Jordan, here I come!

I've been on the phone with several of my American JET associates and emailing wildly with others! It's the eve of our departure for Jordan, and we're all a bit excited, anxious about leaving family behind (how WILL they survive without me!!! It'll be Pizza every night!), and thrilled to be embarking upon such a fabulous adventure. Clothes, hats, books, and trinkets are strewn around the bedroom, spilling out of suitcases and across the floor. I keep pinching myself; is this real??? By tomorrow, I'll be on my way to Chicago, then off to Amman. I CAN'T WAIT!

Our Final Evening Out in the US

It was an absolutely gorgeous evening at Salty's on Alki. Though the pictures don't really show it, the Seattle skyline was breathtaking, and the boats gliding along the glistening water were straight out of a picture post card. Phil and Geda Condit were at our final dinner, along with their daughter Megan, with whom I've had numerous emails, but this was my first face to face! It was nice to finally put a name to the quick sense of humor that I've enjoyed via email. Megan's grandmother, Phil's mom, was also present. I really enjoyed talking with this charming woman. She has traveled the world and keeps in contact with people from over 100 countries via email! I hope I have a tenth of her energy at her age! Margaret, the Assistant Dean of the School of Ed was present as well. She was interested in the work we've done to date and listened attentively to our suggestions to further improve the professional development side of the program. I think the most moving part of the evening, though, was when Phil got up to speak. It was obvious that this program meant a great deal to him, and the fact that we have all become so close and care so deeply for one another brought him near to tears. I must say, I got a bit emotional too. I know I'll be seeing everyone again in just a few short days, and this time in Jordan!, but I will miss them just the same; the camaraderie, the jokes, and most of all the wonder of learning about people from so far away. Soon I'll be traveling half way around the world to enter a completely different culture. I feel so different as a person already, and I haven't even experienced Jordan! I can't imagine how transformed I'll be when I return.

Seafair Parade

We spent the day today visiting local area schools; first Ballard High School (summer session) and then Renton Vocational School, where we had lunch. I was particularly impressed with the special education classes at Ballard where I met a darling boy with severe autism. Although he couldn't speak, he had a smile that would light up the room and he understood us quite well. He was looking at a picture of sharks eating a fish, and we asked him some questions, which he answered using a specialized computer with a touch screen. Many people look at children like this young man and see only the disability, but I could only see his beautiful spirit. Sometimes I wish I could help my students recapture their delight in the world around them, the delight this young man obviously felt every day of his life. I don't see that as a disability, I see it as a tremendous gift. If only we could all see the world, even if just for a moment, through this young man's eyes, we might recapture some of that exuberance and curiosity that seems to fade as we grow older.

After a delicious dinner at King Falafel, we attended the Greenwood Seafair Parade. It was many of the Jordanians first experience with a parade and we were shameless in our photo attempts! I have several of Rabia with clowns, the motorcycle police, and pirates. We un -abashadly scrounged every trinket and candy we could for our Jordanian counterparts! Following the parades, we went to Andy's home for desert. Such a lovely way to round out the day. I think the Jordanians truly enjoyed Andy's family and especially enjoyed playing with his two children, Andrea and Anton. As we wind up our US part of the program, I know the Jordanians are anxious to get home and reunite with their own children. Me too!

Take me out to the ballgame....

There's something about acting goofy, munching on peanuts and tossing the shells, eating cotton candy till your lips turn blue and screaming your lungs out for the Mariners, who held their own till the 8th inning, by the way! Then again, do all that with a group of Jordanians who've never been to a baseball game in their life! Talk about fun! I've never laughed so hard. I thought my sides would split. We're becoming so close now that we even have inside jokes that only the JET team understands, like Global Goats (yes, there is such a thing, but you have to see our group presentation to get it.) Our big presentation is tomorrow, but as Mustafa would say, "Relax, it's just for us!" So I'm off to bed for a good night's sleep before our big day.

Pacific Science Center Fun

We spent two days at the Pacific Science Center exploring ways to utilize inquiry more effectively in our classrooms. Good inquiry is really an art form; knowing just when and what questions to ask of your students, allowing enough time for them to explore and process their experiences, guiding them back towards the desired learning objective when they get side tracked. All these take experience and practice, something most teachers don't get unless it's in their own classrooms. Too often this isn't modeled for pre-service teachers, or its modeled badly. It was a delight to work with such qualified and competent teachers at the Pacific Science Center!

