I'll post more of these later
Monday, July 23, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
FINALLY..an update!
Happy Birthday to meeeeee!
That's right, it's officially my first meaningless birthday- at age 22 I don't get into R-rated movies for the first time (legally), I don't get to smoke for the first time (legally), don't get to drink for the first time (heh legally)..heck I can't even rent a car yet in the U.S.! Oh wait, there is this posh bar in Amman called the Blue Fig that apparently doesn't let you buy alcohol unless you're twenty TWO so maybe I'll have to hit that place up. Like the major dork that I am, I'm essentially throwing a party for myself tonight and inviting anyone in the program who wants to come (or who doesn't totally despise me after my many nervous breakdowns in the middle of class!!). I think I'll finally check out the Yemeni restaurant that everyone and their mom has gone to except me and then maybe find some decadent kunafa soaked in syrup and rose water, mmmmm.
Well before I describe my oh so glorious vacation to Petra and Aqaba this past weekend, let me first start with the BAD news. To say that my grades are horrendous here would be an understatement. In my 2.2 decades of life, I have never been in serious danger of failing a class, but I am thinking I will be lucky just to pass ONE. To anyone who is reading this who is studying abroad in the Middle East or has studied here in the past- you may think you have loads of homework and that you are drowning in the Arabic language, but you have NO IDEA. Picture it: you've taken 3 years of the language at a public university where the Arabic department is just beginning to blossom, and you find yourself in the middle of a class with a native speaker whose FusHa even puts yours to shame, a guy who spent a year in Egypt, another guy who speaks Persian and is a vocabulary MACHINE, aNOTHER guy who has taken 4 years of Arabic (including a whole semester on media) and is on Fulbright next year in Jordan, oh, and a whole myriad of Harvardites. Need I go on???? I have never felt less competent and less achieved in my entire life. I've got to figure out a way to take 4th year Arabic at Duke next year and work my tail off reading/watching Al Jazeera and maybe trudging through some Palestinian novels so I can catch up with this whole new generation of Arabic geniuses. Otherwise I might be living in a box in Saudi Arabia someday in a worn out burqa begging for dates (not of the social variety).
All right so back to more sunny topics! I had a blast this weekend as our group celebrated our halfway point in the Becoming Fluent in Self-Deprecation..ahem...Arabic immersion program (ok so apparently the forecast for this post is overcast after all). We left right after two days straight of major tests for Petra, where we stayed in a ritzy hotel with a pool and a breathtaking view of the city of stone and cave. I must admit that it was glorious to actually act like clueless tourists for a weekend- we are all guilty of speaking English to the Arab hotel employees, and I don't think any of us care!!! Also I was able to don some non-grandma garb for a few days which was amazingly liberating. The night we arrived we went swimming and then had an expensive buffet-style dinner at the hotel: even though the food wasn't that great I enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables for the first time in weeks.
On Friday morning we left the hotel at 6:30AM to start our hike that would leave me feeling sore until, well, today actually. For any of you who haven't been paying attention to international news, Petra was just declared one of the new Seven Wonders of the World so it was all the more exciting to get my brand new New Balances all dusty and worn-in on those rugged desert paths. First we walked through the siq which was really pleasant and cool under the shade of the rocks during the early morning hours and then reached the Treasury which is one of the main sites at Petra (I'll post pictures later). If we thought we were tired then we had no idea what was in store for us- a 5 hour hike up to the Monastery and a peak with a view expanding over 50 miles. Although my clothes were completely soaking wet, my calves aching, and my lungs shriveled and dry from the physical toll the hike had taken on me (especially after smoking some really harsh shisha the night before), I would definitely recommend the long treck up to the Monastery to anyone who can handle it. We also met lots of Bedouin on the way up who were either offering "air conditioned taxis" aka donkey rides to the Monastery or selling various items of jewelry and souvenirs in make shift shops along the mountainside and even got to play with some of the children. For the first time my dark little cynical heart was softened when little girls no more than 6 years old approached me, offering me "presents" (for 1 dinar) of painted rocks. When you see children that young trying to do business you really can't make excuses to yourself about why not to give money- clearly they're not going to go out and buy a bottle of whiskey to drown their troubles away. I didn't buy any rocks, but I did purchase several nice necklaces, one of which is made of camel bone supposedly, for very cheap prices. The most notorious purchase of the day, however, was Allison's Bedouin doll (who she aptly named "Petra") that Ola is convinced is stuffed with "donkey poo" and designed by a 5 year old- again, I really need a picture here!
