Girls Can Do Anything!

We had our Girls Empowerment Workshop yesterday and it went very, very well. We had 15 girls from Arar Academy and 15 girls from a local community center. We held the workshop at the Ajloun Nature Center in a wonderful setting. The girls started with a hike around the reserve. We had our workshop in a dramatic setting overlooking a big valley. After a great lunch, we were treated to a 12th century castle built by Saladin (Salahadin here).
The women ran the workshop, and Jeff and I assisted here and there. Alaa, Carmela, Samer, Maria, Suad, Shorouq, Umm Alaa, Alaa (2), Rawan, Nour, Ghadeer 1&2 and several others did a great job with the girls. They talked about confidence, taking risks, and supporting each other in positive ways. The girls were really engaged and had a lot of good ideas. At the end of the day, they received a copy of the Confidence Code for Girls, and the work will continue after we leave. There is a national movement in girls empowerment starting here and I am proud to say our ladies are trailblazers!

Dead Sea

Carmela and Jeff got to go off to the Dead Sea with Mohammed and Suad for the day. I stayed behind and rested a bit then went to Alaa's house for dinner with the family. It was a good day to recharge our batteries in preparation for Saturday's Girls Empowerment Workshop.

Thursday is Friday

As Fourth of July goes, this was a tame one and I liked it. We had another good day at school - each day the older children are clocking onto the English program. They are getting more receptive and adventurous with the language. While watching recess, I noticed a young special needs child crying. I think one of the boys had been too rough on him. A teacher came by and gently told the other boy to apologize, which he did so reluctantly at first. After shaking hands, he noticed the boy was crying, then reached up and kissed him on the cheek, put his arm around him, and walked off together.
Today is Thursday, which is the last work day of the week here. We now have a day off before the Girls Empowerment Workshop. Jeff and Carmela will be off to a Dead Sea resort, and I will have lunch with friends and then go to an engagement party for Lana, the assistant principal of Arar.  It was another jewelry day for Carmela; a very popular event here. After school, we were on our own again and we had some interesting food at a Chicken Thikka place. Dinner was light - just a lemon smoothie and a few bites of Carmela's hamburger. We stopped into our favorite shop to visit Zain, and Carmela bought me a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses.  Zain presented me with a lovely gift, then we strolled off into the Irbid nightlife.

Zain gave me a DaVinci medallion. Zain loves art

Multi-tasking into the night

Zeina and Jana made thank you cards for all the nice people who donated towards their tuition :)

Day 5

We are finding our groove, and the students are getting used to us. It was a hot, busy day. We had a lot of fun at school. Jeff and I did several lessons - we do a bit of English then make them run a lot. Carmela and friends made jewelry with kids. After school, we went to a seafood restaurant then back to the hotel for some rest. Tonight, we went to the other Yemeni restaurant, where I met up with the Tihama crew (folks from the same region in Yemen where I lived). We topped the evening off with sundaes at McDonalds.

Carmela, Rawan (2), and Alaa (2) getting the beads ready

Jeff had a hankering for fish

We went to the other Yemeni place and had mendi and other yummy stuff :)

The waiter remembered me from my last visit. He called me into the kitchen because most of the staff were from the same little region that I lived in while serving in the Peace Corps :)

Battling with Rawan (1), Arar's resident polemicist

As many of you know, Facebook was acting up today, so I will catch up on pictures tomorrow, inshalah

More Teaching, More Hospitality

We had a very full day today! Jeff, Carmela, and I taught several lessons, the Girls Empowerment Group team started planning the workshop, and Jeff and Carmela got to visit the ancient city of Jerash.

Carmela volunteered to do a lesson on shopping with help from Jeff and Rawan

Jeff helped Captain Duaa warm the kids up in the morning

Jeff was back in his element with the young boys

The planning team for the Girls Empowerment Workshop (left to right)

Rawan, Maria,  Alaa, and Carmela

I had some fun too!

Jerash is and incredible place - Once again Fufu proved to be the Hostess With The Mostest

We will be back at it bright and early tomorrow morning. I am really excited about the connections we are making with the kids. The school continues to evolve and so will MVCC's partnership with Arar.