So close to the end I can taste it

Hello all! its been a while. I havent written because I haven't had anything to say. the days are quit monotonous, all i do is go to class, then go home and either work on my paper or sleep or watch tv. I am very bored right now, but its okay. I finished writing my 5 page paper on Petra...its kinda embarrassing how bad it is for a college paper, but hey- its in Arabic, so ma fi mushkela (no big deal). Today I took my OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview). Basically I called america and had some guy talk to me for 30 minutes in Arabic to assess my level in comparison to all other Arabic learners. I think I did pretty well, but we shall see. I will get put into a category: intermediate low, mid, high, or Advanced low, mid, or high. I am hoping for Advanced low. This semester was interesting, but it wasn't very challenging. I was at a level in between two classes, so my class was a little too easy for me and my learning was slowed down by others in my class. but next semester i think i will learn a lot more.

Next semester, I am not sure yet where I will be living. I hope we live on campus instead of the apartments we are in now because we are kinda in a bad neighborhood, but they don't know yet. The problem is that the University dosent allow Jordanian students to live with American students, and CET requires it (of course, I didn't have one this semester but I am supposed to have one in the fall) I asked the resident director Mazen if I could live with my friend Rasha. She is the roommate of my american friend, and we became quite close because I dont have a roommate so I just spent a lot of time with them. Hopefully everything works out. I am starting to stress out because I dont kow where to put my bags that I will be leaving here during the 3 weeks I will be in Europe (super excited btw!!!!).

tomorrow I don't have class. I just have a one on one hour with my wonderful teacher Iman to edit my paper. After that, I still have to record 15 minutes of myself and 15 minutes of my two partners for my amiyya project -  we are discussing the relations between men and women in Jordan. It is pretty interesting what some people have said. We had to interview several people and I definitely learned more about the culture. I hope its not too hard to talk for 15 minutes!!!!

on Wednesday, I have to take my final exam, which i have been assured is super easy. Our midterm was the same way, and I got a 98% so I am happy (not that I am getting credit for this summer). After the test, we have our last day of class then we have a little hefla (party) to say goodbye! and then I leave at like 6am on friday. I plan to be in a tank top and shorts at a bar in Tel Aviv by friday night! Goodbye Islam and Goodbye Jordan! I am free to do what I like for 3 whole weeks!!!!!!!

Ramadan Kareem

Oh man Ramadan is interesting. the days are dull, not much is open. I have sooo much homework but can't seem to get started so this is my procrastination. I have to write a 5 page paper on petra (not that exciting) but what sucks most is i don't know how to type on an arabic keyboard. (ps the spacebar on this computer is sticking so if two words are together please forgive me) I only know how to write phonetically and that wasn'ta problem on my wonderful amazing beautiful computer,but now it is becausei am currently writing at an internet cafe.

Ramadan is really boring during the day, and it kinda sucks cause it is illegal to have food or drink in public, so when i go out to the internet cafe, i can't drink for hours. it ends around 7:30 or 8. and then the party starts. everything opens, and is open way late. people sleep all day and are up all night. it is crazy. they have to eat breakfast around 4:30 or so, so most don't go to bed before that. unfortunately, i have classes still, so i will be a grouch for a bit i think.




I have several Jordanian friends, and yesterday, I was helping two of them study for their english exam. it was very upsetting. Their teacher was teaching them incorrectly!!!!! I know i am not formally trained in english, but i am a native, and i know what is and is not correct in my own language. it killsme that they are trying to hard to learn a language, but they are being taught incorrectly!!!!  what is the point?! it does make me feel good to know that their english is at the same level as my arabic, and we can communicate perfectly well.



I am sorry to say that due to my dead computer, there wont be any more photos on the blog until september, but I hope you all will still read and enjoy it!

Its hot up here

Well there are worse things than starring at the water on a Sunday! These include the temperature in Jordan right now: 106 degrees with a 48%humidity, and they don't have widely available AC. I admit I am not a happy camper. Also, Friday starts Ramadan. I am not excited. It is illegal to eat or drink in public....I don't know how I will survive the heat without constant water. I will be frequently slipping off the the bathroom for a swig or two! The good thing is no smoking! The bad thing is everything is closed during the day, which means two weeks of not sleeping!!!!! my favorite study place, for example, usually open until 12am, will now open from 7pm until 3am.

