Little Friends



Little Friends

A brief summary of my small friends who make a BIG difference

Meet Bill

The best advice I have ever received regarding making friends was from my sister.  She always told me that a name makes all the difference.  Whenever you are in a situation in which you feel alone, or you are weary of those around you, just name them, it helps.

So everyone, I would like to introduce you to my new friend, Bill.
(Pictured below)

"Bill" -- Shown next to the table leg for reference

After being here in Amman for just a few days, we hadn't had too many problems with bugs in the apartment... until I stayed up late studying one night and felt something tickle my foot.
I originally assumed it was nothing, until I heard something crawling on the floor, and looked down to see "Bill" making his way along the tile.

Once I realized that he had been crawling up my leg, I was completely frozen in shock, and had to scream for my roommate, Alexis, to come and help me get rid of him.  When I called and told her there was a bug, she came in with one of her sandals ready to crush it... until she saw its size.

It took us both a few good minutes to get ourselves together and mentally prepare for the task at hand, without waking up our other roommates.  Alexis was my hero that night, when she grabbed a glass to put over him.  We walked the glass toward the door to let him go, when we had the terrifying realization that there was a ledge on the door, and we were going to have to find a way to get him out without touching him, and Bill was way too heavy to be carried on a piece of paper.

After 20 minutes of staring at him through the glass cup that we placed over Bill, we found a small piece of cardboard that we finally were able to use to get him outside.

So what's in a name?  A little bit of comfort, because when you name it, you get attached to it; and we did put that thing back where it came from... outside.

Meow

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am definitely defined as being a "cat person."  When I found out that there were cats in Jordan, I surely thought that I would become the "crazy cat lady" and adopt every kitty in sight... but that has not since been the case.

When I first came, my roommates warned me about how horrifying the cats are in this area.  Since neither of them were fond of cats, I just figured that they were biased towards the little animals.

So today while I was working on some homework, I heard Vanessa screaming in the kitchen, so I ran there as fast as I could, and took a pic of what I saw:

Vanessa cowering in fear of our neighborhood cat

Apparently, the windows were open to let out the hot air while she was cooking, and one of the cats tried to jump into our kitchen to eat her food.

Well, I didn't think the cat was that bad until it started hissing and screaming at us while we were trying to close the window.  Once I saw its face, I wanted to cower in fear too...

Meet Diablo, our new "pet"

The cats here aren't so friendly and they aren't much cuter either, but I would much rather be naming a cat than a rat.  So thank you, Diablo, for getting rid of the rats!

Medical Mysteries

After the second day of classes, we (thankfully) hadn't had too many more problems with the apartment and we all started to get along with Bill and Diablo, and we were all living as one happy family.  Except, when I woke up the next morning there was an unexpected visitor that came to my bed in the middle of the night.

When I woke up, my ear was at least three times its normal size, and I could not hear out of it.

My right ear 12 hours after the bite

 

Between the four of us living in the apartment, we had killed an average of 4 spiders per day.  We knew that it was a problem in the apartment, but we had no idea where these spiders were coming from, or whether or not they were harmless.  In addition, everyone had been bit by mosquitos throughout the week, but what happened to my ear was definitely not a mosquito bite.

 

The issue? 

There were so many different types of spiders, that we had no idea which kind actually bit me, which determines the type of venom.  On top of everything else, there was the language barrier so it was extremely difficult asking natives what I should do, and time was running short because we were leaving the following day to Petra and Wadi Rum, so going to a doctor simply wasn't an option for me.

Close up of the inflammation

 

After a lot of prayer on what to do about my ear, I received an email from my professor requesting a meeting for the classes.  This was a perfect opportunity because she speaks perfect English, and she knew exactly what to do!

 

The pharmacists in Jordan are almost as qualified as doctors when it comes to knowledge of medications and diagnoses, and the pharmacist who I saw was extremely kind.  Between my broken Arabic and her decent English, we were able to communicate about the problem, and she gave me a gel to put on my ear four times a day.

 

Finsteel -- The miracle gel for insect bites!

 

It took a few days, but my ear has finally gone back to its normal size, but there is a small scar on the injection site from the spider bite.  Thankfully though, my hearing is coming back and I feel much better.  However you will notice in the posts to come that my hair is always to the right side in many of the pictures to cover my ear when I went out.

 

Thank you all for your prayers, every day is an uphill battle but it is also an adventure.

The Lord is taking care of us and He listens to our prayers.

God bless!

