Mystery Meat

Dinner.

On a Smattering of Topics

I have to admit, I've felt a bit burnt out the past two days. Yesterday seemed like an epic fail on my part in class, and I got really discouraged about what I've learned (or not learned). See, time goes a lot slower here, so I feel like I've been in Amman for ages. I have to remind myself that it's only been three weeks. I have six months left. Breathe. It's just hard to gauge where I'm at, or whether I'll get to where I want to be by the time I head back to the States. While I want to learn, I've been having a hard time studying much here. Well, the thing is, I'm really good with grammar - I don't need to study our lessons; the teacher teaches us, and it's forever implanted in my brain. I need to speak, speak, speak. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I feel lazy because I don't spend a lot of time on Arabic outside of class. I have Arabic class for 4 hours, five days a week. My day ends at 2pm. I should join a university club, or volunteer, or do something more productive, but the thing is, by the end of the day, my brain hurts. All the translating tires me out. I just want to go home and lay on my couch. But lying on the couch does not teach you Arabic. Insha'allah I will begin to get less tired, and I can start doing another activity. Plus, I have my break soon (six weeks in between terms) so I can do something during this time. Although, then I have to study for the GRE, which I'm taking here in Amman at the end of August . . . it never ends.

I finally met with my peer tutor today. It was about as awkward as I anticipated. I just don't know what to talk about. She wore gloves and the niqab (only her eyes were showing), which undoubtedly means she's extremely conservative, which is fine, but it limits our conversation topics even further. In addition, I can't see her mouth when she talks, so I had a hard time picking up the Arabic she used. You sort of need to see someone's mouth when learning a new language. At UJ there are very few women who wear niqab - most dress pretty liberally - either western clothes with a bright hijab or no hijab at all. I noticed though when we had lunch with the peer tutors a few weeks ago that all the females wore hijab and more traditional clothing, and a couple wore the niqab. I guess none of the secular students are interested in forming relationships with Americans? I would have thought it would be the other way around. Whatever the case, my relationship with my peer tutor is going to be a struggle. I just can't be myself. Insha'allah she will be accepting, as I will be of her. Plus, I think I endeared myself to her, because she thinks I want to get married and have babies ASAP. Not exactly what I said, but she misunderstood me. Whatever, if that makes things less awkward, I'll pretend I want babies now. She just found out she was pregnant, so she's all excited. Yes, she is married.

This weekend, we're headed to Petra and Wadi Rum, and I just found out we get to camp in the desert on Friday night!!! Probably not real camping, more like some fancy Bedouin tent with bunk beds, but whatever, still cool. Can't wait to get some sweet shots of the desert. Plus we get to ride camels! Also, I found out that there are 130 students in the fall program . . . I had no idea it would be so big. We only have 30 in the program this summer. Thankfully, they split us up into groups, so no more than 40 go on one trip at a time. You know how I hate organized tours. Hopefully my dislike for them does not ruin our trip this weekend, because I've wanted to see Petra ever since I first saw Indian Jones. I can remember being told, "that's Petra, in Jordan" when I watched that movie when I was like 5.

Dead Sea Shore

Today, I went to a beach resort. With a pool bar. And no rules against showing skin. Was I in Mexico? Maybe Jamaica? Hell no, I was in Jordan. That's right. I sat at a bar, in a pool, in my skimpy bikini and gazed across the sea at Palestine. Yes, I may have failed at adhering to cultural norms today, but whatever, it was the best mini vacation I've ever taken. I wanted to stay there forever.

If you never learned about the Dead Sea in science class, here are a couple of facts: The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth. According to Wikipedia, it's 1,388 feet below sea level. Cool right? It's also super salty; so salty it burns. Apparently 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. You could feel the salt on your skin when you got out, and it was not something you wanted to stick your face in. Also, life is obviously not sustainable in the Dead Sea. So while you're out there floating away, you don't have to worry about a fish coming up and biting your bum. Mumtaz.


Here's a pic of me floating away, doing my best "Bam-ZaH" pose. Which apparently was too silly for my friend Sean, because he made me take a "normal" picture after that. I prefer this one.

