The Best of Both

The main gate of the University of Jordan

One month down, three to go. Life is really starting to pick up here after a fairly relaxed first two weeks. The material covered in classes is piling on, the projects are building up, and I want to do everything all at once since my time here is so short...talk with my host family, watch the news in Arabic, read my book of Arab short stories, keep up with my scrapbook, go to the gym, spend time with friends, visit museums, attend concerts, and the lists goes on. I'm happy to be busy and am thoroughly enjoying my classes at the University of Jordan (JU), and I feel incredibly fortunate to be here right now, and upon starting my fourth week of classes, I will try to contextualize what it means to be living here. 

\What I love most about Amman:

- Limestone-covered buildings. All buildings in Amman are required by law to be covered with limestone blocks, which creates quite a stunning view, especially at sunset with the city's hills are covered with white stones glowing under the fading light. 

Happy after purchasing several Arabic books at an international book fair in Amman. My birthday present to myself.

- Home-cooked meals. Jordanian food is incredibly delicious! It definitely beats out Morocco, and probably even beats Egypt, although nothing can top Egyptian mangos and fruit juice stands. I especially love tabbouleh, felafel, and ma'looba, which literally means "upside-down" because a huge pan of rice, chicken, eggplant, and cauliflower is baked and then turned upside down on an equally giant plate to serve. Yummmm. Every meal also must have some form of bread or rice. I am also spoiled even more with occasional Indian food because the maid who lives with my host family is from Bangladesh, and she is an amazing cook! Not to mention that my host mom teaches other women how to bake sweets and cakes... 

Birthday dinner and cake at my host family's

- My host family. I can sit and talk with them about anything from politics to religion to the events of my day, or I can study in my room and have time to myself if needed, without feeling obligated to do anything else. They are incredibly generous, easy-going, and have the patience to explain anything to me that I don't understand.

- Arabic. I have taken a language pledge to not speak any English for the entire semester. To be entirely honest, a few words slip here-and-there, but otherwise it is Arabic all day, every day, and I absolutely love it. A lot of people in Amman speak English (at varying levels), but that doesn't mean I have to respond in English :)

The intersection near my house where I wait for the bus, early on Friday morning with no traffic.

- Riding buses. I think I'd being lying if I said I loved commuting to JU by bus, but I will admit to enjoying it, mostly because it is so vastly superior than my other alternative of taking taxis. I stand on opposite the side of the main road, a short walk my host family's apartment, and wait anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes for the bus to come. I have memorized the pattern of the traffic signals now at the intersection, and amuse myself by watching the newspaper man running in and out of cars at the stop light, handing drivers a newspaper in exchange for a coin. I wave at the bus to stop, and then usually have to push my way on board because for some reason all of the women like to stand directly in front of the door and are extremely hesitant to move for passengers getting on and off (the men are in the back, so I don't know what their bus-customs are like). I swipe my prepaid card, and then usually stand for the 30-ish minute ride (depending on traffic), trying not to hit too many people with my large backpack and cinch bag (with gym paraphernalia). Jordanian women all carry the more fashionable shoulder bags, so I totally feel like an unstylish American...same story in the U.S., though, so nothing every changes :) I stay on until the end of the route, which is the main gate of the university, get off, and go to class. Easy. Nearly the same story on the way back. (I'm currently in the process of writing an article for the Rice Standard on taking taxis, so I'll post that whenever it's published.)

One of the sites at Petra (not the main Treasury), Sept. 15

However, I also can't help but mention what I miss the most about the U.S.: 

- Clean bathrooms, with soap and toilet paper. The bathrooms at JU are pretty abominable. I'm lucky to find a "normal"-style toilet, so learning to squat is a much-need skill. Toilet paper and soap are a guaranteed "no," so it's byo style. Side note: Jordanians call toilet paper and tissues "Fine" because the first major company to sell these products in Jordan was "Fine," and the name has stuck (just like we call tissues "Kleenex" and bandage strips "Band-Aids").

- Jogging outside, or any form of exercise outside for that matter. I joined a female-only gym that is only a ten-minute walk from my house, so I am extremely thankful for this opportunity and convenience. However, it's on the second floor of an office building (next to Starbucks), and I really miss being outside, off of a treadmill and running on grass, and playing on a team. There are definitely benefits, though, because I am learning better techniques for arms weights and other new exercises, and I am honestly happy just to have this opportunity, since I didn't while I was in Egypt.

