Sunday, June 24, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
packed day
Man am I exhausted!
Today we packed outings to Umm Qais, 'Ajloon, and Jerash in one day, but we had a really awesome time. Umm Qais was probably my favorite with its dramatic amphitheate, Roman columns, and best of all, a view of the Golan Heights and three different countries. I've also realized that I am absolutely in love with olive trees: I think somehow my Imagining Palestine class really turned me on to them after reading about their significance in Arab culture. I got a ton of pictures along the road of just olive orchards, and I really wish I had been able to capture some of the verdent landscape that seemed to shoot up out of nowhere in the huge desert that is Jordan. I'm talking the biggest, most beautiful palm trees you've ever seen alongside plants and flowers of a unique Mediterranean palette whose enchanting hues I never could have imagined.
'Ajloon and Jerash were also fascinating- we didn't spend a lot of time in 'Ajloon but we definitely baked in the sun in Jerash and I think my ghostly skin is going to really hate me tomorrow. In Jerash we saw not one but two huge amphitheatres- both of which were breathtaking- as well as ruins that seem to expand for miles. I believe the tour guide said we would only be seeing 25% of the ruins there, and we saw a TON. My favorite part was listening to Jordanians decked in traditional desert garb play bagpipes (including such songs as "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee", and "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Naturally they did some Arabic songs as well, one of which we enjoyed by dancing dabke in the blazing sun of the tremendous amphiteatre's stone floor. There was this kid about 10 years old who had been trying to get my friend Allison to marry him (asking him "how many camels his father could give him" and saying he would convert to Christianity if need be!), who watched me during the dabke and said that I was not a good dancer but very beautiful (which in his broken English sounded like "pitiful" hahahaha). He also asked how many camels I could offer him and said that I could be his second wife. I think Allison and I really made his day when we took a picture with him.
Sooo tonight I think some of my friends and I are going to go to a club in Amman which should be a nice break from super conservative Irbid. Tomorrow I think I need to catch up with the rest of my advanced class- several people dropped down a level because it was too challenging and I'm really starting to feel the pressure. I'm not gonna lie, Wednesday after listening class and totally went in the bathroom and bawled my eyeballs out thinking that I was gonna get bumped down to Upper Intermediate and that I would totally have to change my area of concentration due to my inability to understand a stupid video about Jordan's ruins. Well whatever, I'm way ahead of the game in writing class and about par or better in reading, so insha'allah my listening and conversation teacher won't suggest that I need to go down a level.
Oh well no worries about school, it's on to the city for the night!!
Today we packed outings to Umm Qais, 'Ajloon, and Jerash in one day, but we had a really awesome time. Umm Qais was probably my favorite with its dramatic amphitheate, Roman columns, and best of all, a view of the Golan Heights and three different countries. I've also realized that I am absolutely in love with olive trees: I think somehow my Imagining Palestine class really turned me on to them after reading about their significance in Arab culture. I got a ton of pictures along the road of just olive orchards, and I really wish I had been able to capture some of the verdent landscape that seemed to shoot up out of nowhere in the huge desert that is Jordan. I'm talking the biggest, most beautiful palm trees you've ever seen alongside plants and flowers of a unique Mediterranean palette whose enchanting hues I never could have imagined.
'Ajloon and Jerash were also fascinating- we didn't spend a lot of time in 'Ajloon but we definitely baked in the sun in Jerash and I think my ghostly skin is going to really hate me tomorrow. In Jerash we saw not one but two huge amphitheatres- both of which were breathtaking- as well as ruins that seem to expand for miles. I believe the tour guide said we would only be seeing 25% of the ruins there, and we saw a TON. My favorite part was listening to Jordanians decked in traditional desert garb play bagpipes (including such songs as "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee", and "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Naturally they did some Arabic songs as well, one of which we enjoyed by dancing dabke in the blazing sun of the tremendous amphiteatre's stone floor. There was this kid about 10 years old who had been trying to get my friend Allison to marry him (asking him "how many camels his father could give him" and saying he would convert to Christianity if need be!), who watched me during the dabke and said that I was not a good dancer but very beautiful (which in his broken English sounded like "pitiful" hahahaha). He also asked how many camels I could offer him and said that I could be his second wife. I think Allison and I really made his day when we took a picture with him.