And here I am covered in the exfoliating, magic mud of the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea was the hardest water I've ever had to maneuver (it just took me an embarrassing amount of time to spell that word) in. If you tried to swim on your stomach, your legs would just flip up in the air. Or sometimes you would just randomly flip over against your will. Getting in was hilarious; I felt like a canoe or something. The rocks on the bottom were so heavily crystalized that they too painful to walk on, and you can't really walk in the water anyway, so I would just kind of sit down a boulder, and push off from there. Super awkward. But cool too. Floating is awesome. Except that the salt burned certain private parts of the female variety that made long periods in the water an impossibility . . . Hence, we spent most of our time in the pool.

We got there bright and early, before it opened in fact, but they let us in, and we had the whole place to ourselves for awhile. It never got too busy though. I think tourism is definitely hurting because of the situation in surrounding countries. Which is a shame, because Jordan is far safer than most places, including the United States.

All in all, one of the best experiences in my life. Despite the fact that I spoke no Arabic and felt guilty about wearing a swimsuit. Oh well, sorry for partying. And I didn't burn too badly! I have a tendency of not being very good at applying sunscreen, burning myself to a crisp, and yet never learning (Erik, remember Cali last year? ha). That's not to say I'm not burnt. But it's not one of those things where I won't be able to sleep because it hurts so bad. Alhamdililah.

اهلا و سهلا Welcome to Jordan!

I think I need to paint a picture for y'all about what it's like to walk out on the street here as a Western female. Because it's just too much of an experience to keep it all to myself. Ready? Picture yourself on a major road that has both a lot of traffic and a lot of pedestrians. A la 5th avenue, New York City. Start walking, except remember - there isn't a real sidewalk. Sometimes you walk on the street. Sometimes you walk through rubble. You always avoid curious spills. It's a constant up, down, left, right dance. Now, imagine that every shop on the street has men hanging out in the doorway. Every single person in view has their eyes on you. The men in the shops will call out "Welcome!" "Welcome to Jordan!" "Helllloooo" "Ya Shegfay!" Don't look. Don't stop. Try not to smile, no matter how funny they sound. If this isn't enough, you have to deal with the traffic too. If you're lucky, the car will only honk once. If not, it will honk continuously, while passengers shout things at you, or it will slow down, pull over, and cruise by, with riders staring intently. Or like today, it will be a police car, and the honk will be more like a siren, and you'll think you're in trouble, but then you see the tell tale stare . . . It really doesn't stop. It will never stop. I could live here the rest of my life and it would be like this, because I am "blonde". I could speak Arabic perfectly, and still get 50 people a day telling me "Welcome to Jordan" . . .

But thankfully, I've adjusted. I listen to my iPod when I need to go somewhere alone. When I'm with friends, it's usually just funny. Honestly, it's almost easier - people know you're foreign right off the bat. When I was in Germany and Poland, I could pass as a local - so people would start babbling in the native language to me. Then, I would have to awkwardly reveal myself as a foreigner . . . or try to pretend I understood what they were saying. I did that once at a thrift store in Berlin. This woman was babbling to me about return policies I think. I just kept nodding my head and saying "ja". She apparently never noticed that I know like 12 words in German. Here, I'm a foreigner, that's it. Everything is already out in the open, so no hiding. You just have to put yourself out there and make a fool of yourself. Thankfully, I do know more than 12 words here - I can read Arabic, and I can carry on a basic conversation. So once natives do realize that, they lay off. In fact, I don't know what I'm going to do when I get back to the States. I think my self - esteem is going to take a major hit - not being the center of attention and all . . . I guess it's kinda like being a celebrity - I can see why some of them get addicted to it. Maybe.

Food In Jordan

Note: This entry is a tad on the whiny side. Sorry.

I realized yesterday at the supermarket that one of the biggest adjustments here for me has been adapting to the diet in Jordan. I'm not a huge fan of the staple dishes here; they're very heavy and/or oily. Plus, the things I loved back home either can't be found here or are really expensive - like yogurt that isn't sour/plain or granola bars.

Jordanian Staples
Note: Pork does not exist in this country.

Pita Bread - I used to love pita bread when I was little; I would heat it up in the microwave with butter. But it gets old really fast here. Both literally (as in stale) and figuratively.

Hummus and Fool - These are similar dishes made from beans and served as appetizers with pita bread.

Schwarma - Schwarma is everywhere; it's cheap and quick - made with either chicken or lamb. It's basically a burrito AKA Jordanian Taco Bell. Schwarma is what made me really sick when I first got here. It's ok in a pinch, but it's far too greasy to eat everyday.

Falafel - I actually really like falafel, but 1) it's actually not as common as I though it would be here and 2) it is far too heavy to eat very often.

