Quick Orientations

Quick Orientations:

Well I’ve been in and out of an assortment of orientations. I know that I’m in the MIddle East, but for me its difficult for me to quite realize that I’ve finally made it. Just like living in Hong Kong, it just feels just like any other place with different people. I’m not quite sure if any place will ever feel like home, but thats alright.

This is Your 5:00 AM Wake Up Call

One aspect about living in the Middle East which will most likely never stop annoying me, is the calls for prayer in the morning. Now, many of you are aware that in the Middle East they pray five times a day (albeit, the same exact prayer in the mosques). So in order to get the people up to pray (at around 6:00- 7:00), those calls for prayer go out on the loud speakers attached to the Minarets (tall towers that point skyward) at 5:00 AM, or a little before.

What does it sound like? Well more like a mixture between sing-shouting with quavering, near feverish pitches. It is absolutely inescapable to avoid. And I haven’t mastered the, turn over and go back to bed approach yet. (It goes on for about twenty minutes or so). Now don’t get me wrong, I am not being negative here. Actually I admire the dedication to prayer here. In many ways their devotion to their religion goes far beyond the superficial lip-service in America. Now, I cannot speak to the authenticity of servitude here, but there are certainly lessons to be learned as to devotion.

As for me, it hasn’t quite gone to being bothersome, for I’ve been waking up 15 or so minutes before the jamboree on loudspeakers. I end up doing my devotions and prayers around the same time the rest of the populace is doing theirs. And for one thing, its not bad to receive an extra reminder, and I do so out of willing volition.

Good To See You Again

I have enjoyed all the meals that have been both provided to me, and the things I’ve picked up. I don’t mind Middle Eastern cuisine, it can be quite delectable. On a related note, I quickly deduced that you aren’t supposed to put toilet paper into the porcelain throne. With that being said, I’ll leave you to your own imagination as to what the title of this section was referencing.

Great Each Other With A Holy Kiss

I haven’t kissed a dude yet. But I surmise that this is a date with fate that has been set upon the wheels with an unavoidable eventual destination. It is quite customary for friends to kiss their friends cheek. (Cheeky?) Just prior to my first adventure at an Arabic church was to ask, “I have only one question, am I going to have to kiss a guy?”

Well I didn’t have to, as it is quite customary at Western Churches to shake hands, but I’ve seen my American friends kiss other people around town. When the time comes, hopefully I’ll be prepared (but just so you know, I’m not willing to practice).

Cafe 56k Dial-Up

My morning rituals and routines will probably amount to me waking up before the crack of dawn everyday to jog. Yesterday, I had my laptop and was able to grab an internet connection at the Pinoy Cafe, today I wasn’t as successful today with my I-Phone.

If there is one thing that I’ve quickly learned, is that Jordanians (and really the entire Middle East) loves their coffee. There is no end or shortage of cafes, and once I get settled into a routine, I will enjoy going there. Perhaps, I’ll even do my lesson planning in one, once I get comfortable that is.

(Oh, and no cafe’s here use 56k dial-up, I just wanted a catchy title).

They Came From Under the Sink

I’ll post pictures of my humble abode later. Its quite quaint, yet I’ve already found some of the inhabitants before I moved in (to describe them, it has six legs, an oval orangish-brown tinted body, with two long tell-tale feelers). I asked about it, they apparently come in from the sink drain, and we’re supposed to cover the drainage hole when they are not in use. (Pictures of outside my apartment).

Jordanian Conspiracy Theories

Apparently Jordanians love their conspiracy theories. Now, I haven’t heard any of them directly, but they’ve been passed down to me by others.

1.) Cold air (AC in the Car) blowing onto your abdomen will give you diarrhea

2.) If a road is closed due to construction, there must be some ulterior motive

3.) The government actually has water, and the shortage is fictional

4.) The armed guards in front of embassies that hold semi-automatic weapons, don’t have any ammunition in them. (I’m not quite sure how this is a conspiracy, but I heard that today).

Well that does it for updates here. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes to grab a morning breakfast, but I’ll continue to post only the most interesting aspects of my adventure.

Salem (Peace),

Greg

“I’m A Leaving On A Jet Plane!”

"I'm A Leaving On A Jet Plane!"

