going to Egypt

Well folks, we officially had Thanksgiving in Jordan yesterday, complete with two turkeys/mashed potatoes/sweet potatoes/casseroles/cranberry sauce and more. It was such a great time with a lot of my American friends as well as Arab friends, introducing them to the story of American Thanksgiving. Then of course, to top the evening off, we had to watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. :o) Never gets old.

I was able to skype with my family and see my grandma on skype, so nice. It felt strange not to be at home for Thanksgiving, this is my first time FAR away for a holidays. I guess it's good practice for Christmas. I am planning on being in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve so I am pretty excited about that.

Now before I get ahead of myself, I should concentrate on the trip at hand. Tomorrow morning, I head to Cairo, Egypt!!!! I am going to see the pyramids, the Nile River, Alexandria -the world's oldest library. I just can't believe I am really going to be there. Trust me, I will document with pictures galore. I exchanged money yesterday -well, actually, a friend of mine took my money and did it for me - but the Egyptian pounds are so pretty. They almost look like play money, they are so colorful and exciting.

I am nearing the end of my fourth month here in Jordan and like I've mentioned before, the time goes both slow and fast. Sometimes, I just yearn for the day that I will be flying home to see my friends and family - then other days, this place feels more and more like my home and I realize that it will be just as hard to leave here in August. I spent part of yesterday with Julie and Soetji and the kids, just made me feel very homey and Thanksgiving like. :o) Made me realize I do have a home here because of the relationships I am building. A good friend recently quoted Dave Matthews to me in an e-mail, saying "it's not where you are but who you are with that really matters". How true how true. Alright, I must pack and get ready for my adventure. Talk to you soon! xoxoxo

made the news!

http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=21842

check it out!! :o)

what happens in Jordan...

Ok, I first have to apologize for the lateness in my update; however, this last week was the busiest/craziest week schedule wise, as well as an emotional roller coaster - so I ask your forgiveness. The meaning of my title is just this - what happens in Jordan stays in Jordan. Not really, I am going to share with you all the crazy details of my life at the current moment. Take today for example: I randomly got a call a few days ago about a reporter coming to the center to do a story on the music therapy project. I don't know how they got our contact info but I said "great"! Today, when I show up, the man guy introduced himself as the anchor of the evening news here in Jordan and the man host of "Good Morning Egypt". He wanted to film plenty of minutes to make sure he had enough to choose from for the feature on the music therapy project. Not just a headline story, a feature story! He interviewed Julie and I, then some of the kids, filmed group sessions, very professional and pleasant to work with. My kids did an awesome job as well, they didn't get stage fright which is amazing - when I first started working with some of them, they had very limited social interactions.

I am supposed to get a copy of the show so I will see if I can upload it to my blog or facebook! We shall see, hopefully this will help bring some more financial support as well for the project.

In other news, Lisa and Grace got home safely to the States and Canada. I miss them a ton, hits at weird moments, but I am so lucky to have a great support system here. It is truly awesome how I have made such close friends in my short time here. Doesn't mean I don't miss my friends from home though.

Started practicing for the Nutcracker - woohoo, love that music. :o) Makes me feel like it's the holidays. We are having an American Thanksgiving this Thursday with a mixture of locals and Americans, should be a great time! Don't know what I'm making yet but I think everyone is bringing a dish. I love the fact that people just come over and cook for each other here, it's so nice to not have to plan everything, people just get together and enjoy.

Anyway, I will update more soon. love you and miss you much, xoxo

Constant Change

Well, last week, I was getting ready to go to Aqaba with the symphony. This week, I am saying goodbye to two of my best friends here in Jordan as they head home to Canada and the States. Life is always changing, eb and flow I guess......good thing to get used to.

Let me start by updating you on last week. I posted some pictures on the picture blog of the Red Sea and the hotel we played for in Aqaba. The event apparently cost half-a-million dollars to put on, princesses were there and everything, and let me tell you, the food was amazing. We ate lunch and dinner at the Kepinski and it was worth every minute. They had sushi, fresh fruit, veggies, dips, salads, desserts, hot dishes, Arabic, western...Asian, everything. My friend Joe took some wonderful pictures of the set-up, the display was what made it so great. Obviously it tasted good but the presentation is half the battle :o) Then, the symphony played outside, right by the sea during the start of dinner and then did a Sinatra tribute to close the evening. Our wind quintet also played while people were mingling and having cocktails at the start of the event. So beautiful throughout the night. We stayed in the Radisson Resort and it was lovely. The beach led right down to the Red Sea where I jumped in off the pier. Sigh, I love the water. Realized on the trip that I definitely need to live within driving distant of a body of water...it's just a must.

