On the radio

We've just been listening to the latest episode of 'From Our Own Correspondent' on the BBC world service (the programme is also broadcast on Radio 4). The first item is about the hospital in which we are working part-time in Nazareth. Here are the links for 'i player' and podcasts, where you can either download or listen online. I had to type the links so I hope they are accurate:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p005gqc2/From_Our_Own_Correspondent_26_12_2009/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/fooc

Busy

An ordained friend recently commented about the number of services he had over the Christmas period, we also have a full diary of events. This time of year is a great time to meet many new people. A few months ago we joined a Christmas choir at a local Baptist church, after many practices and extra tutorials with our Arabic teacher, we have 2 performances (one on live TV); this evening we have a carol service at the hospital , and next week we are singing carols to captive audiences on the wards, at local convents and other hospitals; we also get invitations to visit carol concerts in other churches (this started 2 weeks ago); at school we have been rehearsing English carols with the kindergarten, 1st & 2nd grade classes, the school concert is on Wednesday; and of course there are the normal Christmas services at church.

The traditional Christmas tree can be found in many homes. But instead of having piles of presents under the tree there is a nativity scene in a cave (made from rock coloured paper).

We hope you have a peaceful Christmas. P

Foreigners

Not many internationals learn Arabic and it is presumed that we don't understand the locals when they start talking about the 'ajaaneb' (the foreigners). By recognizing some key words we can now join in their conversations. As well as getting to know the locals we have the benefit of working and mixing with a rich mixture of other foreigners from Australia, Germany, USA, Canada, France, Italy, Vietnam, Switzerland, Finland and many, many others. We are very grateful that English is the common international language. We have also benefited from the building skills of Dirk (van Wendel de Joode), from Holland, and his willing assistant Bruno (Costa), from Brazil, who have helped with some of our home improvements. P

Hiking with Hinke

Our Arabic is probably progressing quicker than our North Americanese. Jane recently asked Hinke, a Canadian friend living in Nazareth, if she would be able to show us one the walks that she knows. Jane was thinking along the lines of the beginning of the Jesus trail, which starts in Nazareth (http://www.jesustrail.com/) and finishes at Galilee, but was unaware that 'walk' in North Americanese means a stroll around the town. Hinke could see the disappointment in Jane's face when she suggested a walk to the market. Eventually we were able to communicate what we actually wanted to do. This was our first taste of walking in countryside around Nazareth - we have been waiting for the weather to cool down before hiking/walking the Jesus Trail, and Hinke has kindly guided us on the first few miles. We may walk/hike the next section tomorrow - weather permitting. P

Marmite, Times, BBC & Book of Common Prayer

Last week we were really disappointed that our friends from Nailsea, John & Sally, had to cancel their holiday in Israel, but we still managed to spend some time with other Brits. We had a tour of Galilee and the Jordan Valley with John & Janet (friends from the UK), before finally ending up in Bethlehem where we had arranged to meet some people from churches near Bristol. The group included Tilly and Maria who had kindly bought us gifts from the UK. Our church here in Nazareth follows the Book of Common Prayer (in Arabic) so copies of English version will come in very useful. We will now be able to enjoy our breakfast toast because we have a 500g jar of Marmite, and what could be more British than watching the classic BBC comedy 'Yes Minister' and reading a copy of the Times. Another reason for our trip south was to say farewell to our friends, Jason & Sarah, who welcomed us into their circle of friends when we first arrived here, over 2 years ago; and to Ruth who is also leaving. P

Nights In (& odd one out)

Summer has come to a dramatic end. We have had a weekend of thunder storms and 6" of rain. This has meant that evenings at home, none this week (meetings and services) are spent indoors with shutters closed rather that doors and windows wide open. No TV has meant that we had found new hobbies. Jane has become an indoor plant fanatic, with cuttings spread through our home. I am developing my artistic skills, which are basic to say the least. With my mathematical mind I am using a ruler, set square and compass. My pictures are very much appreciated and are displayed in prominent positions in the bathroom and toilet. P

PS The answer to the puzzle published a couple of weeks ago is 'D'. 'A' is an odd one out because it is a 'y'; 'B' is an odd one out because it is a square; 'C' is an odd one out because it is yellow; so 'D' is the odd one out because it isn't an odd one out.