The whirlwind of events that has transpired in the past twenty-four hours is enough to make my head spin. So welcome to my blog, and the end of my official first day in Jordan.

Rough Beginnings

The morning of the big day began without many incidents. I awoke to the ringing of my alarm at 8:00 in the morning, to which I promptly shut it off to sleep another hour. The rest of the morning had me scrambling around, throwing the rest of my unpacked items into suitcases, and burning portions of my parents CD collection onto my mac-monster.

Errands and Earfuls

At 12:00 my parents and embarked on the first leg of my journey, not to the airport, but instead to the bank and post office. (It would seem a certain Would-Be-International-Traveler had forgotten to both file and pay his US taxes for the 2008 fiscal year... that being said I didn’t have any taxes for I paid them all in Hong Kong, but I forgot to file them nonetheless.)

Despite these quick errands, we made great time. We were clipping along the Interstate, and only 15 minutes away from the Airport when suddenly we hit stand-still traffic. That fifteen minutes suddenly turned into an hour and fifteen minutes. My parents went nuts (funny I was the serene one, haha), while I sat in the backseat and prayed.

Security Measures

Instead of arriving with three hours to spare, suddenly my timeframe of getting checked in, past security, and to the gate at time had elapsed to only an hour and a half (which might seem like not a big deal, but it took an hour to get through check-in alone last year). But a funny thing happened, work of Providence, when I showed up there wasn’t a line. I got through check-in portion in record breaking time. Security was also a breeze as well, only taking me 5 minutes to go through in Philadelphia. (Chicago was a different story, the x-ray lady thought I had smuggled a bomb or something onto my carry-on, they emptied everything from it. Sure enough, no bombs).

When I finally got to the gate, I had a whole hour to spare. Incredible! I had enough time for some lunch =)

This is Your Captain Speaking

My two flights could be characterized as the following: While the flight to Chicago was turbulent, it was a mostly peaceful flight; whereas the flight to Amman was tranquil, I was miserable (couldn’t sleep well, my neck got a cramp, and I started to get the sweats until I propped my head a different way).

On both flights, I had a chance to talk to people around me and share what it was that I would be doing, and my desire to be an authentic man of faith. (I hope Rosalyn eventually finds this blog, that would be awesome. Oh, if I misspelled your name, I’m sorry.)

He Walks Among You

As I waited in line to board the flight to Jordan, two interesting things occurred for me. 1.) I noticed that I looked a great deal like many of the people surrounding me. I grew a slight beard, but many of those standing next to me had similar stooping foreheads and similar sloping noses. I felt like I was “one of them” -- a Jordanian too.

2.) And secondly, they thought so as well. The man standing next to me kept cracking Arabic jokes to me, I couldn’t understand a word he said, but I laughed nonetheless, smiled and of course nodded.

As the plane took off, a sense of overwhelming joy and elation (not fears and apprehensions) swept over me. I knew I was going where I was supposed to be going, and I knew who it was that was directing me.

The Inboard Flight Entertainment Was What???

As they began handing out our first flight meal, they popped in a movie simply titled “The Meadow”. If you are thinking this was a quaint existential story much in the method of Albert Camus description of some transforming phase in life, you would be wrong. Or if this was some campy Juliet Roberts or Sandra Bullock love flick, again your way off base. No, it was in fact a movie about a meadow (deep huh?). And so as I was munching down my “spicy chicken on rice” I watched playful ants hungrily devoir a Yellow Jacket (a type of bee). Sigh, desert wasn’t any better, by the time I got to my Apple Strudel, some tractor was spraying manure out in the fields. Sometimes you just cannot win.

Mom Was Right About the Breath Mints

Well my mom always tells me to pack breath mints on a plane because, “You never know who’ll you be sitting next to.” I always respond, “I have never sat next to an attractive person, I’ve prayed for that, it doesn’t work.”

Well let me consult my journal notes on the plane (I was typing on my Iphone):

9.26.09 Entry #4

“On a purely secular note, I did sit beside (across the isle) from a very cute Jordanian girl.... I wonder how I’ll work up the nerve to talk to her.”

45 Minute Intermission

9.26.09 Entry #5

“Her name was Noor.”

Of course I know a lot more about her, (like how she’s in her second year of University, studying to become a dentist, and was visiting her sisters in Iowa, but I don’t want to bore you with all those mundane details, as if you were interested in that.)