On to Aqaba! Unfortunately we had to rush out of Petra that afternoon so we could arrive at the hotel in Aqaba on time for free time at the beach, pool, etc., but I was extremely thankful to reach this touristy beach resort town. We stayed in a 5 star hotel called Movenpick, and let me tell you, the Swiss really know their hospitality. I believe there were 5 different swimming pools, a private beach, several nice restaurants- one of which featured seafood- bars, etc etc etc!! No trekking through rocks and ruins that day, just relaxing in the sun and taking a nice dip in the Red Sea, from which you can see Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel. I got up early to go snorkeling early Saturday morning but right as I was leaving I realized that I didn't bring any contact with me (given that I've sworn them off after I got one stuck in my eye the night we went to Amman) and I wouldn't be able to see any fish or coral without my glasses. Deciding that seeing some pretty colors under the sea wasn't worth 15 dinars, I worked on so-called tan and enjoyed some rich maple walnut ice cream at the hotel restaurant.
Well my break between classes is almost up so I better run! Pictures coming soon!
That's right, it's officially my first meaningless birthday- at age 22 I don't get into R-rated movies for the first time (legally), I don't get to smoke for the first time (legally), don't get to drink for the first time (heh legally)..heck I can't even rent a car yet in the U.S.! Oh wait, there is this posh bar in Amman called the Blue Fig that apparently doesn't let you buy alcohol unless you're twenty TWO so maybe I'll have to hit that place up. Like the major dork that I am, I'm essentially throwing a party for myself tonight and inviting anyone in the program who wants to come (or who doesn't totally despise me after my many nervous breakdowns in the middle of class!!). I think I'll finally check out the Yemeni restaurant that everyone and their mom has gone to except me and then maybe find some decadent kunafa soaked in syrup and rose water, mmmmm.
Well before I describe my oh so glorious vacation to Petra and Aqaba this past weekend, let me first start with the BAD news. To say that my grades are horrendous here would be an understatement. In my 2.2 decades of life, I have never been in serious danger of failing a class, but I am thinking I will be lucky just to pass ONE. To anyone who is reading this who is studying abroad in the Middle East or has studied here in the past- you may think you have loads of homework and that you are drowning in the Arabic language, but you have NO IDEA. Picture it: you've taken 3 years of the language at a public university where the Arabic department is just beginning to blossom, and you find yourself in the middle of a class with a native speaker whose FusHa even puts yours to shame, a guy who spent a year in Egypt, another guy who speaks Persian and is a vocabulary MACHINE, aNOTHER guy who has taken 4 years of Arabic (including a whole semester on media) and is on Fulbright next year in Jordan, oh, and a whole myriad of Harvardites. Need I go on???? I have never felt less competent and less achieved in my entire life. I've got to figure out a way to take 4th year Arabic at Duke next year and work my tail off reading/watching Al Jazeera and maybe trudging through some Palestinian novels so I can catch up with this whole new generation of Arabic geniuses. Otherwise I might be living in a box in Saudi Arabia someday in a worn out burqa begging for dates (not of the social variety).
All right so back to more sunny topics! I had a blast this weekend as our group celebrated our halfway point in the Becoming Fluent in Self-Deprecation..ahem...Arabic immersion program (ok so apparently the forecast for this post is overcast after all). We left right after two days straight of major tests for Petra, where we stayed in a ritzy hotel with a pool and a breathtaking view of the city of stone and cave. I must admit that it was glorious to actually act like clueless tourists for a weekend- we are all guilty of speaking English to the Arab hotel employees, and I don't think any of us care!!! Also I was able to don some non-grandma garb for a few days which was amazingly liberating. The night we arrived we went swimming and then had an expensive buffet-style dinner at the hotel: even though the food wasn't that great I enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables for the first time in weeks.
