Greg Sheppard's Blog

New blog

2009-10-22T05:10:00.001-07:00

If anyone reading this is interested in reading more, go to my new blog at:

http://jordanround2.blogspot.com

Thanks!

Ending with a bang...

2009-05-21T00:40:00.001-07:00

My last few weeks here have definitely been fun and exciting so far. I've been going out far more than I have before, and now that the warmer (and now hot) weather has come, there are more events going on throughout Amman. Last week I went to an Arabic music concert which was held in the ruins of the old Roman Ampitheater in downtown Amman. A bunch of us went down to the main floor area and joined the shabab (Arabic youth) in some dabke (Arabic dancing). I don't really know how to do it except when watching the shabab around me. Although, it doesn't help when they are doing a few different types of dabke, or are looking at me when I seem to know what I'm doing and in reality don't!

Rotary International President Dong Kurn Lee came to Jordan for a visit and I attended a dinner with the Rotary and Rotaract clubs. It was very nice to meet him. I don't have a copy of the photos that were taken when I was with him, but will hopefully get them soon. The dinner was very long and towards the end it seemed like he was falling asleep!

The other week the Pope came to Amman on a trip to various holy sites in the region. Omar, the Rotarian I go to church with, took me to the airport to wait with the crowds to greet him on his arrival. Unfortunately, he was either sped past in a tinted security vehicle or was escorted via military helicopter. Thousands showed up and were very disapointed. He held a public mass in the Amman sports stadium with tens of thousands in attendance. A priest of my parish came to Jordan a few weeks before and tried to formally request that I be one of the recipients of communion from him. Unfortunately, for some reason my request was not acknowledged by the local coordinators and I received no response. The mass was very nice and the thundering enthusiasm of everyone was very nice to see. After the mass Omar and I went to the Baptism site where His Holiness spoke and gave his blessings for the building of two new churches on the site. The King and Queen as well as Prince Ghazi who is the custodian of the site were in attendence. Security for that week was extremely tight, with armed troops and humvees with the mounted 50cal on the back all throughout the city.

I also went out to a unique place for dinner called Abu Musa, where they serve miscellaneous parts of a sheep. So we tried various parts of the head (the cheek, tongue, eye and brain) as well as pig intestine, feet and stuffed stomach. While all of it wasn't bad, it wasn't seasoned too much and most of it tasted very similar. After getting over the textures (especially the eye), the food was manageable. Later on that night however, we did go to Hashims (a very famous Hummus and Falafel restaurant).

Another night I went Salsa dancing with some Bulgarian girls and other friends from the Language center. It worked out great because the girls and I didn't know how to salsa dance. One girl, Magdena, and I managed to figure out a basic step pattern for ourselves and improvise the rest. Later that night we went back to our friend Eamon's place, where the adventure continued. We ended up getting stuck in the elevator. Fortuantely, it was just the doors that wouldn't open...so after a while of trying to pry open the doors and figure out the locking mechanism we freed ourselves.

Last weekend I went to Aqaba with some friends. We rented a car and I finally drove in Jordan! Talk about an adventure. Lanes exist in theory (and in paint on the roads) however, drivers seldom drive within them, and often find ways to make more lanes than there should be on any given road. There are also many circles throughout the city which is a major source of disorganization. The highway out of Amman are tolerable. They are the one main area in driving that is often regulated by traffic police: there are many speed traps along the way to Aqaba where traffic police use a radar gun to catch anyone silghtly over the limit. However, the innovative Jordanian drivers came up with a system to circumvent this. Cars coming from the opposite direction will flash their lights to warn drivers of an upcoming speed trap, so temporarily the speedlimit can be followed. Needless to say, driving, like many other things, feels like a game where the few rules that do apply can be bent.

Recently there have been many going away dinners. Last night I went to a cafe/bar and walked around the beautiful Jabal Amman area (which has a very European city feel to it). The best part of the night was splitting a half kilo of Shawarma from the most famous shawarma place in Jordan (Shawarma Reem) in the middle of the busy circle.

Next weekend I leave to Bahrain. When I get back I have a day and a half until I go to the airport to begin my trip home. On my way home I will be meeting up with a friend in Germany for a few days.

The president of Rotary International with the presidents of Jordan Rotary clubs

The Pope's visit to Jordan:

A night of new foods...

Salsa dancing with some Bulgarians and getting stuck in an elevator...

"Dancing" the Dabke with some shabab

The end is coming...but it's not the end!

2009-04-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Life has picked up pace again and this time it isn't slowing down. My time in Jordan is coming to an end (a little over 6 weeks now). However, I now have a job with the NGO I have been working at! I am a Program Manager at the Czech NGO People In Need. My responsibilities will include managing/overseeing/monitoring a project funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) titled "Building Bridges Between Local Government and Civil Society". The project aims to help foster community participation in the democratic process in the Lower South of Iraq (in the Basrah, Missan and Thi-Qar provinces). I will also continue to work on the pilot project I was starting to work on as an intern which is a psychosocial capacity building which aims to improve the psychosocial support in a local community in Gaza. Following the pilot we will assess the project's strengths and weaknesses and will hopefully develop and receive funding for a longer term project. So far the Gaza project has been very challenging as the Israeli authorities and political situation does not make it easy. We are hoping to receive access into Gaza to do a one week assessment, which up until this point has been impossible. It has been and will continue to be a challenge, but I have enjoyed it and know that I will continue to for some time to come.

Unfortunately, this semester at the University Jordan, Language Center has NOT been enjoyable. While I don't like saying anything negative, for future Rotary scholars or other potential students, a few comments on the Language Center might be helpful. When I first came to Jordan my ability in Arabic was limited to a few words of formal/modern standard Arabic. While I am able to communicate my point across in many (not so technical) situations, albeit with poor grammar in most cases, and I am able to understand even better, I could have received a much better education in Arabic. I would say that my first semester in the Language Center's level 3 was the most helpful out of all Arabic training I had here. There was a book which helped keep a decent amount of structure in the class, and the two teachers I have were helpful and understanding. For my last semester I am in level 5, which is terrible. We have 3 teachers, only one of which I would say is terrific. One of them is just "ok" and the other is terrible.

To start out there is a very poor language assessment test and consequently poor placement of students in an appropriate level. In each class there are often a wide range of levels on different aspects of the language (some can speak, some know grammar, some just know spoken Arabic). Somewhat understandably (becuase of the poor replacement test) the first two weeks are often spent with students moving around to figure out which level they feel comfortable with. During the semester there is very little organization, including no real plan for what a student should accomplish in one semester. The beginning levels sound like they are not bad for those with very poor Arabic skills; and perhaps the later levels are best suitable for more advanced students since the classes mostly consist of receiving articles and going through the meanings. However, for those in the Middle, such as me and many of my friends, it was not as effective of a program as we had hoped. I also don't only want to blame the Language Center; I know I have been very busy as well, and learning such a difficult language takes a lot of work. In addition to this, the language center was a great place for meeting friends and having a nice experience in Jordan. Nearly every weekend there are trips around the historic and tourist sites throughout Jordan. They also have a "language partner program" where you can sign up and be matched with a Jordanian who can offer to tutor you in Arabic as you tutor them in your own language.

Not that I want to advertise a program over another in Jordan, since I feel others should see them for themsleves, I have often heard good reviews about Qassid, the French Cultural Center and the Spanish Cultural Center. I also heard there might be classes at the British Council, and if lucky there are also private tutors who know the language (although this is not approved for the Academic year scholarship in my understanding).

Since my last post I went to Um Qais, a beautiful city up North where there are more Roman ruins. Since coming here I have become a little less fascinated by them however. However, I really enjoyed the beautiful nature which is incredible this time of year up there. The little bit of late-rain Jordan received helped. Last weekend I also went to Petra with the Language Center this past weekend, which was nice. Unfortunately Petra is so large, a day trip is not enough to see all of it. I went back up to the Monastery, and ended up riding a donkey for a small stretch, which was very fun. I never got to ride a camel yet, although there is a nice sized trek across the desert from Wadi Rum to Aqaba which sounds fun. Another time perhaps!

I come home June 11 and will be returning back to Amman around August 10 +/-. I know it is still over a month away and there will be plenty of other fun times to experience, but excitement for coming home has definitely started kicking in!!!

Some pictures from Um Qais:

Some pictures from Petra take 2:

Some pictures from my new office/bbq with them:

Underneath Jordan

2009-04-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts of Jordan is actually found underneath it: the aquatic life in the Red Sea. Aqaba is the only coast Jordan has to the sea (save for the Dead Sea which doesn't have any aquatic life due to the high concentration of salt). This weekend I went to get my Advanced Open Water scuba diving certification. I've went on four dives in Aqaba before and each time was completely amazed by the rich life. I went on five total dives to receive the certification which included two wreck dives, a deep dive and a night dive. As usual I had trouble with equalizing my ears, but all of the dives were amazing. The coral in the Red Sea is amazing. It is really sad to see a lot of trash under the water. Also, among the concerned diving community there is a lot of worry on the impact of development on the health and life of the coral. I'll post pictures soon to give a little taste of what can be found, but pictures cannot replace the feeling of weightlessness and tranquility when diving. For anyone wishing to travel to Jordan, I highly recommend at least a short trip to Aqaba to snorkel near the coral, if not to do a "discovery scuba dive" which allows you to actually go under the water with the equipment and feel what it is like to dive.

Overdue update

2009-03-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

I've become quite busy and distracted that updating my blog has become rather difficult. Here is a brief account of what I've been up to and what the future might be looking like.

School has been keeping me busy, although the University of Jordan Language Center has really become a major disappointment. Last semester I enjoyed level 3 much more than I do this semester. The teachers were nice and enthusiastic and since there was a book it was much more structured. For level 5 I have three teachers, only one of which (Hanan) I really enjoy. She keeps the class interested and actually has a personality, making some jokes or humorous comments; she is a lot more capable of explaining things in different ways. Our teacher for media and listening is quite lazy and does not bring too useful content to study (save for a few articles for the one media Arabic lesson we have a week). She also does not really do a lot of teaching and has us students come up to write out new words that we don't know and sits down while telling us it was written wrong on the board (while one might think it is a teaching method, it is clear that it isn't a method). The third teacher we have for reading/writing and whatever else the class is supposed to entail has improved a little since the beginning. He is still very poor at explaining confusing words or concepts, speaks a mixture of both formal Arabic and a very strong "rural" spoken Arabic. He's become a little less critical of us in terms of "where we learned Arabic" and when we don't know something that in his opinion we should know (which in the beginning was very insulting the way he spoke to us), but he still has a weak personality.

My internship is going great. One of our program managers, an Iraqi refugee status who was waiting for his resettlement date, recently learned he can leave April 9th. This actually opens up a huge door for me, as my previous Head of Mission and her replacement both would like to keep me. I might have good news in the next few days! It will be sad to lose him, he was very friendly, funny and sounded like a great employee, but I am very happy to hear he finally is able to be resettled. The previous Head of Mission's mother actually offered and will be hosting him. I can't begin to imagine what it is like to be in his position...imagine being relatively well to do in your country and then having politics really turn your country upside down to the point that the security situation forces you to leave in order to stay alive, making a life in the other country for a few years and then being one of the few who are accepted and approved to be resettled, even more so to the country that initiated the process from the beginning. Not that this reflects any politics in terms of my thoughts on the war, as they are mixed, but I hope anyone reading this can try to put themselves in that perspective, especially if/when you meet a refugee (particularly an Iraqi).