All By Myself

(At this moment, the author of this blog would like to point out that this paragraph has nothing to do with the previous section)

After the plane touched down, I went through customs, immigration, and baggage claim. I was very curious to see as to who would be there waiting for me. When I got out in the open area, I was surprised to find that no one was there for me.

I was surprised, people from Jordan was supposed to be there to pick me up. But so far, no one was there at all. So I waited, and waited, and I waited some more. About an hour goes by... the first thoughts running through my mind was 1.) well I’m sure you could guess some of my thoughts, what am I going to do if no one shows up? How am I going to contact them? Did they think I looked too Jordanian, didn’t recognize me and left?

Well what I wasn’t going to do was start searching the airport. Its better to remain in one location. I went to the Info desk and I was going to have them page “Greg Butz” (I wasn’t 100% sure who was picking me up), but the guy there told me that they didn’t have a speaker phone. (What good is that??)

Finally, I bought a internet card, for an obscene amount of money and began emailing them, and trying to send text messages to their cell phones from online. I got on facebook and was about ready to have my mom contact them via phone (I didn’t have a Jordan Sim card), when David Knaus and Aaron showed up.

(He found me because he asked his daughter to check his email... and they accidently went to the wrong terminal at first, and couldn’t recognize me.)

First Meal, First Sleep

It was hard to tell what the city looks like at night, I’ll have to explore more tomorrow, but I was a good feeling to be here. We had a meal similar to Habbibis in Hong Kong (gyro with shaved meat), it was great, and cheaper too!

Finally I got to see my apartment, I didn’t know what to expect, but its good. Its cozy and livable. It has all the necessary items a good home needs. So I am typing this up on my couch. I’ll give you guys a walk through of my apartment at a later time! Of course its not as large as Hong Kong, but for one person, its just what I need!

Salem (Peace)

Greg

Tomorrow I Leave

New Beginnings:

Tomorrow I fly out to Jordan... this will most likely prove to be a fun and exciting journey in my life. The overall purpose of this year was to gain new life experiences, work with refugees, and overall become more dependent upon Him. This next year in its entirety will be all volunteer work (pro bono), meaning I will be supporting myself from the income I made teaching in Hong Kong. But remember, I do this not for myself, but for those in need.

This blog itself will not necessarily become an assortment of discoherent ramblings and babblings of my life, but rather I hope to make this as insightful and humorous as possible. I would love to interpose spiritual truths to this as possible, but please keep in mind that I might be limited in that capacity.

Fears and Trepidations:

There is a certain thrill each time you leave home. No one was as ready to leave home than I was after high school. My four years of university were filled with many of life's lessons, but it wasn't a major change of scenery. I still lived in the United States, at least until my last semester where I did my student teaching in Hong Kong. Hong Kong must have held a certain allure to me, as it is where I ended up doing my first two years of student teaching. So living in another culture isn't so foreign to me... however, the night before I go I find myself eagerly anticipating it, and wishing I had a few more days to pack up all my belongings.

My Quarter-Life Crisis:

The adjustment back to United States living, took some process. I sometimes wonder why I was unable to visit Pakistan during the summer, but all things work out the way they do for a reason. It took nearly a month to re-citizenship myself back to being an American. I found myself thinking and doing Asian actions. (*See virtually every picture of me, I can't stop making the V sign with my first two fingers. Aiya! ... lol, =__= ).

But after a month, I realized that this was all for a good thing, for my hair had been falling out in buckets from stress. (Seriously, I had lost half of it). Though my follicle forrest has thinned out, I have hope that a few more roots will be growing soon.

As I type this, I'm twenty-four, and young enough to still be figuring out the direction of my life. But 25 is around the corner, and in 5 years, 30, and in 15 years 40. But lets just worry about 24 right now. (Will I ever return to teaching? I certainly hope so, and I haven't strayed far, I'll be teaching English in both Jordan and Thailand this year).

Finding Family Again:

Though I had made a new family in Hong Kong, I have rediscovered my own family (not that I misplaced them, or anything that drastic: just keep in mind that four years of university followed by 2.5 years in Hong Kong, it just was hard to keep up).

