“Don’t Die.”
Those were some of the final words from the US Embassy during our security briefing. He followed these words with “It’s really expensive.” Today was really full, I wish I had taken notes so that I could recap everything completely. It was my first full day of class. Okay, not really. But I had my first class. It was essentially a practice class before we had our pre-test to sort of give us a guide of where we want to go. I knew some people in my class, which was cool. It was really hard to find because the classrooms were divided odds and evens, and on different sides of the floor. So all the odds were grouped together and the evens together, aka not in chronological order. Nothing is in chronological order over here – I live in building 59, right next to building 4. We couldn’t find building 7 the other day, but we found 134. So that’s what it’s like trying to get around. Our first taxi was quite an adventure too. I’d tell more, but my hands are cold and I will tell you all later.
So yesterday, when Brooke and I went to the mall with our family (usratna) we saw a stand that sold hijabs and these really big flowers in neon colors. Brooke pointed to a flower and said, “do you know what those are for?” when I shook my head no, she told me, “Jordanian girls wear them wrapped around their buns, and then put their hijab over it. You see all the trendy, hipster girls wearing them.” I suddenly realized it was true. Some of these girls have HUGE buns under their hijab, and I just thought it was tons of hair. No, it’s more like a bump-it for hijab. Some things truly are universal.
Too cold and tired to type more, so I’ll let you all know what’s up later. Thanks for reading!
Beth
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
sweet corn and ice cream
two things stick out today as strange sightings: a snack cart selling sweet corn - as in, unpopped, whole kernels, like the kind you eat off the cob - and ice cream, as well as an animated betty boop dressed and dancing like a belly dancer. The mash up of American and Jordanian is everywhere, and I'm starting to just acknowledge it as part of everyday life. I should point out, it's never a melding of the two cultures; they don't seem to flow into one another, but rather squish themselves into the same space or the same object, attempting to coexist but failing. It's hard to explain, I think it's something you have to experience to fully understand.
Today was the first day I ventured out on my own, or at least without a chaperone. Brooke, Julia, and I live in the same neighborhood and decided to go looking for a supermarket to buy things like shampoo (not that we've had a chance to use it) and water. Jordanians don't drink water. No one is served drinks at a meal, unless it's shay (tea) and it's almost never juice, and never water or milk. Instead, you buy water by either the liter or the gallon. If you think water bottles are heavy to carry around now, you have never experienced lugging around SIX Jordanian water bottles. These things are monsters, but lifesaving monsters. The super market also allowed us to break our khamseen dinar (50 dinar bills) into smaller change. Jordanians get annoyed when you don't have exact change, and thus it takes a certain amount of strategic planning to break your huge bills into smaller ones.
After the supermarket, Brooke and I stayed home while the family went out for a doctor's appointment. We watched Red Eye and The Simpsons with Arabic subtitles, Arabs' Got Talent, and Grey's Anatomy in Farsi. I still enjoy watching kid's shows with Fu Fu because they're much easier to understand. They have this weird show like the teletubbies but in Arabic (obviously) and less frightening to full grown people.
Our host mom made us hamburgers for dinner, which were really good. Then we all went to the mall, which was interesting. Lots of grocery shopping and our mom turning and tsking at Brooke and I saying, "arabee, arabee" (arabic, arabic) because we've been talking almost always in English with each other and the family. Already, however, I can sense myself getting better. It helps to learn much more useful words like "wait" (stemee) and "go" (imshee) rather than "longing for one's homeland" or one of the ridiculous al-kitaab words. I've also noticed I've gotten much better at reading signs. Different fonts are MUCH harder to read when you're unfamiliar with the alphabet, but now I'm comfortable, if shwai (slow) at reading them - everything but calligraphy, that is.
Tomorrow is our first class, although it's sort of a practice class, and then a security briefing by the US embassy, and further exploration of UJ and Amman. Brooke and I are hoping to go join a gym (read: daily showers!) and maybe find ourselves a good coffee place for some lattes.
