Getting to the Tough Stuff

So it's been a bit since I last posted because for some reason I was struggling with this post. I feel that just retelling the stories of what I do here is doing a disservice to what I want for this blog. I would rather be able to reflect on my experiences, emotions, and observations entirely honestly. Yet as I approach a full month of being here, I still feel like I know nothing. I still feel like a stranger to this culture, and for that reason I am grateful that I have 3 more months to learn more!
That being said, this past weekend was truly a wonderful experience. My program took all 127 of us out into the desert to see Wadi Rum and Petra. We loaded up on buses early Thursday morning to make the 4-ish hour drive out to Wadi Rum first. Wadi Rum (which means Valley of the Moon in Arabic) is a large crescent shaped rock formation, basically in the middle of the desert. But hey, Lawrence of Arabia was filmed there! We were taken to a bedouin (bedouin culture is essentially the Arab nomadic culture) owned camp, where we chose tents, and then set off for camel rides!
My lovely camel was named Lucy, and she treated me well. It was an interesting thing being put on a camel by a group of Bedouin men, then led off directly into the desert. Part of me just wondered how these men felt about constantly taking Americans on camel trail rides. I'm sure they see all sorts of people, and have all different experiences with them. But I wondered how we, as a group of supposedly globally conscious and mature students, compared to the rest of the tourists that come traipsing through their camp. After the camel ride our hosts prepared an amazing massive traditional dinner for us. It consisted of all the foods that have become my daily essentials here. Pita. Hummus. Rice. Chicken. Yogurt. Stew. and bountiful amounts of other things with that. Our hosts were some of the most generous and genuinely happy people I have come into contact with since being here. They live such a different life from what I do back home. Yes, they have cell phones (some of them even have 2 for some reason) and internet, but technology doesn't consume them. They are more interested in their interactions with guests, music, dancing, coffee and tea, and keeping things simple. It was a great getaway. After dinner we had the chance to explore the area around the camp, and we were told the stars would be 'fantastic' out there away from the city. To be honest, I'm a little biased. I think the mountain town of Durango that I have grown to love has the BEST stars I have seen in my life. But it was still great to go out and be away from a city for a night.
We then sat around a circle for a while with some of the bedouins playing music, singing, and dancing. Taking part in this was probably my favorite part of the weekend. They dance in a way that is just simple, and fun. It isn't about being squished between a hundred strangers, seeing how many people you can make physical contact with at once, moving in a gross blob (that's my best expression of the American club scene). It's truly a representation of their community and their energy and spirit. Difficult to explain without sounding weird, but when they pulled me up and forced me into the circle, it was a lot of fun. The fact that I can't even clap on a proper beat didn't seem to matter to them one bit.
The following day we said goodbye to our short lived camping experience, and loaded the bus once more to go to Petra. Petra is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, and it's a pretty incredible site. Unfortunately, I was getting a pretty bad cold that day, so I didn't listen to the guide that well. But if any of you are interested in more about Petra, I have conveniently included the link to its Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra
We spent about 4 hours just walking through the mountains where elaborate monasteries, tombs, etc. were built into the mountains. This too, however, came with its own dose of culture shock. From the second we get off the bus, there are large groups of people trying to sell you things. At first it's men at booths with hats, scarves, Indiana Jones trinkets, play swords... the usual. Then even more are offering camel rides, horse rides (tempting) and donkey rides through the trails and up the mountain. Then women sitting at booths selling jewelry and scarves, all saying "happy hour" "good price just for you" and other out-of-place and obviously western phrases. But pretty soon there are children, maybe between 6 and 12 years old, coming up and selling post cards, bracelets, etc. Most of them are wearing obviously worn out or hand me down clothes, and it's somewhat clear that they don't really speak english, but that they have learned enough phrases to sell things to tourists. This really struck me and made me sad in a way. My friend Sarah and I commented on the fact that these kids are spending their days here, having to work and make some sort of income, instead of being able to go to school, or stay home and be home-schooled, or anything else. It's a pretty eye-opening experience. They'd walk with us, say things like "you are a good people, please buy" or ask if we would take pictures with them. If I had taken a picture with one, it would have been a perfect USAID or UNICEF ad. One girl, all of maybe 7 years old, even grabbed my camera from my hands (my Nikon D5000 A.K.A literally my most prized possession of my entire life) and showed me the best way to get a picture of the Treasury. I thought this was adorable, but then also sad that essentially they spend their entire day just interacting with tourists, trying to get them to buy postcards and bracelets. What must they think of us?
So while the history and sheer impressive structure of my surroundings was incredible, I was much more impacted by the experience of what tourism has turned this site into. It almost made me feel intrusive to wade through the throngs of tourists, walking the trail, taking the same exact picture that thousands of others have taken, trying to absorb a little bit of history, sweating my face off in the heat, then loading back into my air conditioned bus, and back to Amman. As we left, I almost felt like I was abandoning those families, and those children.
Part of me has a sour tinge in my mind after the weekend. I look back on it, and feel uncomfortable. At first I maybe wanted to buy something from these little girls because I felt bad for them, and I wanted to help. Then the other part of me would have been disappointed in myself if I had actively and monetarily basically endorsed child labor. Looking back, I wonder if it's almost right for me to leave feeling uncomfortable. Maybe that's what I needed to be re-awakened to the reality of situations. I feel that we become extremely desensitized to things through the constant barraging of campaign ads, commercials, etc. And this is something that I never want to be insensitive of. I want to be consistently and continually grateful for the education I have and the opportunities that are available to me, and in the same way I'd like to be consistently looking for ways in which I can be of service to others, or be learning about other lifestyles.
For this reason I really took a lot of time before writing, but I feel that it's an important part of my journey here, and something I would love to be able to convey to my loved ones back home.
If you stuck with this long post, I've definitely included some camel pictures as well!