My younger brother is now married, he has the cutest little son (my nephew Jace); my sister is in Washington DC on an internship; and my parents shoot guns for fun.

My cats have become inseparably attached to me, which is why my leaving might be harder for them, than for me.

The Five Stages of Kitty Grief:

1. Stage One: Denial -- yesterday, Kiki saw the suitcase in my room, and he knows what it is. Usually he hides when he sees them rolling down the hall for he knows someone will be leaving soon. Instead he climbed into it and fell asleep.

2. Stage Two: Anger -- today, after I began packing, Kiki got very angry with me. He refused to acknowledge my presence, and he stormed out

of my room when I began packing.

3. Stage Three: Bargaining -- a few hours later, he jumped up on my bed and began howling at me, and eventually went to sleep next to the bag. It was as if he was begging me not to go.

4. Stage Four: Depression -- my cat hasn't reached this stage yet, but he will when I don't come home. He has slept on my bed every night and will be in the dumps for weeks to come.

5. Stage Five: Acceptance -- it will take a long time before he reaches this stage.

Final Thoughts:

I'll continue to post on my experiences. Sometimes I might post only one or two times a week, and other times it might be more. Please follow, and of course feed me tons of comments. I would love to hear all the prayers and encouragement that you could offer me.

Last Shoutout!

My mom gets all the credit for the picture above. I chose the site, and wanted a very distinct look... instead she took a candid capture when I wasn't looking, and it turned out to be the best picture in the whole album. Thanks Mom!!!

Country Bumpkins and Asian Ants

After two and a half years of city living, I’ve retired to the country (or so it seems with the lack of a job or volunteer work). I have been completely amazed by the slowness of pace in the every day life here in East Earl, Pennsylvania. I’m used to the Subway Metro system, the 500 or so different bus routes, mini-buses, and of course red, green, and blue taxis. While here, I pass buggies everyday, horse drawn filled with Amish and Mennonite drivers (religious groups that shun electricity).

If I could characterize the Americans in this location I’d probably use three adjectives:

-Polite
-Portly
-Planted

They’re well mannered, and helpful. Most of them are on the large side, the effects of the American diet and limited physical exercise, and finally they are very rooted. They’ve lived here all their life, in the house their parents grew up in, two doors down from the house their grandparents lived in.

It’s that kind of city. Everyone seems to know everyone. The roads are paved, of course, but if you’re not careful, you’ll end out in the middle of nowhere. But nowhere is somewhere to someone, a piece of home and heritage. When I’m biking or running to the gym, I pass goats grazing on the hillside, sheep by a barn, and pair of savvy cows, who eye me suspiciously as I ride past them. Needless to say, the pace of life is quite slow here. Quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong life.

Even my gym is drastically different. For one thing, its vert small. Less than one tenth of the size of Physical in Hong Kong. Often, I’m the only person working out there, but its the way I like it. (I’ve been in a gym with more than 300 people working out in Hong Kong).

It’s not the easiest spending time here in Pennsylvania. Though the way of life is slower, it’s not the only thing, I’ve had to adjust to. This place just has never been my home. My parents moved here, around the same time I was moving to Hong Kong. I don’t know many folks in this “neck of the country”. Moving to any place is difficult, if I’ve adjusted to Hong Kong life, than a small USA town should be easier. But just because you might speak the same language, look like the people, and even talk in the same mannerisms and ticks -- it doesn’t mean you think the same way, or even have the same objectives and outlook on life. Inside, you feel much different. Its like your a subterfuge, a hidden citizen with a different agenda.

But that doesn’t mean you’re supposed to be so detached from this way of life. I’ve realized that I need Christian fellowship, and I’ve already started to reattach myself to different Christian youth and young adult groups here.

In one location, I found quite a number of pick up trucks and jeeps... the first thought in my mind was “Great, I’m going to church with a bunch of country-bumpkins.” Well, that’s just a first impression, and I know you cannot base experiences on first impressions. I have found that the people here are good people, just much different than the type of people that I’ve been around for the past two years . I end up speaking a little slower, and my southern drawl has come back in my conversations with them. Its quite interesting .

I asked just about every person at this one church (keep in mind, that these people are my age or four years younger) what their occupations were: construction, electrical, sheet-walling, or university students. I have just about nothing in common with most of them, but I’m enjoying Christian fellowship with people a little closer to my age.

