more pictures!

I almost forgot to update you guys but I wanted to let you know that I am putting pictures up on Picasa web albums - facebook is slow and does not let me upload easily and the Tumblr site is one picture at a time.  I will still post pictures on these sites but the Picasa Site will have full albums from my travels etc.  :o)   Hope you enjoy!


http://picasaweb.google.com/fairchild.maryellen

Jordanian Birthday :o)

Well, it's officially my 24th birthday (although technically I have to wait 2 more hours for it to be the exact time according to my mother) but it has been a wonderful day thus far.  The festivities started yesterday when I went shopping for a new outfit to wear at night, going dancing!!!  A group of about 6 of us went dancing where the music was insanely loud and there wasn't much space to stand, haha, but we had a great time laughing and dancing away to crazy techno beats.  I obviously need to work on my dance moves but I held my own  :o)   This morning then consisted of our weekly football (soccer) match where MY team won!!!  I of course missed all my shots on goal but I was pleased with my performance, we have intense competition, hehe.   After football, we enjoyed some breakfast/brunch at Crumbs Bakery and I had a delicious birthday cupcake for dessert.  Everyone is so sweet, calling and writing e-mails from afar, I feel well-loved.  


It's hard to be away from close family and friends, I'd love to see people and just be able to sit and talk, give some hugs away but soon enough, that time will come.  I am always blown away by the people around me and how blessed and lucky I am to have such support in my life no matter where I end up.  That has to be from the power above because I am somehow surrounded by fantastic people in every area of life.  Thank you to everyone for keeping in touch with me since I've been away - I have enjoyed every moment of e-mailing and blogging and calling with bad skype connections :o)  


In other news, things with the job are up in the air so I will keep you updated.  The actual work is much better in the organization factor this semester but some other issues have risen since the funding came through.  Hopefully, things will work out for all parties involved and for the well-being of the clients.  Julie and I are doing a workshop about Music Therapy for another NGO called the Center for Victims of Torture, meeting with their staff of 15 people which is exciting!  They are very interested in learning more about music therapy and how it can be incorporated with working with torture victims.  


In the music scene, we had an amazing symphony concert on Wednesday in conjunction with the Cairo Symphony.  I am hoping to get my hands on one of the recordings and post it for you to listen to, get a little glimpse of the Amman Symphony Orchestra.   AND, I auditioned for and made an arabic/english choir that will be singing throughout the spring, a perk being we have a retreat next weekend at the Dead Sea, sounds good to me!  


Alright, going to see Avatar in 3D tonight so I better shower!  :o)   Sending xoxoxo, miss you and love you, thanks for all the birthday wishes, made my day!

Be Careful What You Eat

No really, I mean what the title says.  If you come to the Middle East, especially Egypt, be very careful what you eat!  Ever since I got back from Egypt at the end of November, I haven't been feeling quite right.  Finally went to the doctor and I have four medications. ah! to deal with the mess in my stomach.  I'm not sure what I ate that started this whole thing, but the food in Egypt was delicious, so no regrets here.  :o)


Been spending time getting better so quiet days, doing work from home.  I have preparations for the Psychology of Music class I am teaching spring semester, as well as preparations for my new work at the Institute for Family Health.  The groups I am working with are more serious populations in collaboration with the psychologists on board at the center.   I am hoping this will be a good experience, positive for both the clients and myself. We shall see.  


In other news, my friend Amit is back in town so it's trivia night tomorrow night, woohoo! I need to get my brain moving a little bit.  Aimee is finally feeling much better and we are both excited about the upcoming concert on January 20th.  The music should be great and some members of the Cairo Symphony are joining us on one of the pieces.  


I am trying to take some more quiet time for myself in the new year.  For example, I really haven't been spending time making music on my own.  I don't sing or play as much for fun so I want to increase that as well as increase my quiet time at night to sit and read, relax, before bed.  It's tough because I want to catch people back in the States online but I was staying up way too late to do that.  My new schedule will work, I promise  :o)   I will still be in touch, don't worry. 


