KIDS ARE FUN AGAIN

I'm coming up on my one year anniversary of leaving the education field (a field I spent 9 years in). As the title suggests, I don't harbor many regrets in my departure. When I meet kids here in Jordan, I find myself actually enjoying my interactions with them. Their lives may be riddled with problems and baggage, but for short time I get to know them on a shoot, I see the best in them. There's the old joke about teachers not having kids because they already have a classroom full. Well, now that I'm a photographer maybe I'll have one or two and see how badly I can screw them up. Unfortunately I can't afford kids on a photographers salary. I think English teachers call this a "catch 21".

MORE PICTURES TO TELL THE TRASH STORY

Two more photos that might help you understand what this landfill was like. As a side note, this was my first visit to a landfill. A visit would make anyone stop using plastic bags.

THE JORDANIAN RECYCLING PROGRAM

"We can't guarantee your safety if you get out of the truck," was the last thing my guide said before I hopped out and took this series of photos for Al-Sijill magazine. I was shooting at the largest landfill in Jordan, which stores about 60% of the country's trash. Among the foul smells and plethora of plastic bags were hundreds of men collecting trash. They come from the nearby Marka Palestinian refugee camp to take part in the illegal activity of sorting through people's discarded shit to find plastic bottles and aluminum cans. It is illegal because it is dangerous. Men are buried hip deep in trash as dump trucks and back hoes work all around them. But the management of the facility turns the other cheek for two reasons: it keeps trash out of the landfill, and it employs hundreds of men who desperately need the money. I was amazed to find out that these men earn between 40-80 JDs ($55-$110 USD) a day. That's more money than I made for the shoot! The illegality of what they are doing is what makes it dangerous to take photos. After a while though I think these guys were intrigued by the absurdity of an American who thought what they were doing was pretty fascinating.

APPALLING DUBAI (PART ONE)

Don't jump to conclusions. This isn't a diatribe about the oppression of the Muslim veil. You really need to live in the Middle East to understand this custom before judging it. Actually, I was thinking about this issue while walking around the largest mall in the world in Dubai and seeing countless women dressed in hijabs like the three pictured above in the lingerie store. For most Muslim women from moderate Arab nations, the hijab is the head-covering of choice. It covers the top of the head and neck and leaves the face open. I don't find this oppressive, as men also wear traditional robes and head coverings. It was interesting however seeing these women shopping for designer lace bras to put under their plain black smocks. What is oppressive, and more suitable to the task of limiting sexual flirtation, is the burqa. Let's face it, 95% of sexual gestures are instigated through the eyes, and the other 5% are less than effective. You could almost send your wife out in her underwear with a pair of dark sunglasses on and rest assured you've probably prevented a hook-up. The eyes are the gateway to the soul and to the privates. And so the burqa shuts down both. Hijabs good, burqas bad.

What is really bad in Dubai is working conditions for the overwhelming majority of laborers coming from countries like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and China. Most are men doing hard physical labor. They have their passports confiscated by their employers for the duration of their two year contracts. These men earn meager wages that they never see (the money is deposited into an account that they can only access after they have satisfactorily fulfilled their contracts). They live well outside of town in rooms that look more like prisons than dorms and are bused into Dubai daily. Most have only one day off. There is a fear in their eyes when you talk to them about their lives. Clearly it is forbidden and could have severe consequences. It makes you wonder how bad life must be like in these people's home countries for Dubai to be a great land of opportunity.

APPALLING DUBAI (PART TWO)

I read this in the paper my second day in Dubai. I think it speaks for itself. Dubai is currently considering new laws that would make kissing, dancing, or hugging in public illegal. Will this apply to the Arab cheek kiss greeting?

MAGNIFICENT DUBAI

I was fully prepared to hate Dubai. It's well reported over-the-top opulence and pretentiousness seemed counter to what I enjoy while traveling. But to my surprise, I kind of liked this little Emirate. Don't get me wrong, the next post will be entitled "Appalling Dubai", but this crazy Arab city gets a lot right that Jordan misses. Most refreshing and immediately noticeable; it's a clean place. There are trash cans placed rather frequently and places to recycle cans and paper. They have light rail and a great bus system. Driving conditions are up to Western safety standards. Taxis are metered and don't rip people off. Smoking is banned inside most public places. Like Jordan, I found the people to be welcoming and helpful. The food, though overpriced, was world class delicious. And can anyone complain about 80 degree weather in January? From a photographic standpoint the architecture was the big draw. Every building is unique and the multitude of styles works in the way that Vegas works. I actually thought of Vegas quite a bit on the trip. I hate Vegas, but Dubai is Vegas without most of the sin, at least not as blatantly sinful. Most of Dubai's sins are financial in nature.

Pictured above is the Burj Khalifa and a view from the 124th floor observation deck. On January 4th, this building officially became the world's tallest. Below that is the Burj Al Arab, the world's only 7 star hotel (though really this is just an ingenious marketing campaign). Rooms start at around $3000 a night. Note the helicopter landing pad and the man-made island it sits on. And finally, there is Ski Dubai, the only indoor ski resort located in a desert. Even when it's 120 degrees outside, it's 28 degrees inside.

I'VE SEEN YOU SOMEWHERE BEFORE

Frank Lloyd Wright drew the sketch of the skyscraper on the left in 1956 and called it simply, "The Illinois". The Illinois, which was never built, was to rise a mile high, and was envisioned as a totally self-sufficient vertical city to combat urban sprawl. I remember seeing the sketch years ago in a book of Wright's work. This past weekend I was in Dubai and saw the magnificent Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest building, rising roughly half a mile high. The two buildings are strikingly similar in design, and I found out later that Wright's sketch inspired the Chicago based design firm of Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill who designed the Burj Khalifa.