B-Ball

Last night, before we went home, Mohammed installed a backboard and hoop on the side of the school. I knew what today's lessons would focus on. We had a fun day at school teaching basketball vocabulary and learning how to pass, dribble, and shoot (sort of). After school, Jeff, Carmela, Captain Duaa, Alaa, and I went to a new Yemeni restaurant. It was good, but not my favorite. Carmela was so enamored with the Sweet Corner restaurant we went to last night, that she drug us back again today. No Nutella for me, but I had a nice thin pizza (antidote to too many Chicago pizzas). Jeff was up to the Nutella again, and I lived vicariously.

With a little help from his friend

She was a natural

More Nutella

Probably the last time Carmela and Jeff will have Yemeni food three times in the same week. Executive privilege 

English, Spanish, Salsa, and Nutella

Today was a rich day in many ways. We were back at school doing the English Camp. Carmela carried on finishing the bead bracelets, Jeff took over the bulk of the English activities, and I got to start to plan a larger, future Girls Empowerment program. Oh, and we ate about a pound of Nutella. Carmela also did a few sessions on Spanish and dancing for the older girls - both were big hits. Jeff got to ham it up doing some pantomime with emotions, and I broke out the rulers again. The kids are an absolute joy, and all our efforts, in tandem with the other teachers doing other subjects, are really contributing to the spirit of the school.

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!