Sooo tonight I think some of my friends and I are going to go to a club in Amman which should be a nice break from super conservative Irbid. Tomorrow I think I need to catch up with the rest of my advanced class- several people dropped down a level because it was too challenging and I'm really starting to feel the pressure. I'm not gonna lie, Wednesday after listening class and totally went in the bathroom and bawled my eyeballs out thinking that I was gonna get bumped down to Upper Intermediate and that I would totally have to change my area of concentration due to my inability to understand a stupid video about Jordan's ruins. Well whatever, I'm way ahead of the game in writing class and about par or better in reading, so insha'allah my listening and conversation teacher won't suggest that I need to go down a level.
Oh well no worries about school, it's on to the city for the night!!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
a summary of my first week
So tonight I've decided to compile a list of just some of the myriad of customs, behaviors, etc. I've noticed among Irbidians:
1.
2. Obsession with King Abdullah including the following: posters and murals in cafes, the student union, stores, wah ilakh; bracelets in the "Live Strong" style that say "Long Live the King", oh and not to mention our first Arabic reading with pictures of al malik in diving garb and looking all macho on his motorcycle.
3. Large cow carcuses hanging in glass displays placed along the street- apparently one of my friend first thought they were pigs but then remembered we are in a Muslim country..whoops.
4. Staring. Then again maybe that's just at Westerners.
5. Use of tissues as napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I think a portrait of the King with a box of Kleenex would say it all.
6. A seemingly intentional inability to comprehend anything spoken in FusHa...I mean seriously, is the word "ma+glottal stop'" really that different from "maee" (water)??
7. A tendency to show Nancy Ajram videos one after another to the point of brainwashing other Arab women to believe that biweekly plastic surgery will transform you into a pop star.
8. An aversion to drinking anything without a straw.
9. Apparently when you ask for "falafel bee batatas" (falafel with french fries) they take you literally. Yes, they actually put the french fries in the pita.
And now, some of the things that are helping me get through some of the culture shock:
1. NUTELLA- there is something so decadent about eating a chocolate sandwich for lunch
2. Shisha...although a Jordanian girl told me today that smoking nargileh is equivalent to choking on 40 cigarettes (then again, Arabs are known to exaggerate).
3. Being able to enjoy walking by rows of giant palm trees on the way to class.
4. My a'ameea teacher's use of song and dance to teach us verb conjugations, but I still don't get the "tee tee tee tee" one.
5. Arabic music in shop windows and random dabke circles in the streets.
1.
2. Obsession with King Abdullah including the following: posters and murals in cafes, the student union, stores, wah ilakh; bracelets in the "Live Strong" style that say "Long Live the King", oh and not to mention our first Arabic reading with pictures of al malik in diving garb and looking all macho on his motorcycle.
3. Large cow carcuses hanging in glass displays placed along the street- apparently one of my friend first thought they were pigs but then remembered we are in a Muslim country..whoops.
4. Staring. Then again maybe that's just at Westerners.
5. Use of tissues as napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I think a portrait of the King with a box of Kleenex would say it all.
6. A seemingly intentional inability to comprehend anything spoken in FusHa...I mean seriously, is the word "ma+glottal stop'" really that different from "maee" (water)??
7. A tendency to show Nancy Ajram videos one after another to the point of brainwashing other Arab women to believe that biweekly plastic surgery will transform you into a pop star.
8. An aversion to drinking anything without a straw.
9. Apparently when you ask for "falafel bee batatas" (falafel with french fries) they take you literally. Yes, they actually put the french fries in the pita.
And now, some of the things that are helping me get through some of the culture shock:
1. NUTELLA- there is something so decadent about eating a chocolate sandwich for lunch
2. Shisha...although a Jordanian girl told me today that smoking nargileh is equivalent to choking on 40 cigarettes (then again, Arabs are known to exaggerate).
3. Being able to enjoy walking by rows of giant palm trees on the way to class.
4. My a'ameea teacher's use of song and dance to teach us verb conjugations, but I still don't get the "tee tee tee tee" one.
5. Arabic music in shop windows and random dabke circles in the streets.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
bidee aNAM!
Wow.
Okay, no more complaints about gender segregation or praises of hookahs for a while: it's time to hit the books! I mean I know that I am in an "intensive" Arabic program, but I haven't been under so much academic pressure since I took Arabic 101 and 102 in a single summer in 2005, and what I'm doing now is even MORE challenging.
