The Perfect Souvenir.

I have an exam in less than an hour but I don't think I'll have another opportunity to post before I go back to America! So, quickly:

-Two days ago I decided to get a haircut because they're cheaper here and Patricia recommended this salon (or saloon, as they call them here). I noticed that the stylist was cutting off a lot of hair but I decided to trust him, and thought that even if it turned out badly it would just be funny and I could somehow salvage it, so I didn't intervene. Well, after all the styling and blowdrying, there is no better way to describe my new coif than by calling it a mullet. It's hilarious. I won't be including photos, but look forward to seeing it upon my return to America. I can disguise it pretty well, but I think it's the perfect souvenir.

- Over the weekend some friends and I went to some hot springs that are pretty famous in Jordan. Upon arrival we noticed that all of the women were in the water fully clothed. I had to borrow my friend's swim trunks and wear my shirt in the water... I don't know why I haven't come to expect these things. After the springs we went to the Roman bath, which is just a swimming pool of hot water, hair, sweat, and general body odor. The baths are separated between men and women and I was the only girl in our group, so I got to enjoy it alone. After that we stopped by a panoramic view of the Dead Sea where, on a clear day, you can supposedly see Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and other cities nearby. Then we stopped by Mount Nebo which was nice but sort of unremarkable. I then proceeded to accidentally delete my photos from the entire day, so I won't be including any here...

-Last week the ladies gave me a traditional Arab dress and necklace. They then forced me to do a photoshoot with Farah and Deena. Photo included. The design is beautifully hand-stitched, I'm still in disbelief that they gave me such a nice gift.

-Tomorrow the program is officially over! I don't leave until Monday night, so from Friday to Monday I'll be traveling around Palestine with my friend Santiago. We will definitely visit Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and hope to have time for Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus. I'm so excited! I think it will be the perfect end to my semester here.

-I have also included photos of my three Arabic teachers. Dr. Najeh was our colloquial Arabic teacher and the boss of the CIEE Arabic program. He is hilarious and by far one of the best teachers I have ever had in my life. Rabia'a (on the left) was our listening teacher, so we only had her twice a week for about an hour. We would listen to stories and answer questions. She was also wonderful and funny. Hala (on the right) was our Modern Standard Arabic teacher and we spent A LOT of time with her, about 7 hours per week. She was so patient, kind, and helpful, and she also had a great sense of humor. I will miss them all.

Water Hike, the Pope, Avoiding Studying

This blog has proved to be an excellent means of avoiding my studies... So here goes, another update!

Last weekend we went on a hike in one of the many wadis (valleys) here in Jordan. The one we were in is filled with water, so it was basically a river/creek with tall rock walls on either side. It was really deep in some places, so a few of us chose to wear life jackets... Okay, just Patricia, one other boy and I decided to wear life jackets and I am now sporting awesome tan lines as a result. It was a really fun and active day, and a welcome change from yet another trip to see ruins. Unfortunately we spent the entire day in water and we couldn't bring cameras, so I don't have any photos to post.

As some of you may know or have read about, the Pope came to Jordan this weekend. I didn't really plan on going since I saw him a few years ago at the Vatican and I thought I clearly expressed this to the ladies. When I came home from school one day to find them excitedly waving tickets in my face I knew that communication had failed somewhere along the way, and that I had no choice but to attend. So I arose this morning at 4:40 am to walk to the stadium and arrive by 5:30. There I met Chris and we went in and got seats, realizing that arriving at such an hour was completely unnecessary. The ladies had told me that phones and cameras weren't allowed so I didn't bring mine, but of course everyone had them. The whole affair really didn't feel like a religious ceremony or church service at all, as people waved flags, chanted and cheered the entire time. The service itself was interesting and half in English, half in Arabic. After the communion we tried to leave but no one was allowed to leave until ol' Benny left, so we were stuck in a large mass of sweaty people in the sun for about twenty minutes. Then there were no taxis so I walked the whole way home, which was exhausting. Luckily when I arrived home the ladies had cooked my favorite meal of stuffed squash and eggplant and then I took a most excellent nap. For a more informative description of the purpose of his visit, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/world/middleeast/09pope.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=pope&st=cse

This week all of our final papers are due, of which I have two. I also have my Arabic take-home exam due and my speaking, listening, and colloquial exams. That, of course, does not include the FINAL final exam which is next week. It's pretty cool having five exams for one language.

Since I don't have any really entertaining news, feast your eyes on this:


She's not ACTUALLY drinking the beer, the bag was sitting there (yes, the ladies enjoy a cold brew every now and again) and she started messing around in it and acting like she was drinking it. Yet another reason why Farrah is the baby of my dreams. She can barely talk but knows my name now and always smiles and laughs at me (just like everyone else in this country, but it's cuter when she does it). Apparently when I'm at school she says my name and tries to go into my room. I always look forward to cuddling with her when I come home from a long day in class.

ALSO: last week there was a "thank you" dinner for all the host families. It was at a really beautiful nice restaurant, and Margo and Marina came with me. Here's a nice photo from it:

I was also informed that the ladies told someone who works for CIEE that I'm their favorite girl they've ever hosted. Lately I've been sort of homesick and spending less time in the house (partly due to the lack of internet) so I was delighted surprised to hear this news! I daresay I will miss them when I come home.

Well that's all the time I can waste, but I hope everyone has a happy Mother's Day!!! Especially mine!

An Eastern Easter (and some Damascus)

I meant to make this post two weeks ago, but a sudden trip to Damascus got in the way so I'm not sorry...

Anyway, Eastern Orthodox Easter is celebrated a week after everyone else's Easter. The ladies informed me that Easter is more important here than Christmas, which would have been good to know prior to the day of. They gave me a really pretty necklace and earrings, which made me glad I brought them back some Turkish Delight from my spring break trip.

So Easter day was pretty much the same as Deena's birthday party, but everyone was more dressed up and there were more people. We ate the traditional Jordanian dish mansaf, which is lamb, rice, and jameed, a kind of milk. Traditionally you eat it with your hands, but only the men opted for that.

Last weekend my friends Patricia, Brad, and I decided to journey to Damascus. We decided to go on Tuesday and left on Thursday, so we didn't have time to get visas beforehand. I had heard of Americans waiting for visas at the border between two and ten hours, but miraculously we made it through in under three hours and the border police were really nice.

When we got to our hostel we dropped our things off and got tea in the old city. The following day was Friday so things were pretty dead, but we managed to entertain ourselves by wandering around the old city. Food was cheap and delicious and spent most of our time just exploring. We decided to hit the National Museum which I would not recommend visiting if you're on a limited time schedule. Afterwards we got ice cream at a place in the old city we had seen crowded earlier that day and it was delicious, though the men taking photos and videos of us sort of put a damper on the experience.