Grow, go and Recycle

Since moving to Nazareth I have developed a real interest in plant propagation, our home environment is slowly beginning to bloom and grow with exotic plants. My new interest is a great relaxant and is also teaching me patience. I think it is also bring out my English eccentricities. I can regularly be found in the Hospital chapel with a can of leaf shine or a water sprayer, trying to create the right conditions for my newest cacti or palm tree, or new leaf cuttings that I am nurturing.
Another great thing about plants is that they are ‘presents for free’. Newly grown and divided plants can then able be passed on to friends. When I have run out of pots then I can recycle food containers, a prune box makes an excellent plant holder for a newly grown palm. Our environments are crucial places for our ministries. Plants can make a room seem calm and tranquil and can relax those who inhabit and come to our dwelling places.
Somebody at church has just offered me a 2 metre cactus, I wonder how I can get that home on the bus? J

Juggling

The number of balls we that are juggling has hopefully reached its peak. The variety of our work means that we are entering into both the Christian and wider community faster than most newcomers. We are getting to know people at the Anglican church, mid-week bible study (many attendees don’t go to church), school (English and music classes), Galilee Bible College, Nazareth hospital (children’s ward, 3 x chapel services, working in the grounds, helping the chaplain) Baptist Christmas choir, after-school children’s club, Taize service at local convent, English language Bible study, we are also attending a course, ‘Living in a Pluralistic Society’, at the Nazareth Seminary; and of course, how could we forget our Arabic lessons and more importantly, running a fantasy football team (currently top in the Devon & Nazareth Premier League). We are also regularly visiting other churches (Brethren, Orthodox, Baptist, Catholic etc) often at the invitation of friends and colleagues, this is one of the advantages of belonging to a middle of the road, Protestant-Episcopalian church (not sure what that means, but it sounds good). And all of this during a prolonged summer - 97⁰F today. P

The odd one out

Today we had our first day in school – with parents weeping at the school gate (not ours!). We are helping the students with their English lessons. It is a small school with one class for each year, and the ages range from 4 to 16. The school is located in the centre of the old town of Nazareth and is squeezed into the densely populated market (souq) area. The children obviously see many tourists in Nazareth, but it is very rare for them to interact with foreigners. The younger children found it very strange to have people with blue eyes, pale skin and fair hair sitting in their classes; at the start of each class we had 30 pairs of brown eyes continually staring at us. It is quite uncomfortable being the ‘odd one out’, but after we had started helping them with their work 'Mr Peter' and 'Mrs Jane' didn’t seem so strange. In the picture, which is the odd one? P

208

We are very grateful that we now don’t have to go out and search for a wireless internet connection, because we have a dongle (mobile phone internet connection) at home. The only problem with the dongle is that it is not very consistent and is often slow, very slow or just cuts off entirely. We don’t have a TV, so listening to the radio is our main means of entertainment and keeping up to date with news. Because the internet is not reliable we continue to listen to the BBC world service on the radio. Our signal comes from Cyprus and in the late afternoon the signal begins to weaken and distort until it is unrecognisable in the evening. But years of listening to Radio Luxembourg 208 on my portable radio under the bed-sheets has prepared me for the fading signal that occurs every few minutes. Jane obviously didn’t listen to 208, she easily gets irritated by the distorted signal, but when you’re listening to the 2nd half football commentary from Old Trafford you just blank off the deteriorating signal and imagine Steven Gerrard scoring a hat-trick in the last 10 minutes against Manchester United. P

New Fruit

It is now two years since we first left the wild west coast of England and started living a very different life.
Everything has changed for us, the food we eat, the language we speak, the work we do, the community we live in, the way we wash and dry our clothes. The vine in our garden, not only provides us with luscious grapes and beautiful cool shade but makes an excellent drying area for shirts, which dry quickly and are protected from the harsh rays of the sun. No ironing needed.
In two years it feels like we have travelled a long way, our recent arrival in Nazareth also requires a new way of thinking, a new way to live, lots of adaptations to make - living in an Arab culture in an Israeli context. Better go and make some more falafel! J

Licence to Kneel

As you may have read in our Link Newsletter (available on request, electronically or paperererly) one of our roles is helping at the Anglican Church in Nazareth. We are slowly getting involved in different areas of work. The Bishop of Jerusalem - I had to name drop because it’s such an impressive title - has granted me a free ‘Reader’ transfer from the Bath & Wells Diocese to the Jerusalem Diocese. The Jerusalem Diocese covers a large area that includes Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon – an interesting assortment of locations. I have started assisting Father Zahi, carrying the cross and serving communion, reading the prayer book in Arabic is taking time because it is in classical and not colloquial Arabic – that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Peter