In other news, my computer died. I am heartbroken. We have been together for 4.5 years, and all my livin' has been with her....her name is-was- Prudence. She was wonderful, and will be greatly missed. Her motherboard just died one day. I woke up early to study, she worked no problem, then I had to go to my office hours (private tutoring for each student- mine is every morning from 8:30-9. I hate waking up, but I like having a half hour to finish my homework before class (starts at 9:30) and also love being done with class at 1:30 and not having to worry about scheduling with my language partner. After my office hours, I took Prudence out of my bag, and she had turned herself off and refused to turn back on! I took her to a store that knew how to fix macs (not so common here) and the man said 'the only way to fix this problem is to buy a new computer!' So sad! Also so inconvenient!

In class, I have to write a bahatha (research paper). It needs to be 5 pages long, and I need to research and type it up, and now I don't have a computer! Such a shame.

I have been checking my facebook and email as much as possible, but its a lot harder to do research and write when i'm not in a comfortable place and I have to pay to use the internet!!!!!

I think I decided I am going to switch to a PC as well, because it is cheaper and I really don't need a mac anymore. But it will be hard to get used to!

Ella Learns to be a Good Jordanian Friend

Hello again to all!!!! This time lets do a shout out to my Russian readers, I hope you find it interesting! And yes, I am having fun stalking my stats and seeing who is reading my blog.

This is the story of how I learn to be a good Jordanian friend. Let me tell you, it is HARD WORK. It involves some acrobatics, a lot of time, and a lot of fun!

This weekend, all of CET and some of our language partners (Sharik alLurawi's) went on our long trip to The dead sea (Bahar al Maeet), Petra, Wadi Rum, and Dana National Forest. It was from Thursday afternoon until Saturday night. We got today, Sunday, off from school to rest and do our homework.

The Dead Sea


Not much excitement here....I have already been to the Dead Sea twice in Israel so its not so different on the Jordanian side... We floated, we put mud on, we washed off, we left...

Petra


We didn't arrive to Petra until around 9pm, and were exhausted from our drive and playing at the Dead Sea. We were with many our our language partners, and mine, Bra'a was there. It takes a lot of energy to talk in Arabic all the time, but its fun. We had dinner and then went to bed pretty much. Thank goodness we stayed in a hotel! At 4:30am I woke up hating the world, like I usually do when I am woken at this hour. I showered and went up to breakfast, and after three cups of nescafe, I felt a little more like a human being. We walked about 5 minutes to Petra, and PS, if you are a student in Jordan the entrance fee is 1JD ($1.50).... if you are a tourist, the entrance fee is 90JD ($127). Lucky we all have our student cards for Yarmuk University! The city is amazing! Just like in the pictures!!!! Although they leave out the fact that you have to climb 800 stairs to get to the top...it took about 2 hours to get to the top, with a few breaks for shopping from the beduin jewelry stalls. By the end, I was sooo sweaty and gross and tired and hot, I could barely think. We were done around noon, and I was happy we went so early because it was just way too hot and was getting crowded now that it was later.

For those of you who don't know, Petra is where Indiana Jones in the last crusade was... pretty cool!!!!

Tim named this camel Omar, and the one behind him I named Amira....They are cute, no?

This is the monastery almost at the top of the mountain... it was amazing and I don't understand how they do this!!! 

I made it to the top!!!!! They call this the end of the world...It looks like it, right?


Wadi Rum

In the jeeps, heading out to Wadi Rum!

Mazen, our resident director

After Petra, we were all exhausted. We showered and napped in our hotel, and then had lunch and drove to Wadi Rum. I was still exhausted, and napped on the bus. I hadn't been a great Jordanian friend in Petra...I sorta lost Bra'a for the most part of it, but for Wadi Rum I was determined to be good. Wadi Rum is a huge expanse of sand with huge mounds of rocks and mountains to climb and hang out in. its pretty beautiful and tons of fun. Despite being exhausted, we all rallied and had a blast. We got 4 jeeps and drove around to different mountains to climb up.

