But for reals though, it's really cool that everyone can keep updated with me while I'm out here. I'm just imagining this happening like 80 years prior and I'm thinking to myself yea I would not write 100 telegrams to people back home. So this is great!
Well to start things off, Arabic classes are over, so you don't have to listen to me drab on and on about the classes and how hard but fun they were. This also is kind of sad because this is the last time we see our nurturer in a classroom setting, and it's even more sad because we're done Arabic. Like you guys this is the farthest I am going in this semester with this language, and I know how to say Eggplant, Goodbye, and Duck. That's a lie. I can say more words and construct basic sentences but the rest of the learning out here is now up to me to immerse myself into Jordanian conversations, and practice as much as I can. So I hope to keep up with my arabic Inshallah (10 points to whoever can remember what that means) for the rest of my time in the Middle East.
Something that has recently been very nice is the weather, as we hit 20 degrees today folks! 20 degrees! I'm at the point where I choose to put on pants because of the weather and not because I need to cover my legs in public, but don't worry people I still wore pants before. It's also kind of refreshing because while home in BC is probably dropping below the 20's with rain, Jordan just slowly drops in temperature and will produce no precipitation from the sky at all, making the desert a very comfortable place temperature-wise. It's also weird not to be bombarded with EVERYTHING ORANGE and FALL and OMG PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES (even though the Starbucks here does sell it).
This past Saturday the MESP crew and myself got to experience the Dead Sea! Man this body of water is evaporating faster than Arabic is from my brain, but it was crazy fun to experience the world famous sea's ability to make one float. It's crazy! So our Program Director has a MESP tradition called the "Dead Sea Dunk," which as a swimmer sounds like a lot of fun. Yay. Let's dunk under the water. Okay, well fun fact it burns. Like oh my goodness. It's so salty that my body just rejects that life choice I had just made. So here we are standing/floating with our eyes completely shut scared to open them, but we don't know how to get back to the dock where a Jordanian has a massive jug of fresh water to wash out our eyes. So we play this extremely hilarious and awful game of Marco Polo, where you try to return to the dock without opening your eyes, while the man at the dock is yelling, "Left/Straight etc." If you're like me, you're thinking meh it's fine. I'll find my way back myself using my eyes. Bad life choice. The agony of the salt on the eyes was unexplainable, and the need to return to the dock became #1 priority for my face. The fresh water on my face gave me such an unexplainable joy. Afterwards we lathered up in Dead Sea mud and pasted it on our body until it dried, and jumped back in and washed it off, and my skin had never felt so smooth from our spa treatment. Correction: our painful spa treatment.
We also have been studying the Arab/Israeli conflict in our centre, and on how simple it is. Oh sorry there was salt on my face, I meant to say how VAST and COMPLICATED it is. We've had a guest speaker come in who has done a tremendous job on equally displaying both sides of the conflict, and by playing devils advocate to his previous opinions. I am learning heaps about what has been going on in this part of the world for decades, and on the intricate, and complicated details surrounding small area, that has affected every corner of the earth. While I'm gaining incredible amounts of knowledge, it is also causing me to be even more confused. I guess that what they mean when they sometimes say, "The more you know the less you know," you know?
Finally, I wanted to give an update on myself. As some of you may know (from my last blog or word of mouth) my mom back in BC had developed breast cancer, and had went in for surgery to have it removed. The waiting for results is sometimes more excruciating than actually getting results, and this was no exception. I spent many nights trying to process what would happen if the results came back negative, and how I would react if my mom needed more treatment. 11:30 at night I get a message on my phone (the wifi doesn't reach in my room, so it shocked me) and it was from my mom. It read, "Just got my results back from the doctor and the cancer has not spread into my lymph nodes!" I read it and just stared. I didn't really believe it. Since then it's been taking a while for me to process everything that's happened. In one month I've gone from my mom having cancer, getting a surgery date, having surgery, and having results come back clean. So it's been very overwhelming for me. I guess because I had just finished processing that, yes my mom has cancer, and now I have to process back to, my mom doesn't have it anymore. So when I go home... it will be like nothing has changed, except much has changed.
A common theme has been racing through my mind these past few weeks/days is the idea of peace. In Arabic you greet one another with "Al-salamu-aleykum" which translated as, "Peace be upon you." Arabs are constantly wishing peace over each other, and it's been very beautiful to experience. I will sign off with my go to these past few weeks:
Finally, I wanted to give an update on myself. As some of you may know (from my last blog or word of mouth) my mom back in BC had developed breast cancer, and had went in for surgery to have it removed. The waiting for results is sometimes more excruciating than actually getting results, and this was no exception. I spent many nights trying to process what would happen if the results came back negative, and how I would react if my mom needed more treatment. 11:30 at night I get a message on my phone (the wifi doesn't reach in my room, so it shocked me) and it was from my mom. It read, "Just got my results back from the doctor and the cancer has not spread into my lymph nodes!" I read it and just stared. I didn't really believe it. Since then it's been taking a while for me to process everything that's happened. In one month I've gone from my mom having cancer, getting a surgery date, having surgery, and having results come back clean. So it's been very overwhelming for me. I guess because I had just finished processing that, yes my mom has cancer, and now I have to process back to, my mom doesn't have it anymore. So when I go home... it will be like nothing has changed, except much has changed.
A common theme has been racing through my mind these past few weeks/days is the idea of peace. In Arabic you greet one another with "Al-salamu-aleykum" which translated as, "Peace be upon you." Arabs are constantly wishing peace over each other, and it's been very beautiful to experience. I will sign off with my go to these past few weeks:
"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." (Psalm 91)
Thanks for listening folks! I'll be travelling around the area this week until week, so I hope to update everyone as much as I can. Okay, that was probably the longest thing I've ever written in my life, so until next time!
Caleb G
Sunset on the Dead Seas overlooking Israel/Palestine
