Social Issue

So I wanted to talk about a couple of different subjects in this post, but they should eventually become somewhat related subjects.  First off for those of you who do not know Jordan is considered a desert.  No, big deal because the fact that I have lived in the desert within Arizona.  One big difference here in Jordan is the water issue.  Rain and natural water such as rivers is not really heard of in Jordan.  Unlike in Arizona how we have the Colorado River to support the people with the water issues.  In fact water here is portioned out amongst the neighboorhoods.  So how it works is that one day of the week water is delivered to your particular neigboorhood.  To keep that water each house has a water container that is usually kept on the roof.  So this water needs to last the whole entire week until the new delivery happens at the same day on the next week.  This is the water used for everything in the house to include cleaning, cooking, bathing, etc.  So since this water needs to last Jordaninas do not shower every day.  Yep, if they were to shower every day than by the end of their week they would not have any water to cook with or for anything else.  The amount of showers depends on how big the family is for each household.  So when walking around campus and smelling a bunch of perfume or cologne it is the simple fact that showers don't happen everyday.  So for the Americans who come to study in Jordan and realize that you can't shower everyday is somewhat of a shock.  One simple way to shower everyday is to join a local gym.  Yep a gym is a place to work out here but also to take daily showers.  This realization came quick and now it seems like everybody has a gym membership.  Plus washing of clothes does not happen as often here as in the United States.  Washing of clothes does use up a lot of water and it is more important to be able to eat everyday than to have clean clothes everyday.   

Next topic I wanted to talk about was the community service event that I went on Saturday.  Each semester the study abroad program picks some sort of service project to be apart of and this year it is helping to fix a school.  This school is located in the town of Aljoun which is North of Amman in the mountains.  For fixing the school over the semester we are cleaning, painting, and making the place a better place to learn.  The school is an all boys school (all schools here are segregrated by gender) with about three levels on the building itself.  I believe this school teaches all the way up to the ninth or tenth grade.  So this Satuday our duty to start the project was to move the furniture out, clean the walls and floors, and than move the furniture back into the classrooms.  The walls themselves probably have never been cleaned and we were cleaning to eventually paint in the next visit out there.  Our cleaning supplies consisted of one bucket of water, dish washer soap, two sponges, a broom, and a squegie(each class had one set of these supplies).  Only students that we there to help us were four tenth grade boys while the rest were locked outside of the school because they would just cause trouble.  Will give updates of how this project turns out as I plan to go a couple more times throughout the semester. Once done we walked down the street where all 35 of us had lunch at someones house.  A lot of food even with all of us there.  Than went to a soap house where they make organic soap to be sold.  This part of the day was the cultural activitiy that will change each time the school event happens.  A neat thing about the soap house was that one of the princesses showed up to talk to us (Jordan is run by a King).  She was one of the nieces of the King and she supports activities such as rebuilding the schools and she wanted to personally thanks us for helping.  Before leaving Aljoun to head back home to Amman it started to rain.  Not just drops but a good amount of rain.  Like I said earlier rain is not common, and the two local Jordanians (our leaders for the study abroad program) were out in the raining playing like they were little kids again.  Water in some places is not something that needs to be measured or worried about on a daily basis but, for Jordanians and for me while I am here, water is a big issue.

Will eventually download more pictures to post that includes my host family and some of the food that I have been eating.  Food will be a topic for an upcoming post as I feel like I have eaten a lot of types of food to accurately describe.  By the way sorry to my CA friends, but it looks like the best team has prevailed in the West.  Go D'Backs!  Kind of funny how when I am not in the Phoenix area they decide to make it to the playoffs.  I guess I should leave more often.  Need to go study for another Arabic quiz for my second Arabic class.  Will write later.  In sh’Allah. ( إن شاء الله         

Play on Words

مرحبا

كيف حالك؟

Marhaba

Keef Halik?

Hello!  Well here in Jordan obviously the dominant language is Arabic.  That is why I am here in order to become better at the language or as some people call it squiggles.  My Arabic learning does happen in the classroom, but the Arabic that I am going to remember the most is the Arabic I hear on the streets and amongst the locals.  I titled this post a "play on words" because the fact that to translate some things to English there are multiple Arabic words that can be used.  A good example of this is "afwan"( عفواً).  This word in its most literal translatio means pardon me.  It also could mean various other menaings such as you are welcome, excuse me, and thinking nothing of it.  Another example of this would be the english word of "good."  In Arabic there are many ways to say good to include: 'ged' ( جيد), 'taeb' ( طيب), 'salah' ( صالح), 'ouke' (أوكي ), and 'mashee' (ماشي).  The last one on the list being more of a local dialect that is really only used here in Jordan. 

