Starting to settle in.

Some people have told me I need to post the backstory of my decision to come to Jordan. I will do so more in-depth in a later post, but ultra-short version: I graduated from BYU in Linguistics and was ready for an adventure. The opportunity to teach English here in Jordan fell into my lap through a coworker that taught here a few years ago. It is a Cambridge English program, taught at the Greek Orthodox church from September - May.

Today was my first real day. I slept surprisingly well, even with the time difference. I had stayed up all night the day before I left and I think that was actually the best thing I could have done to get a head start on the jetlag. A few other teachers have been here a few days and are still having a really hard time, but I feel pretty well adjusted already.

My living situation is quite nice. There are a few buildings that comprise the Greek Orthodox campus: the Pilgrim’s hotel, run by some very nice women who provide us with breakfast and lunch every day, two buildings of bedrooms and bathrooms for the English teachers, the chapel and the school. The chapel was originally built in the 6^th century, or somewhere around that time, and still has some of the original pillars. In 1902, it was rebuilt, including the mosaic of Jerusalem that covers a big portion of the floor on the main level. I was able to go inside today and it is a very holy place. It isn’t very big, but there are beautiful paintings and tons of mosaics all over the walls. Tourists have to buy tickets before they can come inside, but as a teacher here, I can go in whenever. I was told that they just finished a few big celebrations and rituals for some of the virgins, but they should be having some regular services soon. I would love to attend if I can.

I haven’t seen very much of the school, just some of the offices where the teachers met today to receive books that we will be teaching out of for the first few weeks. I was a little nervous about teaching, but after seeing some of the confusion and chaos of the organization today, I feel just fine. Besides the books that I was given as a general guideline, it seems I have complete freedom to teach however I want. I would like to start making plans, but since I don’t know how many students I will have, their ages, or levels of English, I don’t think there is much I can do to prepare. The most repeated bit of advice I have received is to be very strict and rigorous when class first starts. The other teachers have told me that the students will walk all over me if I let them, and I will need to lay down the law from the very beginning. 

There is another Hilary here, from the USA, and I think we will get along very well. She brought Insanity (the workout videos) since we can’t go out running, and invited me to do it with her. Yay! I’m super excited about it. She just finished her second Master’s degree from Oxford. Her thesis was something about the influence of Western philosophy and religion on Middle Eastern society. She came here to learn some Arabic in preparation for her doctorate degree on the beginnings of Christianity in the Middle East. Holy cow!

There are a few teachers from Australia, one from Greece, and a few from the USA. Almost all of them, even if they have studied Arabic, don’t actually speak very much. We are all excited about learning it though. There are a few different options for me to study and take classes, depending on how much time and money I want to dedicate to it. I’ve been trying to learn the script and some basic grammar principles by myself and I most definitely need someone that can answer my questions.

In the evening, we went for a small walk around the city and I loved seeing everything. There were cars and people everywhere. All the streets were lined with small shops and businesses and I imagine the upper floors are where they live. The shops are right up against the streets, which are very narrow. Many of the streets can only fit one car going one way. There is a huge variety of shops, some clothing, many restaurants, drugstores, and lots of churches too. There was one big mosque that we passed, and I am assuming that the calls to prayer come from there. It was so fun to see everything. I’m not going out by myself any time soon, I would get lost very quickly, but I can’t wait to see more of the city.

It turns out that I won’t be teaching here in Madaba. I was assigned to teach classes in Fuhais, which is about an hour away. Classes for me don’t start until Friday, so I have another day to settle in. I feel less overwhelmed and crazy today. I think this was a good decision! I have decided to stay for sure until the end of the year, and then I will evaluate if I will stay longer or come home. Good plan, yeah?

More pictures coming soon!