Saturday Workshops at Petra Elementary

It's Saturday in Amman and the Touchstones team visited the Petra Elementary School for Girls for our third round of workshops.  Among the many murals adorning the walls of Petra Elementary may be found this design:

  

I am told that the arabic means "We are all Jordan."  

The clasped hands unite to form the shape of the nation.   I'm keeping my eye out for the t-shirt.

You may be in a Jordanian Touchstones workshop when you look to the board and find the 4 stages of discussion group development written in Arabic:

 

Each round of workshops, I sit in on a different Touchstones teacher trainer's session.  Today I joined Kevin Topper.   It's hard to be unobtrusive when you're carrying a camera, but I snapped this photo during Kevin's workshop:

I know what you're thinking: "If teachers enjoy Touchstones this much, where do I sign up for Kevin's next workshop?"  

Next door, Howard held a workshop with the assistance of Abir as his interpreter:

  

Here a few teachers relax during a lunch break:

   

Following the workshops, we stepped out to do a bit of shopping.  On the way we saw the remains of a Roman amphitheater.  Did you know the city of Amman was once named Philadelphia?

The market stalls we visited are in a neighborhood surrounding a mosque:

Photography fails to capture the many sounds and scents of such an environment, but in some cases, as with these spice and grains, colors come through:

Ahlan Wa-Sahlan

Welcome to the Touchstones Teacher Trainings in Jordan 2010 blog.  Due to minor technical difficulties, you're joining us with two workshops already in the books and the worst (we hope) of the team's jet lag behind us.  I'll do my best to bring you up to speed over the next few days with posts of the highlights from our trip thus far.  For now, I'll share a few photos from today, our first rest day...

We woke to discover a flea market erected virtually overnight outside our hotel.  I ran up to the roof for a bird's eye view:

Amongst the bustle of the market a curious man caught my eye:

That's a tea kettle slung over his shoulder. Around his waist he carries cups and sugar so as to offer tea to shopkeepers and market patrons.

In the afternoon, the team accompanied Dr. Graham Leonard, a long-time Touchstones volunteer and former resident of and teacher in the region, for tea at the home of Wadad Kawar, a renowned collector of Middle Eastern antiquities and traditional embroidery:

And the ceiling of the room pictured above:

A sampling of Wadad's magnificent collection of embroidered gowns:

 
We couldn't resist her invitation to don a few shepherd's garments:

Touchstones Master Trainers Kevin, Steven, and Dan

Even I got in on the act:

Thanking Wadad for her gracious hospitality, we proceeded to dinner at the home of Abir, an official of the Jordanian Ministry of Education in large part responsible for the presence of Touchstones in Jordan:

Mansaf is a Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice. It is the national dish of Jordan and traditionally served at celebrations.  I think the name means "explosion" in arabic.

Abir's husband posed with a portrait of his grandfather as we discussed their family's history:

And finally, the wonderful view of Amman from Abir's living room: 

With another day of workshops tomorrow, I'll be sure to keep you posted on our trip's progress.