There is soooooooo much sand in my shoes!!!!

This is where I really learned to be a good Jordanian friend, and Bra'a and I stuck together! We climbed arm in arm and I pulled her up some rocks and we had a blast. Her sister, Salwa was also there, and she is my friend Danielle's language partner. the four of us spent a good amount of time together.

One of our stops was to climb up a sand dune, and then up some rocks. the sand dune was REALLY hard to get up! It was like quicksand, and every step I took I sunk 1.5 steps back! Bra'a and I hung on to each other for dear life, and it was okay we didn't get too far. It was fun.

This is me and Lawrence of Arabia!

I made it way high up! I am strong!

I admit I am quite scratched up now, but it was worth it. The second to last one, I climbed the highest. I got maybe 150ft up? I really have no idea, because I suck and guessing things like that, but it was way high up. It was fun to go up and terrifying to go down! At the bottom, there was also a rock with the face of Lawrence of Arabia, as this is where he met his gang of Beduins (at least in the movie, I don't really know real life, just what I learn in the movies!) We got tea there, and ran into an old friend from the beginning of the program, Jared, who now is running a program in Amman.

These are my lovely sharika sisters!

We spent the night in tents at a campsite for Wadi Rum visitors, and hung out. the stars were beautiful!!!! There were many more than anywhere else I have ever been, even in Leverett!!!!!
















Dana


The next morning, I awoke really early in my oven...I mean tent...and we went to breakfast, and then left Wadi Rum for Dana National Forest. I am sorry to say I wasn't that excited. By this point I was exhausted and kind of natured out. We walked around a bit, I climbed a rock, we had lunch, and we drove home. 

Aqaba....no, Aladdin is not from here!

Hi All!!! sorry it has been so long, I know you all live and breath by my blog so not having posted in a bit must have killed you (jokes) and a shout out to those two people in South Korea who read my blog, very cool! I have no idea how to speak any sort of Korean but I will be learning at some point once I graduate from college!

Anyways, since I last posted, mad amounts of things have gone down! I have been super busy and unable to find time to post, so I will be doing two today!!! Super exciting, I know.

Last weekend was July 4th weekend (sorta, July 4th was wednesday, but close enough). I went to Aqaba with 8 of my gal pals here. Coincidentally most of the students on my program decided to go to Aqaba as well, so everyone except for two people ended up going. It was AMAZING and I am sooooo in love. I need to go back but from America to see if it really is amazing or just in comparison to Irbid.

You all probably have noticed I hate on Irbid a lot. Its true, I don't like Irbid much. Some of the people here are nice, and I love my classes but I have a hard time adjusting to being a woman in Irbid, aka, less of a human. It doesn't come naturally. Irbid is worse that the rest of Jordan because it is so conservative and there aren't very many tourists. There are may restrictions to being a woman that really restrict my way of life. For example:

~Women do not smoke in public. Instead, they smoke in bathrooms or enclosed spaces away from the men. I don't smoke, but when I travel on the bus and we take a smoke break, the men go outside but the women smoke on the bus and I don't like that.

~Women can't have wet hair in public. I do anyways because I often shower at the gym and then have to walk home. Usually it is dark and I don't live far from the gym, but it can be a problem sometimes with harassment and the shebab (the young men).

~Women can't have hair longer than their shoulders in public. Most here wear a Hijab or more, but some just keep their hair up. its not the biggest deal cause it is so hot I often have to put my hair up just cause I am sweating so much, but just the fact that they try to tell me how to wear my hair pisses me off!

~Women can't go out alone after 6pm! this is what pisses me off the most. Once, I went to the gym with my friend. we go around 8pm, and afterwards, she wanted to go home and I wanted to meet some friends for coffee and homework at our little 'spot' where we always go (called Cuzins and we LOVE it! its like mini america with internet and AC and coffee and Ice cream and all things sparkly and good) Anyways, I had to walk alone for maybe 3 blocks, but i got an empty pack of cigarets thrown at me, cat called, grabbed at and other ridiculous things! The Shebab here have no respect for human decency and for such a religious country they have no sense of shame. They DO look twice, they DO harass you constantly and try to grab at you. There is a double standard here. Because I am american, I don't count as a real woman so they can treat me less that the Jordanian women. This is because the Jordanian women have fathers and brothers and uncles to come to their defense if the Shebab are disrespectful. We American girls don't. I became friends with sever GOOD Jordanian boys (they are few and far between but they do exist) and often times get them to help me get rid of creepy or mean shebab. But I hate having to walk around with men to protect me. Its not how I was raised, its not how I live my life and I don't like it.

