Pictures! and other odds and ends

By popular request, and due to my free time a couple days ago, I finally have a couple pictures up from my neighborhood. As you can see, Amman is a city built on a ton of hills, which makes walking around town incredibly enjoyable (especially with the added benefit of the rather high temperature). In the top picture, you may notice that Amman is not a desert, contrary to popular belief. In fact, it even snows here in the winter. Granted the large green patch shown in the picture is the University of Jordan which is kept looking pristine by a staff of gardeners, but all around the city you see a decent number of trees and plants struggling to make it through the dry summer. The picture on the right shows the street I live on (I live in a 1st floor apartment on at the bottom of the hill), and another example of the wonderful hills here. Below, you can see me and some friends at a nice pub called Amigos. Pictures should be coming more frequently once I start work in a couple weeks, because part of my job will be documenting a kids camp that the organization I've working with is putting on (more on that below).

I just finished week three (of 4) in my intensive Arabic course at the Ali Baba language center. It always amazing how quickly a month can go by, especially when you are doing something that takes up your whole day and then abruptly ends. Yesterday, I took a field trip with my 2 teachers and 4 other American students to downtown. We had to talk in Arabic (mostly...) and did a bit of shopping and sight seeing. Fun opportunity to put into practice a bit of what we've been learning. I bought a nice black and white kuffiyeh and a Mahmoud Darwish book that I'll try to read (in Arabic of course) when I have some time.

After the excursion down town, I parted from the group and took a cab to the neighborhood of Abdoun to meet my contact from Ruwwad (May) and all the players going into organizing the summer camp I'll be working on the next two months. I finally got a bit of a better description of the camp and of my role in the whole process. Here goes:

• The camp runs from July 7th until early August. There are four locations around Amman which will host the kids who mostly come from Jabal Nathif, a poor neighborhood south of the city center.
• About 800 kids will be participating in activities including taekwondo, soccer, art, and dram.
• My role is to report on the camps and help organize the coordinated reporting efforts of the camp director and all of the staff members. These other reports will all be in Arabic, which makes my job nice and interesting. I also get to help translate all the final reports from Arabic into English.
• Part of my job includes photo and video documentation of the camp, which means I get to travel around to all the locations and just have fun with my cameras and then slap them together into some interesting videos, which I'll try to put up here if the bandwidth allows me.
• The camp is sponsored by Queen Rania's School Initiative, so maybe she'll stop by, who knows?

Alright, I think that's enough for this post. Last night I went to church for the first time since arriving in Amman (many churches meet on Sundays, when I have class). I'll write about that awesome experience and my conversation with a couple Iraqi Christians in my next post. I hope everyone is doing well back in NC or wherever you're reading this from. Hit me up on facebook or skype and let me know how the summer is treating you so far. I'm gonna be gone way too long and don't want to lose touch with all of you.

سلام

It's been a week in Jordan and I'm getting pretty nicely settled in. It's amazing how much my Arabic has improved in the last week. My two years of studying Arabic at UNC laid a great base, and now being surrounded by it I'm able to finally take off. I'm still working on my colloquial skills however, since a large number of people here don't actually speak the formal Arabic that I've been learning.

At Ali-Baba, my language school, it has been awesome having one-on-one instruction. This week our conversations took some very interesting turns and I had opportunities to discuss some incredibly difficult topics all in Arabic. My second day in class, I told my teacher about a research paper I did on the Palestinian political cartoonist Naji al-Ali (whose character, Handala, I now realize is on about every key chain here), and we launched into an hour long conversation about his work and the Israel-Palestine conflict. More than half the population of Jordan is Palestinian, so it's a pretty hot topic of conversation.

Yesterday, Obama gave his speech in Cairo to the Muslim World. I watched the whole thing, and really liked most of it. I feel like I basically have job security for a while given my interest in the middle east and specifically social entrepreneurship in the region (which Obama promised to support in the future). Additionally, I'm glad that a US president is finally standing up a bit to Israel and supporting a Palestinian state. After the speech, my job for the day was recounting what Obama said in Arabic. Somehow we got on the topic of religion, and I ended up explaining some of the finer points of Christian theology (most notably the trinity and the divinity of Jesus). Wow, it's hard enough trying to explain that stuff in English, try doing it in Arabic. It was a good conversation, and i hope that Senabel and I can have some more talks like that, maybe I'll ask her some questions about Islam. For now though, I'm glad it's the weekend. 4 hours of Arabic a day takes it out of you. Still no pictures, but I'll work on it.