Well the examples above do make sense because the words are somewhat related.  Well the next will be a good example how a play on words can be quite entertaining for others.  So my name is Zachary, correct.  I usually introduce myself as Zack though.  That makes sense it is just shorter.  Well there is a word in Arabic that correlates with my shorter name.  Plus this word everybody figured out because it was used one day during orientation.  The word is 'Zacki' (زاكي).  Once my peers heard this they looked at me and said that is going to be my nickname.  This word translates to mean 'delicious' and is used when describing food.  It is a local word but not just for the younger generation because my host parents do say that to me too. So when the locals hear that word being addressed to me they look at us like we are crazy Americans.  Thankfully my Arabic professor uses another nickname (simply, Zack Zack) in class.  Still though when I see my peers there is a select group of people who always call me 'Zacki.'

It is the end of the week today after classes, and than am meeting with my peer tutor.  Will probably head downtown this weekend to study at one of the local cafes and than on Sunday there is a field trip.  It's actually more of a community service event but it is about an hour and a half outside of Amman.  The study abroad program here has adopted a school and we are going to help fix up this school.  Will give more details after the event sometime next week.  Right now though have to go take a quiz.  Will write sometime next week.  In sh’Allah.   ( إن شاء الله). 

New Skill

Well I have been in Jordan for about two weeks now.  In this short time I have learned a very interesting skill.  Sure I have learned more than just one but most of these are minor skills, such as bargaining in Arabic, conversions of measurements (still perfecting this skill), ordering food and knowing what it is, etc.  That list can go on for quite a time and I will discuss those smaller skills throughout various posts.  But this new skill is bigger than any of these useful everyday skills I listed above.  This new skill does require patience, some wood, string, plastic, tape, staples, and wind. 

Ok, let me give you a little background before I tell you what my new skill I have obtained.  With this study abroad program I am involved with I get the chance to have a language tutor who is a Jordanian student.  The peer tutor sessions will be conducted all in Arabic and does not include me teaching them English.  So on Saturday everyone who wanted a tutor showed up to campus and that is where we met our tutor.  We didn’t just show up and meet them though.  We had an activity that was put on by a local organization here where we were basically doing an “Amazing Race” around Amman.  Our first activity is where I learned my new skill.  We were split up into groups of four and given tasks to complete for the afternoon.  The first activity had us making a kite from scratch.  Yep that is my new skill.  It might be useful one day down the road.  There was a demonstration on how to make the kite but my peer tutor said we didn’t have to listen because he has made kites before.  That was good because we were in an auditorium size classroom full (about 120 people) all trying to watch four kids demonstrate how to make a kite.  Once we got our materials we went to work making our kite.  It ended up being the best one and even the kids who demonstrated how to make them said ours was the best one.  Our kite had three tails attached to the kite itself, plus a longer tail extending from the main part that had a bunch of smaller pieces floating off of it.  Overall our kite had about seven different colors while everyone else’s had two colors.  We borrowed other people’s scraps, and even used the plastic that the materials came in to make our kite so colorful.  Plus we wrote on the kite the name of the organization that was putting on this event on the kite using cut out pieces of paper.  So our task was to make the kite at the campus and then commute (using only public transportation) to the Citadel (a historical spot in Amman on top of one of the hills).  After making it to the top by bargaining with the bus driver (one of the smaller skills, I observed my peer tutor accomplish) to drive us all the way there (we passed a lot of people walking up the hill) our task was to fly the kite.  Our kite flew the highest and even the organizers of the event mentioned that ours was the best they have seen in a while.  When we left to continue our other tasks at various other locations the kite was still flying thanks to some local kids who we gave the kite to as we were leaving.          

            Now don’t start thinking that everyone in Jordan on their day off is out flying kites for fun.  That would not be that accurate and in fact that is the first time that I have seen any kites being flown.  If people are thinking of the “Kite Runner” and assume every Arab country has competitions like that when in fact that is not accurate.  Plus the “Kite Runner” does take place in Afghanistan which technically is not an Arab country.  I was the lucky one to have a peer tutor who has done this activity before.  So when I get back if there is a day that has a little bit of wind blowing and there is nothing to really do than building and flying a kite could be an option for entertainment.  Eventually will discuss what my classes are and how the University is different here, but I figured I should share my knowledge about my new skill first. I will write later In sh’Allah (as they say in Arabic all the time).             