We had a really delicious dinner and then looked into the nightlife that we had heard about from others. At the second bar we went to, I noticed that water was pouring out of a light fixture. After calling this to the bartender's attention, all the lights went out and we drank by candle light, chatting and joking with the bartender.

Our second full day we went to the Ummayad mosque. Not that it wasn't impressive, but it was a little outshined by the Blue Mosque which I had seen in Istanbul the previous week. However, Patricia and I enjoyed the mandatory robes that all women wore, especially after I noted that we resembled dementors (Harry Potter fans? Anyone?). It seemed like a lot of people just went to the mosque to nap, sit, and hang out. So we were sitting and enjoying the sights when a large group of young girls ran up to us. They asked us questions about where we were from and if we were friends with Brad (as though platonic male and female relationships were unfamiliar to them). Then they asked us to take off our sunglasses so they could look at our eyes, proclaiming us all beautiful. They left, but came back in small groups periodically asking to take photos with us. We obliged the first few times because we thought it was so funny, but declined when the frequency and numbers in which they came began to increase. It was especially strange because they wouldn't let us take photos of them (but Patricia slyly snapped a few shots of them taking my picture). We spent the rest of the day shopping in the old open-air souqs (markets) and enjoying Damascus.



All-in-all Damascus was probably my favorite city I've seen so far. I partly liked it better than Istanbul because all the people seemed genuinely kind and welcoming, not because they wanted our money. We sat in a scarf store for almost an hour having tea and chatting with the owner. He said to call any time we ever needed anything or happened to be back in Damascus. No offense to Jordanians, but I daresay that Syrians were the most hospitable people I've come across, save the weirdos taking photos and videos of us everywhere we went. Also as we were walking, men would pass us and say things like "so beautiful" and "give me a kiss". Though I could never get used to that, it was something I've come to expect.

Now I have to run to class but I will add photos later! Unfortunately I think the internet in my homestay is really gone forever this time, so I have fewer opportunities to update.

Note: The photos of Damascus were taken by my talented friend Brad Olson!

Funeral for Jesus (and some Istanbul)

I arrived safely back in Amman yesterday after six days in Istanbul! What an incredible city. We visited such sights as the Ayasofia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and the Cistern... and that was just the first day. We also went on a ferry cruise on the Bosphorous, ventured over to the Asian side for an afternoon, ate fish sandwiches right off the boat, saw a whirling Dervishes show, enjoyed a Turkish bath, and wandered aimlessly through the Grand Bazaar almost every day. We had multiple groups of friends come and go during our stay so we were never bored. Our hostel was located within walking distance of the Ayasofia and the Blue Mosque which was convenient, but everything was pretty expensive because it's such a touristy area. However I really enjoyed the fresh fish and kabob. Also, I loved that no matter where you are in Istanbul there are always at least six gigantic ancient mosques, thirty Turkish flags, and some body of water within your line of sight.


Advice to future travelers:
-Expect extreme nakedness in the Turkish bath. I think that's all I need to say about that.
-Be selective about which whirling Dervishes show you choose to attend. Ours was expensive and not that cool. I recommend consulting a guidebook rather than taking advice from your "friend" at the hostel who just happens to be selling tickets.
-Save Topkapi Palace for a day when you feel fully energized and prepared to get excited over a lot of old stuff... not after you've already been to the Ayasofia, Blue Mosque, and Cistern. You will also feel like your money is going further if you don't pay four different entrance fees in one day.

The only thing I hated about the trip was when my wallet was stolen. I had just purchased some bread and put my wallet back in my bag when a fight broke out nearby. Distracted, I failed to zip my bag. A couple of hours later when it came time to pay for lunch I discovered it missing. My wallet contained a decent sum of cash, my debit card, and my Jordanian residency card. Luckily superhero parents came to the rescue and took care of the money issue, but the residency card is going to be a bit more of a hassle. I can get the money replaced by travel insurance, which requires a police report which I obtained after an awkward and embarrassing trip to the police station. After I wasted about half an hour of their time, they gave me a book about Istanbul as a gift. I guess that's Turkish hospitality.

Something that surprised us was how little Arabic is spoken in Turkey. It's written all over every mosque, and according to our guidebook 98% of Turkey is Muslim. However we saw many fewer women in hijab and the bars were always crawling. I should also take into account that we were in the hottest tourist destination in the country, so Istanbul is certainly not an accurate reflection of the rest of Turkey.

Meanwhile, this Sunday is Easter according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar. The ladies wanted me to attend a "funeral for Jesus" on Friday evening, but unfortunately I was unable to due to a previous commitment. I was less upset when they said that it would last from 5:30 until 9pm. Today I helped/watched the ladies dye Easter eggs. I tried to explain how in the US we buy plastic ones, put candy and treasures inside, and hide them for children to find, but I don't think they really got it. On Sunday I think they are having a lot of family over, so that will be fun for about ten minutes before everyone starts ignoring me.

I will probably come back and modify this post later, but I am trying to step up my blogging and give more frequent updates. Also, I managed to upload some photos to this website today: http://s573.photobucket.com/albums/ss177/anna_in_amman/Wadi%20Rum/

Vacation Weekend

I realize that I am officially the worst blogger ever. Hopefully what I lack in frequency I make up for in length and wit. Hopefully.

This past weekend some friends and I went to Aqaba, which is a beach town about a 4.5 hour bus ride south of Amman. We left on Thursday because we had reservations at a large party on the beach, something that I guess is pretty common there. The party was at a really nice hotel literally right on the beach and we had a lot of fun. Friday we wandered around the city in the morning and went to the beach in the afternoon. If girls want to wear bathing suits, they have to go to a private beach, and the one we went to was nice. It was interesting to see the fully-covered Muslim women swimming in the water or sitting in the sun, usually just wearing normal clothes like jeans. It was also interesting to see the European tourists wearing... much less. After our day at the beach we went back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. We ate on the rooftop terrace of a delicious restaurant. After that we walked around and found a cafe right on the beach where we smoked hookah. People would put their chairs in the water and just sit. I thought that would have been too cold but they seemed to enjoy it. We stayed chatting and people watching until pretty late that night.
Saturday we had made reservations to go scuba diving. I had never been before and have an intense fear of drowning, but I thought maybe this would be a good day to overcome it. We went out on a boat in the morning and stayed out until maybe 5pm. Each person only dove for about twenty minutes total, and the rest of the time was spent relaxing and sun bathing on the boat which was wonderful. I went diving with Chris and at first when we got in the water I had a very minor panic attack, but our instructor was patient with me and held my hand as we went down. The most incredible thing about the experience was not so much the scenery as it was being able to breathe underwater. I would definitely do it again and recommend it to anyone, I had so much fun. All-in-all it was a perfect weekend, and when we missed our bus we all momentarily considered staying just one more day.