3 nights in Amman

Well I made it to Jordan, and after a couple days my bags decided to join me. I stayed with Tarek, a guy I met on couchsurfing, for the first three nights and yesterday I moved into a nice little apartment closer to my language school with Ryan, another American. I've got a little time before I head off to class for the next 4 hours and I figured I would put up a quick update on here.

Amman has been great so far. My Arabic is enough to get around with limited English (sometimes), and I have made a couple friends in the city through couchsurfing. I'm taking Arabic classes 4 hours a day, and then should be doing homework, but usually end up going out afterward. I'm still figuring out the general schedule here. Back home I'm used to having dinner around 6 and then starting up again around 8 for the evening. Here, it seems that a lot of people go out around 6 and then get dinner when they get back.

So far I have mostly been in the western part of Amman, near the university. This is the rich part of the city: the houses are pretty nice, the streets are decently clean, there are western sytle fast food places everywhere, and a lot of people are pretty well educated. However, in east Amman the conditions are a bit worse, that's where the refugee camps are and other lower class neighborhoods. I'm going on Sunday to talk to an organization called Ruwwad that I might be working with for the rest of the summer, volunteering with them in the camps. Still a lot of details to work out, but hopefully that will work out. I also might work some with my friend Haya who has a program teaching English in a refugee camp, and is currently in the 30 finalists for a contest sponsored by the Queen for social ventures in Jordan.

That's it for now. I'll try to get some pictures up now that I have my camera. I have internet access in my apartment, but it's really slow, so uploading pictures may take forever. I hope everyone is doing well wherever they are this summer. Keep me updated, I'm on facebook daily. I'll try to get some more meaty posts up once I have some things to think about (wait until the speech tomorrow maybe).

سلام (Peace),
ذانيل (Daniel)

24 Hours to Takeoff

As I prepare to leave for Amman tomorrow, I frantically go over once again my checklists of the various things that I need to do before departing. I've finished my schoolwork for my maymester course, sent off tons of paperwork for my scholarship, I bought a new pair of shoes and a couple other odds and ends, and said goodbye to as many people as I could get a hold of these last few weeks. But I realized that I also needed to get back on here and brush the dirt off of my old posts and get ready to start blogging again for my upcoming trip. So here goes...

I will be in Amman, Jordan from this Saturday until Christmas Eve. My schedule includes a language course during the month of June, an internship for July and August (still working out the details on that), and a study abroad course from September until early December. I'm hoping to do a little bit of travel outside of Jordan during this time: independently to Syria, with my study abroad team to Egypt, and with my parents to Israel/Palestine. Still a lot of stuff to get figured out exactly, but time is running out and I hit the ground running tomorrow!

I'm really excited for this opportunity to live for 7 months in a foreign country. Unlike my past travels, this will be the first time that I am actively working on my language skills while abroad. Right now my Arabic is sufficient to get around (I hope), but come Decmeber I am excited to see where I will be. Academically, I'm looking forward the opportunity to do some research (and also some volunteering) related to the refugees living in Jordan (a ton of Palestinians and over half a million Iraqis). And in general, I'm thrilled to be making a lot of new friends over there, through my programs, travels, and couchsurfing.org (amazing site, check it out!).

That's all I've got for now, I'll post more once I get there. You can keep in touch with me while I'm gone through facebook, email (aadaniel@email.unc.edu) or skype (daniel_acker).
سلام (Peace),
Daniel

PS - Here are a couple of pictures from my trip with my brother and friends to Mexico over spring break, enjoy. (video from the trip can be found here)

She Must and Shall Go Free!

"i can always tell a liar
and i always know a thief
i know them like my family
because brother i’m the chief
i’m a dangerous crusader
because i need to tell the truth
so i’m turning over tables
i’m my own living room

and i might nail indictments up
on every door in town
because it’s not right or safe to let my conscience down..."

