Late Update

I thought I had posted this blog before, but could not see it...so I'm copying/pasting it from the Word Doc I had originally written, and then posting a separate and more recent update:

So Ramadan is has been going on for the last week. So far, it’s going alright. The other day I actually ended up fasting until dinner unintentionally, since I was out and about all day with Fawwaz. We went to Popeye’s chicken (imagine that!...I’ve never been there back in the State’s). Some restaurant chains have a dinner “buffet” during Ramadan. It was quite an experience. Everyone was eager to get their food, so there was no order to it. The place was full of a lot of younger kids who all were much more excited and lively after eating…one kid had a guitar and started playing it. Despite the no-smoking signs, and the no-smoking law that Fawwaz mentioned, the place soon became smoke filled, from kids probably around 14 or 15 years old. Last night I went to an Iftar at the hotel I stayed in the first month with the receptionists I had frequently chatted with. We had Musakhan, a Palestinian dish of bread with oil, cooked onions, chicken and spices and many other smaller appetizers, such as Sambosak and Kobbah (stuffed pastries/really fine dough with meet, cheeses or vegetables), soup, salad, dates (which I brought) followed by very delicious peach/fruit custard and Quatayef (very similar to small pancakes, stuffed with nuts, coconut, sweet cheeses or spices, which are fried and dipped in a sweet sugar water/sauce.) Needless to say I was very stuffed!

The other day I also went to my first, temporary host counselor, Yousef Bashton’s house, for lunch with his family, another Rotary Scholar who just arrived (Jennifer) and Liana. We had a lot of great food, none of which I remember the names of! We spent a while there, and had a terrific time. His brother and sister were their, along with his uncles and aunts, two nieces and his mother (who is 91). His mother was incredibly sweet, but unfortunately is pretty frail and kept forgetting things. She took a liking to me and kept asking me the same questions over. The whole family time made me reminisce back to when my family went to go visit our relatives back in New Jersey.

I’ve been going out to cafes or the huge mall (Mecca Mall) with some friends on occasion during Ramadan. One night some of us in the Rotaract went to a restaurant to celebrate someone’s birthday. While it was still quite warm outside and we were right next to a speaker for the live band that was playing, I had a great time. Being strongly into music and having played trumpet and guitar and been in a few bands, I really appreciate and enjoy the difference in music here. The singer at the restaurant sung all popular songs and many people would sing or clap along with the beat. During one song the singer mentioned locations (cities in Jordan and sometimes countries) and the people in the crowd would cheer when he sung their home town. Towards the end my group tried to request America for me, but he was finishing up. Music as part of the culture here is considerably different than in the U.S. Here you will find a wide mix of generations enjoying the same folk songs. There are much less obvious differences in a group’s musical taste by appearance. Back at home in the U.S.A., I would often see people walking around in the style unique to their musical preferences…such as the people into hard rock, rap, hip hop, emo, etc.

I am still waiting for school to start. Wednesday I have my language test and Thursday an orientation at the Language Center. So life has been relaxing. I had gone to Mass (in French) the other week with another Rotarian who is Catholic, Omar. Omar’s mother is Lebanese and so he is proficient in French (due to the French influence from after WWI), and enjoys going to that mass. While I have never studied French, I could still pick up a few words here and there since it has many similar “cognates” to English. It was yet another nice international experience for my memories.