I went to Ramallah for a meeting with the UN Education Cluster group for Gaza. My Head of Mission wanted me to go in person and to talk to the major organizations to help find out some logistical information on the project I've been working on developing for Gaza. The trip itself was alright, except for the really rainy, windy and cold weather that started last Monday night when I got there until I came home the next day. The meeting turned out not to be incredibly productive and we basically found that the cluster group has a lot of internal coordination issues to work out; many of the big time INGOs and UN Agencies didn't even show up, which would have been a lot more helpful as well. The little information that was there to find out was at least a little helpful though, and if nothing else it was a nice experience. If I remember to come back to it in another blog entry, I will cover the complexities of going into Israel, as the security is quite high.

I arrive home June 11th and am quite excited. I've been having a lot of dreams about it actually, and I think subconsciously I'm a lot more excited than I feel on the surface. I'm sure that will change. I do look forward to going to Bahrain with the Rotaractors and then visiting Germany for 6 days with one of my best friends in the U.S. before coming home. As time continues to fly by I'm sure I'll only keep getting more excited...

Culture الثقافة: Food!

2009-03-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

A fun topic, since I enjoy cooking and appreciate unique tasting food, I decided I'd mention the food here. I didn't take pictures of food but uploaded some photos of some of the below-mentioned dishes.

Jordan does not claim many unique dishes, however there is the number one national dish worth mentioning: Mansef. For the nationalistic Jordanian, Mansef is national symbol, held close to the heart. It consists of rice topped with pine nuts and/or almonds, parsley or other green garnish, lamb cooked in It is often eaten traditionally the Bedouin style, with the men standing around the tray, one hand behind their back and the other to grab a chunk of meat and rice, made into a ball and with the tip of the thumb 'popped' in the mouth. In Bedouin tradition, it is common to sacrifice a sheep especially for the guest. Also, as a gesture of honor to the guest, the guest might be offered the head of the sheep, including the brain, eyes, tongue and any other part (cooked of course). In all of my experiences in modern-Amman I have not seen or heard of such situations. However, if I'm lucky someday I will get to visit a more traditional Bedouin family.

Another major dish in Jordan (as a result of the major Palestinian population)is the dessert Knaffe (Kanafa). It originates from Nablus. It baked mixture of either fine or rough flour/water mixture with a lot of butter or oil with sweet cheese in the middle with a very sweet sugar-rose water syrup on top. Many people enjoy to tell you where you can find "the best Knaffe", although in my experience it all is very tasty.

Other traditional Arabic food that you will find throughout the region are: hummus (ground chickpeas, tahina/sesame paste, oil and sometimes other stuff), foul (pronounced 'fool', which is ground up falava beans with oil, lemon and other stuff), tabouleh (parsley salad with lemon juice), falafel (friend ground up chickpeas and spices). You can also get all sorts of fast food items such as burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, french fries and of course the Western Fast Food places are located all over. Amman will be getting a Chili's soon and already has major names such as: McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Popeyes Chicken, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Papa John's and many more.

No matter what food

Culture الثقافة: The People

2009-02-27T04:45:00.000-08:00

One way I'm reminded how fast my time here is going is how long it's been since my last blog entry, which feels like last week. I wanted to share more information and observations about the culture, this time a little about the people living here.

HOSPITALITY

Even before arriving here I have often heard of how hospitable the Arab culture is. Guests are viewed and given special courtesy in the Arab culture. The other day a taxi driver, who married a German woman and worked with a US company in Germany for 30 years, was briefly explaining how guests are viewed as special. He said that as Arabs fight/mistreat other Arabs, they will take special care of guests to make sure they are happy. When visiting numerous Jordanian homes, the host always makes sure the guests have everything they want. I have heard that the Bedouin, or the people who still live off the land, will sacrifice one of their sheep if a guest comes to visit them as a sign of honor to their guest. When visitors came to Jordan and contacted the Rotaractors, they were always taken good care of. During Ramadan, once I ordered a nice grilled-kebab dinner and while I was waiting I started talking with the cooks/workers. They then invited me behind the counter to partake in their dinner with them. By the time my dinner was finished I could barely touch it!

During my time in Jordan, I have never been "stuck" in any bad situation. Even in the beginning of my time here, when I barely knew anyone, I could always count on someone around me to help me out. While I was in the process to obtain my residency here, a Jordanian helped me understand what document I had with me and helped explain what to expect. When touring around Jerusalem, I met an Arab guy who was going to the same gate in Jerusalem as me. When he found out I had no idea where I was going but wanted to see the major holy sites, he helped me get a map, shared the info he knew and also asked a shop owner he knew to help point me in the right direction. The assistance I often received in such times was never done in an act of trying to earn money; in fact, offering money is often insulting.

CULTURAL IDENTITY

One important point that a Rotarian helped point out is that a very large percentage of people living in Jordan are actually Palestinian. This means they were either born in or their parents/grandparents were born in Israel/Palestine. I also want to point out that whether you refer to the area as Israel or Palestine, you will unavoidably upset someone. The Israelis don't like to acknowledge Palestine, and the Palestinians don't like to acknowledge Israel. The UN commonly uses the title "Occupied Palestinian Territories." After World War II many Palestinians were forced to leave their abandon their homes, business, and land, creating several hundreds of thousands of refugees. As additional wars/conflicts happened, the conflict over "whose land is whose" became more difficult which leads to the current day challenge.

The Palestinians consist of both Muslims and Christians, a point that some of my Christian-Palestinian friends have said is unknown to many. Bethlehem and Nazareth for example are two cities not commonly thought of when you talk about Palestine/Israel. Palestinians often maintain refugee status in whichever country they settle in. There are 1.9 million refugees registered with UNRWA, living in Jordan (out of a little over 6 million people). There are limits to what the refugees are allowed to do; a friend doing research on some of Jordan's policy decisions mentioned a "Jordanization" effort, which reduced Palestinian participation in various sectors, the major one being the military. Most of the cab drivers I have had told me they are from Palestine originally. Currently, Israel heavily restricts travel into the West Bank, Israel, and Gaza for Palestinians. Shortly after my trip there for Christmas, a cab driver told me he was from Bethlehem. When I excitedly shared how beautiful I thought it was there he was upset because I, a foreigner, could get into his home town but he couldn't. Another friend of mine, whose parents were from Palestine originally but they grew up in Saudi Arabia, became noticeably sad when some of the people at our table were talking about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and possible solutions. When I asked him what his thoughts/feelings were, he shared how hard it is just to hear it talked about. He mentions how his family had a strong business in the land before and his family had a very strong reputation. When he went to visit, he explained, everyone treated him with incredible respect because of who father and grandfather were. He's fearful of losing his family history and heritage when he has kids, since they are unable to live in their home town.

Among the Arab culture there are several different subcultures. Identifying with your nationality is only one of many here. The non-Palestinian Jordanians I have noticed are often quite proud of their nationality. There is even a strong pride in which city you come from. Two of the major cities I hear Jordanians often boast about are Salt and Irbid. Religion is also an identity many are extremely proud of. The Christians and Muslims get along very well in Jordan; the Christians, though a minority, are often some of the wealthiest people.

Culture الثقالفة

2009-02-07T08:44:00.001-08:00

After reflecting on my blog I feel there is so much I could share that I haven't. Living in Jordan has become so regular for me, I often forget that what might have become normal to me- or the new experiences I continue to have that don't surprise me as much as they would a first time visitor- still remains a mystery to people who have never been to Jordan or any other Arab country.

Now that the new semester is starting and I continue to meet many new students who just arrived I am reminded of various aspects of the society and culture that are unfamiliar to many. Below I will mention one of the many parts of the culture that I've thought of recently about commenting on. I will continue to think of topics and write more, and for any readers out there can think of other things for me to add, or would like me to add on something I said, please comment and mention those things. If you find yourself slightly embarrassed about asking something and don't want the comment to be viewable by anyone else, feel free to email me: gregdistic@live.com.

TRAFFIC / TRANSPORTATION

As I mentioned a long time ago (so it seems at least) crossing the street was a chaotic and frightening experience. Having lived here for a while I developed the skill and confidence that keeps me from seeing my life flash before my eyes, as often is the case with the 'newbies.' With a population of over 2.5 million people, the roads are quite chaotic at times. Although, compared to when I was in Cairo, which has a population of over 8 million, Amman seems like nothing. My developed skills are definitely practiced everyday I go to my internship. As far as I can recall, crosswalks are non-existent. When there is the occasional pedestrian bridge or tunnel, they are often very far apart. So it simply takes walking into the street at just the right time where you will get past the first 'lane' and wait until the next car passes in the following lane until you reach the other side. TIP: find a speed bump which are sometimes common, as the slowdown in traffic will be slightly more likely.

I did not have the chance to rent a car, but my friend Houston did; he said it was definitely a new and quite different experience. Another American classmate of mine had a car from his company and I've been able to see how his driving assimilated into the Jordanian way. While there are some lines painted to form lanes, they are rather optional. When no cars are around, people will often tend to dive in the middle of the street. Amman has seven major circles which have been a major venting point for many Jordanians I've met. The 'rule' for circles, as it has been explained to me, is "whoever is in the circle gets the right of way". However, as I have often thought my taxi would be considered "in the circle" he would stop and other cars would go.

I was born in New York, but since I grew up in California I cannot make an accurate comparison, but here the horn is used much more often than back home. Even when I am going to bed (or as I type this at 11:30pm at night) there is never a minute (and rarely 30 seconds when I count) when I do not hear a honk. It is sometimes used as it is in the states, a warning for others; I've also seen taxis honk to let pedestrians know they are empty; and I have also seen a few taxis honk (with passengers in them) honk at attractive girls walking on the street.

If/whenever I do return to Jordan for a job or further study, one of the top items on my to-do list is buy a car. While taxis are convenient and not too expensive (especially compared to the US) I get so tired of riding in them. However, for anyone traveling here for a short time, taxis really are a great way to travel. You must make sure they run their meter (unless it is after midnight in the really early morning, which prices must be negotiated. Even so, prices anywhere in Amman can easily be negotiated to no more than 5JD, which is still most likely too much). I also just heard (and notice) a new taxi system here, called "Mumayez taxi". I don't know who owns them, but apparently you can call a number and have them pick you up from where you are. Someone was telling me that you can have multiple stops/a schedule and at the end you pay the bill. They too run a meter, although it starts slightly higher than the normal yellow ones. However, after midnight they will continue to run the meter and not require you to pay more than it reads.

I still have not yet explored the buses, as many others haven't. Their routes are constant and there are quite a few of them in Amman, however their schedules seem to be quite irregular. Oftentimes, buses will leave when they fill up...which could take 20-30 minutes or even an hour. When walking along the street, you will also have a guy standing in the door way of the bus shouting at you to see if you want to get on the bus.

For traveling long distances there are many ways to travel. There are a variety of major tourist bus companies which are much cheaper than taxis; these buses are a lot similar to Greyhound or similar ones in the US. There are also small buses that can be found which are even cheaper, but the size and comfort is much less. Service taxis (white cabs) can also be taken from major bus/transportation stations; although often they will be more pricey. I have also heard from friends who took a taxi to the Dead Sea (30 minutes away or so) that the driver continued to complain that they need to get back since he said staying at the Dead Sea was losing him business...although in reality he probably made more money on that one trip than he makes in a day.

Commentary on the recent Gaza event...

