Hello all,
Today I started my Saturday at the ripe time of 7:30am. I needed to get dressed and situated for my visit to Al baqa'a camp. I threw on my Gettysburg sweatshirt, threw my hair in a pony tail and stopped my makeup at the foundation level. I wanted to go low key. Around 8:15 I hailed a taxi to take my to the bus stop. From there I would meet up with the students running the English as a Second Language program and they would take me to the school.
A couple of other students from SIT had said that they would be coming, but last minute decided not to come. I'm sorry, but I need to address something here. All the time these students complain that they don't get to see "the real Jordan" because we live in the very wealthy part of the city. They also say how they want to take a taxi to the ghetto of East Amman (We live in West Amman) in order to "experience real life". However, when it come to getting your hands dirty and experiencing "the real Jordan", everyone is too busy to show up. Don't worry though, these very same students talk about how they are going to change the world every single day. Perhaps they should start by trying to help a small group of people and by attempting to understand their world and realities. While it might be adventurous to drive to East Amman in order to stare at some poor people, it would be better for everyone if they would just try to help those in need and not just drive by to "check it out". This ticks me off. Don't worry this is the end of my rant.
So I stood by myself at the bus stop and waited for the girls to show up. They called me to let me know they were on their way and I patiently stood in front of the police car at the circle and waited for them. In a few minutes, a girl with long blonde hair showed up near the buses. We waved at each other and instantly knew that we were looking for each other. We waited for a bit more and a lady around 40 with blonde hair showed up and then finally a girl with brown curly hair showed up. I was happy to be with people who looked like I did. We got stared at as a group.
We boarded the bus and set off. On the bus ride I found out that four girls run the English as a Second Language program are college graduates working as part of the Fulbright program. They are paid a small sum and their expenses are covered by grant money. All the girls were friendly and were happy that I want to volunteer on a regular basis at the camp.
The bus dropped us off right in front of the school. The school is a white building consisting of an office, a large classroom and a small classroom. I taught and hung out in the large classroom. There were two different classes. All of the children were prob between 8-16 years old. I really liked the children alot. They came and really wanted to work on their English. They have more motivation that most of the college kids I know. I was really impressed. This is because knowing and understanding English is important to their futures. They need it in order to pass the national exam in Jordan in order to go to college. Essentially, education and English are their way out of the camp. Honestly, if I was in that situation, I would be working my buns off.
I had two children that I helped, one in each section. The first child I had was about 10 years old. He was really good with his English and wanted me to help him with his homework. He literally read my pages from his text book, which equated to a few paragraphs. I could tell the boy had practiced alot because he seemed familiar with the material. I gave him a few corrections here and there, but he was pretty good. He beemed when I said good job. I spoke mostly English to him because he was at a level where he could understand and respond. After we finished his homework, I taught him the lesson plan that was handed to me. The topic was weather and seasons. He picked up the material well and seemed to fully understand what I was talking about. I used Arabic to introduce the new words, but besides that all conversation was in basic English.
The next student I had was a 12 year old girl. We spoke mostly in Arabic because she was not quite at the level of understanding and responding in English. She was very shy and nervous and kept whispering her Arabic responses and questions. I had to keep asking her to speak up. This lesson was a bit tough. When learning about the weather, she kept saying that it snows in Summer. I kept trying to correct her, but I think she walked away thinking that it snows in the summer. I feel really bad. I tried Arabic but I think she was nervous and tired of learning. I played a couple of games I made up with her, like fill in the blank, pictionary and making her ask me questions to see if she understood. She seems to have gotten most of the other material.
The children do have the opportunity to go on trips. Every year, a donor donates enough money to send five of the top students to the omra, or small hajj. In Mecca, the children get to see the places were Muhammad walked as well as to fulfill their religious obligations. A fellow teacher and I were talking and we thought that the money could be used for housing or food, which everyone is in need of. However, I believe it is important for these children to see different places and experience more than the refugee camp. While money for food is great, perhaps the trip will inspire the children to keep to their religion and to study hard so that they can go more places some day.