On Friday morning we left the hotel at 6:30AM to start our hike that would leave me feeling sore until, well, today actually. For any of you who haven't been paying attention to international news, Petra was just declared one of the new Seven Wonders of the World so it was all the more exciting to get my brand new New Balances all dusty and worn-in on those rugged desert paths. First we walked through the siq which was really pleasant and cool under the shade of the rocks during the early morning hours and then reached the Treasury which is one of the main sites at Petra (I'll post pictures later). If we thought we were tired then we had no idea what was in store for us- a 5 hour hike up to the Monastery and a peak with a view expanding over 50 miles. Although my clothes were completely soaking wet, my calves aching, and my lungs shriveled and dry from the physical toll the hike had taken on me (especially after smoking some really harsh shisha the night before), I would definitely recommend the long treck up to the Monastery to anyone who can handle it. We also met lots of Bedouin on the way up who were either offering "air conditioned taxis" aka donkey rides to the Monastery or selling various items of jewelry and souvenirs in make shift shops along the mountainside and even got to play with some of the children. For the first time my dark little cynical heart was softened when little girls no more than 6 years old approached me, offering me "presents" (for 1 dinar) of painted rocks. When you see children that young trying to do business you really can't make excuses to yourself about why not to give money- clearly they're not going to go out and buy a bottle of whiskey to drown their troubles away. I didn't buy any rocks, but I did purchase several nice necklaces, one of which is made of camel bone supposedly, for very cheap prices. The most notorious purchase of the day, however, was Allison's Bedouin doll (who she aptly named "Petra") that Ola is convinced is stuffed with "donkey poo" and designed by a 5 year old- again, I really need a picture here!
On to Aqaba! Unfortunately we had to rush out of Petra that afternoon so we could arrive at the hotel in Aqaba on time for free time at the beach, pool, etc., but I was extremely thankful to reach this touristy beach resort town. We stayed in a 5 star hotel called Movenpick, and let me tell you, the Swiss really know their hospitality. I believe there were 5 different swimming pools, a private beach, several nice restaurants- one of which featured seafood- bars, etc etc etc!! No trekking through rocks and ruins that day, just relaxing in the sun and taking a nice dip in the Red Sea, from which you can see Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel. I got up early to go snorkeling early Saturday morning but right as I was leaving I realized that I didn't bring any contact with me (given that I've sworn them off after I got one stuck in my eye the night we went to Amman) and I wouldn't be able to see any fish or coral without my glasses. Deciding that seeing some pretty colors under the sea wasn't worth 15 dinars, I worked on so-called tan and enjoyed some rich maple walnut ice cream at the hotel restaurant.
Well my break between classes is almost up so I better run! Pictures coming soon!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
3 weeks down and 5 to go...
So it's Saturday night and I'm prepping for school tomorrow. I may be a little heathen bound for fire and brimstone, but something just feels so wroooong about going to school on a Sunday. I've definitely had a packed weekend though and fortunately had today to rest up and read my article for class in response to Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations- I think I would have had a much easier time reading it the first time through had I understood the bizarre transliteration of his name.
Let's see, what did I do this weekend? Ah yes, I'll start with my super sketchy experience with Irbidian cab drivers. This Thursday afternoon was the first time I actually had to play "leader" of the group as I was the most advanced Arabic student of my friends that went and the only one who felt comfortable enough to sit up front with the cab driver. We ended up buying bus tickets for the wrong time so we decided to just lose the money (since it was pretty cheap) and take a cab so we could meet up with our friends from the other cab in time for dinner in Amman. I called my friend Daniela who went on the program last year who confirmed that I should go for 7 or 8 dinars to get to Amman but of course the cab drivers started out offering me a ride for 25, to which I responded with a furious "La!" (Arabic NEGATION). One guy was actually willing to take us to the city for 8 dinars and to our dismay lead us to his own private, beat up car parked on the side of the road. "Had MISH taxi!" (you can figure out that one), I said, and the group of drivers quickly took me back over to the bargaining ground. Eventually a driver pulled up, incidentally the least friendly man of the bunch who looked like some disturbed pedophile, and we were unable to get the price below 9 dinars. Oh well, it's probably poetic justice for not working harder in A'ameeya class. We ended up running into more trouble, however, when we arrived in Amman only to discover that there were at least 2 or 3 other hotels with the name "Palace", the place we had reserved a room, and it didn't help that the second part of our hotel's title is "Amman". Even our second cab driver (we gave up on our psycho, disgruntled one) didn't seem to understand that when we requested to go to "Amman Palace" we weren't just saying the word "Amman" to hear how nice the name of the city sounded.
