Ways to Keep American Students Entertained on a Bus

Blazing Hot Amman

Ok, it's been a while since I last posted. I guess I'm just settling in a bit better and we're going by a more regular schedule.

So, what's new... Like I said, most things have been settling into a schedule and 'normal', so if you have anything you want to hear about, you're going to have to ask!

But one thing that I do remember (hard to forget sometimes) is the temperature. Middle East=blazing hot, right? Nope--it's winter. In Amman, that means cold. While snowing, even if it's not enough to stick much, counts as news, it is pretty chilly at times. Chilly enough to cancel things like school, for some, or appointments. I tend to put a brave face on it (in INDIANA this snow is mush mushgila, no problem; only a problem when it gets *this* high). It'll work on the other side when it's "vaguely warm" and I'm drooping from the heat.

Ah, one new thing is the tutoring I'm doing; I got connected with a local family with two elementary school kids, and I come over twice a week for two hours to help them with their homework. The older girl, Mirna, has a fair amount of English homework; I help her with that, reading, and studying. She's not too bad, but her reading needs a bit of work. She's also really energetic and friendly, which is great for fun but occasionally not as much for working. Zed is a bit quieter (so far) and very sweet; I help him with homework in general. All their subjects are in English, which has sociological implications if anyone wants an essay on it and I'm betting you don't.

Thursday, we head out for the Badia homestay; we'll be there through Monday and arrive back in Amman then; Tuesday is our debrief, and we'll visit Madaba (shoutout to the Moores!) and the Dead Sea. I've been warned no shaving anything within three days of enjoying the Dead Sea.

Because the Badia is generally more conservative and traditional, girls may at times have to wear hijab, and traditional dress is suggested (though not required). Consequently, we went on a big group shopping trip this afternoon to the downtown area--tons of little shops and street vendors, and very cool. The guys bought red and white keffiyehs and some bought thobes of generally simple design and color--fairly easy. We girls, on the other hand, had either the better or the worse time. We certainly had a harder time choosing our abayas--but how many girls will complain about shopping for gorgeous clothes? Headscarves, too, had some beautiful options.

As abayas go on over your normal clothes (I think), we tried them on in the store; it was pretty crowded, but nice to have girls to try things on with and our language partners to help us find decent deals. I ended up being the most indecisive or something, though; all but one other girl got theirs at the first store. I found one I absolutely loved... and it turned out to be 60 JD. Even if I'd bargained it down, too much for me, especially for something I'll be wearing for general use. I ended up at a different store, where I found a pretty one for 25 JD... and either 25 felt a bit much or I was being indecisive again, but one of our language partners found the same design for me at another store for 20 JD. After that we went for fruit cocktails (zakeeeeee) and on the way back I bought a plain back headscarf. They should show us how to wear them tomorrow.

I modeled for my host family... "It looks very nice. In the Badia, you will have many requests for marriage."

Party!

I was grateful for advanced notice the night before last, because yesterday we had a party! My host sister is getting engaged, and traditionally before the engagement the extended families meet to agree on it.

We expected 70-100 people, and by my count had something in that range. The living room and salon were cleared out and filled with chairs; the living room for the women and the salon for the men. Our side of the family arrived first, at about 3pm (meaning people started coming in at 3:30 or so), and the other family came in as a group a bit later.

Leen spent most of the first hour (ish) in my room getting ready and waiting; she couldn't come out until all the guests were there, and then after meeting the women her uncle or brother would escort her into the salon where she'd meet all the men. I spent most of the time then with her and the cousins (so nice!). I also got some good pictures (Leen was beautiful, and in a white suit), but my camera messed up and somehow didn't save any of those photos....

After Leen was introduced all 'round (a group of women crowded near the entrance to the salon to watch), there was a ceremony (I think), where the two families agreed on the engagement. From there coffee and kunafa was served... again, my camera lost the pic, but I found one online. It has a sort of eggy bottom with a sweet, slightly crusty top.



I helped a bit with drinks, too--water and soda, mostly. Everyone also got a piece of pistachio chocolate and some baklava-type treats (those of us in the kitchen couldn't stop eating them), and the other family left a while later, leaving only the fiance(-to-be?) and some of his family. We then all moved into the salon for chatting, and dinner arrived in half an hour or so (it was catered, but the family had bought the ingredients and given them to the restaurant earlier, and we'd also made a lot of veggie salad to go with it). It was rice flavored with bits of ground beef and roasted almonds, with pieces of chicken, and many ate it with yogurt. The rice was delicious--I'm not usually a fan of rice, but here the types and preparations have made me love it--and was soon full.

