Jordan 2022

For our first program of the summer, we partnered with I Learn Jordan, a nonprofit investing in the lives of underserved kids through education. We also held our second ever Sawarly program (I was lucky enough to be a part of the first), bringing together local and international filmmakers to make a film in less than seventy-two hours. This program was full, rewarding, and enriching. In total we had two red carpet events, made eight short films, and celebrated X stars with Oscar trophies. A highlight of everyone’s day was our stars’ daily energy. We walked into the Palestinian refugee camp, not knowing what to expect. We were met with delicious mansaf, Oscar worthy acting, and so many Zig Zag Boings the soles of our shoes were hot from running. One morning when we arrived, some of the kids chanted a powerful couplet of words of welcome. Some of the local interns sang us a song about welcoming guests and being hospitable. Everybody knew this song. Welcome is so ingrained in their culture that there’s a publicly known song about it. What other country has this? In the US, a common unspoken cultural principle is the reciprocity rule - if somebody does something nice to me, I must do something back to make it even. In Jordan, our friends told us people in Jordan do nice things simply to do nice things. They don’t expect and do not want to expect anything in return. Friendly is an understatement.