We’re not in Kansas anymore…

8 of 10 on the first day!

The first week of school was a bit of a blur. The kids are great, Rob’s classes are amazing, the students are engaged (though for me, they’re 2nd graders, so they’re only engaged for about 10 minutes at a time), and the schedule is doable. Thank God it’s over! We both hate the first week—filler activities, pre-assessments, forgetting names, missing yard duties, and everything that comes with first week jitters. But anyway it’s behind us and we ALL made it!

The weekend was great. Friday night, we ditched out on the First Friday party to celebrate Rob’s birthday at a Dutch restaurant at the Supermal (yes, it should be spelled with 2 “ll’s”, but it’s not!). On our walk home we were nearly scared out of our shorts as we noticed the leaves on the grass moving. After stopping and trying to figure things out, we noticed that the leaves were actually toads out for their evening meal. This motivated the kids to come home and watch “The Princess and the Frog” before bedtime. The frogs have become a great incentive tool as we persuade the kids to walk back up the hill to the Supermal to shop.

Saturday was spent as most Saturdays are spent—errands. We’ve decided, though, that errands are REALLY difficult when: your mobile phones aren’t charged and don’t have credit, you don’t have a car, and you don’t speak Bahasa Indonesian (the local language). First, the phones. Urgh. We bought pay-as-you-go cards because the money is supposed to last a long time and they are really easy to find. Unfortunately, we had been receiving the occasional text messages in Bahasa. No biggie. Except… we must have inadvertently responded to one and now we’ve been bombarded with text messages that has depleted our credit.

250,000 Rp. = $25

Second, we don’t have a car, a driver, or a driver’s license. This is not a big deal except it has limited our range of travel and exploration to the areas we can get to on foot or places that we already know. The first time I got in a car, I hadn’t figured out the exchange rate yet so when the driver told us that we owed him 15,000 Rp. I nearly flipped my lid. But then I realized that it was only about $1.50 and that was after a 10 minute drive. Not bad.

But there’s another problem about not having a car—we end up schlepping a lot of stuff around! After a wonderfully exciting 5 hours at the Supermal, Rob and I decided to reward the kids with the things they had been asking for since Grandma and Grandpa left—bean bags! OK, fine, we can handle bean bags. At the “Bean Bag” store, we noticed that the small, cute, soft and cuddly bean bags were like 1,300,000 Rp. Yes, I said 1 MILLION, 3 HUNDRED THOUSAND Rupiah (though that’s only about $130.00) and the gigantic, easy-to-wash, and not-so-cute bean bags were only 700,000 ($70.00). So, we got 2 mammoth, colossal, and I mean freakin’ HUGE bean bags. At the register, it occurred to Rob and I that they would never fit in a taxi. So, we decided to hoof-it home! Yup, through the packed Supermal, the crazy gringos slogged their big ass “Santa” bean bags. Through the mall, and the traffic, passed the frogs (that we NEEDED to watch), passed the laughing guards who protect our complex, and into our home. We need a car!

The third rather big challenge here is we don’t speak Bahasa Indonesian. All we can say is “thank you” and between the four of us, can probably count to 5. This is OK as we’ve done a great job getting around with broken English, charades, and a lot of business cards. We’ve been able to order dinner, price out a new car, buy a couch, and grocery shop all without knowing more than the cordial Indonesian head bow and “thank you.”

Our lack of Bahasa came to a head after a rather exciting day at school on Monday. Let me detour here for a minute and tell you about the crazy day we had. Tuesday is Indonesian Independence Day and the way the school celebrates is by getting the local and expat staff together in the gym for the “Merdeka” games. “Merdeka” is the Bahasa word for freedom so it’s a great way to commemorate their freedom from the Dutch. In any case, the gym is packed with people all decked out in their red and white clothes to play silly games like: balance the rice basket on your head, tug-of-war, and cross-dressing soccer. It was a hoot to watch and next year we’ll be prepared with tennis shoes and gym shorts. At the end of the event, winners are given huge bags of food and everyone walks away with a goody bag—an SIS tote bag with a traditional Ramadhan dinner. Awesome. But the kids had no idea we’d be going to the “Merdeka” games. I had forgotten about the games when I had promised the kids a trip to the pool. Oops. So, to make up for my tactical error, Rob and I decided to take them to McDonald’s for dinner.