Team building

We spent the morning on team building with Mark . I loved his lessons because they challenged us to work through our frustrations and he gave us the time needed to succede. I think we all felt satisfaction that we were able to work through the problems and accomplish our goal as a unifed group. Again, I am struck by the diversity of learning styles, management techniques, and personalities that this amazing group of people posseses. Truly, it's this diversity that makes us such a strong and effective group of people. My confidence in each one of my collegues and in us as a group continues to grow. Sometimes I feel as if, given time and the right environment, we could solve any problem presented to us!

Food has been a central theme for us here at Islandwood. The food we eat is incredible and presented in such an artistic way. I find myself eating much more than I would normally, it's just so delicious. Returning to dorm food is going to be a major letdown for us all! Just look at this salad!

Idyllic Islandwood

We arrived this afternoon at Islandwood, an outdoor education center located on Bainbridge Island. I knew of the center, but my first actual experience of the place is beyond anything I could have dreamed. The focus of the learning center is to provide exceptional learning experiences and to inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Everything is about sustainability. There is composting, recycling, and solar panels abound. The food, fabulous by any standards, features many ingredients grown or raised at Islandwood or on Bainbridge Island. The housing is lovely; all wood railings created from the trees cleared to make space for the building and stone fireplaces made of igneus, metamorphic, and sedementary rock. The many paths wind through the trees and it's almost impossible to see one building from another. We spent our first half day here on a scavenger hunt to discover more about this amazing endeavor called Islandwood. After dinner, we shared our personal stories, after being introduced to the "Where I am from" poem by George Ella Lion. We all wrote about the people, places and things that influenced us as we grew up and helped to create the people we have become. As we shared our stories I was again struck by what an amazing group of people I am with on this journey. I feel honored to be a part of their lives and their ongoing stories.

Museum of Flight

The Museum of Flight occupied us for two days, and we still didn't have enough time to see or do everything! I especially enjoyed the simulator where I tried navigating from Boeing Feild to Payne Feild in Everett. Needless to say, I don't think anyone will want me to fly them anywhere soon! I also enjoyed watching the kids in the simulation space station. The group of summer camp students is divided in two, and one group boards the mock space station while another works the shuttle. There are notebooks and jobs for all and explicit directions, but also several unexpected "emergencies". The goal is to get kids to follow directions and learn to communicate effectively with one another and work as a team. What was remarkable was how the children immediately began working and remained focused as they attempted to complete the mission. Everytime an emergency was avoided there was a huge celebratory "hurray!". My favorite activity was the kite making project where Rabia and I tested our hypothesis about what ratio would be most effective for keeping the kite aloft. You should have seen Rabia! She was delighted when she ran and our kite flew high in to the air and stayed there. Success!

A day in Olympia

Olympia was an exciting experience for both the Jordanian and the American teachers. We had the opportunity to speak with and hear from many officials from the Office of Superintendant of Public Instruction, as well as several state dignitaries; Lieutenant Govenor Brad Owen and Secretary of State Sam Reed. The state's captital is a beautiful building and I was impressed with how knowledgeable and gracious our state officials were. One thing is clear; you may disagree with policies or procedures, but the intent of every official we met was to further the welfare and education or Washington's children. I was reminded of one of the norms the JET team decided on our very first meeting: assume positive intent. I think these officials all are working to improve our state's educational system and help all children in Washington State learn and thrive.

Seattle Sightseeing

It's true that you see your own back yard through new eyes when you show a guest around. The old familiar haunts were much more fun seen through the eyes of my new Jordanian friends. We visited the Pike Place Market, rode to the top of the Space Needle, and went to see Kung Fu Panda at the IMAX. What a day! We're all ready for some much needed sleep and then off to see more sights tomorrow. The real work this week begins Wednesday when we head to Olympia.

