On Staying Downtown

Sigh. Phase one is drawing to a close. Then I never have to deal with any of these annoying CIEEers again. Just kidding. The reality is I'm heartbroken that I've met so many cool people this summer, and they are all leaving me in just a week. I hate how I'm always making new friends, and then saying goodbye with little hope of ever seeing them again . . . what a bitch. Anyway, if you haven't figured it out, the summer term ends after next week, and none of my fellow classmates are staying on for the fall semester. Just me. I'll be fine on my own; it'll give me the opportunity to push the limits of my comfort zone. Still, everything is funny when you're with friends - I'm curious to see how I'll feel about Amman when I don't have someone to laugh with about the shit that happens.

Next Tuesday, I move into a hotel downtown. I've had some warnings against staying downtown, and I'm pretty sure our CIEE babysitter might faint if I told him; but people fail to realize that I can handle myself exceptionally well (read: I'm not retarded). I don't have the slightest qualms about staying in this area of Amman. Here's a few of the warnings I've gotten, as well as my reasoning behind not heeding them.

1.) The men downtown give women a bigger hassle then in other parts of the city

• Catcalling honestly doesn't bother me; I find it either funny or I don't even notice - that's what iPods are for.
• And anyway, it's nowhere near as bad as Istanbul. At least here they don't say really awful sexual things in English to you.
  
• Also, I have a positively amazing death stare - no one messes with me when I whip it out.

2.) Friday protests. Today we all got a text from the babysitter that read "Alert: Do not go downtown today. The government is set to demolish buildings in the downtown area. This is likely to result in actions against the government."

• We went downtown today. It was fine. There was no one around and half the shops were closed because it's Friday (Day of Prayer). We saw nothing even remotely resembling a protest.
• If this did become an issue, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't come barging in my hotel room.

3.) It's hard for women to find food downtown.

• Ramadan starts on August 1. It will be hard to find food anywhere in daylight during August regardless of one's sex.
  
• I will be utilizing a grocery store and the hotel's kitchen for my entire stay.

I want to stay downtown because it's where the backpackers stay, and I'm considering writing my senior thesis partially on perceptions of Middle Eastern culture. Plus it's cheap. $7 a night including breakfast. The toilets are less than perfect, but it's Amman . . . I'll survive for a month.