Bubur Ayam Soup?

We need to learn Bahasa. Except for the things we ordered by picture: Xavier and my cheeseburgers, Anouk’s spaghetti, and Rob’s Big Mac, we had no idea what we were getting. The ketchup is substituted with chili sauce, most meals are offered without French fries but with rice, noodle soup and fried chicken drumsticks are on the value meal, and napkins are a commodity. It was definitely a night to remember. Our Indonesian cultural experience ended with a long walk home past the frogs as we counted the bats we saw flying overhead. We read our Indonesian fairytales for kids and called it a night.

The way Google celebrated the day

Happy Independence Day Indonesia! It’s been quite a ride already.

FYI—we are all a “Twitter” as our mobile twitter account is all hooked up. You can follow us on a more regular basis by logging on—http://twitter.com/teach4Travel.

The Eagle Has Landed

Entrance of the school

It's just after 4 am and I can hear the faint chant of a nearby mosque from my bedroom. Excitement and sadness is welling up inside me because today my parents leave and I get to meet my students for the first time. It’s orientation day for students at Surabaya International School so my kids are stoked that they get to meet their new teachers and see their classrooms. But today is bittersweet because our amazing support is outta here! Grandma and Grandpa have been awesome as we hit the ground running here in Surabaya. From day 1, Rob and I have participated in loads of shopping sprees, orientation (read: networking) meetings, and lavish lunches in gorgeous, historic hotels or enchanting garden settings and we haven’t worried about the kids once!

Front of the house

WOW! This was the first word uttered from my mouth when we arrived and I think I've repeated it about 1,000 times since we've been here. We have arrived in an amazing world full of green, beauty, buzz, energy, and excitement. It's a city of contrasts, big skyscrapers and 50-floor apartment buildings interspersed with intimate canals and bustling neighborhoods. The landscape reminds us of Kenya everywhere we turn.

Welcome flowers

The dining and living area

The day we arrived was an oddity. A downpour hit Surabaya, the likes of which haven’t been seen in over 50 years. Though we’re on the southern hemisphere and it is winter season, it doesn’t typically rain in the winter, so the rain caused all sorts of havoc (read: traffic). When we finally pulled up to our house we realized that the pictures we had been sent didn’t really tell the whole story. The house is gigantic. The entry way (which was decorated with a gorgeous flower arrangement), living room, and dining room area (which meld together into a great room of sorts) are about the size of our Kuwait apartment…and we haven’t even gotten to the rest of the joint. There is a spacious spare bedroom/office downstairs, an arched staircase that leads upstairs to a landing that will serve as the kids play area and TV room. From there, stem our three bedrooms. Xavier has the smallest of the three rooms but he opted for that one because he wanted a Queen-size bed. Anouk picked a slightly bigger bedroom with a balcony that overlooks the back garden, while Rob and I moved ourselves into our gigantic Master bedroom with en suite. Our balcony overlooks the front garden and, on a clear day, to the volcanoes in the distance. The biggest problem with the house is the size—the ceilings are so high, the rooms are so big, and everything is so lavish that it makes all the furniture look puny. Xavier and Anouk LOVE their new house and are thrilled with their bedrooms. They think we live in a castle.

The Koi pond

The front sign

Day 2 brought the family (not just Rob and I) to school. The kids walked into the foyer of the school, clad in antique Indonesian furniture, art, and fresh flowers from the school’s gardens with gaping mouths. They both sort of squealed with excitement especially when they walked out to the hallway and stopped at the koi pond to get a view of the school’s local pets. A few strides past the pond, they were outside playing on the swings and slides and really enjoying their new playground. The kids are THRILLED with their new school. And as parents, Rob and I couldn’t be happier. The classrooms are nearly twice the size of our rooms in Kuwait and for me… I will only have 10 students. I have cabinets stacked with books and the storage room (between both classrooms contains everything our heart could desire, plus an entire guided reading room just for grade 2). It’s an amazing contrast that excites me both personally and professionally! And then there was the library!!! Who doesn't love an amazing library? The kids took a tour of the library with grandma and were amazed at how many books they can read. It is surely a sight to be seen!