I have shared with a couple people recently that my spiritual doubts in the last year have for the most part not revolved around various hot topics like the validity of scripture or the existence of God or the problem of evil. Instead, most of my doubting has focused on the Church: the body of Christ in this world, the Bride, the earthly manifestation of the Kingdom of God. Tonight, I sat down to listen to Derek Webb's album, She Must and Shall Go Free, a beautiful call for the redemption and freedom of the Church and a return to the purity fit for the Bride. I have interspersed some lyrics from the album into this post to help shape a few of my thoughts.

"but i found thieves and salesmen living in my father’s house
i know how they got in here and i know how to get ‘em out
i’m turning this place over from floor to balcony
and then just like these doves and sheep you will be set free"

As I read the scriptures, I see a beautiful message of Good News! God has sent his son as a sacrifice to cover over our sins. I see the Spirit of God guiding his people to create a beautiful new community (The Church) defined by a radical retooling of our lives together to reflect the example of Jesus Christ. No longer are we separated or classified by racial, socioeconomic or gender distinctions or barriers (although these realities have not disappeared). We are called to somehow love our enemies and share our possessions and seek greatness through humility. However, when I look around, I see the fear, isolation, division and condemnation that seems to drive the modern Church (at least in America), and I wonder where we went wrong?

"beloved these are dangerous times
because you are weightless like a leaf from the vine
and the wind has blown you all over town
because there is nothing holding you to the ground

so now you would rather be
a slave again than free from the law"

I feel that it is as appropriate a time as any to question what this whole Church thing should look like: whether that is on campus or in the community or around the world. I question seriously why the Church has forgotten or maybe just overly-spiritualized large parts of the New Testament. The Pit Preachers love to talk about masturbation and pre-marital hugging and the evils of sodomy, but when was the last time you heard Gary tell the students the importance of loving their enemies or selling their possessions and giving to the poor so that they can have purses that won't wear out (Luke 12:33).

"so could you love this bastard child
though i don’t trust you to provide
with one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side
i am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers less wild
that i would take a little cash
over your very flesh and blood

i am a whore i do confess
but i put you on just like a wedding dress
and i run down the aisle
i’m a prodigal with no way home
but i put you on just like a ring of gold
and i run down the aisle to you"

And in churches or fellowships, when a teacher or preacher is bold enough to suggest that perhaps the Bible actually speaks clearly to my messy relationship with money, or to how I treat people who do not look like me, or they suggest that bombing our enemies is not exactly what Jesus meant by loving them, people get up and leave. So I wonder whether we should focus on keeping seats filled or on actually getting into the difficult parts of the message of the Gospel. I heard once that the message of Christ "comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the comfortable." Right now I feel that I live in a comfortable society that doesn't want to be afflicted by the truth and depth of the Gospel.

"i’ve got the law on my heart
i’ve got your love tearing me apart
i’ve got a vow that i can’t keep
but i’ve got your promise getting me to sleep
i’ve got everything, but i’ve got nothing
without you

i’ve got your works, i’ve got my faith
i’ve got all the wine that you can make
i am the kiss of your betrayer
but i’ve got your grace on every layer
i’ve got everything, but i’ve got nothing
without you"

So here's the deal. I need to talk about this. I need to hear what people think. Some of you may think that I am crazy for bringing these questions up (maintain that status quo, don't ask questions). Some of you hopefully read this but are not Christians, and I would love to continue this conversation with you as well, because I think an outside perspective is incredibly important. Some of you may be struggling with the same questions and would like to flesh them out a bit more, I would love to continue the dialogue with you. What I'm saying is that I don't have answer, I just have some questions that I would love to discuss with anyone who is interested in talking to me. Let me know.

cause i haven’t come for only you
but for my people to pursue
you cannot care for me with no regard for her
if you love me you will love the church

My conclusion for the moment is this: I must continue to love the Church even as I question, and understand the depth of my own inadequacies. My deep questioning does not come from a need to condemn others, but to question my own relationship with God and with this world. My dad likes to share a story from an old church member who said, "I was searching for the perfect church until I realized that if I found the perfect church, I would join it, and it would no longer be perfect."

Lessons Learned From Moving

I don't like moving. Not because of the sentimental value that you attach to the place where you live (especially for 14 years), but because it takes a heck of a lot of work to box everything up and move all of the wonderfully heavy furniture that you have accumulated over the years. Fortunately Advil is there to ease the pain.

