I have been in Jordan for about ten days now, and finally have had a chance to collect my thoughts, sit down, and tell you all about my experiences so far. I do not have steady access to the internet, so it has been difficult to get online, and write...especially because I have so much to say!
When you look at Amman on the surface, you see a city built from white stone. Streets covered in crawling cars and taxis wind themselves throughout residential and industrial buildings. A fine white dust blankets the city, giving it the characterstic, expected desert feel.
But once you start looking deeper, walking the streets, and interacting with the people, you realize that it is not the bricks, stone, or mortar that are holdinh the city up, but rather an itricate web of human connection. I remember when I was first walking the streets near my apartment in Jabal Amman (the third circle -Amman is built around eight circles) I could feel the difference between the energy here and the energy coursing through California streets. The people are more vivid, passionate, and committed in their day to day lives than the average American. Even though there are aspects of the Jordanian culture that are very materialistic and westernized, the deep familial connection here is absolutely astounding. The Jordanian identity itself seems to be not necessarily attached to the government, or modern social institutions, but rather the cultural and historical roots from thousands of years ago. This society itself relates to something much more permanent and enduring. I feel that Jordan's historical memory is so much more rich, deep, and influential over the cultural than in any other society I have been in. Jordanians seem to put much more stock in the complex fabric of social relationships.
Every one I have met has been extremely friendly, hospitable, warm and caring. We have been invited to homes for dinners, coffee shops to talk in Arabic, etc. The other day I actually had a taxi driver offer to drive me to the Dead Sea for they day (which is about a four hour drive), no charge. However, considering the fact that he also offered to take me to his parents house to meet them and have dinner, I think he might have been pushing me more towards marraige. Several of my friends and I went up to the Roman citadel, which is downtown Amman, past the first circle and near the city center. We got there after it closed (and tried our hardest to speak in Arabic and convince the gaurds to let us in for just five minutes, but with no avail) , but were still able to see the beauty of the ruins at sunset. There was a group of small children that came up to us and started babbling to us in Arabic. They were so adorable! I will try to post pictures soon. They were telling us about their family, and what they liked to do for fun. I cannot wait to find an organization here I can volunteer with and work with children! We also were approached by these two old women who tried to sell us honey. We began talking with them about Amman and our studies, and they were sweet enough to offer us a ride home (even though we had to decline).
But now to step back and start at the beginning. The first several days we were here we spent at Kings Academy, which is a private highschool for high achievers. The campus itself was more breath taking than any college campus I can thing of back in the United States. We went to Madaba where we looked at the old mosaics that the city is famous for, and then Mount Nebo, which was where Moses is believed to be buried. From Mount Nebo we were able to see the whole of the Jordan River valley, and even Jerusalem. We ate dinner and watched the sunset over the Dead Sea. It was one of the most breath taking sights I have ever seen! Once orientation was finished, we moved into our apartments in the third circle. The apartments themselves are really nice (My room mate made the comment that they were nicer than anything we would be able to afford for at least several years after graduating college), and are dab smack in the middle of a ton of medical offices and hospitals. Just the other day we found the most amazing hole in the wall restaurant just around the corner, and ate the best pizza I have ever had (yes, even better than in Chicago...there is just something about a pita crust and Syrian cheese!).
We started our Arabic language classes almost immediately. The classes themselves are in the TAGKCS building right across the street from the main gate at the University of Jordan. We have language classes every day (except Friday and Saturday, which is the weekend) for two hours. Dr. Saleh, our language professor, teaches the classes only in Arabic, and I feel that my vocabulary has expanded immensely since I came here. One of my favorite classes was when we had to recite and memorize one of Nizar Qabbani's poems (this specific poem has been my favorite for a while, and I was so excited to memorize it!). In english it translates to "Ask me, my love/'What is the difference between me and the sky?'/The difference/Is when you laugh, my love/I forget about the sky.' I had one person tell me I should video tape myself reciting it and post it on youtube, because I apparently understood how to recite it with feeling, but I think he was really just making fun of me. I love our professor, Dr. Saleh. He is very funny, and the two hour classes seem to pass like nothing! The seminar class I am taking with Bassam happens on Monday and Tuesday nights. On Monday night we have our cultural activity. This last Monday we went to the best Yemenese restaurant, where we sat on the floor and ate chicken and rice with our hands. On Tuesday Bassam brings in speakers. This last Tuesday he brought this amazing woman who gave us a crash course about the situation of the media in Jordan. Even though Jordan is free, there are still many restrictions and red tape about what news papers can and cannot say. I will publish a seperate post with more of the information from this talk in the next several days.
It is just ten minutes until my Arabic class starts, so I will quickly summarize every thing else I want to say and then expand on it more later. There is Rainbow street, which is one of the main hubs of Amman. It has art galleries, coffee shops, and everything you can imagine. THe amazing thing about Amman that I absolutely loe is that it never sleeps. I have sat on Rainbow street sipping Turkish coffee and smoking shisha into the wee hours of the night, as well as gone to eat ziet and zaatar at a tiny restaurant at 4am.
I also went and visited the organization where I will be working for the summer. I will be interning at Partners-Jordan, which works in villages and urban areas around Amman to strengthen civil society and integrate the Jordanian people into the political process and democracy building. I will be conducting research with the Director, as well as working on grant writing and fundraising. Every one is very warm and nice, and I am very excited to start working with this organization! I will post more later after I start my internship this Sunday.
To wrap up, I will be goig to Petra and Wadi Rum this weekend, where we will camp and ride camels. I will post more later! I also have pictures, which I will try to post.....