2009-01-26T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here’s a blog I forgot I had started to write and never posted regarding the situation with Gaza. Since it’s been almost a week since the fighting has halted, at least temporarily, and since I started my internship and have been briefly looking into a few aspects about Gaza I figure it’s worth updating and sharing.

For the last two days my boss had me look into psychosocial work in Gaza. It’s been quite depressing to come across a lot of the information about the casualties and how everyone else suffered, especially the kids. Psychosocial work addresses the trauma faced by living in a war zone. As a result of witnessing one or even all of their family members being beaten or killed, or their house- which should be a symbol of safety and security- being demolished by foreign forces, a large percentage of children have displayed signs of post traumatic stress syndrome and/or depression. I came across some pictures drawn by children in Gaza, when asked to draw by therapists, which displayed military aircraft or soldiers gunning/bombing people. I can’t even imagine the additional signs that the psychosocial workers find in the children.

On the January 20 World Health Organization Cluster Bulletin, it was estimated that 1300 people were killed, with around 5300 injured during the Israeli operation (lasting from December 27, 2008 – January 18, 2009). The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that up to 100,000 people were displaced. Also, as of January 14 approximately 500,000 people had no access to running water, and the rest of the population only had access for a few hours each week. The destruction was far worse, as the already infrastructure, already weakened by the blockade that was set up, was damaged even more.

While I was always safe here, especially with Jordan’s strong security, the situation with Gaza was pretty sad and had a lot of negative reactions. To share some perspective, here is a brief description of what I experienced here related to the situation in Gaza. People are really upset and the mood is down and hopeless. Since the initial air strikes there were several organized peaceful demonstrations throughout Amman. New Years parties were cancelled throughout the Amman (as well as other cities, such as Dubai) and the overall mood during the holiday season was rather solemn. I've had Jordanians here tell me they don't support Hamas and would not mind seeing them destroyed/disappear. But with the amount of collateral damage and the number of innocent deaths, people find this act as horrifically brutal, unjustifiable and often come to believe that Israel does not want peace at all with the Palestinians. I have had numerous graphically disturbing emails sent to me with pictures of some of the innocent casualties, among them babies, youth and women. When the argument that Israeli is defending itself against the rocket attacks of Hamas, people will often respond how ineffective the rockets have been. Compared to damages, the rockets have really done nothing compared to what this recent bombing of Israel has done to the entire Gaza population, which is estimated to be 1.5 million. Others have expressed that the desperate situation in Gaza leaves nothing else for the Palestinians to do. Since Israel left Gaza for the Palestinians, they put up a blockade where they were severely restricting what goes in and out of Gaza (including supplies and people). During the ceasefires, which I have been told rockets were still being fired, albeit in much less frequency, no progress was made to ease the blockade and allow for an improvement of life within the walls around Gaza. In my opinion I feel the rockets are still wrong and only hurt the Palestinian cause, but I also see the response of Israel was far too strong and in the end very destructive to the path to peace.

Overall the people here feel helpless and don't feel they can really do anything for their 'fellow brothers'. The Arab culture is unique in that the identity of being Arab exceeds national borders. There are so many cultural similarities between those all throughout the various Arab countries which I have witnessed in Egypt and Lebanon and among those from other Arab countries that I meet here. Since the Palestinians are part of the Arab culture, hurting them affects the rest of the Arabs in one way or another. For the more liberal Arab countries, Jordan specifically, a situation like this puts the government in a really tough spot where they must weigh their choice of actions carefully in siding with the West for the continued, essential economic support, and with the cries of the people for some type of action to help their fellow Arab brothers in dire need.

Internship and touring Jordan

2009-01-24T04:32:00.000-08:00

As of last Sunday I have an internship! I will be an intern for People In Need, which is a Czech NGO. People In Need works in crisis areas around the world in relief and development. It works in over 40 countries. The office in Amman remotely works on projects in Southern Iraq- in the Basra, Misan and Thi-Qar provinces, which are the poorest in Iraq. Since a westerner can't go walking around the area there, and since there are a lot of Iraqi refugees in Jordan, the office hires Iraqis to do the implementation and training needed. One project manager has been waiting his resettlement approval; for the last 2 or 3 months he has been told "any day now". A Rotarian, Assil Bakki, knew the head of mission, Megan King, and put me in touch with her. I worked one day so far and will be really starting to work more starting this week.

Another Rotary Ambassadorial scholar that I met back in my scholarship orientation last March, Annelise Cohon (http://guesswhereiamtoday.blogspot.com/), came to visit with her friend. I hosted them at my place and showed them around. I was filled with a renewed feeling of excitement for being here, since life had become a rather dull routine. I reminisce back on the first several weeks in Jordan and how new and different somethings seemed. While every now and then there are new encounters that I haven't yet experienced, it is certainly less frequent. We went bowling in Amman, we toured the Jerash ruins, we saw the Desert Castles which was new for me as well as Mount Nebo (the site where Moses looked onto the promised land before dying) and then we took them down to meet up with a friend of mine in the Peace Corps, who they had met on the bus coming from Israel. They then went down to Petra and Wadi Rum before going back home. It was a nice and reassuring feeling to translate and communicate with the shop owners/tour guides/servers when they were here.

The desert castles were pretty interesting. They were mostly from the Umayyid era (7th-8th centuries). Many are beleived to have been made for recreational retreats. One was believed to be used as a shelter for some wanted to go hunting. Another was believed to be one of the first hotels in the area. One of the last castles we visited had a bedouin tent where we were all invited for a nice cup of tea and relaxing. The bedouin, Hakim I believe, was very friendly and shared some of the traditions with us, particularly with the meanings of the different ways to wear the kufiyeh. When a man wears it with the corners pulled up/wrapped up on top of his head, it means he is single and looking for a wife. If a married man wears it simply hanging on his head, with the black band holding it in place, it would mean he is happy with his wife. If he pulls it up to cover his face, it would mean he is unhappy with her. He told us if he takes it off he is probably going crazy by his kids or wife, wanting to rip his hair out! Now it is become a lot more of a fashion trend, so the reasons/moods of the person wearing it different ways may not be as it had once been. It was quite enjoyable and another highly recommended experience for those visiting Jordan. Below are some pictures of our trips:

Some goats on the way to the Dead Sea.
View that moses saw of the promised land before dying.
Mount Nebo,
Downtown Amman produce market.
Downtown Amman.
Desert castle/believed to be old hotel.
Hakim at his bedouin tent.
Well at a desert castle.
Desert Castle.
Desert castle.
Me, Annelise and Lindsay.
Me at a desert castle and the beautiful site.
Jerash view from apitheater.
Old Temple at Jerash.
Me at Jerash

Winter Break

2009-01-12T02:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had my last final. I feel really good about all of them. We had a speaking final where we had to just talk for a few minutes about the positives/negatives of Jordan so far; since it was such an open topic it wasn't too hard. Speaking has been my weakest point though, but it was the best speaking presentation in Arabic I've done so far. Other classmates even said I did a good job! Then I had a listening test where we listened to a story/paragraph from our book for 10 minutes or so on the Language Center's state-of-the-art tape players, and then answer questions. We had a small reading test for pronunciation and then finally, the hardest of all, the written. The written final, like the midterm, was a hit-or-miss since we learned countless words throughout the entire semester. Anyway, I put a lot of studying in for all of them and it definitely paid off. I'll get my grades in a few days. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do for the break now that school is out.

I went to the Bethany on the Jordan (the Baptism site) last Friday. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was there, along with the Vatican Ambassador to Jordan as well as other major religious figures. There was a service followed by a procession to the river itself. At first it was closed to everyone but the Patriarch and some higher ups/alter boys who processed there; they came back with water from it and anointed everyone with branches dipped in the water. Omar and I waited and then they finally opened it up and we went down to it. It was a really nice place and amazing to think Jesus was baptized there so long ago. Here are some pictures:

O' Little Town of Bethlehem

2008-12-29T02:15:00.000-08:00

Christmas seemed to pass as quickly as it came. I'm used to the Christmas season seeming to begin just a little earlier every year, with stores and restaurants playing their Christmas music and pulling out their decorations immediately after Thanksgiving, if not before. A Rotarian I go to church with, Omar, took me to a Christian town outside of Amman, FuHeis. They have an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony followed by carols. We missed the lighting ceremony, but came back another day to walk around more to look at the Christmas lights. While the neighborhoods back home are often decorated more 'extravagantly' it was a very nice way to get into the Christmas spirit.

My Christmas celebration however, was truly unforgettable. I ended up going to Bethlehem a few days before Christmas by myself, and came back to Amman for a Christmas dinner/party Christmas evening. I stayed at a hostel which is part of a the Dheisha Palestinian refugee camp operated by the UN: the Ibdaa Cultural Center. For approximately $15 a night during Christmas in Bethlehem, it was definitely worth it.

My first full day in the Holy Land I went to tour Jerusalem. While I probably could have went sight seeing more efficiently with a guide, I had an amazing time simply walking around and stumbling upon biblical sites. A man on the bus helped me find the right gate to get off at (the Jaffa Gate or in Arabic "Bab al-Khalil") and asked a nearby shop owner he knew to help point me in the right directions to various sites. I first walked part of the Vio Dolorosa, or the path Jesus walked while carrying the cross and then I went to the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. As I was on my way to find the Church of the Holy Sepulchre I ran into two people I met at the border crossing and ended up having some tea with them. Afterward they pointed me in the right direction and I visited the church which was also "Golgotha" or the Mount of Calvary where Jesus was crucified, and is also believed to be where he was buried. After leaving the church I ended up walking to the Mount of Olives to visit the Garden of Gethsemane, the Tomb of the Virgin Mary and a place where Jesus went to weep over Jerusalem. The hill was quite a trek after a full day of walking and being in the cold, but it was rather spiritual. On my way back to Bethlehem I tried to go to a few places in Jerusalem to see about getting an entry ticket into the Midnight Mass...all places were out since they were giving them away for the past several weeks or even months. The tickets are free, but due to the limited number of space and the large number of pilgrims trying to get in, it was a long shot. Later that night I went to the Church of the Nativity (where Jesus was born, and where they have the midnight mass broadcast worldwide) to see if the parish office could spare one extra ticket. After asking around I was told to find "William" to ask him. He told me to come back tomorrow morning to see what he could do.

My taxi ride back was probably the worst experience of the entire trip (save for maybe the hassle at the Israeli border). I should have known better, having lived in the Middle East for a while now, but the price the taxi driver originally asked for was out of this world: 600 shekels. I knew this was way too much, although I was uncertain by how much since he did take me to and waited at a few different places in Jerusalem to check for tickets...after spending a while talking to him about how unbelievable that was, I told him 200 and no more...he was still insistent and so I paid him 240 and left. That was still 3x the amount I found out I should have paid him. As one can do in Amman and a lot of places in the Middle East, I should have said "let's go talk to the cop to see what he thinks the right price is". Since tourism is a huge part of the economy, the Governments look down on greedy cab drivers that rip tourists off.

I went to find William the next day and my hard work paid off: William gave me a ticket for the Midnight Mass. Since it was Christmas Eve and figured it would get busy, I decided to stick around Bethlehem. I walked around the Nativity Square, bought a few souvenirs and changed into my suit for the mass. I spent a good portion of the day in the Church of the Nativity praying. Eventually everyone was cleared out of the church as they prepared it for the massive amounts of people, news cameras and security. Outside I met up with a nice older couple from California and we had some drinks at a restaurant as I waited for my friend Houston to arrive, since he had planned to come to Bethlehem for Christmas as well. Strangely enough and perfect timing on my part, I had left to go check out the growing crowd outside, and ran into Houston who had just arrived! We had dinner and hung out for a while until I worked my way over to the Church. Fortunately someone suggested I to try to convince the guards to let me in the front gate, where I was, so I avoided a major line/crowd and got in with ease.