Mensef - This is a Jordanian national dish - lamb in a warm yogurt sauce over rice. To be fair, I've only tried it at the school cafeteria, and their food is generally awful, so I really should try it some place else. The thing is, I've yet to adjust to the whole warm, sour yogurt thing, as I previously mentioned.

Cucumber salad - I eat a lot of this. For lunch I mix it with rice and call it a meal. Funny, since I never, ever ate salad back in the States. But it's light and cool, as opposed to much of what's offered here. I'm a huge fan of Fatoosh, which is salad with pita chips, but I don't see that often; only when we've eaten at nicer restaurants.

I'm worried about my diet here - I have a kitchen, but anything I ever made back home calls for about 100 ingredients, and I don't want to buy all those since I'll only be in the apartment for another 4 and 1/2 weeks. The only thing I've been cooking is omelets. Thankfully, we have some nice fruit and veggie markets in the neighborhood, so I do eat a ton of fruit. My new favorite food: The donut peach. Absolutely delicious.


So I do eat a lot of fruit. That's good. But I've also been eating a lot of bread and drinking a lot of . . . soda. Yep. Soda. It's everywhere. Ice tea doesn't exist here! Ya haram! Bebsi anyone? I'm so afraid of my teeth rotting away right now. They're oh so pretty . . .

Anyway, I guess I just didn't realize that adjusting my diet would be the biggest obstacle for me here. Thankfully, I'll eat pretty much anything, even if I'm not a huge fan. And I'm assuming I'll eventually adjust to the whole warm yogurt deal. Especially when I move in with my host family in September. And there's always pizza to fall back on. Or the numerous America fast food restaurants. I've yet to visit any although Burger King (or as I affectionately call it "Burger Malik" - Malik is the Arabic word for King, but they unfortunately do not use it in the title of Burger King) is looking mighty tasty.

At least I discovered Juice Milk! It's fabulous. Mostly because it's called Juice Milk! It's one of those things that always has to be followed by an exclamation mark.

On Taking My First Bus Tour

Yesterday, everyone in my program went on a "Biblical" bus tour of Jordan. Bear with me, because not only is my knowledge of the Bible negligible, I tend to shut down the minute a tour guide starts explaining things. We went to three places - Mukawir (don't know how to spell this in English), Madaba, and Mt. Nebo. Mukawir was definitely one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been. (Pictured left) It's some ruins on top of a big hill/tiny mountain where I think John the Baptist was held prisoner and eventually beheaded. I think. I don't even know who John the Baptist was so . . . sorry. Epic fail on my part. I just know that it was pretty. The water you can see in the picture is the Dead Sea, and beyond that Palestine. I wish a camera could capture how amazing it was to have this all around you. It was so peaceful, and it would have been great to be out there all alone. We were the only people there, but still that's 30 of us, and some people have really shrill, annoying voices . . .

Oh btw, being the showoff I am, I insisted on racing some guys up the steep side of the mountain, but immediately regretted it. The change in altitude messed with me, and I felt sick and irritable the rest of the day. This is what happens when you don't act ladylike. And this is what you look like. I think a good 50% of the people in my program came up to me and commented on how much I looked like a hippie because of my headscarf. Have these people seen hippies before? I was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a black t-shirt. I don't even have my ears pierced. I was about to slap someone upside the face. Whatever.

So anyway, going on an organized tour is tiring. You're always following, and listening, and being told where to stand, and what to look at. I do not like it. It does not mesh well with my wandering mind. I felt like a cow in a herd of cattle. Everyone acted like cows in a herd of cattle. I have a picture to prove it.


No one apparently realizes that the path down is actually directly beyond me; they all chose to walk to the other side of the hill where the tour guide was standing, and therefore walk in a complete circle before heading down. I do not understand this mentality. I would hope these people don't just follow anyone so willingly . . .


After Mukawir, we headed on to Madaba, which is a town famous for this Christian church, with a lot of mosaics. And then we went to Jebel Nebo where Moses is apparently buried? But they don't know where? I didn't get any exceptionally great photos at either of these locations, but I do enjoy this one.

Not only is it an inn, it's ALSO a hotel. And it says "goodpye". I have many things to say about this. 1.) Why does a billboard say goodbye on it? And not hello or welcome? The arabic next to the goodpye says ma-ssalaama which is goodbye in arabic - so it wasn't lost in translation. 2) Why is it spelled with a "p"? There is no "p" in the Arabic alphabet. They often don't use it when speaking English, as in Bobe John Baul . . . so why all of a sudden throw it out for a word that doesn't even have a 'p' in it? Sigh. Arab culture.

