This morning I finally got to find out what a "Jordanian blizzard" really is.
Lets first back up to Thursday afternoon. Despite having caught a nasty cold (its been circulating around the American students since day 1 of the program), I went downtown with some friends. Getting downtown proved to be a hassle because every taxi we tried to take tried to rip us off (despite the fact that its the law to use the meter here). So after refusing 3 or 4 taxis we finally got in one that took us downtown. He however, also tried to rip us off as we were paying saying "traffic busy---more money than meter!". We just paid him what the meter said and booked it out of the cab. We were planning on meeting some friends downtown at a particular restaurant (nothing fancy, just a cute little outdoor place that serves killer falafel for dirt cheap). We got there early and because we were three American girls, got doted on and called "habeebee" (my love) by pretty much every waiter. Funny how once the others showed up (which included a guy) they stopped coming to our table :) Just to show you how amazing this restaurant is, seven of us got enough falafel, hummus, fuul, bread, fresh vegetables, and tea to fill us up for only 1JD. Beat that Mcdonalds value menu! Afterwards, we spent a few hours just walking around downtown and doing some small shopping. When it came time to go home, a friend and I decided to share a taxi together. Five minutes into our taxi ride, our driver tried to tell us he was going to charge us more than the meter (my friend speaks way more arabic than me and could understand what he was saying). We tried to argue with him but to no avail. So I made it look like I was taking down his taxi information (every legit taxi is required to have his/her taxi information visible, usually on the dashboard). This triggered a reaction neither of us expected. After a moment, he violently ripped his information off of the dashboard and threw it in the passenger seat, all the while glaring at us. Luckily, we were just down the street from where we needed to be dropped off. It must have done the trick though, because he didn't ask for extra money when we left. It did shake me and my friend up, though.
The rest of the weekend was spent curled up in bed with tea, trying to fend off my host families adament requests that I take some antibiotics for my cold (one doesn't need a prescription to get antibiotics here, so they tend to use them for everything...or at least, my family does). I have to admit, my colds probably draw a lot of attention because mine are always accompanied by a real nasty cough.


Back to the blizzard....
Its been raining nonstop since Thursday night and a "blizzard" was predicted sometime this weekend. Well, no snow but definitely a lot of rain. So much in fact, that most schools were cancelled for today. I recieved an email last night from my program director saying that we were still going to have class unless it started snowing and that we would recieve a text at around 7:15am if class was cancelled. Well, 7:15am came and went and it wasn't snowing so I met with my friend as usual and we proceeded to walk to the highway (usually we can catch a taxi closer but because of all the rain, taxis have been kind of sparse by my building). We get there, after crossing a half dozen Jordan rivers and get a call from the program director saying that class is cancelled. Good timing because 30 seconds later huuuuuuuuge wet flakes started falling. For about 15 minutes these huge snowflakes came down almost thick enough to constitute a white out. Not that it was any use. The ground is so wet anyway that theres no hope of any snow actually sticking. It at least made for a pretty display.

Now, for some reason things just don't translate well to host parents. When I came back, I found a semi-flustered host mom waiting for me. She could not understand for the life of her why I had actually left in the first place. The whole concept of having school, rain or shine, doesn't seem to be a big thing in Jordan. So she thought it was rather dumb of me to have left in the first place. She would have rather had me skip class than walk out in the rain. Does she not realize I come from one of the rainiest places in the world?

So now, I'm left with yet another day to relax, recover, and avoid antibiotics at all costs.

Due to the possibility of a blizzard this weekend, my biblical Jordan trip has been postponed. The trip includes a visit to Bethany, the baptism site of Jesus, Mt. Nebo, the Saint George Church in Madaba, and Mkawir. I'm actually really glad that its been postponed. Despite my best efforts, I still managed to come down with the same cold thats been plaguing the other American students. I'm just glad it took this long for me to catch it. Some people were sick within the first few days of arrival. So really, its very good timing for a blizzard :)


My guess is that this "blizzard" is just another way of saying "its going to snow lightly". Jordan is known for getting a little bit of snow but I would probably compare it more to Seattle (well, NORMAL Seattle snow which is very little).