It's currently 11:00, but we've just been told we're eating dinner (although I thought we already ate...) so I guess I'm leaving. I'm going to be killed with food.
Beth
Today was the first day I ventured out on my own, or at least without a chaperone. Brooke, Julia, and I live in the same neighborhood and decided to go looking for a supermarket to buy things like shampoo (not that we've had a chance to use it) and water. Jordanians don't drink water. No one is served drinks at a meal, unless it's shay (tea) and it's almost never juice, and never water or milk. Instead, you buy water by either the liter or the gallon. If you think water bottles are heavy to carry around now, you have never experienced lugging around SIX Jordanian water bottles. These things are monsters, but lifesaving monsters. The super market also allowed us to break our khamseen dinar (50 dinar bills) into smaller change. Jordanians get annoyed when you don't have exact change, and thus it takes a certain amount of strategic planning to break your huge bills into smaller ones.
After the supermarket, Brooke and I stayed home while the family went out for a doctor's appointment. We watched Red Eye and The Simpsons with Arabic subtitles, Arabs' Got Talent, and Grey's Anatomy in Farsi. I still enjoy watching kid's shows with Fu Fu because they're much easier to understand. They have this weird show like the teletubbies but in Arabic (obviously) and less frightening to full grown people.
Our host mom made us hamburgers for dinner, which were really good. Then we all went to the mall, which was interesting. Lots of grocery shopping and our mom turning and tsking at Brooke and I saying, "arabee, arabee" (arabic, arabic) because we've been talking almost always in English with each other and the family. Already, however, I can sense myself getting better. It helps to learn much more useful words like "wait" (stemee) and "go" (imshee) rather than "longing for one's homeland" or one of the ridiculous al-kitaab words. I've also noticed I've gotten much better at reading signs. Different fonts are MUCH harder to read when you're unfamiliar with the alphabet, but now I'm comfortable, if shwai (slow) at reading them - everything but calligraphy, that is.
Tomorrow is our first class, although it's sort of a practice class, and then a security briefing by the US embassy, and further exploration of UJ and Amman. Brooke and I are hoping to go join a gym (read: daily showers!) and maybe find ourselves a good coffee place for some lattes.
It's currently 11:00, but we've just been told we're eating dinner (although I thought we already ate...) so I guess I'm leaving. I'm going to be killed with food.
Beth
interesting news post
Thought you all might be interested in this. Al Jazeera, for those who don't know, is one of the two really big news networks in the ME, the other one being Al Arabiya.
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/05/not-coming-to-america.html
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/05/not-coming-to-america.html
Friday, February 4, 2011
"You're the blonde one"
Today was my first full day with my host family and it was crazy. I mean, it was awesome, but there was a lot going on. Friday is the family day in the Middle East, so Brooke and I woke up around 10:30 (after going to bed at around 9:30) and went and had breakfast in our pj's. Jordanians (and I'm assuming most of the Middle East) is all about food, so for breakfast we had pita, homemade apricot jam, cheese, eggs, and tea. A few comments about breakfast. One, they have pita just stacked in the freezer. Pita for Jordanians is like rice in China (I assume.) Also, had my first instance of being served food without utensils. Have you ever had to eat an omelette with no fork? Well I now know how to. Brooke and I both sat there sort of staring at it before we finally gave in and just started pulling it apart with pita and our fingers. Also, tea/coffee is served in little glasses, many without handles, so you have to be careful not to burn yourself.
