, "Happy Thursday!" and give them one of my baked goods.

Aside from work, we have been trying to get our apartment to feel homey. We have gone out shopping a few times and bought some things. We got a painting, an embroidered blanket that we will hang on the wall, a small mosaic, and some patio furniture. It is really starting to feel like our home. We have yet to venture out of the city, because we are waiting for our residence cards. Once we have them, we can pay local prices to enter touristy places, which can be very helpful in some cases.

Challenger West Program (Darren)

Challenger West Program: Dubois, Wyoming

What can I say about Challenger, other than it was tough, exciting, and beautiful in alternating waves?  Tough because from the very beginning we were given new challenges, put in uncomfortable situations, and tested physically.  Exciting because of new experiences, risky situations, and the opportunity for growth.  Beautiful because of increased personal insight, natural splendor, and friendships built. 

In preparation for this program, we were required to read two books, one on finding and building up your natural strengths (Strengths Finder 2.0) and one on developing authentic leadership skills (True North).  These were both informative and insightful, and helped me understand my strengths and motivations better.  Of course, we also had to train physically, so I was hitting the gym at the Y regularly to build upper-body strength (for rock climbing), and we did a couple preparatory hikes to condition our legs (although not as many as we should have!).

In Dubois on Sunday we started our orientation: a little training, packing for the trip, meeting new people, and dealing with different personalities.  Then on Tuesday morning we hit the trailhead.

The hike up was pretty grueling, starting with over 3000 feet elevation gain in about 3 miles.  Not the hardest I’ve ever done, but still pretty miserable at times, especially considering that we were going from 7000 to 10,000 feet above sea level.  At that elevation you get out of breath so much easier than normal, even doing the most ordinary things.  Still, the scenery was gorgeous and we saw some wildlife, including grouse and bighorn sheep.  

If you're curious, here’s the link to Google maps satellite view of the area: https://www.google.jo/maps/place/Dubois,+WY,+USA/@43.4042474,-109.6545372,7778m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!3m1!1s0x534d5e824c80832b:0x3454e61a8b25ffee?hl=en

We stayed at our first campsite for a few nights, taking advantage of the surrounding area during the day for orienteering and rock climbing (when it wasn’t raining, that is).  The orienteering looked to be pretty straightforward according to the maps we were given: go up a pretty steep slope to reach the top of a plateau, then walk on the flat top to the meeting point.  In reality, the plateau was not nearly as flat as the map made it out to be, but was actually dotted by jutting peaks of exposed granite.  Going up and over a couple of these was fun, but it set us back a lot, and my group was not the first to reach the meeting point.  Rock climbing was great!  It was also exhausting!  “You can do it, Darren! Take the crack route first.  It’s only the most physically demanding route here!”  Counter-balancing 200 pounds while having your fingers crammed into a crack in solid granite while hanging above the ground, all while over 10,000 feet above sea level, is exhausting…but exhilarating at the same time.  Definitely want to do more of this in the future!

Next, we hiked down a few miles to the far end of Ross Lake, where we stayed a few more days.  While here, we did some fishing, some repelling, and had church services.  Very nice, all, except that I didn’t catch any fish.  Despite being told we would have great luck in Ross Lake, hardly anyone caught anything there (although several people caught some at Upper Ross Lake).  Still fun, and some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen anywhere.

The hike out was long, but rather uneventful, and we were treated to a great dinner when we finally got to the end.  A wonderful trip overall, lots of fond memories, and some good friendships made in the process.  Thank you to everyone involved in the Challenger West program, staff and participants alike!

~Darren

Challenger West Program (Amber)

Challenger West Program: Dubois, Wyoming

This program lived up to its name! It was most definitely a challenge for me!

 

As most of you know, Darren and I are very close. We do most things together. I was very surprised when they put us into groups, and Darren and I were separated. Looking back on this, I know it was good for me. I tend to depend on my husband's strength instead of developing my own.

After just a few days, my group became like family to me. They saw the real me, whether they liked it or not. There were many times they saw me scared but determined to overcome and grow. They also got to see my compassionate and protective side - which is way more pleasant to see!

We went through a whole host of challenges together. One of my group members was having a hard time with the altitude as we hiked up the mountain. This person needed someone to help them through this really hard task. I happily inserted myself into the role of helper. As the helper I tried to encourage, motivate and distract them from the task that was causing them discomfort. I loved being in this role. Throughout Challenger, I was able to take up this role a few different times.

One of the hardest tasks for me was helping lead our group on the Orienteering course. This task brought out my lack of self-confidence in my ability to lead a group, to read a topo map and to read a compass. I was really surprised with how unsure of my self I became. Especially because I know how to read a compass and a topo map. After some time, I became so discouraged by the differing opinions and the lack of support that I gave up. I handed off the lead to someone else. After some time I was asked to help lead the group again. I really wanted to say "no thanks, I'm happy just to follow along," but (with the program being called Challenger) I thought I should not take the easy way out. Even with the difficulties we had as a group we still beat the other team there.

