Rain!

So today is Friday, my lovely one day off a week, and it has been so great to enjoy a nasty/cloudy/rainy day here in Amman!! Some may call me lazy but I have enjoyed laying around all day, feeling slightly chilly, listening to the rain and watching the cloudy sky move by. Nothing quite like it, plus, it's starting to feel like fall which is lovely. I didn't think I would feel cold in Jordan but it is happening!

The concert went very very well on Wednesday night, we received a standing ovation by the audience and both the conductor and concert master were quite pleased. I only messed up one note which I think only Aimee and I took notice of. Afterwards, just Grace-Jon-Lisa and I went out for a bite to eat, and enjoyed time together in a smaller group. SOOOO nice to just sit with a few friends and enjoy a moment out in Jordan. Lately, my job has been getting heavy and it is harder to enjoy the small moments of everyday. I'm working on it, and I"m sure it will be fine. Here, it is quite normal to have up days and down days. There is just so much change that I deal with on a daily basis, my brain is full up with changes :o)

Because it is Halloween tomorrow, there will be a showing of "Hocus Pocus" and I will proudly wear my halloween socks there, have to support the celebration! Alrighty, time to eat some good dinner, talk to you soon. Missing home, sending good thoughts, xoxoxo

Mid-Week Connection

Usually, our symphony concerts are on Tuesday but this month, Wednesday.....a lovely mid-week show. I am sitting here before it, just being able to relax and finally update you on this week. Work has been busy busy so that is why my internet time has been cut down for awhile.

Last night, I was a cat-sitter for Tim and Christina who live downstairs. They found a baby kitten outside a few days ago (named her Pumpkin, think I told you) and she is adorable. Unfortunately, she has been waking them up at 3 am for the past few nights, so last night, I volunteered for night-duty. Pumpkin made the trip up the flight of stairs and began to explore our apartment, SO CUTE! I did take some pictures so don't worry, you'll get to see her. She's a lovely little calico. Anyway, my bedroom and bathroom area have a door that can be closed to the rest of the apartment, so we put her litter box and food in the hall between my bedroom and bathroom and that was her area for the night. I left my bedroom door open just to see if she would bother me or not. You would not believe it but she jumped up on my bed and made herself comfortable next to my stuffed dog "Chewy" and slept until 7:30 am! I wasn't quite ready to get up then so I went back to sleep for a few minutes, only to wake up and find Pumpkin sleeping next to my head on my pillow, snoring :o) Now that she is back downstairs, I miss her! Uh oh, maybe I should get a cat......hehe.

My Arabic speaking has been remaining stable but I've been so busy with work that I haven't been practicing new words, I need to get back on track! Aimee and I walk around the apartment at night, practicing all of the different sounds incorporated in the language, completely different than any of the romantic languages......someday, I will get it. Maybe in August, I will be able to speak Arabic in full sentences :o) Reading the language is also one of my goals, it would really help in daily life. For example, last night I wanted to order pizza from the place down the street but I couldn't read the menu. Luckily, the guy taking my order knew the English words for the toppings....So I ended up with a fantastic mushroom/garlic/cheese/tomato pizza! Yum!

Alright, time to get ready for symphony! Miss you and talk to you soon. xoxoxo

oh Symphony

Let's just say that 7 hours of symphony rehearsal in one day can be a bit exhausting. I am headed to bed but just wanted to update quick. Our guest conductor for the upcoming concert on Wednesday is from Holland and he is really amazing, a great guy and a wonderful conductor. The symphony sounds lovely! I'll let you know how the actual concert goes.

In other news, I burnt popcorn tonight on the stove.....sigh, I thought I was over the burning of food stage of my life. Luckily, I can cook pretty well now but apparently, the popcorn got me again. :o)

Still playing the waiting game with the UN but apparently, I am taking on Lisa's clients when she leaves so I will be seeing a case load of about 50 clients per week. THAT IS NUTS. I'll also update you on that, hehe.

Alright, talk to you more tomorrow. Right now, I need sleep. miss you ton, xoxoxo.

