Going Home – My Last Post from Jordan

As our time here in Jordan grows short, my thoughts are frequently of Boston and Maine, and Curry College and the position that I will begin next month. I have been assured by my friends in Boston that the snow is really gone so I have booked our tickets. It is also a time for reflection on the experience of being a Fulbright Scholar in Jordan and the many experiences that Ed and I have had since we arrived last August. In about ten days we will go to Austria for a two week vacation, then back to Amman for ten days before we leave for home.

My two research projects are well under way.  Although they may not be completed before I leave, the ease of communication will make data analysis and manuscript writing no different than if I was working with a colleague across campus.  I am particularly interested in the results of the qualitative study on men in nursing.  While it is not replicating my dissertation work on men in nursing, my US study has informed our questions.  Jordan is unique in that male nurses comprise a very significant percentage of all nurses.

A few weeks ago I attended the two day Jordanian Nursing Council’s biennial conference in Amman.  As is usual at nursing events, Princess Muna gave opening remarks.  At the morning coffee break, I headed out to join the crowds gathering at the tables loaded with trays of sweets (no fruit trays here).  A middle-aged man beckoned to me to follow him.  Me? Really?  He nodded yes and started to push through the crowd.  I followed.  The next thing I knew, I was in a private reception with the Princess and nursing leaders and the featured speakers.  Since everyone was snapping pictures with Princess Muna, I whipped out my tablet and handed it to someone.  Of course the picture isn’t up to Ed’s quality standards, but it is not likely that I will be meeting many more royals, so here it is.

With Her Royal Highness Princess Muna

The combination of only women in the professional writing class and the individual consultation with students regarding their writing has resulted in more opportunities to get to know the students as people, not just students.  Three of them are in the military (two majors and one colonel).  I have been shown cell phone photos of children and husbands.  Two of them have shown me a picture of themselves without their hijab.  I would never recognize them if they took off their scarf.  Both have long beautiful hair.  I don’t think that I will ever really understand wearing the long coat dresses and completely hidden hair, especially when the queen does not even cover her hair with a loose scarf.

We have made a few excursions to minor tourist sites in Amman.  In particular the Royal Automobile Museum in King Hussein Park was interesting.  Established by King Abdullah after the death of his father, it contains many vehicles with a royal connection.  King Hussein was crazy about motorcycles and fast cars.  In addition to the vehicles, there are excellent descriptions of historic occasions where they were used.  

Amman from the Citadel

The Fulbright Ladies (a scholar, a scholar’s wife and me) have enjoyed a few visits to hammams (Turkish baths), although I had to curtail my visits for a couple months due to a cracked rib. I didn’t think that the vigorous scrubbing and massage was conducive to healing.  These outings are a pure delight.  They include time in a whirlpool and in a steam room where we are served delicious pomegranate juice.  Sometimes we have a full body treatment with Dead Sea salt or a facial with Dead Sea mud and of course the scrubbing that leaves you tingling.  The massage uses fragrant oils.  Then some relaxing with mint tea and we float off to lunch.  Pure luxury.  We plan one more outing before we leave (Insha’Allah). 

Next week the Fulbright Commission will have a good-bye dinner for the scholars, doctoral students, and English teaching assistants.  While we have had some pot-lucks at one of the scholar’s apartments, this will be a formal dinner and will include the staff of the Fulbright House.  They have taken good care of us and we are grateful for their support and concern.  A few days after the dinner, Alain, the head of the Fulbright Commission in Jordan, will be heading off to Washington to meet the next group of Fulbrighters at the pre-departure orientation.  And the process of educational exchange continues.

The Promised Land from Mount Nebo

As we prepare to leave there are some things that I wonder about:

• Will Jordanians ever stop throwing trash?
• Will Jordanians ever actually obey traffic laws?
• Will any of my University of Jordan colleagues come to Boston?  Perhaps as Fulbright Scholars to a US university.
• Will I lose the five+ pounds that I gained drinking mint tea loaded with sugar and eating k’naffy (shredded wheat, filled with goat’s cheese and covered in honey), barazik (thin sesame cookies) and other Jordanian sweets?
• Will I miss being called Dr. Susan?

And here are a few more news flashes from the English language Jordan Times:

·         In a survey conducted by Yale University Council on Middle East Studies, 60 to 90% of Jordanian respondents rated wasta (using personal and family connections) as essential for obtaining a government job. (April 21, 2015)

·         Jordanians spend JD 508 million ($716.3 million) on tobacco annually.  The number of male smokers aged 13 to 15 decreased from 17.4% to 17.3%, but exposure to passive smoke in public places has increased from 53.6% to 65.4%. (It did not give the years that were being compared.)  This is in a country of 6.5 million people with about one third aged 15 and under.  (April 17-18, 2015)

·         Issues related to food safety continue to make the news. 

o   April 30: 1.5 tonnes of expired snack food destroyed by Zarqa municipality staff (a tonne is 2200 pounds)

o   April 22: Five tonnes of watermelon destroyed for not meeting standards – white inside and not ripe

o   April 22: Guest worker caught selling kebab made out of discarded chicken leftovers.  He confessed to selling 30 sandwiches a day, but they were cheap, only JD .5 (70 cents).  The chicken scraps were collected from dumpsters and meat stores.

o   April 20: Zarqa bakery caught reusing stale bread to make new loaves.  An official noted that violations in bakeries are quite common in Zarqa (about 15 miles east of Amman).  They also destroyed “hundreds of tonnes of food items that were found unfit for human consumption in 2014”.