On the bus back home, I talked with one of the teacher's fathers who was visiting from America. He asked me how long I had been volunteering. I said that I just started today. He told me he was impressed with my teaching style and that I thought I had been there for a while. This meant a lot to me. I really hope I helped a kid learn some more English. I know that I walked away learning more Arabic.
After the classes, I got back on the bus with the girls. They took me back to the place where I could get a cab. Here are some basic bus rules I learned.
1) Buses do not have a set schedule. They leave when the bus is full.
2) You can get anywhere for a nickel
3) Don't sit next to a man if that seat is available. It makes a woman appear like she is "looking for something"
4) Men sit with Men, Women sit with Women regardless of relationship or age. If I want to sit next to a male volunteer from the school, I need to tell the driver so he does not think something weird is going on.
Then I arrived at my castle in Shemsani where I was had a large place of mensef waiting for me, my own room and plenty of clean clothes. I was so happy and feel so blessed that I was able to experience the camp, but I am so happy that is not my everyday reality. I think five hours a week will be enough. I look forward to returning. I made friends with the student coordinators. I was even invited to go out to lunch, but I was too exhausted.
Below are some pictures of the day. I didn't take too many because I didn't want the children to feel uncomfortable.
Additionally, my host mom, sister and I are running the 10KM marathon in the 20th annual Dea Sea Marathon. They asked me to participate so I told them about my lack of any sort of athletic ability, but they still want me to come. The meeting place is at King Hussein National Park, one of my favorite places in Amman, and we will run to the Dea Sea, another wonderful place. Apparently, my host mom, sister and I are also designing matching shirts for the event. I wonder what they will look like. I'm really excited. Now I just need to find out what appropriate athletic wear is in Jordan. After signing up for the marathon, my host mom asked if I wanted to go to the dentist. Being the weirdo that I am, I said yes and that I would love to see a Jordanian dentist office. It was a very nice office and very much like an American dental office except dental care is cheaper in Jordan. I am glad I went. Now I want to go to the doctors. I hope I get bronchitis or something because I can't just show up not ill. That would be dumb. A friend of mine went and said it was an interesting experience. I want to go too! If I was in Gettysburg, I would have gotten bronchitis at least four times by now!
After signing up for the marathon, my host mom took me and my host sister to her sister's house for her birthday. I sat in one of the nicest houses I have ever been in and ate three slices of cake from three different cakes with fruit on them. Coming from a refugee camp to a party that had three cakes, coffee, tea, nuts and much more food was a bit of a reality check. I felt like I experienced two extremes today.
I sat with my host mom's niece for a while and smoked argeela. She really loves the pipe and knows that I do too so when we get together we smoke and talk. I have to keep explaining that I can't smoke alot because it makes my head dizzy and I don't want to be an idiot at a family party. She just laughs and understands. She is 24 years old and has finished college. She works for the mobile company Zain and always has nice clothes, nice nails and beautiful hair. It glistens in a way I have never seen. She always likes to touch my hair, but I really feel like her's is the winner without a doubt. I also talked to my host mom's nephew while smoking argeela. He is a resident radiologist at the moment and is doing quite well for himself. I really enjoyed getting to talk to two Jordanians close to my age. It was a good time, even if they laugh at me when I cough after smoking the argeela. Its funny, I have to give it to them.
Talk to you soon,
Natalie
PS- The internet is creepy! I just googled the camp for some information and my the profile picture of my blog came up as one of the possible images. That is so creepy to see my face under Baqa'a camp! CREEPY!
Today I started my Saturday at the ripe time of 7:30am. I needed to get dressed and situated for my visit to Al baqa'a camp. I threw on my Gettysburg sweatshirt, threw my hair in a pony tail and stopped my makeup at the foundation level. I wanted to go low key. Around 8:15 I hailed a taxi to take my to the bus stop. From there I would meet up with the students running the English as a Second Language program and they would take me to the school.