After breakfast we sat around and watched tv for a while. Jordanians watch A LOT of tv. Fu Fu loves music videos ("muzzika! muzzika!" - he knows the names of his favorite tv channels; another favorite is "arbiya! arbiya!") so we watched quite a bit of music videos, switching back and forth with the news, which covers only one thing at this point - Egypt. Egypt in Jordan is like 9/11 was in the US - the networks show absolutely nothing but Egypt coverage, 24/7, and I know that's all they cover because the tv was on all day. Eventually, however, Momma (the mom's mom) and her "sons", also CIEE students, came over and hung out. Momma's son cooked lunch, and all of us were handed a filled plate. Mine had: 1 chicken wing/breast - I think it was literally half a chicken -1 chicken leg, there may have been more chicken I'm not sure, two lamb kebab things (it's like sausage), a roasted tomato, half an onion, and 2 pieces of pita. And no silverware. It was a process of pullng the chicken off the bone, rolling it in pita, dipping it in hummos or another sauce, and being told over and over "eat! eat! you chew shwai shwai!" (shwai = slow) and slowly getting so full it hurt to eat more. It's an arduous process eating in Jordan - you want to eat this delicious food, it's polite and almost necessary to clear your plate, but if you finish they give you more. It's difficult to get them to stop feeding you, and it's even more difficult trying not to offend them doing so. Also, they don't serve anything to drink when they eat. Jordanians don't drink water. Almost ever. The water shortage means showers 2x a week, and getting water almost any way other than directly drinking it. For instance, they eat a lot of lettuce. My host mom has a bowl of lettuce just chilling on the counter, ready for whomever wants it.
After lunch (thank goodness we didn't have dinner!) we had turkish coffee and played yad (hand, in English.) it's almost exactly like gin rummy, but with a few different words. We played with Momma's son and the aunt, and everytime someone did something good she said "kish! kish!" and it made me laugh. They truly are a fantastic family. Also, my host mom promised to show Brooke and I how to make turkish coffee, which I'm really excited for, considering I had one cup and I felt like I drank a whole coffee pot. That stuff is LOADED. Again, served in the small glasses, which are so much fun to use.
After Brooke and I lost at yad, we went and sat with our host brothers/cousins, Momma's sons, and had a nice long chat in English. It is one of the most amazing feelings ever to talk in English after being surrounded by Arabic for so long. Both of them were here last semester and promised to show us around if we wanted to. They were both really chill, so it was nice to know that these were the people we'd have to spend a lot of time with (Jordan is all about family, so we'll be seeing them at least once a week.) At one point, Momma was talking to Brooke and I, about half and half in Arabic - she's really good at gesticulating - and told us, first in Arabic and then in English, "the tan one and the blonde one." I was confused, but then Brooke (who looks very Jordanian although not) turned to me and said, "I'm the tan one - you're the blonde one." It was pretty amusing. I also got my hair stroked by my host aunt, which reminded me of some of my friends. There is no such thing as privacy or a personal bubble in Jordan, and luckily I'm fairly okay with that (Olivia, I'd like to see you last one DAY here.)
Overall, it was a very interesting day. Eventful, in that I was introduced to so many different customs, people, and words, but uneventful in that we basically did nothing but sit, watch tv, and eat all day. I'm excited to start classes, explore the city, and get a routine down. Tomorrow Brooke and I plan on going to the store to get things like shampoo and water, and hopefully to find someplace to get change. Jordanians hate being given anything but exact change, which is really frustrating when the ATMs spit out nothing but 50s. I think I'm also going to get some toilet paper, because the UJ bathrooms are notoriously bad, and if I ever to use one, I'll probably need to have a roll with me. A note: no one flushes toilet paper. It clogs up the septic tanks, so it all gets thrown in the trash.
