Last night was an experience. As I was sitting in my homestay mom’s cousin’s uncle’s house for his 86th birthday, reality finally set in. I’m in ‘Amman, Jordan and I will be, for a really really long time. Wowza!
A lot has happened these past three days. I don’t know where to start because its all been such a complete blur, either because of the sheer enormity of the situation, or that I’ve been somewhat dehydrated everyday (more on water issues later, its really interesting and I want to dedicate more time and space to talking about it). But anyways, let me start at the beginning. There are about 130 students in my program and we all were housed at the Landmark Hotel in the city for about two days. Pretty much the ritziest hotel I have ever stayed in, costing about 130 JD a night (170ish dollars). The Iranian national soccer team was also staying at the hotel, waiting for their game against the Jordanian team, in which we talked to a few players in the elevator and they said that the game will be “easy peasy”.
On the first day we toured the city, and just so you know, google maps does not do it justice. This city is absolutely huge! We toured the roman citadel and amphitheater, getting a great view of the enormity of the city, as well as learning about the complex and ancient history that surrounds it. After a hot stroll through the streets of downtown, we ended up at this cafe called Kharfa where we enjoyed a huge spread of hummus, some mystery meat, some mystery vegetables, and some other mysterious fried things. But really, all very tasty. Unfortunately or fortunately the motto while eating has been “Well, it might not look good but I don’t want to disrespect my hosts, so I probably should eat it. I mean, I’m gonna get sick eventually. Might as well build immunity now!” But so you know, on day 4, still not sick!
Yesterday I was able to meet and move in with my host family. My host mom, Ghada, is a single Christian mother with three children. Her oldest is Nawaj, her pregnant 36 year old daughter (who is due in October which means I will be there and I have a feeling there will be many parties to attend!). She has two sons that still live at home, Niber and Tareq, 26 and 18 respectively, who seem very nice so far. I am also sharing a room with another CIEE student, Isaac, which I find as blessing since neither of us speak Arabic so we both are able to feel awkward together.
Which brings me back to last night at my host mom’s cousin’s uncle’s 86th birthday party. Family is extremely important to Jordanians and any familial relation (no matter how extended) automatically makes one as close as a brothers. Last night was interesting in the sense that most of the night I had no idea what anyone was saying, but through their intense hand gestures and aggressive/loud speaking voices, I assume they were simply asking how each other’s day has been. My experience was also interesting in the sense that this was a Christian family. Before coming to ‘Amman I was 100% sure I would end up with a Muslim family – you would think, right? But rather, I was placed in a Christian household where “The Last Supper” is depicted around the house and all my notions on how all Jordanians lived conservatively were shattered. I mean, there’s a freaking argeelah in the closet! My host mom doesn’t care that we wear shorts in the house or that we are out late (unlike most other host mom’s my friends have).
Honestly, I have not comprehended what it means to live here still. I am so overwhelmed but the sounds, the sights, the smells (most not good), and the heat that I feel like it might take me all semester to truly take in, if even by then inshallah). But for now, check out these pics from the past few days! Till next time, salaam. MA’a salama. [slideshow]