Walls

Israel is very much the ‘land of walls’, but we found an alternative in Safed, a small town in the Galilean hills. Because of the complicated history in this part of the world, the town of Safed, like many places in Israel, has alternative names: Zefat, Tsfat, Zfat, Safad, Safes, Safet, Tzfat, etc. During the British mandate there was conflict between the Jewish and Arab communities. Safed is built on the side of a steep hill and so the British built steps to keep the communities apart. The steps are about 5 metres wide and were presumably policed – not as depressing and disruptive as a wall. Unfortunately peace was never established between the two communities. After the 1948 war Safed became completely Jewish, with the steps acting as a reminder of its previous neighbours. P

Questions

Over the weekend we watched ‘The Power of One’, a thought provoking film about life in South Africa at the beginning of the last century. One of the main characters, ‘Doc’, explained to his pupil that the answers to many questions could be found in nature. Like us, one of Doc’s hobbies was growing cacti, the climate in South Africa is obviously similar to that in Israel. Whilst thinking about Doc’s advice I remembered the most common question we are asked: Why have you left the UK to live in Nazareth? The question is asked because it is more common for people in our community to migrate in the opposite direction. I later noticed that one of our cacti was flowering, and because of this rare event (the flowers only last for a day or two) I took a photograph. When I saw the result of the photograph it gave the appearance of light coming from the inside of the flower, it was not, it was reflecting the sun. P

Visa

We have recently been living week to week as we waited for our visa paperwork to be processed. We have finally been granted a 6 month visa until February 2010, this is only renewable once and then its back to reapplying! We have to submit an application if we want to leave the country, so we will be holidaying in Is - not that we're complaining - we haven't seen much of the country because it's been too hot and there is plenty of variety and winter sun.

We're now thankfully in a position where we can plan ahead, start some projects, and strengthen the relationships we have already started. We can also justify a few 'luxuries' at home, such as a set of dishes. P

40 steps

Our journey to church through the streets of Nazareth is a time of reflection on the history of this sprawling town of 100,000 people. Christ Church was built upon the initiative of English sailors and was completed in 1871. A few years before the foundation of the church, CMS established Christ School, which is the church school. We have been helping in the church during the summer and hope to start helping in the school next term.

After our journey of reflection we enter the church in desperate need of one of the electric fans - not because of our meandering journey through the maze of narrow Nazareth streets, but because of the 40 steps (3 flights) that lead to the church (a very scriptural architect). The Church Council is considering a lift to help people gain access to the church, because the steps prevent a lot of people from attending - but not us hardy fell walkers! We've learnt that we need to save some rations for the last push up to the entrance of the church otherwise we miss the first hymn. P

Artery Forceps

Most of my work is administration, church meetings & services. But an important part is helping with maintenance and gardening in the hospital. This week I have been gardening - I am learning about pruning palm trees and I have planted my first cactus in an area that was covered in weeds until the 'Devon Demolisher' arrived - weeds quiver and die rather than come face to face with the terminator. My gardening skills were also tested when I had to clear the weeds from the potted cactus plants that surround our home, but with all those spikes how do you get close enough to remove the weeds. I searched the drawers in our home, that are overflowing with random things left behind by years of volunteers, and found some rather big tweezers, which I have since been informed are artery forceps. In skillful hands they make great gardening tools for intricate cactus operations. P

Pizzas

Yesterday we devoured 8 pizzas – with the help of some guests. After trawling all the local shops we finally found a shop that sold frozen pizzas, the shopkeeper was bemused by our spending habits, I don’t think he sells that many frozen pizzas in a year – if it hasn’t got rice, humus or gherkins then it is not considered a meal over here. We are starting to utilise our patio for hospitality, its big advantage is the natural shade of a huge tree just outside our front door. We had 11 guests from the UK for lunch , some of them are helping at summer camps for children and another team are working with the woman’s group at our church. Later in the afternoon we welcomed three medical students who have just arrived from Scotland. They are here for their doctors elective (what does that mean?); they had been travelling for a few hours and were ready to demolish the leftover pizzas. P

Speaking in other tongues!