Football Friday

It's officially Football Friday in my neck of the woods.....well, there are no woods, my neck of the desert, hehe. And by Football, I mean Soccer :o) As I have told you in the past few weeks, a group from the symphony has been getting together and playing soccer on Friday afternoons and this past week, it got serious. Today, I will heading to soccer with our team list, a jersey (I'm on the Jordanian Club team) and prepared for a serious game. It makes me smile so much because it's all in fun but some people get so competitive, this should get interesting. I'll keep you updated!

In work land, we submitted the UN document yesterday so convince them to fund us, we will most likely find out the verdict sometime in the beginning of November. I am hoping that they continue with the project. We included an amazing case study of one of the clients that has made significant changes over the past few months, I'm sure that will help to show them exactly what we do and how it works.

As far as me being here, symphony has taken over my life this week but we played a concert in the Roman Amphitheater on Tuesday and we have a big concert next Wednesday. That means rehearsals every night starting Saturday night, lovely :o) I still love my music therapy job and as much as I hate dealing with all of the admin stuff, I will be better prepared for my next job so that's a blessing.

Julie's husband, Soetji, has hamsters and one of them had babies a few weeks ago. They are amazing, so small but they know exactly what to do. Some of them are even litter trained now. But anyway, my roommates and I might be adopting one. We'll see......I'm not sure how I feel about hamsters. They are super cute now but they don't always stay cute. The mom is a white hamster which is kind of scary looking but some of the babies and brown, that could be nice. Always some sort of adventure here! It's nice to be enjoying normal daily life as well as this crazy job that I am blessed to have.

My last update, I joined Curves, gym for women, and I am very excited! It's right down the street so I can walk to it and it's only women, so I can wear shorts and really work out. Awesome! I think that will help with my mental status too, I'm always feeling better when I'm working out regularly. I'll see if I can do a music therapy study there too ;o) haha, just kidding. But they did have appropriate work out music playing when I signed up yesterday.

Alright, better get ready for "Football Friday"!! Talk to you soon, miss you and love you, xoxo

oh what a day :o)

Victorious over the center, we finally have an individual room!! For real this time, we had a meeting today and things were interesting - slowly but surely, the director of the center finally realized why we have been pushing for an individual room for sessions - because our clients need a consistent, safe space, and we as therapists need a place that we can lock up each day that other people in the center will not use throughout the day.

It was quite a day dealing with the different ways of business and administration. Here, it is really difficult because of the language barrier. During half the meeting, Lisa and I could not understand what was being said and when we asked them to translate, we got head nods and they looked away. Talk about frustrating. Luckily, we kept pushing and things got done. We thanked them a ton but honestly, after 5 months, we should have an appropriate room for sessions.

In other news, I made my second venture to the American Embassy and successfully entered, turned in my passport application, and made it back to the Conservatory in one piece. My cab ride to the Conservatory was wonderful, I met a really cool driver (originally from Syria) who has his Master's degree in Marketing and Finance but lost his job here so he is driving taxis. He had a very professional card and gave it to me, and he also praised my Arabic, he said it was very good for only being here a few months. He spoke a bit of English as well so it was a very pleasant conversation all the way to the conservatory. So good to have a nice taxi experience.

The rest of the day was tiring but in a good way. After rehearsal, Lisa and I just relaxed at her place and talked about life and our job here. Our job is really draining and we need to make sure we take time to rejuvenate. Our clinical hours are intense as we have back to back session, whereas in the States, therapist's usually get a break in between clients. The work here is also just amazing politically, personally, and professionally. Wow, all p's. But seriously, I was sitting in an office today with a Jordanian, Iraqi, and American, just enjoying time together, talking and laughing. How amazing is that. And at work, my kids are just full of all these experiences that should have broken them but they are full of resilience and hope. AWESOME!

