Travelling the Wadi Rum Desert: Katy and our Bedouin Guide
High School Flashback: Basketball Clinic for Baqaa Girls
Arts and Crafts Mailed From Mom: Ban and Jeelan Kidnap Me
Carnivale at Baqaa: King Mohammed
Peace in Zaatari: New Girls’ Sports Program
And.. that’s all! Sorry for disappearing. Can’t promise I won’t do it again, but I am going to try to resume my good blogging skills this Eid vacation!
Jackie has graced Jordan with her presence for a month…
She ate at Jafra, Al Quds, Habibeh, and Hashems, visited Petra and Wadi Rum, floated in the Dead Sea, taught a Language Club at the OWA summer camp, experienced long Ramadan days, broke fast with the OWA students, spent a long weekend in Palestine, and ate 5 servings of Maqlubeh at Wael’s house.
Needless to say, she did it all.
Yet.. I STILL WISH SHE STAYED!!!
Well, Ramadan is over! al hamdulileh.
What can I say about Ramadan? – the holiest month in Islam, during which most Muslims fast from food, water, coffee, smoking… you name it. Fasting begins with the dawn prayer and finishes as the adhan sounds for the sunset prayer. Families gather together and wait patiently for the adhan, then have iftar – the breaking of the fast. From that moment (usually around 7:45) until dawn, people stay up late with their friends and families, eating and celebrating together. Sahour, the last meal before the next day’s fast, comes shortly before dawn – at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. Needless to say, there’s not much sleeping during Ramadan.
Ramadan completely changes the city: ranging from a shortened workday (8:30 to 2:30), to a lack of social life/cafes open during the day to late Ramadan nights always finished by fireworks.
For me, I experienced Ramadan in two ways: as a foreigner and as a volunteer.
First of all – as a foreigner. Every day I felt like I was basically fasting. With 99% of the population Muslim, eating in public was out of the question. Nadine and I would go to work, realize we forgot to pack a lunch, then remember that there’s no food anywhere in the office. Khalas, I guess we’re “fasting” today. There were multiple days of purchasing a twix bar between work and going to the OWA, then ducking down a random alley to eat it. #ramadanproblems. Technically, its against the law to eat in public during Ramadan. Besides, even if it wasn’t – its just respectful to refrain from doing so. At night, after iftar, as I drank my bottle of water in a taxi or nibbled on snack as I walked home, I always caught myself heaving a sigh: “I looove eating in public.”
My friend Kait – preparing an iftar for us and some of our students. Note: I helped!
There were, of course, always funny moments too. For example, when I went to Wael’s house during the day and everyone kept trying to feed me. No matter how much I explained that I didn’t want to eat out of respect – and besides, I’m not hungry! – they kept offering and offering (“this isn’t your religion, you don’t need to fast!”)… at one moment Wael’s mom told him to leave the room so I could “eat and not feel shy.”
Me, trying to grill meat — Ban, trying to show me how
Its not that us foreigners are alone in these “Ramadan woes.” In fact, many of my friends were not fasting – in particular the other volunteers from Baqaa at the OWA. They are all Muslim, but for various reasons chose not to fast. Some don’t because they are not particularly religious; some only fasted on days that they weren’t busy (can you imagine being in class half a day then at work until iftar without food or water?). I learned quickly that when the office door at the OWA was shut it meant that volunteers were inside – drinking coffee or smoking.
Second all – as a volunteer. The OWA was busier than I’ve ever seen it during Ramadan. I had heard stories of Ramadan (“we work every day, all day”) but to see it in action was something else. During the month of Ramadan, the OWA had 3-5 iftars a week for the kids. It all depended on donations – someone would fund us or host us, then we would organize activities for the kids and take them out to break the fast. It was really telling that on the first night of Ramadan – the night you’d expect everyone to be with their families – we brought 100 children to iftar with the OWA and their donor. Thanks to the OWA, these orphans get to have a Ramadan that feels special too.