Sidenote: after all that time in the sun I developed a pretty decent tan, which I had hoped would help me fit in better with the Jordanians... Unfortunately at the same time my hair seems to have lightened. One step forward, two steps back. Then I realized that maybe it's sad that after two months I still haven't resigned myself to the fact that I will never fit in here.
In other news, we fly out to Istanbul on Friday morning! Unfortunately I have an imtihan kabeer (large exam) on Thursday plus cover letters and resumes to send out for internships this summer, so I can't get too excited just yet. We don't have much of an itinerary laid out other than the obvious tourist attractions, but something tells me we will find a way to pass six days in Turkey. I can't wait!

Yet Another Culinary Adventure

I have noticed a theme during my time here in Jordan: just when I think I know exactly what to expect or begin to think I've settled into a routine, something happens to disrupt any feeling of confidence I have developed. 

Two days ago when I left to go to the gym, Ojou told me to be back soon because we were having fresh fish for lunch. I'm not the biggest fan of seafood to begin with, but you loyal readers know that I have done my best to keep an open mind thus far. So I returned to be served an entire grilled fish. Eyes, fins, tail, teeth... All of it. I looked at it and it looked back at me, and finally I mustered a "How do I...?" and the ladies answered in unison, "With your hands!". The fish and I continued the staring contest when finally Ojou took control of the situation and started pulling out the bones for me. We ate it with some kind of tahini, lemon and tomato sauce and baba ghanoush, which was really good. I have to admit, it was completely delicious and I may have finally overcome my slight aversion to seafood. I also provided quality lunch time entertainment for the ladies.

Also, last Saturday was Mother's Day. Here in Jordan it's a pretty big deal, which I did not anticipate. I had planned on getting chocolate or flowers for the ladies, but I did not plan on entertaining visitors all day (perfect timing right before midterms week). It's hard to get anything past the them, so I had to be very sly about getting their gift. I told them I was going to the gym because that's the one place they never question me about. I went through quite an ordeal and ended up getting them some really nice Lebanese chocolate wrapped up with pink bows. However when I returned 45 minutes later looking exactly the same as when I left, carrying a bag from the sweets section of the grocery store, they figured me out. But I think they thought it was hilarious that: a. I lied to get them a present and b. my lie was so transparent, because I heard them cackling as they recounted the story multiple times to family and friends.

The following day was their great niece's 3rd birthday party, once again perfectly timed during midterms week. The ladies said I could bring a friend, so I coerced my unsuspecting friend Amani into attending the affair. I didn't know the names of more than half the people there nor did I know their relation to the birthday girl. The adults didn't speak much English or really have an interest in talking to me and the teens were too cool to talk to me. The younger children ran around raising hell, so I was glad to have the company of a fellow American. Things really got weird when one of the teenaged girls started belly dancing on the table. I wish I was joking. I have photos to prove this. Not only did no one else seem to think it was strange, but the adults were cheering her on. This girl and one of her cousins also appeared to have some kind of incestuous flirtation going on, which Amani and I observed with great fascination.

In other news, I had four different Arabic tests this week and I have a take-home exam due Sunday. I also had to give a presentation for my International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East class and I have an Intro to Islam exam on Sunday. No one warned me that studying abroad actually involved studying. It's so hard to focus here because there are constantly children in my house and/or the tv is on. There is no desk in my room and there is no other good place to study. And whenever I study Arabic in front of the ladies they hijack it and insist on "helping". 

Tomorrow we are going on a trip called Eastern Desert Castles which should be fun. I had a relaxing day at home today, but I'm ready to get back out and see more of Jordan. Also, for Easter Break I am going to Istanbul with my friends Chris and Santiago, where we will meet up with other friends in our program. Chris also has another friend who lives there who can show us around. We bought our plane tickets this week, so I'm really excited.

P.S. I will never get tired of the trend of shirts with nonsense/inappropriate English words on them. Favorites: 

-(a girl wearing a hijab) You know you want me

-(a guy) Effective 99% of the time when used properly

-(a muscle shirt that my friend Chris bought downtown) Comfortable captain power

-(a guy) Equestrian

-(a guy) Negro (I did a quadruple take when I saw this one)

-(bus driver in Beirut) Man, fashion, power

-(a girl who I know for a fact speaks perfect English, which makes this even weirder) I'm smiling because they haven't found the bodies yet

-(a guy) Gyeorgetown University, plus some random numbers and letters

One final note:I joined one of those websites where you upload photos, but it takes such a long time to add them because all internet here is pretty weak. When I succeed in adding some, I will post the link.

"Americans love being tan, like Barack Obama..."

-Direct quote from Ojou. 

I'm a bad blogger and have yet to post about our excursion to Wadi Rum last weekend, so here goes. We left early Friday morning and after a four hour bus ride, we arrived in Wadi Rum. For those of you who don't know, it's a valley (wadi means valley in Arabic) in sandstone and the biggest one in Jordan. Lawrence of Arabia based his operations there during the Arab Revolt and one of the rocks is called the Seven Pillars of Wisdom after his book (see the photo of me sitting with it in the background). A lot of Bedouin tribes live there also. We then had a four hour tour in the backs of pickup trucks and made stops along the way so that we could climb the rocks. It was pretty warm during the day, but as soon as the sun went down it was freezing. After the tour we went to the Bedouin camp where we had a delicious dinner and spent the night. Don't be impressed, it was very comfortable and touristy, but fun nonetheless.

The next day we went on a three hour long camel ride... It was quite a sight since there were over 90 of us. I was really nervous at first but it ended up being a lot of fun and I enjoyed all but about the last half hour. Three hours is maybe too long to ride a camel. After that we had lunch and went home.

This week has been extremely busy. On Tuesday CIEE held a talk about GBLT life in Jordan. The man who spoke is an openly gay advocate for GBLT rights. It was a really cool opportunity to listen and ask questions about something that few people address here. Tuesday was also St. Patrick's Day, so some of us went to an Irish pub and had green beer to celebrate.