Our first view of the Treasury

The Treasury! Pretty amazing. 

Just chillin'. So many camels!

This monastery is built into the TOP of a mountain. Meaning that there are 900 stairs built into a mountain-side that you have to climb up first, before you reach this. Then I continued up a further climb to the peak of the mountain, where I took this photo. 

View from the mountain peak, and the blur of my friend's arm, which I should have cropped out. 

Actually my favorite photo that I got this weekend. There were stray dogs EVERYWHERE in Petra, but this little guy stole my heart. 

Me and Lucy!

After our camel ride we hiked to this sunset vantage point. It was fantastic. 

Mujib, Dead Sea, and Celebrations

The Bests. At the start of the hike!

Another exciting and wonderful weekend was had by all of us here in Amman.

This past weekend was my birthday celebration ( since I am spending my actual birthday studying, and procrastinating, aka blogging) as well as another great outdoor adventure.

This past Saturday three of my friends and I went with a Tourist-y company called Wild Jordan to hike in the Mujib Biosphere Reserve. This organization strives to preserve nature spots and biospheres throughout Jordan, as well as lead guided tours and camps throughout the country. We loaded up on a bus with a handful of Germans, Australians, and other Americans and set off towards the Dead Sea.

The hike began at the opening of this river, and we hiked upstream and into a cave/cavern/rock mountain. As we waded through the river, there were points we had to climb boulders, grab onto ropes, use footholds, and all sorts of sketchy business. Our local hiking guides were fantastic though, and would help us all across. At one point, I climbed over a small rock, had to grab onto a rope, then from that rope the guide said "jump!" meaning, jump into the rapid, and attempt to grab another rope. Uhh.... what? Sure Mr. Jordanian wilderness man. So it was an exciting hike to say the least. At the end of the hike we reached this gorgeous waterfall inside of the cave/cavern/rock mountain (obviously my knowledge of geographic terminology is lacking). We all just relaxed there for a bit before heading back. It was easily one of the coolest hikes I've ever done. 

After that, our guides led us to some small chalets' overlooking the Dead Sea, and we got lunch. Lunch was quite a feast, and I ate much more than is reasonable, but it was just all too good. Then we had a chance to drop into the Dead Sea.

Dead Sea! The white on the rocks is the crystallized salt! (stole this from Nadine!)

I can say that going into the Dead Sea is one of the most unique experiences... ever. I learned that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, and so salt deposits have essentially pooled here, making it incredibly salty. So salty, in fact, that no sea life can survive in its waters, and humans float. When I say float, I mean 100%.... like I'm wearing a full body life jacket. It's the weirdest sensation, but so cool. You can put your body perfectly upright, as if you are standing, but the sea floor will be who knows how far below you. After about 20 minutes in the water, the salt soaking in began to be a tad uncomfortable. Any razor burn, small cuts or scrapes began to sting a bit. And when I say a bit... I mean a lot. So we returned to the safety of our air conditioned bus after rinsing off as much salt water as we could. It was an incredibly beautiful and unique day trip, and well worth it. 