We are looking forward to bacon and eggs (pork is not available here except in a couple places and then very expensive), selecting a bottle of wine from Ed’s wine cellar for dinner, seeing the ocean, and of course seeing our friends.  Oh yes, and opening 10 months of mail, including our Christmas cards.  Our conversations frequently turn to where we will have our first restaurant meal.  Should it be bacon and eggs at Becky’s in Portland, a ham sandwich at the Big Top in Brunswick, or Chinese at the Yenching in Harvard Square?  I have already made a date with my buddy from Curry for a meal at Takara in Canton. 

Watch for Camels on the Road

We Don't Expect to See Any Camels in Maine

We will put away our well-thumbed Rough Guide to Jordan, and return to our Boston and Maine life.  Thank you for reading our blog and for your emails.  You helped us to feel connected while we have been so far away.

A Trip to Israel

Being so close to Israel, it seemed silly not to plan to visit what is often billed in the travel brochures as “The Holy Land”.  To go to Israel from Amman one travels to the border either by taxi (about one hour, our choice; 30 JD - $42) or by bus.  The procedure on the Jordanian side is to have your passport inspected by men in two different windows and then to each pay a 10 JD ($14) departure tax.  Then onto a large bus (7 JD per person and 1.5 JD for the bag - $21.70 total) which takes you a few kilometers to a Jordanian check point and then over the King Hussein Bridge (known as the Allenby Bridge in Israel).  The bridge crosses over the Jordan River where the river is brown and smaller than a Maine stream.  Then off the bus and into the crush of people waving their passports at an Israeli official ensconced in a small office.  The bulk of the travelers are Palestinians, with a smattering of Western tourists.  In typical Arab fashion, there were no tidy lines or orderly procedures. To get your passport inspected and the official entry document, it is necessary to be wildly impolite and throw your elbows and reach over other extended arms.  No Israeli stamp goes into the passport, but I wouldn’t want to lose the little paper that was generated.  Then onto a small bus that takes us from the border to Jerusalem, about a 45 minute ride (42 shekels each plus 5 for the bag – about $23).  No private cars are allowed to cross between Jordan and Israel so renting a car to travel there is not an option.

Because many of my colleagues and acquaintances here are Palestinian, Israel is a very touchy subject.  One of my colleagues, of Palestinian descent, has told me that the Knesset (national legislature) is built on land that belongs to her family.  She has also told me that she is not allowed entry by the Israelis.  What is known by many as the West Bank, may be referred to here as Palestine or the Occupied Territories.  It is separated from Israel by what is known as “the Green Line” which dates to the demarcation that was put in place after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.  In actuality there are three areas, called Area A, B, or C, each with varying degrees of Israeli involvement. Israeli citizens are completely forbidden from entering Area A, which is under civil and security control of Palestine.  It is a complicated issue, one that is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

Old City Jerusalem 

[click on picture to enlarge it]

all photos by Ed Quigley

We stayed in a hotel in East Jerusalem, just outside the Old City wall.  That night we had dinner in a restaurant that served wine.  While this might not sound like a big deal, it is for those of us who live in a country where alcohol is rarely on the menu.  Even many restaurants that serve “international” or “western” food here in Amman rarely serve any alcohol as it would cause many of the Muslim clientele to shun that restaurant.

The next day we headed out of Jerusalem in a rental car.  We followed the most direct route to Nazareth which took us through the West Bank Area A.  When we reached the boundary with Israel, we went through an Israeli checkpoint.  The armed soldier wanted to know what we were doing in Jenin, a town that we had skirted along the way.  With a look into the trunk and a short look into our suitcase, he waved us through.  Soon we were in Nazareth, a city of 65,000 population, a third of whom are Christian.  Not being particularly religious, we wandered the town, watching the many tour groups make their pilgrimage to the various sites associated with Jesus Christ.

  

Rosary Beads for Sale in Front of the Greek Orthodox Church in Nazereth

On Saturday morning we drove to Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberius on some maps, Kinneret in Hebrew).  Lake is clearly a more accurate designation as it is fresh water and only 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  At around 700 feet below sea level, it is the lowest fresh water lake in the world.