The next activity brought out my fear of heights in a big way. As some of you know, I have been working hard for the past few years to overcome my fears. I can hike to high places and stand on the edge of things that are high up and not be afraid. But when you ask me to trust in a harness to keep me from plummeting to my death as I awkwardly try to use little nooks and crannies to make my way up a cliff face, fear and a bit of panic sets in really fast. Mr. Fenchel wasn't even done tying me in before tears of fear started to form in my eyes. We were all told that we had to try every activity and I'm a rule follower, so I was determined to try. We were also informed that the only way to get down was to reach the top or to fall trying. I was determined not to fall! As I started to make my way up the rock it became hard to breath and many tears were shed as I slowly inched my way to the top of the cliff. It took some time, but I did make it to the top. When I made it to the top, my friend and instructor was there to help me calm down and to walk me through the steps of how to safely get down. I was very thankful for his calm presence.

A few days later we did repelling. Surprisingly, I enjoyed that much more than I thought I would. The staff convinced us that Darren and I should do a tandem repel. The main problem I had with this is that my definition of slow is not the same as my husband's. So some fun banter ensued.

I loved being in the wilderness for a week with 19 wonderful people. The discussions and camaraderie were fantastic. The leadership training was so good for me. I will look back on this time fondly.

I love backpacking into beautiful and remote places. It is so refreshing to be so close to God's beautiful creation.

Darren and I were the first to leave Dubois, Wyoming. We had to leave right a way because Challenger ended on August 12 and our flight to Jordan left on August 14th. We made it home in time to finish our last-minute to-do list and then catch our flight.

It has been a whirlwind of a summer!

~Amber

(We didn't take many pictures at Challenger, so the pictures you see are from other participant's of the Challenger Program. Thanks everyone!)

Next Step in Our Whirlwind Summer Tour

The next step in our whirlwind summer tour was to go to Challenger II in Dubois, Wyoming.  The most direct route would take us through Yellowstone National Park, so we decided to leave a couple days early in order to spend some time there before proceeding on to Dubois.

We entered Yellowstone late Thursday morning and started exploring.  First, we saw a bunch of cauldrons, geysers, etc.

Obligatory Old Faithful photo

Later in the day, we saw some elk, lots of chipmunks, and a couple marmots.  Then, as we were on our way out of the park to find a place to sleep for the night (camping spots in the park being full and us sleeping in the back of the truck), we were stopped by a whole herd of bison crossing the road!

Blurry bison

The next morning was more bison, some pronghorn, and then a grizzly (from very far off).  Next came Yellowstone Falls, some more cauldrons, and Yellowstone Lake.

The next morning, we saw a grizzly bear from a lot closer (~100 yards).  Then we drove south, out of the park, and through the Tetons.  We were in Dubois just after sundown, ready to move onto our next adventure: Challenger!

Bear sighting!

Recap on our trip to Alaska.

Well, my intention was to post right after we got back from Alaska...  We can all see that that didn't happen. So sorry about that. Life got really crazy!

Let me give you a quick recap on Alaska. It was fantastic!! My favorite part was going whale watching in Juneau. Just a heads up, the excursions are really expensive. We saw several Humpback whales, a few Sea Lions and a Bald Eagle.  Did you know that you can not drive to Juneau? Well you can't, so don't try. The big thing in town this past summer was that they extended the road by a few miles and put in a new end of road sign. People took their families out for a picnic at the new end of road sign.

Skagway was a cool train town. We did two fun hikes and went around to all the little shops.

Glacier Bay was the most stunning of all of the places we went to. We did not get off the boat, but they did cruise up really close to a few glaciers. We were so close to one of them we could hear it grown as it moved! Some bits and pieces broke off while we were watching it, but nothing really big.

Ketchikan was a fun stop. We did a self-guided tour, which took us all around the old part of town. Fun fact: some roads in Ketchikan you can't drive on because they are stair cases. We also visited a totem park and that was beautiful and educational at the same time.

Victoria was our last stop. We had never been to Victoria, and we were blown away by how beautiful it is. We toured a castle and walked along the water. The sunset was beautiful.


We had a great time and enjoyed our first experience on a cruise ship. This trip was to celebrate our 5th anniversary. It is so hard for me to believe that we have been married for 5 years! We have had so many grand adventures and we look forward to many more.

Jordan post coming soon ...

Alaska Bound

Hello Friends and Family!

In an hour we will be headed to board our Alaskan Cruise! We are a little late in celebrating our 5th anniversary but I think it was worth the wait. We have been saving for over a year to be able to take this trip and I know every dollar will be worth it. We are not quite sure what each stop has in store for us but I know we will take full advantage of what is available. I don't know if we will have internet to post updates and load pictures so you may have to wait till we get back to hear about the fun we had.
~Amber