Being Grown Up

It's such a funny place to be, your twenties :o) Part of my time here, I feel like a baby because I am usually the youngest in the group I hang out in, the youngest at work, and this is the first time I am living abroad etc. However, then I have weeks like the end of this past one that remind me I am in the world of grown-ups and have to be one myself sometimes. We had a big meeting on Thursday with the branch of the UN that has been funding our program the last two years, only to find out they have a much smaller budget to work with this year so things like music therapy will be the first to go. Luckily, they did not cut us right there on the spot, we have two weeks to send in a proposal providing evidence (qualitative and quantitative) about music therapy with refugees and stating that it does work. I am really hoping that they decide to continue funding the project. As much as it helps to give food and shelter to a group of people, if you don't treat their psychological needs as well, they will never truly overcome some of the struggles they need to in order to live successfully on their own. Many of the goals we are working on with the kids is obviously emotional expression but also focusing on social cohesion, positive peer interactions, increasing self-esteem, creative expression.......and all those goals will hopefully help each individual know themselves better and function more positively around others. In the long run, that could mean staying in school, going to college, getting a job, working well with others/interviewing well, having the confidence to follow their dreams. I know I am starting to sound like I am full of false hope but I really believe that if we address these issues now with kids, they will succeed later in life rather than dwelling on the past. We will see what the UN thinks.

I have apparently attracted ever germ that I have been exposed to so I have a pretty bad cold right now, the kind where you wake up feeling worse than when you went to bed but hopefully it will pass in a few days. Luckily, my landlord is also a doctor! So that is pretty handy as well :o) One of my work colleagues was at the hospital last night getting tested for swine flu...I will keep you updated on that story.

Friday, we played some more soccer and man, each week I feel like more of an old lady. I'm sure it didn't help that I had a cold but after the game, my knees hurt, I was sore all over, haha. I'm getting old! :o) My bed and Aimee's bed in our new apartment are not the best for sleeping. We really need to find some foam to put on top of it or something because both of us of are more sore in the morning after trying to sleep on these beds. I'm just full of complaints today, haha.

I'm going to get ready for work but I will talk to you soon! sending hugs, xoxo

food days :o)

Apparently, my life is starting to revolve around food, which I am ok with :o) On Monday, I was feeling particularly hungry for rice and chicken which was perfect because I went over to Julie's for dinner at that was exactly what she made. She is a wonderful cook, as is her husband, so every time I eat there, it is delicious! Then, when I woke up yesterday, Aimee and I decided to go on a nice long walk from Third Circle to 1st Circle, our main goal: get FALAFAL. Since we moved, we are not down the street from our favorite falafal stand so it takes more effort to get there but well worth it. On the way, we were side-tracked by this awesome smoothie place called Fruit Salad. I ordered a mango-strawberry smoothie and it was only 1 JD (basically a $1.50) and it was fresh fresh with nothing but the fruit, SO GOOD! Then of course, we did get to the falafal stand and it hit the spot. Then, after symphony rehearsal last night, we were too lazy to cook so we walked down the street and found a great little pizza place. The menu was completely in Arabic but we ordered cheese and garlic pizza (I got mushrooms, yum!) and then, for dessert, a Nutella calzone. I'm not sure how many of you eat Nutella but it's a fantastic hazelnut/chocolate spread (I think from Germany) and it was all melty in the middle of the calzone, I haven't had anything quite like it. Anyway, to continue our food week, I woke up this morning and made pancakes for Aimee and I and we were able to sit at the dining room table, enjoying the morning with our pancakes and good conversation. YUM! for food!

As far as work goes, the past few days have been interesting. I have been doing my paperwork and planning for sessions but on Monday night, I got to help with the UN project proposal, basically the document sent in to renew my job for 2010. Lisa, Julie, and I went over to the assistant director's place and started working on this LONG document. It had been given to the assistant director on Monday and they wanted it to be completed and submitted on Tuesday. Unbelievable! There was so much to write and the language in documents like that is very different than what I am used to. As a team, we brainstormed and worked together for about 4 hours and completed the proposal, how awesome! It was great experience for me to be able to work on a UN project proposal like that and hopefully, the project will be renewed for 2010. Music Therapy is obviously benefiting the clients so hopefully, that will be clear to those in higher positions.

I need to get to work but I just wanted to give you that food/work update :o) Don't worry, I do have my fair share of Arabic food each week as well. And again, yesterday, my snack in the afternoon was a delicious pomegranate that I got for about 50 cents (and I promptly squirted the juice on my white t-shirt, haha). Love the fresh food here!