Then west to Akko (Acre) on the Mediterranean, and a chance to feel the sand on my feet and to make my eyes smile with the sight of salt water.  Since I have no sense of smell, I love when Ed says, “smell that salt air”.  I smell it in my memory.  Akko, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is an interesting port city, filled with history.  Arriving on a Saturday afternoon, the old city and waterfront were crowded with families enjoying the weekend.  Akko is mentioned in Egyptian writings of 4000 years ago.  It has belonged to a variety of entities, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and the Christian Crusaders.  Each subsequent conqueror rebuilt the city, often dismantling what was there to reuse the construction materials.  By around 1100, it had become the capital of the Crusader Kingdom in the Holy Land, with strong commercial ties to Pisa, Venice, Marseilles and Genoa.  Here we met Amir and Ruth, the couple who bought our last boat two years ago.  Unfortunately the boat is in a harbor more than two hours to the south so we could not see our (their) Cygnus.  Amir was raised in the area, and he and Ruth have lived there since they were married.  He was a wonderful tour guide, including a visit to a Finnish archeologist, who works tucked away in a large room contained in the ancient city wall, patiently fitting shards of pottery together.  We toured the Hospitaller Fortress (Knights Halls), an entire Crusader city complete with secret tunnels.  Akko is also famous in more recent times.  During the British Mandate (1920s) Akko Fortress was the main prison in the north of what was then Palestine; it housed various political prisoners.  Lunch with Amir and Ruth was a treat.  The restaurant was above a fish market.  The procedure is to go into the cold storage area of the market; select your fish, and then go upstairs to where it is served.  My shrimp was delicious!

Akko Harbor

Courtyard of the Hospitaller Fortress 

A night in Haifa, then a visit to Caesarea (the well preserved ruins of another ancient Roman port city, turned Byzantine capital and then Crusader fortress), and back to Jerusalem where we returned the car (gas is almost $6.50 per US gallon).  We entered the Old City to walk along the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross or Way of Suffering, the route that Christ walked to his crucifixion) and to visit the Western Wall (the holiest Jewish shrine).  

Tomb Cover in Caesarea

Roman Aquaduct in Caesarea

After a night in Jerusalem, we reversed our border crossing – small bus to the checkpoint where this time the departure tax was 357 shekels (almost $93) for the two of us, the big bus to the Jordanian side and with our residency cards, a quick wave through immigration and into a taxi for the one hour ride back to Amman.

Western Wall in Jerusalem

Clearly there is much more to see and do in Israel, but our time was limited because I was scheduled to attend a two day international nursing conference in Amman.  However, our brief trip to Israel was interesting and I am really glad that Ed talked me into going.

It All Becomes “Just Normal”

When one arrives in a foreign country, in an area of the world where one has never been before, so much is new and unusual.  But over time, we adapt, and we stop seeing what once was strange.  It all becomes “just normal” which is one of the most common Jordanian phrases that I hear when I ask about something.  And now, so much is truly “just normal” in my eyes.

When I go to the ladies room at the university, I think it is normal to have to take my own toilet paper.  I am not surprised to see a colleague washing her feet in the sink before she prays.  In any rest room and at our apartment here, I am well trained to place the paper in the “poopy paper bucket” next to the toilet rather than flushing it.

Poopy Paper Bucket in the Bathroom in our Apartment

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all photos by Ed Quigley

 I think it is normal to see a woman in a black abaya, veiled, sneaking her food under the veil.

Veiled Lady

Beeping horns, chaotic traffic, reading in the Jordan Times that 22 newly placed traffic cameras recorded 3400 violations on their first day – all normal. I'm not even surprised by the report that the first recorded traffic violator was a police car.

Not having my own car has become normal.  At first I missed it so much.  Now, I rarely think of what it would be like to just jump in and go wherever I want.  When we have rented car in Greece, Cyprus, Dubai or here in Jordan, Ed has done the driving.  I hope that I have not forgotten how to drive!

I always remember not to extend my hand to a man, unless he indicates that he will shake hands with a woman.  The early feelings of discomfort at being not good enough to be acknowledged in the same way that he would acknowledge a man are gone.  It is “just normal”.

Isn't it normal to go into a café for a cup of tea and see 80% of the people puffing away on shisha (water pipe)?  Reading in the Jordan Times that the majority of lawmakers are still smoking under the Dome of Parliament in violation of the public health law is no surprise.

Man Smoking an Argileh 

(When there is no cafe handy, you can always bring your own waterpipe.)

No mail delivery to the homes is of course “just normal”.  If you want mail, you can get a mailbox in the post office, if you can find the post office.  I still have not seen one in my neighborhood, in spite of many hours of wandering the streets.  A man who has lived in our building for 25 years also does not know where the post office is located.

Photocopied books which at first made me feel guilty to even touch them are “just normal”.  No local library; again “just normal”.

Hearing the Friday sermon broadcast on the loudspeaker from the mosque is normal too.  Wouldn’t you expect that everyone should be allowed to hear it, even if they chose not to attend?  And of course the call to prayer five times a day starting now before 5 A.M. is barely noticed.  Until we changed to summer time near the end of March, it was around 4 A.M., and because it is based on sunrise, it gets earlier every day.

Mosque Near the City of Salt

(The loud speakers are near the top of the minaret.)

Seeing pictures of the King everywhere, often in a trio with his father, King Hussein who died more than 15 years ago, and his son, Hussein, the Crown Prince is so common that I don’t even notice it anymore. 