The Mass was enjoyable and a nice experience, but not your typical Midnight Mass. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, attended (an tradition I learned Yasir Arafat started and Abbas continues) so everyone was anxiously awaiting his (late) entrance and were focused on his (early) departure. Visiting Diplomats and VIPs took up most of the seats, and mot of us regular attendees stood the entire time...which was over 2 hours. The mass was in Latin and on occasion parts were said in a variety of languages. It was certainly not a Christmas Mass I will ever forget.

The trip was truly amazing to walk around so many of the holy sites and at times, completely unexpectedly, I was filled with a rushing sensation of emotion and almost burst into tears. I will post pictures on this blog, but was actually so caught up in my experience I didn't take as many as I would have liked. I would highly recommend visiting Jerusalem and Bethlehem to anyone.

For those traveling to Jerusalem and then to Bethlehem here is what I experienced:

The trip would only take an hour, or less, but with Security check-points, crossing the border, waiting for buses, it took me over 7 hours. I left to the Northern Bus Station in Amman to catch a service Taxi to the Allenby Bridge border crossing (Jissr Malik Hussein in Arabic). There you pay the 5 JD exit fee and if you want to travel to any other Arab countries other than Jordan and Egypt, tell them to stamp a separate piece of paper. You then take a bus they have (the only transportation option) through the "no-mans-land" to the Israeli border control (with one check point in between). From there you get off the bus and give your bags up to be checked and briefly have them check your passport. Then you proceed through a metal detector, followed by some other detector that blows puffs of air at you and takes scans, I assume is to detect chemicals (when they saw my American passport they said "goodbye" and I didn't have to go through it at that point). Then you wait in a very slow line to have the Israeli border guards (oddly, all of which are young, attractive girls that look abnormally serious) stamp your passport. The difficulty for me and several others was the fact that we traveled to Syria. I was given a form to fill out which basically asked why am I in the Middle East, where have I been, why am I coming to Israel etc., and told to wait. After 30 minutes a girl came up to me to ask me the questions on the form, wrote a few notes and asked me to wait a little more. Eventually a different security person gave us our passports and told us to go back to the window to get our stamps. Then you proceed to yet another line to have your passports checked...when I gave mine and she asked if I was traveling alone, she told me to sit down and wait again. After a while a security guard came to take us through the "blower" machine. Finally, we go through one last line to have our passports looked at and received a "border crossing ticket". Once through the Israeli border you buy a ticket and get on a bus to Jerusalem, to the end stop which is at a major bus station. To get to Bethlehem you can take the 21 Bus, which its final stop called "Bab al-Zkaak" where you can catch a service taxi to your destination.

Vacation's over..

2008-12-15T11:10:00.001-08:00

Last week was Eid al-Adha, or the Islamic holiday that celebrates the sacrifice of Abraham. A difference between Islam and Christianity that I find interesting is that, in Islam, it is believed that Ishmael was to be sacrificed, and in Christianity it was Isaac. Schools and many offices are closed for a week and people visit with family and friends throughout the holiday. It is customary to have a lamb sacrificed in celebration. I remember learning a while ago that it is common for families to send money to have them sacrificed on their behalf, instead of doing it themselves.

The first weekend I went with some friends to Petra and then spent two nights in Aqaba. To my mistake I came back and stayed in Amman the rest of the holiday. Many shops are closed during this time, and most restaurants don't open until much later in the day. While I didn't go out a ton during this Eid did not seem as exciting as during Ramadan or even the first Eid. The vacation was nice and relaxing, but I would rather be traveling and experiencing new things and worry about resting later...

Petra was amazing. We spent several hours there and I could have easily stayed even longer (if my feet and legs could take the walking). Petra was ranked the 8th wonder of the ancient world by archeologists. The ancient Nabataeans occupied the beautiful "rose city" and the area had been ideal for defending against attackers. Giving caravans safe passage for a toll and the strategic location helped the Nabataeans thrive. Water canals were built all along the walls in the canyon passages to help maintain the needed water supply; these were interesting to look at. We walked through the thin canyons and after a nice walk got to the infamous treasury. Afterwards we went to hike up to the Monestary, which I was told is abuot 800 stairs (and probably more, since it you don't only hike up stairs). After the Monestary there are several magnificent look out points which overlook the rest of the canyons and desert. It was a great work out and was well worth it. Unfortunately, as we were approaching the monestary we came across a group trying to recessitate a man, who I later found out, from an article in the Jordan Times, had a fatal heart attack. As many signs are posted, it is a semi-strenuous hike. However, you are able to take an "open air taxi" up (i.e. riding a donkey). We started our hike down at sunset, and ended up hiking through Petra in the dark (save for the beautiful moonlight) which made it even more amazing.

Aqaba was even more enjoyable than the first time. The hotel I stayed at was a cheap and barely "clean enough" hotel. It was in the middle of downtown though which was nice. I went on two scuba dives. The first was a sunken ship (the Cedar Pride) and the second was the "Rainbow Reef." The shipwreck was awesome, but the Rainbow Reef wasn't as exciting as the two dives I did back in October. However, since it was the Red Sea it was still VERY amazing and I saw countless gorgeous fish and other creatures as well as the colorful corals.

So I had this typed and took forever to finally upload pictures and post it. Oh well, late is better than never I suppose. Enjoy the pictures:

Egypt

2008-12-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

I'm back from my trip to Egypt. It was amazing! I really enjoyed the entire trip. I'll break it down by day and post pictures.

DAY 1
I arrived in Alexandria with Ghaith (Rotaractor from the Amman-Cosmopolitan club) where his friend Mona picked us up. She was very nice and helpful and coordinated everything. If you read this: THANKS MONA!!! We had Tamiyya (the Egyptian falafel) then later their famous dish "Koshery" which is a mixture of noodles, lentils, rice, tomato sauce, crispy onions and I had mine with liver per their suggestion (which wasn't too bad); I also put the garlic and hot sauce on it for the final touch. During the day we went to see the famous library and the fort Qait Bey(a citadel that was built by the Pharos during the 15th Century).

DAY 2
I took the train to Cairo and got a quick tour of the 'essentials of Cairo' in the limited time. Another huge thanks to Mona for coordinating and Ahmad and Sara Naida for showing me around. I went to the National Museum which is just spectacular. There are countless artifacts, statues, tombs and much more from the ancient Egyptian civilization. While I had learned about the history briefly in college, seeing the artifacts made it so much more 'real' and amazing. Then I went to the Giza Pyramids (and Sphinx)...one of the sites I had hoped for most to see during my year in the Middle East. Afterwards we took a bus to the Souk Khan al-Khalili...2 1/2 hours due to traffic. That is Cairo for you! After eating Faniya we went to the train station. The 10:30pm train ended up showing up around 12:15am...and not leaving until 1:30am.

DAY 3
We left early for the RYLA by bus. In addition to the few sessions (mostly focused on Egyptian History) we had a Galabeya party; a Galabeya is a Middle Eastern robe worn by men and women.

DAY4
More sessions, a visit to an ancient Greco-Roman temple called the Karoun, more sessions and then a scavenger hunt.

DAY5
Other than sessions we went on a desert safari by jeep which was enjoyable and went to an area called "the Valley of Whales". There were fossilized whale bones from around 40-42 million years ago. The sea used to cover that area and the guide showed us where the coastline used to be (which was evident from a line in the silt). Some of the whale skeletons also show their existence on land at one point. We then went to the sand dunes and went sand surfing/boarding (like snow boarding which I had never previously tried). Despite my lack of experience I actually did quite well. It was exhausting to climb up the dunes, so I only made 3 runs, but they were all good. Afterwards we had a karaoke night which was a load of fun! There was a visiting German rotaractor, and we really busted it out on Hey Jude and New York, New York.

DAY6
We finished up the conference with a photo contest (which I won 3rd place). Our trip back to Alexandria took quite a while, which was partly due to a 30 minute break that lasted 1 1/2 hours!

I had a great time and really fell in love with Alexandria. While I only saw a small piece of it, I think it would be a city I would not mind living/working in for at least a few years. I also met a ton of really nice people with which I had unforgettable good times. The rich history of Egypt is a must see for everyone. My tips for anyone traveling there is to know an Egyptian who can help you out with buying things, especially souvenirs, since Egyptians are known to try and get as much money as they can, especially out of tourists/foreigners.

Iraq al-Emir Castle, Ajloun, Jerash and misc.!

2008-11-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

The election party was fun, and I am excited for a new administration to start in January. As I might have mentioned before, all of the Jordanians and non-Americans that I've met here were hoping for Obama to win. Their fears of McCain being president were (1) that his policies would be exactly like Bush's and (2) that he would die in office. They do seem to have really high expectations and hopes for Obama, which unfortunately I think they might be disappointed. The major issues, such as peace between Israel and Palestine, Iraq, political tensions with Iran, Syria and other countries in the Middle East along with all of the other major issues, are not something just any President of the United State's can fix.

I went to a castle outside of Amman with two classmates. One of them, Tim, does a thing called geocaching, which I think I might get into sometime. Basically, people plant capsuls with a log and perhaps other small things inside and post the coordinates for them online. Others go and find the hidden caches and sign the log and then post it online that you found it. If there are items inside the capsul you're supposed to replace what you take with something else. There are more complexities to it, and it sounds like a fun past time to get out and explore. The castle was small but a nice small discovery outside of Amman, which dates back to the 2nd century BC, which had belonged to an old governor of the area. Not too far were some old caves. Here are
some of the pictures:

Last weeend I went on the Language Center trip to Ajloun and Jerash. Ajloun is a city to the north of Amman, amid hills and more plant life. We visited the Qala'at al-Rabadh, a castle built between 1184-85 AD by a nephew of Saladin. It rests on top of the hill in Ajloun and has a beautiful view of the countryside. Jerash is another ancient city, and has one of the largest and best preserved Roman ruins (outside of Italy supposedly). I had one and a half hours to explore, and I could have easily been there twice as long to explore. Accoring to a really helpful website (HERE) there are even ruins that date back to over 6500 years. I would definitely say Jerash is a must see for anyone coming to Jordan, and I recommend reserving at least 3 hours to walk around. Here are a few of the pictures I took:

Next week I will be attending a Rotaract conference in Fayoum, Egypt. It will be on history and leadership in Egypt. Since flights are only a few times a week to/from Alexandria, I will be staying with a Rotaract friend in Alexandria for a couple days as well. I am very excited to experience life in Egypt, although I hear it is quite different in Cairo...which I hope to visit before coming home.

Update

2008-11-04T08:08:00.001-08:00

I wanted to write a separate post for an update on what I've been doing.

I went to another formal dinner for the District Governor with all of the Rotary clubs and some Rotaractors. It was a pleasant dinner where I was able to meet several more Rotarians that I will continue to struggle with trying to remember the names of when I see them. Afterwards I went to a Halloween party at the U.S. Embassy. Since the dinner started later than planned and ended even later, the party had somewhat died down from what it was before. It was still nice to be able to go in there and celebrate one of our unique holidays with some friends. The next day I went to another Halloween party which, according to a handful of Jordanians I spoke with there, was probably one of the largest parties thrown in Amman. Not to my surprise, the police ended up coming and breaking up the party (peacefully). The reason most likely being because it was after 12am and there was alcohol present...not to mention some pretty "liberal" (for Jordan) costumes.