Alright, back to work, will update soon!  miss you and love, xoxo

Adventuring through Israel/Palestine Part 2

December 27^th – a few days into the trip and another day in Jerusalem.  Took pictures of the Wailing Wall and then entered the Dome of the Rock platform area.  We couldn’t go into the Dome of the Rock but got pretty close, after going through 2 metal detectors to get there!  Headed to the Tea Room for breakfast where I had a delicious chocolate and banana filled pancake – YUM!  Next stop – the Tower of David Museum where they have a great history of Israel exhibit.  I left Joe there to go meet Tsvia, an Israeli music therapist, for lunch.  She and I had great conversation about her work there and her dreams for music therapy in other areas throughout the land.  After finishing lunch, Joe and I finally walked the Ramparts walk and came down at the Mt. Zion church which is home to the place of the last supper (Coenaculum) and Mary’s place of eternal sleep.  Spent some quiet time praying and reflecting there.  Then back to the hostel for a break, then wonderful Arabic dinner that night – hummus, Arabic salad, and vegetable soup!  I packed up my bag for my next leg of the trip up to Nazareth and we went to sleep.  Next morning, we attempting to find the holocaust museum and finally were successful after trying two different city buses.  Not being able to read or speak Hebrew was a bit difficult; I kept trying Arabic and forgetting where I was.  The holocaust museum – Yad Vashem, was very well done, a relatively new museum, it documented the timeline of the holocaust very well, including the lead up to events, showing that it didn’t just happen overnight.  It was very factual but also very emotional with actual artifacts and pictures, interviews, etc.  To finish the day, headed to the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem and put Joe on a bus to the border, me on a bus to Nazareth.  There happened to be two people from my hostel in Jerusalem on the bus to Nazareth and it worked out great that they were there.  We tried to stay in a convent there but it was full, so we shared an apartment that one of the congregation members rents out.  Jamal was the owner’s name and he and his family loved having us.  The two people that stayed, left after one night but they were replaced with two more people from Germany and a lovely woman from Poland.  I spent my first day in Nazareth by myself, hiking around and exploring the town which is much more built up than I thought it would be.  I visited the Basilica of Annunciation and St. Joseph’s church, then wandered the street through the vegetable markets, got some delicious hot chocolate and more falafel (best food ever) and went back to the apartment.  I actually watched a movie that night, Finding Neverland, and it was the first time in awhile that I was by myself, relaxing.  Quite wonderful actually. 

December 30^th rolled along and my new German and Polish friends decided we should all go to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee together.  That worked for me since they had rented a car, made it easy.  Seeing the Sea was amazing, took lots of pictures and we visited the Church of St. Peter, connected to the story of Jesus calming the storm on the sea.  Beautiful mosaics were there and everyone in the group took their time going through the church.  For the rest of the day, we traveled north around the west coast of the Sea, visiting Caphernaum, the Church of Multiplication of Loaves and Fish, and the Mt. of Beatitudes.  All of these biblical sites were wonderful to see, different than what I pictured in my head, but amazing to be there.  It was raining the entire day but that didn’t stop us one bit.  In fact, when we dropped the car off at 4, we were in Afula where we caught the bus to Nazareth; however, it was an express bus that stopped 5 miles outside of Nazareth!  We just walked the rest of the way which worked out great.  For dinner, Matias made spaghetti and sauce and we ended up watching “Freedom Writers”.  It was like we were a little family, sitting there with our cups of tea, watching a movie together.  It was interesting, a theme throughout my trip, how people connect with each other and interact in such caring ways.  Really, the whole trip reinforced my silly idea in my head that the majority of people just want to love others, really, I know that sounds like a naïve idea but I stand by it. 

Leaving Nazareth, I caught a taxi to Afula and then was standing at the Bus Station when a guy approached about taking a taxi bus to Tel Aviv instead for the same price.  I was hesitant but a guy that spoke Hebrew said it was legit so I got in, paid $5.00 and rode the 2 hours to Tel Aviv.  Arrived, got out my map, and starting exploring the very western, European Tel Aviv.  Stopped in this crazy mall area and got lunch, then continued on to the beach!  It was so lovely to just sit on the beach, watching people, enjoying the sun, stuck my feet in the Mediterranean Sea, found seashells, and took plenty of pictures.  After relaxing there for about two hours, I picked up my bags once again (I looked like I was living on the street, with my little bags) and explored some more of the city.  I ended up finding this 24-hour breakfast place called “Benedict” and had one of the best dinners ever.  I had eggs benedict (with BACON! And salad and it came with a glass of champagne which was appropriate since it was New Year’s Eve of course.  Then headed to the hotel to hopefully meet up with Mark.  We didn’t really have any way to communicate so I was going by the e-mail I got two weeks before, stating that he would be at the hotel around 9 pm.  To my relief, he showed up at 9:20 pm and we spent New Year’s Eve sipping on wine and watching people around us, then watching the London New Year’s Eve celebration on T.V  :o)