Also this weekend, I celebrated my 20th birthday! At first I was a little sad to realize I'd be spending my birthday away from home, because I didn't know what to expect. Luckily, I have made some wonderful and amazing friends here already, and they helped me celebrate. First, my friends bought me this gorgeous lantern I had been eyeing in the Souq for the past week (thanks guys!) and we grabbed dinner at an American-Arabic fusion restaurant. Then we met up with a larger group and mobbed over to a hotel that has an 'activity center' in the basement. This meant bowling, pool tables, darts, a bar, air hockey and such. We grabbed a couple pool tables, got some ice cream, and had a lot of fun. We ended my birthday night with some sheesha nearby (naturally) and I even made it home by my curfew (which is starting to be a challenge already). I'm SO very grateful for the great friends I've already made, and thrilled to be able to say that Amman is starting to feel more and more like a home for now.   

Inside the cavern, worn smooth by water 

Waterfall!

Looking from the top of the hill down into the Dead Sea

My wonderful friends on my birthday night!

Lessons Learned

“Maybe you had to leave in order to really miss a place; maybe you had to travel to figure out how beloved your starting point was.”  - Jodi Picoult

As I have been away from my beloved Colorado for almost two weeks now, my journey so far has definitely shown me the little (or not so little) things that I love about home. But it has also taught me some good lessons about my home-for-now.
Aside from my wonderful boyfriend, mom, and friends, here are a few things I'm starting to miss right about now:

1. Long showers - Jordan is the 4th poorest country in the world for water, so showers must be short and certainly can't happen every day. My family gets a certain amount of water every week. It is sent and stored in a large tub on the roof, and if we run out before next week, that's it... we're out. My long and out of control mane of hair is protesting this already.

2. Diet coke - Anyone who knows me at all should be proud I haven't gone into withdrawals yet. Diet coke is sparse here, but luckily there is juices and smoothies here more than anything else. Almost all places sell at least 20 different types of juice... Probably a healthy substitute for Diet Coke.

3. America's Got Talent - The internet connection to too terrible to watch any videos most of the time


Things I have learned thus far:

1. Don't assume that grapes are seedless. And when you find out they aren't, you'll probably spend more time than it's worth trying to eat them

2. Never ever flush toilet paper. The water pipes here are too weak, and they are too short on water.

3. The call to prayer - going into a Muslim country, this was something I was really excited for. The call to prayer plays out through the city 5 times a day. It is a recording that is also played with a man's voice, and almost sounds like singing. It is entrancing and captivating and one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. Thankfully, I no longer wake up to it at 4:30 or 5 am, but I do get to hear it throughout the day, and once in the evening.

4. You will get addicted to soap operas- My host mom is obsessed with the Turkish soap opera Fatima. She watches is every night at 6 pm, no matter what. I'm already getting hooked even though it is Turkish, dubbed over with Arabic voices so I essentially have no idea what is going on.

5. People here don't really like cats. The city is absolutely FULL of stray cats. They're all so cute, it takes a lot of will power not to try and pet them all.

6. Honking isn't rude, it's simply a way of life - blinkers are a waste of time, just honk and people will assume you have the right of way.


I just completed my first week of classes, so there isn't much else exciting to report. I'll do my best to keep up with this as classes get going though!

Perspective, and Time

My view once I walk out of my apartment in the morning

As I was preparing for my trip abroad, my study abroad advisers at DU discussed the concept of time with us, and just how different that is in many other countries as compared to the United States. In the States, as we know, we are the society of instant gratification. But even more than that, time = $ to us. We value our time more than anything. Type A perfectionist people like myself will cram as much as possible into one day. I will make a to-do list and I WILL get it all done. I know how to plan, and schedule. But here, la la la (no no no). That's going to change.
The concept of time here, and scheduling, simply is not the same. For instance, when we go out to a cafe, the waiter does not worry about serving us as quickly as possible. People go to cafes and restaurants to socialize more than they do to get in and get out efficiently. I honestly love that here. No waiter thinks we are rude for coming in a big group, getting nothing but coffee and sheesha (hookah, which is an essential part of life here) and sitting for two hours or more. That's the way places are. To me it shows just how this country cares more about people and relationships than it does 'efficiency' or money.

This also transpires in every day interactions with people. When people greet you, they actually mean it. It seems that just on the streets people will spend more time chatting than we do in the states. For instance, on Friday my friends and I went to a sooq (a market). This market was essentially just any used/new clothes, accessories, toys, whatever, that people wanted to sell, similar to our flea markets. While we were there a man asked us where we were from (we obviously don't blend in all that well) and we said America. He said he lived there for twenty years in the south side of Chicago, but he came back because the United States was dangerous. This man lived in Chicago until he got shot walking home one night (he's entirely fine) but then decided Jordan was a much better place to be. He said the US was bad because we have drugs and gangs rampant, and Jordan doesn't have that problem. As we said goodbye to the man, I thought to myself that this was just such an interesting perspective. Granted, the south side of Chicago is NOT one of the safest places to be. But his perception of the US and unsafe because of our drug and gang problem was interesting to think about. So for all those worried about my safety being in the Middle East, I think we can take this as a lesson in perspective.