Overall, it was a wonderful time, and I was glad to meet some of the cousins I hadn't yet seen, either. (Hi if you're reading this, and if I messed up any descriptions please tell me!) I feel a lot more a part of the family now... I just wish I hadn't worn red; I stuck out like a sore thumb. Picture of all but one or two of the cousins below!



The one in the white suit is Leen, with sister Zeina on one side and her fiance on the other.

Another Post!

Right, what do I need to catch up on....

News as of today: our program was going to spend a week in Egypt in March, but due to the current unrest that's been cancelled. On the bright side--that means we're going to Turkey instead! Istanbul, with a free day where we can travel anywhere in Turkey.

Also, ice cream trucks! They all play the same cheerful whistly melody, too, and drive around the neighborhoods.

At least, ice cream truck was my first guess, though I've never been in a neighborhood with one. Also the first guess of a lot of my classmates. But I started thinking... it's winter here, cold enough we're using space heaters--who'd buy ice cream in this weather? My suspicion was confirmed when I saw one pass by--they sell small LP tanks for space heaters. Smart!

50% of my Thematic Seminar grade was finished this week. 20% on the paper we had to write, 15% on introducing our first lecturer and leading the discussion afterwards (I'm told I seemed very teacherly, though I'm not sure I felt it), and 15% on a paper reflecting on the lecture and discussion. Signed up early, and it's over with!

My other two classes are Field Studies Seminar (common-sense and boring mostly, but will help a bit with our coming projects) and Arabic. Arabic is divided into 1.25 hours fusHa (Modern Standard) and 1.25 hours 'amiyya (Amman's dialect). Our class is small--only 5 students. We're in level 4 of 4 and our two teachers are amazing. Between them and having to know Arabic to use it, and being in an environment where it's spoken a lot, I feel like I'm learning a lot at a good pace.

Anything people want to know?

Day 1 of School...

...will actually have to wait. It's after midnight and I still have a pile of homework to do, both Arabic and prepping for tomorrow's speaker (more HW than normal and nothing I could have done beforehand). And no, I actually didn't really procrastinate minus a little time studying both 'Amiyya (dialect) and jewelry with a friend; I'm just slow at figuring out vocab and perfectionist about my handwriting. I'm also brave *coughstupidcough* enough to be doing my homework in pen.

So for now I'll just leave you with this: When it's the same wind blowing, the language doesn't matter nearly as much. I feel at home.

Family, Adjustments, and Family

So, two days ago I moved in with my host family: a mother and two daughters, both older than me--one studies and one works at a hotel. Oh, and a parrot and a cat (who doesn't yet trust me but she only really trusts the younger sister, so we'll see). The oldest son is married with a wonderfully sweet 2-year-old girl who brightens up the whole house when they visit. I have the son's old room, which is slightly embarrassing because it's the nicest bedroom and the only one that's not shared and has its own bathroom.

Most of them speak at least a little English--the daughters the best--though I try to use my Arabic when I can. I ended up in some long conversations I barely understood when the mother's two brothers visited, though. Other than language differences, it's probably family rhythms that I'll most have to adjust to. Namely and in no particular order: the TV and the maid (I know, she should've been included up there with the other denizens of the house, but for the sake of surprising everyone I waited until here, at which point you'll have to wait because I'm going to discuss the TV first).

Anyone who doesn't already know won't be surprised that I don't watch much TV. Partly because of that, the TV always distracts me when it's on, because the only times I have the TV on, that's what I intend to concentrate on. Well, here I'm not sure I've seen a time it hasn't been on, though if I get up early enough maybe. My host mother has bad knees, so she's in the living room (also a connector between the hall and the kitchen) almost all day. I've been trying to be in there to be sociable, but it's hard to concentrate on that sometimes, or the articles I need to read for class, even when the tube's on mute. So dealing with that'll be interesting.

The other strange thing is the maid, a Sri Lankan who speaks neither Arabic nor English and has apparently been here only 4-5 days now to help out because the oldest daughter has to work. The closest things I've ever had to maids before are janitors and Mom. Janitors you can't really boss around, and their job only goes so far. Mom I can't boss around at all--I have to ask--and she can boss me around as much as she likes. (Love you, Mom!) So, having a maid in the first place is interesting--and it got more interesting yesterday.