Anyway, talk to you soon, I"ll keep you updated on more adventures. I miss you lots, xoxo.

Dinner Parties are Great

To celebrate moving into our new place, Aimee and I decided to invite people over for a dinner party! Little did we know it would end up being about 20 people in our apartment, sharing laughter and food :o) I roasted 5 chickens, yes 5! but don't worry, they are much smaller here and let me tell you, the chicken in Jordan tastes so much better than the chicken in the U.S. It doesn't have any hormones/chemicals/persevatives etc. so it actually tastes like chicken! Aimee made wonderful lentil soup and then we had food donations from many guest. Chi brought his homemade fried rice which was fantastic, I made fatoosh salad (a local dish), Nadine made a chocolate mousse pie from scratch, Muhammad's wife brought hummus, and we had plenty of sweets, cookies, etc. Yum!! Everyone enjoyed the food and took time to talk, get to know each other. Then the music started and people wanted to dance. All different cultures are represented in the group from Hungarian to Taiwanese to Korean to Polish to Colombian to American to Jordanian to Iraqi and more so the dancing was quite a cross-cultural experience. Interesting to note: everyone in the group loved Michael Jackson and there was quite a bit of support for ABBA. :o) After the dancing had finished up, people moved into a game of Charades, one of my favorites! Hilarious to watch people act out movie titles and even funnier to try and guess. I had to try and act out "The Truman Show".....I got the group to get the word 'show' and was attempting Truman by trying to do the pledge of allegiance, then, my team screamed out the name of the movie and we got the point!! Very exciting I must say. Also, it was girls against guys, and the girls won!

Besides having a blast with people at home, I also have had some awesome days at work. It's easy to forget that the kids I am working with have seen so much in their short lifetimes. It's an honor to work with them and to be able to provide them a time to express themselves, laugh/cry, enjoy their peers, and to enjoy music. I am trying to do the best that I can with the resources I have so hopefully, that will continue to go well. Yesterday, during a music experience, one of my jokesters started to talk about a dream he had and got into some graphic details....it was truly powerful and so good for him to finally start talking about these things. Really an amazing moment. Sorry to be vague but I don't want to put too much personal information up about the kids because they are clients, privacy is important. However, it is great to be able to share a little bit with you about what I am doing here.

Continuing on with my update, hehe, I wanted you to know that I officially have a nickname here in Jordan. I have been playing soccer the last two Fridays with a group from the conservatory, also a mixed group of folks, and it's been a ton of fun. I was complemented by the symphony conductor on the use of both my feet to make strong shots at the goal, woohoo! But anyway, he (and a lot of my clients) have a tough time remembering my name; therefore, he has decided to call me Indiana Jones because it is two words and I guess I remind him of the girl in the movie. hmmmm.......but anyway, the name seems to have stuck and more and more people are referring to me as Indiana, or Jones, or the whole name :o) I'm pretty sure that will just be a Jordan thing, I am quite fond of my actual name.

Been a long week but a good one. The move is definitely a good one and I am really starting to feel like this is my home, at least for the next 10 months. I'll keep you updated on the coming events! Talk to you soon, xoxo

Little Things

I am so thankful that my brother/lots of people gave me the idea to write this blog during my time here in Amman. It is helping me remember the little things of each day and while I cannot document everything that happens during my time here, I hope that by sharing them with you, I am doing some sort of good thing :o) Just let me think that, ok?

Today was a great day as far as work goes. We finally got to meet with the social workers and psychologists at the center and present to them "What is Music Therapy?" Such a beneficial thing to do, to provide them with a basic knowledge of what it is that I am doing there with my clients. They listened intently and had lots of good questions at the end of the presentation and they also participated in a drum circle activity! woohoo! The other cool part of the presentation was that I was giving it in English and Nora was translating at the same time, she has such a hard job and does it so well. Very interesting to present that way, it forced me to be extremely aware of my speed of speech as well as my phrasing and choice of words. Then, after the presentation, I had 7 of my clients for sessions and they were awesome, songwriting, performing, improvising, we were all over the place and having a blast together. Some of the depth that these kids can get into is amazing and always provides me with hope for them and for me.

