June 15, 2005
My Last Adventures
Only 1.5 days left in Jordan! Now that I don't have to pretend I am studying, I have been using this week to enjoy the rest of Jordan before I am forced to return to the States.
Saturday and Sunday I went to Tamara's university and got to see where she goes to school. It was kind of boreing because she had tests so I basically sat around for 2 hours waiting for her. However, the nicest thing was being able to sit by myself without the family around! I also met some of her friends and realized she hangs out with some pretty sketchy boys. Although the way men have been acting around me lately makes me think that maybe I do look like JLO and just haven't realized it yet. I just wish they would leave me alone for once.
On Monday Annie's Aunt Besma took me to their olive farm outside of Jeresh. It is basically just a field full of olive trees but it was nice. There is one family that they have hired to tend the trees and we got to see their cute little girl and their goat. It was nice. After the farm we went to Jeresh (the city) and ate in a restaurant there. We also tracked down the store I bought some earings from earlier this year but then lost one. Now I have 3 just in case. :)
Yesterday (Tuesday), Annie, her brothers Laith and Omar, her cousin Quise, and I went to the Belad (downtown) for the last time. In just over an hour I purchased a thobe (a traditional dress), a present for my mother, a dishdasha (the man-dress), and a present for Sean. Oh, and a new suitcase! My little suitcase is within the carry-on limits so I got a new big one so I can take all of my other stuff home. Why not when they cost under 10JD! The thobe I got is pretty cool although it is machine made. It is pretty traditional with just a red and black design with some lighter pink thread to accent it. It was pretty much the only one that fit me well because they come one-size fits all and that one size is an XXXXL. Now I just need to find somewhere to wear it. . .
After the belad, Tamara and I went to Lebnani Snack in Swafiyah. We then proceded to walk around looking at all the clothes and Tamara trying them on even though she knows she only has 2JD to her name. It's definitly annoying and I know I am up for more today, so wish me luck.
Tonight I have a going away party at Mike's house (the program director). It should be fun to see everyone that is left once last time. And there will be lots of good food! Mmmmm, ba'lawa!
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June 12, 2005
More Photos from Jordan (And the Surrounding Areas)
My second set of pictures has finally arrived and been captioned! Make sure you take a look, although there are 131 of them so make sure you have a few minutes. :) Just click the link below:
Enjoy!
Sent from: terbium
Posted by rcollins at 1:05 PM EST, 7:05 PM JST | TrackBack (0)
Learning to Cook
In these last few days, my family has finally decided to teach me how to cook some Jordanian food. Friday I learned how to make Ozi, which is a rice and meat dish baked inside phyllo dough. Yesterday my host brother taught me how to make Eaggeh which is an egg dish and today Tamara promised me she would teach me how to make Lazy Cake and Yelengi which are vegitarian stuffed grape leaves.
Hopefully, I will be a masterfull chef and can bring all the recipies back with me. I would post them here but it might ruin some family secret or something so you will just have to wait unitl I get home and have me cook for you. :)
Posted by rcollins at 1:03 PM EST, 7:03 PM JST | TrackBack (0)
June 9, 2005
Khullus!
That aweful transliteration means "finished" in Arabic. I just got out of my final Arabic exam and am sooo happy to be done. It has been a long semester of trying to fill my brain with more information that I ever thought it could hold. I can honestly say I have learned more Arabic than I thought possible. It is funny because I used to think I knew so much Arabic but now I see that I must have been crazy! I know now that I will probably never master this language, but for now I am ok with that.
It is funny because one of the concearns we talked about in Exit Orientation was dealing with people who expect us to now be fluent in our new language. When people go to France or Spain for 5 months they come back able to speak the language but Arabic is not French or Spanish. It is hard to explain why I am not fluent to other people because it just seems like a rediculous idea to me. Arabic is such a unique language that it is almost impossible to become fluent without years of intensive studying.
I have an article at home that I clipped out of Time magazine when I started Arabic that said it takes something like 100 weeks to become fluent in Arabic. With only about 15-20 weeks in a semester and long breaks in between that is almost 3 years of studying. So please, don't expect me to translate Al-Jazeera any time soon!
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June 8, 2005
Provocative Dancing?
Karl sent me an article called "Islamists Call for Ban on Coed Trips" this morning from the Washington Times. I found it quite funny because recently I have learned how to dance like Jordanians and it is a lot of fun but definitely not any worse than what happens in the States. And for goodness sake, don't you think university students can take care of themselves? If they want to have a party, I say go right ahead! But I guess those are the limitations of living in an Islamic society.
Posted by rcollins at 6:58 AM EST, 12:58 PM JST | TrackBack (142)