We took the placement test Sunday (as Friday and Saturday are weekend days here due to al-Jumua) and I must have done okay as I am still in the advanced level! I am really ashamed of myself for switching into self-deprecating mode, previously known as first gear in my little perfectionist mind, by saying that I would be at the "bottom" of the class. I would definitely say I'm at the middle to upper end of the group, which makes me feel pretty good given that about half the kids in our class are from Harvard (which they all pronounce with an extended raspy Hhhhhhhh). In fact, several of the ones who were acting all high and mighty about their Arabic skills ended up excelling in certain areas like 'Ameea (dialect) but aren't particularly outstanding in FusHa (Modern Standard Arabic). We have courses in reading, writing, conversation, listening, grammar, and of course, dialect. Naturally I'm floundering a little in 'Ameea given that I've only studied in the U.S. for 3 years with ZERO study abroad, but I'm catching on pretty quickly. And honestly it's probably my favorite class, particularly given that the professors here seem to enjoy marking each of their words, no matter how casual, with case endings. Even in conversation class when we had to talk about "medinatee" (my city), our prof would correct us if we didn't say "medinatoon" or failing to acknowledge whatever the appropriate case. All but one of my teachers are very engaging and work at an extremely fast pace and give us absurd amounts of homework, but in just 2 days of classes my working vocabulary has expanded exponentially.
Again, for the most part I'm liking the people in my program with the exception of a select few whose egos are bigger than their super size Hans Wehr dictionaries (with which I would really like to hit them over the head when they start doing that Hhhhhharvard thing aka "dropping the H bomb"). And what American enunciates the "t" in "Seattle" with a British "t"?? Apparently modesty is quite the commodity in some of the Northeastern schools...suddenly I'm thankful that Yale rejected me.
Anyway, away from the topic of waspy rich kids, I'm looking forward to going to Umm Qais this weekend and possibly Amman as well. Amman especially, since Irbid is a town completely devoid of nightlife, and with the 6 or 8 hours of homework and 4 hours of classes we have around here one really needs a night of dancing! Although I shouldn't complain because there are ways to pamper yourself around here- for the girls, there is a Thai-owned salon which is pretty good for practicing your 'Amea. I told the lady who did my facial the other day that I would come back when I could speak something besides FusHa. I've already learned a ton of different phrases and different pronunciations which I'm eager to put into use in the cafes and mata'ams. A friend of mine told me that supposedly that women say "ah'weh" while the men say "gah-weh" here when refering to coffee (qah-weh in FusHa) because the harsh "g" is considered unseemly, but I haven't tested out that theory yet. I guess I should start practicing cutting off my qafs...I've got enough trouble appearing unseemly as a Western women who isn't muhajjiba!
Ah well, on to more playing the foreigner in a vastly different but fascinating land!
Okay, no more complaints about gender segregation or praises of hookahs for a while: it's time to hit the books! I mean I know that I am in an "intensive" Arabic program, but I haven't been under so much academic pressure since I took Arabic 101 and 102 in a single summer in 2005, and what I'm doing now is even MORE challenging.
We took the placement test Sunday (as Friday and Saturday are weekend days here due to al-Jumua) and I must have done okay as I am still in the advanced level! I am really ashamed of myself for switching into self-deprecating mode, previously known as first gear in my little perfectionist mind, by saying that I would be at the "bottom" of the class. I would definitely say I'm at the middle to upper end of the group, which makes me feel pretty good given that about half the kids in our class are from Harvard (which they all pronounce with an extended raspy Hhhhhhhh). In fact, several of the ones who were acting all high and mighty about their Arabic skills ended up excelling in certain areas like 'Ameea (dialect) but aren't particularly outstanding in FusHa (Modern Standard Arabic). We have courses in reading, writing, conversation, listening, grammar, and of course, dialect. Naturally I'm floundering a little in 'Ameea given that I've only studied in the U.S. for 3 years with ZERO study abroad, but I'm catching on pretty quickly. And honestly it's probably my favorite class, particularly given that the professors here seem to enjoy marking each of their words, no matter how casual, with case endings. Even in conversation class when we had to talk about "medinatee" (my city), our prof would correct us if we didn't say "medinatoon" or failing to acknowledge whatever the appropriate case. All but one of my teachers are very engaging and work at an extremely fast pace and give us absurd amounts of homework, but in just 2 days of classes my working vocabulary has expanded exponentially.
Again, for the most part I'm liking the people in my program with the exception of a select few whose egos are bigger than their super size Hans Wehr dictionaries (with which I would really like to hit them over the head when they start doing that Hhhhhharvard thing aka "dropping the H bomb"). And what American enunciates the "t" in "Seattle" with a British "t"?? Apparently modesty is quite the commodity in some of the Northeastern schools...suddenly I'm thankful that Yale rejected me.