And on that happy note, I think I'll end this blog. Pictures will be going up soon, I promise :)
Bosa bosa (kiss kiss - Fu Fu taught me that one),
Beth
After breakfast we sat around and watched tv for a while. Jordanians watch A LOT of tv. Fu Fu loves music videos ("muzzika! muzzika!" - he knows the names of his favorite tv channels; another favorite is "arbiya! arbiya!") so we watched quite a bit of music videos, switching back and forth with the news, which covers only one thing at this point - Egypt. Egypt in Jordan is like 9/11 was in the US - the networks show absolutely nothing but Egypt coverage, 24/7, and I know that's all they cover because the tv was on all day. Eventually, however, Momma (the mom's mom) and her "sons", also CIEE students, came over and hung out. Momma's son cooked lunch, and all of us were handed a filled plate. Mine had: 1 chicken wing/breast - I think it was literally half a chicken -1 chicken leg, there may have been more chicken I'm not sure, two lamb kebab things (it's like sausage), a roasted tomato, half an onion, and 2 pieces of pita. And no silverware. It was a process of pullng the chicken off the bone, rolling it in pita, dipping it in hummos or another sauce, and being told over and over "eat! eat! you chew shwai shwai!" (shwai = slow) and slowly getting so full it hurt to eat more. It's an arduous process eating in Jordan - you want to eat this delicious food, it's polite and almost necessary to clear your plate, but if you finish they give you more. It's difficult to get them to stop feeding you, and it's even more difficult trying not to offend them doing so. Also, they don't serve anything to drink when they eat. Jordanians don't drink water. Almost ever. The water shortage means showers 2x a week, and getting water almost any way other than directly drinking it. For instance, they eat a lot of lettuce. My host mom has a bowl of lettuce just chilling on the counter, ready for whomever wants it.
After lunch (thank goodness we didn't have dinner!) we had turkish coffee and played yad (hand, in English.) it's almost exactly like gin rummy, but with a few different words. We played with Momma's son and the aunt, and everytime someone did something good she said "kish! kish!" and it made me laugh. They truly are a fantastic family. Also, my host mom promised to show Brooke and I how to make turkish coffee, which I'm really excited for, considering I had one cup and I felt like I drank a whole coffee pot. That stuff is LOADED. Again, served in the small glasses, which are so much fun to use.
After Brooke and I lost at yad, we went and sat with our host brothers/cousins, Momma's sons, and had a nice long chat in English. It is one of the most amazing feelings ever to talk in English after being surrounded by Arabic for so long. Both of them were here last semester and promised to show us around if we wanted to. They were both really chill, so it was nice to know that these were the people we'd have to spend a lot of time with (Jordan is all about family, so we'll be seeing them at least once a week.) At one point, Momma was talking to Brooke and I, about half and half in Arabic - she's really good at gesticulating - and told us, first in Arabic and then in English, "the tan one and the blonde one." I was confused, but then Brooke (who looks very Jordanian although not) turned to me and said, "I'm the tan one - you're the blonde one." It was pretty amusing. I also got my hair stroked by my host aunt, which reminded me of some of my friends. There is no such thing as privacy or a personal bubble in Jordan, and luckily I'm fairly okay with that (Olivia, I'd like to see you last one DAY here.)
Overall, it was a very interesting day. Eventful, in that I was introduced to so many different customs, people, and words, but uneventful in that we basically did nothing but sit, watch tv, and eat all day. I'm excited to start classes, explore the city, and get a routine down. Tomorrow Brooke and I plan on going to the store to get things like shampoo and water, and hopefully to find someplace to get change. Jordanians hate being given anything but exact change, which is really frustrating when the ATMs spit out nothing but 50s. I think I'm also going to get some toilet paper, because the UJ bathrooms are notoriously bad, and if I ever to use one, I'll probably need to have a roll with me. A note: no one flushes toilet paper. It clogs up the septic tanks, so it all gets thrown in the trash.
And on that happy note, I think I'll end this blog. Pictures will be going up soon, I promise :)
Bosa bosa (kiss kiss - Fu Fu taught me that one),
Beth
Thursday, February 3, 2011
baitee jadeed
This is just a quick update about my homestay, aka my new house (baitee jadeed) and letting you all know that I've finally moved in. My host family is incredibly sweet and nice. the dad and aunt (I don't want to give out their names) are Iraqis, while the mom is Jordanian and Lebanese. And get this - they have a three year old son. That's right, I'm living with a toddler. He's turning four next tuesday and while he is a whirlwind of activity, he is so sweet. His nickname is Fu Fu and he likes to dance.