This weekend a few of us decided to go to the Dead Sea. It's only about a forty minute bus ride from Amman. We went to a resort and somehow got in for free, minus the cost to rent a towel and locker. We floated around for awhile and then three of us decided to get the mud on our bodies. It's supposed to be really good for your skin, but we did it because it looked cool. You pay some guy with a bucket of mud one dinar and he rubs you down, which, looking back on it, is pretty weird especially for Jordan. I told the ladies about it tonight and they found it wildly inappropriate that a man would touch women like that. Anyway, we had a lot of fun. 

Tonight the ladies and I watched Star Academy, the Arab version of American Idol. The whole cast was singing a song together and I thought the tune was really familiar... Turns out it was "What A Feeling" from Flashdance, translated into Arabic plus hilarious choreography. If it can be found on YouTube, I highly recommend viewing this.

On Sunday the ladies are hosting a birthday party for their great niece, Deena (see photos in a previous post). They have been preparing food for this affair all week long, forced Deena to invite me at least four times per week for the last month, and asked me when my classes finish approximately thirty times. From the sounds of it, this promises to be an epic event. I don't doubt that it will be entertaining with lots of delicious food, but these events are always awkward because I just kind of sit there quietly while no one talks to me. Although at the last one, one of the ladies' other great nieces drew pictures with me which I appreciated.

In other news, my friends and I have decided to go to Istanbul for our ten day long Easter break. I'm SO excited. We might also hit Egypt or Greece, depending on cost and travel time. So this week will be consumed with mid terms and Easter break planning. Next weekend we are going on an excursion entitled "Desert Castles". I have to be honest, I have no idea what it will entail but I'm a sucker for castles of any kind so I signed up.

Okay I tried to add photos but it didn't work... I am going to try and put all my photos on a website so that it is easier to access, because I don't think the Facebook thing worked very well.

Jubilation!

Too much good news for one post, but I must be brief. First, the internet is back! HUZZAH! Second, tomorrow I will be camping in the desert and riding camels. That promises to be hilarious and terrifying since my experience with camels thus far has been less than pleasant. Look forward to photos.

Third: I came home today to "Happy Birthday" on tape playing on repeat. I thought to myself, "I hope that doesn't continue all night" but did not really consider that it might actually be someone's birthday. So I had lunch and was basking in my renewed stolen internet access when I heard guests arriving. I continued putzing around online and I heard more guests coming, which is when I decided that it would be extremely socially unacceptable to remain in my room. Okay fine, the real reason I emerged was because I heard people singing happy birthday and came to investigate the possibility of cake. Well I was right: it was the ladies' niece's birthday and a bunch of family had gathered to celebrate. And there was cake. 

So after cake and such we had Turkish/Arabic coffee, and for those of you who don't know, it's an Arabic tradition to read fortunes in the stuff left at the bottom of coffee cups. Ojou gathered the following from my cup:

-"You have friend, but she is not friend. She hate you. She talk a lot."

-"You know someone old? They are very sick."

-"You are good for love." (I don't know if she meant to be cryptic or if what she saw was just lost in translation)

-"You will get good news from America soon."

I think there was probably more but I don't remember. I will let you know if this all plays out. I have decided that fortune telling is a skill I intend to master before I leave. 

Fourth: In culture club on Wednesday we learned how to belly dance. Let's just say I have a far more promising future in fortune telling.

 

Lebanon: A Long Way From Amman

As my previous post indicated, my internet access is extremely limited as is my time. So I will give an abridged summary of my recent journey to Lebanon and embellish with better descriptions and photos at a later time.

For those of you who don't live in an Islamic kingdom, you may not know that Monday was the Prophet Mohammad's birthday and a national holiday here in Jordan. The weekend here is Friday to Saturday, leaving us only one option: to travel to Lebanon and skip Sunday classes. My friends Patricia and Amani and I left Thursday after classes and got into Beirut around 7pm. I didn't realize how accustomed I had become to Jordan until I visited a completely different place. It's funny to me that I was so culture shocked by a more Western country.

Anyhow, during our stay we chose to experience other parts of Lebanon than just Beirut. Our first full day we went to the American University in Beirut and all three of us fell head over heels in love with the sea-side campus (grad school option?). Not that I don't love Amman, but it made me realize how much I have dearly missed lush greenery. After that we just walked around and had a snack at one a cafe literally right on the water.

The next two days we decided to take day trips to Byblos and the Jeita Grotto, which was apparently almost a wonder of the world, and the Baalbek ruins, located northeast of Beirut in the homeland of Hezbollah. Baalbek actually has two of the largest temples in the Roman Empire (bigger than the ones in Rome), and upon arrival we were offered Hezbollah t-shirts by street vendors. We travelled by bus, and I was shocked to find that the Lebanese bus system is actually less organized than the Jordanian one. They don't even really have stops, you just stand by the side of the road and buses stop for you. We found our way around by asking the extremely kind and friendly locals for directions. It was convenient and easy for the most part, and I really enjoyed seeing the country.

I had assumed that since Beirut is more liberal and Western than Jordan we would blend in more easily, but I was sadly mistaken. If anything, we actually stuck out MORE, and men were more bold in approaching us. On the other hand, people also seemed friendlier and more willing to assist in helping us. And luckily my French skills haven't gone to waste here as I made use of them when Arabic failed (which was often). Most people also seemed to have a decent grasp of English.

Another thing I thought impossible: traffic in Beirut was slightly worse than in Amman. There are somehow less traffic laws and more cars.

I really loved the diversity of architecture in Beirut, which was where the European influence was most evident to me. Our hostel was located within easy walking distance of beautiful downtown and major streets containing the legendary nightlife of Beirut, which we were lucky enough to experience to its fullest. Unfortunately our hostel had recently moved buildings and had not had time to sound proof, and the club directly underneath blasted music until about 9am. Needless to say, it was anything but a restful weekend.

At the moment I must go meet my peer tutor, but I will add photos and perhaps more lengthy descriptions at a later time!

Tragedy Strikes

I returned from Lebanon to find that the stolen internet access in the corner of my room appears to be gone forever. The proportion of this tragedy is such that I felt it deserved its own blogpost. Needless to say, future emails, Skype sessions, photo uploads and posts will be far fewer and further between. Sincerest apologies.

Phamily Photos!

Okay, here are some photos of the ladies and the little girls they look after during the day. I haven't mentioned them much here, but they are at the apartment pretty much all the time. 

Top to bottom: Marina (left) and Margot singing to baby Farah, their niece's daughter and the cutest baby I have ever seen; Deena, the daughter of the ladies' other niece, looking out at the snow this morning; Deena again striking a pose; Deena again striking an emo Myspace pose with Ojou looking on in the background; I just tagged on the last one so you can see Marina a little better and because Farah is so precious.