A couple of other students from SIT had said that they would be coming, but last minute decided not to come. I'm sorry, but I need to address something here. All the time these students complain that they don't get to see "the real Jordan" because we live in the very wealthy part of the city. They also say how they want to take a taxi to the ghetto of East Amman (We live in West Amman) in order to "experience real life". However, when it come to getting your hands dirty and experiencing "the real Jordan", everyone is too busy to show up. Don't worry though, these very same students talk about how they are going to change the world every single day. Perhaps they should start by trying to help a small group of people and by attempting to understand their world and realities. While it might be adventurous to drive to East Amman in order to stare at some poor people, it would be better for everyone if they would just try to help those in need and not just drive by to "check it out". This ticks me off. Don't worry this is the end of my rant.
So I stood by myself at the bus stop and waited for the girls to show up. They called me to let me know they were on their way and I patiently stood in front of the police car at the circle and waited for them. In a few minutes, a girl with long blonde hair showed up near the buses. We waved at each other and instantly knew that we were looking for each other. We waited for a bit more and a lady around 40 with blonde hair showed up and then finally a girl with brown curly hair showed up. I was happy to be with people who looked like I did. We got stared at as a group.
We boarded the bus and set off. On the bus ride I found out that four girls run the English as a Second Language program are college graduates working as part of the Fulbright program. They are paid a small sum and their expenses are covered by grant money. All the girls were friendly and were happy that I want to volunteer on a regular basis at the camp.
The bus dropped us off right in front of the school. The school is a white building consisting of an office, a large classroom and a small classroom. I taught and hung out in the large classroom. There were two different classes. All of the children were prob between 8-16 years old. I really liked the children alot. They came and really wanted to work on their English. They have more motivation that most of the college kids I know. I was really impressed. This is because knowing and understanding English is important to their futures. They need it in order to pass the national exam in Jordan in order to go to college. Essentially, education and English are their way out of the camp. Honestly, if I was in that situation, I would be working my buns off.
I had two children that I helped, one in each section. The first child I had was about 10 years old. He was really good with his English and wanted me to help him with his homework. He literally read my pages from his text book, which equated to a few paragraphs. I could tell the boy had practiced alot because he seemed familiar with the material. I gave him a few corrections here and there, but he was pretty good. He beemed when I said good job. I spoke mostly English to him because he was at a level where he could understand and respond. After we finished his homework, I taught him the lesson plan that was handed to me. The topic was weather and seasons. He picked up the material well and seemed to fully understand what I was talking about. I used Arabic to introduce the new words, but besides that all conversation was in basic English.
The next student I had was a 12 year old girl. We spoke mostly in Arabic because she was not quite at the level of understanding and responding in English. She was very shy and nervous and kept whispering her Arabic responses and questions. I had to keep asking her to speak up. This lesson was a bit tough. When learning about the weather, she kept saying that it snows in Summer. I kept trying to correct her, but I think she walked away thinking that it snows in the summer. I feel really bad. I tried Arabic but I think she was nervous and tired of learning. I played a couple of games I made up with her, like fill in the blank, pictionary and making her ask me questions to see if she understood. She seems to have gotten most of the other material.
The children do have the opportunity to go on trips. Every year, a donor donates enough money to send five of the top students to the omra, or small hajj. In Mecca, the children get to see the places were Muhammad walked as well as to fulfill their religious obligations. A fellow teacher and I were talking and we thought that the money could be used for housing or food, which everyone is in need of. However, I believe it is important for these children to see different places and experience more than the refugee camp. While money for food is great, perhaps the trip will inspire the children to keep to their religion and to study hard so that they can go more places some day.