Another example of Jordanian Time was our excursion out near the Dead Sea yesterday. This was honestly my favorite day I have spent in Jordan so far. A group (ever growing, up to around 15 of us) was invited by a friend who has local friends out to a BBQ. It takes us a bit of meandering, a bit of confusion, and a bit of miscommunication, but we finally get ourselves all together and in 3 cars out to the Dead Sea. Once we get out of the city, I get more and more excited. I love living in a city, but I definitely am missing the Colorado mountains already, especially in fall. About 45 minutes outside of Amman is the Dead Sea, and we stop at a little olive & pistachio tree farm that overlooks it. The sky is a little hazy, but we can see all the way to Jerusalem and Palestine from where we were, pretty incredible. It's hard for me to describe the views of this place, but all I can say is this: Amman, you're starting to steal my heart. Once we get out there, us Americans all ooh and ahh, wander and take pictures, while our wonderful hosts set about the BBQ. We spent the rest of the night eating, relaxing, taking in the view, and making even closer connections with all of our new friends. After dinner we set up a fire pit and sheesha while watching the sunset and the cities lights all brighten (sounds pretty perfect, right? it was). By the end of the evening, many of us in homestays had to leave to get back to our host families (11pm curfew btw... the perks of going back to living with a family), but it was all in all an absolute blast. No one was in a hurry, no one felt the need to be up and going, and I feel like that is simply the way we will all adjust to living here.

I have friends!

The view from the patio of this farm 

Settling In

View from the front of my friend's apartment building 

So I finally moved in with my host family, and am settling in to the groove of this city.
My host family is absolutely wonderful. I have a mom, two sisters and a brother. The father is working in Abu Dhabi, so I don't think I'll meet him while I am here. The mom is unbelievably sweet, and she really really cares about my eating habits. All the time. She doesn't speak much english, so mostly she just asks if I am hungry, if I want tea, fruit, a snack, spaghetti, and then she double checks that I am full. I think it's great, she's very caring. The sisters are my age, and both work and stay pretty busy, and I am still not fully sure that the brother exists... I have yet to meet him. We live in a smaller apartment close to the 'downtown' area of Amman. The apartment is nice enough, and has a large private patio out back that gets cool in the evening (which is a great getaway from the heat). Also, maybe one of the best things, my family has a dog! A somewhat awkward little Bishon Frise, with shaved hair. His name is Whitey. Whitey loves sleeping underneath my bed, and growling at random points in time. I will be sharing a bedroom with my older host sister, and I have been given a large amount of cabinet space, plenty for the limited amount of luggage I packed.

My home sweet home for now! Simple, but all that I really need. 

I already feel comfortable with my family, something about the fact that it is just us girls, and the sisters are my age. In the evening once they get home from work, we basically sit in the living room and chat over whatever soap opera is playing on the TV. And by chat I mean they speak in Arabic, I try to follow for a bit, give up, and they roughly translate every once in a while. Altogether though, I find it pleasant and relaxing. My sisters are more than happy to help me with my endless questions. I am definitely looking forward to my time with this family this semester, and I will get LOTS of practice with Arabic in.

My first diet coke in 7 days! 

If there is anything that my experience so far has taught me, it's that I basically just don't know anything. By that I mean: take me out of my comfort zone, and I am useless. I can study the culture from my classroom at DU, read news on the region daily, attempt to learn the language, try to learn to read a map, but NO I really just don't have a clue what I am doing. And I am coming to terms with that. My type-A highly efficient personality is trying to take a chill pill, and working to take things simply as they come. My number one goal as I finish my orientation and really start getting into things: take it as it comes. I am humbled daily by my inability to converse with taxi drivers, shop owners, waiters, and even my host family. But I am also thrilled when I can get a sentence or idea across to them, or when they get excited that I know at least a little Arabic. So as I move on from orientation, get into life with my new family, and start classes, I am excited to start feeling fresh, clean, and open to whatever I can learn.

Look Guys... Amman!

I made it!

