Jordan: Petra

            I’ve been to Petra! I’ve now spent a day hiking through one of the Seven Wonders of the World (Word^® informs me that this is capitalized) and seen Jordan’s biggest tourist draw. In addition, I’ve slept under the stars in the desert, eaten traditional Bedouin food, and learned a lot more Arabic. It’s been quite a week – the only thing I haven’t done is gotten a good night’s sleep!

            Of course, the Middle East in general isn’t the calmest place at present. Israel’s invading Gaza. Afghani elections are running amuck. ISIS is forcing Christians out of Iraq. But here in Amman, life isn’t stopping. Markets are running and people are shopping. Fathers are working, mothers are mopping, and we had school today*. Things are perfectly normal here, if you don’t look at the news. There’s a reason so many universities send their students to Jordan to learn Arabic.

            So, anyway, Wadi Rum and Petra. We left early Friday morning for Wadi Rum (Wadi means valley in Arabic, and Rum means high place – a cognate with Hebrew – so it literally means the high valley. Go figure.) After only minor mishaps, we arrived in a beautiful desert valley. I’d forgotten how gorgeous deserts could be. We went rock-climbing, walked/ran down sand dunes, and watched the sunset in the desert before being treated to Bedouin food, music, and dancing (we brought s’mores along as well, and taught a few French and German tourists what they were.)

            It was a nice experience, but I wouldn’t go back simply for the camp. The fact that the site was basically set up as a tourist attraction meant that it had very nice hygiene facilities, but a contrived feel about it all. However, I would definitely go back for the actual place. I have fallen back in love with desert landscapes, and there’s nothing like a camp in the middle of the desert with the electricity turned off for a view of the stars.

            We slept outside; people tried to tell ghost stories, but that didn’t really go anywhere. After a while, people dropped off to sleep, and one could enjoy the stars in a sort of silent solitude that was very much to my liking. I also woke up to the beginning of sunrise at 5:30, and since nothing was happening yet, I was free to wander a little ways away from camp and pray and watch the sun rising. Eventually the rest of the camp came awake, and we had breakfast, took turns getting on camels and riding in a circle and being photographed, and then headed off for Petra.

            Petra was great. I mean, nothing could live up to those tourist videos, but it was nevertheless impressive. We walked through the Siq**, saw the treasury, and climbed the 854 steps up to the monastery, and then climbed even further up to get to the lookout points. I hadn’t hiked in a long time, and I loved it; it actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting, the weather was nice, and the view was phenomenal. And we got free Bedouin tea at the top of the mountain – I’ve fallen in love with Bedouin tea.

            We spent all day at Petra – we actually left an hour after it was supposed to close – and had ice cream and chips for dinner on the way back. The whole weekend was kind of like a child’s field trip – we didn’t need to plan anything or worry about anything; we just did what we were told. They gave us meals; they provided water; they stopped for bathroom breaks. It was great. It reminded me of what it was like to just trust someone to provide each meal – to give us this day our daily bread. And the meaning of “footsteps of Jesus” took on another dimension of meaning for me as well. When walking in sand, it is substantially easier to walk in the footsteps of the person in front of you – the sand is already packed, so your feet don’t sink in as much. Something to think about.

            There was one more outing this week – I went to a community service event with my roommate and a few friends. We went to a Burger King, where an organization was providing dinner for a group of orphans. It was a fun time; Taiwan nominally prepared me for attempting to talk to a bunch of kids without speaking the language – and they ended up insisting on giving me food. So I went to feed orphans and ended up getting fed.

            I’ve also gotten a lot of studying done – I’m several chapters ahead of my class in Arabic now, and I’m making A’s in the class. I also made an A on my final from last semester, so that’s an additional morale boost to help me make it through the last few weeks. I’ve finally joined a gym, and I’m working out after class every day. So the week has been enjoyable and productive. Enjoy the pictures, and please pray for the peace of the Middle East and the safety of all those living here!

*Note: If the Loretta Lynn allusion wasn’t clear, look up “One’s on the Way” on Google

**The long, narrow gorge leading to the entrance of Petra.

Second Leg

            Well, the first session is finished – only one more to go. I still feel like I’ve been here a lot longer than four weeks, but after the weekend everyone seems to have a little more energy, and we’re ready to start learning again.

            I think part of the renewed energy we have comes from having new teachers and classes. I do have one teacher whom I also had last semester, which is really nice; I really like her. One of my other teachers has been gone for the past two days, and one I’m still getting to know, but it looks like class will be good. Our class size is still in flux; it started out around eight people, but with people still trying out harder or easier levels, it looks like it will be closer to five people in the future, which is pretty close to what it was last session, so that should be fun.