 

 

Al-Joun

Al-Joun

Painting on a wall titled "Al-Joun" with the outline of Jordan

The Castle

In the city of Al-Joun in Jordan, there is a castle that has existed during the Ottoman Empire, and contains artifacts that date back to the Paleolithic Period.

 

This castle was also used during the Crusades, and has a rich history of royal ownership.  In addition, there have been many renovations made in the past by rulers.  The architectural layouts were well before its time, which is what contributed to its success.

Rounded rocks used in catapults

 

Below you will find pictures to highlight my time in Al-Joun:

 

Here, I an standing in front of an "Arrow Slot." This area was created specifically for archers, so they could shoot an arrow without being seen. The angle of the slots provided protection because when the sun was over the castle, it created an illusion to ensure the archers were out of sight.
Unfortunately when I was taking this picture, I learned the hard way that the sun kept the spiders out of sight too...

The view from the top of the castle is magnificent.
It is said that when standing on top of the castle, on can see Lebanon, the West Bank, Egypt, and Syria.

The Feast

After our visit to the castle, our group went to a beautiful Lebanese restaurant that served some of the best Hummus I have ever had in my life!

Two of my roommates, Alexis (left) and Ana (right)

 

Vanessa and I at the fancy Lebanese Restaurant

The food was absolutely delicious.  What you see below was a feast, and we devoured the home-made fresh pita bread.
Once we finished what you see below we were so stuffed, we simply couldn't eat another bite!

 

...And then they brought out the entrée!

 

Thank you all for your prayers, the Lord has kept us safe thus far.

God bless!



We Don't Need a Man!

 

We Don't Need a Man!

Home Improvement

Our apartment is absolutely beautiful, but we have found that there were a few minor kinks along the way.  But this is no problem because between Vanessa, Ana and myself, we had everything up and running in no time!

 

The first issue was definitely the bathrooms...

 

Even though we had three bathrooms (one for each of us) the toilets were not in working condition, which immediately made its way to the top of the priority list.

 

However, thanks to all those times I tagged along with my dad and grandpa in fixing the house, I had some knowledge on what to do to solve the problem.  Within half an hour, I got two of the three up and ready for use -- which was a relief!

 

Next Stop: The Beds

We had four beds for the three of us, but they were all in separate rooms, and no one wanted to sleep by themselves in the big apartment.  That 's an easy fix... right?

 

Well, it was at first.  We figured that all we needed was to simply move the beds from one room to another... until we figured out that just because a bed fits through one door frame does not necessarily mean that it will go through the next.

My roommate, Vanessa, working on carrying the mattress

 

After an hour of trying to fix this problem from every angle possible, it became very clear that we simply would not be able to get the beds in one room together.

Until I remembered that I brought this handy tool my dad bought me for Christmas a few years ago.

 

With this handy tool fully equipped with screwdrivers, pliers, wire cutters, a flashlight, and more, we were able to move the three beds all in to one room so no one had to sleep alone.  Now, we're sleeping "Annie" style (according to Vanessa), but we all do feel safer this way.

Below are the before and after pictures to show the fruits of our labor:

 

 



After!





 

Before...

All in all, everything worked out nicely for us.  Our latest roommate has arrived so there are a total of four ladies in the apartment, and it's like a sleepover every night!

 

Thank you all for your prayers, God bless!

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Start

First Days in Amman

After 3 days of traveling, over 30 hours of flight time, and over 7,000 miles away from home, I finally made it to Amman.

 

Although my flight was originally planned to land in Frankfurt, it was transferred to Dubai after my layover in Washington, D.C.

It seems like everywhere I have been, I've been making friends along the way.  This just reminds me that everyday the Lord specifically sends people in our lives for a reason.

 

Dubai was one of the most interesting airports I have ever been to. There is so much diversity; it is so wonderful to see so many different people working together and living in harmony.

 

But of course, there are always some things that are the same:

 

 

Once I arrived to Amman, it hadn't yet hit me I was actually here.

I was so surprised as to how the driving works in Amman. Living in California, I am so used to commuting and driving my own car, so relying on a taxi was new for me, but it's definitely an experience!

 

 

First cell phone in Jordan

My roommates for the first day are two girls whom I have had in most of my Arabic classes for over two years, and I am so excited that we get to be together through this program!

First things first, we made sure to get cell phones so that we had something in case of an emergency, but we never travel anywhere alone.  The first thing to know about Jordan is sisterhood is key.

