Day in the Life of ... a Village Playgroup

Early Birds

We arrived early to set up the toys, snacks and craft materials we'd brought with us to the community library in a village not too far from the capital. We were amazed to see one mum with 3 children already waiting an hour and half before we were due to start! Word had spread that there was a new fun time for Mums and Toddlers, although the local ladies had no idea what a "playgroup" would actually be like.

We set up the toys that we'd managed to collect and buy cheaply second hand in the main room. There was a small library room with children's books which we put tables with playdough and colouring. Then another room we used for the craft.

Another surprise occurred when a bus full of children arrived from a local school. It had been explained that the Playgroup was for mums with toddlers, but the school teachers had thought it would be a trip out for the children. We were so grateful for our local friend, who had invited us to do the Playgroup in her village, as she very diplomatically handled the situation in a culturally appropriate way. We were sad that the children could not join us but there would not have been space or appropriate supervision for them.

Copycats

By the time we started at 10:30am there were 32 mums and nearly 40 children! Our local friend introduced us and then I gave an introduction in Arabic to explain what would be happening in the morning. We started with a welcome song and other songs in Arabic and then songs in English (such as head, shoulders, knees and toes!). The children loved copying the actions and joining in.

Funky Fish

Then we divided into groups and took 8 children at a time, with their mums, into the craft room to stick coloured paper to make a fish. Some children looked like they'd never seen glue before! They were all pleased with their finished fish. Meanwhile other children played with the toys and playdough and colouring.

We told the mums to help themselves to tea and coffee and snacks. Since they rarely get tasty treats like this, everyone was piling their plate high with cookies and cakes. Also some were popping snacks into their handbags to take home to share with family. We hadn't expected this and what we thought was plenty of food, was soon all gone! We enjoyed having some time to talk with the mums but most of the morning we were busy organising things.

Why should the kids have all the fun?

The mums also surprised us by asking for a competition! Again our local friends helped us in dividing the mums into teams and thinking up a quick competition – writing down as many fruits beginning with the letter … (in Arabic of course!). It was surprising how competitive the women were!

We finished by going outside and the children catching bubbles from a bubble machine. Everyone said how much they enjoyed the time and what fun they had!

After clearing up, we were invited by the village sheikh’s wife to visit their house for a cup of tea. The ground floor of the large house was a big space with lots of seating for holding village meetings and ceremonies whilst the upstairs was the family home. Even upstairs, the lounge was large and we relaxed and chatted drinking mint tea and eating home-made date biscuits. Arab hospitality is renowned and we were invited to stay for lunch but sadly had to decline since I had to get back home to look after Kira and Isaiah after school.

A busy day, by Kira

On Fridays, we normally go for a bike ride on our local streets, because it's a day off from school and there are less cars on Friday mornings. It was Isaiah's first go to ride on the roads. We left later than normal because it was raining earlier in the morning. “I loved it.”, said Isaiah afterwards, and he carried on with daddy and did another lap of the block after I finished.

My first parade ever

In the afternoon, we went to Rainbow Street for a parade with the British Council who were celebrating their 80^th anniversary. There was a big band that was very noisy and there were also some big motorbikes which were even more noisy than the band.

Then, we went into the British Council and did some craft activities for kids on the second floor. We also saw daddy's work room where he teaches English now. 

Dancing in yet another dance show

Then we went home for a break before going to the big Hamley's toy shop because I was going to do my show there. It was the same dance that I did last week for my dance school.

No time to cook dinner

After we went to Hamley's, it was late, so for dinner we went to McDonalds. They had a big fun play area, but we couldn't stay and play there long because we needed to go home to go to bed.

The End.

The last day of my CELTA course

The last day of my CELTA course

It was the final day of my CELTA course, which I took at the British Council in Amman. I had enjoyed it a lot, despite the intensity of the course. I especially enjoyed getting to know my fellow CELTA trainees, who were mostly Arabs of Palestinian background. I got on well with one of them in particular and I hope to keep in contact with him.

Challenging time

The previous week had been a worrying time for us, as Kate had experienced bleeding during the 14th week of her pregnancy and there was a big risk of miscarriage but, thanks to the prayers of all our family and friends, she and the baby have both recovered from this. As a result she had to rest completely and this was a big challenge for us, while I was so busy with the CELTA course. Our friends in Amman were a great help to us during this time.

Complete loss of steering

The final day of CELTA was mostly a formality, completing paperwork and saying goodbye to our teachers and to the guinea pig students who had to endure all of our teaching mistakes for four weeks. However, after dropping the kids at school, there was a creaking noise in our car which was followed by a complete loss of steering. Thankfully, I managed to stop the car in a safe place and left it there as I took a taxi to the British Council.

Sad goodbye

It was sad to say goodbye to everybody. The students we taught were mostly refugees from Syria and Iraq. I asked them what they would be doing next, but they had no ideas or plans. Most people who have fled the problems in Syria and Iraq have received some help from the UN, but are unable to find any work and have nothing to do. I have been trying to organise a continuation of some free lessons for them, but it has proved difficult to find a good venue and a good time for this.

