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