Exploring the Dead Sea

After a busy week of science far projects, talents shows, pine wood derbies, parent-teacher conferences, and countless other activities, we finally had a day with nothing planned. So, we decided to make a trip to the Dead Sea.

Amman is not a bike-friendly city. There are many hills, the drivers are crazy, and there are no usable sidewalks. So, we loaded up the bikes and took them down to the Dead Sea. There is a unused service street and wide sidewalk that parallels the shore. It's nothing like California's boardwalks, but it's as good as it gets here.

We then found a spot further south along the lake for a hike. At several spots along the Dead Sea, the shoreline has large deposits of salt. The water has such a high concentration of salt that it feels oily. The water's edge looks like an iced-over lake.

Andrew found a tire along the shore. The salt on it looked like snow. In fact, Colin cut his finger on the sharp edge of a salt crystal. He instinctively reached for what looked like a piece of ice and placed it on his finger. He quickly realized that it was a large crystal of salt and that it did not have the same soothing effect of ice.

Gaby came across a sandal that had been left behind by someone. The salt that had accumulated on it made it look like a glass slipper.

This picture shows how much the Dead Sea has receded over the past several years. A slab of hardened salt hangs over a cliff that has eroded.

Cub Scout Pinewood Derby

This is Andrew's second year participating in the Cub Scout pinewood derby. After seeing how competitive parents (not kids) were last year, we realized that it would be difficult to build a car that would outrun the others and win the speed test. So Andrew decided to go for the Most Creative award. Andrew and I built a Safari car that included Lego people. It was not aerodynamic and lost each of its races, but at the end of the day Andrew received the coveted trophy for having the most creative car. He is very proud of his award.

School Talent Show

Gaby and her friends performed "Imagine" at the school talent show tonight.

Dogs in Arab Countries

Before arriving to Jordan, I did not realize the extent of the stigma associated with dogs in Arab cultures. In Islam, dogs are considered ritually unclean and most Muslims avoid contact with them.

One of my first experiences dealing with this issue was when the Embassy helped bring in several bomb-sniffing dogs to assist with a VIP visit. At the airport, the luggage handlers refused to get near the dog carriers. Then, the airport management refused to let the caged dogs into the terminal. After we agreed with them that the dogs would be left on the tarmac for pick up, the driver of the rental car we had arranged with refused to transport the dogs when he learned what was inside the cages. After several dead-end conversations, we ended up picking up the dogs ourselves with our own vehicle.

Numerous American employees who have pet dogs routinely encounter problems with their Jordanian neighbors. It is not uncommon for locals to throw rocks at dogs as their owners take them for walks. There have also been instances of neighbors attempting to poison dogs.

Earlier this month, as I was trying to mediate one of these conflicts, a Jordanian adamantly told me that a pregnant lady residing in the same building as one of our employees refused to leave her apartment for fear that the dog would infect her unborn baby.

So, although they might not completely understand, my kids will eventually learn that Dad is not just being mean when he says, "absolutely not" to their request for a puppy.

All in the Name of Science (Part 1)

Gaby and her friend Oriana are working together to prepare a science fair project. They have chosen to study hand washing. Their hypothesis is that it takes 20 seconds of hand washing to get hands 85% clean. To test this, we ordered a powder that glows under a black light. Gaby's unhygienic brothers were the perfect subjects for the experiment.

The project is still not done, but Dad and Mom have, unfortuantely, been heavily involved in pushing the project along. Mr. Analytical Dad has helped out by ensuring that the math is robust and in finding a way to use a grid system to define a "% clean" metric. Mrs. Creative and Peace-Maker Mom has been providing creative ideas for the three-fold poster and ensuring that each session does not end in tears.

Stay tuned for part 2 . . .

Consular Leadership Day

This past Tuesday, the Embassy's Consular Section held their annual Leadership Day. This is a team-building or training day for employees to spend time with co-workers away from the office and allow them to find answers to profound questions such as, "why are we here?," "where are we going?" For those who are not profound thinkers and are along for the ride, it is just an excuse to be away from the office. Of course, there has to be some "training" involved to justify a day away from work.

Even though I am no longer working in the Consular Section, the Consular Chief asked me to help organize the activities and facilitate a day centered around Gallup's StrengthFinder. This is an online personality assessment developed by Gallup (my previous employer) that focuses on identifying and utilizing people's talents. Each employee was given a StrengthFinder 2.0 book and took the online survey to identify their top 5 strengths.

The first activity of the day was an Amazing Race-type scavenger hunt throughout Amman. Each team took an Embassy vehicle and was responsible for finding locations relevant to Consular work. For example, they had to find a morgue, a police station, a passport office, bus station, and other locations that American citizens in distress often need to visit.

The picture above shows one stop along the scavenger hunt. Each team was required to take pictures of the location on the list as proof that they visited the spot. We made a few exceptions to this picture rule since taking pictures at some locations, such as police stations, can get you thrown in jail or start an international incident.

For the second part of the day, we went to the Deputy Chief of Mission's (DCM's) residence. The schedule showed that this was the lunch location. Little did the employes know that they would be preparing the lunch. Again, we divided the team into smaller groups. Each of the five groups was responsible for preparing either the appetizers, soup, salad, bread, or dessert. Each team had a specific challenge:

The group preparing the appetizers was given pre-mixed dough and a bunch of random ingredients. Their challenge was to create and cook their part of the meal on an outdoor BBQ grill. To further complicate their task, they were all given a pair of oven mitts that they were required to wear throughout the entire preparation process.

The second group was responsible for making chicken tortilla soup. They were given all the necessary ingredients and a recipe. However, their challenge was that they needed to use construction tools, instead of kitchen utensils, to prepare the soup. It was quite a site to see them cutting onions with a saw, opening a can with a hammer and screw driver, and pulling apart chicken with pliers.

The third group had to make salad. Their handicap was that all team members could only use their non-dominant hand. Luckily no fingers were cut as one person steadied vegetables while another cut.

The fourth group had the task of making bread. Making bread from scratch is difficult enough; their task was further complicated since they did not have a recipe. As all the other teams, they were given a 60-minute time constraints; therefore, they did not have time to let the bread fully rise.

The last team was responsible for preparing and baking cookies (the most important part of the meal). One person on the team was given a recipe, a white board, and markers. Like in the game of Pictionary, this person was only allowed to draw directions. His teammates had to interpret these pictures and decide how they were going to mix the ingredients and bake the cookies.

The final spread turned out much better than I had imagined. All the food was edible, in fact delicious, and no one was out sick the next day.

For the last two hours of the day, I gave a presentation on how employees can identify their strengths and utilize them in the workplace. The activities of the day got people in the right mindset and prepared them to talk about strengths and talents they observed in their co-workers.

Spring Has Arrived

Today (Saturday) Shelley went into work. She has report cards coming due shortly so she spent most of the day working on them.

The boys and I opted to spend the day outdoors. We went on a short hike with one of Andrew's friends. It is a great time of year to be outdoors. We came across an olive grove that was filled with yellow flowers.