Over the weekend when I got back, I took my hamster cage to Julie and Soetji's and Chip is getting used to his cage. I will be bringing him home tomorrow or the next day. We'll see how that goes with the roommates. They aren't too psyched about a hamster but he's cute and it will be nice to have something to take care of. Aimee and I had a great trip today to Safeway.....we have to take a taxi there and she and I went crazy with the shopping list, causing us to have a very full taxi on the way home. The taxi driver wasn't too thrilled but oh well, we made it in one piece with all of our bags and no broken eggs.

Yesterday, Lisa and I had all of kids perform in a benefit concert for the Music Therapy Program. We recently lost funding and are trying to find other donors for the project. Even though performing is not a goal in therapy, the kids were so excited to share their love of music and we had a blast doing it. When we were setting up, a t.v crew came and interviewed us and a guy from the newspaper (the Jordan Times) also interviewed us!! It was so crazy...being interviewed on Arabic television. I spoke a little too fast so Nora, the translator, had a hard time with some of my sentences :o) I will work on that for next time. We are hoping to have some people contact us that attended to concert and give us money. In a perfect world, that would happen sooner rather than later. I will put pictures up of some of the kids....they are wonderful and they have so much to offer the world. I feel so blessed to be able to help them focus their energies to positive changes in themselves.

Ok! Last update, promise :o) Tonight was Grace's going away party and it was a blast. She has made friends in so many different places in Jordan, whether it is at work or at church or frisbee or in the apartment building. Anyway, it was great to have all of those different groups come together in one place tonight to celebrate having Grace here (and her birthday was yesterday) and giving her good send-off. I'm really going to miss that girl, met her my first week here! The party was at the Kurani's house, Grace worked for Martin Kurani while she was here and man, their kids are great. They have 5 girls and it was so fun, felt so normal, to just chase them around, dance with them, laugh and be silly. Such a calming feeling inside really.

Tomorrow is November's symphony concert...doing a little Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, should be a fun concert! And then, Lisa's going away party is Thursday night here, Friday night spending the night at Julie's, and Saturday taking Lisa to the airport. Whew, it's a crazy week.

Seeing the relationships that have been built here made me realize that Jordan is becoming home.....and then it dawned on me that all those cheesy songs were write, home is where the heart is, home is where love is, where human connections are made. I have been so lucky to meet people from all over that have shown love and compassion for me. I have also met the other type of people as well but that is life. Life is full of contradictions but I'm finding that the small things each day can provide enough comfort to get through the hard stuff.

Anyway, enough of that for now. Talk to you soon. Miss you and love you! xoxoxo

yes :o)

Ok, I can't write much because I am exhausted but I just wanted to say this.

I swam in the Red Sea today and although it did not part, it was such an amazing experience to float in that same sea that God commanded years and years ago. To look across the Sea and gaze at Israel.

I will expand on this tomorrow, promise. And post pictures. Miss you, xoxo.

Feeling Accomplished

Well, I successfully taught my first college course, I stepped in for Julie's "Music Therapy with Children and Adolescents" class on Monday morning. I was a bit nervous because I am younger than the students but they were ready to listen, answering questions and participating in discussion. Awesome! Made me feel more prepared for the course I am teaching by myself in the spring, should be a good time. Then, my day continued to be filled on Monday with a meeting about funding, a on-the-spot interview for the Jordan Times about music therapy, and then sessions with my kids. Lisa posted some great pictures on facebook of the kids having a dance party. After sessions were over, we just put on some tunes and let loose dancing :o) It was so great to see the kids relax and have fun together. Lisa and I made an American move and went to Starbucks after work to just hang out and talk. She is heading home on November 21st, a week from Saturday! Really hard to believe. Grace is also leaving so we are having two goodbye parties in the same week!

I walk to the gym when I go because it's about a half-mile down the street so a good warm-up walk...well, yesterday as I was walking, I looked very American with my sweatshirt and iPod on but for the first time, I didn't notice the awkward staring. I'm not sure why but it was quite nice, no honking from the taxi's, just a beautiful walk down to the gym. Again, in the taxi the other day, the driver thought I was Arabic with my small use of phrases but he said that I also looked very Arabic, what does that mean?! I'll have to post a recent picture so you can decide for yourself.....I think I still look like me.

Oh, and one more thing, did I mention I am adopting a hamster? I bought the cage yesterday and will bring him here on Saturday. Julie's husband's hamster had babies so I decided to take one. His name is Chip because he very much resembles a chipmunk with his colors and he's decided to eat everything in site, becoming round like a little ball. I'll take a picture as soon as I get him!

Well, off to Aqaba tomorrow, I will let you know how the trip goes and put up pictures when I can. Talk to you soon! Miss you and sending hugs. xoxo.

learning Arabic

Learning the Arabic language seems like it shouldn't be a difficult task, especially considering I am living in the culture; however, I am finding that it is REALLY difficult. The entire alphabet is different, the script is crazy, they read right to left, the books open a different way, phew, it's a brainteaser. I'm up for the challenge though. I want to make sure that I make the most of my time here and really try to become conversational in Arabic. I am already starting to comprehend a lot more of what people are saying to me (always helpful :o) ) Wish me luck with the rest of my learning process....