Tomorrow is family day (it is for everyone in Jordan) so Idk what we'll be doing, but we're definitely sleeping in. Tonight, however, we sat at the kitchen counter in our pj's and ate dejaaj curry (curry chicken) an Iraqi dish that the aunt cooked for us. She does most of the cooking, and it's usually either Iraqi or Turkish in origin. As well, we had this great sesame bread and some of the best tea I've ever had in those little Arabic cups without handles. I felt so legitimately Arabic today.
I'll update more when I have more sleep. Tonight will be the first night since I got here that I can just sleep through the night and not get up ridiculously early for breakfast. Ohibkum wa ma'a salaama.
Beth
Tomorrow is family day (it is for everyone in Jordan) so Idk what we'll be doing, but we're definitely sleeping in. Tonight, however, we sat at the kitchen counter in our pj's and ate dejaaj curry (curry chicken) an Iraqi dish that the aunt cooked for us. She does most of the cooking, and it's usually either Iraqi or Turkish in origin. As well, we had this great sesame bread and some of the best tea I've ever had in those little Arabic cups without handles. I felt so legitimately Arabic today.
I'll update more when I have more sleep. Tonight will be the first night since I got here that I can just sleep through the night and not get up ridiculously early for breakfast. Ohibkum wa ma'a salaama.
Beth
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
OH NA NA shu ismee?
(that one's for you ginny.)
So not as much to update today. The call to prayer just started, which is something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. It’s this all pervading, haunting call that comes from crackling speakers all over the city – as if Allah himself is yelling in your ear every where you go. It can’t quite drown out the sound of car horns, however ☺
Today we visited the study center for our program and the UJ campus. The campus is huge compared to what I’m used to, but that’s expected for a campus that has to hold 30,000 students rather than just 2,000. Luckily, most of the signs are in English as well as Arabic, so even if I’m lost I get a slight amount of help that way. Classes start Sunday, so I’m glad I have the weekend to just sit, unpack, and sleep. I’m really excited to join the various clubs, however, like culture club or conversation club or calligraphy club. As well, there’s a ladies’ gym across the street from the study center I might join, as many of the girls who’ve been in the program previously think that it’s awesome.
One thing I’m definitely worried about here is learning to take a taxi. I’ve taken a taxi a handful of times in my life, and never on my own. Now, I have to take one every day (unless I want to take the bus, which at this point for me is a bad idea) AND I have to figure it out in Arabic. Luckily, we had an Amiyyah (dialect) class today that helped us understand how to use a taxi and speak with the driver. It was a lot like my Arabic classes at Denison, which are very intense and in your face. I was used to it, but I felt bad for the kids who’d never had an Arabic class in their life, who couldn’t even read the textbook. I don’t think I’d ever be able to travel to a country like that and not even be able to read the signs!
Right now I’m just kiling time until dinner, as usual trying not to fall asleep. I think I might make it today though, which is excellent. Right now I’m just trying to get some forms filled out and ready to be turned in later this week. Once I have a routine, I’ll be a happy camper.
That’s basically all for now. Ma’a salaama!
Beth
So not as much to update today. The call to prayer just started, which is something I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of. It’s this all pervading, haunting call that comes from crackling speakers all over the city – as if Allah himself is yelling in your ear every where you go. It can’t quite drown out the sound of car horns, however ☺
Today we visited the study center for our program and the UJ campus. The campus is huge compared to what I’m used to, but that’s expected for a campus that has to hold 30,000 students rather than just 2,000. Luckily, most of the signs are in English as well as Arabic, so even if I’m lost I get a slight amount of help that way. Classes start Sunday, so I’m glad I have the weekend to just sit, unpack, and sleep. I’m really excited to join the various clubs, however, like culture club or conversation club or calligraphy club. As well, there’s a ladies’ gym across the street from the study center I might join, as many of the girls who’ve been in the program previously think that it’s awesome.