Fawwaz helped me get in touch with a lady working for the UNDP (United Nations Development Project) for a possible internship or volunteer work. The opportunities sound great and I am excited to gain more experience during my year. Some of the projects might be coordinated with the Rotaract club I am primarily volunteering with (Rotaract of Amman-Petra).

On Friday I will be attending the Marine Ball. There will be over 350 guests in attendance, including the Ambassador, Generals, US and Jordanian government officials and many others. Needless to say, I am looking forward to it.

I also wanted to post a few pictures I just found from some of the events I have been doing:

Photos from Wadi Rum witht he Rotaractors.

Bingo Night with Rotract

Port of Aqaba...the Red Sea is gorgeous!

Picking Olives in Madaba with the Rotaract clubs for an elderly home.

Much older picture: pre-Ramadan brunch at Blue Fig.

Politics is in the air...

2008-11-04T06:42:00.000-08:00

ELECTIONS

Today is election day in the U.S. I ended up having my Dad write in my choices, since I missed the deadline to get an emergency ballot here. Also, I hear the ballots would not contain the State ballot measures which there are currently some very important issues. The Embassy here will send your ballot for free.

Tonight there are several of us going to another student's house for an election party. It might go until really early tomorrow morning here...it should be fun. I am definitely excited about it. This election is clearly significant, regardless of who wins, since you have the first African American presidential nominee, the transition to a new president after 8 years (disliked by many) and the pressing issues that the entire world is interested in seeing how the U.S. will handle under a new White House. Ever since I have arrived in Jordan a frequent topic that comes up is the election.

Since my return from my year abroad in Germany, in 2001, there have been many significant occurrences that have caused the world to look to the U.S. even more than it has in the past. The most frequently mentioned here are obviously the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq, as well as its Foreign Policy and support for Israel. I have not met a single Jordanian, or other international student (from outside the U.S.) that did not hope Obama would win. Concerns here are that McCain will continue the same Foreign policies of Bush, which are interpreted as being for the purpose of oil, biased support for Israel with no accountability (and a lack of support of the Palestinians) and often a hidden "zionist" agenda. Seldom any of the other major issues or platforms that Americans weigh in voting are taken into consideration.

As for how I voted (for president and on the issues) I wish to refrain from writing in my blog. However, I will share a few thoughts and where I see myself politically. I am not particularly in favor of either candidate. I do not label myself as being with a specific political party and really wish there were more options than the standard two. Both parties hold values that I support and oppose, some stronger than others. I am hopeful that whichever candidate wins, they will be a strong and unifying leader to help our great country out of the economic crisis, into better relations with the international community and uphold and support the true values of the United States of America.

Here Comes Winter

2008-10-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

In the last week it has rained twice. Today it actually “poured” for a little while as well. I was told it won’t rain much here though, so I am sure overall it was welcomed. The winter is definitely approaching however; the last two weeks have been milder than before and my apartment has been much colder than usual. My apartment does have a heater, however it is controlled by the landlord. I was told it will be run “during the winter for 8 hours”. I invested in a small heater fan which will hopefully make do until I am able to use the wall heater. Despite these precautions however, most of the buildings here are not insulated (just cement walls) and I hear the cold temperatures, even in doors, can chill you to the bones.

Lat week I went to Fuhais, a Christian town just outside of Amman, to pick olives with the Rotaract clubs. It was a joint project with Amman-Cosmopolitan, Amman-West and Amman-Petra to assist an elderly home. We filled several large bags that they will use and sell. The weather was gorgeous: sunny and a nice breeze. After a while become tiring, but I quickly got the hang of it. The following day one of the Rotaractors, Ghazi, hosted a dinner party at his house for a group of visiting Argentinians. We had the traditional Jordanian dish, Mansaf (lamb over rice with a white cream sauce called jameed poured on top). The guests were invited to join Ghazi and some others in eating the more traditional, Bedouin style way: with our hands. We would grab a small handful of the rice/lamb/sauce and make a ball of it in our (right) hand; then put it on top of our thumb and pop it in our mouth (which is to avoid using “dirty” hands). It was quite messy, but an interesting cultural experience! While some say it isn’t as common anymore in the city I was told the Bedouin (the very traditional people who live off of the land, often nomadic) will kill a lamb for their guest and cook and serve the head (with the eyes, tongue and brain!) to show that it is fresh for them. However, it can only be eaten by the guest if offered (which is a sign of respect). Will I try it if offered? I think so…but then again I don’t have a sheep’s head looking at me on a platter of Mansaf! Followed by Mansaf we had delicious Kanafa, which is an amazing, sweet pastry desert with cheese in the Middle, served warm. Both the Mansaf and Kanafa were the best I’ve had so far.

Two nights ago I went to a meeting with the Rotaract clubs to meet with the District Governor (who is visiting from Egypt). It was nice to see the all of the enthusiastic Rotaract clubs (those between 18-30 years old), as well as an Interact club (those under 18). Last night I went to my host Rotary club’s meeting (Amman-Jordan River) followed by a dinner with the District Governor (who comes from Egypt). I exchanged a flag from my sponsor Rotary club (Point West Rotary Club) and met the governor. Unfortunately I learned that my host District (2450) conference which was to be in Cairo, Egypt, was moved to a more resort-like area in Egypt. Perhaps I will visit Cairo with Fawwaz beforehand. Tomorrow will be another Rotary dinner with the District Governor, at yet another fancy hotel. The meetings here are mostly all done at higher class hotels which can add up quickly in comparison what I regular spend.

This weekend I am going to try to take a trip with the Language Center to Um Qais, where there are ruins of the old Roman City (part of the Decapolis, or the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire). Hopefully I will have more pictures soon!

Wadi Rum and Aqaba

2008-10-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went to Wadi Rum and Aqaba for a conference sponsored by the Rotaract of Amman-West. It was incredible! Wadi Rum is a desert canyon area, and Aqaba is the little bit of coast that Jordan has with the Red Sea. We got down to Wadi Rum after the sunset unfortunately (it is supposed to be spectacular), but it was close to a full moon which was also incredible. We stayed at a camp called “Beit Ali” and went up to the top of the hill for a breathtaking view of the moonlit desert. The bus trip was a mini party, and we stayed up pretty late to continue the party/gathering as well. I tried Hookah (here referred to as: sheesha, argelah or hubbly bubbly. It was interesting, since I had never smoked even a cigarette before. I had never fancied the idea of intentionally inhaling anything “toxic” in my body, but figured it is a big cultural thing and a few times wouldn’t hurt.

The next day we went on a 4x4 “safari” ride through some of the desert and the canyon area. I wish we had more time to climb some. The 4x4 stopped a few times and we were able to get out…unfortunately the batteries I had with me were so cheap and died after 1 or 2 pictures. Afterward we left for Aqaba, checked into the Hotel and had a very delicious lunch: Sayyeidah which is a lightly battered fish in a brown rice with crisp inions and pine nuts, along with many of the tasty Arabic appetizers (hummus, baba ghanoush, salad, tahini). After everyone rested (except me, who went out looking for the nearest public beach, which was harder to find than I hoped) we went on a glass boat around the Red Sea. The boats have some of the bottom where you can see down into the Red Sea. We left after sunset though and since the boat was traveling fast the bubbles from the engine prevented us from seeing anything; so we all hung out on the top deck. It was such a beautiful night. After we got back to the hotel we had the Rotaract District meeting followed by a barbeque and dance party.

The last day we had free time and I went scuba diving in the Red Sea! I went to the Red Sea Diving Center, which was a great choice. Abdullah Mamony is the manager and was very helpful in making arrangements for the dive. It was a British lady who hadn’t went on a dive in over 10 years and me with our Dive Master. Even though I had only gone on less than 20 dives, I managed to do great job with my buoyancy and everything else. She on the other hand was holding onto the Dive Master the whole first dive. Both dives were at one part of the public beach, about a 15 minute drive away from the hotel area. The first dive we went to the sunken Tank and the second we went to the “Seven Sisters” which were seven huge pieces of coral. The sea life was breathtakingly gorgeous and has helped further my love for scuba diving.

Last night I went to an Italian concert sponsored by the Italian Embassy. It was another interesting cultural experience within a cultural experience (if I didn’t write about it, I went to a Flamenco concert a few weeks ago). It was very nice. It would have been much nicer if I could understand the words, but even without knowing you can feel the excitement or tragedy in the tone.

I went to a Rotary-Amman Petra (the sponsor club to the Rotaract club I volunteer with). The guest speaker was a famous Jordanian comedian, Nabil Sawalha, who discussed the importance of laughter and humor. One rotaractor who attended with me, Noujoud, helped share with me how important he has been for Jordan in making steps towards overcoming political/social taboos and how inspiring he has been to the Jordanian and Palestinian people. Later this weekend I’ll be going to a dinner with the Rotary clubs and the District Governor who is visiting.

First Report and Upcoming Trip

2008-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Life is back in as much of a routine as it can be for living abroad. Having school each day of the week makes time fly by. Some days the lesson are pretty easy, while other days I feel like I am treading heavily to follow along. Hundreds of new words are thrown at me each day, and it does not feel like I retain them. Although I am often surprised when I hear the words used or go back to review the past lessons.

I completed my Rotary First Report and sent it in. The report answered questions provided in the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Handbook, which basically provides Rotary International a snapshot of what scholars are doing during their year abroad, some of their Rotary participation and some differences between their country and their sponsor country. It is required by Rotary International in order to receive your second/final scholarship payment. To my surprise there were a few issues with it locally, and not with Rotary International. In support of one of the differences I was pointing out (less separation between Church and State) I had mentioned one sentence that had only stated there was a controversy (objectively, without any expressed opinion on it or details). Just mentioning that there was a controversy however, sparked negative reaction which ultimately made me realize it was not significant enough to the purpose of the report; so I decided to take it out. I was originally irked because the reaction to the sentence was blown out of proportion; it was commented that I "focused my report" on the issue.

Fortunately, I have a blog and am able to provide more details on the controversy itself, which I view as a significant issue for Jordan. During Ramadan the government requires restaurants to obtain special permits to sell alcohol. Many restaurants are also closed since Muslims are supposed to fast from sunrise until sunset. Four and five star hotel restaurants and bars are open during Ramadan as well. There was a controversy over the closure of some of the Restaurants that served alcohol. Articles were written about the "crack down" in several papers, such as the Jordan Times and even by the BBC News. The means of closing one very popular ex-pat hang out, which is known for it's considerably liberal atmosphere, Books@ Cafe, was done so in a manner disputed by many. I have heard people from several sides discuss the closure, and do not wish to comment on whether or not I think it was legitimate or not (which was also how I wished to keep it in my report). A video that I think shares some of the different views that people have about the issue can be seen here: http://ikbis.com/Ibrahim/shot/134769.
The fact that I had only brought up the fact that there was a controversy and received strong reactions made me realize that it is a touchy subject for Jordan. The Jordanian government faces a challenge: trying to satisfy the balance between the majority which are socially conservative as well as the minority which are fighting for more liberal reforms. Needless to say it was definitely a learning experience.

Last week I went to a Flamenco Concert. It was very entertaining. Tonight I also went to a concert one of the other Rotary Ambassadorial scholars, Jennifer Bartmess, is playing with. They played Verdi's "Overture" from "La Forza del Destino", Mozart's Piano Concert No. 12 and Schubert's "Unfinished Symphony No. 8." The concert took me back to many pleasant enjoyable concerts I used to go to back home since several of my friends are music majors.

