Back from the Past

Well, I finally made it over to Lebanon. Most other foreigners who have been here more than two or three months have gone to Lebanon. They call Beirut the Pearl of the East, and now I know why. It is much prettier than any of the other countries I have seen in this region, probably because it is on the ocean. Anyway, I had last Thursday off from work because it was Labor day in the Middle East, so I took the opportunity to go. I originally wanted to go through Syria, because it is cheaper than flying, plus it would be neat to at least see Syria. However, going through Syria requires waiting at least six hours at the border to get a Visa, and I didn't feel like I had that kind of time to waste, so I just bought a plane ticket. The plane ride is all of about 40 minutes long from Amman to Beirut...hard to imagine I flew across three countries in that period of time. When I arrived I went and found the hostel which a friend recommended in the old city of Beirut. It was a nice hostel, and only 7$ a night. Right after I hitched a bus down to Saida (aka Sidon) and hung out there for a few hours then hitched another bus down to Soor (aka Tyre) and stayed until dark then caught a minibus back to Beirut. Tyre and Sidon are pretty incredible. The modern cities are built around the ancient ruins of the old cities and they are all right on the ocean front. Here are a couple pictures, but they hardly do it justice.This is in Sidon. The ruined castle was a Crusader castle from around 1100 AD.

This is part of Tyre. This part used to be the island stronghold, which Alexander built a bridge to in order to destroy it. The ruins you see are RomanThis is the Hippodrome in Tyre. It is the largest known Roman hippodrome in the world, almost 500m long.

The next day I want to the American University of Beirut and talked to the Physics department chair about the possibility of working or studying there (AUB is considered the best school in the Middle East) and after he found out my GPA and GRE score and that I graduated from UAF (which he knew of the Physics program there) said that my chances are pretty good. Not that I am going to go to AUB, but it is nice to know that its possible. After that I met up with bro. Abdou Issa, father of Silas Issa. We spent the evening together and had a really good time.
Saturday I met up with a friend who I had met in Jordan during the UN training course who works with an organization for the protection of nature in Lebanon, and we went with a small group of school kids to eastern Lebanon. It is a really pretty area.

Sunday I spent all day with the bro Issa and the church. It was very encouraging to see them and talk to them. I was even able to give a small lesson. After the service Bro Issa found out that I knew a little about music and had me go over to their song leaders house to tell him everything I knew about reading music and about leading music. I don't know a whole lot, but it was much more than he knew, and it seemed to generally help him. Thanks to Dawson, Rebekah, and Heather for teaching me the little that I know. This is me with bro Issa and his wife (on the left) and his sister's family (on the right)

I guess that is all for now. Until the next time. By the way I come back to Alaska the 30th of May...time just goes to fast. I hope you guys have the weather all ready for me :)

Time never slows down

The other day I realized that I only have a month and a half before I fly back to Alaska. I don't know what happened to the last seven months...I feel like I got robbed somehow. Then again the last two years have kind of been a blur. It is hard to believe I lived in Monterey for two months, Chicago for a month, Jerusalem for two months, LaCrosse for two months, and Amman for seven, as well as visited a number of places in the States and a couple places in Europe. That is not to mention all the people I have met and made friends with…yeah, blur is the best way to describe it. But I think I’d have it no other way. There is something exhilarating and refreshing about living life as a nomad of sorts. I feel like it forces one to depend on your faith in God.

I finished the UN training course on Renewable Resources. Overall it was beneficial, although I didn't learn a whole lot of new information on the scientific or technical aspect, but then I didn't really expect to. I did meet quite a few people who are working in the field here in the Middle East, and especially Jordan. One of them said there is a good chance I could get a job when I come back working in Solar Cells. I also got to meet quite a few neat people, some of them who I am sure I’ll stay in touch with here in Jordan. When I came back to the University I had all kinds of work stacked up for me in the lab. Which, in a strange way, makes me feel good because it means I am trusted enough to depended upon. Then a couple days ago the professor I work for officially asked me if I wanted to come back next year and work as a full time research assistant. She said she is happy with my ‘scientific observations’. I had the feeling that if I wanted to stay on as a researcher that I could, but it is good to know that it has officially been offered now.

It is starting to get really warm here. Last weekend it was in the 90's. If this is what spring is like I am not too heartbroken that I won't be here for the summer. The funny thing is that the only ocean nearby is the Dead Sea, which is on average 10 to 15 degrees hotter than Amman. I actually don’t consider it a real sea, cause it has no fish in it.

Well, I guess thats about all I got to say about that…

Here is a picture of the UN group I was with. This is in front of the Rangers building. The Rangers are Jordan’s environmental police, like the EPA, but with no real authority.

Finally, a post...

