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!