This video is of Deena busting a move. She was going nuts tonight and never passes up the opportunity to be the center of attention.

Snow Day in the Desert

Oh yes, it happened. Last night all schools in the area were cancelled except UJ. This morning as I sat down for breakfast around 7:15 I saw approximately two snowflakes hit the ground, and I received a phone call informing me that classes were cancelled. None of the snow stuck and seems to have turned into rain. Now I'm spending the afternoon at a restaurant/bookstore/coffee shop/internet cafe with Patricia, Amani and Jeremiah... Clearly preferable to classes.

So as you might have guessed, once again we failed to make the journey to Jerash due to foul weather. It was freezing/pouring rain/hailing all weekend. It feels like we've been cooped up in Amman for the last two weekends and we are itching to get out, so next weekend we're planning on going to Beirut for the 3 day weekend.

Classes are going alright, but the Arabic "test" that I had on Thursday ended up just being an activity. It turns out that our teacher tricked us into studying... Very sly.

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post was the first meeting of culture club. We had a discussion about traditional marriage and Christian and Muslim Jordanian students were there to share their family traditions. It was shocking to me how common arranged marriages are. There was one girl there who was already married, and she was engaged to her husband before they even saw each other. A couple of other girls said that that is exactly how they plan on getting married, too. Marriage here seems more like a business transaction between families. One girl who talked to us works for CIEE and we all know her, and she almost got married last year. She met the guy and they got along pretty well and so he proposed. They were going to get married but his family wouldn't accept it because she's Syrian and his family would only let him marry a Jordanian or Palestinian. Dowries are also expected for Muslims in an average sum of around 10,000JD. I think arranged marriages are also kind of common for Christians, but not as much. Christians also don't expect dowries. It is also really shameful for Christians and Muslims to marry, because it's seen as leaving the family. One girl there is an American in CIEE and she's been here since last semester and actually met a guy and fell in love, but they can never marry because he's from a very well-known Muslim family. Whenever they go out they have to be really careful to make it look like they're not dating because if anyone who knows his family sees them, it's a big scandal. Note to self: don't fall in love with a Jordanian man. What a bummer, I hope I can resist...

Another thing I've been meaning to mention is the really obvious racism here. A lot of it is directed toward Egyptians who have a lot of service type jobs. I know I've heard comments from my own homestay family about them. People are also pretty racist toward anyone with darker skin. For example, my family gave me a dessert one night with a picture of an African-looking boy on the wrapper. I asked Ojou what it was, and she said it's called "head of a negro". It was basically a marshmallow on a graham cracker covered in chocolate... Delicious and offensive.

Most importantly, in my last post I neglected to mention my mother's birthday. Sincerest apologies!

I have a few photos of the ladies that I will add soon, for those of you who are curious.

"To the Arabs, dinosaurs are like Cornflakes..."

-A quote from Najeh, my colloquial Jordanian Arabic teacher, in reference to the fact that Arabs call all varieties of dinosaurs "dinosaurs", and all varieties of cereal "cornflakes". They also do not acknowledge Antarctica as a continent.

-I have an Arabic test tomorrow and I don't have a whole lot of news, so this post may or may not be a vehicle for procrastination. 

-In my last post, I expressed feelings of pride and triumph at mastering the morning bus to school. The deities probably had a laugh this morning when I got off the bus too early and had to walk almost a mile to the university.

-Awkward moment with the ladies: "there would be peace in the Middle East if the Americans did not support Israel" -Ojou. Between my limited Arabic and her limited English, where does the conversation really go from there?

-Watching the news with the ladies is an experience, since it is dominated by Gaza footage and they are Palestinian. They just shake their heads and mutter "haram" (shame). 

-I still have not gotten used to the Sunday-Thursday school week and I never know what day it is. I think it's a little late to blame it on jet lag.

-I really miss my iPod.

-Last weekend our trip to Jerash was spoiled by rain and this weekend it's supposed to snow... Maybe I'm just not meant to go there?

-New favorite dish: cucumbers stuffed with wheat-like rice and meat, covered in some kind of red sauce with more wheat-rice and meat. Eat the cucumbers, and then dip pita bread in the sauce. Luckily food has only been normal and delicious since the brain incident. 

-I have learned not to do my Arabic homework in front of the ladies because they take it from me, "help" me, and we finish four hours later than if I had done it myself. But it is really cute how eager they are to help, so sometimes I sit and study something I already know just to see how excited they get at teaching me.

-I met my peer tutor earlier this week and she's really sweet. She usually brings a friend along. I've met with her three times and it's kind of awkward because she helps me with my homework and we chat for a little bit, and I don't know what else to do. I was hoping she would take me to The Village where all the cool Jordanians hang out... Maybe next week. 

-I need to study now.

More Culinary Adventures

Since classes have started up and I'm feeling more settled in every day, I don't have quite as many post-worthy experiences to share. However, in the last week there have certainly been a few worth noting. 

First, I came home from school one day last week to be served what looked like two chicken nuggets for lunch (among the usual spread of cheeses, vegetables, pita, etc.). I suppose in a way they were, but nothing here is ever that simple. Upon inquiry, the oldest lady I live with informed me that they were chicken brains. They were also served with some other darker meat that I could not identify and she said it was chicken, but I didn't catch which part. That's probably for the best since it didn't look like any chicken meat I've ever seen. Yes, I ate all of it. I guess it tasted like chicken.

Second, on Thursday I rode the bus to school! This may be the greatest achievement in my life thus far. The buses here don't have schedules, they just sit at each stop until they're full. They may or may not be numbered and I have yet to see a map of routes. On each bus there's a guy called the controller, and he tells you where it's going and takes your money. So to figure out which one you need to be on you basically just ask the controller and he'll tell you. It was not as scary as I thought it would be, and it only costs .15 JD to get to school as opposed to the 1 JD taxi ride. 

Third, one day this week my Introduction to Islam class was cancelled because my professor "didn't want to work today", according to his assistant. Welcome to the Middle East?

Fourth, I was assigned a peer tutor. These are students at the university who are assigned to each one of us to help us with Arabic and to assimilate us into the culture. Basically they are paid to be our friend. My Arabic is improving, but I've found that I speak way too much English here, especially when spending time with the other Americans in the program (which is always). I have been doing an okay job speaking Arabic in my homestay, but I am there early in the morning and at the end of the day when it's hardest to make the effort. So hopefully this will be a really good way to improve my speaking skills... And make lots of cool Jordanian friends.