 

Phone a friend

We finished at 2pm on the last day, and I phoned a friend of mine to get him to pick me up and take me to the place where I had left the car. He was also a great help in talking to the car recovery truck and then he guided the recovery truck to his favourite mechanic. It took 2 hours for the recovery truck to arrive and then it took a long time with many heart-in-the-mouth moments to get the car onto the recovery truck without any steering. Both steering rods had to be replaced, but car repairs in Jordan are very cheap, and the mechanics only charged £15 for the labour.

Future opportunities

I later found out that I passed the CELTA, with a B grade, which was the grade which I needed to be able to join the mentoring programme for new teachers at the British Council. Given the challenges which we had faced during this time, this was a great blessing and we are very excited about what opportunities it will bring for us in the future. 

A Day in the Life ... University Visits and Surprises

The Clinical Skills Labs were all prepared ready for a special visit from an important army colonel. The University is preparing to teach a new course in crisis management jointly with the armed services. The manikins within the Clinical Skills Labs may be used to teach trauma management and wound care. 

Thankfully we had been told about this visit 2 days before hand so we were able to ensure all the manikins were displayed in each of the clinic rooms of the labs. We'd had difficulties before when we've been told to prepare the labs just 10 minutes before a visit! 

The lights are on, but ....

Before the visit, we started the morning with further training in the use of electronic patient records. There is an initiative to introduce electronic patient records to all government hospitals and clinics in Jordan and we are receiving training to then train our medical students. The system is very impressive but we were a bit limited by password restrictions which needed fixing. Security is a very important issue for electronic patient records but it can be frustrating when you need access and don't have it! 

Parting words of exhortation

Whilst the company giving the training sorted out a solution for the passwords, one of the 3rd year medical students called to ask if I could see him. I went out of the lab and was surprised to see about 150 third year students in the hallway. I was even more surprised when they suddenly started clapping and cheering for me!! The student organiser gave me a bunch of flowers and gift as well as giving a little speech thanking me. So I gave a little speech thanking them and telling them not to forget what I've taught them and they'll be great doctors! The third year students are moving on to clinical rotations so I won't be teaching them again (and it may be my last year teaching anyway). 

It's nice to be appreciated

I was really touched that the gift was a beautiful watch, since I'd lost my watch a few months ago and the students had remembered me mentioning it. I was even more touched by the words in the card "we learnt from you the practical skills we need as doctors, but most importantly, through you we understood the heart of medicine. You graced us with such elegance of character that we not only appreciate, but also aspire to become."

After lots of photographs with the students, with me keeping a look out for the approach of the visitors to the lab, I went to meet the visitors and show them around. They were impressed with the facilities and enjoyed their tour. 

Days like this show me that all the hardwork and effort really is worth it and that through teaching the medical students and being a role model, the practise of patient-centered medicine will become a reality in Jordan.

Day in the Life of ... 3 Mother's Days

School Mother's Day (written by Isaiah) - Thursday 20th March

I wore a smart shirt and I made a special hat for Mother's Day party. - but I still had a black eye from falling off a window sill! All the mummies came and Mummy sat in the front row to watch me. I sang lots of songs with actions. Some were in English and some in Arabic. At the end Mummy had to come and dance with me. Then Mummy sat down again. Then I gave a present to Mummy which was a heart necklace that I had made. Then Mummy got a falafel sandwich and juice and marshmallows with chocolate. Then I played a bit with my friends. Then we left. The end.

Jordanian Mother's Day (written by Kira) - supposed to be Friday 21st March but we had it on Sunday 23rd March

We gave Mummy breakfast in bed. We went into the bedroom with a Happy Mother's Day song playing on Daddy's telephone in my pocket. We gave Mummy a croissant, some toast and orange juice.

Later we also gave Mummy some chocolates and flowers. Lillies are Mummy's favourite flowers so I went with Daddy and bought some for Mummy and the shop man also gave me a rose because roses are my favourite flowers.

 

We gave Mummy cards - she had one from Isaiah from school, one from Ethan from playgroup and one from me that I did at school.

We tried to give Mummy a relaxing day but Isaiah was a bit ill (with diarrhoea and vomiting bug) so Mummy had to clear up when he threw up after lunch!

British Mother's Day (written by Kate) - Sunday 30th March

After 2 lovely Mother's Day celebrations (Mother's Day seems a very big thing here in Jordan!), I was treated to another relaxing day on British Mother's Day when we went as a family to the local woods. We walked down to a beautiful spot and made a fire to cook a BBQ lunch. The children enjoyed hunting for sticks for the fire and it was a treat to toast marshmallows too. At this time of year, we have about 6 weeks of green countryside (a short spring!) before everything turns brown in the summer heat. So it was lovely to enjoy the green grass and wild flowers.

