It's a Small Country!

Amman, Jordan

Jordan is such a small country! Geographically it's the size of Indiana, but sometimes it can seem like the whole country is more closely related than merely the population of Bedford, IN! (No offense, Michael!)

Three years ago, almost exactly, the U.S. Embassy and the Jordanian Ministry of Education ran a workshop series for English supervisors in the Directorates of Education. The plan was for these supervisors to learn about the Progessive Theory of education followed in most American schools, and then retrain English teachers in their Directorates of Education to teach the new Progressivist curriculum. An English teacher in my village, Emad (who was by then madly in love with me, but that's another crazy story for my other blog), was assigned by the northern directorates to be the go-to guy for the two women facilitating the Irbid workshop. Apparently Emad told them wonderful things about this fabulous teacher who was volunteering in his village, and the facilitators suggested that he bring me along to their next session. He did, and I really enjoyed myself, even though my dirty-old-man supervisor Ali was there, too. (Ali must have been glad I was there, too, because when he was supposed to teach the same material in Jerash, in the middle of the second of three Saturday workshops, he handed me his notes and said, "Here. You finish" ... yet another crazy story for my other blog!)

Now, when I met my supervisor Angela at the Modern American School on Thursday, she said, "Do I know you from somewhere?" But we couldn't determine where. Today, however, she mentioned in a workshop that she had taught a seminar for English teachers in Irbid for the U.S. Embassy, and I realized where we knew each other from.

She's still in touch with the co-facilitator of the Irbid workshop, too!