The Day to Day

The view of the Promise Land from were Moses first saw it - Mt. Nebo

I have spent a lot of time blogging about my weekend wild desert adventures, but that is definitely not the majority of my time spent here. In actuality, I spend most of my days in various cafes around the university, trying to study! Through my day to day events, I have put together a short (sort of) and sweet post of some observations about Amman life.

1. Sidewalks here are not for walking. I've already pointed out the wonderful chaos that is driving in Amman, but being a pedestrian is just as wild. Most sidewalks here have cars parked on them at some point, dip down and stop in the middle of no where, or have large trees planted to the point that you actually cannot walk on the sidewalk. After about a month or so, I stopped even trying, and resigned myself to walking in the street, using the sidewalk only when necessary.

2. Staring is not necessarily a rude thing. As one of only 100 American students in a student body of 40,000 here, you better believe I stick out like a sore thumb. No matter what I am wearing, carrying, doing, I will get stared at. Not just the "Oh she's new" glance. But the "Who are you, I better blatantly watch you walk past until you are no longer in eyesight" stare. That happens..... just about everywhere we go. So when my program told us there is no dress code, but we should try and be culturally conscious, that's why. The stares I get would only be amplified if I dressed inappropriately to customs here. It took some definite getting used to, but I don't mind much usually.

Whitey sitting at the dinner table for his birthday cake

3. CATS. Pets aren't quite as big of a thing here as they are in America. The majority of Muslims here (which is 88% of the population) think that dogs are dirty animals, so wouldn't have them for pets. My family is one of the only ones that I know that has a dog, which I'm ecstatic about. And then cats.... no one likes them. They are like rats to New York. Every single dumpster is home to a family or two of wild cats. I have to resist the urge every day not to try and pet one, steal one, pick one up, and take it home.

4. Backpacks are for losers. On the university campus, the Americans are literally the ONLY students carrying backpacks. The rest of the girls here carry their purses, and maybe a notebook or two. The guys will carry their phones, cigarettes, and a notebook or a book or two. I asked my language partner at the beginning of the semester why no one had them, and she literally said because backpacks are not cool. Only elementary school students carry them here. Despite that, I continue to look like a dweeb every morning carrying my backpack through campus.

This is the view of the Main Gate of my campus. 

5. Americans are slobs. By this I mean, university students really have their acts together here when it comes to fashion. There is certainly no such thing as wearing sweats or a hoodie to class. I wore my Debate Team hoodie and my hair in my staple messy bun one day, and looked homeless in comparison to these girls. All the girls here are just incredibly beautiful. They also match their ENTIRE outfits, which has never been my strong suit. I stick to neutral tones because I assume black/gray/brown/tan all match each other - right? But the girls here match their hijabs to their outfits to their purses to their shoes - all in bright and elaborate colors. The guys also always look well put together. They most often wear loafers, sweaters, button ups, and nice looking jeans. Paying $50 for American Eagle to rip holes in your jeans is definitely not a fashion statement here.

With this, I've included a few miscellaneous pictures of my daily life here:

We ventured to the famous golden arches for some McFlurries for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It was glorious. McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC are almost status symbols here. They are more expensive that other restaurants here, so eating at them actually means you are well off. Pretty different than the $1 menu meals college kids live off of at home. 

The most wonderful girl <3 We went out to celebrate a friend's birthday from the program - and that guy yodeling behind us is a good friend as well. 

This picture is old, but I just have to include a shoutout in this post, to the most wonderful friends I could have hoped to make here. My life in Amman would be nothing without these folks. Cheesy but true

Not remotely related to anything historic, Arab, or academic... but a look into the family I have made for myself