Tomorrow through Saturday I am going on a trip with the Rotaract clubs (hosted by the Rotaract of Amman-West). We will be first going to Wadi Rum, a famous desert canyon area where you can often camp with the bedouin, ride camels and somewhat explore the beautiful canyons and desert. The next day we're going to Aqaba, the little bit of coast Jordan has with the Red Sea. One of the Rotaractors I met scuba dives and I hope to go with him. I am ultra excited to have the chance to dive the Red Sea, since I got my open water certification last April! I'm sure I'll have something to write after my trip, along with some pictures!

Damascus

2008-10-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

To walk around the world’s oldest, continuously inhabited city gives such a unique feeling. I just came back from my short visit to Damascus, Syria last night. It was a great trip. I went with some friends from the language center (Andrea from Germany, her friend Maite from Spain, Houston and Jennifer) and we ended up running into a few others at the hotel.

DAY 1
We got to the Abdulli bus/taxi station and had difficulty finding a taxi going to Damascus…either because it was the first day of Eid or because it was 7:30am. When we found one that agreed to take us to the border the group consensus was to take it and hope we’d find something at the border. Fawwaz was concerned and ended up speaking to the driver on the phone and told him how it wasn’t right (possibly not even legal) to just leave us at the border; the guy later got a service taxi returning from Syria to take us the rest of the way. The border crossing was not fun, as expected. Everyone but us American’s got our Visas quickly. It took about 4 hours. I’m pretty confident they weren’t doing anything with the passports for most of that time. In fact, on our way home we noticed a stack of US Passports sitting unattended on the counter for some time. This is the unfortunate consequence of having basically no relations with a country. We got to our hotel (Al-Rabie), which was a small and simple but nice hotel about a 10 minute walk from Old Damascus. Afterward we walked the old city’s streets and had dinner at a small restaurant. I went out to have a cup of coffee with Andrea’s friends from Spain as they smoked hookah.

DAY 2
A day full of walking around, we worked our way through the busy Souk Hamidiyah (a closed air, walk through market with countless merchants trying to sell their wares), the Umayyad mosque (one of the largest and oldest mosques worldwide, which some say contains the head of John the Baptist within its shrine as well as the head of Hussein, the son of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, a major figure in Shi’a Islam) and more of the streets of the old city. While walking through the Souk we stopped to get some of the infamous Pistachio ice cream, which was very refreshing. In the evening we went to a café to listen to a traditional story teller, which was entertaining despite our very rudimentary Arabic skills. Afterward we went to dinner where we had a nice feast and had a live band play while a whirling dervish whirled in his long white robe (a now popular tourist attraction, but historically symbolic dance of the mystic Sufi sect of Islam).

DAY 3
We visited the old palace in the Old City and shopped a little throughout the Souks more before heading back to Jordan. The return trip was a lot easier, with little hassle. It felt good to get back to Amman, where I actually had the slight sensation of returning home…although there is nothing that can ever replace the REAL home.

Some pictures:

Going to Syria

2008-09-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

It’s Eid al-Fitr (the celebration at the end of Ramadan that lasts 3 days). I’ll be going to Syria (Damascus) with some friends from the language center (Houston, Andrea and Jennifer) until Thursday! There was a suicide bomb that went off a few days ago…call me crazy since it was still an act of terrorism, but it will not be as dangerous as I know many people back home will think. It hit a government building, the exact intensions unknown at the moment. Given it being Eid and such an event having occurred, I have a feeling security is going to be more strict than I might ever witness during my year here.

School is moving along well. I’m still learning, although each day there are hundreds of new words thrown at me wit’s so hard to keep up. Today I went to play soccer with some friends…I did really well considering I haven’t seriously kicked a ball since High School. Ramadan was a good experience…but I’m glad it’s over, since it will be easier to grab some food or a drink out in public during the day. Things were more calm than usual, although you could tell the stress of hunger and thirst on some occasions…especially on the road, before dinner.

I had another Iftar at an orphanage with Adeeb, the president of the Rotaract club I’ve been volunteering with. We’ll also be starting some fundraising and outreach programs sometime, and after sharing that I’ve had some experience doing so, I will be helping out quite a bit I’m sure. I also volunteered with a Jordanian community service group called Action Committee at an Iftar with refugee children, with my friend Andrew. I will upload pictures after I return from Syria. The kids were very enthusiastic to talk to us, and we had a great time.

The other day some friends and I went to some ruins in Amman (Roman and Byzantine). Those pictures will also be uploaded after I get back from my trip to Syria. Stay tuned…

Ramadan Continues

2008-09-18T09:12:00.002-07:00

It is very interesting to observe the different views about Ramadan by those not practicing the traditions of Islam. While Jordan’s population is vastly Muslim, there is a decent sized Christian community, as well as those who don’t practice all traditions of Islam. One evening a friend, Houston, and I were being polite and rather diplomatic to a taxi driver, asking him how his Ramadan was going and wishing him all the best; he used rather colorful language expressing his vast dislike for the month. Many have mentioned how much of an inconvenience it was for those not fasting, since practically all restaurants are closed and it is illegal to eat and drink in public. To those who may be traveling here in the future during Ramadan: there is a Subway sandwich shop not far from the University that is open, and the other day I went to a nice restaurant/bakery in Abdoun called Crumbs which even had a license to serve alcohol. There is also an extremely popular restaurant/café/book store called Books@ Café in the downtown area that is usually open during Ramadan. Although, apparently the restaurant was recently shut down for the rest of Ramadan by the ‘intelligence police’ (the Mukhabarat, whose name is somewhat feared by many Jordanians). I heard someone mention it was because someone was dining and drinking alcohol on the outside patio, and was seen and then reported by a neighbor…others have speculated the reasons were out of dislike, since Books@ has a considerably ‘liberal vibe.’ Books@ is definitely a good place to meet other ex-pats, and seems to be a good place to make a few connections.

School began on Sunday. The language test placed me in level four! To no surprise to me I moved down to level three after the first day, since the expectations far exceeded my skill level. Many of the students I met during my first month Language Training had to move down at least one level, sometimes two. The Language Center’s placement test is definitely not too accurate at assessing student’s levels. Also, there aren’t enough levels to put students into. My class has over 30 students and so does the level four. The variation in skill level also has some students in between the existing levels, as the class they are in is too hard, but the class under them is too easy. I find myself somewhere in the middle of my class as far as skill, and hope as the semester goes on I will be able to move up a little more.

I went to an Iftar at an orphanage on Sunday with two others from the Rotaract Club of Amman-Petra. It was a good experience. There are a few more planned that I hope to attend. We delivered the food, helped set up/arrange things in their dining room, talked to some of the kids for a little bit, ate when the mosque sounded the Idaam (the call to end the fast), I took a few pictures with the kids and then we left. It was a little shorter than I anticipated, but was good to show a group of kids that others are out there thinking of them. Here are some pictures I took:

Last night I went to the annual Bingo night one of the Rotaract clubs hold and had a lot of fun. There was a magician who put on an entertaining show, as well as a small band that played for a little bit. Tonight I have a few parties/events that I’m invited to and am attempting to figure out how to divide up my time among them all. Tomorrow I’m going to the Dead Sea as well as a Desert Castle along the way with a friend, Alex. I’m pretty excited to finally see somewhere outside of Amman!

Late Update

2008-09-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

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.

End of Language Training

2008-08-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

So...about that first night at my apartment. Little did I realize how hot it was going to get in my room. The heat, along with the sound of traffic with the windows open, were unbearable. Around 3:00am I walked over to my hotel room, which I had fortunately not checked out of because of my fear that something like this would happen. I cranked up the air conditioner (a luxury about the hotel I will miss) and slept for a few hours until I had to go to my last day of class.

My one month language training course is over. I'm glad to be able to have the relaxation time. For anyone ever considering coming to Jordan for a language training: I went to the Ali Baba International Center / Language Institute. It's a small, private company operated by Dr. Ali al-Hajj. He is very helpful, accommodating and enthusiastic about the success of his program. The cost was reasonable considering it included lodging and three meals for the duration of the program. The tuition however, is slightly more than what you would pay for University of Jordan summer Arabic class(es). However, the guidelines for the language training for Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars allows only one month, which was not available at the University. I mostly had a one on one session, which was not the original plan; but since each of the other students studying during the same time as me were at different levels, and so there was none of us could be in the same class. The lessons totaled 80 hours and were mostly Modern Standard Arabic (what is used for formal communication such as in the news, government and occasionally between people who don't understand each other's dialects.) I requested to a little bit of the colloquial for purposes of getting around on the street. While my Arabic professor was extremely nice and encouraging, she spoke very poor English. On occasion she would mis-translate words, which makes for confusion later on. There are plenty of teachers Dr. Ali knows, so one could always switch if needed. Here are some pictures:

('Ablah is on the right)

(Me studying)

My apartment is coming together nicely now. I bought several more things today. Since I got a fan I've been able to sleep at my apartment. I still have cockroaches, but I think there are less now. If they're not gone soon I'll get my own spray/powder and take matters into my own hands. The washing machine is "semi-automatic" meaning I have to dump buckets of water into it during the wash cycle, then drain it, then fill it up with more water to rinse and then drain it again. The dryer is a really small spin cycle only, so I hang the clothes up for another few hours to fully dry. While it's much more time consuming than I'm used to, it saves me from having to pay for dry cleaning everyday. Here are some pictures I took of the place...excuse the mess:

Ramadan starts on Tuesday. Life will be very slow during the daytime, as Muslims are required to fast from food and beverages from sunrise until sunset. One one of the receptionists at the hotel I was staying at invited me and some of the other hotel workers over for Ftoor (the big dinner after sundown). After a couple weeks I'll be volunteering with the Rotaract club to feed and hang out with the kids at orphanages.

Apartment!

2008-08-26T15:46:00.001-07:00

Alright so now I’ve fully moved everything over from my hotel room into my apartment. This will be my first night at my new place. One of the other American students I met, who will be studying at the UJLC, helped me move my last bits of shopping bags and what not over; which brings up a cultural tidbit I thought I’d share. Though considerably more Western than many of the other Arab states, there is still a considerably conservative attitude towards male/female interaction. Lauren and I had to wait for one of the landlords to get my key back from the maintenance, and when he and a neighbor realized a girl was about to enter my apartment with me, there was a little bit of a concerned attitude that she might be sleeping here. After I made it clear that she was just helping me, he was ok with it and said if anyone asked to tell them him and the landlords knew. One common thing to do here, for foreigners or not, is to tell those concerned that the person is your spouse or relative. One time coming back from church, a friend and I were about to get into a taxi. The driver noticed a police woman there in need of a taxi and so gave her precedence. The police woman was fine with us sharing the cab, since she was going the same way, but the driver was adamantly against it.

While I'm still obviously a foreigner, I’ve received a few compliments on my Arabic from Taxi drivers. I still frequently speak in broken sentences, but on occasion my pronunciations and ability to get my point across is sufficient to fill the sometimes-awkward silence waiting to arrive at your destination. One night I went to a party with Liana and some of her friends and the taxi driver actually thought I was Arab! It’s most likely because it was dark and he only caught a quick glimpse of my facial hair, and I had only mentioned the destination. My confidence and language ability has definitely improved in this first month. I highly recommend taking the opportunity to take a 1 month language training for all Rotary Ambassadorial scholars. Not only to develop your language ability, but to learn the landscape and to give yourself time to really set up things before getting bombarded with school.

