worms?

TO mark the end of Ramadan, here is a photo of the most popular Ramadan sweets, qatief. From about noon on, bakeries and shops on the streets will make the little qatief pancakes on skillets set up outside on the sidewalk, and people will buy boxes of them to take home and stuff with walnuts or cheese and cinnamon and then FRY them. Even my (Christian) family loves em!

SO, now that this blog address has been sent out to the entire JYA class at Smith, I’d like to share with everyone the news that I (gut of steel!) in fact think I have a good case of the parasites. Pretty pleasant. I’ve stuck it out now for about a week in hopes that it was something I ate, but whatever it was that I ate has provided quite the gastrointestinal rollercoaster ride and has not yet relented. The Eid is Wednesday and we’re on vacation as of today, with reservations in Aqaba for Tuesday night, so I’m going to try to get a doctor’s appointment sometime tomorrow or Tuesday A.M. before we leave on the bus from Amman to Aqaba. Wish me luck!

Over the weekend, some friends and I packed into a van and drove to Dana village, home to Jordan’s oldest nature reserve and eco-tourism spot. Every time I leave Amman, I am reminded that over half of Jordan’s population lives there. Dana is one of the attractions that takes up quite a bit of space in the guidebook, and yet it is one street, two itsy bitsy hotels, a tiny information building/guesthouse, and a good few donkeys. We had an awesome time hiking around al-Barra, led by the 15-year old son of our little hotel’s owner, not on a path, just checking out old Nabatean caves and burial tombs. That night at the hotel, a couple of local guys came over to play some music and entertain us. One of them happened to be the one we had talked to at the information building earlier in the day. Small town. On Saturday we hiked down through the first leg of Wadi Dana, stopping to sit with some kids herding goats and smoking cigarettes (they were about 12) and meandering through an olive orchard as well. Just as we made it down Jebel Dana, we had to turn around in order to make it back for school on Sunday. The hike was short, and I know I’ll be heading back there to hike through Wadi Dana to Feinan (16 km) at some point in the spring. Definitely worth going back for.
Driving home, we took the Dead Sea Highway which was beautiful but not what I expected. One end is lined with factories and (maybe) desalination plants, followed by a huge chunk of undeveloped coast, and then the cluster of resorts at the northern end closest to Amman. The best part was that the seats in the van faced each other (Amtrak style), we had a TON of cashews, AND my ipod was employed as the soundtrack. That little road trip definitely brought back some Smith hockey van memories from last year...

Upon my return, a piece of cheesecake was put in front of me (saved from my dad’s birthday on Friday) and dare I say it came dangerously close to reaching American cheesecake standards! Must’ve been that one stick of Philadelphia I saw in the fridge.

Yesterday after class, a few friends took us to a DVD shop in one of the buildings on campus. The girl was closing up the shop, but she opened it back up for us since Mahmoud is apparently a loyal customer or friend. The DVDs are probably all pirated and cost 1JD ($1.41), and they even test them out for you there to make sure they work. I splurged and bought another copy of Lost in Translation since I didn’t bring any movies with me, and I also stumbled across Peter Sellers’ THE PARTY! I know my dad will appreciate that one. Last night as I was falling asleep I started watching Lost in Translation on my laptop in bed, and I had to stifle my laughter as not to wake my sisters in the next room. I had forgotten how plain hilarious Bill Murray is in that movie.

Looking forward to an exciting week.
Keep the emails coming.

excursion!

I was a little surprised to see the link to my blog in the Smith JYA mass email (I think a friend back at the Office for International Study forwarded it onto the newsletter), but what the heck! Maybe this will start a trend…I would love to hear about what people are up to over in Europe, Israel, India, New Zealand…

Written 10/16
You should never take your paper copy of the Sunday New York Times (complete with magazine) for granted. I am missing it big-time.

Today and yesterday I think marked the beginning of fall here, as I ventured out of the house with both a t-shirt and long sleeved shirt on and was actually comfortable in the chilly wind. Yesterday was the first rain I have seen since I’ve been here, and our Arabic teacher was pretty excited that “winter is here, finally!” The scary thing was how many accidents there were since the rain made the dirty, oily roads a slippery mess.

This past weekend though, was as sunny and summery as ever in the south of Jordan. The trip was amazing and this is going to be a little more photo-heavy than usual. It was nice to have everything organized for us (the entire CIEE group of 33 students went on a big tour bus, complete with guide, three meals a day, and of course itinerary and accommodation) but I am definitely looking forward to EID WEEK, almost a full week off from school to do our own thing. I think that a friend and will head down to Aqaba and be beach bums for a few days. We’re planning on camping for the first couple of nights, and then we might have to splurge on the third night and get a room at the Intercontinental Hotel.