Anyways! This post is about the much better city of Aqaba!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED AQABA!!!! It was wonderful. Aqaba is the very southernmost tip of Jordan, on the Red Sea. It is about 6 hours away from Irbid, although the bus stopped so much it took an extra hour! We all left right after classes and got to Aqaba exhausted. My gal pals and I had booked a beautiful hotel right in the city called AlQidra Hotel, but most of the others were staying at a hostel about 5 minutes outside the city. Since we had booked in advance, our rooms were cheaper anyways! WIN. It was only like 20JD for two nights including breakfast! super nice, don't you think? And the rooms were clean and nice and had AC and were right in the heart of everything. After we had checked in and dropped our bags and stuff, we headed out to find some food. We ended up eating at a nice little restaurant with most everyone else and stayed there until 3am! We snuck in some alcohol, which is illegal, but we didn't get in trouble, and some of them smoked hookah (I explained previously, but for those of you who forget, I don't really like hookah also called Argila here). They gave us tea and ice cream which was very nice and didn't kick us out after they closed. I didn't end up going to sleep until about 4am or later! The next morning came much to soon as some of us had decided to go snorkeling at 9am!

Snorkeling was soooo much fun! Aside from the fact that I don't really like fish, it was a great time!! We went out on this little boat with a bunch of people from all over. The top deck was a great place for sunbathing and a good nap, and below was for all our gear and going into the water. most of the people were going scuba diving, but I don't know how. They said I could have done a special kind of dive where I go with an instructor and they make sure I am okay the whole time. My friend Nicole did that, and she had a blast. If I do it again, I think I wanna do that. But for me and my friends, snorkeling was good enough. The water was saltier than I expected, but the reef was beautiful! So many fish and turtles and clear blue sea! Around 3pm or so they surved us a delicious meal with plenty of veggi options for us. We talked with the woman who ran the company (the woman who cooked the delicious food for us). She was actually from Irbid and said her father was amazing and had let her do and wear whatever she wanted, and when she got married, her mother in law started pressuring her to be more like an Irbid woman, and when her first husband died her MOL got really obnoxious and she had to just take her kids and get OUT of Irbid. She married a British guy and they now run the diving center in Aqaba and she is super happy. She made us so happy, to know that not all the women who come from Irbid are stuck without any sense of choice or self derived power.

After snorkeling, we headed home and got amazingly wonderful pedicures, showered, and headed out to dinner at a well known fish restaurant. What a good friend am I, to go to a fish restaurant when I don't eat fish! There was a lot of bread and Humus and Babaghanoush and Salad for me to eat. And it was only like 1JD!

After dinner some of us went to a (BAR) which was super nice and hung out and got a little drunk and played pool. I am ashamed at how bad I was, (Sorry Kieran) but we there were a bunch of British Navy boys who played with us and it was a lot of fun.

The next day, I got up a little later and went to meet my friends at the private beach for the hotel. That included a pool with a swim up bar (I accidentally forgot to pay for my drinks but its their fault cause they didn't ask me to pay). After the pool, we had to book it back to eat and then take the long long bus ride back.

I LOVE AQABA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aid Alistaklal saida!!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!! عيد الاستقلال سعيدة!!!  That means happy independence day. One of the girls on the program made a red white and blue cake, and our teacher gave us American flag stickers for our homework, lol. It was fun. Unfortunately, today is wednesday so we can't have a big party with alcohol and whatnot cause we all have homework and class tomorrow, but a bunch of us are going out to a Yemeni restaurant later.

Here is a photo of my language partner Bra'a, who is super sweet and I like her a lot. Mom wanted to see a photo of her, so....here it is:

We are sitting outside the language center.

Tomorrow I go to Aqaba!!!!!!