WFDYS: Amman, Jordan (May 2016)

My next trip took me to Jordan and the capital, Amman.  I had never visited a country in the Middle East before, so I took some time researching. I like to know what to expect from a country and learn a little about customs and culture before stepping foot there.  In particular, I needed to make sure I brought the proper clothing.  Being a Muslim based culture, it is essential to show respect for clothing protocol. Women must wear full-length garments, and I also had to consider the weather in the warm month of May.  I also recognised the inequality between men and women, so I needed to prepare for this reality.

I usually like to arrive a few days before any meetings to allow recovery from a long flight, some recreation and sightseeing time. In my preparation, I found three must-see places – the ancient city of Petra, the Wadi Rum desert and the Dead Sea. My only genuine concern was safety because Jordan is adjacent to Syria, a hotbed of ISIS activity and fighting.  But as I will explain, I had nothing to fear.

So my anticipation had peaked by the time I flew out. It was a long trip from Sydney as I had to wait in Dubai for a seven-hour layover. This opportunity allowed me to browse the shops at the Dubai Mall. My goodness! The place is enormous! I couldn’t believe it. It is also home to a large aquarium inside the mall.  The mall itself is four stories tall. From the mall, you can see the tallest building – the Burj Khalifa. People adhere to the clothing protocols and culture despite a large tourism industry, which is nice to see—plenty of photo opportunities for exciting things and people.  Eventually, I took my flight to Jordan.

I arrived and met up with my friend, Laith, the WFDYS Secretary. We arranged to stay together for some downtime before WFDYS business. I had stayed in contact with Majdi, whom I met at the Turkey Youth Camp in 2015 and had arranged to stay with him. But not knowing if this was appropriate, I made sure he checked with his parents before I arrived.  Entering the house itself was interesting as Majdi had to ask his parents for permission for Laith and me to enter. This was one of many other interesting protocols. I usually find sharing a room to be expected, but this was not allowed here. I was offered a room to myself. Laith slept on the floor, and Majdi shared with a family member. It felt a little awkward. I met Majdi’s lovely mother.  They told me that they felt pretty safe in their neighbourhood as there was a strong security presence, and my observations were also similar.

So in my few days of recreation, I had planned a trip to Petra.  It was a 2 – 3 hour drive south of Amman. It is incredible because the city is situated deep within a canyon.  We arrived and then had to walk nearly 20 minutes through the canyon.  The texture of the canyon walls was terrific.  Many colourful layers on the smooth surface.  It was as if I was walking through a miniature Grand Canyon. The temperature was high, but we were allowed to wear short clothing in a tourist area.  We walked and walked, and then suddenly, in the distance, the wall of the city entrance came into view. I stopped, frozen, amazed at the entrance before me.  It isn’t huge by any means but the stone carvings are incredible. Hundreds of tourists were milling around the front taking photos, and camels were parked waiting for hire. It reminded me of the Indiana Jones movie.

After a short stay we headed to the Dead Sea, another 40 minutes drive. I didn’t realise the sea level was below the land. In fact, from the hotel complex at the entrance, there are signposts from the top down to the water’s edge showing the sea level at different years. The sea level has been dropping every year, and eventually, it may not exist due to climate change.  So if you are interested in going, make your plans quickly as it may be gone soon. I changed my clothes and made my way into the water.  The feeling of buoyancy was terrific.  Due to the high salt concentration, it is impossible to sink in the water, but there is always the danger of getting salt water in your eyes.  The saltwater stung so bad that you needed to spray fresh water from a hose onto your face. Despite this risk, there are health benefits from applying mud to your skin.  You then wash it off in the water, and your skin feels like a baby’s skin. You can buy mud and salt from any of the many vendors nearby.

The weather was hot, and the water was relaxing and then it was time for a late lunch.  Soon after, we headed to the Wadi Rum desert, another 30 minutes south, just as the sun was setting.  We weighed up the options of driving ourselves and risked getting lost or hiring a driver to take us there directly. We hired a driver. We all piled into the back of the ute and suffered along the windy gravel road. The scene at our arrival was majestic in the setting sun. The sand was a brilliant red colour, and I took great photos.  Not long after, we turned around, and our driver, with skill and local knowledge of the route, got us back to the meeting point in the dark, where we then had another 4 hours to get back to Amman. I was keen to test my driving skills on the other side of the road, so I took the wheel. I even got up to speeds of 170kph on roads that have no speed limit.

After a day or so of rest, the other WFDYS board members arrived, and we got down to business. We were all there except for one member, Alejandra. It was an exciting time. We held several meetings and also a visit to the Deaf cultural centre. A standout point for me was the small number of women. I am always trying to encourage and support more women at these events. After some socialising and meeting potential youth leadership we got down to our meetings.  We picked up from where we left off in Belfast with very productive discussions.  After the formal meetings, three of us stayed on to run some workshops – myself, Laith and Benjamin. It was the right decision to have gender balance as facilitators because the participants kept to their gender groups. The men and women did not interact.  So we ran our activities in these separate groups. It was all really worthwhile and highly optimistic. The participants gained a lot of knowledge.  Unfortunately, I again fell ill with a stomach bug in the middle of the workshop days.  Thankfully I managed to get through to the end.  After the workshop, we had a short visit to a Deaf school. That was a great experience. The kids were so cute and curious with their questions about where I was from and the reason for me being in Jordan.

After that, we enjoyed a delicious meal, but I was at the end of my rope. I was ready for the next leg of my trip. I took a side trip to Italy for a two-day rest before flying out to Singapore. The national Deaf youth association invited me to give a presentation on the WFDYS, which was the first time I had represented the WFDYS in my official role as representative of WFDYS. I provided information on the foundations of the WFDYS and what we do.  I then ran some activities to help them forge stronger bonds. It was a great event.  

Finally, after being away for about three weeks, I made my way home—a very worthwhile and enjoyable trip.