Dinner with Mom and Dad

Dinner at my folks was a really great experience for me. Everyone pitched in to help. My brother Pete acted as both captain, taking folks for boat rides, and grill king extraordinaire! Mary, a dear friend, came over early that day to help squeeze all the limes and lemons I could get at the grocery store to make her famous lemonaide. It was great fun to see Rabia walking along the beach, enjoying the sand on her toes and Mustafa swimming. My brother even convinced Rabia to drive the boat. In his words, "She's a natural!" I felt honored to be able to have them meet my family and grateful that the weather, which had been iffy, cooperated.

Lessons of the heart

It’s odd how exhausted you can become just trying to be understood! I can’t imagine being one of the Jordanians and trying to speak, learn and understand in an entirely different language. Still, their English is remarkable, and their stamina much better than my own!

I woke up this morning to booming thunder and lightening, and decided against my morning run. After yesterday afternoon's excursion to Theo Chocolate Factory, I probably shouldn't have skipped! Before the chocolate factory, we spent the morning with Mark Winschitl, a UW professor and long time colleague. Mark and I have worked together numerous times over the years, most recently on the HIV curriculum for NWABR. As we discussed theories of teaching, I was impressed by the Jordanians earnest wish to express their ideas, and also with how difficult it is to communicate complicated ideas in another language. I can easily see how misunderstandings develop between people who may be communicating in a different language from their native tongue. It’s like unfolding a paper that has a complicated picture drawn on it. If there are many folds, and you open just one or two, you may get the wrong impression of what the picture really is portraying. You must be patient, and unfold the paper carefully, making sure you don’t tear it, and then the picture, like the idea, becomes revealed in all its complexity and beauty. Today, as we worked on a constructionist approach to teaching math with Sunshine (yes, that is her name!), I was again impressed with the fact that we all need to listen carefully. Mustafa was explaining his ideas, using tiles and gestures, and finally, after much drawing and demonstration, I understood his idea! It was a great way to approach the problem, and we used it in our presentation. The point of most of these sessions is to introduce other ways to view teaching and how students learn, but I find myself more impressed by the underlying lessons, about people's views of the world and how we can relate better to other cultures. Kevin and Tina, both 2007 participants in the JET program, spoke of the “moments” that would occur, those special times when you realize that this particular conversation, event, or personal interaction will change you forever. As Mustafa, Richard and I walked back to the dorms yesterday, one of those “moments” occurred. I was explaining to Mustafa that I felt differently about the Jordanian women’s custom of covering up. It had not occurred to me how freeing that could be. When I first met Rabia, she was, of course, completely covered. She has lovely, flashing dark eyes and a smile that lights up her face, but she also has a personality that is intense, serious, and yet fun loving. As we interacted throughout the day, I found myself concentrating on her, her ideas, her personality, what she felt and thought. It was as though her personality was distilled and intensified, because the physical shell was covered and closed to me. All I had of Rabia was her words, her expressions, her ideas. I found myself paying close attention to her as she spoke, carefully regarding the ideas she was sharing. It was all about Rabia’s ideas, her meaning, not her physical self. As I explained this to Mustafa his eyes lit up and he exclaimed, “Exactly! You have it exactly! You understand!” He was so delighted, as was I, that we had understood one another so completely, that an aspect of their culture was understood by a westerner. I now understand why some women choose to continue to wear the head scarf and long, concealing coats. There is a certain sense of freedom that comes with knowing that others are relating to you based completely upon your ideas and personality without the distraction of relating to you as a woman. I will never consider that form of dress a limitation or a lack of freedom for women. It’s not. It’s a choice and I not only respect it, I can see why many women, especially professional women, choose to adopt this dress in their own countries. Lessons like these I will treasure forever. These are the lessons that speak to my heart.

The Condits

Our benefactors, and the supporters of this program, hosted a dinner last night where I was finally able to meet those responsible for this remarkable enterprise. Geda Condit is Jordanian, married to Phil Condit, a Boeing executive and engineer, turned visionary. Every successful person will remark on at least one teacher who was pivotal in their lives, he told me. Needless to say, he captured my heart with that comment! Their home is a combination of sweeping gardens, waterfalls, ponds, and open, airy rooms. We dined on halal prepared bar-be-que, salads, and baklava, all served in the warm evening air with the scent of roses and hum of conversation all around. I felt so incredibly grateful to be included in this remarkable group and excited to dive in to the days ahead. I know we'll be busy, but I hope to have time to reflect as well. Moments like these come once in a life time. I will treasure them always.