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.

A Little Bit About Jordan.

Hi y'all! . . . (probably just my parents). It's the moment I've been holding my breath for for a year and a half now! Time to pack my backpack and put my traveling shoes back on. My blog is officially off it's (very long) hiatus. I'm leaving for Amman, Jordan today, which will be my home for the next seven months as I study Arabic at the University of Jordan. With my laptop and camera in tow, I'll be recounting every amusing bit of my stay . . . or at least posting some pretty pictures!

Wait . . . where's Jordan again ? . . . aren't they Muslim? . . . why on earth are you going there? . . . wouldn't England or like, Costa Rica be a better option? . . .

So, when I went backpacking solo the fall before last, people drove me up the wall with all their "are you sure that's safe??????" comments (condescending stare goes here). As you know, I returned in one piece. Without any bad experiences. Except Prague. However, that's more just because Prague sucks. But that's another story. Anyway, this time the comments have steered away from concern for my safety and more into the realm of just silence. The awkward kind. I usually assume it's because people's brains are racing to try to figure out if Jordan is in Africa or Asia. Or Europe if they're really bad at geography (read: dumb). Maybe it's because they think that Jordan is a country populated entirely by terrorists. Or maybe they had never even heard of Jordan and previously thought it was just the name of their child. I don't know what's going on, but it makes me uncomfortable, and the next person who asks, I'm telling them I'm studying in London. That way they can ask me to take a picture of Big Ben or some other bullshit and it will all be okay.

Jordan isn't in the news much - so I realize most people don't know much about this small, quiet country. I didn't know much about Jordan until recently. So here's a little bit about the place I'll be calling home for the next seven months. Jordan is in the Middle East. It borders Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria. Egypt is super close too. It is a democratic monarchy with a predominantly Muslim population. It is not teeming with terrorists. If you think that, then you need to stop watching Fox news. Nor has it been a player in the recent "Arab Spring". Jordan is a safe, stable country, with reputably warm and welcoming people. It isn't without its faults (largely influential tribal population, outdated interpretations of Islamic Law, etc.), but I shouldn't be in harms way studying there. Tourism is it's biggest source of revenue - you may have heard of a little place called Petra? Yeah, that's in Jordan. So are numerous opportunities for swimming, diving, hiking, rock climbing, and numerous other outdoorsy activities. Jordan is a huge draw for the adventuresome outdoorsman and thus perfect for me. Unfortunately, the country is a little light on the ancient ruins or fabulous Islamic architecture known to other parts of the region, but I'm sure it'll do.

So anyway, my flight leaves at 9pm tonight, and my stomach is in knots. Mostly for silly reasons, like being afraid my flight will be delayed or the airline will lose my luggage. I'm supposedly being picked up at the airport by a representative from my program, and I'll be pissed if something happens and I miss them and I have to take a $40 taxi at 10 pm to the hotel instead. Undoubtedly, things will go fine, but it doesn't stop me fretting.

I'm extremely proud of my packing abilities, especially since I was packing for seven months (no easy feat), so I'm going to leave you with a picture at my awesomely rolled and bagged suitcase.


Thank you, hefty.