The other day I got my hair cut at the four seasons hotel in Amman. Yes, it sounds odd but there are reasons for it! My host sister works there and offered to get me a discount haircut at the salon there (my hair was butchered shortly before leaving for Amman). Really, it was just an opportunity to go to one of the nicest (if not the nicest) hotel in Jordan and get pampered...for cheap!!! I went with a friend and we were both amazed at how nice it is. We walked in in our grungy school clothes with backpacks while all the women clicked away in high heels and the men walked by in nice suits or business casual. We waited in the lounge while my host sister came down to meet us. Just to show you how ridiculously expensive these places are, ONE Corona cost 8.5JD (about $10!!!!). My host sister, Amani, gave us a quick tour and then took us downstairs to the "mini mall" of the Four Seasons Hotel and into the Salon. For some odd reason, all of the hair stylists were males. Everything was really fancy except them. They looked like ordinary guys in shirts and jeans that happened to cut peoples hair for a living. Lol. It goes to show that only westerners go there because otherwise how would the cut a Muslim womans hair? That was why my Muslim friend Mina couldn't go with us. She couldn't have a guy cut her hair.
Regardless, it was a very nice experience. For less than a haircut at supercuts, I had my hair washed, conditioned and a scalp massage plus a really nice haircut. Afterwards we went to HR to hang out with my host sister and she introduced us to her colleagues. It was an experience I could never have anticipated and enjoyable nontheless. So, if you ever find yourself in need of a cheap haircut in Amman, the Four Seasons Salon is the place to go!



Oh, and currently I'm trying to plan a trip to Egypt or Israel for Spring Break. I CAN'T DECIDE WHICH!!!

Rain here is truly an experience.

I was up until nearly 3am last night listening to the thunder and the rain pelt against my window. There is no such thing as "air tight" windows here and my room was quite breezy throughout the night. It was a pleasant experience though. The rain continued into the morning and early afternoon----its been going in and out of extreme fog. Its amazing. One minute I can see all the way to the highway, the next I'm lucky to see the building next door.


Yesterday was pretty nice. My host sister, Amani, takes me out every chance she gets (which isn't too often considering she works full time and is also an MBA student). We went to Madaba with two of her other friends and we had an amazing Lebanese lunch with some hubbly bubbly (sheesha) and a little bit of Arak, the Jordanian alchoholic drink. We returned to Amman and met up with two more of her friends for a movie at the mall. One of the guys had a valentines cake that his mom made him (yes, it is normal for a 29 year old single, successful male to still be living with his parents and have them make baked goods for him). We went and bought nutella and ate cake in the parking lot of the mall before going to grab some Turkish coffee. One of them "read my future" via my coffee grounds at the bottom of the cup. Apparently he saw superman, a female face, and a ghost in my future. It was somewhat true since one of the actors in Yes Man is none other than General Zod from Superman II. Afterwards, we walked over to the cinema for our movie. Everyone goes to see American movies. My host family laughed at me when I asked if the movies would be in Arabic. "No one goes to Arab movies. We only watch American movies here." Interesting. The theater here is amazing. For 5JD you can pick your own theater seat on an electronic screen, buy popcorn for 1JD, and be escorted to your seat. Nice.

By far the best part of the night were the people. I feel like I've gotten used to the fact that I'm the "youngster" when I'm around Amani and her friends. They are all in their late 20's, early 30's. Yet, it makes no difference to them. Its kind of nice seeing what they do and how they live their lives. They are all single and still live at home, despite most of them being extremely successful. One is an architect, whose many projects we passed in the city. Another is working at the US embassy as a translator. Another is of Palestinian/British heritage and has the best arabic/british accent when she says "bugger". One of the guys blasted "American Woman" and dedicated it to me, perhaps the first time I've heard rock music here. Everyone is extremely laidback. Its amazing the different backgrounds they all come from and how they still manage to be so laid back. One of them was Lebanese and he joked that Lebanese watch for bombs during the day and party during the night. Nothing can stop a Lebanese from having a good time.


Today, I'm attempting to go to church with some Americans that work at one of the International schools here. Its going to be interesting seeing as there is now about an inch of hail on the ground and its still rainy and foggy.