Signs at Wild Jordan in Amman, the official company in charge of organizing trips to Jordan's various nature preserves

- Water fountains. Jordan has a serious water-shortage problem and is one of the poorest countries in the world with regard to water scarcity. Each family receives a weekly water ration, stored on a rooftop tank, for everything from flushing toilets and taking showers to cooking. I have yet to come across a functional drinking water fountain - there are a few in some of the university buildings, but they must only be for decoration because none show any signs of every carrying water. So I fill up my Nalgene at home in the morning, and try to make it last all day, which is definitely less than ideal. I hate spending money on bottled water, but I may have to start making exceptions

- Oatmeal and cereal with milk. I doubt I will be having any of these for the next few months, since both are incredibly expensive here and therefore, very uncommon. I enjoy breakfast here for the most part, usually consisting of break, tomatoes, fuul (broad beans with oil and spices) if I'm lucky, cheese, cream, and zaatar (mix of dried thyme and sesame put on bread dipped in olive oil). At the beginning, it was only bread and cheese, but they've started replacing that with jam after realizing that I'm not a big cheese eater. Also, the milk here is horrendous.

- Smoke-free spaces. The number of smokers here is staggering, and I can hardly go anywhere without smelling smoke, whether it's inside the house, inside buildings and women's bathrooms at JU, or inside taxis. I tried to avoid inhaling as much as possible at first, but I found this virtually impossible to maintain for extended periods of time.

Riding camels in Wadi Rum (Sept. 14), heading for our desert campsite

- Lily and Abby. I am surprised with the lack of stray dogs and cats in Amman, especially compared to Morocco and Egypt, but most people also do not own domestic animals. Needless to say, I miss the pugs a lot!

- Family and friends. That's a given, although I am really thankful for my host family here (as I mentioned above). I also have a Jordanian language partner at JU, and we meet nearly every day to talk in Arabic. She is a junior, studying English and Spanish, and I thoroughly enjoy talking with her and meeting her friends. Even though our meetings are technically "required," I definitely do not have to "force" myself to meet and talk with her - far from that, in fact. I went with her to her cousin's wedding on the night of my birthday, and she invited me to her house this Friday for lunch, as well. She has really helped make me feel more connected to JU campus life, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the semester.

The language center at JU. The CIEE office is here, but most of my classes are in other buildings.

These are the comments that first come to mind when thinking about my daily life in Amman. It has been a lot easier that I expected to adapt to life here, and although this city is admittedly not as exciting as Cairo, my experience so far has been mumtaz ('wonderful'). I hope all is well, from wherever in the world you may be reading this.

Breaking It Down

The past few weeks have really sped by, but I'm so happy to have a routine back! The following list is definitely not exhaustive, but the past few weeks have included:
(a) Saying sad goodbyes to Morocco, AST (especially the beautiful pool), and CLS Tangier,

Looking out over part of Amman...and a giant Jordanian flag

(b) Traveling to Cairo to stay with my host family for a few days, drink lots of mango juice, and meet up with a few friends,
(c) Flying to Jordan and meeting my NEW host family, and
(d) Starting classes at the University of Jordan (JU). 

To better summarize what life has been like since I wrote my last post, I've tried to come up with a few major themes - these may not give the best picture, but at least I'll be able to communicate a couple of major events.

1) Family First

First and foremost, my Egyptian host family. I'm am incredibly thankful to have been able to go back and visit, even though it was only for a few days. My host sister, Nouran (19 years old), asked me what I wanted to do while in Cairo, and I honestly responded that I didn't really want to do/see anything specific - just spend time with the family and see a couple friends again. That was the honest truth, too. So I spent most of my time in the apartment, but I don't regret anything. I was so happy to just have conversations with my host mom and my neighbor, and it was really rewarding to see how far the past couple years of studying have helped my language, even if it wasn't focusing on Egyptian Arabic.

New mural (since the last time I'd been in Cairo) on the main shopping street in Nasr City

I finally met my other host sister, Nada (20 years old), who was abroad in the US while I was living with them, which was wonderful. I made brownies with my youngest host sister, Nanees (6 years old), which was always a special treat, although this time I could only find an Egyptian brand. It was nowhere near as good as the "special," imported US brownie mix that I used to buy from way across the other side of Cairo - about a 1 1/2 hour commute. I went with my host mom, Amani, to the nearby mall that we used to go to all the time - it's not the nicest or brightest place, but it was just a way to go out and since it's withing walking distance, we didn't have to worry about the crazy Cairo traffic.

And then, of course, I am now living at my Jordanian host family's apartment, which occupies the ground floor of a building in a fairly upscale part of Amman. They are also wonderful, although life here is much different...two brothers (Mohammed and Nabil) around my age, although we don't really see each other much because of our different schedules; no young siblings, although I have a small niece and nephew who visit often; and a live-in maid who helps to cook and take care of the house. My host parents, Maged and Hana, are so friendly and have been incredibly welcoming, and I already feel at home here, which is hard to believe since I've been here for about two weeks.

My host family has taken me a couple of times to visit other family members, which has been wonderful because I really enjoy seeing how different families function and interact. Needless to say, family is very important here, and the hospitality can even become overwhelming.