The highlights of the trip were sleeping out under the stars in the desert on two perfectly clear nights. We stayed at a camp (in picture) but dragged out blankets and slept outside. TE Lawrence called the desert of Wadi Rum vast, echoing and Godlike, and he was spot on. It was unbelievably majestic, and even being there with a big group it was easy to get away and take in the deafening silence and beauty. We went off-roading in 4WD jeeps which was way too much fun, stopping to climb up huge sand dunes and roll down. I still have red sand coming out of clothes and bags here and there.

The thing that makes Petra and Wadi Rum so awe-inspiring and unexpected is the rest of the country. Driving through most of Jordan is less than scenic; there are some tiny towns, but for the most part Jordan is dry wasteland. There are poultry farms in warehouses and Bedouin tents here and there, but it is not much to see. To be driving along and see these sandstone mountains and pure, clean sand is stunning to say the least. The rock formation of the mountains around Petra and Wadi Rum are a natural wonder, and reminded me of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland and the mountains of Greece in Meteora.

Petra was just awesome and much bigger than I had expected. I can see why the winter is the preferred time to visit; there is a ton of walking involved and we were definitely sweating in mid-October. I would like to go back and spend another day. The Nabateans had quite the set-up over there, and it’s too bad that none of them are still around to solve the water problems Jordan has today. Throughout the city there is a water system of gutters carved into the sides of the canyon that is just amazing. The terrible thing about Petra is that there are so many horses, donkeys and camels used to tote people around the place that there is poop everywhere, and since it never rains, it smells pretty awful. Apparently the level of ammonia is so high that there are fears among archeologists that it will erode the canyon and stone monuments. Yuck.
On the subject of camels, we rode them on our last day. Definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I am happy to have done (once). Camels are fascinating animals from afar, but they stink. They’re also uncomfortable. I could not imagine trekking for days on one.

On an unrelated note, I was reading the Jordan Times (one of two English language newspapers) last week when I came across this blurb of an article: “Skier wins wife carrying contest (Newry, Maine)--John Farra, a former Winter Olympian from Caribou who trained by running up a ski slope with 80 pounds of mortar mix, won the seventh annual North American Wife Carrying Championship on Saturday at Sunday River….Several hundred spectators turned out for the competition during the height of western Maine’s fall foliage season.” Pretty funny that Maine makes the news even in Jordan. What a peculiar state.

october

So nothing all that exciting has been going on here in Ramadanamman. A few days ago I had another near-miss with the bus, but I just figure raising that adrenaline every once in a while probably has amazing health benefits. I liken it to eating chili peppers.

I can’t promise anything substantial in the way of photos or observations until next week, since tomorrow we leave for our SOUTHERN TRIP!
A taste of the itinerary…
Day 1: Mt. Nebo, Umm al Rasas, Karak, Baida, camping for night
Day 2: PETRA, then hiking and camping in Wadi Rum
Day 3: pre-breakfast camel ride (can’t say I’m too psyched for this one, camel riding has gotten some pretty mixed reviews from those I’ve spoken to, and I do not have any desire whatsoever to ride one…it’s kind of like taking a gondola ride in Venice. Tacky?)
And then bus ride home.

Last Friday we had a ridiculously amazing BBQ in the backyard. We didn’t really eat anything until 6pm, iftar style, and I learned how to make (the best) babaghanoush. I was also glad that I did not decide to try and be vegetarian here, as I have never had lamb like that before.

Something I have been thinking about quite a bit is the naqib (the name for the full facial veil—usually with a slit for the eyes but sometimes a translucent veil showing nothing). I never really thought too much about it before; in the U.S. we are kind of indifferent in our attitudes towards dress. I thought maybe being here would give me a great respect for it or at least a better understanding, but that has not happened. In the UK last week an MP spoke out against the naqib, saying that he was uncomfortable not seeing the face of the people he was speaking to. I think he also claimed that the naqib is a barrier of the cultural understanding, coexistence and harmony (not necessarily integration) that a country like the UK stands for. I agree with him on that; the naqib is hard. For the reputation of Islam its revival is debilitating. The professor I have for Islamic Civilization (a religion course) who veils and wears a common chador-like, ankle-length coat, called it unnecessary and extreme, in a negative way.
On a social level, it is weird and isolating. People treat you with extra caution, especially on buses and in the hustle and bustle of daily life. I wonder if I will talk to or befriend a woman or a girl in naqib. I remember when I first got here and started seeing it more and more. At first I was kind of fascinated by it; think of wearing a huge black cloak, that people can’t even see your EYES through—it’s almost like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. No one can see your dirty looks, or your dirty (or clean) hair, or your smile. I’m not sure whether it is like a get out of jail free card, or if it is like being in jail.