In work news, yesterday was a great day with my kids. After one of my groups, we just put on some tunes and danced the afternoon away. These kids are so full of excitement, joy, love...it gives me hope that they can hold on to hope in the future, even though most of them have been through so much already. Really makes me appreciate everything and everyone around me.

Went to the Citadel in downtown Amman on Friday with Aimee and Joe, had a great time. The archaeological museum was full of artifacts dating back to the beginning of human existence in this area. Parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls were on display....and the ruins were awesome. For some reason, ancient ruins don't get old, no matter how many I see, they fascinate me. I always think about what it would have been like to live in that time....probably not too much fun for a woman, but that's another topic. I missed soccer to go to the Citadel and apparently, that was not ok :o) My fellow team members were grumbling that Indiana Jones (that's me) wasn't there. I"ll have to make it up to them next week.

Things are really starting to become normal for me, being here. I"ll have to make sure I still document and take pictures of everything because even though it's normal for me, it's so different from the States.

Alright, I better get some sleep. Update soon. Aqaba concert on Thursday so I'll have some new travel photos then. Miss you lots, xoxo

chocolate chip cookies

Well, every experience in Jordan has been slightly more difficult than in the States, but it's teaching me to be patient and creative :o) Tonight, for example, Aimee and I decided we would like to make chocolate chip cookies. We had all the correct ingredients and I made sure to mix everything correctly; however, the dough turned out extra thick! This could possibly be due to the use of the half wooden spoon......and we also think it could be a different kind of flour than we are used to OR the lack of humidity OR the elevation OR any other excuses you might have to offer. Other things on the difficult list are getting to work (taxis, blah), any type of laundry :o), making photocopies, and that's it for now. It's really not to bad.

Quick Update: I just ate one of the cookies and it tasted great! :o) woohoo!

Hopefully, this weekend, we will get to play soccer and not get rained out. Then, next weekend is our concert in Aqaba by the Red Sea :o) Should be a really good time with the group and I'll get to sight-see a bit after we perform.

Work is going going......we are still waiting to hear from the UN as I told you before, I'll keep you updated but right now, we're just playing the waiting game. Lisa and I have done a really good job making connections at the center where we work with case workers and psychologists and we've heard a lot of good feedback about the music therapy program. The kids love coming and tell their parents and psychologists that, so WOOHOO! We are slowly making a difference I think. Knock on wood.

I haven't seen my trusty falafal guys in awhile so I should make a trip over to Rainbow Street. Right now, Lisa is in Jerusalem and Grace is in Lebanon so my Rainbow Street girls aren't in town. I'll give you more updates soon. Sorry the crazy stories are slowing down but don't worry, I have no doubt something fun and crazy will happen soon. Love you and miss you lots, talk soon. xoxoxo

reality

I just think it is fascinating how our brains deal with change and transition. For some people, change hits them like a speeding truck while for others, change occurs in the now and they deal with it later. And still for others, change does not seem to give them a hard time at all. I personally think I am a mix between the last two ideas. I definitely am affected by change but I think I have developed pretty handy coping skills to help me deal with change in my life. The whole reason I am talking about this is because of the funny moments of clarity/reality checks I have here. One happened today while I was standing outside the 2nd security door of the American Embassy. I was there to pick up my passport and while I was waiting, the wind started to blow around me (by the way, today was freezing, I had to buy a winter coat). Anyway, when the wind started blowing I looked up and for some reason, I finally noticed the dust blowing and surrounding the building, everything. In that moment, I thought to myself, wow Maryellen- you are living in Amman, Jordan, as a single young woman, doing music therapy. How did that happen?!! :o) It's not that it is a bad thing but sometimes, I wonder how I got here. I am so grateful for this experience, the tough times and the good ones but really, it is amazing that I am able to live and work here, practicing in my field. I just feel very lucky and sometimes feel like because I have to make this life normal, I have to make this home, I forget that I am living in the Holy Lands, the desert.

Besides that moment of clarity, like I said, I successfully purchased a winter coat and I have a great winter hat. Who knew that I would need those in Jordan. The most exciting part of the evening was when I decided to try on some boots in a shoe store and the sales man thought I was Arab. I was using my minimal Arabic skills to ask to try on the shoes and when he came back, I asked what the American size was and he was shocked to find out I was American. I felt pretty cool.....then I tripped over my shoe on the way out, cool factor over for the day. :o)

Going to hopefully get some planning and paperwork out of the way tomorrow morning so I can go to the gym, then enjoy some more symphony rehearsal. We have our next concert in Aqaba by the Red Sea. I'll be sure to take some pictures. I also want to make sure I take pictures of places I see everyday. I am used to how things work here but I want to be able to show you when I get home! Alright, time for bed. Missing you lots, talk soon. xoxoxo.