The weather is changing! The weather became cooler during the third week in October. I’m searching for that day of rain in the near future…My host parents started wearing their robes and bringing out the winter blankets…
When I came to Amman I brought a handful of gifts for my new family, friends, and teachers. I remember searching for the right gift in the dairy farm gift shop near my grandparents, antique stores in St. Augustine, Barnes and Noble. I decided on the Humans of New York book (a compilation of New Yorkers’ life stories, also a successful Facebook page). My parents loved it, and not being able to speak English, marveled at the funny and
strange pictures of the New Yorkers. I was so excited to find, on my one (and only) very gloomy and sad day in Amman, the equivalent Humans of Amman book. I was even more excited to see that the stories were both in English and in Levantine Arabic dialect. My host mom and I have read stories together, something that has brought us closer. We also watch the dramatic and often silly Turkish and Bollywood TV shows and share tea together in the evenings (which I can proudly perfectly make now!). I’ve gotten to know the extended family too and we had a nice BBQ picnic in Amman National Forest a few weeks ago.
One of the best experiences so far in Amman has been meeting and making Jordanian friends. They are the most kindest and hospitable people. One of my friends hosted me in her home for a day in the nearby city of Zarqa. Me and another American met her lively family and neighbor, had wonderful conversations in Arabic and English, and ate so much good food! She took us to the souk in Zarqa and throughout the day spoiled us with gifts and more food! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much in my life! I’ve made all of my Jordanian friends at weekly language exchanges sponsored by the US Embassy. Some of my other friends are at the nearby University of Jordan. We’ve had great conversations and they have helped me so much with Arabic. I am feeling more and more comfortable speaking Arabic around the city thanks to their help. Amman began to feel like home two weeks ago.
Some other great experiences have been yoga, the Rotary Club, and olive picking. I’ve searched all over Amman for yoga studios and have come up with a handful! Some classes have been taught by foreigners and others by Jordanians, but all of the classes have been in English. My most recent class was my first aerial yoga class! What a difficult workout, but very fun with the ribbon swings hanging from the ceiling. I’ll have to get a picture next time! I’m going on a weekend yoga retreat to a well-know reserve in Jordan in two weeks – we’ll be doing some Acro yoga! I attended the Rotary Club of Amman Ammon a few weeks ago and was given a great welcome by the members. I introduced myself in Arabic and although the speakers’ lectures were in Arabic, I enjoyed great conversations with the members. Rotary is all over the world! ROTEX: go and visit! Olive picking in the nearby town of Ajloun was fun and exhausting. We picked olives for over three hours and had a great time climbing the trees and working together. It was nice to be in a quiet town and focus on the work, which turned out to be very therapeutic. A wonderful CIEE staff member arranged the event and her mother made all of us mansaf, a traditional Jordanian lamb and rice dish for lunch. We also had nutella crepes, fruit, and kanafe after seeing a castle in Ajloun.
To prove to you that my life is no where near a vacation or in any way easy, here are some of the more difficult times: street harassment and going to the police station. I do not think I experience a lot of street harassment (catcalling) here in Jordan. It is possible that much of it does not bother me or most of it goes right over my head. I do get a lot of stares, but most of the time I do not hear any catcalls. About a week ago I was walking home from my internship. My 30 min walk passed by nice residential streets and hotel areas where I could admire the greenery. As I was walking, a nice car drove by me with a man hissing out the window. Here in Jordan people hiss at cats, but men also hiss at women on the streets. As the car passed I stuck out my tongue, disgusted by the blatant catcall. A minute later as I passed by a car parked near the sidewalk, a nicely dressed businessman got halfway out of his car (then thought better of it and got back in) and said (in English) “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I was thoroughly confused until he continued, “I’m sorry I hissed at you, please accept my apology, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I was astonished and uncomfortably said, “It’s OK, thank you” and continued my walk. Unexpected. Did he decide to stop and apologize when he realized I was foreign? Did he hiss at me without thinking? Another difficultly was my carefully planned trip to the police station to renew my visa. At the entrance a guard asked if I had a cell phone, which I dutifully pulled out of my purse. He then said I could not enter with a phone on me. I was alone and had nowhere to leave the phone. Yes, this may not seem like a big deal, but I was so frustrated, even after the guards talked to my program over the phone, still not allowing me to enter. Just as I was about to trudge off in a fit, I quickly put the phone in my bag, went back to the line and told the guard I no longer had a phone. No questions asked, I went to the police station, was not finger printed and was out within 15 minutes. The experience was also frustrating because the guards inside the building were very amused by my confusion about where the office was. It was a building with many foreigners trying to renew their visas and no signs were in other languages. A frustrating but good learning experience.
Some of our other trips have been to the Dead Sea and Madaba (biblical Jordan). A friend and I spent a night at a resort at the Dead Sea where we swam in the buoyant water and pools, had some American food, and watched musical and belly dance performances in the evening. The trip was great but there is still the lingering fact that soon the Dead Sea will be gone, evaporated by the sun and cut off from water sources. On another trip we made our way back towards the Dead Sea to the Jordan River (also running lower each year) and the site where Jesus was supposedly baptized. We put our feet in the Jordan River and waved to the tourists on the Israeli side twenty feet across from us. We watched a baptism on their side and watched one of our own students fall halfway in the river on accident! We saw three unique churches throughout the day, full of ancient mosaics. We went to Mount Nebo, the site where Moses died and listened to groups of tourists sing hymns. In Madaba we ate at a wonderful restaurant and I bought some postcards in the souk. I met some shopkeepers and promised to come back, there was so much more to explore and buy!
More interesting things about Amman:
There are bells like those from ice cream trucks, but for buying gas canisters instead! There are also ice cream trucks with bells…
Fruit trucks are colorfully painted
Public buses are also often decked out – with flags and posters of the king
Honks: 1. Watch Out! 2. Taxi? 3. Hey pretty lady… 4. Just because I felt like it!
I hear both church bells and the call to prayer from my bedroom window. Going to church has been an interesting experience. I am hearing the same prayers I’ve known all my life, but in Arabic.
The post office was an interesting experience, BUT a letter I sent to my grandparents arrived after three weeks! Success!