I have moved into my apartment...tonight will be the first night sleeping here. I wasn't able to get a fan so I'll (continue to) be hot. I took a few pictures and will be taking more once fully settled, and posting them when I can. It was a little upsetting at first when I noticed the cockroaches here...they'll be spraying tomorrow, hopefully. Fortunately these critters are pretty small. I remember gargantuan cockroaches at my last office. Alright, time to stop thinking about them 10 minutes before I go to sleep.

I went to a Rotaract club meeting (for my non-Rotarian readers: they're a group of 18-30 year olds sponsored by a Rotary club that get together for social activities and community service work). I'll be volunteering during Ramadan with them (the holiest Month for Muslims, when they fast from sunrise to sunset) to help coordinate Fatoors with some of the local orphanages. We’ll be setting them up and joining them for Fatoor and will be spending time talking and playing with the kids. I’m excited!

What's the Arabic word for Bureaucracy?

2008-08-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

No matter how many of thousands of miles away I leave the U.S. I find that bureaucracy is inescapable. With registering for the UJLC and applying for residency here in Jordan, I’ve probably lost several gallons of sweat due to walking back and forth to different administration buildings in the heat. I actually have quite a few things yet to do to submit my application for residency, so it is far from over. Plus, come next semester I’ll have to do the school registration once again.

Lately I’ve been a bit homesick. I’ve been thinking a lot about my family and friends. After re-reading the nice letter my Mom gave me, and looking at the wonderful pictures she included, I really felt it the worst. The pictures of me and my family when we went golfing, and of my family, Bridget and I at my Knights of Columbus 4th degree ceremony, really made me wish I could go back to old times. When I was 16 and went to Germany as an exchange student for a year, I remember missing my family at first too. This time however, with a lot of my friends, many of them are going to move on with their lives. Already, since I got here, my friends Robert and Allison got married. One of my best friends, Nick, proposed to his girlfriend and will most likely get married while I’m gone. I’ve considered flying back there for the wedding, but I would have to use my own money and round trip tickets are just too much, especially since when I get back I will most likely not have a job for a little while and with how bad the dollar is doing. Bridget and my sister, Jessica, are graduating. My sister will probably stay in town, but Bridget may end up finding a journalism job in another State. I’m also curious where my future will take me, after this year. One of my biggest wishes is that I would come back with some type of job in International Relations, working between the U.S. and Middle East. My Dad would often say “you’re not coming back; you will get a job before coming back, and most likely work on the East Coast or overseas.” If he is right about the job, I do want to return home to see everyone.

As always, my Arabic class is still a major challenge. The speed has picked up, but unfortunately I think it’s going a little too fast. I don’t have enough time to really memorize all the new words. Yesterday we went over several body parts and today twice as many objects/parts of a house. She had me draw “me” and label myself with the new words as well as drawing and labeling all the parts of a house. This is a very good tip for others who are more “visual learners.”

I went to a Rotaract meeting last Monday. There was a guest speaker who presented on “Energy Work.” Without wanting to really misrepresent his beliefs, he explained his beliefs on energy and healing. It was interactive and there were some interesting debates/questions; especially since there was a doctor and pharmacist. I met the secretary and past president of another Rotaract club (Amman-River I believe). Everyone was very nice, and I’m definitely looking forward to participating with them.

I’m hoping to move into my new place on Sunday. I need to talk to Fawwaz to see when he is available to go with me to settle and sign the rental contract. He tried to have me read it by myself, but after spending an hour I barely managed to get a few sentences into it. A nephew of my Dad’s coworker, Khalid, who is living here was a huge help in figuring out the terms. I’m excited to move out of the hotel for many reasons…my own food, no loud crowds of sports teams, a washer machine (instead of washing my clothes in the bath tub as I have been doing), better internet, not having to hear the same mix of music-consisting of songs from Titanic, this very weird European-passionate-club-type song, a very oriental sounding song and a song from Kill Bill 2 and many other "classics"- all day and every day in the hotel, the comfort of my “own place” and I’m sure many others.

Update x 2

2008-08-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Hello again, to all and any readers! This blog is actually both a blog I wasn't able to post on the 14th due to the poor internet connection, and then one for today (the 16th)

AUGUST 14th:
While the many Arabic marriage celebrations have often been an annoyance as far as trying to sleep (which I have recently remedied: falling to sleep while listening to my iPod), the procession into the hotel is full of energy and very exciting. Last night I was in the lobby as a Palestinian marriage procession (you can usually tell by the color of the Kafir (traditional head scarf) often worn by the attendees or musicians, so I’ve learned. The black one is the Palestinian and one specific pattern of red is the Jordanian. As the procession came in they had musicians with drums and a trumpet and someone singing on a megaphone. The many attendees as well as everyone else in the lobby joined in singing and dancing. Earlier that day I met a large group of Jordanians who are here on some type of project. They were very friendly and at one point I had about 8 different people crowded around me, helping to translate the dialogue in my school book. During the procession a couple of them came over to me and I joined in clapping with them. Afterward many of us were gathering in the lobby to chat about all sorts of things. One of them is going to take an English proficiency test soon, and I will probably help tutor him, and he me in Arabic. Unfortunately the internet connection won't let me upload the video. I'll try another time.

Today I went with Khalid, the nephew of one of my Dad’s coworkers, to look for an apartment. The first couple weren’t too great; either they weren’t too clean or too expensive. We found one right at the North Gate to the University for really cheap and with all the attributes I was hoping for. Fawwaz, my Rotary counselor, had raised a couple questions about it and we might go double check on Saturday to make sure everything is fully covered and to get it in writing. They were going to call Khalid in a week as well, since I still have a little time left at this hotel. There were plenty of options for me to move out, but this so far appears to be the best option. We’ll see!

August 16th

I went with Fawwaz back to the same apartment complex today and pretty much have an apartment lined up for myself. The resident moved out yesterday. It's a little smaller (but still an ok size) and should be a nice home for the year. It's a studio for 230 JD, with water and electricity included, a small but decent kitchen, an ok bathroom with a washer and "dryer" (which is a spin cycle only). They can also run a cable to my room for an internet connection at 1 JD/day...if it's not too slow then I'll go for it, if not Fawwaz says I can subscribe to a local plan for cheap as well. It's right next to the North Gate of the University and there are plenty of restaurants and shops around, including a mini super market in the lobby on the bottom floor. It'll take a little extra cleaning up on my part, and I'll need to go shopping with Fawwaz soon for some items. I'm definitely looking forward to my own place!

The group of Jordanians that I've met in my hotel are in a training seminar and are part of an NGO called Shabakat Al Ordon (___ of Jordan). I met their counselor/trainer and might look into what they do more too. Everyone I've met are so nice and love chatting with me. One guy, Ahmad, is helping me with my Arabic and I help him with his English, since he's taking the TOEFL test in a month. Another guy invited me to his city Madaba sometime where we'll eat the traditional Jordanian dish Mensif. I actually had it today with Fawwaz for lunch, and it was pretty good. It's lamb over rice in a yogurt sauce. We also shared Knaffa, an Arabic cheese dessert-Knaffa. It is a warm dessert of cheese inside crushed wheat with sugar and some crushed pistachios on top. There is another kind with some sort of small noodles on top which I'll have to try soon. Very delicious.

In a little while I'll be going to a Rotary meeting at the Amman-Philadelphia club. (Philadelphia being the name given to Amman during the Egyptian rule). Last year's scholar, Liana, is going to introduce me to a Rotarian she met who is somehow involved in working with refugees, and thought I'd be interested in talking to him. I definitely look forward to getting involved here.

Pictures etc

2008-08-11T08:37:00.000-07:00

Things are going well now. Class is still difficult but I've grown accustomed to it. Now instead of seeing it as a major obstacle, I see it as a fun and exciting challenge. While I don't understand 70% of the words coming out of my teacher's mouth, I'm finding it easier to still understand what I'm being instructed to do. As nerdy as this will sound, I remember watching an episode of Star Trek Voyager a long time ago (I was probably still only a Freshman in High School) and being fascinated when one of the crew, Chikotay (sp), was communicating with a planets natives with just simple gestures and words. Learning to communicate in a foreign language takes a lot of hard work and patience, and can cause major headaches, but it always brings about a feeling of accomplishment.

On the weekend some of us went to a bar/restaurant called La Calle in the "Ballad" or the older "downtown." It was an "Italian Restaurant" / Western bar. The food was good as was the beer. It was happy hour so it was cheap; usually alcohol is expensive here. Yazin, the person I met through the UJLC picked us up, so we were able to save the taxi money! Afterwards Yazin, his friend Omar and I chatted for a good 45 minutes in the lobby of the hotel. After my pre-Univeristy language training, I hope to go to a couple of the sites with them.

On Saturday I went to my first Arabic Mass with Rachel, a student from England and Omar, a Rotarian my host counselor, Fawwaz, introduced me to. Omar was very nice and helpful at explaining things; and afterward he introduced us to the priest. It was very similar, being a Roman Catholic Mass. I only understood maybe 10 words at the most. They also have Mass in English and French, but I think for my studies and cultural experiences I'd like to try and continue attending the Arabic ones.

Fawwaz got me in touch with a member of the Rotaract (here commonly referred to as Rotary Act) and I will attend their meeting next Monday, to hopefully start getting involved. Also, this Saturday I will be attending a different Rotary club's meeting with last year's Ambassadorial Scholar, Liana. She wants to introduce me to a Rotarian she met who is beginning a program working to assist Palestinian refugees. While this isn't my host Rotary club, it sounds like something I'd really like to get involved with. Fawwaz also is eager to have me attend, and join, the Toast Masters club he attends. I have a feeling soon I'll becoming much busier!

Some of Amman's "country side."

The University Mosque

A statue on the main intersection by my hotel; some Quranic verses...I haven't read them up close yet.

The Ali Baba class, most of which are leaving within a week or two at the most.

I'm going to try to upload some pictures on here, so we'll see how they come out.

Major relief and Beijing Olympics 2008!

2008-08-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I signed up for a bank account at the Bank of Jordan, relieving much stress. I had remembered the other day that my bank card was a temporary card and will expire within one and a half weeks, since I had just moved over to a larger bank in the U.S. before departing. It is definitely a good idea for anyone traveling abroad to have an account at a major financial institution. My parents will wire me my scholarship funds to my local bank account and all should be fine and good!

The next major steps for me will be to register at the University and then at the police station. Both of these processes I have heard are quite bureaucratic, and I have only heard negative comments about the University coordinator. I will cross those bridges when I get there…in a week or two.

Classes have still been difficult as it’s really hard to communicate with and understand the teacher…and on occasion I’ve gotten mistranslations. It sounds like our schedule will be constant now: 12pm-4pm all week, from Sunday through Thursday, with two hours of the colloquial (‘amiah) and two hours of Modern Standard Arabic (FusHa). I really can’t wait for the University classes to begin, since I’ll be around other students and will meet several other Jordanians.