One thing I’m definitely worried about here is learning to take a taxi. I’ve taken a taxi a handful of times in my life, and never on my own. Now, I have to take one every day (unless I want to take the bus, which at this point for me is a bad idea) AND I have to figure it out in Arabic. Luckily, we had an Amiyyah (dialect) class today that helped us understand how to use a taxi and speak with the driver. It was a lot like my Arabic classes at Denison, which are very intense and in your face. I was used to it, but I felt bad for the kids who’d never had an Arabic class in their life, who couldn’t even read the textbook. I don’t think I’d ever be able to travel to a country like that and not even be able to read the signs!
Right now I’m just kiling time until dinner, as usual trying not to fall asleep. I think I might make it today though, which is excellent. Right now I’m just trying to get some forms filled out and ready to be turned in later this week. Once I have a routine, I’ll be a happy camper.
That’s basically all for now. Ma’a salaama!
Beth
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
my first day.
So my computer officially hates me. I had almost a page of blog typed and then Word froze and didn’t save any of it. So I’ll try my best to recapture some of what it was.
I actually got some sleep, woke up feeling very well rested, then died about 4 hours later. Jet lag is horrible, and right now I’m just fighting off the urge to nap so I can get a whole night’s rest in tonight as well. Other than that, today was excellent. We had to get up in time to get breakfast at 7 (way too early if you ask me) then we took tour buses around the city, heading first to the citadel (Jebel al-Qala’a) and I got a wonderful taste of Jordanian driving. Jordanian driving is an experience. A few rules:
1) There are no lanes. I mean, there are, they’re painted on the roads, but no one uses them. If you want to make your own lane, go on ahead because if you don’t, the guy in front of you will.
2) No one uses street names. Well, at least not the official ones. A couple of decades ago they instituted an official street name system, but everyone just goes by the famous landmark that’s along the road (i.e. King Abdullah al-Husayn or something-equally-ridiculous street becomes University street, since University of Jordan lies on that road)
3) If you are bigger and/or faster, you rule the road. Use horn as seen fit.
The citadel was amazing. It’s at the top of a hill, which gave a great view of the city. Amman consists of 7 hills, much like Cincinnati if the Cinci hills were closer together and on steroids. These hills are huge, and jam packed with housing. The citadel is one of the highest, if not the highest in the city, so you can see almost everything from on top. The ruins are a mixture of pre-Roman, Roman, Byzantine, and various dynasties of Muslim. Some parts were once a temple to Hercules, others were a church, and some were the palace of a former Abbasid or Umayyid prince. There was a museum as well, with artifacts from all over Jordan. The most recent artifacts it held came from the 1st century A.D. let me put this into perspective: you’re not allowed to take pictures of the gate to the royal palace or even the parking lot of the American Embassy, but I can take pictures of scraps of the dead sea scrolls. There were sarcophagi predating Jesus fenced in by a cheap metal chain a foot off the ground. They aren’t even behind glass, and are within easy arm’s length. I even got to see the copper scrolls, which were a new concept to me.
We passed by a starbucks and the Roman amphitheater, since the rain prevented us from going in.
* *
*
So I fell asleep mid post and I’m too lazy to go back and reread what I said, so I’ll just keep going. Fun story though: totally didn’t mean to fall asleep, in fact I was specifically trying not to, and then my roommate woke up me just after she did and we’re both so jet lagged we got really confused. It was awesome, you should’ve been there. Anyway.
I think the highlight of the day for me was lunch. We went to this restaurant called Jafra, which was filled with trendy, young Jordanians sitting around eating and smoking hookah. It was so fascinating to see how people my age socialize in Jordan; in some ways, it’s so similar, the way they all sit around and talk, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. But it was strange to see almost all the women wearing hijabs, and everyone was in fairly conservative dress. And while they were enjoying themselves, they weren’t very loud (unlike us, to be honest.) I think part of the reason why it seemed so out of the ordinary is that the conservative dress and the hijab is so rarely seen in America, and when it is, it’s usually an older woman and mother, not someone my own age. But it’s not uncommon here to see girls walking down the street in skinny jeans and wearing a hijab. I feel so out of place not wearing one, it makes me want to!