Fifth, and most importantly, I hear Celine Dion everywhere I go. Usually it's "My Heart Will Go On", and I have heard it at restaurants, the rest stop on the way to Petra, our hotel in Petra, stores, and other public places. At the Petra rest stop it was the flute-only instrumental version. I have been meaning to make note of this ever since my first blog post. It is all at once hilarious and disturbing.

Something also hilarious: Star Academy, the Arab version of American Idol. The ladies were watching it tonight when I tore myself away to Skype and it is absurd. The introductions of each contestant include background music of mostly American songs (everything from Josh Groban to U2 to Beyonce). It's hard to describe the rest, but I recommend searching for it on Youtube. Also, hearing the ladies sing/hum along with the songs significantly improved my viewing experience.

Tomorrow we might be going to a football (soccer) game and next weekend a few of us are venturing up to Jerash. I also might be teaching English at a Palestinian refugee camp this semester. 

PETRAfied!

Okay so last week classes began, which was a little rough since I had kind of forgotten about the "study" in study abroad. Also, UJ has I think 40,000 undergrads and is giant and scary and I have never felt so out of place in my life. I have already gotten seriously lost on campus twice. However, I made it through alive. Classes will be more difficult than I thought they would be, but I suppose I'll make it. One thing I will really miss about Miami is toilet paper and toilets that aren't holes in the ground.

Anyhow, this weekend was the trip to Shawbak Castle and Petra! They were both incredible. I am currently attempting to upload photos, but once again shoddy internet connection has foiled my plans. We left at 8 am Friday morning and got back around 6:30 last night. It was so exhausting, I feel like I didn't have a weekend at all but it was so worth it. On Friday we went to the castle and were there most of the day. We also went to a cave where apparently Bedouins still live, and my friends Amani, Patricia and I got to try on traditional Bedouin clothing. See photos for a better description. We continued on to our hotel, the Petra Palace, which is walking distance from Petra. We had free time until dinner, where we went to a kitchen and learned how to cook. After that we were so exhausted that most of us went to bed. On Saturday we left the hotel at 7 a.m. to begin our journey through Petra. It was a lot of walking and I really liked our guide. Then we "walked" up 850 "steps" (climbed a mountain) to see the monastery, which was exhausting and incredible. We had lunch at a nice restaurant and made our way back to the hotel, where we got back on the bus and journeyed back home. That was a pretty condensed version of the events, but I think the photos speak for themselves. I will continue to add more as I get them from my friends.

Life with the ladies is also stellar. Sunday is laundry day since that's when the water comes, and I have yet to see anyone here use a dryer. Needless to say, I enjoyed the crunchy stiffness to all of my sun-dried clothing. I also enjoyed the blue tint to everything that used to be white: apparently separation of whites and colors is a dangerous assumption. 

They continue to overfeed me with the most delicious food on earth, but I'm g

etting better at saying no. Today they force fed me squash, eggplant and grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat dipped in yogurt sauce... Incredible. I'm also picking up some recipes a

nd learning lots of new kitchen vocab. As it turns out, there is far more to Middle Eastern cuisine than just hummus and falafel. I can't speak for every Arab family, but the way they do meals here is a lot different from home. When the ladies wake up, they have Turkish coffee and digestive biscuits (a winning combination). Then they have breakfast about half an hour later, which includes an egg (omelette, fri

ed, hard boiled, etc.), pita bread, a variety of cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, zatar (thyme) with olive oil, and homemade jam. Lunch is the big meal of the day, and they eat it around 2 I think. They always have it waiting for me when I get home from school around 5. Dinner is more of a late-evening snack around 8 or 9 with tea. We also usually have some kind of desert then.

So, every day continues to be a challenge, but I wouldn't have it any other way... For those of you who were holding your breath during the shower debacle, that has been fixed and I am no longer afraid of my bathroom.

Some brief notes:

-One thing I will not miss about Miami is being robbed blind at the book store. Here, all of our books are photocopied and no more than around $5 each. Who cares if they violate copyright laws and are bound with duct tape?

-The many stray cats in Amman are as adorable as they are diseased. I wish I could cuddle with all of them, especially when they cry outside my bedroom window (like right now).

-It pleases me that men of all ages are not afraid to sport scarves here.

-Girls at school wear pounds of makeup and high heels every day, making me look like trash in what I once considered classy cardigans and scarves.

-It seems my iPod and plug adapter have been stolen. I think it was the last day at our hotel after orientation when our luggage was "safely locked" in a room. Word on the street is that it might be covered by the insurance plan included in my tuition this semester. In any case, I'm peeved.

-Highlight of Petra: seeing a 300 lb American woman riding a camel and screaming "Yeehaw". No worries, my friend Chris captured the moment in an epic photo.

Here are some links to photos! Enjoy them as I catch up on about 500 pages of reading for my Diplomacy in the Middle East class.

Shawbak: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041337&id=1164480030&l=3c67c

Petra: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041360&id=1164480030&l=b0085

Showering: A Task That Seemed Simple Enough

This won't be a long post, but I would like to share my experience at the mall, an attempt to shower, and the wonderful day I had today. 

Since I've decided to join a gym, I decided I needed workout pants. I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for a sale and showed the girls (my host family). So yesterday Margo and Marina (the two who don't speak English) took me to the mall. It was like  TJ Maxx in mall form, plus a grocery store. In the store, a man immediately began following us around. Apparently this is normal. I tried on some pairs of pants and it was incredibly difficult to communicate to this man which pairs fit and which pairs I did not like. 

Finally we left and continued shopping... Clearly Marina and Margo had other motives for going to the mall. As we shopped, they seemed to look at and touch every item we passed, and then argue with one another over whether or not they needed it. It was amusing at first, but became excruciating and slightly embarrassing. Among items purchased at the grocery store: digestive biscuits (which, oddly enough, I find delicious) and adult diapers. One of my favorite things about the mall was the store that sold burkas for Muslim women next to Madam Lingerie whose window displayed such items I haven't even seen in the US. 

So that evening I attempted to shower. The sprayer points almost directly upward and is removable but impossible to use without drenching the entire bathroom. Which I did. However, after I got out of the shower, I noticed that the floor was wet in places that could not have been reached by the sprayer... So there had obviously been some kind of flood. The girls dealt with it while I was out today, so hopefully that's the first and last shower fiasco. 

Today I went with Patricia, Marcella (who lives next door) and Amani to the Roman Amphitheatre in downtown Amman. It was incredible and we spent a long time there (see photos). Nearby there is also a temple built for Hercules, so we went there too. Then we had lunch downtown and met some other friends for coffee in a shop that overlooks the busy streets. It was all-in-all a perfect day. Tomorrow classes start... We will be spending a lot of time in class so I'm hoping it doesn't cut too much into exploration time. Also, the trip to Petra is this weekend and I can't wait!