 The King Above a Store in Amman

(Just below the King is a picture of his whole family.)

Having a taxi driver tell you “no meter; 5 JD”, doesn’t even cause me to blink.  Mostly I either demand that he use the meter or I just get out of the taxi.  Although I have to confess, one day I had had enough.  I raised my voice and said “Just because I’m Western, doesn’t mean I’m stupid”.  He stopped and let me out rather than use the meter which would have resulted in a ride that cost about 1.4 JD rather than 5 JD.

Walking in the street because the sidewalks are obstructed with trees, piles of gravel, trash, merchandise or cars parked helter skelter is normal.

Merchandise and Trash Obstructing a Sidewalk in our Neighborhood

I am not surprised by hearing (or saying) Insha’Allah multiple times in a conversation, or by planning class break for prayer time.

Seeing men walking down the street arm in arm or seeing Ed be taken by the hand as a man is showing him the way is also normal.

Not being given a precise address is normal; why would you want to be able to go directly to your destination without having to describe it as near the Burger King, or behind Kempinski?

I have (almost) gotten used to not seeing any pork in the stores or on a menu.  I do still miss a glass of wine with a meal, and an Easter ham dinner would be a wonderful treat.  Of course Easter Sunday is just another work day here.

What would shock me?  Seeing a man and woman, even husband and wife, have a little public kiss.  Seeing a woman’s shoulders and bare arms.  Seeing a woman’s knees.

In spite of it all becoming “just normal” here in Jordan, I am looking forward to returning to my old normal in mid-June when we arrive in Boston.

We will be traveling in Israel next week so I will not post another blog until around April 25th.

A Trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates, founded in 1971. It is located on the Persian Gulf (also called the Arabian Gulf by Arab countries).   Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the two best known of the seven emirates. 

Dubai is both a city and an emirate, but the city and its surrounding areas basically comprise the entire emirate.  The city is the most populous in the UAE (about 2.1 million).  Only about 17% of the population of Dubai is Emirati; the rest are foreign workers, including people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Europe and the US.  More than 75% of the population is male, largely due to the large number of expatriate workers who are not accompanied by their families.  This includes the construction workers, as well as many men in the service industry.  Every taxi driver that we spoke with was Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi, and did not have family living in Dubai.

The emirate of Abu Dhabi is by far the largest in area (about 87% of the entire federation) and has the largest population (2.45 million of which 20% are Emirati).  The city of Abu Dhabi (population 921,000) is the capital of the UAE, and the second largest city.

So armed with a little information, off we flew to Dubai.  It is a 3-1/2 hour flight, but they are 2 hours ahead of Amman.  Riding in the taxi into the downtown area, it was quickly clear to us that we weren’t in Jordan anymore.  The traffic flowed smoothly with orderly lanes and silent horns.  The driver spoke excellent English; he didn’t smoke or chatter on his cell phone.  People in crosswalks were allowed to cross without a car almost hitting them.  Wow!  Are we still in the Arab world?

Dense Buildings in Dubai

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all photos taken by Ed Quigley

By the time we checked into the hotel we had spotted the Tim Horton’s directly across the street.  For those of you who live in Dunkin Donuts country, Tim’s is a Canadian version of Dunkin.  I am a big fan, seeking them out wherever we go in Canada.  They have crossed the border and are popular in Buffalo as well, so on my visits there, I can get a regular Tim’s fix.  But who would have thought that we would find Tim in Dubai?  The Canadian maple donut was as yummy as ever.

Dubai has a new, modern metro that is a delight to ride.  There is even a car designated for women and children, but we consistently saw men in it.  The metro was heavily used, and most of the riders were men, not surprisingly since most of the residents are men.  I would imagine Emirati women would drive their own cars to the mall.

Of course we headed to an area where we could see some boats.  Dhow Wharfage on the Creek in the Deira section of Dubai was very different than we expected.   Dhows are old style mostly wooden boats that are used for fishing in the Persian Gulf and for trading across the gulf and around the Arabian Sea primarily with Iran, but also to Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and the Sudan.  We expected to see a few boats, but in fact it was a bustling area with dozens of boats being loaded and unloaded, mostly by hand.  The crews were primarily Pakistani.  Everything that you could imagine was being shipped – soda, produce, household goods including refrigerators and stoves, even cars.  The men (and it was all men) were friendly, greeting us with the usual “where are you from?”  After land-locked Amman, we always feel better when we are with boat people.  So while others may have headed first to the amazing malls, we needed our time near the water.  Then on to another treat – Fibber Magee’s Pub.  Being a Thursday night (remember in the Arab world the weekend is Friday and Saturday) it was packed with an expat crowd of primarily Europeans.  A pint of cider and an Irish breakfast with pork sausage made for a good dinner.

