Instead of sitting around drinking tea in a new city or lounging around on a beach this coming Eid, I have decided to take on a challenging adventure that includes plenty of dangers and more than likely a headache or two. In mid-December, the location and success or failure of the secret trip will be revealed... [View Full Entry]

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Coming Soon! I haven't had time lately to properly write part 3 of the series. However, I will write this soon enough. For the meantime, I am going to release a handful of photos from part 3 for your viewing pleasure! ENJOY! [View Full Entry]

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The Story of a Fight Over Olive Trees The sign over the once functioning Golan Hospital reads, “Destructed by Zionists and changed it to firing target.” In 1967 during the Six Day War the Israeli army pushed into the Golan Heights and began an occupation of more than 450 square km of formerly Syrian territory, which included the small village of Al-Quneitra. However, only six years later the during the Yom Kippur War the Syria forces pushed back and negotiated a cease fire with Israel that remains in place today. The cease fire returned 150 square km of territory back [View Full Entry]

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Be careful of the soma... Whatever they say about Syria and its government, don’t be fooled. The Syrian people are some of the most generous and lively people you will meet anywhere, and the food, history, and landscapes are unparalleled. The country is one of the safest I have ever been to, in great part due to the police that roam every corner, and it was a joy to be there. The Syrian people are good people that share our hopes, dreams, and desires for a better future while paying special attention to enjoy the pleasures of life. After my trip [View Full Entry]

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Welcome to امريكا (Amriika) Over the past 4 weeks, I have been working on a panel selecting 20 young Jordanian professionals for a semester long scholarship to the Thunderbird School of Global Management. In the beginning, I simply attended the interviews and graded the applicants, but over time I felt the need to improve the professionalism of the interviews and develop questions that required thought and sought to test for behavioral traits and cultural adaptability. For many of the second round candidates, I think it was the hardest interview [View Full Entry]

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The Dead Sea Eco Reserve This past Friday I headed out on the Dead Sea highway about 130 km south of Amman to Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea Eco-Lodge. If you don't care about polished floors and international 5-star service of the Dead Sea hotels, I would say that the Dead Sea Eco-Lodge is hands down the best way to visit the Dead Sea. The Eco-Reserve is part of the RSCN (Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature), which is a government funded NGO that has small nature lodges throughout Jordan. As a student or non-national with permanent resident status, [View Full Entry]

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Thanks for Your SupportI want to thank you all for your support and comments on the blog. Although there are personal benefits to writing this blog, the biggest satisfaction is to share with you what I am doing and receiving your feedback and support. Part of the backend output for the author includes a statics interface that gives me feedback on the amount and type of reach that the blog has. I have been amazed at the amount of people following along and want you all to know that your support motivates me to continue writing and improving. Eid-Al Fitr Trip [View Full Entry]

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Ramadan has ended! This is particularly good for three reasons. One, I no longer am receiving my daily afternoon Ramadan headache from not eating all day, two people are less on edge in the afternoon (they too are feeling better), and the end of Ramadan leads to Eid Al-Fitr (a 3 day vacation marking the end of Ramadan). I enjoyed being in a Muslim country for Ramadan and going out to iftars, but I am plenty happy to be eating lunch again even if I have to loose the iftars. I will take the last couple of weeks in sections based [View Full Entry]

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Arrival: My trip to Amman started with a 5 hour rain delay that resulted in a late arrival to Chicago, my first and only stop on the way to Amman. Before I arrived in Chicago, I knew that I had already missed my flight to Amman and resigned myself to the fact that I would be spend 24 hours in Chicago waiting on the next flight to Jordan. When I finally reached the gate of my flight a day later, I was ready to board the plane and get the show on the road. Little did I know that I would [View Full Entry]

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Program & Employer: As some of you may know, this coming Thursday I will be heading to Amman, Jordan for apx. 10 months to take part in the Emerging Markets Development Advisors Program (www.emdap.org). It is a program funded by USAID to support business development and competitiveness in emerging markets. In my case, this will mean working at the Business Development Center (http://www.jusbp.org/about_us.shtm) consulting Jordanian companies on increasing their competitiveness with the objective of exporting to the U.S. and Europe. I am not a government employee nor do I have any responsib [View Full Entry]

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