Middle Eastern Security Report

Waiting at the Irbid bus station for the Home-teaching trip 

 

    This has been an eventful week in every sense of the word! The Jordanian government decided to stop subsidizing several basic goods (which they have been doing for years), and the public responded with violent protests. We are actually under neighborhood arrest for the whole weekend, because random and violent protests have been popping up all over the downtown area, including the shopping area near the school where I usually accompany for a Christian children's choir. The US Embassy has issued a travel warning for Jordan, and church was cancelled today as well. And yet, the whole situation still feels surreal, because I honestly haven't seen any of it!
   Then, there's the rest of the Middle East: Syrian conflict spilling over into Israel, Israel shelling them back---twice. Hamas also decided that this was a good time to start bombing Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with Israel responding---forcefully. The personal application? BYU IR people have alerted Elder Jeffery R. Holland to our situation, and there is a 50% chance that our trip to Israel and Palestine will be cancelled. And to top it  all off, there's a remote chance that some of us BYU students will go home for Christmas and not even be American citizens anymore:)
   And so, having done my duty to international affairs, I return to my adventures in Jordan, which are as follows:

• On Sunday, winter began--it got cold and started raining! For some reason, it didn't occur to me to bring an umbrella to the Middle East, so I spent all of Monday sloshing around school and spreading various clothing articles all over my classroom to try and dry them out. Thank goodness for layers! And here's a picture to prove it:
•  Sunday is Hometeaching Day, even in Jordan. I and 3 of my fellow Irbidites made the 1.5 hour long trek by bus Al-Husn, where we visited with several families in the branch. I gave my part of the lesson then and hung out with the RS president and her 2 daughters, ages 19 and 21, which was great fun. The biggest difference between Hometeaching in Jordan and America? In Jordan, they feed you dinner! We were presented with Magloubeh (Imagine a pizza pan with a huge mound of rice dumped onto it, studded with meat, potatoes, and eggplant, and cooked in chicken broth. The Arabic yoghurt and Arabic cucumber salad are also included.) Arab hospitality is real--I am constantly amazed by how generous the Jordanians can be with their time, their love, and their food.

• Thursday was the Islamic New Year, so we only had one class because our Jordanian teachers had a break. Therefore, we celebrated Thanksgiving a week early! All the BYU students, senior missionaries, and LDS marines "gathered together" in the early afternoon for marvelous feast.We're supposed to be "living in Thanksgiving daily," anyway, right?
• But on the way to Thanksgiving dinner, I committed the unpardonable. You see, a woman who I met at the Greek Orthodox church about a month ago directs a children's choir, but finding a pianist in Jordan can be difficult. So, she asked me to be the accompanist, even changing the date of the Christmas concert so that I can attend. I have been attending rehearsals for several weeks now, which has been great fun, partly because she is a lovely person who I enjoy spending time with, and partly because playing Christmas hymns is lovely. I had no idea how much I would use music here in Jordan! I have been astonished by how many times we have been asked to sing, or play the piano, or direct choirs. All those Young Women's lessons about developing-your-talents-because-you-just-never-know are coming back to me:) 

That's me and the daughter of the choir director. She moved the rehearsal to her home for security reasons. 

                Anyway, I decided to go by the choir director's house before Thanksgiving dinner to practice on her piano, but when I arrived, she announced that she had only made a light breakfast because her relations were coming over later so we could all have a nice lunch of mansef before she sent us on our way! (And by the way, "light" did not accurately describe the breakfast.) I repeat, Arab hospitality is real!

• Since church was cancelled, we all gathered at our professor's apartment today to eat Thanksgiving leftovers. On my way home, I was invited into the neighbor's apartment, since I have made friends with the children who live there. I told them about building snowmen, and they admired my hair (being a blonde here can be quite fun) and taught me how to do math in Arabic while we had some cake. I chatted with their mother, too, and she wanted to know about my religion, since they are Christian. I told her as much as I dared, which wasn't much, but she was understanding. She must have approved, too, because just as I was about to say I should leave, she said they were just sitting down to lunch, and had I ever tried mansef? 

    With wonderful people like this, is it any wonder that, despite the turmoil that literally rages around this area, I do not want to leave?