On a lighter note, somewhere along the line the word for “salon” was lost in translation from English to Jordanian English. If you want your hair cut or styled, you will only find “saloons” in Jordan. It’s kind of hilarious. I’ll try and get some photos up soon.

Katja, lizz, Jill, my dear brother, and nick ferrante all deserve a special thanks for attempting to maintain correspondence with me. I love it. The internet, in the words of my neighbor Karen, “is as scarce as chicken’s teeth,” and opening that inbox a couple of times a week is quite an exciting event for me, you must understand. Keep em coming.

on the bus

(written october 1st)
I’m going to try and write a little update before BIGGEST LOSER (awful and addicting American weight-loss reality show) comes on. Thankfully, watching it has not become a nightly ritual…yet. When I got here I was fearful that my host family would have the TV on 24-7 and that we would be parked in front of it, since previous students and the director had warned us about this “family time.” I lucked out in that my family doesn’t watch TV really at all except for the news late at night and a little bit on the weekends.

Today I caught a glimpse of the ugly side of Ramadan. I think that now that the first week is over, people are getting a little bit cranky and the novelty of fancy iftar food and sweets may have worn off, leaving everyone hungry and grumpy that we’re but less than half-way through the holy month. This is very apparent on the road. In fact, today I was in a little bit of a bus accident on the way home from school. As we were changing lanes (with a warning honk instead of a blinker, in typical Jordanian fashion), a car on the left failed to fall back and let us into the lane, instead veering right into the side of the bus. In sha’Allah, no one was injured. After patiently waiting on the bus for about 20 minutes, we were told to get off and onto other buses, all of which were standing room only, so I gave up and took a cab home. (Please see photo of typical public bus at left).

Even during Ramadan people are patient. It took me a while to really notice how slow life is lived here and what a nice thing that is. Reading for my Islamic civilization course made me think about this a little more. I used to think that praying five times a day was intense and maybe bordering on ridiculous. Salat (worship) is actually pretty amazing. The attitude toward worship here reminds me a little bit of going to mass on Sunday night in Dublin. It’s not a big deal, it’s built into your routine and no one really thinks twice about it, granted it’s a once-a-week thing. Although the adhan (call to prayer) can be a nuisance if you are a light sleeper or in the middle of class, it’s awesome. People everywhere just stop what they are doing and find a quiet, discreet spot to pray for a few minutes, whether on the street, in their shop or kiosk, whatever.

The general attitude about time here probably has a lot to do with these reminders throughout the day to stop and put distractions and worries aside. Everything takes as long as it takes. No one stomped off the bus when we were sitting there stopped in traffic today (at least until about 15 minutes had gone by). There is always time to relax. When I come home from school most every day, my sisters and my mom take a nap for an hour or two sometime between 4 and 7. There is always time for friends and family, and the idea of eating alone is pretty foreign. My sisters finish their homework early in the day so that all evening they have time to visit outside with cousins, friends and family who stop by, or so that we will have time to take a walk to the circle and chat with the shopkeepers and neighbors my family is friendly with. You don’t just go out to buy milk. You put on your nice shoes, stop in to visit the old lady at the junk shop, chat with the deli man in the little grocery store, the cashier too, and maybe have coffee at a friend’s on the way home.

In other news, it’s October! When I wrote the date today I was wondering about the weather and that fall-smell that I’m missing out on. I can’t complain about the weather here, but I wouldn’t mind starting to integrate those sweaters I brought into my tired wardrobe. Also, let it be known that I am not missing out on the Halloween sugar—there are plenty of sweets unique to Ramadan that I’m being introduced to almost daily. And they are a lot better than fun size snickers.

This weekend a few friends and I took a day trip to Mukawir by way of Madaba, a little town south of Amman. We went to hike up Machaerus, a mountain/big hill where Herod the Great’s Castle was located. The hillsides are littered with little caves, one of which was where John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod (and given to Salome on a platter). Although the ruins aren’t so great, the views were beautiful—you can see across the Dead Sea and around the countryside for miles and miles. We were under the impression that it was a pretty well-traversed tourist and hiking destination, but we were mistaken. We hired cars from Madaba to the hill, and definitely had the place to ourselves. The village of Mukawir itself was deserted; we saw two people the entire day. We had big plans for a long hike to the Hammamat Ma’in hot springs which were supposedly within hiking distance, but there were not really any trails aside from small shepherd’s trails, and with no one around to direct us/no maps, we decided a couple of hours there was sufficient—not to mention no one felt like bathing in the hot springs after hiking in the sun and 80+ heat. Living around here, especially in biblical times, would not have been too cushy.

Today in the CIEE office we were talking about foods that we miss and fluffer nutters came up—I haven’t eaten one of those in a few years, but I wouldn’t mind one right now. What a strange combination. Also, I would love to watch Napoleon Dynamite.
AND my parents should call me sometime.