 

Day in the Life of ... Playgroup

Saturday morning came and we turned up early to my friend's house where we were restarting a Mums and Toddler group for children aged 0-5 years. There had been a Mums and Toddlers group meeting at a Centre but it wasn't possible to continue using the centre so the group hadn't met for 9 months. We weren't sure how many mums would come and whether it would seem strange for Jordanians to meet in a home or not whilst we continue to search for a new venue!

We also hadn't decided on a name for the group, so just called it Playgroup! We had considered names such as "cheeky monkeys" but it is considered rude to call your child an animal name here (even a cheeky monkey!)!

Toys were laid out and there was an activity table with playdough and colouring. We prepared a kids' healthy snack and a (not so healthy) mums' snack! Then waited for people to arrive. Usually good time keeping is not a strength in this country but one of the mums arrived early and everyone was there within 20 minutes of the start time. This was quite impressive, especially as local mums don't often use maps, preferring to telephone and be told directions to the house.

We welcomed 7 mums and 11 children which was plenty to fill the living room and dining area. After a time of free play for the children whilst the mums relaxed with a cup of tea and chatted, we had circle time - welcoming each child by name with a song, then singing other songs both in Arabic and English. The children loved doing the actions and joining in.

Then we all helped out with the craft of sticking tissue paper onto a heart shape for Valentine's Day. Here Valentine's Day is seen as a day to tell your friends and family how much you appreciate and love them, so it is very common for children to give parents and all their classmates cards, and parents to give their children cards. Kira had asked me to check our PO Box in the hope that she might have received some Valentine's cards from friends in the UK!

We finished our time together with the children playing under a parachute and then catching bubbles. It was great fun to see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves. Many of the mums are working full time and don't get to spend a lot of time having fun with their children. Playgroup is also a wonderful opportunity for mums to meet other mums and share their joys and challenges of parenting.

Princess 7th birthday party

I helped daddy to make the olive and cheese sticks, while mummy, Isaiah and Ethan were out at the supermarket buying the party food. Mummy had already made a cake the day before, which was a flower shape.

Then we put more decorations up in the living room and made sure all the party games and prizes were ready.

Poor timekeeping

The party started at 4 o'clock, but most people were late because Jordanians are not very good at coming on time. 10 of my friends came to my party and 8 of them were Jordanians. 2 of my friends could not come.

Princess Games

First, we made crowns and then we played 'Pin the crown on the princess.' Once everyone had arrived, we played pass the parcel, pass the magic wand, princess freeze and princess thrones. We also tried to play princess whispers (like Chinese whispers), but it was hard because one of my friends could not speak English and two of them couldn't speak Arabic.

After the games, mummy taught us all how to do a beautiful princess dance. In between all the games, we had our nails painted and choose some pretty tattoos to put on our arms.

Upside-down knife

Then we ate the party food and the cake. In Jordan, you cut the cake with the knife upside down, but I don't know why. After this, everyone went home. I got lots of nice presents, which I opened after everyone left, which is also normal in Jordan. My friends all told me that it was so much fun. They don't normally have fun games at Jordanian birthday parties.

Presentation at the Cancer Center

It was the day that I was due to give a presentation at the King Hussein Cancer Center. A few days before, I was worried that the presentation would be cancelled because of snow, but then it seemed OK, since the snow had mostly melted by the time the day came.

Resilient snow

Little did I know that there was still a lot of snow by the Cancer Center, and I arrived to find that the was quite a lot of snow still there. It was a bit slippy and slidy in our rear-wheel drive minibus, so I parked at the first space I saw and walked the rest of the way, trying not to get splashed by dirty slushy snow with my suit on as cars drove by.

5 minutes to set up

I arrived with half an hour to spare, and went to the room of the director of training. We chatted for a few minutes, and then went to the seminar room to set up. I thought I would have plenty of time to set up my presentation, but another seminar was going on, right up until I was due to speak. In the end I was transferring the presentation and clipping on my mic, just as everyone was coming in to see my presentation.

Speaking to 60 managers

I was expecting the CEO and 50 middle managers to come, but in the end it seemed like at least 60 or 70. My presentation was about 'Lean thinking in healthcare' using the same ideas and methods developed by Toyota, in order to reduce waste and increase value and quality.

Lack of response

My presentation went well, although there was very little response to the questions I asked to try and be a bit interactive. Jordanians tend to stand at the podium and lecture, and people are not used to getting involved in a seminar. When I asked them about their Key Performance Indicators (KPI's), there was silence, until the CEO nudged someone with his elbow, who then piped up with a couple of KPI's which they use. All attendees were given a feedback form to fill in about my seminar at the end, and I was taken to the canteen for lunch.

Lunch in the VIP zone

Whilst everyone else in the hospital ate the self-service canteen lunch, I was taken behind the barriers to the VIP zone, where I sat with a couple of the top managers and we were served a nice 3-course lunch.

Awaiting feedback

I am still waiting for feedback and a decision on whether or not they want the 'Lean thinking' programme. In the meantime, they have asked me to submit proposals for courses on 8 different topics, which is a good sign.

Jordan Snow Photos