            At the moment, I’m doing well in class; I’m studying ahead and learning vocabulary on the side, and I’ve asked the teacher for extra work. Not that I’m only studying – I did in fact watch part of the World Cup final, for the first time in my life, and this past weekend I visited Jesus’ baptismal site here in Jordan. It was surprisingly close to the border – if you look in the pictures, you can see an Israeli flag on the opposite bank.

            I also got to go hiking around a town called Salt. There were some really pretty views, as you can see from the pictures, but it was also very hot. It’s Ramadan, though, so you can’t drink water in the open. Instead, you have to find some sort of hidden niche – a narrow stairway to duck into or a convenient wall to hide behind – so you can surreptitiously take a sip of water and then quickly hide the bottle away again. It feels very scandalous.

            I have, though, figured out how to start bringing lunch to school. After a couple weeks of skipping lunch or buying food in the middle of the day, I finally bought a jar of peanut butter, and I can now make sandwiches with the pita and jam provided for breakfast. It might get a little monotonous, but then, not eating lunch was getting pretty monotonous.

            Halfway through my trip in Jordan, I suppose it’s good to step back and reflect on what’s happened the past few weeks. First of all, I know my knowledge of Arabic has grown exponentially. Since everyone that is staying for two sessions is simply moving up to the next level, and new people come in to fill the lower levels, it’s easy to compare where I was when I started to where I am now. The improvement is amazing, and I’m very thankful I’ve had the opportunity to come here. I feel sometimes like I speak way too much English to actually be learning anything, but looking back, I’ve gained a lot. Let’s hope that the next few weeks will be even more productive.

            Secondly, I’ve gained a lot of cultural knowledge. Living in a predominantly Arab, predominantly Muslim country, especially during Ramadan, is a very interesting experience. I have friends here now, and I’ve learned a lot from them about the way things work here and how people see things. I feel, though, that I won’t really realize how much I’ve learned, or how much I’ve gotten used to, until I get back to the States. One of the more obvious differences, though, is the food - I could barely stomach falafel when I got here, and I love it now. I've also grown very fond of baklava.

            Finally, I’ve learned a lot about myself, and about independence. I have now taken a taxi by myself in a foreign city, without a problem – the taxi driver even told me my Arabic was good. I am buying things for myself, making decisions about classes and time management and other things, without a large support network immediately available, although my parents and many others are always happy to help. So I feel I’ve developed as a person.

            We’ll see what else develops over the next few weeks. We’re getting to the more complicated sections of grammar now – “if I had money, I would feed the poor” – so that should be interesting. And this weekend we’re going to Petra and Wadi Rum, so I’ll let you know how that goes, and be sure to take lots of pictures. Exciting stuff is happening. Until next week, then!

PS - The one indoor picture is the (supposed) tomb of Jethro (Moses' father-in-law). That visit was in a small mosque, and it was the first time I've had to cover my hair since I've been here.

Halfway Through

            Well, it’s hard to believe another week’s gone by already. These posts always surprise me when they come, and yet in another way I feel as though I’ve been here forever. We’ve gotten so much done, all the days begin to blend together. Depending on who you ask, I’ve done anywhere from a semester to a year-and-a-half of Arabic in four weeks – and that’s how tired I feel. Despite having rested for most of last weekend, I still come into class just wanting to lie down and go to sleep.

            My Arabic has shown marked improvement, though. The nice thing about starting an intensive language course from scratch is that progress is very noticeable: four weeks ago, I couldn’t form a sentence in Arabic. Now I can have conversations and write short stories. They might not be very original conversations or stories, but they’re much better than nothing. We have our finals for the session* this week

            In order to practice my listening/speaking skills in Arabic, I’ve been going to a young adult group and worship service in Arabic in addition to the English-speaking church I attend. So far, I can understand the general direction of the sermon, and I’m getting to where I can pick out more words. Church services are nice for learning languages, because they’re ‘real life’, but they’re similar to a textbook conversation in that they have a specific vocabulary associated with them, and if you’re familiar with the ideas and texts in another language, it’s very helpful in guiding you through what’s going on at the moment. Churches are also a good place to find friends who aren’t also foreigners, and while I haven’t been overly successful so far, I’m hopeful.

            I do have one adventure from over the weekend to share. A large group of students went out to a café last week to watch the US-Germany game. After hanging out a while, my roommate and I headed home. It was around midnight. We made it back to our neighborhood – it’s a rather large neighborhood – but before we got to our street, my roommate told the driver to stop, and we got out. It wasn’t until after the taxi drove off that I discovered we had no idea where we were. We spent the next quarter of an hour walking along, searching for something that looked familiar, and getting more and more lost. Finally, we ended up talking to this grandfatherly storekeeper, who apparently had his grandsons over to help him. And thus it was that we ended up being escorted back to our street by a ragtag band of boys on bicycles, ranging from around 9 to 14 years old. They spoke some English, and they agreed to take a picture with us at the end of the trip – it was only about a fifteen- or twenty-minute walk, if you knew where you were going. So that ended well. But I haven’t been out that late since.

