Snow and cold in Jordan?? Also Christmas, Camels and Student Violence

Sunday, December 8--From Tom:

Snow and Cold: I know it's not as cold as Utah but it's now getting down in the 30's. The difference is that they don't have insulation so the walls and floors are cold. The heating system is antiquated and expensive. To get warm water I need to get up almost 2 hours early and go up on the roof and switch the valves around and turn on the boiler. If we're lucky it will be warm in a while. Same with the building heat. Ronna and I went out to get woolen snuggles, hats and slippers to live in our place. I miss my steam room and radiant floor.

Snow is predicted on Wednesday. We've had steady rain for a few days. They really need it but it's strange having solid sun and warm for 3 months and then the change. My students come in down filled parkas and mittens.

Christmas in Jordan: It's hard to imagine Christmas in a country that is 92% Muslim. But they put up the largest Christmas tree in all of Jordan down in the center of Madaba, fully decorated. That's because Madaba is the center of Christianity in Jordan. The malls are also all decorated and playing Christmas music. One of the ward members from the embassy had an extra Christmas tree and contributed to us. So we got our tree. Ronna wants to decorate it with Jordanian crafts and keep it up as long as we're here. We got rid of the plastic palm tree they had for us.

Our little branch is down to about 40 people since all the BYU students and families went back. So the Christmas program is next week and will involve all members. Ronna will be the sole person in the audience and is happy to play that role.

Camels?? Yes we got a new baby camel in the neighborhood. I almost got a picture of her wobbling on her new legs but she crumpled down. I couldn't spend much time since her mom or dad was coming to either kiss me or bite me and I didn't want either.

Allison the camel's new baby daughter

Student Violence-- There are reports of a large increase in student violence on campuses in Jordan. We have only had one fight on the campus of AUM this year but the report is disturbing. They are not caused by political unrest but strife between tribes or family groups. While that is better it is still a cause of concern. 

We've seen that the allegiance to the extended family or clan is extremely powerful here. Nearly all business is done between family members. One of the most common statement we here is "He's my cousin" and they mean it literally. It may not be a first cousin, but when a family has settled and lived in a community for hundreds of years, it's not hard to have an extended family. In Madaba there are two dominant families, the Twal and the Sawalha families. Both are powerful and well connected. On Saturday I went out to do some errands and everyone I met or dealt with was either a Twal or Sawalha. So when something goes wrong in a relationship between the families the whole family might get involved. 

Accident: I've described the driving here as being insane. Saturday I was trying to find a shop to fix a lamp and I did what everyone does. I pulled part way off the street to park. It partly blocked a lane, but we see cars that are double and triple parked blocking up to two lanes. As I was starting to get out, I heard the normal honking, thinking that I was blocking traffic. Then I heard the crash as two cars tried to squeeze through. Both cars had both fenders destroyed and their front wheels came off. It became the neighborhood event and a crowd quickly gathered. Since traffic needed to get through I moved my car and got out of there, quickly. 

Yesterday I saw the craziest driving stunt. We were waiting at a red light on a divided highway with a median. A car on the far right pulled through and ran the red light, then made a left turn cutting across all the traffic. Then he drove directly headlong into the oncoming traffic, going the wrong way for several blocks. And you wonder why there are not more accidents? 

Upcoming trip: Ronna and I plan to take a trip between Christmas and New Year. We'll go to a resort on the Dead Sea. It's got five pools and do the mud packs with Dead Sea mud. It's supposed to be very therapeutic. We'll get up to the site of Jesus baptism and then go down the Dead Sea to Aqaba. We'll pass by what is referred to as Lot's Cave, where Lot is reputed to have dwelled. The sites of Sodam and Gomorrah are disputed as to the exact location but they generally are supposed to be along the shore of the Dead Sea in this location.

We'll stay in the resort and port community of Aqaba then go up to Wadi Rum and Petra. Look them up. We're pretty excited. At Aqaba we'll be very near Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel, though we'll not cross the borders. 

Brent Strong, Ronna's cousin who arranged for our work in Jordan. He's an advisor to the President and also does humanitarian service work for the church. Brent's wife Margaret is very involved in getting wheelchairs to handicapped people in Jordan. 

This is a gathering of the Art and Design faculty and students. From the right on the front row, the professors are from Egypt, England, Jordan, Syria and Syria. When they asked me to speak, the students gave me wild cheers. I must be too easy.