Ahmad and I debating the best dance move to correspond with Knaan’s “Wave Your Flag” – which we performed for donors at one of the big iftars
The OWA also used donations to purchase clothing for each child. After Ramadan, there is a four-day celebration called “Eid.” It’s a little like Christmas in that families gather and give their children presents – usually new Eid clothes. For the orphans, their families cannot afford such gifts. Therefore the center takes the kids out throughout Ramadan and gives them money to purchase a new outfit; last week we gave all the children these gifts. Over Eid, they dressed in their new clothes just like all the other kids.
Little Ban singing in front of her (much older) peers at one of the iftars
It probably goes without saying that the OWA is what made Ramadan special for me. Those kids really had a great month — thanks to the hard work of committed volunteers — and I, in turn, did too. So khalas even though I have had enough of Ramadan for next year, I do hope I’m in the region to experience another one in the future.
Hungry little ones waiting for the adhan in order to eat their iftar!
Above and below:
Abu Ghasem and I amusing the little shebab before going out for an iftar
Rama riding on a carousel after we were hosted by an amusement park for iftar!
Two Fulbright best friends – head to head jump rope.
Disclaimer: Biff had a broken foot but still wanted to play.
Note: I won.
Just over a month ago, on May 15, the Arab world observed “the Nakba.” This day is a rememberance of the 1948 war, the creation of Israel, and the exodus of Palestinian refugees who fled their homes. The Nakba means “the catastrophe” in Arabic.
Around the same time, a former Fulbrighter approached me with a project for her grad program at Georgetown. She is designing a curriculum for Washington, DC students that teaches history and current events using the stories of refugees. Would Baqaa’s youth have anything to contribute?
So Marah and I designed a program. As part of the Nakba rememberance, we asked students to write or draw about Palestine — to give us a depiction or a narrative that would help American students understand Palestine better. “What does Palestine mean to you? What does being Palestinian mean to you?” we asked them; then we let them present whatever they wanted to present.
Haneen and Bayan watch as volunteer teacher Khalid makes a banner (reads “Palestine” in Arabic) – for the Nakba rememberance at the Center
I want to share these drawings and writings with you all. First of all, because the students did a really great job. The artwork is beautiful; the narratives are compelling. I am eager to share their voices. But second of all, because I think its important and relevant to see how deeply these students love Palestine and how much they want to go back.
The students in Baqa’a camp are all refugees from Palestine – but they were born in Jordan and they are Jordanian citizens. It was their grandparents, or perhaps their parents as young children – who fled Palestine during the 1948 and 1967 wars. Yet their families have grown up in this refugee camp-turned-town, dreaming of going home.
I think I understand the Palestinian cause a lot… but even I was surprised at the depth of these writings and the sadness of these drawings. Sometimes its hard for me, like many other Americans, to understand the Palestinian’s insistence on the “right to return.” Its hard to grasp the deep connection to land — because I’ve never had a home taken from me – never had to live in a place I felt I didn’t belong – never felt I’ve been wronged with no apology or recognition.
The project made me sad a lot. The kids are so young to have these images and thoughts in their minds. But no matter how many times I told them, “irsmeelee ishy 7elu 3n filistin .. draw me something beautiful about Palestine,” students kept drawing sad pictures. Halfway through the program I had the words dababa, qatilu, and yehud (tanks, killing, Israelis) memorized.
So to start: two drawings from Haneen, an 8 year old girl.
She proudly showed me her picture, which broke my heart, then complied to my request to draw something beautiful and happy about Palestine.
“Miss, these are the Palestinians killed in their homes”
Translation: Haneen – Palestine – Jerusaleum <3 Freedom
Translation: Palestinian Flag – Palestine <3 Free
Goodbye to our American Friends! from “The Baqa’a Times”
A farewell to our American Pen Pals, as we all head off to summer vacation..
During the past year, students from the Orphan Welfare Association (OWA) in Baqa’a Camp, Jordan have been exchanging letters with Pen Pals from AB Regional Highschool in Acton, MA, US.
For the OWA students in Jordan, ranging in age from 6 years old to 16 years old, their Pen Pals were their first “American friends” and the first exposure they had to American people, culture, and life in general. The letter exchange both showed the OWA students the value of developing their English language skills and gave them a sense of connection to American people. Similarly for the AB students, this exchange provided insight into a corner of the world that Americans do not know much about; they have learned about life in the Middle East –> life in the Arab world –> life in Jordan –> and even more specifically, life in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan.