            I still don’t seem to have culture shock. The taxis are better now that we’ve learned to be more selective – or maybe they’re just not supposed to cheat people during Ramadan. I did have one driver try to convince me to pay 2 JD** when the meter clearly said .94 JD, but he didn’t make a problem when I insisted on giving him only 1 JD. I do miss some American food, but I could find it here if I wanted to go to the trouble of going and buying it. The food at our house is good, though. They grow their own fruit, I think I mentioned before, and they make a lot of different dishes. Especially during Ramadan, supper is a very big meal. VERY big. I have pictures. And of course, there are the stares, comments, and wolf-whistles – there’s more than one reason to dress conservatively here – but it’s not like that never happens in Boston. Overall, I think Jordan is still growing on me.

            I have been more irritable than usual lately, but I think that’s just lack of sleep showing. Only a few more days, two tests and a final project, and I’ll be able to rest. There’s only a three-day weekend in between sessions, but it’s three days without homework, which I’m very much looking forward to. When I post next, we’ll have started the next session already. Until then!

* a session is basically like a summer semester – some people are staying for one; some people are staying for two. Each session has its own midterm and final. I’m staying for two sessions; this is the end of the first one. After this we’ll move up a class and have new teachers and schedules.

** about 1.4 USD

Note: Also, thank you to Kendra for taking that picture of me! 

Restaurants and Ramadan

Well, yet another week has passed! We had midterms on Sunday, so we’re getting grades back today. From what I hear, all the tests in all the classes were pretty hard, and at least in my class, no one’s overly happy with our score. It was the listening section that killed our scores – when you’re just learning a language, good sound quality is a must – and even would have been alright if they hadn’t waited until afterwards to mention that those few questions were half the grade.

However, my skills in Arabic, including listening, are improving. Outings help. I actually went to church three times this week. I attended an Arabic-speaking youth group, a church service in English, and a church service in Arabic (a very liturgical one) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively, and I could understand the gist of the talks in Arabic. It’s handy going to church to practice your listening skills, since if you know the passage you can guess the general direction of the sermon before it’s started.

Sunday was also the beginning of Ramadan, so all of our teachers are trying to get along without food, water, or coffee after around three in the morning. A few of the students are also trying to fast during daylight hours, or at least tried it for a couple of days. Not drinking water all day with 15% humidity and temperatures over 100 makes for some very wiped-out people by the end of the school day. I considered fasting, since our host family is; it’s a “cultural experience”, but I have my own fasts, and I’d rather study Arabic on a full stomach.

My roommate is attempting to fast, but our host family is determined that she won’t. By Sunday afternoon she was exhausted; we arrived home at around 4:30, and she immediately wanted water (most students aren’t fasting from water, just food – a cultural experience only goes so far). The host mother was in the kitchen, so while getting water, I explained to her that Jordan was fasting (yes, in Arabic) and she followed me into the room and was very confused when she saw Jordan drinking water. The language barrier and my roommate’s exhaustion didn’t help much in the ensuing conversation. In the end, the mother dragged us to the kitchen and ordered us to eat. I had no qualms about it, and my roommate finally gave in. Roughly the same thing happened yesterday. Thus, today, she is determined not to get home until the official time to break the fast, so that they can’t make her eat beforehand. We’ll see how it works.

We still haven’t gotten membership at a gym, though we have found the one we want to go to. Between fasting and the heat, no one really has the energy for working out, and we don’t want to pay for a membership we won’t use. Ramadan has a definite effect on the city; it’s practically dead for a lot of the day. You have to go further to find taxis, and places that were brimming with cars, people, and shops less than a week ago are almost silent until after sunset. Not only can you not eat and drink during the day, you can’t smoke – and smoking is a pretty big thing here. In addition, you have to get up at three in the morning to eat, so everyone’s sleep schedule is messed up. It’s just not a particularly good time, but it must be awesome for cultural cohesion. Nearly everyone in the Muslim community participates.

We did do a couple of things right before Ramadan, started though. On Thursday a group of us went out to eat an early dinner, and then we went to a pub to watch the US-Germany game (the World Cup is a big thing here), and then went to another, outdoor restaurant where there was more room. It was a good night.

So, it’s been a pretty good week, and hopefully I can stay home long enough this weekend to get some good studying done as well – most of last weekend was spent studying. A blessed Ramadan and a happy Fourth of July to all of you! Until next week!