Another little thing of the day was my taxi ride to Carrefour this evening. I got home from work around 6:30 and Aimee and I decided we should make a trip to Carrefour for some things we need around the new apartment (coffeemaker, candles, etc.) Before leaving, we stopped downstairs where some of the other people from the symphony live, only to find Thomas, the bassoon player from Poland. He's staying there briefly while he looks for another place to live. Anyway, he decided to tag along on the trip so we set out to find a taxi. Got in one and began our journey. Thomas is quite a talker and loves to get to know people so he was already trying to talk to the taxi driver who didn't speak much English and Thomas has a heavy Polish accent. The conversation then took an interesting turn.....the driver stated he was from Iraq, pulled out his Iraqi national flag and was quite proud....then stated that he was in Amman because he had to leave Iraq. His wife/or girlfriend was killed by a bomb. That was just awful to hear....and even more awful because I know that there is a huge struggle as to America's place in the war etc. etc. I'm not going to get into a political debate but it is a constant reminder here that these people are real people too, with families and passions, and life to live. After arriving at the store and finishing our shopping, Thomas/Aimee/and I stopped at the food court for dinner and during the dinner, Thomas began talking about some in depth topics dealing with hate, love, peace, war. The bottom line that we all came up with is that there will always be both love and hate but we have to keep on loving, hoping that things will get better because love will conquer the hate in the end. I'm sounding a bit free-love crazy but it's quite coincidental how many times the idea of love keeps coming up in this foreign land.

To top the evening off, I came back to the apartment and we had a girls night with a few ladies from the conservatory. Such a blast to eat ice cream and popcorn, paint our nails, girl talk, watch movies, and of course.......we had ring pops! It was a little slice of normal, something that I don't feel that often here.

Alrighty, I better get to bed, going to a cool second-hand market with Julie tomorrow morning at 7:40 am! Then soccer tomorrow afternoon. Talk to you soon, miss you all so much. xoxo

moved again :o)

just a quick update because it's late and I have to go to bed! I promise I will write more tomorrow but I just wanted to let you know that I moved yet again, but this will be the last time. I moved into a three bedroom place with Aimee, the other flute player, and possibly another roommate, the oboe player from the orchestra. Right now it is just Aimee and I but the place is soo soo much better than the one before. This one is clean and has furniture and just feels more like home. We have to get unpacked and do an all-around good cleaning but so far so good, and NO COCKROACHES! Woohoo :o)

Also, after my e-mail and the issues last week at work, things have actually been getting done this week and it looks like we will have our very own music therapy room which Lisa and I will be the only ones able to access it. Perfect, and we can really turn it into a clinic, an appropriate therapeutic space. Also, on a side note, with no warning today, I had to speak in front of about 40 employees from the UNHCR etc about what I am doing with music therapy here, was a bit nervous but I think I sounded good, clear and professional, and hopefully intelligent :o)

Alright, bed time for me but I promise I will post more tomorrow and hopefully some pictures of the apartment and I took some pictures at the center where I work. Talk to you soon, miss you all so much. xoxo

Day to Day to Day

Today is October 3rd....well, technically this will probably get posted on October 4th which marks my two month mark of being in Amman. How crazy is that?! My personal perception is that it feels like I have been here about a year...haha, but it's pretty cool that two months have gone fast and slow at the same time.

Today was a work day for me, as is tomorrow. Only Friday for the weekend here folks. Luckily, I have my group sessions on Saturday and the kids usually have a blast with music experiences and activities. Today was one of the first days I really had to lay down the law for some of the kids. As usual, kids like to see how far they can push boundaries. I am pretty sure I will find that in any culture.

In other news, I played soccer yesterday! Oh as they call it in most of the world, football. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to actually run around for a long period of time, outside! And the best part it, it was a fenced in center, so I wore shorts. It's the first time I have worn shorts outside since I arrived in Amman, felt very strange. Only the people I was playing with could see me though and they were just the symphony folks. One of the guys is from Columbia...he was really good, I held my own though. Even thought it's been about 2 years since I've really played a game, I had a great time just relaxing with friends and enjoying being outside. I'm hoping to join a gym in about a week or two. Also, Aimee and I are definitely moving into the new place this coming week so that is exciting. It's a good location and I think it will really help to be with roommates, since both Grace and Lisa are leaving in November. :o( I'll miss them a ton.