We did finally arrive and, besides the giant hole in the shower, the room was relatively nice. I must admit that I wasn't a fan of the part of the city where we stayed because EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the street was male and Arab. And while we weren't walking out in our tank tops and underwear, we were wearing nice "going-out" clothes which attracted even more attention than usual. We eventually found a hole-in-the-wall place to eat which actually ended up having awesome falafel, hummus, french fries-aka batatas-, and foul- dish with chickpeas and chilis (it's called Hashem and is mentioned in the Lonely Planet book if you are interested" and followed up our huge meal with warm, syrupy pieces of kunafa....glaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
The next day we had yet another fun experience with our beloved Jordanian taxi drivers when we tried to haggled for a non-tourist price from Amman to Madaba, and once again, I had to play translator. Eventually the guy just gave up speaking A'ameea to me and addressed me an overly formal FusHa which I think was even more insulting than if he had spoken to me in English! We somehow managed to hop on some minibus for which we paid close to nothing, so I can't complain about that. We then spent a few hours in Madaba, famous for its collection of mosaics, one of which includes map of the Holy Land. Of course my favorite part of the day was our excursion to the Dead Sea (I guess it's pointless by now to tell yet another cab driver story because it's a given in any travel situation in the Middle East). I wish now that we had just paid extra to enjoy the pool and Western air of a resort, but we just went to some public beach which was probably a bad idea considering all the evil stares from the hijabi women and shameless gaping mouths of their Arab husbands we got in response to our bathing suits, which were actually pretty conservative by our standards. Anyway, yes, I really did float in the Dead Sea, and walking in the shallow end felt like walking on the moon! The best part was trying to reach the bottom with my feet and just bobbing up and down in the water. Surprisingly the water was really quite warm, which didn't give us much relief from the sun beating down on our backs and on our feet which we totally burned on the sand that felt like glowing embers under our feet (advice to anyone visiting the Dead Sea in the near or distant future: WEAR FLIP-FLOPS!!!). I also rubbed the infamous cleansing mud all over my arms and legs which was like getting a free exfoliating treatment.
Ok well I'm sick of writing now and have to get back to Huntington's Arab opponent and watch Al Jazeera for listening class. Toodles!
Let's see, what did I do this weekend? Ah yes, I'll start with my super sketchy experience with Irbidian cab drivers. This Thursday afternoon was the first time I actually had to play "leader" of the group as I was the most advanced Arabic student of my friends that went and the only one who felt comfortable enough to sit up front with the cab driver. We ended up buying bus tickets for the wrong time so we decided to just lose the money (since it was pretty cheap) and take a cab so we could meet up with our friends from the other cab in time for dinner in Amman. I called my friend Daniela who went on the program last year who confirmed that I should go for 7 or 8 dinars to get to Amman but of course the cab drivers started out offering me a ride for 25, to which I responded with a furious "La!" (Arabic NEGATION). One guy was actually willing to take us to the city for 8 dinars and to our dismay lead us to his own private, beat up car parked on the side of the road. "Had MISH taxi!" (you can figure out that one), I said, and the group of drivers quickly took me back over to the bargaining ground. Eventually a driver pulled up, incidentally the least friendly man of the bunch who looked like some disturbed pedophile, and we were unable to get the price below 9 dinars. Oh well, it's probably poetic justice for not working harder in A'ameeya class. We ended up running into more trouble, however, when we arrived in Amman only to discover that there were at least 2 or 3 other hotels with the name "Palace", the place we had reserved a room, and it didn't help that the second part of our hotel's title is "Amman". Even our second cab driver (we gave up on our psycho, disgruntled one) didn't seem to understand that when we requested to go to "Amman Palace" we weren't just saying the word "Amman" to hear how nice the name of the city sounded.