This week it was a delight to lead the women’s bible study, ostensibly in English with ever increasing smatterings of Arabic. The study was with women from our local Anglican congregation. The passage was from Luke 18 - the persistent widow and the miserable judge. The judge having had his ear ‘bent’ by the widow so many times he relented and gave her justice. The parable is of course pointing us towards a caring benevolent God who never gets bored with our prayer repetitions and encourages us to be relentless in prayer. The ladies were as ever, patient and gracious with my deficiencies. With relative success, I tried to enable them to discuss and ponder, rather than assume that the British Lady had all the answers! J

A new crockery set

In need of a new crockery set - apparently not.

Our recent experience of living in 'volunteers' apartments is that nothing ever matches, sheets/pillowcases, chairs or crockery. I am sure that over the years generous people donate to the volunteers rather than throw things out, and then volunteers feel that they shouldn't be seen to throw things out because they have been so generously donated. We're definitely not going to throw out our trendy collection of dishes. We have a 'set' of 9 different dishes, which I have been reliably informed by some friends in the UK, is the 'in' thing at the moment, namely non-matching crockery. Is this the truth or were they just trying to make us feel better about our non-matching crockery, towels, random wall-pictures and our one and a half bedroom curtain/s. P

What's your albedo rating?

From the style of the last blog you have probably guessed that it was written by J. I am quite looking forward to moving into her new home because in my home there is a need for a few improvements. The location, space and basic furniture are more than we expected BUT:

The hospital toilet paper seems to have been accidentally switched with the carpenter's sandpaper.

There is plenty of hot water from the solar panels, but the pool of water that springs from the shower tray and covers the floor causes problems when trying to dry your feet .

Oh and Jane forgot to mention that we live in an oven. We expected to find the temperature in the summer to be very hot (currently 90 F) but our home continued to get hotter even during the night. I inspected our flat roof to find that it was covered in black asphalt, an albedo rating of 0.1 (solar reflectance for the unscientific). It absorbed the heat from the sun during the day and then gently baked us throughout the night. I acquired some white 'plastic' paint and set to work to increase our albedo rating to 0.7 - although I'm not sure what colour to paint it in the winter. P

Our House!

Our new house is slowly becoming a home, it's a cross between a 1960’s Butlins holiday chalet and an Argentinean hacienda! We live in the extension to the original house which was build at the time of the Ottoman Empire. The garden is mainly paved with its own cactus garden. There are many cypress and olive trees which offer welcome shade. The bird life is incredible! When we sit out on a cool evening sipping mint tea (shay na na ) we watch kites ducking and diving, catching food for their chicks across the way. A blue humming bird hovers around the honeysuckle, and is accompanied by a green wood pecker and numerous blue jays. It is a indeed a tranquil and peaceful place, away from the hustle and bustle of the main streets of Naz. A little sanctuary, for which we are grateful. J

Concrete weights

One the advantages of moving into a volunteers home is that you find the remains of many, many years of 'stuff' left behind. As people move on they invariably leave things behind that they can't fit into their suitcases. Most of the things are useful, but there are also many strange things that you find in the back of cupboards, such as home-made dumb-bell weights (the Arnold Schwarzenegger kind). There must have been a keep-fit fanatic living in our new home who was a resourceful DIY enthusiast - each the weight is made out of two pieces of an 8" black plastic drainage pipe that have been filled with concrete and a metal bar put between them. Jane is finding that they are a bit too light for her exercise regime - she was so excited to find them, but then disappointed that they were not heavier, although Peter is getting good use out of them! Only a few more cupboards and sheds to explore - who knows what may appear next? P

The Crossing

After a 7 hour journey we crossed the river J and arrived in Naz, Is. We haven't got jet-lag, just heat exhaustion (43C at the border control). We have settled into our new apartment - for our British readers it is a semi-detached bungalow, which probably creates the wrong impression. It is far better than we imagined, but still in need of some modernising, which we will start once our long-term visas are confirmed. The modernising may include a TV and more importantly the internet. We have become very reliant on emails, skype and blogs so in the mean time we will devise ways to make contact with you all. The big bonus is that although our new home is in hospital grounds it is secluded with garden/paved areas on the side, back and front - most of the plants are cacti and vines. P

Desert Island Discs

It's a bit like Desert Island Discs - which book to take on an 8 hour bus ride (the discs are no problem thanks to my computer and MP3). I have passed on my airport books bought at Heathrow 4 months ago, including 'The Economic Naturalist'. It is an interesting book that answers questions like - 'Why is milk sold in rectangular containers while soft drinks are sold in cylindrical ones?'. We don't have any space in our suitcases and rucksacks so books are a luxury item, especially when they cost twice the price as in the UK. We are getting used to packing our cases, as this is the ninth time in 18 months, but crossing borders does present certain challenges.