What can I say about this last weekend other than it was absolutely amazing? There is nothing better than seeing crusade castles and getting sunburned in February while seeing one of the seven new wonders of the world.
Friday at 8am I met at the University of Jordan with members of my program and we loaded onto a bus. A few hours later we arrived at Shobak castle, a small castle built during the crusades. Afterwards, we went and had tea with an old man in his cave (complete with a satellite, tv, and refrigerator). On the back wall of his cave were pictures of foreigners that he had befriended including a couple from California. On a table in the center were various items such as old coins, bullets, jewlery, etc for sale. One of the guys that works with our program bought an old rifle for 1000JD (1000+US!!!!) and an Arab revolt era tea pot for I think 150JD like they were just normal souvenirs!!! How we have someone working with our program that can drop money like that is beyond me. Afterwards we ate lunch and boarded the buses for Wadi Musa, the town right outside of Petra. Once there, some girls from my program and I took a taxi up the veeeeeeeery long hill to the supposed Spring of Moses where we drank from the spring (I'm hoping its a decision I do not regret). We than proceeded to walk back down the hill where we were frequently bombarded by shop owners trying to lure us into their stores. One shop was very friendly and after striking up a conversation they offered us some tea and even played a small drum for us. That night we cooked and ate "authentic arab food" at a place called Petra kitchen where I unfortunately attracted the attention of the 30 some year old chef who later asked for my number :( (an unfortunate side effect of smiling too much----a situation made even more awkward because he was our chef the following day!). The next morning we started our walk to Petra (entrance was only five minutes from our hotel). We started at 6am which is good because there were very few tourists inside------we saw the treasury and then walked the remaining way to an outside restaurant where we were given the option to hang out or climb the 800 steps to the monastery which WE DID! It took us awhile to make it to the top but it was well worth it----the monastery is much more impressive than the treasury (made famous by Indiana Jones). On the way down we stopped and had tea with one of the bedoin women selling jewlery and then had lunch down at the restaurant. Afterwards we made our way back through Petra, all the while being offered donkey/camel rides by the locals, most commonly saying "Donkey! Want Taxi? Mercedes? Jaguar? For you 1JD!". Other common phrases heard by locals trying to sell little knick knacks included "Buy one get one free!!" and "Happy hour! Special price!!". One guy said "later gator" when we left----I think its hilarious how they pick up on silly little western phrases.


Oh and my all time favorite part of this weekend: Driving back to Amman and seeing a tellatubby with a ball or balloon standing on the side of the street......random?!


Next big trip: Wadi Rum!!!!

So there's no such thing as copy right laws here (or at least none that are enforced). I went to get my required "books" for my class at the University recommended bookstore only to find that they are ALL photocopied duplicates of each book.

John Esposito, I mean no disrespect to your work----I simply do not know how to buy a legal copy of your book.

Rain in Jordan is truly an amazing thing.


One minute its dry, the next its pouring down rain which quickly turns into hail that actually feels like its beating you into the ground. In the 30 seconds it took to hail a taxi I was completely drenched. Taxis here by the way are NOT waterproof.


This morning it was so foggy I could barely see 3 feet in front of me.
Driving in a taxi in such conditions is frightening, to say the least. Its very eerie to hear the cars, smell the cars, but not see the cars even though you feel like they're close enough to run over you.

Living with a Jordanian family is proving to be a challenge. I have always considered myself fairly easy going and easy to live with. Yet, I have found myself struggling to make my living situation "fit" here.

Part of it is being somewhat unsure about my whole role in the family life here. I think I find this a little harder than I would if I had been living with a family with younger children. My host parents are a lot older. One is in her mid-sixties and the other is in his late seventies. Their youngest daughter who is the only one still at home is twenty eight or twenty nine. She is the one I get along with the most. Unfortunately she works full time and is also a full time student so I rarely see her. More often than not I'm home alone with my host mom. I feel like I am always doing or saying something wrong around her. EVERYTIME we talk she makes some comment about how all the other American students knew at least some Arabic. Did she not realize that I was going to have no prior Arabic? Rather than helping me she seems put out with me. I don't think this is just some cultural difference because many of my American friends here say that their host families are the opposite----that they are always trying to encourage their use of Arabic and compliment them on the things they have learned. It was most potent today when my host moms sister came over. I sat down to eat lunch with them and one of the first things my host mom says is how I don't know any Arabic and that their other students were well advanced in Arabic. She also was telling her that most of the other students here this semester know at least some Arabic. Its almost as if to say "For some reason they send me the one girl in this program who doesn't seem to know ANY Arabic...why?!" They then started grilling me with questions. Normally, I like questions. Even straight forward questions. It amazes me how forward people can be here. They ask exactly what they want to know, no matter how random or personal it may be. I got asked some of the usual questions that are asked here such as "do you smoke?" or "do you drink?". Whether this is because I'm an American or because its just what they do, I don't know. They then asked "Did you vote for Obama?"---I immediately paused simply because one of the things we are asked not to discuss is politics---at least, not initially. My moment of pause obviously caught their attention because even after I told them I voted for Obama they immediately started comparing me to prior students---AGAIN. "The two girls before you immediately told us Obama when we asked them. They told us Bush and his father like war...blah blah blah". When I tried explaining myself my host mom cut me off and asked me a completely different question. I have found myself struggling to not get frusterated with all of this. Then again, frusteration is part of the experience. It is a real challenge living in another country with a very different culture. I think it would take a LOT more than just four months to feel completely comfortable here.

