“Adventure is the champagne of life.” G. K. Chesterton
Hello. Today was another good day. They experienced a focus question, questionnaire, case study, game and role play/hands on activity. They assessed each activity, they created all but the role play/hands on activity with me, and then they created their own. They loved it all.
Mamoud came with Mona to bring me the DVD on which he had every one of the videos from last week. He had also designed a snazzy cover and as a surprise to me, had a candid photo of me on the back of the DVD cover. He is very proud of it (apparently he has included animations). I want to skim it tonight (it’s late) because he’s dying for feedback. He worked long and hard (including late nights) to get it down and send it out to all of the participants. What a sweet guy.
Mona told me that everyone had told her how wonderful the class was. She thanked me, which was very nice. She also invited me to dinner at a Dead Sea restaurant on Thursday. That will be lovely.
Lina told me that my weekend plans are set. I go to Petra early Friday morning, spend the day there, and then go to Aqaba for the night and snorkeling the next day. I will get back in the afternoon or evening on Saturday. It should be wonderful.
Today, between the morning and the afternoon, three of the four new Koosh-like balls that Tarek bought disappeared. Good grief! Then the participants told me that I would be able to replace the stolen Koosh and glitter wands in downtown Amman.
Rosey (who is a Bulgarian married to a Jordanian- and has resided in Amman for the past 23 years) took me downtown. This meant driving to Rainbow Street, parking, and then hiking a number of blocks and down three incredibly steep stairs to the downtown street. There, we found shops galore.
Shops with barrels or sacks of all kinds of herbs or nuts or grains. Shops with shoes, toys, clothing, electronics, cloth, head scarves for women and head coverings for men, dried fruits, fresh fruits, frozen fish, all kinds of breads, plus all kinds of gift shops. Rabbits, all kinds of birds, and baby chicks colored pink, blue, green, yellow, purple, and orange! A complete Roman amphitheater and columns still standing hundreds of years later. Roads so narrow, made narrower by cars parked on either side and shops spilling their wares out to the road- and still trucks and buses come zooming along.
Throngs moved through the streets, sometimes carrying us with them. I wanted to find a hat to wear when I go to Petra, but had to finally purchase one of the head coverings that men wear. It will keep the sun off my face and off my neck. I don’t know that I’ll look particularly stylish, however.
Rosey took me to Wild Jordan for dinner, where we ate out on a balcony overlooking the city and had wonderful salad (and a hummus sandwich for me). I had a lovely time, but was exhausted by the time she dropped me off at the hotel around 9 p.m.
May your learning be sweet.
Deborah