There may be a delay in our next blog, but we will update it as soon as possible after we arrive. P

Cousins

Learning Arabic continues to be interesting and challenging. One problem is that spoken Arabic is different to written Arabic, the written Arabic is 'classical' - this is also used on TV/radio programmes. Another interesting topic is the various words used for family members - life would be so much simpler if I was a single child born to parents who were also single children. Not wishing to bore you, but the words for cousins are a good example. In English a child of your parent's sibling is simply called a cousin - not so simple in Arabic. Firstly the words for your father's siblings (uncle, auntie) are different to your mother's siblings; then the children of you uncle/auntie are identified by their parent and their sex. Sooooo the word for my mother's sister's daughter is different from my mother's sister's son or my father's sister's daughter. For the mathematicians there are eight words for the equivalent English word 'cousin'.

We are starting to say our good-byes, sorting out our apartment and packing our suitcases. There will hopefully be another blog before we travel to Is/Pal. Thanks for reading. P

Not right or wrong - just different

The primary reason for spending the last few weeks in Jordan has been to start learning Arabic, but there is another motive. To be effective in our new work a clear understanding of culture and customs are needed. This can be anything from how to greet people - especially those of the opposite sex - to learning to do things in a Middle Eastern way and not in a 'Western' way.
I recently had to post a book so I took my package to the Post Office (2 miles away) only to be told that the package has to be unsealed so that they can check the contents. The next day I returned with my new package (with some tape on a corner which had started to rip) only to be told that no tape is allowed on a package. The following day I learnt that you had to write the return address on the package (I'm having enough trouble learning Arabic without bothering about Post Codes). The next day I was satisfied that everything was fine - you guessed it - if I wanted my package to go by ordinary post ($5) it had to be fastened by a folding metal clip, a sealed package could only be sent by registered post ($20). OK so where can I get a metal clip? Apparently the only stationers that sells them is 'Downtown', I know because I checked all the local ones; have you ever tried to buy something in a foreign language when you don't know what its called in English? Today I successfully posted my book. You may ask why the postal procedures were not explained on my first visit, well that is only relevant if you've got something better to do, queueing is a way of life here. P

Azraq

On Sunday we got up at 4.00am to go to Mount Nebo (where Moses looked across to the 'Promised Land') for a sun-rise Easter service (all the churches in Jordan use date of the Orthodox Easter). This was the start of a few days break from our Arabic studies.

We wanted to escape from our fellow 2 million Ammanians and decided to venture east into the desert. We took the road to Iraq and Saudi Arabia but decided to stop at Azraq a few miles before the border. Azraq is Arabic for blue, and it got its name because of the oasis that is there - unfortunately many of the springs have been drained to supply water for Amman, which has had a huge effect on the wildlife. It was an important place for migrating birds from Africa, Asia and Europe. The RSCN (Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature) has adopted the area as one of its projects in Jordan and is attempting to replenish the oasis and reintroduce the birds and animals. We stayed in a lodge owned by the RSCN - it is a former British Field Hospital in the middle of the Jordanian desert. I've decided that desert life is not for me, it was dusty, hot and dry - every 2 hours during the night I woke because I had to drink some water. But it was an unique place to celebrate our wedding anniversary - no family or friends just a cactus. P

Arabic/English

Arabic lessons continue to cause amusement to our teacher and others that we meet. Our reply to the question, "Are you a Christian?" was, "No I am not from Egypt, I am from Britain" (the word for Christian and Egyptian are similar). But we are not alone with problems with language - we found a few mistakes with a set of English alphabet cards for children: 'Kamel' & 'Appel'.
We are just approaching Easter (all churches in Jordan celebrate the Orthodox Easter) and we will be going to an Easter sun-rise service on Mount Nebo.
After Easter we have a short break from Arabic lessons so we are visiting Azraq - an unique wetland nature reserve in the middle of the desert, but where over recent years the unquenchable thirst of urbanization has drained the once fabled watering stop for travellers (the wonders of 'cut & paste'). So the next blog will probably have an environmental message. Happy late Easter! P

