"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.