I made it, and I made it out into the city.
My first adventure was a short cab ride with two new friends to purchase calling cards for our new Jordanian cell phones (old Nokia bricks, very fancy). An employee at the hotel bartered with our cab driver a bit before we got it... I'm assuming he was haggling our price for us because the driver asked for a very reasonable amount once we arrived. That is one thing that will take adjusting... transportation. First, the roads are so crazy that my program forbids me to drive. So the majority of the time I will be taking taxis. But as soon as some drivers see an american, they assume we have no idea what a cab ride should cost (usually between 1 and 4 Jordanian Dinar) and try to rip us off. One kid in my program paid 10 JD for a cab ride last night... silly American. So I'm glad we didn't get ripped off at all. We paid just over 1 JD for our ride.
But just venturing out into the city is intimidating, and will certainly take some getting used to. Cars seem to drive wherever they want, often in the middle of the road if they can't decide on a lane. Pedestrians walk across the street and hope the car will stop for them, and taxi drivers will do anything they have to do to pick you up. So the streets are hectic, but exciting.
Anywhoo, our first real adventure was today, our program took us out on an official city tour. We were taken to our university (WAY more massive than my school, University of Denver). They have about 40,000 students on this campus, where my home university is only about 5,000. So they showed us the 'main gate' that we will be using. We also took a walk through downtown Amman, which was an incredible place. It is obviously a huge hub of activity for both locals and tourists. The buildings are all built incredibly close together, and are all lined with shops of all sorts. Some were obviously geared towards tourists, with odd bootlegs of American items, like movies and music. But others seemed genuinely authentic in regards to their jewelry, clothing, etc. It is definitely worth more exploring at a later date.
While downtown we got to eat lunch at this fantastic restaurant on the third floor of a narrow old building. The meal was delicious, full of hummus, baba ganoush, shwarma, fresh fruit, and salads. I could certainly get used to eating like this.

Roman Theater, and my cheesy smile

After lunch we made our way to some historic sites of Jordan, the Roman theater and Roman citadel mountain. Way back in the day Rome had a great deal of power and influence in the area that is now Jordan, and many of their creations are still in Jordan today. One being the Roman theater. This theater is a gorgeous old ampitheater that is still used for performances today. There is one spot, center stage, where you can stand, and even if you whisper you can hear it echo back at you, but no one else can hear the echo... pretty neat.

We also saw the citadel. This is on top of a mountain where many ruins still are, like columns, a mosque, a church, and statues. This was a remarkable sight to see, simply because of how much Roman influence can still be found in Amman. The city is very religious, and also very honoring of history.

Roman Citadel

Roman Citadel

After a very long day in the city, I am looking forward to one last night in the hotel. Tomorrow afternoon I will be off with my host family! Internet will be sketchy there, but I'll figure it out as I go.

En Route

Well, I have finally made it to Amman. I am in a fantastic hotel for the next two days for orientation, before getting picked up by my host family.
The trip to Amman was long, but we got to stop through Frankfurt, Germany for a day, which was well worth it. On my flight out of Denver I got to meet another girl on her way to study abroad in Prague, so we had a pleasant flight together, chatting, watching a couple of movies, then I passed out while she stayed up the entire 9 1/2 hours, crazy.
After landing in Frankfurt I met up with 4 other students from my program and we ventured into Germany for the day because we had a 10 hour layover. Frankfurt is a great city, much like a downtown area that you would see in America. We passed a strip similar to Cherry Creek in Denver, with shops so pricey I wouldn't dare set foot in. We wanted to see a more authentic area of the city, so we wandered past the expensive shops, and into a town square area. Here all of the buildings were more what I pictured as "German" and in the middle a protest was forming (Joshua and mom, I promise I took no part in it... just took pictures and walked by).
Then we walked over the Bridge of Love Padlocks. This is a bridge, similar to many others around the world, where couples will travel to, and attach the lock to symbolize their love. I thought it was great. Cheesy, and romantic, I definitely want to be able to add a lock here someday.
Apparently there are a number of these bridges all over the world. It was beautiful.
Across this bridge was a small outdoor bar where we sat for a German beer... apparently something you must experience in Germany. Not wholly unsurprising, I couldn't finish mine. But it was a fun experience, trying to ask the waitress for just plain beer, and sitting by the river.

Overall, it was a great way to spend a long layover, and good times connecting with a few people from my group. We boarded the plane to the last leg of our journey, and arrived in Amman at 2 am. Customs was frightfully easy compared to trying to get into the United States, I'm pretty sure the guy barely scanned my bags. But that's besides the point. The point is, about 32 hours later, I safely arrived in a hotel in Amman!
Our official orientation starts tomorrow, then we will be transported to our host family on Tuesday!