We did finally arrive and, besides the giant hole in the shower, the room was relatively nice. I must admit that I wasn't a fan of the part of the city where we stayed because EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the street was male and Arab. And while we weren't walking out in our tank tops and underwear, we were wearing nice "going-out" clothes which attracted even more attention than usual. We eventually found a hole-in-the-wall place to eat which actually ended up having awesome falafel, hummus, french fries-aka batatas-, and foul- dish with chickpeas and chilis (it's called Hashem and is mentioned in the Lonely Planet book if you are interested" and followed up our huge meal with warm, syrupy pieces of kunafa....glaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
The next day we had yet another fun experience with our beloved Jordanian taxi drivers when we tried to haggled for a non-tourist price from Amman to Madaba, and once again, I had to play translator. Eventually the guy just gave up speaking A'ameea to me and addressed me an overly formal FusHa which I think was even more insulting than if he had spoken to me in English! We somehow managed to hop on some minibus for which we paid close to nothing, so I can't complain about that. We then spent a few hours in Madaba, famous for its collection of mosaics, one of which includes map of the Holy Land. Of course my favorite part of the day was our excursion to the Dead Sea (I guess it's pointless by now to tell yet another cab driver story because it's a given in any travel situation in the Middle East). I wish now that we had just paid extra to enjoy the pool and Western air of a resort, but we just went to some public beach which was probably a bad idea considering all the evil stares from the hijabi women and shameless gaping mouths of their Arab husbands we got in response to our bathing suits, which were actually pretty conservative by our standards. Anyway, yes, I really did float in the Dead Sea, and walking in the shallow end felt like walking on the moon! The best part was trying to reach the bottom with my feet and just bobbing up and down in the water. Surprisingly the water was really quite warm, which didn't give us much relief from the sun beating down on our backs and on our feet which we totally burned on the sand that felt like glowing embers under our feet (advice to anyone visiting the Dead Sea in the near or distant future: WEAR FLIP-FLOPS!!!). I also rubbed the infamous cleansing mud all over my arms and legs which was like getting a free exfoliating treatment.
Ok well I'm sick of writing now and have to get back to Huntington's Arab opponent and watch Al Jazeera for listening class. Toodles!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
mansef
I forgot to mention one important detail in my last post! Last week we also enjoyed mansef, Jordan's national dish, which consists of rice with slivers of almond and huge chunks of lamb. They top the whole thing off by pouring a thin yogurt sauce which resembles a bouillon which gives the dish a lot of flavor. You're supposed to eat the dish with your hands, which we tried but didn't continue with as we were trying to be all dainty (in retrospect I don't really understand that since no one would be entering our haven of estrogen anyway). Originally they used camel meat but I think it became too expensive so they switched to lamb. I'm sad to say that we didn't savor a truly ethnic experience as our dish didn't include the best part...the animal's head.
Oh well, I didn't particularly want to practice Arabic with my dinner anyway.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
...and an updated post
Free time is such a luxury for me right now!
Last week I was incredibly busy because we had our first tests on Thursday (which is like Friday in the states) and let's just say that I'll be lucky if I pass the classes in this program. I may have gotten straight A's in Arabic at Carolina, but here I'm averaging in the 70's or below...no joke. Our program administrator told me that 80 and above is considered an A here so maybe that means if I get a 60 I can fly with a C hahahha. Seriously though, I have GOT to crack down this week and stop having girl talk until God knows when in the morning.
So after waking up at 4 AM to finish studying for my exam, having 4 classes, and then taking a 3 hour long exam (which I didn't even finish by the way), I went with a bunch of people from my program to Damascus. I'm really glad that I went because it is an amazing city but it was really difficult fitting in travel in a schedule of intense schoolwork. Fortunately Irbid is only about 20 miles from the border and maybe 2 hours total from Damascus. The ride there was interesting to say the least- I was lucky enough to get the middle seat in the back which happened to be furnished with a nice, cozy seat warmer, as the heat ducts in the car seemed to be leaking. Hot air emanating from dark leather seats is not the most pleasant feeling in 100+ degree weather.
Anyway, we made it through the obstacle course that is the border and had an amazing dinner in downtown Damascus. It was quite a thrill to branch out from my daily diet of falafel, hummus, pita bread, and Nutella. The main problem with this weekend was that our first day there was al-Jumua so the big souq was closed and hardly anything was going on. On Saturday we did manage to pack in a lot of exploring and got to enter the beautiful Umayyad mosque. The souq was totally packed that afternoon but I made a number of purchases including olive oil soap, a scarf, turquoise jewelry, various postcards, and best of all, a gorgeous emerald green jalbiyya. I realize that it's completely impractical but I just couldn't pass it up, so I'm hoping I can wear it to a wedding or some other cultural event while I'm in Jordan. Plus I'm sure this won't be the last time I visit the Middle East .
See above for pictures of this weekend's adventures :)
Last week I was incredibly busy because we had our first tests on Thursday (which is like Friday in the states) and let's just say that I'll be lucky if I pass the classes in this program. I may have gotten straight A's in Arabic at Carolina, but here I'm averaging in the 70's or below...no joke. Our program administrator told me that 80 and above is considered an A here so maybe that means if I get a 60 I can fly with a C hahahha. Seriously though, I have GOT to crack down this week and stop having girl talk until God knows when in the morning.