Fame

Have you ever tried to search your name on Google? It's a test to see how famous you really are - a search for 'Peter Nott' results in 1,310,000 hits. But try my new occupation of 'pavementologist' and you get only 10 hits - 4 of which relates to me. The wonders of the Internet has meant that we can read newspapers thousands of miles away from the UK. It has also allowed us to search Google for our friend, Bex Morton, who has just had her first article printed in a national newspaper. Sorry Bex, but a search for 'Bex Morton Observer' produces 2,000 hits, a long way from true fame as a 'pavementologist'.
I have recently become aware just how quickly one can become part of the community. There are over 16,000 taxis in Amman. Yesterday I was struggling to get taxi, when I noticed one that was travelling in the opposite direction turn around and come back to pick me up - he recognised me (I must have given him a generous tip the last time I rode with him) he even remembered where I lived. This is one advantage of standing out in the crowd - was it because he knew that I am one of only a few 'pavementologists' in the world OR perhaps because I am the only person in Amman with ginger (red) hair, beard and glasses? P

Pavementologist

You may have wondered why Jane is not keen to go jogging - well there is the cultural problem of running the streets in shorts and a crop-top, there are no parks or open spaces and the pavements (side-walks) are not conducive to running - even walking on them is not an easy option. I have just completed an in-depth study of the pedestrian situation for my qualification as a pavementologist and my conclusion is that Jordanians do not like sloping pavements and have many different tastes in paving surfaces. Each property owner is responsible for the pavement outside their property which means that the surfaces vary, unless neighbours have clubbed together for a new pavement. Property owners, especially shop-keepers, like to have a level pavement outside their homes/shops, which means that every few yards there are step/s. And finally when a premise is derelict or there is an empty plot the pavement is neglected. I have completed many folders of photographs throughout my studies which I will gladly share with you, here is a taster. Please feel free to copy them if you would like to add them to your own collection of pavement photographs or you can use one as a screen-saver. P

Skipping on the Roof!

Whilst we are living in foreign climes we try to do regular exercise! This takes the form of spiritual but also the physical aerobic type. Peter takes the easy way out and attends a local Gym. Jane has decided to be more creative and do this from home. Living in a m culture we are trying to be sensitive to those around us. Some people from the West take to jogging in the streets. This is regarded as very strange and alien by the locals, so needs to be avoided if one wants to integrate. Jane has found 2 helpful options 1: is running up and down the six flights of stairs. This is exhausting but as everyone else uses the lift, no one actually sees her bright red face. 2: Skipping on the roof has become another aerobic high. Although the roofs are flat and open here, they are enshrouded in satellite disks and washing lines. So Jane has found a secret space to happily skip away! There is no photographic evidence of this ( and there won't be).
Any other hot tips for spiritual or physical exercise are all very much appreciated. J

'ello 'ello

Do you remember the comedy programme 'ello 'ello, and in particular the undercover British spy who played a French policeman (Officer Crabtree) see this clip if you're not familiar with the programme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DrAp5gzdqc&feature=related - or search 'ello ello officer Crabtree' on youtube. Our Arabic continues to improve (slowly) and we are beginning to engage with shopkeepers and taxi drivers, but our conversation often ends up with the other person giggling - it's amazing how one litter can change the meating of a sentence. Just as in the programme, we probably sound even funnier because we are not aware of our mistakes. The important thing is that we can laugh along with the people with whom we are speaking; especially when they then try out their English with us, like the person who asked us if we liked the vegetable sponge - what he actually meant was spinach. P

Tricky Signs and Sounds!

To date we have been learning Arabic for almost six weeks. It is beautiful language with many greetings that must be learnt before engaging in social chit chat. It is language that really values people and relationships. One of the most difficult sounds is the 'ayn' sound, which is non existent in the English. To make this sound you have to constrict and relax the throat muscles. It has been described as the noise of someone being strangled!