However, in the midst of the stacks of boxes, frequent trips to the thrift shop to donate assorted junk, dozens of games of Settlers of Catan, and being kicked out of my room for the last week of break, I have been learning a lot through this process. A few thoughts:

- I have had many conversations in the last year about what it looks like to live out a life of discipleship obedient to the teachings and example of Jesus. The conclusion that I have begun drawing recently is that while the lofty goals of loving my enemy, intentional communal living or world peace are beautiful concepts, they are nothing if I cannot take the smaller, simpler, harder steps of loving the people around me daily. This break, I have learned a lot about loving my family. And it is difficult, but I realize that it is impossible to even begin to obey God if I cannot obey my own parents, and how can I love my enemies if I can't even love my brother and sister? I am currently reading The Politics of Jesus by Howard Yoder (amazing book!) and I do think that Jesus' message should radically transform the way that Christians live in their society and how we interact with the powers of this world, but still the greatest of these is love.

- Tonight I learned a little lesson in grace. This last semester, I came to realize that I frequently hold people to unrealistic standards and am not very gracious when they don't live up to them. Around the end of the semester I remember an episode which involved an unfortunate injury. A friend had been warned explicitly to be careful to avoid stepping on a certain sharp object, yet within minutes had succeeded in splitting open their foot. My reaction was not of compassion, but of disbelief that they wouldn't take head of such clear advice. And today, after being pretty explicitly warned, I managed to mangle my own foot on a set of floor tacks while taking up carpet. I guess it's good to have a lesson to take away from 4 tack holes in your left foot.

I'm sure that there is more to be learned, and I may put those lessons up as I think of them. Still a week to go before I head back to school. And despite the pain that will accompany the rapidly approaching midterms and late night Arabic work sessions, I'm really excited to head back!

It's been a while...

It seems that it has been a full 5 months since I last updated this thing. I'm writing in the wee hours of December 26th, after a wonderful Christmas at home with the entire family (which won't be the case next year unfortunately), and directly after destroying the rest of the family in a game of Settlers of Catan (I got them hooked on a board game, wonderful for developing that competitive family spirit!). So last time I wrote it seems that I had just visited the Killing Fields of Cambodia, a rather sobering experience. I guess this post is simply an update from where I left off and a bit of a recapping of the year.

And 5 months has brought me a long way from there: to the temples of Angkor Wat the very next day, to Burma for an afternoon, to the top of a mountain in Hong Kong, and back home to Chapel Hill, through my third semester at UNC, into a new minor (Social Entrepreneurship), through another amazing concert with Psalm 100, and into the beginnings of a CD project. I have seen a lot of relationships really develop in this time, and have also been disappointed with my ability to keep in touch with many of my old friends. I have read a number of books (Brothers Karamazov, The Four Loves, some Rumi...) and have a ton more on my "to read / in the middle of" list (The Politics of Jesus, The Cost of Discipleship, and Hold the Enlightenment).

This semester: I've spent many nights up late drinking coffee and talking, but not as many as I would like. I've spent many nights up late studying Arabic before that next quiz, a few more than I would like, but it should pay off in Amman. I've spent way too many hours at the pool lifeguarding instead of sitting in the arboretum with a book or a friend, and I hope to correct that in the spring.

This year: I have been to 7 countries in Southeast Asia thanks to the Carolina Southeast Asia Summer program, I have learned a lot about the way that I react to people who are different from myself in both positive and negative ways, I have had the amazing opportunity to learn a ton from a family of Burmese refugees that I tutor.

Next year: I hope to be more intentional with those that are close to me (even if the distance between us is rather large), I plan to climb glacier mountains in Mexico with my brother, Steven, and to study abroad for the summer and fall in Amman, Jordan. While there, I will also do an internship with the group Questscope, hone my Arabic skills, and focus my studies on the Palestinian/Iraqi refugee problem (!إن شاء الله). I also hope to slow down a bit and spend less time being worried about my achievements and more time investing in the people around me (if you haven't noticed that's one of the lessons I have been learning this year).

I could go on for a while. I like to think I learned a lot this year. However, it's late and this is already getting long. More to come, I've been thinking a lot recently and I'll try to get up a more thought provoking post in the next week (gotta get regular again...). I hope everyone is having a wonderful break! I can't wait to catch up with some SB2W people next week and all my UNC friends in January. Just in time for my birthday! Get excited, it's gonna be an exhilarating spring!

(enjoy the dread-mullet!)