Long-Awaited Photos

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041099&l=ce1e4&id=1164480030

"We Will Learn You Arabic in One Month"

Of all the possible homestay scenarios I envisioned, ending up with three elderly Palestinian sisters somehow never crossed my mind. At ages 76, 66 and 63, it's like living with three grandmothers. None of them have ever been married, and they moved to Jordan in 1948. They are all very sweet and have a lot of family. In the last two days, I have met 11 of their family members. Only the oldest one speaks good English, and I don't think she's in very good health because she doesn't leave the house or move around much. I also get the impression that she's kind of the head of the household and bosses her sisters around. She's really nice and helpful, though. They have hosted 3 or 4 Americans from my program before.

My first meal with them was "The Best American Pizza" as advertised on the box. Hilarious. They are all excited to teach me Arabic and I'm learning new words by the second. Marina speaks a little bit of English and Margo doesn't speak any whatsoever as far as I can tell, but she enjoys touching my face and hair which I find endearing. They live in a really nice apartment 10-15 minutes from the university, and I have my own enormous room AND bathroom. I also have access to wireless internet if I stand in just the perfect spot in the corner of my bedroom. 

After/during dinner we watched probably 3 or 4 episodes of Arab soap operas. Literally every scene is someone sobbing, and I loved listening to the sisters have heated discussions about the plot. Something tells me this consumes much of their time. The TV is on pretty much constantly, whether someone is watching it or not. They also seem to have at least 3 visitors stop by per day.

Today I walked into the kitchen while they were preparing lunch and asked if they needed help. They laughed at me, and then I realized they were chopping up sheep feet. When it came time to eat it, the texture made me want to gag but i swallowed as much as possible. We also had meat, rice and chickpeas cooked inside sheep stomachs. I ate the meat, rice and chickpeas but passed on the stomachs. They could tell I didn't love it and tried to offer me leftover pizza from last night, but I was able to politely decline. 

Marina and I took a walk today, and she showed me the bus stop where I can get on to go to the university. We also went to the pharmacy and I got to see the neighborhood which is really nice. I love that Amman is such a hilly city because you have a really nice view pretty much anywhere you go. Also, another girl in my program named Marcella lives next door so we can take the bus or a cab to school together. 

Observations: 

-Very few people stared or said anything when I was out with Marina. Americans with future plans of traveling to the Middle East, this is the key to fitting in: following an elderly Arab woman. 

-Despite the presence of sidewalks, most pedestrians choose to walk in the middle of the street. 

My First Marriage Proposal and Our Last Day at the Al-Manar Hotel

Today we move out of the hotel and in with our homestays! We each have individual meetings with our program people about who our homestays are, and then we go back to the hotel and meet them. This morning we had a meeting about what to expect, what to do/not do and all of that. One interesting thing I learned is that most of the homestays have maids. They are usually of Asian descent and not treated well. We were advised to keep our valuables and money locked somewhere because the maids are prone to steal. There were also rules about not being in a room alone with any members of the opposite sex close to our age.

Today we also found out what Arabic we tested into and what classes we're taking. I tested into Intermediate II for both Modern Standard and colloquial. For those who are interested (i.e. my parents), here is my schedule:
Modern Standard 
Colloquial 
Intro to Islam
Int'l Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East  

I also haven't mentioned that we went to the American embassy earlier this week where they scared our socks off with talks of terrorist attacks and rogue taxi drivers. They actually said that the crime rate is really low here but it's on the rise along with inflation. I think the idea was to make sure that we still keep up some kind of guard even when we feel really safe. Needless to say, it worked on me.

Last night we went to a famous falafel restaurant downtown called Hashem. It was really tiny and not that clean looking, but we heard it had a great reputation. I would say it definitely lived up to the reputation, despite the absence of menus or silverwear. I've found that we get treated really well at restaurants, probably because people assume that we're rich because we're American. Also a lot of Jordanians are just genuinely kind and welcoming people. Anyway, the owner of Hashem treated us well and after the meal told me he wanted me to stay with him forever and offered me a whole chicken. Sweet, huh?

We continued walking around downtown and then went to the same hookah place as earlier this week. There were only about 4-5 of us and it was really nice. We sat and chatted for maybe 2.5 hours.

The weather seems to be warming up a bit, which surprises me because I heard it's supposed to snow soon. No complaints here!

Also, we get a discount if we join this gym and if this week was any indication of how much food I will be consuming in the next four months, I should definitely look into it. It costs 85 JD for 4 months which is a really good deal. The gym also has good hot showers (not necessarily a luxury we'll be enjoying in homestays) and blow dryers (mine doesn't work here).

One last thing: yesterday we went to a volunteer fair where we met people from organizations that would benefit from English-speaking volunteers. I wrote my name down at the YWCA where they prepare women for jobs requiring English, a Palestinian refugee camp where they train unemployed Palestinians for jobs requiring English, and a conversation club for students. Everyone signed up for the Palestinian one so we'll see if they contact me, but I would like either of the other two as well.

That's it for now, but look forward to my next post detailing my homestay experience... I will also attempt to put up photos soon, but it's difficult with the shakey internet access which will become less reliable and available once I move in with my homestay.

Scavenger Hunt in Amman=Recipe For Disaster

As an exercise to get to know Amman and learn how to get around, we were forced to participate in a city-wide scavenger hunt today. FYI: Amman is a city of more than 3 million people, about half the population of Jordan... And in my four short days here, this fact is obvious. I forced myself to feel optimistic only to be disappointed. There were teams of 3 American students and 1 Jordanian student from the university. I was in a group with a freshman who didn't really seem to know much about how to complete our tasks, nor was she concerned with efficiency or timeliness. I was apparently alone in my frustration since the others in my group were fine with letting her take the reigns. We also had to take photos of our tasks and create a slideshow to present to everyone. This was intolerable, since there were almost 30 groups. It could have been really fun, I just got unlucky so it was all-around very aggravating and that's all I have to say about it. 

Also, this morning my roommate and I decided to venture out for the first time sans the usual 8-71 person entourage. I was tragically mistaken when I thought that perhaps we would attract less attention than usual, being two quiet girls rather than 10 or 71 loud and obnoxious Americans. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. It was unbelievable. Some men called out or spoke to us, like the old fat man with brown teeth who said "hellloooo" in what I'm sure was his most provocative attempt at an American accent. 

