"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.