So our first week here, we had lunch with our assigned peer tutors - except mine was out of the country so I've yet to meet her. She called me today, and it was probably the most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life. Phone service kind of sucks here, so it's hard enough to understand native English speakers over the static, let alone people speaking with a thick accent. The first time we try to talk, the call gets disconnected. She calls again, and it quickly becomes obvious that her English is not great. Which surprised me because all the peer tutors I've met so far for other students have had excellent English. (Sidebar - this is actually good, because it will force me to speak in Arabic with her. But it did not make for a simple or easy first conversation.) I can't even go over it, it was so bad. We're meeting tomorrow, and inshallah it will go smoothly.

It's hard to make a connection with many of the females here, because their lives are so drastically different from ours. It's doubtful that I will be able to be myself with my tutor, which makes these interactions tiring. It's not that there aren't women in Jordan that I could be friends with; I just think it's harder to find them. Although, I do love my Ahmia teacher, Ghadeer. She's great. She has a sense of humor, is super cool, and told us all the best places to go dancing. Today in class we talked about flirting. However, in Jordan there is no flirting, only harassment. But she wanted to know how people flirted in America. It was super funny. Ahmia is a lot of fun. We have fus-ha every morning for two and a half hours, and it's all grammar and seriousness, so it's great to be able to just have a fun, laid back class in the afternoon. I feel like that was just a really poorly written paragraph. Which means it's time for me to go to bed. Wish me luck, I have my first test in fusha tomorrow!

On Dining with Jordanians

Busy weekend!

My roommate, Minna, is half Palestinian and has some family here in Amman, so on Friday, we headed over to her great aunt and uncle's for lunch. A seven hour lunch mind you. Quite the experience. I'm well read on Arab culture, so I knew the lunch wouldn't be quick, but I had no idea it would encompass my entire Friday.

We were picked up at 11, and our day started with a chat in their fabulous sitting room.
They own a pharmacy and are obviously pretty well off.

Minna's aunt does these amazing cross stitched patterns that she hangs on all the walls. This is one of them. Apparently they're traditional Palestinian designs. The detail was amazing.

So, we sit and talk for awhile. We bumble around in our stilted Arabic, they laugh. Their English is really good, so there isn't any communication barriers, but they want us to learn . . . at noon, Minna's uncle goes to mosque, and we head into the kitchen, to learn how to make Shishburek. Shishburek is a traditional Palestinian dish, composed of small balls of dough with meat inside, grilled and then covered in a warm yogurt sauce, seasoned with garlic and cardamom. Minna's aunt has also made a dish called Koussa (hollowed out zucchini, filled with meat, and eaten with the same yogurt sauce) and the best chicken curry I've ever had.


The Shishburek is at the top, and the Koussa is to the left. Mind you, we didn't get to eat this food until almost 2. She gave us all Shishburek first, which I didn't hate, but the whole warm, sour yogurt thing is something I haven't quite adjusted to yet. But I loved the chicken curry. Especially since I didn't expect to get any awesome Indian food while here. So we eat, and clean up and head back into the sitting room. Here, Minna's aunt tells us she is very tired and is going to take a nap, but then after we'll have dessert and take a drive around the city. This is at 2:30. They nap until 5:00. We watched Ghandi in it's entirety. I understand, they're in their late 60s yet still work full time in their pharmacy six days a week. I'm sure they're exhausted. It felt super silly though. They finally wake up though, and she brings us the cutest fruit plates ever. We each got one of these. I like the whole fruit as dessert concept here. It totally works. Which reminds me - Minna's uncle told us that American's were all fat because they ate too much ice cream. We got a good laugh out of that one.


We eat our fruit, and then we take a drive around Abdoun, which is the swankiest neighborhood in Amman. I'm talking gorgeous villas. And the amazingly ostentatious US Embassy; walled and guarded by tanks and Jordanian guards with automatics. Of course that's what our embassy looks like. Surprise, surprise.

Overall, a really great experience. I'm so lucky to have a roommate with family here. It made me love Amman just a little bit more. A love that seems to grow day after day. Who would have thought I would be so enchanted by all the dirt, pollution, traffic, and harassment that is Amman? Ha. For every negative thing, there's twice as much positive, and I just look at all the negatives as differences, not negatives. America is the exception, not the standard. This is the rest of the world. Accept it or hate life are my only choices.

