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.
HAHAHAHA. why haven't i seen those tshirts..considering we are dating and all?
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