A view of 1/2 the library

Life is good for us here! But it became even better on Sunday after an enchanting brunch at the Shangri-La hotel. My new Principal, Robbie, and his son Harry James, took our family on a brief tour of the Pakuwon Golf Club just minutes from our house. After a brief look around, it was a no-duh that we needed to become members, so we signed up! (For those of you who visited the Corniche with us in Kuwait…it puts that place to shame!) Monday found Rob and I at school trying to get things ready for the year but found the kids at the pool with my parents (and their new pal, Harry James) for nearly 8 hours. By the time we arrived home that afternoon, the kids were three shades darker than we left them that morning and they were zombie-like in front of the TV. So… the grown-ups left the kids with Noryeti, the house lady the school hired to start off our time here, and we went to a wonderful dinner in the clouds (literally). At 6 pm, we arrived at a rooftop restaurant with glass walls and no ceiling. The cool, evening breeze washed over us as we ordered up a few beers and glasses of wine. As we raised our glass to toast, our Superintendent, Larry repeated a phrase that we’ve heard about a dozen times since our arrival, “Well, here’s to another hard day in Southeast Asia.”

The Shangri-La Hotel

I apologize for not writing more than this, but we are currently in a house with no internet and when we are at school, with internet, we are more focused on working and preparing for our start on Monday.

Give us a couple weeks to get in the groove and we should be able to send emails, Skype, or talk on the phone. Until then… we hope all is well and if you think I’m exaggerating—my parents will be home by Monday, so you can ask them yourselves!

We are happy and we feel really blessed to start another “hard” day in Southeast Asia!

Ready to go swimming?

Our kids are experienced travelers. They have racked up something like 100,000 miles in their short little lives, but every once in a while, jet lag REALLY affects them! The day we arrived in California (after a lovely 3-week jaunt to Belgium), we came into a typically frenetic Fagundes home. Within minutes of walking in the door, our little foursome was greeted by a table full of people and food. It was good to be home! By the time mid-afternoon approached, the number of visitors totaled 8 and we were just getting started. Unfortunately, our bodies were starting to feel the strain of 15-hours of travel. So... Uncle Dommie, Auntie Anna, and the beautiful Baby Katya decided to take Xavier and Anouk for a little excursion to the pool. The video that follows (or use this link) is the comedic banter between Uncle Dommie and two TIRED babies!

Summer Starts in Belgium

Listening to Shakira's song, "It's Time for Africa" still brings a tear to my eye. The sounds of the drums, the Swahili, and the echos of Africa race through me and make my heart beat a bit quicker. I remember the night I left Kenya--I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. Leaving Kuwait was not the same. Rob and I pumped fists and giggled like kids as the wheels lifted from the tarmac-- "It's OVER!" I thought to myself with great satisfaction. Though we made a few great friends... Kuwait was just not the place for us and, great friends or not, it would NEVER be our home.

That chapter of our lives behind us, we move on to our brief but exciting summer. Starting in a chilly Belgium, we have been wearing smiles nonstop. The kids spent the first week bundled up in sweaters and hats while helping their Bomma and Bompa tend to the garden. The fresh lettuce, potatoes, carrots, scallions, and peas have filled our bellies and our brains as the kids have learned SO much about farming. Who woulda thought my "city" kids would be interested in digging for potatoes. And that my baby girl, to be precise, would yank up her skirt and get her hands dirty amongst the worms and the bugs!

While the kids have spent a lot of time with their Bomma and Bompa, Rob and I have spent a lot of quality (read: alone) time walking to downtown Geel, enjoying beers and mojitos at the market square, and window shopping in preparation for the July 1st sales! What a luxury teacher summers can be!

A brief holiday to Disney Paris, dinners with friends, and celebrations of 40th wedding anniversaries behind us... it's time to move on. We leave Belgium for the good 'ole USA in time for an overload of Americana on July 4th.

So far, so good! Summer is the peaceful reprieve we've needed! Our souls are uplifted and we're ready for our next adventure.

Our new digs

Day 2 of my school week has been hot, humid, and without water. I forgot my water bottle 2 days in a row. With another blasted headache I thought today would be ruined for sure. But... during lunch, I closed my door and went online to check out my email account at my new school. And miraculously... my headache disappeared. Yup, like magic. Poof. Gone! 3 emails from our new Superintendent were better than Excedrin Migraine. Pictures of our new house in Surabaya wiped away any issues I was having. It looks as if we'll have more than enough space for visitors. Hope to see you there!