Sometimes we feel like children learning our basic ABC; even reading the road signs can take a long time! We are grateful for the people who help and support us. We are also glad that we can provide amusement for the local population. Jane is now used to taxi drivers breaking into peals of laughter when she gives them directions in Arabic. Anyway the good thing is its coming 'slow but sure' as we say in the UK. J

Roman Theatre

Amman has two main attractions: the Citadel (Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remains) and the Roman Theatre. The theatre is great value for money - £1, which includes two museums. As we approached the site we had to get across a busy dual-carriageway that has no crossing facility, everybody apparently arrives by coach. We thought that the obvious place to start was the Tourist Information kiosk, only to find that they had just one small leaflet/map for the whole of Amman - be grateful for small things. The theatre was striking as it is in downtown Amman; it has 33 rows, and as you can see the terracing is very steep because it is built into the hill; it can accommodate 6,000 people and it is still used today for concerts - amazing what information you can pack into one small leaflet. We were considering visiting the Citadel this weekend but winter has arrived, thunder storms, hail-stones and snow is forcast. Keep warm wherever you are. P (another panoramic photo - three photos merged into one, Jane is in the top left corner - click on it to enlarge)

A room with a view

We have settled into our flat (apartment), it is very comfortable and has everything that you would expect in a home that has been lived in for 6 years. It is in a great part of town with good cafes, book shops and of course the language school. Having lived in a similar location last year we knew what to expect, but Amman is even more crowded and compact. There is virtually no open spaces in our area of town.
I have recently noticed that I have a 'panoramic' software package on the computer and so I have been playing with it - it merges photos to make a panoramic photograph - which you would expect. This is a photo from at the rear of our apartment. We have a little balcony, no room to even put a chair - it is designed to be a drying area for washing - if you look closely you can see the washing lines and how the picture has not quite merged them, you can also see both ends of the balcony on the sides. More scenic photos to follow! P

On guard!

We recently visited Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, although it was on this side of the Jordan for us - see John 1:28 - it was where John the Baptist was baptizing. We were invited to go to the annual diocese service at Bethany, which was attended by about 500 adults, teenagers and children. I didn't understand a word of the service but just being there was enough. We sat in simple wood terraced seats, which meant that everybody had a clear view of the Bishop and Priests as they led the communion service. They had their backs to the River Jordan (the brown background in the photo), which was just a yard behind them. The communion was distributed with Jordanian soldiers guarding the River Jordan, which is the Israel/Jordan border. I don't know what the soldier thought about the priests dipping olive branches in the river and flicking the water at everybody - is there a theological term for this apart from getting 'soaked'? P

Where do you live?

Where do you live? That is a difficult question when you live in the Mid East. The authorities are giving names to the streets and in some cases there are numbers, but not everybody is familiar with them, because it is not the way you describe where you live. Even the taxi drivers are not always aware of the street names. When you eventually describe where you live the next problem is getting access to the apartments - the 'buzzer' system works, but which button? We're the third up on the right, and being very western we have now put our name next to the buzzer, and by our door bell - we are now awaiting our visitors! P

Keeping on our fleeces

We have arrived safely in JD and we are settling into our apartment. It is very comfortable, but will be even better in the spring because it is currently freezing. The homes are built for the long summer and not the cold months of January and February. The floors are tiled, there is no heating, apart from a gaz-bottle fire which is wheeled around, and just to add to the suffering we are north facing, great in the summer but no warmth from the sun in the winter - we go outside to warm up!
We have mains water for one day a week during which our storage tank refills, this is then our water for the rest of the week, the only problem is that there is no way to see how much water is left. We are getting tips on water conservation such as collecting the water from the shower before it warms up and using dish-washing water to flush the loo.
We are using a computer in the local library because we do not have an internet connection at home so communication will not be on a daily basis and definately not on Fridays and Saturdays when it is closed. But we do have a telephone in our apartment, if you would like the number please contact us, there is a company in the UK that connects you for 1p a minute. P

Temporary lapse in blogs

The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy, visiting family, friends and churches - we have visited five churches over Christmas and New Year including Bath Abbey, which had the prize for the largest screen. We're off on our travels again on Tuesday, flying to A in JD, where we will be learning Arabic for 4 months, it could be a long spring! As soon as we get connected to the internet we will post a blog. P

That warm cosy feeling!

Blazing wood burners, large hot steaming mugs of coffee, German neujahrskuchen ( new year cake), friends and family; all good ingredients to propel us to a the new year.

At this time of year we are grateful for all our friends and family who love us and support us. As we are very nearly coming up to the time for leaving the country again, these relationships become all the more precious. Time with each person is like a gift to be grasped and appreciated in the moment and then remembered with affection and fondness over time. We are grateful to God for each one of you. J