My hunt for a new church has taken me to many different places. I have one church that I go to Bible study on Thursdays. One where I go to 18-28 year olds fellowship on Tuesdays. And a third, I will be going to for solid old-fashioned preaching (on sunday or sunday nights). I may end up going to an international church on Sunday mornings, or a Korean church. (I heard a rumor that there is one nearby, and truth be told, I miss seeing Asians).

Speaking about Asians, my mother said something too racist not to be funny. I found a troupe of traveling ants ransacking my bedroom the other day. I couldn’t understand why they were there, I hadn’t spilled any food in my room. So I went in to notify my mother:

“Mom, there are ants in my room.”
“Well, have you been eating in your room?”
“Yes, but they aren’t anywhere near where I had food. Besides, I cleaned everything up. They’re near my suitcases, not my desk.”
“Maybe you brought them from Hong Kong, Asian Ants... did you look at their eyes? Did they look like this?” and with that comment she took her two index fingers up to slant her eyes.

It’s one of those comments, that catches you off-guard, you try not to encourage those sort of comments, but they’re too funny not to laugh at. (And I would be remiss not to mention, but my mother isn’t a racist, but she sometimes has this off-beat sense of humor, which I’ve of course inherited).

Well, I finally found the culprit. Someone had spilled cracker crumbs outside in corner of my door and down the hall. These hypersensitive ants, must have smelt a delicious snack and went out for a munch. I never did get a good look at their eyes, but I think they were local bumpkin ants, not their Asian cousins.

Well this concludes my first few weeks here in America. I’ll of course keep you informed of any new developments that are taking place. And where ever you’ll be reading this note in the world, I hope you have a wonderful day.

- Greg Out!

Things Aren't Always the Way They Seem

Now, I had promised to start blogging when I left Hong Kong. But the way things have been going, I've received a few wrenches in my plans.

My VISA for Pakistan never came in, I applied for it with enough time, but Islamabad sat on the application-- neither approving nor rejecting it but ignoring it. It's been a bit frustrating, and I'm a little downtrodden about the whole ordeal, but I know everything will work out "for good for those who love Him", as I was reminded today while making arrangments to head back to the United States.

For the last two and a half years, I hadn't considered America to be my home, however, in writing this -- each time I mention traveling back -- the idea of home pops into my mind. Perhaps, it is because family will be there (whom I haven't seen in a year), or perhaps I'll be living in a place with a population density of 233 people per square mile (total population = 5, 929) as opposed to Hong Kong 16,452 people per square mile (3rd highest population density in the world with a total population of over 7,000,000 citizens).



Things weren't the way I wanted it to be, but I've learned valuable life lessons, enjoyed the first two years of my adult career here- post University Graduation, and I've met many new people.

Why didn't things work out? I'll never know for certain, but there was another plan for my life. Perhaps, it was just my willingness to go that was what mattered. In the last two weeks, I've been tested more than perhaps the last two years. Too many mountains and valley's to count it has seemed. But now is not the time to become slack. I'm still currently in the application for Jordan, working with Adult Refugees. And, I have a confirmation with Thailand... whenever I'm ready to go, I just need to submit my resume, and I'm there.

As Keena Thrush has reminded me, I need to keep going and pressing on. I won't lie, it has been an incredible struggle the past two weeks, in remembering there is joy in sorrow; yet, I am comforted in knowing there is One who constantly looks over me. I've also been comforted by a musical selection thanks to my friend David Best -- complete with uplifting music... its the gospel songs that have warmed my heart the most.

But don't worry my friends, just because I won't be in Pakistan, doesn't mean I won't be able to accomplish my lifelong goal of kissing a camel (actually, that's more of a month-long goal). And even if Jordan doesn't work out either, there will be another place for me.



-- Greg Out!

Sample Post

Welcome, to the first post of Greg Around the World. I'm still in Hong Kong (although, in a different place in the world), I've called this home for the last two and a half years. I am preparing to leave teaching to take a year off and do volunteer work in the countries of Pakistan, Jordan, and Thailand. I'll be working with refugees.

I'll be regularly updating this blog, and editing the pages, adding pictures, etc. I look forward to hearing back from you all. LEAVE LOTS OF COMMENTS!

Greg