orienting and arriving.

There is so much to tell that I feel very overwhelmed sitting down to write this update. But I want to try my best to accurately portray to you what has happened since arriving in Akron, PA last week for orientation and since arriving in Amman, Jordan.

Orientation for the SALT program was a wonderful week of learning and fellowship. I came into orientation with a heavy heart from saying good-bye to friends, family and Ben. But through the very informative sessions and time to get to know other SALTers I left orientation feeling 100% more prepared, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally for the journey that lay ahead. Each morning we began with prayer, a devotional, and a time of singing [lead by people from different parts of the world on different days…for example: music by “Asia Team”, by “Africa Team”, “Middle East & Europe Team”, “Latin America Team”]. This orientation was very unique because not only did it contain participants of the SALT program, but there were also people who were part of the IVEP and YAMEN! program [for info about these programs feel free to check out MCC’s website]. Having all of these programs together gave us all opportunities to learn about other cultures and become friends with our brothers and sisters from around the world. Many of our large worship times felt very similar to the Urbana Conference, at least on a smaller scale. It was an amazing preview of what Heaven will be like: people from every tribe, nation, and language. At orientation we had people from 30 countries!

Out of the 60 SALTers, there were about half of us who did not grow up in the Mennonite tradition. Being one of those SALTers I was very grateful for the sessions that went over the history of Mennonite Central Committee and their mission & vision. Throughout these sessions I became very thankful that the Lord led me to MCC. It is such an amazing organization! Throughout its history it has entered into communities humbly with a strong desire to work alongside local partners in three areas: relief, development, and peace. Their purpose is to share God’s love and compassion in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice. I feel so honored to now be a part of the MCC family…and I’m excited to continue to hear stories of how God has worked through them over the years. Another session that focused on the Mennonite tradition gave an overview of where MCC’s peace mandate comes from. This, too, was extremely helpful. Coming into the SALT program I knew that Mennonites were pacifists, but it was good to hear the reasons and support for their peace theology.

Orientation also included many sessions about cross-cultural adjustment, communication across cultures, and living with a host family. These were all a great review from my Anthropology classes at Wheaton, and many of these sessions gave us an opportunity to talk in small groups with people who are from the places we are going to. For example, there were two wonderful women from Jordan at orientation as a part of the IVEP program. I had so much fun getting to know them, and through conversations they were able to give me insights into the culture I was about to enter into for a year. They were great cultural informants! And great dancers too! J

The last evening of orientation, we had a Global Fair and Talent Show where people preformed different music acts and cultural dances. I was a part of an act with a few girls, including the girls from Jordan, doing a Jordanian dance! It was so fun!

When we weren’t in sessions we were able to have free time to learn informally from one another. There was a ton of laughter and I was so glad that within the SALT group there were many game lovers. There is just something great about bonding with people over a game of Beans or Farkal or Dutch Blitz. J

Thursday morning [August 19^th] people began leaving Akron and heading all over the world. It’s actually really sweet to think that I now know people on 5 of the 7 continents [excluding Australia and Antarctica]. Our group left Akron at 1:30pm and drove to the Philly airport where our flight left at 6:30ish. I traveled with three other SALTers who I will also be living with for this month in Amman. Sara is from Nebraska and will be working in Palestine, along with Janae who is from Boston. Joanna will be working as a kindergarten teacher and with the Coptic Church in Iraq. It was great being able to travel with other SALTers… many SALTers traveled alone. I know my parents felt better that I was able to travel with others J.

We had a five-hour layover in Paris and, because none of us had been there before, we decided to travel outside the airport and visit the beautiful city of Paris. Thanks to the advice and guidance from a fellow SALTer who had spent a semester studying in France, we found our way to Sacre de Coeur cathedral on Mont Martre. The cathedral itself was absolutely amazing and the view from on top of the hill gave us a wonderful view of Paris! I loved walking through the winding streets and seeing all the beautiful buildings with flower pots and laundry hanging out to dry. It made me want to come back someday…and spend more then a few hours exploring. On our way back to the metro [Paris’ train system] we stopped to buy some very yummy chocolate croissants and a baguette sandwich. It was the perfect treat as we headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Jordan. With only a little confusion and ending up on the wrong train, I know we all breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when we made it back through customs and security… with just a few moments to spare before our flight started boarding. I’m so glad my fellow travelers desired to use our layover to explore Paris and that we were able to work together to find our way around and then back to the airport. Our second flight was about 6 hours long…and I must say that we were all impressed with the food options on the Air France flight! We were even offered champagne, for free! Classy Air France!

We arrived in Amman a little after 7:30pm [Jordan time] and met the Area Directors for IIJP [Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine] Daryl and Cindy, who welcomed us with open arms. I already really like them and I’m excited to hear about their lives. From the time we left Akron to when we landed in Amman it was almost exactly 24 hours… But it felt much longer with all of the time changes. We are eight hours ahead here from Central Time, if any of you were curious.

For the next month the four of us are living at the Y.W.C.A. on the East side of Amman. It is an accepted place for single working women to live in Amman. I already know I’m going to enjoy getting to know the women who work here. Most of our meals are available here home cooked and delicious [or za-key in Arabic]!

We started this morning [Saturday, August 21] with Arabic language lessons. After a somewhat restless and very, very, very HOT night sleep, we went to language school bright and early. I really like my teacher…and know that she will be a good fit for our group. We are going to be in language school five days a week [excluding Friday and Sunday] from 8:15am- 12:15pm. I know this is going to be a shocker to anyone who knows me…. But I’m actually really, really excited to learn Arabic. I know…me…wanting and excited to learn a language??? But it’s true. I have heard that it’s a beautiful language and I’m excited to be able to communicate, one day, in Arabic.

I think that’s it for now. I am currently in a bookstore called “The Good Book Store” [really that’s the name…I thought for a while that our country directors were simply saying it was the best book store to go to…] and I forgot to upload my photos from my camera last night…so I will have to show you the pictures on the next post. You will simply have to wait in anticipation for pictures from orientation, Paris, and arriving in Amman.

I have included a link to an amazing video we watched during one of our sessions at orientation called “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie. It is an amazing talk about the way we view the world and what happens when we have a limited view of those around us. I was going to try to describe it all to you… but the video is just so good that I figured I would allow Chimamanda to speak for herself.

I miss all of you! And I hope to get you addresses and phone numbers as a way to contact me soon. And please do let me know what is happening in your part of the world. I want to know how I may pray for you…

Allah yibaarik fiiki!

May God bless you!

Chimamanda Adichie: "The Danger of a Single Story"

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html