Since we don't have WiFi in the apartment yet, we went to a café at the local mall (Mukhtar Mall) and used the internet there. 

Thank you all for your prayers, now is where I begin my new adventure in Amman!

Arabic, Heroes, and Lemonade in Washington D.C.

*Disclaimer* The pictures below are probably not what you would expect to see from my trip to Amman, Jordan -- but keep reading!

 

 

It is said that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!

And that is exactly what I have been doing in Washington D.C.

 

Originally, my plane was supposed to stop in D.C., and transfer immediately to Frankfurt and then Jordan.  However, the weather had other plans and caused me to miss my flight entirely.

The problem? The next flight wasn't available until 9pm the following day.

 

So instead, I decided to tour the capital!

 

Arabic

The airport connected me to a hotel which was absolutely beautiful.  Throughout this process, I made three very good friends who were so helpful in ensuring I was safe in my hotel.

One of these friends was in the shuttle, connecting to the same hotel I was.

 

After talking to her for a while, I figured out that she was from Syria.  Once she discovered that I was studying in Amman, she gave me all the tips and tricks I needed to survive in the Middle East.  Upon arrival, she walked me straight into the front office and made sure that they were going to take care of me.  She and the front manager gave me all the information to travel D.C. while I waited for my next flight.  When I woke up in the morning, she had slipped a piece of paper under my door with the exact times for each of the buses and metros to make sure I could tour D.C.

 

 

Three hours of sleep later, I got up and made it to the first bus stop but I was not sure where to go from there.  Just before the bus arrived, a gentlemen asked a few of us waiting where we were going.  Once I told him I was looking for the Lincoln Memorial, he not only showed me where the next bus stop was, but also gave me a grand tour of the National Mall before heading to work.  He gave me his phone number in case there were any issues, and he assured me that if anything happened, he would leave work and make sure I was safe and made it back to the airport on time.  I am convinced that he was an angel -- and his name was Gabriel too!

 

Due to the tight schedule for my flight, I only had two and a half hours to tour D.C. and make sure I saw everything I could in that time -- so I ran!

 

Heroes

First stop was the World War II Memorial:

 

 

Then at the corner of Constitution and 7 Street, if you looked to the right, you could see the Capital Building and to the left was the Washington Monument.

 

 

 

Finding the Lincoln Memorial was tricky, but it was just beyond the Reflection Pool.

On my way down the long path, there were so many couples who asked me to take a picture of them in front of the monument -- so I asked them to take a picture of me too!

Going to the Lincoln Memorial was emotional for me, not only because I think he is one of the greatest leaders in history, but also because of the huge impact he had on my Papa.

 

When I walked through the pillars, I heard music coming in front of the monument:

Dozens of World War II Veteran's sang "God Bless America"

 

 

This is by far one of the most beautiful things I have seen and heard in my entire life.  Not only was it emotional for me to see the Lincoln Memorial in person, but I was also able to hear the stories and songs of WWII veterans. 

 

By this time, I simply could not hold back my tears, when a man tapped me on the shoulder.  It was a WWII Veteran who served in the Army Air Corps.  When I thanked him for his service, he gave me the small flag he was holding, and a big hug too.  This was one of the most overwhelming moments I have ever encountered.

 

 

After going to the Lincoln Memorial, I made my way to the Vietnam Memorial Wall to look for my other hero, George Allen Ingalls -- the first Medal of Honor recipient in Norco, CA.

 

The rangers at the wall were extremely kind in helping me find the name.  They had a small device that assisted them in locating specific names on the wall.  When the gentleman found George's name, he looked up at me and asked, "Norco, California? Where in the world is that?"

 

I told him that it was a small town in Southern California, and told the story of how he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  After we found the name, he personally grabbed a ladder to help me scratch George's name on a piece of paper to take back home with me.

 

On my way back to the bus, there were dozens of military personnel in their A-Class and Service Dress getting ready for a ceremony.  I stayed to see the full service Honor Guard, and wondered why there was a ceremony to follow, and then it hit me... 

 

 

Today is flag day!

 

What a wonderful experience I had with a little bit of misfortune.

Today was a day of turning lemons into lemonade -- and seeing so many heroes on this journey.

 

 Just before landing, I read "The Prayer of Jabez" and asked God to bless me indeed, expand my borders, to go before me, and keep me from evil -- and he did just that!

 

Thank you all for your prayers, God sent angels in disguise to make sure I was safe.  I'll check back in when I arrive in Jordan!