2) Weddings Galore

This seems to be the time to get married - maybe because it's right after Ramadan (no Muslim weddings take place during Ramadan), but even in the US! I am really disappointed to have missed the wedding of one of my (two) cousins last week, as well as one of my closest friends in mid-August. Congratulations, and at least I have beautiful pictures to see.

Lunch with the group of CIEE students (and director) at a restaurant in downtown Amman.

 Jordanian food is delicious!

Aside from those, I also went to a wedding with my Egyptian host family, which was the first Muslim wedding I had attended. It took place in a special hall for weddings, and there was a lot of music and dancing - although my host family and I stayed seated most of the time. I watched the bride and groom sign their official marriage contract while seated at a table with both of their fathers and a sheikh.

I have already been invited to a Jordanian wedding by my speaking partner at Jordan University - each student in my program is assigned a Jordanian speaking partner with whom we must meet at least three hours per week to practice speaking Arabic. I am really looking forward to this opportunity, and my speaking partner seems great, so I think these "mandatory" hours will be something to look forward to. The wedding is this Thursday, on my birthday, so it's a perfect way to celebrate as well. I think that most Jordanian-Muslim weddings are gender-separated, so it will be really interesting to compare my experiences.

Additionally, the maid invited me to the wedding of one of her friends who also works in Amman. Our maid, Satiya, is originally from Bangladesh, but she has lived with my host family for over 10 years, so has basically become a de facto family member. I cannot remember exactly from where in Southeast Asia is her friend, but I'm sure this will be a new experience, too.

Finally (at least for now), I'm supposed to go with my host mom to a wedding on Oct. 1...

3) Getting Down to Work

The language lab at JU where we took the pre-test.

Even though I feel like I learned and improved a lot over the summer in the CLS Tangier program, I honestly did not have a strenuous workload. I was definitely busy, and I chose to study a lot and do extra activities and traveling, but the coursework itself was not very stressful. I am actually thankful for this because I was able to not only travel a lot, but also spend extra time hanging out with the Moroccan speaking partners and other CLS students, instead of spending extra time in my room.

However, the first week at JU has been an eye-opener because the classes here are a lot more serious and "university-like," as they should be. This is my class schedule:
Su/Tu/Th: 9am-12pm - Modern Standard Arabic
                 2-4pm - Jordanian Colloquial Arabic
Mo/We: 12:30-2pm - Introduction to Islam
              3:30-5pm - History of Arab Literature
We: 9-10am - Intercultural Communication (ICC) (an informal class to help us discuss topics of interest and solve any problems we have)

We took a 3-hour placement exam the first week, and I am taking ALL of the classes (except ICC) with just ONE other student, which is great! Lot's of special attention, although class "discussions" are a little bit more difficult, and absences are virtually impossible. The other level has five students, so we definitely lucked out. But here are some of the reasons for extra studying and challenges:

- All of the classes (except for ICC) are conducted strictly in Arabic, so this will be the first time I have taken a course (that's not focused specifically on Arabic language acquisition) entirely in Arabic.

- Projects! We have long-term projects, such as reading a short story and giving a formal presentation, as well as a research project that includes a formal 20+ page report, as well as defense in front of a panel at the end of the semester.

- 20-30 minute commute to/from JU campus. I've managed to figure out the bus system on the way to campus, but the way back is another story - it would seem to make sense that a bus on the way there means that buses will go back the same way, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I've asked around and even decided to experiment, ending up on the wrong bus and getting off partway to backtrack, but this is just a small example of the dismal public transportation system in Amman. And to make matters worse, buses are even more sparse in my area of town, so I often have to rely on taxis. Sadly, no Moroccan trains or Egyptian microbuses in Jordan.

The Roman amphitheater in downtown Amman.

I'm not sure how long these three themes will keep up, but I'm expecting (and hoping) for #1 and #3 to persist through the end. I'll have to see how the next four months play out. Good luck to everyone starting new academic years and working careers!

Article in Rice's Daily Magazine

Hey everyone,

I will be writing for the Rice Standard, which is Rice's daily online magazine for students, this semester. Here is the first article, reflecting on my experience in Morocco:

http://www.ricestandard.org/more-than-just-arabic/

Unfortunately, I can't access the website here in Jordan, for some unidentified reason (at least to a non-computer/internet savvy person), but hopefully it turned out okay!

With my host mom and little sister, Nanees - quite grown up at the age of 6!

Also, just for fun, here are a couple pictures from the wedding I went to with my Egyptian host family during my short, four-day visit with them. (I borrowed the dress from my host sister.)

The bride and groom! The wedding was at a wedding hall in Nasr City, Cairo

My home for the next four months - the view from the Citadel in Amman.