Yesterday, our maid fainted while picking something up, and when we got her onto a couch and she woke up, she was crying and her stomach hurt. So Mama called the... I think person whose business is 'importing' maids and finding them jobs, and his translator. They came by a few hours later and when the whole thing was mostly sorted out (I barely understood more than something about 25 maybe days and 3500 maybe dinars), I think it turns out she wasn't sick at all, but wanted more calls to her husband in Sri Lanka. It had originally been once a month; she wanted once a day (but that costs enough it wasn't an option as Mama pays the phone bill); and it was settled on once a week.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the whole thing. I'm really unused to having someone non-family non-friend in the house 24/7, and I'm still not entirely sure how much of that was real and how much was faking. If it's real I'm worried; if it's fake I feel used. Even so... I understand a bit of what it's like being so far from home in a place where people speak a different language (though most speak a bit of English here). And I can't help but wonder how a family like that survives....

On a lighter note, some friends at home alerted me to a good friend here and we met for lunch today and ended up having tea, making a short shopping trip (I got a fan for when it gets warm), and going out with our family after. It was wonderful to get out a bit after being cooped up with schoolwork and the TV, awesome to have a good friend already, and refreshing to spend time with family. We sang a few songs as a family, and while I didn't know more than a few words or phrases, I knew two of the tunes. Biggest smiles I've had since I got here, and of course I plan to go back. I think, too, they've been needing more older sisters for the younger girls.

I've heard a few hints on places to teach English during the summer, so I'm excited that could lead to something. Also, I start school tomorrow! In other words, I'm aiming for 15 minutes email/facebook/goofing off, and bed afterwards. I've actually been sleeping pretty well and for decent hours. I'm not sure what effect my pillows have in that; they remind me of Jacob's pillow in Genesis 28:11.

Ma'asalaama!

Edit: 7 minutes email/etc. now... taking bets on when I actually get to bed.

Taxis, Rain, and Culture

Yet another busy day of orientation! Today's main activity was a scavenger hunt; we divided into groups of 3-4 and headed out with a list of 3 places to go and information to get about each. My group had to got Al-Pasha, the Shoban(sp?) Library, and Reem Shawarmas.

We started out looking for the first--took a taxi to second circle (I think there are seven main roundabouts in the area). We asked around, but nobody knew where it was, or even what it was. (We didn't have a street address; while they have street names etc here, nobody really finds places that way. Landmarks are the way to go.) Finally we moved on to the library, a really beautiful place. We had to ask for a film/event schedule, and between my little Arabic and what English the librarians knew, we got that, somewhat explained why we needed it, and asked again about Al-Pasha. Pasha was a social station in the Ottoman Empire, and is the nickname for the Intelligence Director, but that could help us find it. Or him. We didn't know.

We did get directions to Reem Shawarmas, though, and headed back up the hill through the rain to find it. Yup, rain. I think it's an unusual amount even for winter here; the streets and drains weren't equipped to handle it, and neither were we. By that time all four of us were drenched.

Reem Shawarmas is a little booth of a restaurant--a kitchen and a counter, basically--and the oldest shawarma place in Jordan. "Kem sena hoona?" "Arbaeen yowm." "How many years here?" "40 years." Shawarmas are pita filled with shredded lamb with veggies, and the meat is zaki--delicious. And the roasting haunch was bigger than Jason! We took it to a small internet cafe, ordered tea, and ate.

While we were eating, one of the SIT directors called to see how we were doing, and helped us out by telling us to ask for Hamam Al-Pasha, not just Al-Pasha. With that, we got there fairly quickly; our most helpful guide left the store he was in to walk down the street a bit and give directions in Arabic. Hamam Al-Pasha is a Turkish Bath, and a beautiful building, with a fountain with fish, stone pillars, and a vaulted ceiling. Spa and massage stuff is in the morning and early afternoon for women and late afternoon to evening for men, and reasonably priced, too. After that we headed back.

Traffic here makes me glad I'm not driving. There are very few lights or marked lanes, and many roundabouts and U-turns (you're more likely to go left by making a U-turn and then turning right, I think). Spaces that American drivers would consider frighteningly close Jordanian drivers call plenty of room, and cobbled sidewalks double as parking. The taxi rides we took were fun, almost like roller coasters, and the thought of driving myself in this makes me extra glad taxi fares are cheap; we've yet to pay more than 3JD for a ride.

There are two different cultures that have made today interesting. The first, of course, is local. I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb, but the scavenger hunt gave us a chance to explore it a bit in groups and get a feel for communicating. The second is American college culture. Sometimes it's a relief to have other students around me, like on the trip--we understand each other and are comfortable with each other. On the other hand... I'm, ah, somewhat conservative and a teetotaler, too, which is a bit abnormal for students my age.

We meet out homestay families tomorrow! I'm looking forward to it.