This video shows some of the OWA students saying goodbye to their classmates. Not pictured here are many other students, including high school students (Alanood, Rawhy, Mohammed, and Hana), who participated throughout the year. All of them send their love, thanks, and farewell to their friends in America.
There is a huge problem with trash in Jordan. It comes from a lot of factors, which I’ll skip over theorizing on now, but the point is litter is everywhere and people take a very nonchalant attitude towards it. In fact, it is not strange to be walking behind someone and see him drop a wrapper/cigarette/coffee cup onto the ground as he walks – without a second glance.
In Baqa’a this problem is even more evident, exasperated by the fact that there are even worse services than in Amman (trash pick up, sewage, etc).
House in Baqa’a Camp
Trash outside a school
The OWA is not immune.. in fact the outside area we play in has been almost unuseable due to trash, glass, and stones strewn across it.
So for “Earth Day,” Marah, Nadine, and I decided to do something about it. We organized a “Baqa’a Beautification Day” to teach the children about respecting the environment and take action by cleaning up our own center.
Nadine filmed our class as we discussed why its important to clean the earth — the problems currently faced in our community — and what we can do about it. Then, of course, we sang songs and colored pictures. To close, Nadine interviewed some students and made a 60 second film for us:
“It’s Earth Day at the Orphan Welfare Association! Baqa’a is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan, with more than 100,000 registered refugees. A few excited kids tell us, in 60 seconds, how we can live more sustainably and care for the environment. They remind us what we already know, but sometimes forget: we all share the Earth.”
Isn’t she amazing? Aren’t the kids adorable? I truly believe that education is the only way to change a huge, complicated, societal problem like littering here in Jordan. Our kids will be on the front lines, telling their friends about how Miss Julie and Miss Marah never throw trash on the ground and yza3lu (get sad) whenever someone does..
Here are some shots from our clean up of the center:
Here’s a cool time lapse video of Amman…
…of particular note is the Le Royal Hotel, which changes color at night and appears in 50% of the shots in this short clip.
Biff can see it from her window in Webdeh.. she calls it her nightlight.
We can also see it from our Sudanese students’ apartment in Webdeh. This came in handy when we were teaching extra English lessons for them in their home. We studied the colors, then stared out the window: RED … GREEN … BLUE .. PURPLE
I’ve been so bad about blogging lately.. its actually unreal. Have I mentioned yet that I started a student blog for the Orphan Welfare Association in Baqaa? Anyway, check it out (I’ve been decent about blogging on that platform)… http://thebaqaatimes.wordpress.com/
The Baqa’a Times is our OWA student blog. It has students’ writings (English and Arabic) and photos. The idea is to empower the students – giving them a platform to present their work, their Association, and their community. I also occasionally contribute stories about our activities. For example, the most recent post on “Rap and Graffiti” … our latest Friday program :)
If you get a chance, peruse the site. The OWA (and Baqa’a in general) remains to be my favorite place in Jordan.. and a big piece of my heart.
I feel like a proud mom when I think about it (I hate that I even just wrote that, gosh I’m old)… but really I can’t help but think: look, look, see powerfully Selselbeel wrote about her family? Look, look see what insights Hashem captured with his photos? Look, look can you believe little Ban memorized poetry about Palestine? Look, look how big are they smiling?
Check out our Saturday English Program at Baqa’a Camp…
Look at how much learning is happening!
My favorite Saturday anecdote… little 7 year old Rama walks in confidently, so I greet her with a smile: “Hi! How are you?” ….. “I am Rama!”
Also, with the donations we’ve been able to get some great stuff for the kids… who would have thought young kids in Jordan would also LOVE Guess Who?
Somehow we’ve convinced the kids that even during “play time” after class they should be using English.. which means that many have learned some more complicated words like bald — curly hair — mustache — beard in order to become masters of Guess Who.
Yet the best is, once again, a 7 year old named Wesam. He loves to play against his older brothers and tries to keep up with their English questions: “I do have yellow hair?”
Last Saturday we ended up there until 3 because the kids were having so much fun with the board games…
Miss, tala3bi ma3i?
Miss, play with me?
Julie in Jordan! 