So back to the food. We were served baba ganoush (sp?), a sort of vegetable salad, REAL hummos (trust me, the stuff at home tastes pretty different), a few other salad/sauce type dishes to put with pita, and chicken, steak, and kebab. Oh, and little containers of “cloud water”, which provided my table mates and I with at least 10 minutes of solid discussion over whether cloud water was really just rain. For dessert we had this amazing dish, whose name I can’t remember, which was goat cheese in a sort of buttery, sugary crust with pistachios on top. Apparently it wasn’t that good because it wasn’t hot, but I thought it tasted amazing regardless.
We also had a fairly long cultural orientation session, which was very interesting and very important but very difficult for me to stay awake through. The best example the presenter had was the difference between an American Starbucks and a Jordanian Starbucks. For the record: it is a cultural norm for your Starbucks to take 10 minutes to be made because the worker who handles the money is on the phone and won’t hang up, and cultural hierarchy means that the guy making your coffee can’t take the money. Also, they almost never take plastic, because the internet here is so bad.
There’s not much else to add. I meet my host family on Thursday, and I think that they’re gonna be awesome. I really don’t like small children, but the little boy that they have is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. And only the mom speaks English, so it’s gonna be an interesting semester. Thank goodness I have a roommate though, so we can struggle through this together (also, she loves children so I don’t have to worry about hanging out with the baby too much.) I’ve made friends here with almost everyone I’ve met – seriously, everyone in the program is just really genuine and laid back. I was talking with one the girls in my program in the elevator and she summed it up pretty succinctly: “you’d have to be pretty chill to be able to study in the Middle East.” So in other words, everything is off to a good start. I will hopefully be posting on a fairly regular (hopefully daily) basis, especially since my homestay has internet.
Beth
p.s. don’t worry about the political situation in Jordan. When my roommate and I woke up this afternoon she had like 3 emails about the Jordanian government dissolving. Considering the fact that no one told us during the day, and none of the citizens were talking about it (at least the ones that we ran into) it’s clearly not as big of a deal as everyone in America is making it out to be. Everyone is fine, and nothing’s gonna happen. If you guys found out about the government before anyone in my program did, take that as a good sign ☺
I actually got some sleep, woke up feeling very well rested, then died about 4 hours later. Jet lag is horrible, and right now I’m just fighting off the urge to nap so I can get a whole night’s rest in tonight as well. Other than that, today was excellent. We had to get up in time to get breakfast at 7 (way too early if you ask me) then we took tour buses around the city, heading first to the citadel (Jebel al-Qala’a) and I got a wonderful taste of Jordanian driving. Jordanian driving is an experience. A few rules:
1) There are no lanes. I mean, there are, they’re painted on the roads, but no one uses them. If you want to make your own lane, go on ahead because if you don’t, the guy in front of you will.
2) No one uses street names. Well, at least not the official ones. A couple of decades ago they instituted an official street name system, but everyone just goes by the famous landmark that’s along the road (i.e. King Abdullah al-Husayn or something-equally-ridiculous street becomes University street, since University of Jordan lies on that road)
3) If you are bigger and/or faster, you rule the road. Use horn as seen fit.