Anyway, away from the topic of waspy rich kids, I'm looking forward to going to Umm Qais this weekend and possibly Amman as well. Amman especially, since Irbid is a town completely devoid of nightlife, and with the 6 or 8 hours of homework and 4 hours of classes we have around here one really needs a night of dancing! Although I shouldn't complain because there are ways to pamper yourself around here- for the girls, there is a Thai-owned salon which is pretty good for practicing your 'Amea. I told the lady who did my facial the other day that I would come back when I could speak something besides FusHa. I've already learned a ton of different phrases and different pronunciations which I'm eager to put into use in the cafes and mata'ams. A friend of mine told me that supposedly that women say "ah'weh" while the men say "gah-weh" here when refering to coffee (qah-weh in FusHa) because the harsh "g" is considered unseemly, but I haven't tested out that theory yet. I guess I should start practicing cutting off my qafs...I've got enough trouble appearing unseemly as a Western women who isn't muhajjiba!
Ah well, on to more playing the foreigner in a vastly different but fascinating land!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
shisha, falafel, and culture shock
My apologies for abruptly cutting off my last post- finally I found a non-sketchy Internet cafe where I can update my blog!
So for the most part I would say I'm adjusting quite well to the drastically different surroundings of Irbid, although naturally the most difficult aspect of the trip is and will certainly continue to be the experience of being a Western woman in a Muslim country. Not to mention that Irbid is a fairly conservative city. I learned yesterday that attempting to go out- even just to buy a couple of notebooks- with just one other girl is a BIG mistake. Yesterday was al-Jumua (Friday aka Muslim holy day) so technically it wasn't even as bad as most days (maybe the shabaab feel guilty about harassing American girls when they should be praying) but we ended up running into this crowd of about 30 young men, ALL of whom were staring at us and most of whom were making comments in Arabic which we couldn't understand. So far I haven't heard anything terribly inappropriate from them, just the occasional "Welcome to Jordan" from some younger school boys or "We love you girls!!" from teenagers. One of the most amusing stories I've heard about Jordanian men's attempts to be forward in English was told by one of the girls on our program who went last year as well- apparently some guy had attempted to look up the word "sex" in the dictionary and started screaming "Gender!!! Gender!!!" at the Americans. Anyway, most of the kids from our program are very well-educated about the Middle East and how to conduct one's self here and/or are well-traveled thus know that confidence is key in walking down an unfamiliar street as a foreigner.
I'd say that by far the most difficult part of the experience for me has been the total change in my ability to fraternize with other men my age. The guys and girls in our program are segregated and guarded so that no one can try to sneak into someone else's dorms, so I think we've all resorted to this middle school mentality where we get excited about calling someone of the opposite sex to escort us down the street to the supermarket. I should also mention that many of the guys on our program are extremely attractive and obviously intelligent, so having to act all prudish can be quite frustrating.
Otherwise I've been enjoying exploring the city of Irbid and, at least for the time being, loving the weather. I've heard that it's going to get unbearably hot in a couple weeks, but right now it's very pleasant in the morning, hot for a few hours in the afternoon, then cool and breezy at night. It's so wonderful to look out my apartment window in the morning and see palm, olive, and pine trees juxtaposed in a geographic setting unlike any I've ever seen. I think when I look back on this trip one of my most vivid memories will be of sitting on the top story of a building smoking shisha and looking out a window onto a lit up mosque and a lively city at night (actually just the shisha should be enough to remember!!!) . I think next time we go out to a cafe I'll have to restrain my self to just shai (Arabic tea) since my lungs really need a break.
Tomorrow morning we are all taking a 3 hour placement test to determine if we'll be placed in lower intermediate, upper intermediate, or advanced levels. Based on my Arabic course experience, I am supposed to be in the advanced level but I must say I am beginning to think that I am at the lowest level of any of other advanced students given that most of them have either taken up to 4th year Arabic at their home institutions in the States or have traveled extensively in the Middle East and know a lot of dialect. I would say, however, that compared to many of students here, my accent is on the upper end, which at least makes me feel a little better. It always helps to have a decent grasp of that oh so lovely 'ayn.
In general, the Americans and Jordanians alike who I've encountered have all been extremely amiable and open. I'm excited about starting classes and having a regular schedule soon.
Until I have more to talk about....