On the bus back home, I talked with one of the teacher's fathers who was visiting from America. He asked me how long I had been volunteering. I said that I just started today. He told me he was impressed with my teaching style and that I thought I had been there for a while. This meant a lot to me. I really hope I helped a kid learn some more English. I know that I walked away learning more Arabic.
After the classes, I got back on the bus with the girls. They took me back to the place where I could get a cab. Here are some basic bus rules I learned.
1) Buses do not have a set schedule. They leave when the bus is full.
2) You can get anywhere for a nickel
3) Don't sit next to a man if that seat is available. It makes a woman appear like she is "looking for something"
4) Men sit with Men, Women sit with Women regardless of relationship or age. If I want to sit next to a male volunteer from the school, I need to tell the driver so he does not think something weird is going on.
Then I arrived at my castle in Shemsani where I was had a large place of mensef waiting for me, my own room and plenty of clean clothes. I was so happy and feel so blessed that I was able to experience the camp, but I am so happy that is not my everyday reality. I think five hours a week will be enough. I look forward to returning. I made friends with the student coordinators. I was even invited to go out to lunch, but I was too exhausted.
Below are some pictures of the day. I didn't take too many because I didn't want the children to feel uncomfortable.
 |
| A vegetable stand in the camp |
 |
| A store in the camp |
 |
| I made this picture extra large for a reason. Look at the amount of trash and the poor condition of the house! This is totally common. People are really living in poverty in the camp. Trash was everywhere in large heaps and I could really smell it. When I left, I felt like I had dirt wedged in the pores of my face. It was literally coming out on the bus ride home. |
 |
| Children playing a game in English during fun time |
 |
| Students playing with the English Language |
Additionally, my host mom, sister and I are running the 10KM marathon in the 20th annual Dea Sea Marathon. They asked me to participate so I told them about my lack of any sort of athletic ability, but they still want me to come. The meeting place is at King Hussein National Park, one of my favorite places in Amman, and we will run to the Dea Sea, another wonderful place. Apparently, my host mom, sister and I are also designing matching shirts for the event. I wonder what they will look like. I'm really excited. Now I just need to find out what appropriate athletic wear is in Jordan. After signing up for the marathon, my host mom asked if I wanted to go to the dentist. Being the weirdo that I am, I said yes and that I would love to see a Jordanian dentist office. It was a very nice office and very much like an American dental office except dental care is cheaper in Jordan. I am glad I went. Now I want to go to the doctors. I hope I get bronchitis or something because I can't just show up not ill. That would be dumb. A friend of mine went and said it was an interesting experience. I want to go too! If I was in Gettysburg, I would have gotten bronchitis at least four times by now!
After signing up for the marathon, my host mom took me and my host sister to her sister's house for her birthday. I sat in one of the nicest houses I have ever been in and ate three slices of cake from three different cakes with fruit on them. Coming from a refugee camp to a party that had three cakes, coffee, tea, nuts and much more food was a bit of a reality check. I felt like I experienced two extremes today.
I sat with my host mom's niece for a while and smoked argeela. She really loves the pipe and knows that I do too so when we get together we smoke and talk. I have to keep explaining that I can't smoke alot because it makes my head dizzy and I don't want to be an idiot at a family party. She just laughs and understands. She is 24 years old and has finished college. She works for the mobile company Zain and always has nice clothes, nice nails and beautiful hair. It glistens in a way I have never seen. She always likes to touch my hair, but I really feel like her's is the winner without a doubt. I also talked to my host mom's nephew while smoking argeela. He is a resident radiologist at the moment and is doing quite well for himself. I really enjoyed getting to talk to two Jordanians close to my age. It was a good time, even if they laugh at me when I cough after smoking the argeela. Its funny, I have to give it to them.
Talk to you soon,
Natalie
PS- The internet is creepy! I just googled the camp for some information and my the profile picture of my blog came up as one of the possible images. That is so creepy to see my face under Baqa'a camp! CREEPY!
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