News Brief

This post includes links to several news articles as well as a few of my comments pertaining to each one:

1. Though I currently reside in my permanent village and spend most of my days hanging out, drinking tea, playing cards, or playing soccer with local community members and local teachers, I have not officially started teaching at my school as all Jordanian Ministry of Education (public) Schools are currently on their winter break after first semester exams ended a couple weeks ago.  Typically the second semester starts the first Sunday (the work week is Sunday to Thursday in Jordan) in February, but this year that day happens to fall on February 5th which is the Prophet Mohammed's (pbuh) birthday and is a national holiday; therefore, the first day of second semester is schedule for February 6th.  Unfortunately, however, I may not be able to start working on February 6th as teachers across the country have announced their decision to strike for the second time in 3 years in opposition to the current salary restructuring plan set to go in effect at the commencement of the second semester.
2. Last weekend about 12 current TEFL (Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) PCV's attended a conference in Amman sponsored by the American Language Center entitled Shaping the Way We Teach:  Successful Practices Conference.  The majority of attendees were Jordanian English teachers from throughout the Kingdom.  There was also quite a contingent of international attendees and presenters from throughout the Arab world and North America, including a group of US State Department sponsored English Language Fellows who are currently teaching English at posts throughout the Middle East and North Africa.  The highlight for many however, was the fact that the keynote speaker was none other than Eid Dahiyat the Jordanian Minister of Education and current Acting Prime Minister of the country.  (I say acting because Jordanians only have national elections once every several years, but the all Ministers and Members of Parliament are all fired once every 9-12 months and Mr. Dahiyat is currently serving as Prime Minister until the next round of national elections).
3. Thirdly, in my time here in Jordan, I have been struck by the kindness, generosity, and peacefulness of all Jordanians.  When Jordanians watch the news and hear about people dying; be it Syria, Palestine, Egypt, or other places; Jordanians are truly sad and hopeful for a peaceful end to conflict.  That being said, Jordan is a country with scant natural resources a very high unemployment rate among young men (the unemployment rate for women isn't officially as high, but that is primarily because most women do not look for a job outside of the home).  Almost all men that I have met in Jordan have one of five jobs:  teacher, soldier, fire fighter, merchant, or driver.  As a side-note, I should also point out that many of these men, especially teachers, have a second job as merchants.  In the desert villages where I have spent most of time since my arrival in October, there honestly aren't many job prospects other than those that I mentioned.  For many Jordanians who want a secure and steady job, the best option often times is to join the army.  When you add this to the fact that King Abdullah was a highly decorated Special Forces Commander in the Jordanian Army before even being named Crown Prince by his father King Hussein and is quite supportive of the army, you find that Jordan, though peaceful and one of only two Arab countries to have a peace treaty with Israel, all of sudden becomes one of the most militarized countries in the world.  If you look at the article, you will also notice that of the top ten, seven are in this Eastern Mediterranean/Arab region with Israel being the world's number one most militarized country.
4. Finally, this article proves that it gets very cold and it even snows in Jordan.