December 2011
1 post
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October 2011
1 post
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August 2011
2 posts
7 tags
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June 2011
4 posts
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“If you choose to live life in the cracks of sidewalks and sanity, then you are...”
– “And if we drink of the world in order to fill ourselves, and find ourselves never being filled, or only feeling filled in the most circumstantial ways, what then? If I feel genuine though ultimately obsolescent happiness from my world experiences, then how do I cultivate a joy that is...
May 2011
2 posts
May 6, 2011
Amman, Jordan
housemates
Things in Amman that I will not miss:
1. The gas delivery trucks that blast Fur Elise, Happy Birthday and other creepy themes with the same enthusiasm as ice cream trucks…all hours of the day, over and over and over.
2. My Arabic class with Dr. Ali
3. Cold Showers that lack water pressure
4. ”Clubs”being perceived as the suitable...
April 2011
12 posts
3 tags
Three Years Ago
Saturday April 30th 2011
Amman, Jordan
Tomorrow is May Day, one of my absolute fav days of the year!
In Milwaukee, the annual Immigrant and Workers Rights March will begin at 1:30.
Meet at Voces de la Frontera (1027 S. 5th Street) and walk to Veteran’s Park.
Great opportunity to meet neighbors, spend an afternoon and mobilize on behalf of collective bargaining rights, access to...
4 tags
Grans
April 26, 2011
Amman, Jordan
I can’t pronounce his name. In fact, I don’t really remember it. A 70-something year old Jordanian-American interrupted my reading to tell me some stories, “give me some information.” The former glory of Nasser, harassment by Texas cops, Italian neighbors and the Palestinian University system... After an hour or so he told me that he had...
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scopin incomplete lists
April 23, 2011
Amman, Jordan
Distance makes things easier to keep track of. I don’t know if it’s true, but I agreed. Sounded good in passing. It’s hard to tell if I am more anxious and disinterested in finishing my papers for this semester or in returning back to the States in a few weeks. I’ve grown accustomed to the travel tales, cab-driver conversations and ...
3 tags
April 18, 2011
Amman, Jordan
Rise & shine....
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King Hussein to Alenby Bridge
March 31, 2011
Alenby Bridge, The West Bank
I feel like I just put down a book that I spent the last 12 hours reading. I have to come to terms with the reality that I am not that character. I never really experienced that pain or frustration. Years haven’t lapsed by. I am just sitting in a parking lot, waiting for this bus to fill up. That’s how they do things here. Buses...
March 2011
16 posts
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March 26th 2011
Iraq el-Amir, Jordan
Bus west from 7th Circle to Wadi Al-Seer (15 minutes)
Bus southwest from Wadi Al-Seer to ‘Iraq al Amir (15 minutes)
30 piasters + 45 piasters = .75 JD (‘bout a dollar)
To signal for the bus to stop tap on the window with a coin
“Qasr Iraq el-Amir: constucted by Herkanus, the Ammonite of the Tobiad Family (do you know who that is?) 2nd...
WatchMarch 26th 2011
Iraq el-Amir, Jordan
Bus southwest from Wadi Al-Seer to ‘Iraq al Amir
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The Time Goes Fast with Good People 2
Goodies:: Hat knit by Hani’s mama & bracelet gifted by Egyptian Pride Acc. @ Korba Fest
Since returning from Egypt I’ve been riding high with inspiration and excitement. I’ve never wanted to learn Arabic more. Making flashcards, attempting to read headlines, doing it right. In addition, Liz and I had our first skype session with our Cairo-based Economic Development...
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Walk the Talk →
For much more focused and articulate blog pieces on Cairo haps, please check out this blog. It is written by my former Community-Based Learning Professor and friend Kathy Kamphoefner. She’s fantastic!
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“We are facing serious threats on our borders and the longer the transitional...”
– When will the preoccupation will borders end?
Security in whose interests?
This isn’t me hating on the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization. Rather, why is attention being transferred to this issue. Civilian-led rule over the military is obviously preferred; the introduction of border...
