The View from March

Hello again, world.

It's the other side of spring break now, and I'm sitting in a study hall with only four students to supervise. Took care of some grading, have a bit of planning left to do, but the end of the week stretches invitingly out before me and I feel like I've got a moment of leisure time with which to write. It's been too long!

The thought of blogging again has crossed my mind a few times since getting back; mostly, I haven't written anything because I haven't had a particularly eventful week and a half. Many of you readers out there already know some of the details of my spring break because you were there, and several more of you have already seen pictures, but let's start with that adventure to get the ball rolling.

I spent spring break in Istanbul with the family! It was one of my favorite cities the first time, and it didn't get any worse for round two. If anything, it was better. A few highlights and adventures:

1. The view from our hotel in Sultanahmet (this was from the breakfast patio)

2. Day 1, when I was alone, included a waterfront shoe-shine

3. Prayer time at the Örtakoy Mosque, where I also ate a massive baked potato

4. The food tour I took on Day 2 (also pre-family) included a stop for some unreal Turkish desserts

5. The view across the Golden Horn to Galata Tower, my favorite city landmark

It was an unbelievable trip, start to finish, and so good to bring the family back to Jordan for the last few days. Yes, we got hailed on in Petra, but I choose to consider that an Experience Victory (as uncomfortable as it may have been at the time). Dad, you were right when you called it "biblical" - suddenly I understand why they made desert hail the eighth plague.

A tragically short whirlwind tour through my vacation, I know, but isn't this blog supposed to be about Jordan anyway? You can always email me if you have questions. I had a great time, basically.

And now it's springtime in Madaba, full steam ahead. The sun shines, the clouds are wispy if present at all, and a cool breeze whistles its way through the budding trees. I hear the weather gets hot pretty quickly, but it sure hasn't yet, and I want to enjoy this sublimity for as long as possible. A little tennis last weekend, a little ultimate frisbee (my new co-curricular) today; being outside is a real pleasure when it feels like we've finally made our way past the yuck of winter.

But like I said before, things have been pretty smooth and steady since the family left. We're doing some spirituals in Glee Club, which work so well I'm sad I didn't start them sooner. My two new-ish philosophy classes are really a joy: very different from one another but in ways that make me excited to work with both. I'm feeling much more free and relaxed about lesson planning, too; I think the fact that this is the third reiteration makes me feel both comfortable about previous successes and more adventurous as far as rewriting and reorganizing. Kill the two-week political philosophy unit in favor of a unit on the Meaning of Life? Why not?

Of course, I'd be remiss not to mention the impending adventures that begin barely over a week from today. New Haven (!!!) at the beginning of April, which is to say in a week and a half; another Jerusalem adventure not long after that; and then suddenly it's May somehow? I always expected this side of spring break to feel like a cascade to the finish, and while the daily grind still rears its head, it's hard not to feel the end approaching. Especially with such sunny weather, the proximity of summer seems to be starting to permeate the campus for students and teachers alike - it hasn't led to massive productivity losses yet, but I'm counting the days.

Until the Adventure Onslaught begins, though, it's business as usual around here, which is mostly a good thing. Before I go, check out the new guest post I wrote for Foodette - it's been an absolute BLAST to start my food blogging career in such an illustrious way, and a couple posts about the Istanbul adventures should be making their way to a Domain Near You before too long. Keep your eyes peeled.

And happy springtime, everyone! If it's snowing where you live, think of me in the desert sun and see if it helps. Yes, parents, I have plenty of sunscreen. See you all soon.

SPRING BREAK.

Just over a half hour remains until I board a bus to take me to a plane to take me to Istanbul. We did it!!

My final term of students, whose first week is this week, seem like a pretty phenomenal bunch overall. Again, I've got one class that skews younger and one that's mostly seniors, but both are interested and inquisitive groups and I'm really looking forward to the weeks to come.

But first, it's time for adventures. About 36 hours of total freedom in Istanbul starting from my 4:00am touchdown, and the family arrives Saturday afternoon which will be just as much a blast (if not more!). Forecast is rainy, but I don't think that's ever stopped us from having a good time.