So after waking up at 4 AM to finish studying for my exam, having 4 classes, and then taking a 3 hour long exam (which I didn't even finish by the way), I went with a bunch of people from my program to Damascus. I'm really glad that I went because it is an amazing city but it was really difficult fitting in travel in a schedule of intense schoolwork. Fortunately Irbid is only about 20 miles from the border and maybe 2 hours total from Damascus. The ride there was interesting to say the least- I was lucky enough to get the middle seat in the back which happened to be furnished with a nice, cozy seat warmer, as the heat ducts in the car seemed to be leaking. Hot air emanating from dark leather seats is not the most pleasant feeling in 100+ degree weather.
Anyway, we made it through the obstacle course that is the border and had an amazing dinner in downtown Damascus. It was quite a thrill to branch out from my daily diet of falafel, hummus, pita bread, and Nutella. The main problem with this weekend was that our first day there was al-Jumua so the big souq was closed and hardly anything was going on. On Saturday we did manage to pack in a lot of exploring and got to enter the beautiful Umayyad mosque. The souq was totally packed that afternoon but I made a number of purchases including olive oil soap, a scarf, turquoise jewelry, various postcards, and best of all, a gorgeous emerald green jalbiyya. I realize that it's completely impractical but I just couldn't pass it up, so I'm hoping I can wear it to a wedding or some other cultural event while I'm in Jordan. Plus I'm sure this won't be the last time I visit the Middle East .
See above for pictures of this weekend's adventures :)
belated post
I wrote this post on my computer on Wednesday of last week but haven't gotten a chance to use the Internet until now...soooo here it is, a little late.
Umm so that short-lived pleasant weather spell is definitely gone for good. Now I know why the Lonely Planet series tells you not to travel in the Middle East during the summer. The problem with the heat here is that there really isn’t any place we can go to cool down again as there is obviously no air conditioning in the apartments or in the Merkaz al-lugat (Language Center), and we all leave our classes in the afternoon dripping with sweat and probably exuding a putrid collective odor. I also now understand why violence always escalates in the summer season- I think heat just generally pisses people off, especially when you’re stuck in a class room for four or five hours attempting to speak a language that’s totally foreign to you! To further my rant, I am beginning to think that it is impossible to study Arabic without totally drowning in work. I basically don’t sleep any more than 4 hours a night anymore and even still I feel like my professors think I’m an idiot and like I haven’t fully grasped all the concepts in the readings. Oh and tomorrow we have a HUGE test which will assess our grammar, writing, conversation, listening, and reading skills thus far. Fortunately I can keep reminding myself that my grades don’t matter that much here given that I’ve already graduated and it’s not like I’m trying to use these courses for credit later. I’m really just trying to do the best I can- despite all the pressure around me from the Ivy Leaguers and perfectionists who want to make the highest grade in the class- and I figure I’ve spent so much of my life competing with other people that I’m really just ready to chill, learn some Arabic, and make some awesome friends. Life is way too short to obsess about getting the perfect grade or impressing your professor. I wish I had learned that lesson earlier in life, but at least now I am finally able to separate myself from that airtight little bell jar of academia’s pressures.
Anyway, I’ve been meeting some Jordanian girls and trying to practice my Arabic conversation…not quite sure how that is going. I really did think my Arabic accent was pretty decent, but today one of my Jordanian friends told me that “my vowel sounds were really strange”, and I asked what she meant and she responded by teaching me all the basic stuff you learn in Arabic 101 which was pretty degrading. I didn’t want to be rude and explain that I know words like “terrorism” and “paradox” and “nuclear proliferation” but geez if my accent is really that bad maybe I just need to be humbled. Yesterday my friend Brittany from the program (who also studied here last year) introduced Ola and I to some of her Jordanian friends and we had fatayer at a restaurant that my American friends haven’t yet invaded. And of course today I had my Intro to Arabic lesson, which by the way I totally wasn’t expecting- one of the Jordanian students majoring in English who I met last week just showed up outside my classroom this afternoon and next thing I know I’m in a cab riding through some hilly residential roads in a part of Irbid I hadn’t yet seen. Given that her father is an engineer in the Gulf and judging by the size of her house, I’d say she’s at least upper middle class or possibly wealthier. The coolest part about her place was all the greenery outside. I got to sample fruit from all the trees in her yard- figs, blackberries (which were REALLY good), raspberries, and plums. They have olives and cactus too but they weren’t ripe enough to eat. We had mango juice and tea (which I actually like in Jordan, by the way) and she told me how she is Palestinian and her grandmother came here in the late 1950’s. She is definitely not a fan of Jordan, I think due to the discrimination Palestinians face here, but I’m sure I’ll find out more later.