Ok, I think that is enough information about my trip for now.  There are so many small moments and experiences that are just so hard to explain in this format.  I will never forget them of course, and I kept a journal through the trip.  I can’t believe that I was really there, in the Holy Lands, the places talked about in the bible, places I have read about and seen pictures of.  I was there, and I enjoyed every second of it.  

Adventuring through Israel/Palestine Part 1

How do I begin to explain my trip through Israel and Palestine?  It began at 7:30 am on December 24th as I was picked up by Ahmad and driven to the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge crossing which is only 40 minutes from my house.  At the border, there were people everywhere, most were American and I was overwhelmed!  I hadn’t seen that many Americans in one place for 6 months – I almost felt a bit of cultural shock because of it but I met some interesting people along the way.  A couple that I met is from the States, in their mid-fifties, and they now live and work in Kuwait, the job market was better there and they love it!  I also met a few people my age that are living and working in Amman doing various things like teaching English, accountant, contracting, etc and we ended up sharing a bus to Jerusalem and catching a bus to Bethlehem.  A running theme throughout my trip was that I happened to arrive in places just in time to catch the next bus/taxi/whatever to my next destination.  Felt like it was fate to travel there.  Made it to Jerusalem by 11 am and Bethlehem by 12.  Getting to Bethlehem from Jerusalem required a trip through one of the many checkpoints; however, the one we went to was at the wall – this monstrosity of a wall between Israeli and Palestinians, causing the conflict that we all read about every day.   I took some pictures of the many places of graffiti on the Palestinian side of the wall, most pointing to peace as the answer with phrases like “Palesisrael” written in bright colors. 

Finally in Bethlehem, I met up with some of my friends from Amman that had travelled there the day before.  Without cell phone service, it’s always fun trying to find people but we managed and found our hotel, the Alexander Hotel.  The couple that owns the hotel is a wonderful Palestinian couple that was so excited to have us stay there – wonderful stories, got a Christmas hug from the husband, Joseph, and great breakfast the next day. Meanwhile, on Christmas Eve, Joe and I headed up to the church of the Nativity which was amazing.  I would like to go back when there are less people but just to be there, see the place was great.  I managed to get down into the grotto where they say Jesus was born, touched the star and took a few pictures.  Then, as we were getting ready to leave, the Franciscan friars began chanting and performing part of the service into the grotto – I filmed just a small clip of that because their voices were so beautiful echoing through the church.  The church of the Nativity is connected to St. Catherine’s which is home for the friars.  After fighting some of the crowds some more, we navigated the windy streets of Bethlehem, following a cross in the sky, to find Christmas Lutheran Church and went to the 5 pm Christmas Eve service there.  The service was a combination of Arabic/English/German and was powerful to hear, the sermon was wonderful, focusing on the shepherds journey and the impact the birth of Christ had on them, then the letdown they felt as they returned to their fields and tried to tell people what had happened – the experience that they held onto throughout their lives and how it affected the rest of their lives in a powerful way.  At the end of the service, we lit candles and exited the church singing Silent Night in our respective languages and as we reached the door to the outside, the Muslim prayer call began, what a weird feeling, but everyone kept singing – focusing on the moment.  Then, after the service, headed down to Manger Square where the first ever rock concert was happening.  Bethlehem at Christmas was more like New York City on New Year’s Eve, the excitement level was so high and it was beautiful to see all different types of people mixing together.  I had some cotton candy, yum! And then stood to wait and see if we could hear the mass at the Church of the Nativity.  While standing and waiting, a soldier was standing directly in front of me on the other side of the small gate.  His huge gun hit my leg a few times but he had a gentle smile and was enjoying the evening as much as everyone else.  The military presence throughout my trip was shocking – everyone is required to be in the military at age 18 for at least 2 years, women and men, and then you can be called to duty at any time until you are 40 years old.  A quiet Christmas Eve dinner of hummus, mutabbal, and chicken followed and then Joe and I read the Christmas story from the book of Luke :o)

