An interesting take on Education at present

We think we may have shared this before, but we thought we would share it again.  A very interesting take on education and how change needs to happen in order for the children and young people of today to have a fighting chance for success (depending on the definition of success??!).

Enjoy...

Meeting the locals and the Mansaf experience

From our experience so far, the local Jordanians' are very friendly and wonderfully hospitable.  Most people we have met have either tried to invite us around for coffee or for dinner.  The offer of food, particularly the middle eastern food is hard to resist, however after a long day/week, it hasn't always been possible to accept the invitations.

However this week we had the delight in going to a friends house for food.  Ibrahim, a gentleman that Richard and Fraser met randomly has been a wonderful example of the Jordanian people.  For a couple of weeks, Richard has been playing football with Ibrahim and his team, whilst also sorting a problem out with the school dishwasher.  Every week Ibrahim has invited us to eat at his house and finally this week we were able to go.

For those of you who have had the pleasure to eat with Arabs, you will know that an invitation for food is not just for food, but Arabic coffee, food, more arabic coffee, Sweet Tea and then cold drinks.  This was our experience with Ibrahim and his family.  Very honored to have us at his house, his family and himself, served our every need whilst getting to know us even more.  After talking for a while, we were invited to go into the dining room for food, there on the table was a massive platter of a traditional Jordanian dish 'Mansaf' (We have attached the recipe below) Ibrahim then gave us a demonstration of how to eat the food, using the bread available, your grab the rice using only your right hand and 'pop' it in your mouth. Your fingers should not go into your mouth for whatever reason. Ibrahim had shown us how to eat this meal the 'proper' way, he and his family left us in the dining room to eat alone. We had tried insisting on them eating with us, but we are not sure why they wouldn't.  The food was delightful, as you can see from the picture.

Mansaf is cooked in jameed (the Arabic word for dried yogurt), which is then mixed with water in a tray to produce a creamy sauce. This is poured into a large stewing pot with chunks of lamb meat. The pot is put over an open fire. As the stew begins to warm, it is stirred to prevent the yoghurt from separating.

Large trays are covered with the doughy flat Arabic bread and dampened with yogurt. On top of this, a layer of rice is heaped. The meat is then piled on top. Almonds, pine-kernels and other nuts may be sprinkled over the dish, which is then ready for serving.

Ingredients:

• 6 pieces jameed (about 1/2 pound)
• 3 quarts plus 2 cups water
• 10 tablespoons clarified unsalted butter
• 4 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder on the bone, cut into approximately 3/4 pound pieces and trimmed of excess fat
• 2 tablespoons all spices
• 3 cups long-grain rice, soaked in water to cover for 30 minutes and drained or rinsed well under running water until the water runs clear
• 3 to 4 cups boiling water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup blanched whole almonds
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 2 pieces shrak (Arabic flat thin bread/Saj bread)

We cant wait for the next culnary experience....

Author: R.J.E.

Happy Birthday Jordan

Jordan is 66 Today......

History of Jordan's Independence

On May 25, 1946 the United Nations approved the end of the British Mandate and recognised Jordan as an independent sovereign kingdom. The Parliament of Jordan proclaimed King Abdullah as the first King.

On April 24, 1950, Jordan formally annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, an act that was regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League. The move formed part of Jordan’s "Greater Syria Plan" expansionist policy, and in response, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria joined Egypt in demanding Jordan’s expulsion from the Arab League. A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the dissenting votes of Yemen and Iraq. On June 12, 1950, the Arab League declared the annexation was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a “trustee” pending a future settlement. On July 27, 1953, King Hussein of Jordan announced that East Jerusalem was "the alternative capital of the Hashemite Kingdom" and would form an "integral and inseparable part" of Jordan.

Abdullah I was assassinated in 1951 as he was leaving the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Jordan became a founding member of the Arab League in 1945 and, as an independent country, it joined the United Nations in 1955. In 1957 it terminated the Anglo-Jordan treaty, one year after the king sacked the British personnel serving in the Jordanian Army. This act of Arabization ensured the complete sovereignty of Jordan as a fully independent nation.

(taken from Wikipedia)

Visa, visa visa....

Well, we've heard of when people come into the UK struggling to understand the system of getting a visa and/or securing asylum, after yesterday they have my complete sympathy. We needed to go to the Police Station to extend our 'tourist' visa, and so on a very hot day we went with our wonderful Jordanian taxi driver friend, to get our visas renewed. We thought, or maybe hoped, it would be a quick and easy sign a piece of paper process.  Boy were we wrong!!

So we roll up at the main police station in Zarqa, as we entered the grounds we were met by armed police officers who point Abi and the children to one entrance and myself and our taxi driver to another. The children were cooed over  - blonde hair, blue eyes is a rare in Jordan, especially Zarqa.  After a very relaxed vetting, we were all taken to the main building where we searched for the right office.  But in the mean time the children were both "desperate" for the toilet.  Our taxi driver found a male toilet, so Rich was on duty and Lilian experienced her first hole in the ground style lavatory.

Now we're walking down a long corridor of offices with officers sitting around, looking at us and smiling about the children, no office has real signs and those that do are only in Arabic, which we couldn't read if we tried.  Our levels of anxiety were not helping as we couldn't understand what was going on as our taxi driver acted as our advocate. The police officer we met said we needed to go to our local police station first to get our fingerprints and I.D processed and then to go back with a confirmed letter that this was complete..... so our driver took us to the nearest possible station hoping they would help us.  This police station looked just like a house from the outside, inside we could see one room that had a cell which looked like it was from a western cowboy film (4 men in handcuffs were taken in while we were there, which was of great fascination to the children).  The Police were somewhat reluctant to help us but one was told he had to by his boss. This officer then told us that we needed passport photos so that he could attach them to our records (despite having pictures taken as we arrived in the airport).  Not aware that we needed these, we went a shop that did these sorts of photos and had our passports photocopied (because our first copy we took with us wasn't enough).  We then went back to the police station, where the children were cooed over by 2 ladies and we had our finger prints taken.  With the appropriate piece of paper signed we got back, once again, into the hot taxi and went back to the main police station.  Vetted as we entered again and back in to find the office we went to originally.  After a bit of jabbering between the officers and our driver we finally have the extension we went for!!  Phew!!

Author: A.E.

School Open Day

Every year, the school, hosts the families of the pupils that attend the school to join in the building of the school community and enjoy a few cups of coffee together.  Many activities are provided by staff and volunteers, children enjoy the day whilst parents meet others and get a better feel of the value and atmosphere set by the school.

This year we were privileged to be part of the family day. Abi had the wonderful task of face painting, whilst Richard used the minimal artistic talents to help the children create an outside mural, based on the theme that the children had been working on over the last month, ‘The Ocean’.  Though the day was very busy, with the majority of the pupils and their families attending, it was a great experience to get introduced to the parents and share our heart for the work at the school.  It was also great for Lilian and George to spend more time with the other children, cementing friendships.

Here’s a picture of the wall mural that was completed by the children.