Cooking in Amman

 Which sounds like an early 1960s Miles Davis album. One of the many great things about travelling on the course trips is having my friends/colleagues along, and this is certainly true with Cyndi and Steve. Both of them have proven time and again that they will jump in and save the day when students are sick or flights or cancelled or their old colleague breaks down physically. They're both really good at scouting around on their own and suggesting different activities. I am often guilty of getting in a rut and it's great to get a different set of eyes and interests. A great example would be from the fall 2019 trip to Jordan (which I've come to think of as the Last Great Trip) when Cyndi proposed that we enroll the students in a cooking class. It was run through the Beit Sitti restaurant and was held on a roof overlooking downtown Amman and the students had a ball. We made eggplant mouttabal, makloubeh (an upside down rice dish, which was the hit of the meal), homemade pita, and a salad with pomegranate molasses dressing. We'll definitely be coming back.

The students loved the woman who ran the cooking class.

One of the family members who run the restaurant.

The students, and professors, were all pulled out front to cook. In this case Jack John, who loved the trip as much as anyone, was front and center.

Lily received her fair share in gentle teasing by the local cooks.

Mads dominating the veggies.

Oliver clearly having way too much fun.

I think that Ashley had just referred to Liza, Cat and Holly as three thirds of one idiot.