Cargo at the Dhow Wharfage

Dubai is known for having the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa (828 meters, 2716.5 feet; 160 plus floors).  We could see it from our hotel room, gracefully towering over the other buildings in the area.  It was built in only six years, with the excavation beginning in January 2004 and the official launch in January 2010.  The highest open air observation deck in the world on the 148^th floor was obviously the place to go.  Of course Dubai also has more of the biggest – including the biggest shopping mall, Dubai Mall which is at the Burj Khalifa.  With around 1200 stores, one of the world’s largest aquariums, and a hockey size ice rink, it is an experience unto itself.  It also has one of the best book stores that we have ever been in – Kinokuniya (called Book World in the mall directory) is a Japanese chain.  It was wonderful to see so many books.

The mall directory provided a “courtesy policy” which had the usual things like no smoking and no pets, but also reminded patrons that there should be “no kissing or overt display of affection in the mall”.  The accompanying picture showed a male and female figure holding hands with the red slash line through them.

Dubai is such a strange mix of cultures.  We saw many men wearing the thobe (long white robe) and usually a white scarf.  Many women wore the black abaya and quite a few veiled as well.  Although travel guides encourage Western women to dress modestly, we saw many short skirts and bare arms.  Many of the Indian and Afghani merchants and the Pakistani seaman wear the baggy pants and long tunic tops, while others have Western style shirts and pants.

Foreign Construction Workers Waiting for Transportation at the End of a Shift

Dubai is all about shopping, whether at the malls or the souks.  In the malls you find all the high end stores and in the souks you find everything.  Several streets will be filled with textile shops and every type of ribbon and ornament to add to a custom made dress.  Other streets will be filled with shoe shops and in another area there is only gold – more ornate gold jewelry than I could have imagined.  In many of the southern Asian and Middle Eastern cultures, gold is an important part of the marriage contract.  We especially enjoyed a long chat with an Afghani merchant, where we learned about business practices and social customs.  As usual, Ed’s picture taking opened the conversation.  Soon the merchant had one of his employees pull up two stools and called out for the tea merchant to bring us steaming cups of tea.  We sat in front of his shop, watching the world go by.  For us, these encounters with ordinary people are the best part of traveling.

Men Waiting to Transport Goods in the Souk

In Abu Dhabi the sight to see is the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Mosque, also known as the Grand Mosque.  Construction began in the 1990s and it opened for worship in 2007.  Its white marble façades make it shimmer in the sunlight.  With four minarets and 82 domes, the mosque can accommodate 10,000 worshipers in the internal area and another 30,000 in the courtyard.  The main chandelier weighs approximately 12 tons.  Materials used in the mosque were sourced from around the world to symbolize the unity of all mankind.

Sheikh Zayad Mosque

Courtyard of the Sheikh Zayad Mosque

From the city of Abu Dhabi we drove through the desert to Al Ain, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.  Here the main attraction was the large camel market.  We saw camels of all sizes and colors, gathered here from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and other places, waiting to be auctioned.  Owners from Yemen and Oman and Pakistan and the Sudan lounged and chatted with each other.  We even saw some camels in the back of Toyota pick-up trucks, being transported to the market.  I suppose it is quicker than making them walk, but it seems incongruous for the haughty ships of the desert to be loaded into a truck.

Camel with One Day Old Calf 

There were many more highlights of the trip to UAE, but we’ll save the rest of the stories until we return to Boston.

The Twisted Building and its Neighbors

Spring Semester at the University of Jordan

I like to write. And I’m a good writer. My first professional publication was shortly after I completed my nursing master’s degree. In the 1980s, when we lived and traveled on our boat, I published a number of sailing articles. And there were a couple of travel articles in newspapers after we returned from our long sailing trip. My colleagues have frequently asked me to critique papers and offer an opinion. But teaching professional writing? Really? When the Vice Dean for Graduate Studies asked me if I would teach the subject this semester, I said “yes, of course” and wondered how to proceed. I was a bit disappointed that I would not get an opportunity to teach either of the syllabi that I proposed in my Fulbright application (global nursing and quality and safety in the clinical setting).

 My class consists of eight female doctoral students. Five of them were in my class last semester and three are new to me. All of them wear a hijab (head covering). Two of the women are in the military and come to class in uniform. One woman is from Kuwait. She wears a veil, which she takes off in class after I close the door because there are no men present. She has been in high level positions in the Ministry of Health in her country. I won’t be surprised if she becomes the number one nurse in Kuwait after she completes her doctoral degree.

 When I told the Vice Dean that I did not have my APA Publication Manual with me, she assured me that she would get me one. I wasn’t surprised when I received a photocopy. One of my biggest ethical challenges here in Jordan is the copyright violations. Everyone photocopies books. Last September the Jordan Times reported that the National Library Department was cracking down on pirated books. But the reality is that photocopying is the norm. Books are estimated to represent only 5-6% of the overall pirated items. Software, CDs and DVDs are the bigger problem. The estimated loss to the software industry in Jordan (2013) was $35 million. Only 333 cases of copyright infringement were “referred to the court” in the first 9 months of 2014. I have not seen any information on how many of those resulted in convictions or the extent of the fines. In fact, last week when I was in the university library with my Fulbright colleague, she inquired about checking out a book and was advised to “take it (a book from the stacks) to the basement to have it photocopied”. We didn’t. Maybe something was lost in translation, but I don’t think so.