Gonna keep this one short and sweet, but here's another piece of news: I'm officially a food writer! The cousin of the well-trafficked food blog very graciously allowed me to submit a guest post, and just today published my review of my trip to Beit Sitti last week. Check it out! With any luck there'll be more to come as my culinary adventures continue...

Hey, have a good weekend, everyone. I sure will.

Spring beginnings

Good morning everyone - happy March, and happy Sunday!

Yeah, Sunday. Today's the first day of the third term, and thanks to my brand-new term schedule, I don't teach class today until after lunch. I do have other responsibilities this morning, but not until 11:10 which isn't for another two hours. I feel the need for all this bolding because these changes are still very much bold in my mind. How on earth am I going to spend such a long and empty morning every Sunday for the rest of the year?

Well, I think I'm off to a good start: printing and stuffing envelopes for a hopefully fun and definitely gimmicky start to the new term, and listening to the Yale Glee Club sing major works on Youtube. So uh, nothing to argue with so far.

It seems that Jordan has decided to welcome in the new term with a rather aggressive showing from the weather department: the weekend was beautifully sunny and warm, and when I left my apartment at 8:15 it felt more like noon. Can't say I'll argue with the shift, sudden though it is...but I hope this doesn't represent a general upward trend, because at this rate we'll be downright tropical by mid-April.

So, third term, huh? It feels different than the last new beginning in December, which had me flashing back nostalgically to my earliest days at King's. I'm excited to try some new things with these classes now that I feel like I have my sea legs; to kick off today, they're getting an envelope containing a single piece of paper on which is written "Who are you?" Is that exciting enough? Hope so. Whatever.

I miss my second-term kids, but we had a relatively short time together, especially since it was broken up by the winter break, and now that I've had two groups of kids I feel a bit less attached to the individual ones. I'm also starting to know more and more of the students who make their way into my class, and these groups contain some of my favorite kids (and some who I've heard are pains, but what fun would it be without that). You'll hear plenty about the new classes as the term continues!

So it's a long and leisurely morning waiting for the future to make its way down the tracks. Before then, though, how about a bit of the past:

***

Last week, the last of term 2, was pleasant and uneventful enough. Classes were very smooth as we wrapped up our philosophical explorations, and I taught the Glee Club a spiritual instead of working on the song we've been practicing, because I felt like it. Here's some food.

A meal at Beit Sitti, the cooking class/restaurant that I went to in October. Delicious as always, and stay tuned - I'm planning to do an Official Food Blog Post on a Real Food Blog about this very meal! So consider this a taste, if you will. Sorry about that one.

And here's the fare from a Yemeni place we visited the same day as Beit Sitti; it was a pretty excellent weekend for food overall. Basically you just rip off pieces of the bread and put it in one of those bowls and have yourself a great time. After a somewhat troubling time navigating ourselves through Amman to get to this place, it was well worth it.

And yesterday we built a cardboard boat! The annual Cardboard Boat Race is tomorrow so I thought I'd include a teaser. It promises to be hilarious, if nothing else. Our boat is called the H.M.S. Hubris and looks like a rectangle. We're going to win.

And last but certainly not least in the "The Past" department, I now feel ready to show off the final project that a student partner and I put together for this term of Arabic. Look how much we've improved! It's all in Arabic, but trust me, you'll be able to get the gist. And we didn't even lose points for including exclusively non-Arabic music!

***

As the strains of the Duruflé Requiem continue to waft from my computer speakers, I'm thinking about the impending spring, and how we got here. Two-thirds of the way through the first year of teaching; one week from spring break and the family trip to Istanbul (!!!); done with January and February, which seem generally acknowledged as the toughest months of the school year. Frankly, I thought they went pretty quick.

About 100 minutes to go until my first actual obligation of the day, and look how much has already been done! I can fill these mornings with all kinds of adventures. You're bored now though, because I haven't actually had any adventures yet. Be patient. We've got three months to go, and tomorrow I'm seriously considering getting up at 3 to watch the Oscars. So let's get this March Madness started!