The citadel was amazing. It’s at the top of a hill, which gave a great view of the city. Amman consists of 7 hills, much like Cincinnati if the Cinci hills were closer together and on steroids. These hills are huge, and jam packed with housing. The citadel is one of the highest, if not the highest in the city, so you can see almost everything from on top. The ruins are a mixture of pre-Roman, Roman, Byzantine, and various dynasties of Muslim. Some parts were once a temple to Hercules, others were a church, and some were the palace of a former Abbasid or Umayyid prince. There was a museum as well, with artifacts from all over Jordan. The most recent artifacts it held came from the 1st century A.D. let me put this into perspective: you’re not allowed to take pictures of the gate to the royal palace or even the parking lot of the American Embassy, but I can take pictures of scraps of the dead sea scrolls. There were sarcophagi predating Jesus fenced in by a cheap metal chain a foot off the ground. They aren’t even behind glass, and are within easy arm’s length. I even got to see the copper scrolls, which were a new concept to me.
We passed by a starbucks and the Roman amphitheater, since the rain prevented us from going in.
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So I fell asleep mid post and I’m too lazy to go back and reread what I said, so I’ll just keep going. Fun story though: totally didn’t mean to fall asleep, in fact I was specifically trying not to, and then my roommate woke up me just after she did and we’re both so jet lagged we got really confused. It was awesome, you should’ve been there. Anyway.
I think the highlight of the day for me was lunch. We went to this restaurant called Jafra, which was filled with trendy, young Jordanians sitting around eating and smoking hookah. It was so fascinating to see how people my age socialize in Jordan; in some ways, it’s so similar, the way they all sit around and talk, laughing, enjoying each other’s company. But it was strange to see almost all the women wearing hijabs, and everyone was in fairly conservative dress. And while they were enjoying themselves, they weren’t very loud (unlike us, to be honest.) I think part of the reason why it seemed so out of the ordinary is that the conservative dress and the hijab is so rarely seen in America, and when it is, it’s usually an older woman and mother, not someone my own age. But it’s not uncommon here to see girls walking down the street in skinny jeans and wearing a hijab. I feel so out of place not wearing one, it makes me want to!
So back to the food. We were served baba ganoush (sp?), a sort of vegetable salad, REAL hummos (trust me, the stuff at home tastes pretty different), a few other salad/sauce type dishes to put with pita, and chicken, steak, and kebab. Oh, and little containers of “cloud water”, which provided my table mates and I with at least 10 minutes of solid discussion over whether cloud water was really just rain. For dessert we had this amazing dish, whose name I can’t remember, which was goat cheese in a sort of buttery, sugary crust with pistachios on top. Apparently it wasn’t that good because it wasn’t hot, but I thought it tasted amazing regardless.
We also had a fairly long cultural orientation session, which was very interesting and very important but very difficult for me to stay awake through. The best example the presenter had was the difference between an American Starbucks and a Jordanian Starbucks. For the record: it is a cultural norm for your Starbucks to take 10 minutes to be made because the worker who handles the money is on the phone and won’t hang up, and cultural hierarchy means that the guy making your coffee can’t take the money. Also, they almost never take plastic, because the internet here is so bad.
There’s not much else to add. I meet my host family on Thursday, and I think that they’re gonna be awesome. I really don’t like small children, but the little boy that they have is the CUTEST thing I have ever seen. And only the mom speaks English, so it’s gonna be an interesting semester. Thank goodness I have a roommate though, so we can struggle through this together (also, she loves children so I don’t have to worry about hanging out with the baby too much.) I’ve made friends here with almost everyone I’ve met – seriously, everyone in the program is just really genuine and laid back. I was talking with one the girls in my program in the elevator and she summed it up pretty succinctly: “you’d have to be pretty chill to be able to study in the Middle East.” So in other words, everything is off to a good start. I will hopefully be posting on a fairly regular (hopefully daily) basis, especially since my homestay has internet.
Beth
p.s. don’t worry about the political situation in Jordan. When my roommate and I woke up this afternoon she had like 3 emails about the Jordanian government dissolving. Considering the fact that no one told us during the day, and none of the citizens were talking about it (at least the ones that we ran into) it’s clearly not as big of a deal as everyone in America is making it out to be. Everyone is fine, and nothing’s gonna happen. If you guys found out about the government before anyone in my program did, take that as a good sign ☺
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