My photocopied APA Manual

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At the end of December, I attended the first induction ceremony for the Jordanian Honor Society.  After one year, this society will petition Sigma Theta Tau International to become a chapter of the international nursing honor society.  I was disappointed that they did not include ‘Nursing’ in the name.  However, the ceremony was very nice and I am proud to be inducted as a founding member.  I gave a presentation on what being a member of Sigma has meant to me since my induction at Boston College, oh so many years ago.  Princess Muna was an honored guest at the induction.  It seems that she rarely misses a significant nursing event; this is the fourth time that I have seen her and the second time that she has spoken to me.  The newly formed chapter has already planned some activities: a book fair, where recent nursing books that are donated by professors will be sold at a low price to students, and several writing workshops.  I will be doing the first presentation on each of the three days of the workshops.

Her Royal Highness Princess Muna

I have also been attending task force meetings on continuing education at the Jordanian Nursing Council (JNC).  The JNC wants to have a bylaw enacted that would require all nurses to participate in some continuing education activities each year.  They were shocked when I told them that some of the states in the US do not require any continuing education.  Quite frankly, it shocks me too.  It also makes me laugh.  My first publication in a national journal was entitled “Speaking Out: The Time for Mandatory Continuing Education is Now”.  That was in 1977.  Some things in nursing change at a very slow pace. 

In February my name was put at my office door

This past week I went with a nursing professor to the clinical setting.  She is responsible for 8 students who are assigned to either the emergency room or the hemodialysis unit at Jordan University Hospital which is only a short walk from the Faculty [College] of Nursing.  It was a totally different experience from how we work as clinical instructors.  The students were already there when we arrived to check on them.  They were not assigned to work with a specific nurse or to care for a specific patient.  Dr Amani encouraged them to find a patient with whom to work.  For the most part the students seemed unsure of what was expected of them.  We left each site after talking to the students, with the promise that we would return in an hour or so to see if they had selected a patient and completed an assessment.  In the hemodialysis unit, the students gave a presentation to the staff on what was described as a new venous access method that was beginning to be done there.  The short on-line video that they showed was supplied by a medical products company, copyrighted in 2000.  In all of her conversations with students, Dr Amani encouraged the students to relate assessment findings to pathophysiology and to nursing diagnosis and nursing interventions.  It is clear to me that she has a broad knowledge of medical surgical nursing.

The students use the same medical surgical textbook that we use at Curry.  Dr Amani assures me that they buy the book, but I have to admit that I am skeptical.  Unfortunately the student handbook is only available in Arabic so I cannot compare their student policies with ours. 

Although I did not see much of the hospital, what I did see was clean; but it reminded me of county or city hospitals in the 1960s – rather dingy.  We passed one seating area for a clinic and my colleague commented that even though people have appointments, they will spend many hours waiting to be seen.  There was a medical and a surgical emergency room.  They were basically open rooms with stretchers and curtains between them.  There was little room for working on the patient and even less room for someone to stay with the patient.  The hemodialysis unit had modern looking dialysis machines (but I have not been in a dialysis unit at home for many years).  The setting was not attractive. 

One thing that always strikes me as odd is the lack of cultural relevance in pictures.  In several hallways I saw pictures of a blonde woman in a white uniform with her finger to her lips.  The message of quiet was easy to comprehend, but looking around at the staff and the patients and visitors, almost everyone was in a hijab.  Not one person looked like the picture.  I also saw this in the clip art my students used last semester in their presentations.  Pictures were of blonde blue eyed children and scenes that were not at all relevant to this desert landscape. 

Graduating Students Memory Autograph Books

I am hoping to have another opportunity to attend clinical where the students are assigned to a medical or surgical nursing unit as well as the skills lab and some undergraduate classes.  When approached about this, faculty sound receptive, but in fact they seem hesitant to actually set a date for me to be there.  I don’t want to miss these opportunities, but it is a fine line between being too insistent and being respectful of their feelings. 

 January Graduates with Their Memory Books

So, for my nursing colleagues, I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences here.  For those of you who are not interested in the hospital, the next post should be more interesting.  We are going to Dubai next week so in two weeks I plan to write about our travels there.  

News from Jordan

The Jordan Times continues to provide us with interesting reading and the opportunity to learn more about the country.  Here are a few topics that we have been following.

Smoking: Smoking is frequently in the news, with a typical headline such as “Smoking still a common sight in public areas despite ban”.  I can attest to that.  Even the secretary to the Dean of the Faculty of Nursing smokes at her desk.  Another headline: “Fight against smoking to take centre stage in 2015 – Princess Dina”.  Princess Dina is the director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and a strong supporter of anti-smoking campaigns. 