My computer battery’s about to run out but I also wanted to mention that I am doing poetry and music clubs (as we have to do at least one club as part of the program) and we started the poetry today. I can’t believe I ever complained about the difficulty of readings in LAC class- we read some medieval poem that NONE of us understood- but our teacher says we’ll be reading modern poetry the rest of the time and next week is Mahmoud Darwish (yaaaay).
Salaam for now!
Suzy
Umm so that short-lived pleasant weather spell is definitely gone for good. Now I know why the Lonely Planet series tells you not to travel in the Middle East during the summer. The problem with the heat here is that there really isn’t any place we can go to cool down again as there is obviously no air conditioning in the apartments or in the Merkaz al-lugat (Language Center), and we all leave our classes in the afternoon dripping with sweat and probably exuding a putrid collective odor. I also now understand why violence always escalates in the summer season- I think heat just generally pisses people off, especially when you’re stuck in a class room for four or five hours attempting to speak a language that’s totally foreign to you! To further my rant, I am beginning to think that it is impossible to study Arabic without totally drowning in work. I basically don’t sleep any more than 4 hours a night anymore and even still I feel like my professors think I’m an idiot and like I haven’t fully grasped all the concepts in the readings. Oh and tomorrow we have a HUGE test which will assess our grammar, writing, conversation, listening, and reading skills thus far. Fortunately I can keep reminding myself that my grades don’t matter that much here given that I’ve already graduated and it’s not like I’m trying to use these courses for credit later. I’m really just trying to do the best I can- despite all the pressure around me from the Ivy Leaguers and perfectionists who want to make the highest grade in the class- and I figure I’ve spent so much of my life competing with other people that I’m really just ready to chill, learn some Arabic, and make some awesome friends. Life is way too short to obsess about getting the perfect grade or impressing your professor. I wish I had learned that lesson earlier in life, but at least now I am finally able to separate myself from that airtight little bell jar of academia’s pressures.
Anyway, I’ve been meeting some Jordanian girls and trying to practice my Arabic conversation…not quite sure how that is going. I really did think my Arabic accent was pretty decent, but today one of my Jordanian friends told me that “my vowel sounds were really strange”, and I asked what she meant and she responded by teaching me all the basic stuff you learn in Arabic 101 which was pretty degrading. I didn’t want to be rude and explain that I know words like “terrorism” and “paradox” and “nuclear proliferation” but geez if my accent is really that bad maybe I just need to be humbled. Yesterday my friend Brittany from the program (who also studied here last year) introduced Ola and I to some of her Jordanian friends and we had fatayer at a restaurant that my American friends haven’t yet invaded. And of course today I had my Intro to Arabic lesson, which by the way I totally wasn’t expecting- one of the Jordanian students majoring in English who I met last week just showed up outside my classroom this afternoon and next thing I know I’m in a cab riding through some hilly residential roads in a part of Irbid I hadn’t yet seen. Given that her father is an engineer in the Gulf and judging by the size of her house, I’d say she’s at least upper middle class or possibly wealthier. The coolest part about her place was all the greenery outside. I got to sample fruit from all the trees in her yard- figs, blackberries (which were REALLY good), raspberries, and plums. They have olives and cactus too but they weren’t ripe enough to eat. We had mango juice and tea (which I actually like in Jordan, by the way) and she told me how she is Palestinian and her grandmother came here in the late 1950’s. She is definitely not a fan of Jordan, I think due to the discrimination Palestinians face here, but I’m sure I’ll find out more later.
My computer battery’s about to run out but I also wanted to mention that I am doing poetry and music clubs (as we have to do at least one club as part of the program) and we started the poetry today. I can’t believe I ever complained about the difficulty of readings in LAC class- we read some medieval poem that NONE of us understood- but our teacher says we’ll be reading modern poetry the rest of the time and next week is Mahmoud Darwish (yaaaay).
Salaam for now!
Suzy
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