Doors from Syria, Tunisia and Morocco(The door Matt is standing in was used in the filming of Star Wars)
I
Went walking on Wednesday and this is some of what we sawSaturday, January 26, 2008
Enjoying the Views
Doors from Syria, Tunisia and Morocco(The door Matt is standing in was used in the filming of Star Wars)
I
Went walking on Wednesday and this is some of what we saw
Monday, January 21, 2008
Love Bombs
The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be...Martin Luther King Jr.
These days when the word extremist is used we tend to think of specific images associated with destruction, hatred and bigotry. But wouldn't it be great if when the word extremist is used we would think of extreme acts of love, peace, reconciliation and life instead of things related to violence and death?
This is a photo that we took last fall while we were back in Minneapolis for Matt's sister's wedding. If you really think about it dropping bombs changes lives but what an incredible idea to change lives through love. It isn't a new idea but one that continues to be difficult to actually execute in everyday interactions with people. We can only hope and pray that we will all be extremists who fight for justice and peace and who struggle to show acts of kindness to all. Dropping love bombs throughout our lives!
What kind of extremist are you?
These days when the word extremist is used we tend to think of specific images associated with destruction, hatred and bigotry. But wouldn't it be great if when the word extremist is used we would think of extreme acts of love, peace, reconciliation and life instead of things related to violence and death?
This is a photo that we took last fall while we were back in Minneapolis for Matt's sister's wedding. If you really think about it dropping bombs changes lives but what an incredible idea to change lives through love. It isn't a new idea but one that continues to be difficult to actually execute in everyday interactions with people. We can only hope and pray that we will all be extremists who fight for justice and peace and who struggle to show acts of kindness to all. Dropping love bombs throughout our lives!
What kind of extremist are you?
Friday, January 18, 2008
Cold Jordan
Here in Jordan we are experiencing what the overflowing water tanks on the rooftops of apartment buildings or water squeegeed out of those buildings on cleaning day. When I asked the guard shivering in his telephone booth sized shack outside the Turkish Embassy a few days ago if the weather was "a little cold", he aggressively responded--not in an angry but in an I-can't-believe-what-I'm-seeing way--"A little cold? Look at the street! There's ice on it!"
The buildings here aren't exactly made for this type of cold weather. Several days ago the pipe from one of our water tanks burst, sending a waterfall cascading down from the roof on to our back porch. The water was promptly turned off and the pipe fixed the next day, just in time for a different pipe from the same tank to develop a small tear, launching a sprinkler like stream into the air. That problem is still ongoing. Also, the temperature inside our apartment tends to hover around the same temperature as outside. There are many in Jordan that do not have heat. Most people, including us, use space heaters to keep warm. The rooms where the heat is on do get warm, but in the rooms where the heat is not on we can see our breath when we exhale (this makes it very hard to get out of bed in the morning!). Last week we visited some friends and while at their house we all sat in their salon on mats on the floor in the traditional Arab way, each one of us with two large, thick blankets covering us to keep warm. There we could easily see our breath, like we were all smoking and exhaling clouds of fumes as we talked between tokes. Some of my toes were actually frozen by the end of our time there.
Being from Minnesota we are of course used to living in cold weather. Most of the people here, though, are not, and I think right now there are a lot of people here who feel like that Turkish Embassy guard.
The buildings here aren't exactly made for this type of cold weather. Several days ago the pipe from one of our water tanks burst, sending a waterfall cascading down from the roof on to our back porch. The water was promptly turned off and the pipe fixed the next day, just in time for a different pipe from the same tank to develop a small tear, launching a sprinkler like stream into the air. That problem is still ongoing. Also, the temperature inside our apartment tends to hover around the same temperature as outside. There are many in Jordan that do not have heat. Most people, including us, use space heaters to keep warm. The rooms where the heat is on do get warm, but in the rooms where the heat is not on we can see our breath when we exhale (this makes it very hard to get out of bed in the morning!). Last week we visited some friends and while at their house we all sat in their salon on mats on the floor in the traditional Arab way, each one of us with two large, thick blankets covering us to keep warm. There we could easily see our breath, like we were all smoking and exhaling clouds of fumes as we talked between tokes. Some of my toes were actually frozen by the end of our time there.
Being from Minnesota we are of course used to living in cold weather. Most of the people here, though, are not, and I think right now there are a lot of people here who feel like that Turkish Embassy guard.
Even our cat is cold.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
George W. is Near
As many of you know, George W. Bush is in the region this week, making his first visit to Israel/Palestine since becoming president in the hopes of helping to forge some kind of peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. One would think this would be big news here and cause for much hope. After all, this isn't Condoleezza Rice or some other lesser representative of the American government coming over for vaguely purposed "talks" or relationship building initiatives. This is the leader of the purported most powerful nation in the world finally deciding to push harder for peace by visiting the region just a few weeks after meeting with Arab leaders in America to push for peace there. He even said in Jerusalem--in reference to the land we in America call the West Bank and the Arabs call Palestine--that there must be "an end to the occupation that began in 1967," that there must be a home there for the Palestinian people.
However, while I haven't discussed Bush's visit with many people here, I am positive that most Jordanians--approximately 60 percent of whom are of Palestinian origin--are somewhat less than optimistic about it. Over the years, they have seen a lot of world leaders come and go and a lot of unimplemented agreements made. Just within this decade, there has been the end of the end of the seven year long "Oslo Peace Process," the European, American and United Nations backed "Road Map for Peace" and the Saudi Arabian sponsored "Arab Peace Initiative." I think the one friend I did discuss Bush's visit with--also Palestinian by origin--speaks for the majority of the people here. "There have been a lot of people coming and going, travelling, making speeches, talking, having meetings," he said. "I don't know what they talk about in those meetings." He doesn't expect much from all those meetings, and instead of exciting him or giving him hope, he is uninterested in them. "They are playing," he said. "We are bored."
However, while I haven't discussed Bush's visit with many people here, I am positive that most Jordanians--approximately 60 percent of whom are of Palestinian origin--are somewhat less than optimistic about it. Over the years, they have seen a lot of world leaders come and go and a lot of unimplemented agreements made. Just within this decade, there has been the end of the end of the seven year long "Oslo Peace Process," the European, American and United Nations backed "Road Map for Peace" and the Saudi Arabian sponsored "Arab Peace Initiative." I think the one friend I did discuss Bush's visit with--also Palestinian by origin--speaks for the majority of the people here. "There have been a lot of people coming and going, travelling, making speeches, talking, having meetings," he said. "I don't know what they talk about in those meetings." He doesn't expect much from all those meetings, and instead of exciting him or giving him hope, he is uninterested in them. "They are playing," he said. "We are bored."
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Happy New Year!
We started 2008 with days and nights of fun and laughter, enjoying a fun filled time with our dear friends visiting from Minnesota. We ate good Arabic food, enjoyed lots of coffee and yummy wine, laughed a ton and toured around Jordan a bit with them.
We hope that this year brings everyone continued joys of
laughter, love and hope.
We hope that this year brings everyone continued joys of
laughter, love and hope.
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