Paying It Forward

Now that the dust has settled (both literally and figuratively), I have time to sit back and reflect on the events of the last month...

The morning of January 14th was a cold, gloomy one in Kuwait. I had woken up about 3 am to the sounds of construction across the street. I made myself a cup of coffee and was mesmerized by coverage of the earthquake in Haiti that occurred just two days before. As I sat and watched the stories, I was shocked at myself. Even though we just finished a unit on the Earth and the rock cycle, I hadn't brought the current event into my classroom. But today, would be different. As I continued to listen to the TV with one ear, I scoured student-friendly websites for a child-centered article about the Haitian earthquake. Thanks to a few student newspapers, I was able to get a few pieces of news for my kids to read.

On this cold, quiet day, my students entered the classroom, a newspaper article on each student's desk and a pointed question on the board... "What can you do to help TODAY?" After reading the articles, my kids opened up their writing journals and reflected on the question. By 8:30 that morning journal entries were written, read, discussed, and my kids had begun a fundraising campaign. Some groups were working on posters, others were creating informational handouts for families, some were reworking our classroom website to share information and include Haiti-donation links, while others made money collection bins.

As the lunch bell rang at 12:30, my first group were grabbing their money collection bins and making their way to the canteen to collect money for the Haitian victims. At their evening play, my kids were on a collection crusade and pressured everyone to open up their wallet and give! By the end of day 1, my students had collected over 125 KD (just over $430). It was surreal.

As the next week arrived, I wondered how the families at our school would take to donating. I had heard that a lot of Kuwaiti corporations would not donate because the beneficiaries were not Muslim. I hoped that this would not be the case. And it certainly was not! The money came pouring in. From parents, coming by our classroom with 20 KD notes ($70), to students offering their lunch money, from envelopes full of $100 bills, to little tikes who offered everything in their "piggy" bank. The generosity was amazing!

By the end of our 2-week collection, my students had motivated the school to action and collected over 3330 KD ($11,500). The Elementary students had collected over 1600 KD, asked the ownership to donate and were greeted with a 1000 KD contribution, and the Middle school and High School students raised the balance. My students were amazed at how much they could raise, but didn't understand the significance until they were given the opportunity to pass the money on to the Red Crescent.

On Tuesday, February 19th, Mr. Mohammed, the International Relations Officer for the Kuwait Red Crescent came to our classroom to collect our generous donation. With my Principal, the school owner, other teachers, and media representatives in toe, my students listened as Mr. Mohammed educated them about the Red Crescent. The students were true inquirers as they asked questions about when and how the money would make it to Haiti, what other good things the Red Crescent has done, and how else they could help. At the end of the presentation, the kids and I had an open-discussion about the days events. My students were shocked that the event was attended by the owner of the school AND the media. But what they were most impressed about was how proud the adults were. One of my students said, "Ms. Angela, all we did was raise some money. Why are all of you [grown-ups] so impressed?" I didn't have a chance to answer. One of my boys, Philo, chimed in. He said that it wasn't just the grown-ups that were proud of us. But he was proud of us. He said that earlier in the year we learned about Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King, Jr.--people who saw injustice and who spoke up to defend others. He said to everyone--we are like those people. "We were one small voice, but when we got together, we made change happen."

I truly have an amazing class this year!

to read the full article as it appeared in the newspaper... click here!

And the winner is...

Surabaya, Indonesia.

Surabaya is the capital city of East Java and the 2nd largest city in Indonesia. It is known as the "City of Heroes" because of it's importance during the Indonesian National Revolution from the Netherlands in 1945.

We are really excited about this opportunity for a variety of reasons... here are some of the perks to life in Indonesia:

• Rob will get to work in a 1-1 laptop integration program. (All students in grades 6-12 get a school laptop to use in their wireless school.)
• Angela will get to teach grade 2 or 3.
• Xavier and Anouk will spend 1/2 of their PE classes in the school's Olympic-size swimming pool.
• The school facility is new, modern, and spacious.
• We'll get a house with a garden, grass, and trees (maybe even a house with a pool!).
• The kids can get a dog.
• We'll be a 50 minute flight from Bali.