Met some new folks tonight after church which was lovely but guess where we went to dinner? Chili's. I'm not kidding....they actually have one in Jordan. Kind of sad that we went there but the food and the company was good. I better get to sleep but wanted to give you the small updates. Miss everyone a lot....especially missing the fall weather, the desert is still very hot! Enjoy hot apple cider and things like that, I can't seem to find that here ;o) Talk to you soon, xoxo.

Tea and a Full Belly

One thing is for certain, I will not starve in this country. In fact, when I return, I will most likely be 20 pounds heavier because of all the wonderful food I have been eating. First, I will begin with my story from a few days ago. By the way, I'm sorry I have not been able to update until now, this week has been crazy with work and symphony and life in general! Luckily, I have time now to summarize :o) Ok, so my story.......well, I needed to find a black top to wear for the symphony concert because women are supposed to wear all black from head to toe. I have the pants and the shoes but I needed the top. Aimee had one that I could borrow which was awesome but I wanted to see if I could find one for myself, since I will be playing more than one concert here! So anyway, I'm off browsing in a shop and I find a little shop off of Rainbow Street that seems to have just what I need, so of course, after I find the black top, I keep looking because the prices are really cheap. I ended up getting two nice shirts for $15, pretty good! During my time in the store, the shop owner, a much older gentleman greeted me kindly and asked me a few questions and began to share his story with me. After a few minutes, he invited me to sit down and he made tea for the two of us. He told me how he grew up in Kuwait and wanted to go to the States in 1985 but was continually rejected his visa, eventually he ended up in Jordan and is happy with his shop but he wishes he would have had the opportunity for the American dream. As I was sitting there, drinking delicious tea with this kind man, I realized that it was a situation I would probably never encounter in the States. We are so busy with our go-go-go lives that people don't take the time to sit down and share stories. It was a beautiful moment for me.

On the flip side, things at work were getting frustrating because some changes were not being made that was making it very difficult to do therapy. Luckily, we had a big meeting today and things are starting to turn around, small changes have started already which is awesome. I am really lucky to be getting all of this experience here, especially in my first job. I occasionally feel like a crazy person because my brain is on constant cultural overload so sometimes, I really want to leave (like yesterday) and then today, I really want to stay and make the most of my time here. The thing that is helping the most is the great support I have at home and here. Truly blessed am I.

Tonight, I was invited over to the conductor of the symphony's house for dinner with he and his family. A few people from the symphony were invited, about 7 of us, which was lovely. Our conductor is originally from Iraq so the whole meal was traditional Iraqi cuisine. We had chicken that had roasted with peas, carrots, potatoes, tomato paste, and secret spices; then rice; hummus; a mixture of green beans in a special sauce (sorry for the mysterious labels); fresh veggies; kuba, a meat dish; and finished the meal with Iraqi sweets that you dig out of flour and tea. SOOO GOOD. I can't wait to tell my kids at the center that I had Iraqi food, they will be so excited. Throughout the evening tonight, watching everyone laugh and have a great time, I realized what an awesome experience I get to have here. Because I am doing music therapy, I get to work with kids, basically out in the field. But because I am playing in the symphony, I get to experience a bit more of the middle class life as well.....and I just get to watch and observe, and come home to my friendly cockroach friends. I have been cockroach free for a few days! but I am actually considering the move to a new place with Aimee. We shall see. I just realized that even though I am always going to have the really down days when I want to come home, I have such a great opportunity here to provide education on music therapy, to provide music therapy, to play with a professional orchestra, to sight-see, to eat new food, to laugh with new friends, to learn Arabic, to learn to live on my own......and the best of all is that I do know I get to come home and visit all of you in just 10 months, really not that long. Just keep reminding me of that :o) I took some pictures at the center today and I want to take more on Saturday, then maybe I will be able to post some for you to see! I miss you and I will talk to you soon. xoxoxo