They seem to just be getting farther and farther apart don't they? Things have going well here for the last month or so. I have been super busy at work in Physics Department. It seems I am still the only proficient at using the "new" microscope, which is over four months old now. We are at a breakthrough stage in one of our research projects (electro-chemical deposition of silicon nanomaterial, in case there is any science nerds reading this), so we have been trying to compile all the results, which means I've been putting in extra hours in the lab trying to get all my samples analyzed and arranged. I am hoping that the article we have written will be published in a science journal (probably in the US or Europe). Having your work published is a huge step in terms of being a researcher, or being taken seriously as a physicist. In short, it looks good on the resume...I really hate saying that, and thinking that way, but the reality is, that is the way the world works. I start my UN training course tomorrow for Renewable Resources, which lasts for one full week. It should be pretty interesting. I am hoping it will develop into some strong future work opportunities.
Things around Jordan are going pretty much as they have for the last six months...I am still trying to figure out what people do in their free time (which they have quite a bit of). The best I can figure out is that they spend the majority of their time socializing, which mostly consists of visiting one of the 500 cousins they have in the area. Since I have no family here I am kinda left out of that aspect of society, so I spend weekends studying or bugging friends to come over or go to the park (which they agree to occasionally). This weekend a group of four of us went to one of the greener areas of Jordan, which also happens to have an ancient ruined church located in the mountains. The church was built around 400AD, and is believed to be located on the mountain Elijah had his showdown with the prophets of Baal. It was a neat trip, but one of my friends had never been hiking before and after 5 hours of crisscrossing hills and valleys thick with brush he got pretty tired and started complaining. The idea of hiking for fun is still strange here in the Middle East...I am working on improving its popularity.
I can't believe I am leaving in less than two months...it is really strange to think about. I think it is gonna be kind of a shock coming back to America. Me and a friend were discussing today how I am going to survive without hummus (which is like my primary food group here). I'm sure I'll re-adjust quickly, but it is strange to think about all the differences there are. I am really looking forward to being able to do some physical labor. My hands haven't been legitmately dirty for a long long time. People here think I'm nuts for missing stuff like that, but I know you fellow Alaskans know exactly what I mean.
Here are a couple of pictures from the trip we took to Tel Mar Elias (also known as Mount Elias, not to be confused with Mount St Elias...it is much smaller and has no snow)

This picture is from the top of the mountain, and is overlooking the West Bank, Israel, and a small portion of Syria.


This is the other three people that went on the hike with us: my friend from the states, my roommate, and a Jordanian friend from the University

Getting Better

Every time that I start to feel guilt about not writing for more a significant period of time I remember that everybody else does the same. I remember when blogs were "in" and people would post every other day...I guess familiarity breeds contempt and laziness.
Anyway, things have been going really well the last few weeks. The language classes have not gotten much better, that is OK. I have been able to spend time studying on my own, or finding friends who are knowledgeable enough to help me out. I have been able to really notice improvement in my ability to speak the local dialect, which kinda sets me apart from the other foreigners around the university. Most of them spend their free time with people from their own country, but I for the most part avoid americans. Consequently I am able to hang out with the arab students and they can feel relaxed not having to speak Formal Arabic with me. The other day I was in the physics department talking to a couple of doctors there, and they thought I was an Arab grad student (albeit only for a minute or so), but nevertheless it made me really happy. I am still a long ways from fluency, but I am confident I will get there eventually, even if not as quickly as I had hoped.
It seems like each week I feel a little more accustomed to living here. Each new person I am able to meet, each new place I get to see, each conversation I am have, each new experience (the good and the bad) makes me love the people here more and feel as though I could live here all my days. It is a very strange feeling, because at the same time I feel my love for this place grow my love for where I came from also grows. I don't know how a person can love two places and long to be in both of them...and yet at the same time not feel like either of them are really Home. I suppose it has something to do with being a "strangers and pilgrims and the earth". I guess I would describe it as feeling that no matter what happens in this life I feel I could be content and happy; if I wandered this world, never having any certain dwelling place, or place I could call home, I would be content and satisfied as long as I am in His service.

Spring is here in Jordan, the weather has been around 60 or 70 last week, and things are starting to turn green. It is nice...not to rub it in for all your alaskans who are still mucking through sub-zero temperatures. Take solace in the fact you have more daylight than we do. Hope you are all doing well,

Back to Work

Well I got back to Amman a couple weeks ago. The little vacation to Jerusalem was nice. It was great to see th Shakkours again. They all said my Arabic was immensely better than it was last year...well I would hope so, but it still made me feel good. Once I came back to Amman I started work back up at the Physics department. We are in the middle of trying to create some nano-structured materials using electro-deposition (thats for my science nerd friends) and I am the only one in the department who knows how to use the new microscope well enough to analyze the samples (which makes me feel kinda good). Language classes started on the 10th. The first day of class was great. We had a great teacher who was very organized, and we had a syllabus and schedule for the entire semester, and we had an organized book of texts to read...then the second day came, and we found out that the great teacher was not going to be our teacher and that the department did not know who was going to teach us. They have changed our schedule of classes four times now, and they say it has been solidified, but nobody really know what is going on. Until now, we still aren't sure of when, where, or what we are going to be studying exactly...welcome to Jordan.
On a brighter note me and two friends went for a day trip on Friday down to Wadi (valley) Hasa and hiked through a good portion of it. It was really awesome. There are natural hot springs throughout the valley, so the little river that flows in the bottom is like 80 or 90 degrees. Historically this valley was the border between the land of Edom and the land of Moab. It also intersects the Kings Highway (which has retained its name even til today, and is believed to be the same road as 3000 years ago) which the children of Israel desired to use to come to the promised land (Numbers 20,21). There were a couple of ruins along the way, but I couldn't identify from what civilization (most likely just Ottoman).

here is one panoramic of the valley