Bam-ZaH!

So, this is class in Jordan. Ha. Looks like class in America right? I'm not as integrated culturally as I could be . . . but it's cool, I'm still learning. I'm using this summer as a time to adapt, then inshaallah (hopefully) I will focus more on cultural immersion in the fall.

(Btw, the two adorable ladies on the left are my roomies)

It's the weekend here - if I didn't mention it before, weekends in Jordan are Friday and Saturday - which means the school week starts on Sunday. Bit of an adjustment. Anyway, one of my roommates has family here, so we're headed over to their house tomorrow to learn how to make some popular Jordanian dish. I can't remember what it is, but I'll take lots of pictures and explain more after. Then, on Saturday, our whole program is taking a "Biblical" tour of Jordan. I'm just excited to finally see a part of Jordan that isn't Amman. I've yet to see this desert I'm apparently living in . . . All in all should be a pretty good weekend.

Oh and the most important news! I have discovered a bakery (makhubz) in my neighborhood!!!! My love for bread can continue. Pssst . . . totally sick of pita already, and I was never too hot for hummus in the first place. But now I can indulge in a variety of breads (many of them filled) for cheap, cheap, cheap. Which is good because I need to put some weight on. I've lost about 10 lbs since I got here - no joke. I was really sick, and since then, I've yet to have much of an appetite. But I just ate a whole thing of cookies, and some bread, so I'm on the right track. The problem is, I thought I would gain weight here, since I'm not working out, so I brought pants that were slightly large. Now they're really large. And I hate ill fitting clothing. It's my biggest pet peeve.

Drumroll . . . my roommate and I picked up some things from a corner store yesterday, and we held down a conversation in Arabic with the cashier. When we left, I wasn't sure if we had spoken in English or Arabic, because I've gotten so used to hearing Arabic. It was very cool. I can tell I've learned so much already, and it's only been two weeks! Basic Arabic has become second nature to me! I would say that in another month it will have easily passed my Spanish speaking abilities - which is sad, because I've studied Spanish for five years . . . but whatevs, I'm sure that if I want to become fluent in Spanish, it will take no time at all, especially after conquering Arabic.

Best word in Arabic: bam-zaH! which means "just kidding." Since I am "bam-zaH" 95% of the time, I love this word. I throw it out at every opportunity. Especially since it works so well in the context. It sounds like the right word for "just kidding." I say it all excited like and throw my hands in the air. It's awesome.

You Know You're Studying in Jordan When . . .

Email I got yesterday.

Dear Students:

You will soon be hearing the news that there was an attack against His Majesty King Abdullah II in Tafileh. According to different reports, His Majesty’s motorcade was met with stones and/or bottles in two locations during a scheduled visit to the southern governorate. It is likely that youth in that region, which is underdeveloped and lacking in economic opportunities outside of disappearing government jobs, were not pleased with the contents of the address His Majesty made to the nation last night.

While such an overt act against His Majesty is highly unusual, it is not without precedent. Prince Hassan came under attack in 1997 during an uprising in Ma’an, a similar southern governorate during a popular protest against IMF reforms. This does not indicate a change in the overall security situation in Jordan or alter our basic guidelines for safety and security, which are stay alert, be aware of your surroundings, keep a low profile, exercise self-restraint, common sense and travel with humility. I do anticipate demonstrations in support of His Majesty in response to this incident. These should be avoided like any political gathering or march.

Stay tuned into the news for additional reports or anlaysis.

On Having A Lot of Thoughts

I keep attempting to write something here, and it always turns into a fail. There are just so many things going on, I don't know where to start. My mind is a mess. By the way, please excuse any misspells. I'm having trouble writing in English. I am now wired to write in Arabic script. On paper, I keep trying to write in the Latin script from right to left. It is very confusing. The worst is when I'm typing here, and an Arabic phrase comes into my head, so I try to type it, but then quickly realize I do not have an Arabic keyboard, nor does anyone who reads this (that I know of) speak Arabic. But at least that means I'm learning!