Surabaya will be a great place for our family. There's a nice work hard, play hard attitude at the school and this is a welcome change for all of us. We will be in a culturally stimulating environment living on one of Indonesia's 17,500 islands. Yes, we'll remain in a Muslim country, but we'll be living in a place that's also been inspired by Indian culture as well as the Buddhist and Hindu religions. We'll have the opportunity to see fabulous new art, culture, landscapes, and animal life: volcanoes, rain forests, orangutans, tigers, and Komodo dragons, just to name a few.

We're considering a Spring Break trip out there to scope, begin our orientation, and help the kids begin our transition. We shall see what the purse strings can swing!

We're very excited and hope you'll come to visit!

What I did at school today

Dear Family,
Today at school was the best day because I got to watch 2 videos called "Moppie and Annie." They are characters to teach kids about the computer. They taught the whole class adding and subtracting. They even teach us about spelling and details. They are computer geniuses. Today at Arabic class, I had a new kid from my class come in and join us. Her name is Jenna. She wasn't in AFL last week. She even was so good at Arabic but she had a very hard time getting stickers like Harry, Renee, Maguire, Pavlo, and me! She is the fastest learner in our class. Every time I come back from Arabic we are always late for recess. At Religion class, me and Maguire got two and three happy faces because we were doing so good that we can earn a GOTCHA pencil. At Religion class we were learning about Japan and we made the information into a very genius book. But now we are learning about Mexico. I had the best lunch ever because I had a turkey sandwich. Today in math we learned about 1/2 and then we matched the 1/2. Ms. Mariam told us to make 1/2 homework for our parents and I did. For inquiry class we studied the community helpers. But we studied about two communities: Africa and Kuwait. After we did inquiry, it was time for closing circle and I always copy Harry, but today, I forgot what he said so I didn't copy him today. When we came outside to go home, Maria was already there to pick us up. Maria brought me 2 chocolate cookies, bananas, and nectarines but don't tell my mama and papa. Anouk had the banana and Harry had the nectarine. I just ate my cookie. We like to share our snack.
Love,

Xavier

I went to school today and I played. I played with puppets in Ms. Maha's classroom when I was done with my work. I traced only a helicopter picture during art. And trees. Then, I said, "Good Morning Moo" and then we did calendar. Moo is a stuffed animal doneky that lives in our classroom. Moo is fun because he has eyes and special ears that bend. After we did the calendar, we did groups. I am in the green group and I started with my tire. Ms. Eva (my teacher) told me to draw a tire because she told us to. Then we had lunch and a cucumber sandwich. It was the best sandwich ever. After I ate my sandwich and the cupcake that Maria made me. It was full of bananas and apples. It was yummy. Then our class did "I Wonder." That means we ask questions about things that move. I asked the question about a buggy. My teacher said that a buggy goes from place to place. And then we did center time. I played in the music center. I put on headphones and I listened to music. I heard the song, "It Must be Santa." Then there was Arabic class with Ms. Nina. I am on the letter that makes the "h" sound like "Hamad." After Arabic I had recess and I played with my friends, Sheka and Leia. We played monsters and it was fun, not scary. Then we read a story. After the story we went home. After school I was playing on the playground a big boy hit me on the head. Maria told him to "STOP!!!!" She said, "Don't climb on the roof of the house or I'll tell Mrs. Angela." And then the boy went to the big playground. We played with Harry after school. He's in Xavier's class. Harry will come over to our house on Tuesday. The End.

Love,
Anouk

Interview Jitters

Nobody likes an interview. It's not a skill we practice very often. Actually, it's only really a skill that we use when we're in need of a new job, so I hypothesize that that is part of the problem with interviews. You're jittery because you want to shine and you need a job! So it's kind of a "no duh" that Rob had this look on his face before we had our initial Skype interview with our first prospect. Once the "phone" rang and we were head-to-head with our interview, I began to think that this whole Skype thing was the way to go. It was cool to come home from work, change your bottoms from tights and skirts to jeans and slippers, and then sit comfortably in the security of your own home to conduct, what could amount to be, one of the biggest changes in your life--a job interview.

Anyway... I don't want to talk too much about it here, this is kind of the public domain and all, but I'll tell you--Rob and I are excited. We are thrilled, not only to have the first interview under our belt, but we are even more ecstatic to know they want to conduct 2nd interviews with us.