Aside from that I have a random little thing I want to mention about Jordan: Something I notice and have been curious about is a song that is CONSTANTLY being played. People drive around in cars playing the song all day long. Is it the national song? Next time I hear it I'll be sure to ask someone nearby what it is. I kind of like the song....it always makes me think an icecream truck is nearby. One of the many random and interesting things I love about living in Jordan.

Every day seems to get a little better. I knew coming into this that there would be an adjustment period yet it still caught me off guard.

There is a girl from my program that lives below me and she wanted to get together today and meet some people downtown to go see the Roman Amphitheater. When I woke up my host dad and sister were already gone for the day and my host mom was about to leave for the gym----the maid and I got locked inside the apartment...literally. The difference between the maid and me is that I actually get a key. I was given specific instructions to make sure I lock the door every time I leave. I was told this was so Shanti, the maid can't let strangers into the house, but I'm pretty sure its also so she can't leave.

Once my host mom came back I left with betsy and walked down to the mall that is literally right behind our apartment building where we met up with another girl from my program. We caught a taxi there and went downtown. The Roman Amphitheater is right smack dab in the middle of modern buildings in downtown Amman. Its a breathtaking feature which towers over the nearby street. We met some other students there and climbed to the top to survey the surrounding area. We checked out the cultural and historical museum that is located below the amphitheater. Afterwards, we walked in a big obvious group throughout downtown looking for a tasty falafeel sandwhich shop that many of us had heard about. Only one of us (out of about 8) knew enough Arabic to ask people questions so she took the lead and stopped every now and again to ask someone if we were going in the right direction. Finally, we found it and for only about 40 piastres each, had tasty pitas stuffed with falafeel, french fries, tomatoes, peppers, and sauce. Sure beats McDonalds! At this point some of us split off (some had to go home early or wanted to meet other groups of people)----the rest of us wandered downtown, haggled with the street shop owners and had a really good time. You can find ANYTHING downtown, from universal remotes and hookahs, to fresh fruit, loose tea and coffee as well as clothes and shoes. The jewelry is amazing and I've been having a hard time not buying things yet. I have refused to buy any souvanirs until well into my stay here in Jordan. Its been very hard seeing as there are LOTS of pretty, shiny, and unique items to buy. It really makes me feel like a tourist!

Tomorrow is my first day of class----from 8am until 12pm I have Arabic and from 2-4pm I have my area studies classes. Its going to be interesting to finally get into the habit of going to school again. I keep forgetting that I'm not on vacation---I'm actually here for school!

By far the hardest part about living here: having to lock the maid in the apartment :(

