Ahlan wa Sahlan! Welcome to Jordan!

You know when you’re on a plane and you think you can spot out landmarks or ocean edges, claiming that “Look! It’s the outline of the Cape!” or “Ha! There’s Jacksonville, FL!” Well, I swear, that body of water I saw on the flight from Vienna to Amman was either the Mediterranean or the Dead Sea. And I swear, I thought I could see Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and then the outline of the Gaza Strip, and maybe the place where a wall would be? It’s all close together, right? But I knew Amman was Amman, right away.

King Hussein, the former king of Jordan, was able to pilot his plane over the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to Amman only after a treaty was signed with Israel in 1994. His wife, Noor, in her memoir, said she saw tears in his eyes when he did.

Amman cannot be described in a few words. In the first week I have thought often of Istanbul and the differences between the two cities. Amman is surrounded by red desert and buildings are very similar shades of tan, block-style, with pops of color here and there. The minarets from the mosques blend in with the hilly houses that go as far as the eye can see..I do not see or hear the call to prayer as often as I thought I would. Only until the fifth morning did the sunrise call wake me, and it was one of the most beautiful calls I have ever heard.

To be honest, Amman makes my heart ache for Istanbul. All the simple Turkish words that come to my mind, often before the English. I am frustrated that the simple words arrive in Turkish, but the space for their Arabic equivalent is blank. Blank, blank, blank. There was so much color in the landscape of Istanbul, more comfort, healthier food, dogs in the streets! Here I will not say only that there are none of these things in Amman, but that the loss of those things are made up in different ways here. Amman seems to be popping with events and I feel very welcome here, more than I did in Turkey! Comfort will come with time, and I have plenty of it! Although the restriction on water makes for a more carb and dairy heavy diet, there is much of the same food from Turkey here, and I can get it all in Carrefour markets in the malls. And when I walk into a mall here, I am literally, back in Istanbul. It is the SAME.

So I guess we can say I do not miss the US, but rather Istanbul. I told my host mother America was boring. She disagreed, so I then changed my mind, my life in the US was becoming the same, day after day, and I am one to explore new places, languages, and cultures. From what I tell my state-side relatives, friends, and strangers. It is just “what I do” to be quite frank.

That does not mean I find it easy! All of us exchange students here have various struggles. From my last paragraph, did you wonder about my host family, if they speak English? Well, they speak maybe 10 words of English. And the Arabic is quick, loud, and mumbled. It makes me feel like I know no Arabic. So their 10 words to my 30 words. Eh, we get by. Sort of. But I’m glad I have stuck to never saying “Yes, I understand” if I really don’t understand. I did that a lot in Turkey. I said “Yes” and “I understand” just to make the awkwardness go away. It sucks sometimes. Sometimes you just really don’t get it. And then I’ll go cry and think, “WTF is wrong with me! I’ve studied Arabic for two years!” But then you get over it. And do it again.

But they’re very nice! My host mother makes delicious food, although I have yet to actually see her cook…but we’re going to make food together soon. My host dad watches the news and Christian TV stations. We go to church once a week and it’s nice, I like the music. They’re both older and have five children, four of them grown with children. The first few days one of their granddaughters was here. I couldn’t believe her pale skin and flaming red hair, nine years old and she knows some English. So lively and talkative! The neighborhood is nice, not far from wherever I’ve needed to go so far. And I think I found a yoga studio 200m away!

Some interesting things about life here:

• You don’t flush toilet paper

• A lot of people know English, or at least some words

• Jordan is diverse, people-wise!

• Water supply may fault at times, it comes once a week in limited quantities

• I’ve already spoken Turkish here, there are many things Turkish!

• This year is the 100th anniversary of a 1916 revolution, commemorated with an older flag with no star and the hashtag “shabaab of our revolution”

Some “Ah, ha!” moments:

• The Citadel. Now I know what everyone was talking about. The most beautiful views of Amman are here.

• Host family living is difficult, BUT it’s OK, it’s suppose to be. I feel much more comfortable in my home stay in Jordan now that I’ve had the experience in Turkey!

• Taking only one semester of ammiyya (the local Arabic dialect) has gone a LONG WAY already here – to know a few of the verbs has been a tremendous help in conversation – thank you to my lovely mentor and friend from Smith! And my lovely Jordanian Arabic instructor from MHC!

• When someone talks to me in English I only reply in Arabic!! That’s how it’s done. No “thank yous” if I can say “shukran” instead!

Classes start tomorrow. Thank goodness! I am ready to kick it into gear with Arabic!