Fil al-Shawaariya3 (In the Streets)

Yesterday was a wonderful, wonderful day! After being more or less shell-shocked upon first arrival--jetlagged, culturally overwhelmed, etc. etc.--things have begun to settle down and I am beginning to feel more comfortable moving around the city. In the morning, we were broken up into groups of four and given a list of a few tasks in a certain neighborhood, where we were promptly dropped off, told to complete tasks, and find our way back to headquarters in 4 hours. My group had been assigned to somewhat of an artisans' district, and our tasks led us to a few craft boutiques overflowing with authentic Jordanian and Palestinian handicrafts--jewelry, embroidery, dresses, furniture, dishes, and the like. Ever conscious of trying to be respectful, I began tentatively questioning the shopkeepers in Arabic, usually to find them completely proficient in English! Throughout the different socioeconomic classes, (although of course somewhat less in the lower stratum), it is hard to find anyone completely ignorant of English. Nonetheless, as we more or less had no street map, we found ourselves getting around largely by asking directions of the locals, who, on the whole, were very very friendly. 

A few general observations:

a) stray cats, everywhere! they are beautiful, and I have to remind myself they probably all have rabies or some similar affliction in order to avoid petting them

b) All the sidewalks are anywhere from 1-3 feet off the ground, probably to protect pedestrians from the EXTREMELY aggressive driving, which makes no sense because everyone in Jordan is constantly late, schedules mean nothing, and there is no reason for anyone to be in such a hurry. I tend to be a rather awful backseat driver, and I've had numerous near-nervous breakdowns in cabs over the past few days....apparently you just need to say insha'allah and let fate take over. For the record, the number one killer of Americans in Jordan is traffic accidents.

Nonetheless, the sidewalks undulate up and down (not due to erosion, but on purpose), and they are fun.  c) RETURN OF THE CASSETTE TAPE--usually considered a relic of my childhood, these are in heavy circulation here--one particular ADD cab driver we had insisted on switching tape mid song, rewinding, fast forwarding, etc. etc, for a good 20 minutes while in traffic--truth be told, all the Arabic songs, once they get going, sound prettttty similar to me

A token globalization story: We were given 3 Dinar to go find a small gift for someone else in the program, and my group ended up going into a small music store. One Arab man sat at the cash register, with 3 giggling Asian women around him, all dancing to a Billy Joel music video blasting on the TV. The shelves were filled with burned mix cds for 1 JD, and 2-year old American music--the hottest new single was Mario's "Let Me Love You"

I was proud of myself for successfully bargaining for my first time--usually not a strong point of mine, but another classmate and I were in search of our first Jordanian scarves and after offering a first price I cut a deal with her since we were getting two. Moreover, two different salesmen, one the proprietor of a gift store, the other at a shawarma store, complimented me on my arabic, and one asked me what country I was from since he wasn't sure! Not sticking out as an American tourist is, sadly, somewhat of a compliment here. 

In the evening, my program took an excursion to Madaba, a smaller town outside of Jordan to go to Kan Zaman (I have to say, really blows the SF version out of the water). Though I usually consider a menu of options to be a luxury, at many places, they simply start bringing you tons of courses as soon as you sit down, which is great because you end up trying things you wouldn't have otherwise in the end. The food is absolutely incredible here, and I am usually so full from all the appetizers that I am completely full by the time the main course arrives--tabouleh, hummus, babaganoush, kebab, pita, kefta, kebbeh, fried cheese, and always, lots and lots of shisha. The restaurant was designed so you appeared as though you were in a rocky cave, and after the meal, a live musician came. My primary academic director is a man named Ra'ed from the Badia, the rural region in which I will be spending time in a Bedouin camp later on in the semester, and he kicked off a massive dance party and taught us all traditional dances--it was truly wonderful.

In just a few hours, I will be moving in with my host family, where I will be living for the rest of the semester. 

Vital details: Mother, 24 (!), named Maha....(Al-Kitaab users, you understand why this is amazing), Father, another Ra'ed, educated in the US and knows English very well, unlike Maha (which is good so I will be forced to speak Arabic with her more). One son, Daoud, 4, who really wants a sister, and is learning to play soccer. What more could I ask for? Maha is a friend of our head Arabic coordinator, and she says she is very humorous, loves to laugh, and put us together because she saw that I like to dance and she knew Maha has always wanted a daughter, despite having conception troubles. Even better, Maha's mother's family lives in the same building as she does, and is also taking on another girl in my program, Isabelle. In short, I am incredibly excited and anticipate a weekend filled with massive family bonding. I'll report back on Sunday....the new Monday here