The initial discomfort of last nights placement into once again a new setting is finally starting to wear off. I woke up bright and early this morning, unsure of what to encounter. I had to wait awhile until everyone woke up. It is Friday and my family likes to sleep in. I listened to the maid get up and begin her chores for the day. Once my host mom was awake she came out and made me a tasty breakfast of fuul, scrambled eggs, olives, and tea. It wasn't long before I made my first big mistake. I had asked if I could take a shower after breakfast. She insisted I take a shower while she was making food but said "take only five minutes". After having everyone drill in me the water shortage issues here I assumed this meant "take a five minute shower". Well, I was wrong. I took a five minute shower and then went to my room to put my shower things back and semi-dry my hair. It felt like only 10-15 minutes to me. I returned and my host mom angrily said "I only said 5 minutes! That wasn't 5 minutes!". Sooooo----here I am feeling bad because not only was she making me breakfast but I made them wait to eat :( I guess I can't help it though. I know I'm going to make mistakes every now and again. I just have to learn not to do it next time.
My host mom is kind of a "tough" woman. She is a retired principal and has the "principal" sort of attitude. I find myself trying to make her smile or laugh just so I can have a break from the stern look. After complaining some more about how I don't speak any Arabic, I finished breakfast and went and got dressed. Amani, my host sister came home late the previous night and was still sleeping. At around 1pm my host mom asked me if I wanted to go to the store with her and her husband. He puzzles me. They've been married for at least thirty years (I'm guessing closer to forty) yet he seems more like the grandfather that doesn't say anything. He is roughly 10-15 years her senior yet she commands him like a child. He rarely talks and when he does its usually in response to my host mom. Alas, I went with the two of them to the grocery store and had a more or less pleasent time. My host mom seemed to open up a lot more to me and kept telling me different tid bits of information. Despite being a Friday, there were LOTS of people at the grocery store. A mosque service was being played on multiple televisions displayed around the store. Other than reading on my homestay sheet that my family is Muslim, you wouldn't know it. Neither my host mom or Amani wear hijab and there isn't anything in the house that indicates them is Muslim (that I've seen at least). No Koran laying out or on a shelf. Maybe I'm just assuming that they would display it. Also, like any religion just because you identity with a religion does not mean you practice the religion. It is an interesting stereotype that I've had that every Muslim is a practicing Muslim.

Today really feels like my first "real" day in Amman. I met my host family last night for the first night. I was placed with a family in West Amman. It is an older couple and their grown daughter who is working on her masters and works full time as well. The mother (who obviously wears the pants in the family) is a distinguished retired principal and even has medals from the King. I have my own room with my own queen sized bed plus internet. I feel very spoiled after living in a small hotel room for a week.
I'm hoping that I will feel comfortable here. Its already felt a little strained. The mother keeps complaining that I don't know any arabic and that all of the other Americans knew at least some. I'm not sure if this is a genuine complaint or what. The daughter seems slightly disappointed in me simply because she was looking for someone to go out and party with. I think its apparent upon first meeting me that I'm not really the partying type...
My biggest source of contention is definitely our maid situation. Maids are common for a lot of people here in Jordan. Unfortunately, most if not all are immigrants from other countries and have very little status here. We were warned about this in orientation. They told us as much as we are going to hate how the maids are treated now is not to the time to try and "change the world" as they put it. Our maid is from Sri Lanka and she speaks very little Arabic. My family treats her like she's furniture and only talks to her when they need something. They always demand things from her. So far most of the arabic they have tried to teach me are commands to the maid. I was talking with my host mom about Washington in the tv room and I saw the maid sit down in the kitchen and listen to us. That is the first time I have seen her not working. She is either bussing our dishes, scrubbing cabinets, or some other task. I saw a tiny little bed in what looks like a small room or large closet and I assume thats for her. As with most Americans upbringing, I find being around this constantly very heartbreaking. I'm going to try and be as nice to her as possible without overstepping my boundaries as a guest in this house. My plan today is to try and give her some candy I had originally brought for my family. I didn't realize it had gelatin in it which my Muslim family can't eat. I'm hoping that they will see it as discarding something bad and that way I can give the maid what is hopefully a nice treat for her.

Classes start on Sunday and I am hoping I make it to all of my classes! Inshallah!

Marhaba! Hello!
So today is the first day I've been able to access my blog----I haven't been able to get on the internet very much here and when I do it has been extremely slow and I've had issues with websites coming up in Arabic.

So far I LOVE Jordan! The people are very friendly and the orientation has been packed with a lot of useful information and fun activities. Our first full day we took a trip on the Hijaz railway where we were "kidnapped" by bedouin men on horseback. We then enjoyed coffee with one of the local sheikhs and learned a little bit about the local bedouin.

Yesterday, we had a very fun scavenger hunt. We broke down into 3-4 person groups and completed tasks around the city. Ours included finding a camel statue and mailing it to a male relative (a task we unfortunately could not complete).

Today I had my first arabic class which was three hours long. Talk about a LOT of information at once!! Its a little bit intimidating but fun at the same time.

Anyway, I wish I could write more but I have to be back on campus soon. More to come soon!!