a Geographer's Place

After a non-eventful several hour layover in the Frankfurt airport (a fine European hot chocolate, a massage, and a snooze), we hopped on a 20 ½-row Royal Jordanian A319 aircraft for the final (4-hour-long) leg of our trek. Our flight arrived a half hour early in Amman, and after changing US cash for Jordanian Dinars (referred to as JOD or just JD by folks here), we purchased our visa and walked through customs, only to discover our lone checked bag was not on the carousel. Checking bags is always distressing for me. I always expect them to get at least delayed, but sometimes lost. And then there’s the ability that without checking a bag you can scoot out of the airport more quickly. So after giving our baggage claim ticket to an attendant, he went in the back and found it. I had to go in the back room and let the Customs guys search the bag…similar to what happens every time I leave Grenada with a bag full of chocolate and spices. We joked a bit, they asked if I spoke Arabic. La ...

Fulbright Scholar posts generally span six, nine, or 12 months, and usually the Scholar decides on term length. I selected six months. That should give me enough time to conduct meaningful research, drag kids into the field, and still explore the country’s and regions’ wonders. Although I most likely won’t be able to complete the research I originally intended on conducting, I am still excited to be in situ , in such an amazing landscape among such wonderful people. Or at least, that’s what I remember from my last visit to Jordan (back in 1995…thanks Deon and Julie!) I’m grateful that Kaelin will be joining me for the duration – and not just because of her Arabic skills J . She’s not only a fabulous field and travel companion, but the most amazing spouse. So, preparing. Yeah. They told us in orientation last summer that social media plays a huge role in helping people understand the Fulbright program’s importance. I’m more than happy to oblige them. I expect to keep friends abreas...

In the throws of applying for tenure, I also submitted a proposal to the Fulbright Commission to conduct "Research-Teaching" in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as part of my sabbatical. Sabbaticals take a lot of planning and allow professors to pursue avenues of scholarship that would be difficult given their normal duties. It's not a vacation. You have to work to get a sabbatical. And apply for it in a lengthy process that goes up the chain of PTB all the way to Provost. Sabbatical, at my university anyhow, can be taken by any full-time, rostered faculty member after 7 years of service. Hence, "sabbatical", like "Sabbath", coming from the Hebrew, sabat , which means "rest"...as in the seventh day of the week...although sabbatical is actually taken after  you've completed seven years of service... Well, anyhow, last week I got an email congratulating on winning a Fulbright! I was so excited I couldn't stop shaking! I almost cancel...