Tonight we went to a cafe and smoked hookah. Here they call it "hubbly bubbly", which sounds way better than hookah. It was really fun and I think I have a solid group of friends forming. I have met some really quality people so far. Obviously hubbly bubbly won't become a habit, but you can't help yourself when in every window you walk by, you see people sitting around, drinking coffee and smoking with friends looking relaxed as can be. It's also surprisingly cheap. 

Observations: 

-Yesterday I saw people smoking in the Ministry of Health when I went to get my blood test. God bless this country... And help my lungs.

-I am always cold. We have not figured out the thermostat in our hotel room.

-We went to the University of Jordan yesterday for orientation stuff and a tour... We were heckled a little by the greasy Jordanian (male) college students. I can't wait to be on campus there every day...

-I have not figured out how to put more minutes on my phone. Problem.

-I ate more delicious food today. No one will recognize me when I get home because I will be morbidly obese. 

-The single greatest risk to my life in this city is traffic. If I die here, it will be at the hand of an irate taxi driver. Traffic laws are nonexistent or completely ignored. Today I saw a turn signal for the first time here... And we have been driving around A LOT in the last 4 days.

-Turkish coffee seems to beckon me at the most inopportune times.

-Our Arabic placement test is tomorrow... I'm expecting to be placed in Intermediate 1. 

Today I Was Kidnapped and Held Hostage by Bedouins

So last night I really didn't sleep at all as a result of Turkish coffee + jet lag, which made today exponentially more exhausting.

We had breakfast and got on the buses at 8:30 am (by the way there are 71 of us... Again, ordeal) to go to the Hijaz Railway. It was built during the Ottoman Empire from Damascus to Mecca, and somehow still operates within Jordan. We rode the train through the desert which was really cool. Obviously I have photos. Then some Bedouins on horseback started riding alongside the train, and the people working for CIEE told us they were dangerous and not to talk to them. And we saw that they had taken a girl off one of the other cars, and then they started taking us one by one off the train and onto their horses. We rode to this tent/campsite and sat for awhile. 

Of course all of this was planned to scare us I guess, but it was kind of fun. Except that I hate/am afraid of horses. We met the sheikh and a guy explained how Bedouins live as a nomadic tribe out in the desert. They gave us cookies, dates and tea. After that we got back on the train and went to the train station, got on our buses, and went to a stable that was built during the Ottoman Empire and has now been converted to a restaurant... Weird but awesome. Again, delicious food. I could write a blog exclusively about how much I love Jordanian food. 

Then we had to do some ice breakers and orientation stuff which wouldn't have been so bad except that my lack of sleep was really catching up to me. When we got back to the hotel I napped, and woke up to a text from my new friend Patricia that Ahmad told her about a bar that had happy hour from 6-8. So a large group of us went there, where we met some of the students who have been here since the fall. That was probably my favorite part of the evening, since they were able to tell us what to expect in the program. We went to the third floor of the bar, which had a really nice balcony and a beautiful view of Amman. It was sort of a perfect night. 

It turns out that there is actually a pretty active bar scene here, which shocked me. Except alcohol is really expensive if you don't go to happy hour. I was really surprised at this, especially when the students said that they didn't think they had really learned much Arabic last semester because they just partied and had fun most of the time. But they did say that they kind of regretted that and they plan to study a lot more this semester.

Anyhow, that's basically what's been going on up until now. Tomorrow I have to get a blood test so that I'm allowed to stay here for the next four months... I guess our visas expire in a month so we have to apply for residency. 

Some general observations: 

-Our hotel smells like cigarette smoke and body odor

-All food is fresher and more flavorful than in the U.S. I can't get enough of the cucumbers and tomatoes

-It's cold (46 degrees) and probably will get colder and snow. At night it's freezing, good thing my roommate discovered extra blankets in the closet today

-It is currently RAINING. Whoever said that the desert was hot and dry is a filthy liar.

-I need to get used to being stared at.

-I need to get used to people smoking EVERYWHERE. Literally. Yesterday I heard Jordan described as "the ashtray of the Middle East"

-I need to remember to stop looking men in the eye... CIEE told us they'll think we're interested in them. 

-Everyone in the program seems really excited to be here and learn, but not everyone is quite as conscious of the cultural differences, so sometimes I'm embarrassed to be in public with them.

-Oddly enough, I enjoy listening to the call to prayer around 5 am. 

Okay now that I've gone nuts with my first stretch of solid internet access, I'm going to bed to rest up for the blood test in the morning... Plus all of the other scheduled activities tomorrow.

A Confusing and Terrifying Journey...

Well, I made it to Amman with only one near death experience... And that was before I had even arrived in the Middle East. I got on my flight from Indy to JFK as planned, but after about twenty minutes in the air we felt the plane sort of drop down a little bit and all of a sudden it got really loud... Well turns out, the landing gear had dropped, so we had to turn around and go back to Indy. Terrifying. When we got back, I waited in line for about 45 minutes to figure out how to get to JFK, and ended up having to run to catch a flight to Atlanta, then to JFK, then on to Jordan. Confusing.

Luckily once I got to JFK it was pretty smooth sailing, and I was able to meet up with people in my program. There were few people on our flight so we each got our own row, which made sleeping much more comfortable. We were picked up by the program director assistant, Ahmad, and went to the hotel. There were maybe 40 of us... So that was kind of an ordeal. At the hotel we bought our cell phones and awkwardly milled around and met other students as more people continued to arrive throughout the evening. We had a delicious buffet meal at the hotel, where I met 5 new friends who I have continued to spend time with.

So after dinner we wanted to continue hanging out, and decided to go to a tea or coffee shop. We just sort of walked around and noticed that it was all men in all the shops (I was with one other girl and four guys), so we obviously bypassed those. As we walked by one, we were waved inside by someone who worked there and we could see a few women through the window so we decided to sit down... They showed us to a table at the back, and as we walked we were definitely stared at which was really uncomfortable. The Turkish coffee was incredible and we had a nice time until the bill came and we saw all these extra charges, so it was clear they were just trying to take our money. All but one of us speaks a decent amount of Arabic so we halfheartedly tried to straighten it out, knowing that it was futile in the end. We left shortly thereafter and were once again the objects of many stares as we made our way out. 

One of the guys we were with, Chris, had discovered a delightful establishment called Sultan Snacks (which, by the way, is across the street from KFC, or dejaj kentucky... Haha) where a shawarma sandwich is 85 qirsh (less than a dollar!). So delicious. We were still stared at and maybe mocked a little by the servers there, but it wasn't quite as bad as the coffee shop. I have never felt so out of place in my life, but I guess it's something I'll have to get used to

So that's it for my first day in Amman! I'm going to make a different post for my second day, just for the sake of organization.