So I've realized that while I know a lot about Muslim societies, most people don't, and y'all are probably pretty unaware of what my life is like here. (Oh sidebar, 5 of us in our program always hang out together, and 2 are from Texas. They say "y'all" all the time, and I've already picked it up. And I like it. Oh, and Texas - totally stereotyped . . . my new friends are awesome, and they aren't even from Austin.) So anyway y'all, life is very different here in Amman, especially for women. I have a lot of information I'd like to share. I've given up on organizing it in my head, let alone here. So I'm just going to throw a list of random facts, anecdotes, etc. at you. Basically whatever comes to mind.

I wear long sleeve shirts and baggy pants every day. I did not even bring shorts. It's summer. In the desert.

Water is scarce. Like super scarce. Like no way are you supposed to shower every day. Every other day. Seven minutes tops.

Add the last two together. I kinda smell.

You eat a lot of shwarma here. It's like the Middle Eastern version of Taco Bell. Also, you get sick of eating hummus real fast.

If you're a woman, you don't make conversation with the taxi drivers. Ever.

The men love the song "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. I keep hearing it blast out of car stereos.

It is really, really hard to have an "appropriate" conversation here. My friends and I are failing epically.

Drivers are mejnoon (crazy). But you get used to it fast, and now I get pissed when my taxi driver doesn't drive like a maniac.

Walking anywhere (as a woman) entails every other driver honking their horn at you. There is A LOT of traffic in Amman. It's basically a constant stream of honks.

While we learn Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in class, no one actually speaks that. So now we have to learn Ah-mee-a (Jordanian colloquial) as well.

Amman is a very monochromatic city. I'm beginning to be able to tell my way around by the fast food restaurants (Pizza Hut, Popeye's, Burger King, KFC, etc). They're my landmarks.

Apparently Pizza Hut is the best place to get pizza. (Says Jordanian acquaintance when I told him about cute, local pizza place near my apartment.)

Women are not allowed in certain cafes. No they are not brothels. Just a bunch of men sitting around smoking argileh.

Ok, I'm out. It's late here. I need my sleep. I am now sleeping thru the morning adhan though, so that's good . . .

One last comment. I really love it here. But it's hard. Amman is very conservative, and with the exception of with a few people in my program, I'm not able to be myself. There are very specific roles for woman here, and growing up sort of tomboyish, it's been difficult so far to adhere to a womanly role. It doesn't make it any easier that I'm the only girl in my class. Between the conservative society and the dust/exhaust, Amman is a bit suffocating. But I have my apartment and my new friends, and I do love learning the language and about the culture. Adjustment just isn't going to happen overnight. That said, I'm not homesick, or worried about being here for as long as I will. I'm happy, I'm safe, I'm enjoying the differences. And knowing that I can go to my apartment, run around in my underwear and curse as much as I want always helps.

I just realized that I forgot the most important picture of my apartment - the bathroom! Nothing like having a bidet! At least I have an American toilet as well; the use of the bidet is one cultural norm I do not think I will be adjusting to.

Toilets are pretty sketchy here, especially at the university. Absolutely no toilet paper (so bring your own), cleanliness isn't really an option, some are just holes in the floor, and some apparently are prisons . . . the stalls here are the ones where the wall goes floor to ceiling - the only open air space is above the door. The other day, a guy in my class closed his door, but it didn't have a handle, so it wouldn't open again . . . from the outside either. So he had to hoist himself up and squeeze through the space at the top. Mind you, he's like 6'3". I really wish an Arab had walked in the bathroom at that time. It would have been priceless. "Am-ree-kee-yeen mej-noo-neen."

I've yet to take many pictures - the past few days I've yet to really venture past my immediate neighborhood and the university campus - and I don't want to appear as a tourist in those places - I am living here . . . but I do have this picture of some of the many, many stray cats that hang out at our dumpster.

And of this burned out car in front of the mosque next to our apartment building.

And here is the upside down tree. I've yet to figure out how this works . . .

I really need to get some shots of campus - it's pretty nice. Most of the streets are lined with trees, which is great, because while it can be sweltering in the sun, since there's no humidity, plus usually a good breeze, being in the shade is quite pleasant. I'm overall very happy with the weather here. I didn't realize there would be such a good breeze all the time. Our apartment doesn't have air conditioning, but it does have garage doors on all the windows, and if you keep those closed during the day, it stays cool in the apartment.