Today was my first taste of the Middle East Friday. I learned from one of the students at my language training (a really super nice, outgoing and animated Italian named David) explained to me how “Al-Jumah” means something along the lines of “congregation.” Friday is the day Muslims go to the mosque for their prayers and service (which if I have the opportunity I would be interested in seeing). So basically 90% or more of all the shops are closed until after the service…which here was until sometime around 1:30pm. There was a shwarma place open though, which is where I got my lunch. Shwarma’s are basically an Arabic sandwich, usually Chicken or Lamb and some produce. The places will have a huge chunk of meat spinning on a rotisserie and saw pieces off on order. They are very tasty, although I heard not too long before I came to Jordan there were cases of salmonella and King Abdullah II closed down all places until they were inspected and re-granted a license to sell shwarma. Fortunately, of the two I’ve been to so far, I’ve had no problems!

A couple of the others at the Ali Baba Language Center and I went to the “Champion Sports Bar” in the Marriot to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. I thought they were incredible! The only other times I’ve paid much attention to the Olympics were the closing ceremonies to the Olympics in Australia when I was in Germany. It really is amazing to see so many people from so many countries get together. There was cheering for several countries as they processed in: there was a group of Chinese students at the restaurant we were at; one of the girls with us was Iraqi from Holland; one guy with us was from Switzerland; Tom has Romanian heritage; I was in Germany; and obviously we all cheered for Jordan and of course the USA!!!

Classes Begin \ Language Barrier

2008-08-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Before I left, many people called me crazy for going to the Middle East. Currently, I would agree with that statement, however not for the same reasons as intended. I'm not crazy for coming here because everyone hates America and I risk impending danger no matter where I go- this in fact, is far from the truth. I have not yet once met a single person who dislikes America and have not been threatened. Instead, I agree that I am crazy for coming to the Middle East because what little Arabic I had in school (3 semesters, which were somewhat spaced apart as well as 2 years prior to my actually arriving here) is almost useless in trying to communicate here! Usually the Arabic you study in school is "Modern Standard Arabic" or "fusHa." This is primarily used in news broadcasts and among professionals. although it is commonly understood among the educated. The colloquial dialects or "amiya" are considerably different. Add my elementary exposure to such a complex language, the differences in fusHa and amiya and the machine-gun-speed at which people speak and you have a recipe for many difficult times. English is commonly studied and known here among the educated/wealthy, however the taxi drivers are usually will know very little to no English. I do admit that I did originally expect more people to be more proficient in English; this is not bad however, and will definitely help me in the long run. My Arabic classes yesterday and today were both pretty difficult. My instructor, 'abla, is limited in her English. When I come across unfamiliar words it is difficult to figure them out. During our lessons a music store opens up shop and blasts Arabic music, which adds to the stress.

After my first class yesterday I met with who I believe will be my permanent host counselor, Fawaz. I went food shopping with him, and picked up a map of Amman for myself. He bought me a really tasty (Syrian) dessert, which I forgot the name of. It was a cake with a ton of whipped creme, almonds, honey I believe and a couple other spices. Then he dropped me off
in Smeisani (another part of Amman), where I met one of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars from last year, Liana Paris. She was very helpful with providing tips and insights about my year abroad and will definitely be helpful along the way, as well as a nice person to know! Going back to my limited language: trying to tell the taxi driver where my Hotel is was a huge challenge, and trying to understand him was impossible. One common thing Liana suggested is to call friends proficient in Arabic direct them over the phone.

Today I also met up with a student at the University of Jordan, Yazan, who I originally got in contact with through the UJ Facebook group, and his friend Omar. Before coming here, and after I arrived, he was very eager to get in touch with me and offered me assistance with whatever I need. He enjoys helping students work on Arabic. They were both very good at English, and as we drove around they would teach me some of the 'amiya and slang.

Tomorrow I have class earlier and in the evening will be going to a Rotary social Fawaz invited me to, with my friend Tom. Unfortunately it sounds like another loud Arabic wedding on the 7th floor...

Today

2008-08-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a relaxing day with a melancholy start. One of the students who did the one month intensive Arabic program I am doing (Adam Aljouni from Michigan) left for home. While I've only been here for a couple days, he has been an awesome help and fun friend to be around. His jokes and easy-to-get-along-with personality make each day fun. Last night for his goodbye-dinner-celebration we went to a VERY nice restaurant (best food I've had so far) called "Reem al-Badawi." The ambiance was just as nice. We had many traditional dishes (hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouleh, lebeni, Aleppo olives and then a variety of meats!) So far I've met a couple other great students here and it will be sad to see them go as well. This evening I am still in a slight melancholy mood, possibly in part due to some homesickness and also the realization that my language training will begin tomorrow. Luckily the internet has been a little bit better and I've been able to keep in touch with some friends and family.

Today I successfully managed to take a taxi by myself to and from one of the local malls to meet someone! The second cab driver was very nice, and we had a small conversation in Arabic and English (more the latter) about where I'm from, what I'm doing and his commentary on Jordan and Americans (which among many Jordanians I've met is very positive). He gave me his card and offered me what sounds to be discounted rates to any of the sites around Jordan. It may or may not be a good deal, since there are other means of traveling. Some of us were going to take a taxi (which another cool American I met, Tom, got a card from under the same circumstance) to Bethany up north this morning, but when Tom called the guy he quoted a price a lot higher than expected and reasonable.

In the afternoon I met my Arabic instructor at the Ali-Baba Language Center with the director, Ali Al-Hajj, and received the books I will be using. I will be in class at least 4 days for 4 hours, with a possible "half day" on a 5th day, depending on the staff availability. The book they proposed to be my level sounds one level to high, a problem some of the other students had, but we will see.

Judging by the loud booming bass of dance music, it sounds like another wedding or celebration is going on upstairs. Fortunately my air conditioner was fixed today, which will hopefully help me sleep easier. Last night I kept tossing and turning and waking up sweaty because the air conditioner, even set on the lowest setting, didn't do a thing to cool the room.

Day 3 / Youm al-thalith

2008-07-31T14:54:00.002-07:00

So far so good! I'm really getting adjusted to the area. One thing that might take a little while to get accustomed to is how laid back a lot of life seems to be compared to back at home. In the US everything had some sort of organized system; everything seemed to have a well thought out plan and flow. One thing I will never be able to fathom is how driving works...it is more chaotic than I've ever seen, in the States and even the trip I went to Mexico. Similar to how the foreign exchange student that we hosted (aka mein Deutscher Bruder), Niko, once described the chaotic traffic we witnessed in Rome: everyone knows the other drivers are as crazy as themselves, so somehow it all comes together and works. However, unlike our trip to Rome, a car ripped off the side rear view mirror of another car RIGHT in front of some of us going to a pizzeria. Oh, and as many of my friends are well aware of my proactive stance on ensuring I, as a pedestrian in the US, executed my right of way...forget it. Crossing streets here is like the classic game Frogger...sped up 100x.

My hotel often hosts a variety of special events. We get numerous sports teams and we have had a wedding celebration on every day I've been here so far...which is actually the reason I am still awake at 12:30am writing this blog. They hold the celebration on the 7th floor. They were just blasting a drum and bass/techno version of "Smoke on the Water." The hotel is not too bad...although definitely not anywhere close to even the cheapest hotel I've stayed in in the US. Included in my language training tuition (hereafter referred to as "The Ali Baba Language Center" or something of the like) was full accomodation including all 3 meals. However, the hotel's menu does not seem to vary much at all and I am already quite tired of the food. Breakfast: mostly pita bread, fo'ol (a type of bean dish), low-quality scrambled eggs, cucubmer/tomato salad, occasionally feta cheese (which is good but VERY salted tasting), and some spreadable cheese and jam. Lunch and dinner have mostly been rice with chicken and lamb dishes, a couple veggie salads, more pita bread, pasta and some types of chocolate cake. Fortunately, food outside of the hotel is VERY cheap and I've been able to have some falafel and hummus, and soon will be trying more of the traditional style dishes.

Today my temporary host-Rotary counselor, Yousef Bashton, drove me around the city to most of the areas. Now when I step into a taxi with VERY broken Arabic, I'll know where I'm asking to go. And now that I know several other people studying here I will have people to go touring around with!

Alright the wedding reception has calmed down...time to try to sleep. Good night or messah il-kheer!

My arrival in Jordan!

2008-07-30T01:25:00.000-07:00

Finally I've got to a place with internet to make a quick update!

So far everything is going well. The hotel I am at is pretty good and the food, though good, will be getting old fast as I hear it is mostly the same every day. I hear there are very cheap places to get really good Arabic food not far from my hotel, so I will be checking those out soon.

Coincidentally, during my first flight I sat next to a Rotarian from a club in Auburn. I gave her my card and got hers, and will be in touch with her when I return to give her club a presentation...small world! My flights were long and tiring, and I got in around 2am or so...I couldn't sleep during the night much and when I did manage to get to bed I woke up to the call to prayer around 4 or 5am (I think)...it was a very beautiful sound though! During the first day I slept and last night I actually slept for a couple of hours, so I think I may avoid the serious jet lag many have forewarned me about.

There are several Americans at my hotel, and a lot of them are going through the Ali Baba Language program-the intensive Arabic training that I am completing prior to attendnig studies at the University of Jordan, Language Center (UJLC). The students have definitely been a huge help and relief. I also spoke with my Rotary contact twice as well as last year's rotary scholar here. I will be meeting up with them sometime soon. There are others from an organization that promotes peace through dialogue...I might try to check into their program more for some of my volunteer work/community service if I see them again.

My Arabic is definitely VERY VERY elementary and the year will take a lot of hard work..but so far everyone has been very helpful and I can tell the year will be great! Once I manage to find a power adapter for my laptop and find a good internet conntection at my hotel I will try to make more updates!

Initial Questions

2008-06-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hello and thanks for checking out my blog. I will be leaving in 14 days and wow am I excited. It is almost surreal to think about what lay ahead. Am I excited? Definitely. Am I nervous? A little. Am I ready? We will see!

I will often be asked the same questions after telling people about my scholarship and when I tell them about my career interest. I figured it might be helpful to give a couple answers to questions you may already have.

What exactly will you be doing in your year abroad?

I will be studying Arabic at the University of Jordan in Amman, and if in English possibly other classes related to Middle Eastern studies. I will also be participating in volunteer work/community service projects. At this point I am not even sure what my host club is, so I am uncertain what projects they are involved with. If I have the opportunity, one area I am interested in is working with refugees.

How did you become interested in the Middle East?

My interest in and awareness of cultures began when a group of Japanese exchange students came to visit my elementary school and I realized there were people on the other side of the world living their lives, some in similar ways and some in their unique ways. When signing up for the required language in High School I decided to take the "road less traveled" and study German. After meeting a German exchange student in the Jazz band and learning of his experiences, I decided I'd apply to be a foreign exchange student as well. I spent one year in Germany and met several amazing students from all around the world. Hearing them speak in their languages and talk about their cultures, my interest in cultures continued to grow. When I got to college I decided I wanted to study International Relations, a field where I hope to work with many foreign cultures. One day when I saw a flier that said "Sac State will be offering Arabic next semester. Learn a language needed more than ever" I realized I knew so little about the region and thought it would be interesting. After starting Arabic I was so intrigued about the history and culture I created myself a special minor in Middle Eastern studies.

What do you want to do with Arabic/Middle East studies?

I think having personal interaction between cultures is crucial to maintaining and improving good relations between countries and any group of people. My goals are to:

Learn about the Middle Eastern cultures firsthand and share my culture with those I interact with, to help improve cultural understanding between the West and Middle East
Develop lasting relationships to help further cross-cultural cooperation and dialogue
Promote peace and goodwill in all cultures
Find a career where I can work in the field of International Relations

If I think of any other frequently asked questions I receive I will come back to this blog and add them.