A Typical Sight 

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all pictures taken by Ed Quigley

Under a law passed in 2008, smoking is prohibited in “hospitals, healthcare centers, schools, cinemas, theaters, libraries, museums, public and non-governmental buildings, public transport vehicles, closed playgrounds, lecture halls and any other location to be determined by the health minister”.  Punishment is between one week and one month imprisonment or a JD 15 to 25 ($21 to $35) fine.  In January the Health Ministry proposed increasing the fine to JD 100 ($140).  But in spite of all the restrictions, Jordanians spend JD 500 million ($705 million) on tobacco each year.  Considering cigarettes sell for around $2.50 a pack for Marlboros (and significantly less for local brands), that is a lot of smoking.  Although I have seen a variety of statistics regarding the percent of the population who smoke, a WHO report in 2013 indicates that 50% of men smoke.  Other reports put the number of male smokers at 55%.  Women are typically reported to be about 8 to 10%.  There is also a perception that smoking the argileh (water pipe) is less harmful.  According to the President of the Jordan National Anti-Smoking Society, smoking a single argileh is equal to smoking 15 to 40 cigarettes.  

Women Smoking the Argileh

This picture was taken in Jerash after dinner.  We watched the women come from one of the houses with the argileh, and settle in for a chat and a smoke.

Smoking in cafes is also coming under attack, but one manager of a café that serves argileh told the Jordan Times reporter that “it makes no sense to create a designated area for nonsmokers as the majority of his customers are smokers”.  A restaurant worker said that “you see the no smoking signs everywhere…but nobody cares”.  How right that is.  I have been in a taxi with three no smoking signs, and of course the driver is….smoking.

Woman Smoking the Argileh at a Cafe on Rainbow Street

Enforcement of the smoking is certainly spotty.  In 2014 the Ministry of Health issued “110 tickets and 296 warnings to restaurants, fast-food outlets, shopping malls, hotels, and individuals for violating the smoking ban in public places”.  One person could do that in a week!

Note the Argelih on the Sign

Cigarette smuggling to evade paying the taxes is also an issue.  In December the Customs Department found 152,000 cartons of cigarettes in shipping containers from China.  In November, 147,150 cartons were intercepted, again in containers at the Aqaba Port.  Last May, nine container trucks from Dubai were intercepted, in what was described as “one of the largest smuggling attempts in the history of the Jordan Customs Department”. 

 Smoking Shepherd

Water: Another frequent topic is water theft.  In one of the driest countries in the world, illegal wells and illegal taps into water mains is a common problem.  In one month authorities “dismantled 408 illegal fixtures on water mains and pipes across the Kingdom”.  In the same month, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation also “sealed 26 illegal wells and confiscated 30 drilling rigs”.  They conclude that water theft in Jordan “constitutes 70% of water loss”.  Most of the stolen water is diverted to crops and livestock, often in the Jordan Valley where most of the farming occurs.  In January USAID signed an agreement to provide $30 million to assist in limiting water loss and theft.  Since 2000, the US has provided $700 million to Jordan to improve the water situation.

Medical Tourism: The Private Hospitals Association reported that 250,000 patients came from abroad for treatment in 2014.  In Amman there are 9 hospitals that are accredited by the Joint Commission International (the international arm of the same organization that accredits hospitals in the US).  They estimate that each patient is accompanied by two people and that total revenue from medical tourism is JD 1 billion ($1.4 billion) when medical procedures, accommodations, transportation and other expenses are added in.

Drug Smuggling: There are frequent accounts of the seizure of Captagon pills.  I had never heard of Captagon.  A quick internet search told me why. Captagon is the trademark name for the synthetic stimulant fenethylline, which was first produced in the 1960s to treat hyperactivity, narcolepsy and depression.  It was banned in most countries by the 1980s as too addictive.  It is almost exclusively used in the Middle East.  In the year from May 2013 to May 2014 the Anti-Narcotics Department in Jordan seized almost 2.5million Captagon pills.  In a two week period in November 2014 they seized 1.13 million Captagon pills.  The incentive to be involved in this elicit trade is high.  In the rich Gulf countries a pill has a street value of JD 7 ($10), while in Jordan it is only worth about JD 1 ($1.40).  Other drug seizures in the 12 month period included 664 kg of hashish, 6719 kg of marijuana, 331 kg of cocaine, 219 kg of heroin, and 24 kg of opium. (1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds.) A total of almost 11,000 people were arrested on drug charges. 

Article 308: Article 308 of the Penal Code states that rapists are spared from punishment or legal prosecution if they marry the victims and stay with them for five years.  HRH Princess Basma says it is the “role of the media to build a unified stand against Article 308 and to raise the level of debate to make it a public opinion issue”.  Egypt and Morocco have both cancelled similar laws in the last few years.  It would be interesting to know if there are other countries that still have similar laws. I have not been able to find any statistics as to how often this occurs.  Hopefully it will not be long until this law is reversed.

And a little trivia: There are 119,000 engineers in Jordan.  This equates to 1 in every 65 Jordanians.  But if you only consider adults, it equates to 1 in 35.  Not surprisingly, there is unemployment among engineers.  Women are well represented in the field, constituting 25% of the total number.

So that’s the news for today.