Wish us luck. With the Bangkok fair complete, our job pool (we search based on Tech Teacher positions available) leaves us only 11 schools in 8 different countries: Oman, China (Shanghai and Beijing), Israel, Morocco, Indonesia (Bali and Suribaya), Jordan, Qatar, and Vietnam.

Anything sound interesting to you?

Jordan

It's been hard staying positive around here sometimes, so this blog has really fallen to the wayside. But things are changing for us.

Just days before our Christmas Holiday began, Rob and I declined a resigning contract here in Kuwait. It's just not the place for us. It is a weird feeling though. In light of the current financial crisis--Rob and I have quit our jobs. It may not be the smartest thing in the world, but we think it's best for the family. So we'll be going to a job fair in Boston in February. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

In light of all of these changes... what is the best way to not fret about your job loss? Go on a trip and enjoy yourself. So that is just what we did. December 18th, we left Kuwait and made the short trip to the country of Jordan. Here is our diary...

Officially referred to as “The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan”, Jordan was one of those places we were told we HAD to see before leaving the Middle East. With an impending move on the horizon, we decided to experience this majestic land ourselves. Bordered by Saudi Arabia, Syria, Israel, and Iraq, Jordan is a place that historically captivated ancient travelers. Today, Jordan enthralls millions of tourists with its energizing cities, biblical history, mysterious Petra, inexplicable Dead Sea waters, and the ancient beauty of Wadi Rum. This is the story of our fabulous Christmas holiday, 2009.

Starting in the beautiful city of Amman, we were amazed by the contrast of it all. Amman is a beautiful mix of old and new—one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, it is a city of hills between the desert and the Jordan Valley. Our tour began at the Roman Citadel where we came face to face with the Dead Sea Scrolls, climbed through the ruins, and overlooked the modern city of Amman. Most top-quality finds were sold to the highest bidder and are housed in world-famous museums, so the Dead Sea Scrolls we saw at the British Museum this summer were more complete, oh well! It was amazing to watch the kids climb on the unearthed ancient ruins--something not allowed in other parts of the globe.

Focused on tourism, (the American-born) Queen Noor encouraged the restoration of the historic Amman (Philadelphia) amphitheater which you can see from the Citadel. Despite the majestic of it (situated amongst old town-house size homes), we decided not to push the kids to visit it and, instead, we moved on. Jerash was next on our list. The area is considered to be home to the best-preserved Roman ruins in the world dating back more than 6,500 years. The kids were most impressed by the physics of the amphitheater where no microphones are needed. Walking up the steps of the amphitheater was awesome and incredibly frightening because they were so steep. I had fears that the kids would just tumble down, but all of that vanished as we sat peacefully and watched the Arab musicians strum away on their jibras. The jibras sound like a deeper-sounding, smaller-looking version of Scottish bagpipes.

The next day we moved from ancient history to the city of Madaba and Mt. Nebo where we brushed up on our Old Testament knowledge. Mt. Nebo is thought to be the site where Moses was first given the view of the Promised Land. When we got there, Rob and I thought a lot about my Nama and how proud of us she would be. The highest point is marked by a map which shows Bethlehem, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. We continued our biblical tour with a visit to St. George's Greek Orthodox Church where a 6th century Byzantine map of Jerusalem and other holy sites was unearthed. The most amazing part of this history is that it's not protected by anything but a piece of carpet. During services, a piece of carpet is rolled over and people walk all over it. Important ancient discoveries are so common in Jordan that they just become part of life. Raed, our driver, told us that more than 50% of the homes in old Amman (where we were the day before) are built on Roman ruins, so to most people--they are not a big deal.

From Mt. Nebo, we made the long drive to Petra which took us through a vast array of landscapes. From the forests and city of Amman to the limestone mountain ranges of the King's Highway. We stopped briefly at Karak castle which was monumental for the crusaders and the Langlands family. The kids loved running through the soldiers' sleeping chambers, prison cells, stables, and the large kitchen areas. It was hard to leave the fun, but Petra, my dream locale, was calling.