I'm very optimistic about achieving fluency here - I did well enough on my placement test and in-class evaluation that I get to skip a semester and now I'm in intermediate II. It means a lot of catching up this weekend, because I am now a bit behind, but I'll definitely learn faster in a more advanced class. There are only four of us which is good; tiring too though, because with only four, you're called on a lot more. My brain feels like it is about to burst with all the new vocabulary I've learned this week - not to mention trying to remember what is MSA (modern standard arabic) and what is Jordanian dialect. They have different words and pronounce letters differently. Like I use the word "faw-qat" a lot - it means "that's all" - but now I have to remember to say "bess" instead. I'm sad about that - "faw-qat" was my favorite word.

On Wednesday, we met our peer tutors for lunch, and I really liked mine. She was great at speaking mostly in Arabic, and if I didn't understand a concept, she would try explaining it in some other way, rather than just saying it in English. I was doing really well with understanding her, and it gave me a big confidence boost in my Arabic proficiency. But then we finished lunch, and she's like "I'm not actually your tutor, Miriam is, but she couldn't come today, so I came, but I won't be here anymore." So I don't know who Miriam is, and I am essentially without a tutor . . . I'll figure it out; I'm just sad it wasn't Dania, because I think I would have learned a lot of Arabic from her.

Anyway, we ended up at a bar last night - yes they do have those here (or if you don't know - it's haram - forbidden - for Muslims to drink, so bars are not numerous) - with the peer tutor of one of the guys in my class. It was basically an expat hang out. No hijab, shoulders were bared, people were drinking. It looked Western, minus the fantastic view of one of the many hills of Amman. This isn't what I want. I didn't come here to do Western things; not to mention that one beer was 5.5 JD which is $7.75. Not worth it in my opinion. That's the problem with hanging out with foreign men - they think it's cool to do American things - so in this case they take us to a bar where there aren't any Arabs.

One last thing - I have to mention the "sad clown ice-cream trucks", as I am now calling them. They actually sell gas, but they play music like ice-cream trucks. Except the music sounds like sad circus music; hence the sad clown . . . I'll get a picture some time. For now, here's my current work of art, photography wise. Which I was scolded for taking, btw, despite being quite far away (my camera has good zoom. can't you tell I know nothing about cameras . . .)

Ahhh, the Jordanian "tourist police" as their badges claim.

"Is that a giant turkey?"

Ahlan! Until I settle into a routine, it's going to be really hard to write much here. Things have been really hectic, and I'm exhausted. I haven't even been here a week, and I've moved into a new apartment, started at a new school, and met way too many new people. All in a developing country in the Middle East. My brain hurts to say the least. I cannot wait for the weekend (which is Friday and Saturday here).

THINGS I'VE LEARNED SO FAR

The adhan (call to prayer) currently sounds at 3:30 am every morning. And in case that one didn't wake you up, or you were about to fall back asleep, another one sounds 20 minutes later. Hence, I wake up at 3:30 and do not yet fall back asleep.

Eating fast food twice on your second day in Jordan = meesh tayyib (no bueno). I got sick. And then I had to take a 3 hour, 20 page exam written entirely in Arabic script. With an oral exam directly after. Where I accidentally said "dos turistas" when I couldn't think of how to say 2 tourists in Arabic . . . awkward.

Toilet paper always goes in the trash can. Not the toilet. Yep. It smells. Especially when one has food poisoning.

No one walks. No sidewalks. Cars everywhere. You take a cab. And on average 15 people die per week in traffic accidents. Pedestrians and passengers. It isn't safe either way.


So I'll leave you with some picture of my excessively nice apartment. And one of a dead lamb. Or possibly one of the vulture like creatures from Dark Crystal.

"de-jaaj"

Note: United Airlines sucks. My flight did get delayed. And the airline did lose my baggage. Thanks guys!

I arrived in Amman in the middle of the night, so the first daylight view I got was looking out my hotel window. Best view ever.


This is especially great because the word "de-jaaj" (chicken) is one of the first words you learn in Arabic, which I always thought was super random. And then I get here and see this. So it maybe explains why the Arabic textbook authors think the word for chicken is need to know vocab.

I want to write more, but I can't seem to form sentences right now. Sleeping has not been easy. I went to bed around 10pm last night, but woke up at 3am and couldn't fall back asleep. I finally gave up at 5:30 - took a shower and now I'm here. I feel exhausted, but completely wired at the same time. And it's not like I can just nap whenever. I have a full schedule. More orientation presentations this morning, and we move to our apartments this afternoon. Then tomorrow morning I have my Arabic placement exam at 8:30am . . . etc., etc., etc.