Suzanne
So for the most part I would say I'm adjusting quite well to the drastically different surroundings of Irbid, although naturally the most difficult aspect of the trip is and will certainly continue to be the experience of being a Western woman in a Muslim country. Not to mention that Irbid is a fairly conservative city. I learned yesterday that attempting to go out- even just to buy a couple of notebooks- with just one other girl is a BIG mistake. Yesterday was al-Jumua (Friday aka Muslim holy day) so technically it wasn't even as bad as most days (maybe the shabaab feel guilty about harassing American girls when they should be praying) but we ended up running into this crowd of about 30 young men, ALL of whom were staring at us and most of whom were making comments in Arabic which we couldn't understand. So far I haven't heard anything terribly inappropriate from them, just the occasional "Welcome to Jordan" from some younger school boys or "We love you girls!!" from teenagers. One of the most amusing stories I've heard about Jordanian men's attempts to be forward in English was told by one of the girls on our program who went last year as well- apparently some guy had attempted to look up the word "sex" in the dictionary and started screaming "Gender!!! Gender!!!" at the Americans. Anyway, most of the kids from our program are very well-educated about the Middle East and how to conduct one's self here and/or are well-traveled thus know that confidence is key in walking down an unfamiliar street as a foreigner.
I'd say that by far the most difficult part of the experience for me has been the total change in my ability to fraternize with other men my age. The guys and girls in our program are segregated and guarded so that no one can try to sneak into someone else's dorms, so I think we've all resorted to this middle school mentality where we get excited about calling someone of the opposite sex to escort us down the street to the supermarket. I should also mention that many of the guys on our program are extremely attractive and obviously intelligent, so having to act all prudish can be quite frustrating.
Otherwise I've been enjoying exploring the city of Irbid and, at least for the time being, loving the weather. I've heard that it's going to get unbearably hot in a couple weeks, but right now it's very pleasant in the morning, hot for a few hours in the afternoon, then cool and breezy at night. It's so wonderful to look out my apartment window in the morning and see palm, olive, and pine trees juxtaposed in a geographic setting unlike any I've ever seen. I think when I look back on this trip one of my most vivid memories will be of sitting on the top story of a building smoking shisha and looking out a window onto a lit up mosque and a lively city at night (actually just the shisha should be enough to remember!!!) . I think next time we go out to a cafe I'll have to restrain my self to just shai (Arabic tea) since my lungs really need a break.
Tomorrow morning we are all taking a 3 hour placement test to determine if we'll be placed in lower intermediate, upper intermediate, or advanced levels. Based on my Arabic course experience, I am supposed to be in the advanced level but I must say I am beginning to think that I am at the lowest level of any of other advanced students given that most of them have either taken up to 4th year Arabic at their home institutions in the States or have traveled extensively in the Middle East and know a lot of dialect. I would say, however, that compared to many of students here, my accent is on the upper end, which at least makes me feel a little better. It always helps to have a decent grasp of that oh so lovely 'ayn.
In general, the Americans and Jordanians alike who I've encountered have all been extremely amiable and open. I'm excited about starting classes and having a regular schedule soon.
Until I have more to talk about....
Suzanne
Thursday, June 14, 2007
I'm here!
Well, after commencing my voyage to Jordan on Monday night, here I sit on Thursday afternoon, Jordan time, in a language lab at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. I am studying with the University of Virginia Arabic intensive program here for the next two months with about 33 other students. We arrived just last night so I don't have much to write yet, but I can definitely say that I am excited about getting to know the group I'm with and the professors who will be teaching us- so far they all seem interesting, well-educated, well-travelled, and very friendly.
Last night I had an odd transition into Jordanian society when we went shopping at a supermarket outside Amman: picture Super Target with a smattering of Arabic ads and hijabi women toting carts of dates and fresh bread. Driving out of Amman I was beginning to wonder how much Arabic I would actually learn here given the amount of English I was seeing everywhere, but after seeing Irbid this morning I feel fairly confident that my skills will improve.
I was pleasantly surprised with our apartments- my roommate and I have a bedroom with twin beds, a kitchen with a gas stove, washing machine, and refrigerator, and even a TV set that broadcasta Al-Jazeera and a Syrian channel.
Apparently my director is going to buy phone cards now so I better run!
Last night I had an odd transition into Jordanian society when we went shopping at a supermarket outside Amman: picture Super Target with a smattering of Arabic ads and hijabi women toting carts of dates and fresh bread. Driving out of Amman I was beginning to wonder how much Arabic I would actually learn here given the amount of English I was seeing everywhere, but after seeing Irbid this morning I feel fairly confident that my skills will improve.
I was pleasantly surprised with our apartments- my roommate and I have a bedroom with twin beds, a kitchen with a gas stove, washing machine, and refrigerator, and even a TV set that broadcasta Al-Jazeera and a Syrian channel.
Apparently my director is going to buy phone cards now so I better run!
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