As the long drive through the desert made way to sandstone mountains, I knew that Petra was on the horizon. As we drove higher up the mountain, we arrived at an amazing diamond in the rough. We crept our way into Taybet Zaman Hotel which reminded me of the Olerai House. The hotel is located just outside of Petra in an old 19th century city called Taybet Zaman. The entire complex is built of huge sandstone bricks. This gorgeous locale made me even MORE eager to get to Petra the next morning.

At 4.30 am, the Azan (the first call to prayers) began. But the mountainous terrain of this area made the call even more amazing (read: louder and closer)--the musical prayers came from at least a dozen different mosques and were the most beautiful I have heard yet. Full of excitement, I knew I couldn't go back to sleep--Petra was here! Raed picked us up and drove us about 20 minutes down to the gates of Petra. It was there that we met our guide, Zaid (who, oddly enough, went to university in Santa Cruz and used to live in Emeryville). Trekking into this unique city carved by the Nabataeans showed off how they were influenced by their travels (and thefts) from China, India, Egypt, Syria, Greece, and Rome. We started the hike into Petra with a horseback ride for the kids. Walking through the towering rocks, I was bummed that I had just finished teaching the rock cycle at school. As Rob and I walked to the Treasury with our mouths aghast at the magnitude, the kids were excited to walk in the troughs (once used to control the water flow), climb through caves, and dodge the camels and horses people were paying for transport. By the time we got back to the hotel and crashed, Rob and I looked at each other and equated the experience to that of safari--a mezmorizing and exhausting experience that everyone SHOULD have (besides by just Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade).

The next day, we were off on another fun adventure. Wadi Rum is a magestic site which remains virtually untouched by human hands. Though a few Bedouin tribes still remain, Wadi Rum is the type of desert you envision when you think of the Middle East. T.E. Lawrence called it "vast, echoing, and god-like" and once there, I could totally see why. We went dune bashing through these great expansive dunes, checked out rock drawings by ancient Bedouin tribes, and listened to our voices echo amongst the mountains. Wadi Rum is most famous as it served as the set for "Lawrence of Arabia," I guess now we have to see the movie.

After our dune bashing, we loaded up in Raed's van and made the three hour trek along the coast to the Dead Sea. Being just a stones throw away from Israel was exciting and scary as it forced us to go through numerous checkpoints with guys with big guns. The most interesting part of our drive was when we got to a junction with signs to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel-- we were just 10 minutes from the borders of each of these 3 countries. And despite the tension between Israel and the rest of the Arab world, Israel and Jordan have figured out how to work together when it comes to the runway used by the King Hussein International Airport (Jordan) and Eilat Airport (Israel). For both airports, in (sometimes) enemy countries, they use the exact same runway (since both countries are within spitting distance of each other). Why can't we all just learn to get along like this?

Anyway, after a long, hot drive, we finally arrived at the Dead Sea--Rob's highlight of the trip. We checked into our hotel, dumped our luggage, got dressed in our bathing suits, and walked down to the Dead Sea to take a dip. The water was unlike nothing I've ever experienced. Water from various sources, including the River Jordan, end up in the land-locked Dead Sea which also serves as the lowest place on Earth (even lower than the Grand Canyon). The water leaves an oily residue on your skin while the mineral-rich heavy waters make you float with little effort. Trying to get up from a floating position--now THAT takes effort. We rounded off our trip to the Dead Sea with a lovely pasta dinner at the Marriott Hotel which included--BACON!!! God, I love Jordan!

The next afternoon, we woke up and make the quick 1.5 hour drive back to Amman. We unloaded in our last hotel and got a taxi into the old downtown of Amman. The shopping district was full of life and energy. There was music and laughter, great food on every corner, and shops full of everything one could want. After walking through the steep alleyways and stocking up on a few last minute purchases, we ended up at Hashem Restaurant--Jordan's most famous hole-in-the-wall. For around $10 we ate in a no-frills restaurant that would have scared most people. Stacks of freshly made pita are tossed onto your table when you arrive. Your meal of hummus, falafel, foul, with tomatoes and mint are served without plates and silverware. Despite the look of the joint, the walls are full of pictures of Arabian royalty and international heads of state who all came to eat the most delicious food. It was the first time in 7 days that Anouk didn't complain about her meal and Xavier didn't come up for breath until there was nothing left on the table. Our experience at Hashem was the best way to end our lovely holiday trip to Jordan.

...I wonder if the American Community School in Amman has openings.

check out pictures of our trip...