2 tags
pointers with pink dye
March 22nd
Amman, Jordan
Saturday March 19th Egypt held its first election since the revolution. 45 million citizens were eligible to vote. It was the first time voting for the vast majority. Since the National Democratic Party (NDP) had notoriously rigged elections for the past 30 years, people stopped voting…I guess that is assuming that the public once did actively vote and that is not...
“Experience is a great exhaustion from which we never quite recover.”
– Art writer Steven Brown on Jacques-Henri Lartigue’s work.
contextualize it: http://thespottedfox.com/stuff-we-love/art-inspiration-jacques-henri-lartigue/
The Time Goes Fast with Good People
Saturday March 19th
Heliopolis, Egypt
Saying I do not want to go back to Jordan is a gross understatement. The last 8 days felt like an hour…maybe two. I still haven’t seen everyone and everything I want to. Dang, as if anything is ever finally achieved. That phrase has been in my head a lot lately.
Flash points::
Mega thanks to those that have shown me a good time, given me a bed,...
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T.I.S.S.A.
March 14th
Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt
Here is a tidbit: We (Ellie, Cecilia and I) just rented our second hotel room for the night. The first one had a leopard print couch and matching curtains, a weird fish snow globe and horns on the wall, a sad teddy bear on the shelf, a pathetic excuse for a model ship, grimey animal hide rugs, no toilet paper, no blankets and brown water…and a baby...
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Who are we meeting for? Student Responsibility and...
Sunday February 27th
Al-Wihdat Refugee Camp, Jordan
Sunday I accompanied my professor Dr. Christina Hawatmah and classmates Liana and Wes to visit Al-Wihdat Refugee Camp. Liana and Wes had begun their internships at Jordan’s Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA) and were invited by the DPA’s Director Wajeeh Azayzeh to sit-in on his presentation to a delegation from Norway. That...
February 2011
24 posts
http://www.worldwidedirt.blogspot.com/ →
I don’t really know anything about short stories or writing. I took an English class the fall semester of my freshman year and I hated it. I turned in my final paper for that class nearly a year late. Still managed an A- in the class. My professor was a round, young, kind and clever man.
Just twenty minutes ago I received comments on my second journal entry for my “Community...
Riverwest Public House Cooperative →
Please check this out! So proud of and excited by the folks involved with this!
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Aqaba, Jordan 2.17-18
Nah, I don’t wanna go. Spend money I don’t have, drink to lubricate forced friendships, a dingey hotel, attempts to recreate western comforts. After a mini tune-up about branching out and getting away, I was on an 8 am bus out of rainy Amman. The bus station’s sign warned against bringing morally indecent items, explosives, drugs of all kind and over 200 cigarettes. No one was...
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africa.europe.asia.
Tuesday February 1st
Athens, Greece
Dogs, graffiti, internet, ancient stuff, tattoos, delirious. Overwhelmed by the love and concern drenching my web connects. I could not be more proud of my little brother Kurt and Peter for stepping up and contacting folks about Egypt. As local headlines read,”Egypt: Internet Down, Police Counterterror Unit Up,” the two of them hollered at radio...
WatchMonday January 31st
Cairo, Egypt - Airport
5:00 pm - The sun is low in the sky. We are about to depart for Alexandria. In Alexandria we will pick up 30 more Americans. From there we will continue on to Athens, Greece.
5:48 pm - The plane has yet to move. There is an issue with us leaving after curfew. The air force has implemented a no fly policy. (INSERT VIDEO)
7:10 pm -...
WatchSaturday January 29th
Cairo, Egypt
6:30 pm - Stiff nervousness has set in. We were sitting on the balcony, chatting about the uncomfortableness of the couches and the possibility of police initiating looting/property destruction. Something like the cackle of fireworks made us all jump. Matthew ushered us indoors and Liz, Ellie, Ian and I walked up the stairs to the other balcony. The...
