Yalla!

At times it seems like just yesterday that I was being bustled of to LAX my family friends Charlie and Corrie. Other days it seems like a decade ago, arriving in Tel Aviv without my luggage and no idea who was going to take me to my new home on the other side of the Other Great Wall.

It has been a year since I left the great state of California for the Middle East.

When I first arrived at my new home in Bethlehem, Palestine I very quickly observed that I was living in a completely new world. I was immediately adopted into a family of Palestinian boys and there youth director. I learned there ways of how to celebrate Ramadan quickly… break fast a new place and new people almost every night, stay up all night starting with watching the classic Ramadan television series Babalahara, consume inhumane amounts of coffee and tea, have breakfast at 430am…sleep if you want. Oh, and never really drink water. I think I drank water maybe a  only a handful of times in about a month in  Palestine. I would go days without drinking it at all. Anyways, repeat the above steps by like three weeks you’ve got it. In spending most of my time with Arabs all day every day I got a very quick dose of what life is like in the Middle East, the reality of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and being brought up Islam. Even though things fell through for me in Palestine, I’m extremely thankful for the experiences and conversations and the life that shared there. The insight and experienced received there have helped me understand and connect with a culture in a way that many dont ever get to experience. 

When I finally did jump the river to Amman my environment would change dramatically for the next few months. I was living with Americans, studying Arabic and teaching with Westerners…hanging out with Westerners. Many of those who know me could probably predict that by the time I caught my baring in the city I ran from this environment as soon as I could. I still wasn’t finished diving into Arab culture and I decided to move to Ashrafeeya, a area of Amman right next to the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in the whole city. 

To say the least, Ashrafeeya was a little sketch, and sketch in this area of the world is a word you dont like to use much haha. Other then the sketchiness Ashrafeeya was a huge blessing. Again, I was able to dive into what it meant to be a Jordanian/Palestinian living in Jordan. I was able to identify with my students that I had begun teaching at a language center next to the University. I had to fend for my self, cook for myself at times, get around myself…in an Arab country. For some it sounds a bit intimidating, for me, it was what I’ve always wanted to do…Live in another country, soak in the culture, stretch my comfort zones, see where life leads. Luckily, I was given greats friends in Ashrafeeya both domestic/foreign that loved cooking for me. Some of the best cooking coming from our Aussie friends working with the UN…Anne, Tom, and Ally. (We miss you Anne!)

At this point in time I was making many Arab friends and I was extremely thankful for the handful of foreign friends I had made that had become like family to me as well. At first, I wanted nothing to do with other Americans and Westerners. I wanted to go hard core into the culture…but then I realized the importance of community. Having people, that are going through what you’re going through who you are able to share achievements, failures, give helpful insight, or just talk about all the things that just dont make sense about the this foreign culture.

After getting into a groove of teaching I realized for the first time in my life that I may totally be interested in teaching as a career. Not as an English teacher specifically, but I began to realize I really had a love for teaching. Teaching also provided me with an opportunity to to get to know Arabs from all walks of life. UN workers, radio hosts, lawyers, businessmen, stay at home moms, high school and college students. The majority of our students have usually always been University students, which in my opinion was the best demographic for me to work with.

I feel extremely blessed. In almost all of my classes I’ve taught my students tend to really connect with me. They tend to find something about me that they really feel comfortable or trust. Some of my students have become close friends and I feel almost a family attachment at times with many of my students. Many times over the past year or so I’ve realize the simple yet powerful concept that if your take interest into peoples life’s and your try to value them as if they were literally apart of your family… the result is an extremely beautiful thing. Its hard to perfect this concept but its something that I think all should strive for. 

Currently, I’m no longer in Ashrafeeya but rather reside in a bit more posh Jabal Webde apartment…which I’m ok with. I ride the public bus to work every morning and love it. I stand out but I’m getting to the point where I dont…which I love. I continue to teach. I’ve obtained new family members from different walks of life. Some Muslim. Some Christian. Some Arab. Some Western.Some Palestinian. Some Jordanian. Some Iraqi. Some Saudi. Some Wahdat fans. Some Faisalee fans. Some who prefer a cup of sugar in their cup of tea. Some who prefer Fairuz over Elissa. Life has not been a breeze here… but an ongoing experience full of ups and downs I’m extremely thankful to be apart of. 

I begin Year 2 in the Middle East in some ways the same place I began it. Many different options and roads to consider. Extreme uncertainty of the future. Still not 110% certain about who I am and what I’ve become. What I do know though is one of the lessons I’ve been taught time and time again while experiencing the high’s and lows of life overseas…God is faithful and He provides. With Him uncertainty becomes certain.