Traveling in Greece and Cyprus

Our final exam was administered and graded, our course grades were submitted and my syllabus for the next semester (Professional Writing for the doctoral students) was almost finished. We were packed and ready to go for a three week holiday in Greece and Cyprus. But a major winter storm was coming to Jordan. The government announced that schools would close; the all-important Tawjihi (national exams) would be cancelled. Banks and government offices would be closed. It snowed in Amman. There must have been three inches of slush. Looking out our front window, the usually busy street was deserted. The newspaper was not published (or at least it was not delivered). And…our flight to Greece was cancelled. So Ed spent the day rebooking our hotel room in Athens and changing the date for the rental car, and I drank tea and grumbled.

But on Friday January 9th we got on the big bird and flew to Athens. Our first stop after we picked up the rental car was a huge electronics store where we bought a GPS. It costs less to buy one than the rental company wanted to charge to use one. It has the maps for both Greece and Cyprus.

Athens was great. Although it is a city of 3.8 million, it does not feel crowded. An excellent subway system and good bus service (and high taxes on cars and very expensive gas [over $6 per gallon]) helps to eliminate much of the traffic. Also, motorcycles are popular and drivers seem to think that the rules apply to them and driving at a moderate speed is normal. We thoroughly enjoyed being away from the traffic chaos of Amman. The hop on/hop off bus got us to the sights and we wandered the Plaka neighborhood with its small cafes and bars. The food was excellent and having a bottle of good wine with a meal felt like pure luxury.

Fish Market in Athens

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Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

After a few days we headed off into the countryside, first to Delphi where we consulted the Oracle. Then into the middle of the country.  While most people that I know who have been to Greece, rave about the islands, we had decided that we would skip them this time as winter storms and reduced schedules might make it difficult to visit the islands.  As it turned out, we had beautiful weather, with only one partial day of rain.  However, inland Greece did not disappoint.  We spent a whole day visiting the monasteries of Meteora.  They were built on the top of rock pinnacles in the 14^th century.  Today six are still in use; two of those are occupied by nuns.  They are in beautiful repair and offer stunning views of the countryside.

Monastery in Meteora

Two of the Meteora Monasteries

Another Monastery

While the mountains in Greece were beautiful, it was the coastal towns and cities that were special.  We took the ferry to Corfu, mostly for the fun of being on a boat.  Fresh shrimp at a small restaurant right on the harbor in a fishing village – what could be better than this?  We arrived in Patras on the first night of a month long carnival.  It seemed as if everyone in this small city was wandering the pedestrian street or sitting in a café watching the world go by.  The cog railroad up a narrow gorge in the northern Peloponnese was fun too.

Greek Village

Greece

Then on to Cyprus for ten days.  Cyprus is still divided into the North (Turkish) part and the South (Greek) part.  Travel between the two sectors is not difficult; finding the location of the checkpoint can be difficult.  In Nicosia (also called Lefkosia, Lefkosa) there is a pedestrian only crossing.  We were only about one block away when I inquired about the location from a shopkeeper.  She pretended not to know what I was talking about.  It is clear that it will not be a united island any time soon.

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot Flags

A (very) little bit of history.  The problems in Cyprus go way back, and there are many sides to the story.  Post World War II the Greek majority on the island promoted the concept of enosis, or unification with Greece. This movement was also linked to an anti-colonial movement to rid the island of British rule.  In 1960 the Republic of Cyprus was born.  The British maintained two sovereign bases on the island (and continue to do so).  The two communities never really were united and by the mid-1960s the UN was involved in an attempt to keep the peace between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot factions.  In 1974 there was a coup and what is referred to (by some) as a Turkish invasion.  Today the two portions of the island are divided by the Attila Line (also known as the Green Line) and the demilitarized zone is patrolled by the UN.  Talking to people on either side, we had the feeling that the events of 1974 are still clearly influencing their thoughts.  Today, Cyprus (the South or Greek part) belongs to the European Union and uses the Euro as their currency while the Turkish portion uses the Turkish lira.  The Turkish portion is not recognized by any country other than Turkey.

The South has a heavy British and Russian tourist influence, although with the Russian economy, they are likely to see less Russians this year.  In Pafos there are many signs for full English breakfast and there are pubs galore with cider on tap.  It would seem that with the mild weather January would be an ideal time for the British to be in Cyprus, but we repeatedly heard that January is a slow month, tourism picks up around Easter.  While some areas are overbuilt with vacation homes and apartment hotels, inland is either mountainous or agricultural.  Driving through the Troodos Mountains on a Sunday afternoon, we were surprised to find crowds, even tour buses, because they had snow at the elevation.  It was clear that the snow was a novelty.  On the Turkish side of the island, we really enjoyed the ancient city of Famagusta (also called Gazimagusa; no wonder our GPS was struggling to find itself at times).  One of my favorite buildings there was a church, built around 1300, that was converted into a mosque – in the early 1500s.

Church that Became a Mosque

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.  Meteora won as the most interesting place that we visited, and the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Napfoli took the prize for nicest hotel and best breakfast.  The view looking over the harbor from our balcony on a sunny mild January day was, as they say in the Master Card ads, “priceless”.

So now we are back in Amman and another semester has begun. 

Lighthouse in Cyprus