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.
Oh no....Celine Dion, that could be hard to take.
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