I woke up on Christmas day VERY sick but I was determined to continue with my trip so I slowly walked up to the Church of the Nativity in the morning to find a Greek folk music group playing and singing in the square.  People began to crowd around and then began to dance in a circle around the group – I dragged Joe in and we danced with everyone, feeling the same beat, such an awesome experience.  After this, we sat in St. Catherine’s for a few so I could rest; my body was not happy with me, and listened to a choir practice which sounded great. From there, I wanted to see the Milk Grotto, the place where they say Mary and Joseph stopped with the baby Jesus and spent the night.  Took a long walk back through the town of Bethlehem on the small back roads and ended up back at the hotel to say goodbye to Joseph and his wife and son, then caught crazy bus “21” to Jerusalem – back through one of the checkpoints, and found the Hebron Hostel in the Old City of Jerusalem, right in the Muslim quarter.  I promptly took an hour nap, didn’t feel any better, but needed to go find dinner.  We found an AMAZING pizza place, go figure, and bought 2 slices each with some fresh squeezed orange juice and enjoyed our little Christmas Dinner.  Took it easy the rest of the night and I went to bed early early to try and get healthy for the rest of the trip. 

On the morning of the 26^th, I woke up feeling slightly better and decided to explore the Old City.  Joe still with me and being a good sport, explored with me.  We tried to do the Ramparts Walk on top of the wall but could not buy tickets on Shabbat – the Jewish holy day, so we went to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) which was extremely powerful.  We could not take pictures that day but could watch and pray.  I went back later in the week to get a few pictures but at the same time, it is a holy, sacred place for the Jewish faith, I didn’t want to stand around taking a million pictures while they are trying to pray.  The tiny slips of paper shoved into the wall hold thousand of prayers that people bring everyday from all over the world.  I found out that you can e-mail the Western Wall and they will print your prayers and put it on the wall for you.  Mark, my good friend from home, brought prayers from his family and put them on the wall, called his grandmother and told her he was there, she was so excited.  After seeing the Western Wall, Joe and I continued our trek to the Mount of Olives where we visited the Garden of Gethsemane (some of the trees are ones that were there during Jesus’ time), the Basilica of Agony, the grotto, Virgin Mary’s Tomb, and hiked up to the place of Ascension.  On our way up the Mount, which was very high!, we saw the vast Jewish cemetery stretching across the east side of the hill.  At the top of the Mount, I got some great pictures of the Jerusalem skyline and also found fantastic falafel for lunch.  Probably not the best idea for my then uneasy stomach but it tasted wonderful! Took a picture for you, don’t worry :o) Continuing the day, we headed back to the city to enter at the Lion’s Gate.  From there, you can follow the “Stations of the Cross” including 9 stations of where they think Jesus walked with the cross to the site of Calvary.  I tried to document the entire trip with pictures so keep your eyes posted for when I put those up.  Each step of the way was a spiritual journey – picturing Jesus finding his way through the small streets, crowded with people, carrying his heavy burden – falling, getting back up, having tears wiped away, seeing his earthly mother, being spit on, feeling the weight of the cross the whole way.  The last 5 stations are located at/in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  There, they believe was the place where the cross stood, Jesus died, was washed, and put in the tomb.  The church is ornate and filled with mosaics and shrines. I stood in line to see the tomb – then followed my way around the church at my own pace.  As I was getting ready to leave, the Franciscan friars began their service throughout the church which echoed and was beautiful.  At the end of their service, the Armenians began to sing, the melding of the voices and the differences in the music echoed together in the church, pretty cool.   After the Stations of the Cross, Joe and I headed back to the hostel to relax, then had pizza and hot chocolate for dinner.  On the way back to the hostel after dinner, this lady approached Joe with a sweet drink for free, her friend didn’t like it so Joe said “sure!”, how funny  :o)  To end the night, Joe and I played some cards, hehehe, we get intense with card games. 

write soon!

hi there! Sorry that I have not been able to write the last couple weeks. I have been traveling through Israel and Palestine and it was amazing. I have so much to write, it will take awhile but I am planning on sitting down Friday and really trying to give you the highlights of the trip. Seeing those places that I have read about for years was beautiful and meeting interesting people along the way made the trip even better. Promise to write soon!