Becky’s notes:
Imagine Kevin and I threading our way across busy busy streets with high medians that we have to climb and balance on. There are few stop signs and even fewer stoplights, and no zebra lines, or if there are, no one knows what they mean.
In addition, finding things is always a problem. Sometimes there are street names but no one uses them. Everyone uses landmarks but, of course, we don’t know the landmarks. Nor do the classrooms have numbers and my colleagues have difficulty explaining where the rooms are. So finding anything is about trial and error and much walking and asking. Thank goodness, people are helpful and recognize us as new to Amman.
Anyway there was this one street that we crossed about five times this morning. First, we had to check on my text books with Abu Amer. But he was not there. They could not give me my packet, but they did give me my original of Catcher in the Rye which is the first novel I will teach.
Then, we needed a surge protector, so we crossed the street to look at some shops that showed promise—we could see many tiny shops with Arabic words. Several looked as if they might be computer stores but they turned out to be telephone stores which are everywhere! We asked in one where we might find a plug and fortunately I had put my broken one in my bookbag so he studied it and said to check the mall across the street. We went back across the street where we found a grocery store. We went in and found some nice hamburger meat (James is looking for some to cook spaghetti so we grabbed it), and, voila, we found a surge protector in a basket by the checkout line!
Then, we went in search of the The Jordan Times, the English newsletter. We walked and crossed streets and crossed highways. We asked and were told to go to the hospital. We went to a beautiful new hospital but no Times. We walked some more and crossed some more streets—several times we were able to join up with locals in crossing streets and felt much safer with company. We finally found it.
I looked around a book store, University Bookstore, where I found the biggest paper clips I have ever seen—another surprise! They are almost three inches long and will be useful for holding papers together. They will also make good stocking stuffers! The store owner also gave me two small Hallmark 2005 calendars!
Kevin’s notes:
Kevin tries to buy a copy of The Times every day and to read it to see what kind of writing it publishes. It’s mostly news service stories from over the wire, but the changing array of voices in the two pages worth of op-ed columns interest him. He has submitted one column, on speculation to the woman editor. Jennifer Harmaneh, and received helpful feedback: it was too saucy! Tone it down. (That one was a reflection on the different “
Kevin is slowed down at the moment by a strain or some kind of muscle pull in his left leg. He is embarrassed: he keeps suggesting we take taxis when we should be laboring up the hill to our basement flat in the house with the lovely prospect and a breeze in the afternoon.
Kevin working on his journalism on the front porch of the house where we live. His first article was published in the Times on 26 September!
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