First pictures of Jordan

Jordan from hotel window

Roman Amphitheatre (Historical spot in Amman)

 View of Amman Jordan

 Roman Amphitheatre from a distance

 Jordan's huge flag in Amman

Host Family

ةرحبا

Marhaba

Hello,

            So the first couple of days we were in a hotel for orientation but we did know who our host family was thanks to a sheet that was in our packet.  For my family this is what it said:

• Religion: Christian
• Does anyone smoke?    No
• Do you have any pets?  No
• Time of commute to university from home?  30 minutes
• Do you have a maid?  No

Than it had a description which said there names (Issam Qussous [Dad] and Ibitsam Qussous [Mom]).  He is a retired cab driver and she is a homemaker, so basically it is an older couple with grown up kids.  On the back there was another description that went like this: "Host dad is loud and spends most of the time on the porch, watching cars.  He loves to go grocery shopping and inviting people over for food.  Host Mom is very friendlly and loves cooking.  The food is plenty and you will be overfed.  They have children who are married and they come over with the Grandchildren almost on a daily basis.  They have a son that's studying medicine in Russia." 

It turns out that the son is now home and is training at one of the local hospitals.  He knows English but does not talk to me in English anymore, which is fine with me.  Its true that the children do come over with grandkids a lot and all of them also speak English because the fact that they are English teachers.  In Arabic culture when people come over they just come unannounced without any previous planning and come at any time of the day.  A proper hostess will typically serve them drinks and if its close to a meal time than some small snack.  To come over unannounced is really common and that is how it has happened the whole time that I have been here so far.  My host family is in the lower class when it comes to money, but that is how most of the Jordanians live.  I do have a private room and it is true that they do feed me a lot.  I will talk about food another time when I have been here longer to describe what I like so far.  The housing director for the program told me even though they are lower class economically it is a close family without any problems that some of the other more wealthy families might have, which are the families the majority of the other students are living with.

During orientation they said that during the evening the family typically sits in front of the television.  This is not true for my family and the part about sitting on the porch watching the cars go by is what everyone does every evening.  Basically I get home, eat, and than sit on the porch watching cars go by and speaking with as much vocabulary as posssible.  One of the first days there I showed them pictures of my car and my sisters truck and that started a pretty good conversation.  With the cooking and cleaning it is only the Mom that does it and I actually was yelled at one of the first days for starting to wash my plate.  Another bonus is that she has invited me to cook since she found out that is my job back in the United States.  They really want me to cook lasagna because she does not know how and that is one of the son's favorite meals.  So not the easiest meal to cook but to be invited to cook in her kitchen means that she really enjoys having me there.  They are very curious of what it is like in Arizona.  The first day I gave them a photography book of Arizona that was bought at a Barnes and Nobles.  They flipped through the pages and saw some pictures that reminded them of Jordan.  For example Sedona they said looked like the Wadi Rum along with an old Indian house also reminded them of Wadi Rum area.  Than they saw a picture of snow covered mountains from the Northern region somewhere and they said they have never seen that.  Plus they did not realise that it snowed in Arizona.  One thing about Jordan is that it is a smaller country and to drive from the Northern tip all the way to the Southern tip can easily be done in one day, and I was trying to explain Arizona and the United States in general is a lot bigger than that. 

Well the weekend starts today after classes.  This weekend on Saturday I get to meet my peer tutor and we have an activity all day with them that will take us around the city.  Need to get to my Arabic class will write and post pictures later. 

   



Remembrance

 A quote from the Jordan Times: 

Obama thanked American troops who have served in the post-September 11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He praised the military successes that led to advances against Al Qaeda and the killing of the group’s leader, Osama Ben Laden.

Even outside of the United States people are in remembrance of that horrible day ten years ago.  Halfway across the world remembrance, respect, and loss of words can be seen by people from all kinds of backgrounds.  A thanks for the troops is always needed it does not matter what day of the year, but especially during this ten year anniversary of the 9/11.  Also a thanks to the many rescue workers, law enforcement officers, and citizens who helped out during the attacks.  The United States and every other country who does not support terrrorism will always remember 9/11. 

Pictures (can't figure out slideshow)

 Beach in Italy

Roman Forum

 Italy

 Futbol

 Harbor in San Sebastian

 Park in Spain

 Suitcase?

 Beach in Lisbon

 Bridge in Portugal

 Rock formation

Europe Summary

I know that I am in Jordan now, but I figured it would be nice to summarize how I experienced Europe since most people would end in Europe over Jordan.  This post is a little lengthy, but then again Europe does have so much.  Europe was definitely an interesting continent to spend some time visiting.  Sure that time did go by quick and was relatively short compared to other people who I met along the way; it still was a good chance for various reasons.  Those reasons include meeting new people, seeing interesting places, visiting historical sites, and to see how language is a powerful tool.  A brief look at the different countries I visited to include the various foods, and sites will show that even though Europe is one continent each place has its own personality.

            My first stop on my European vacation was the country of the United Kingdom, and specifically the city of London.  This was a good place to start because it allowed me to catch up sleep and not be jet lagged without really missing anything.  Sure I did not go see a show or anything like that, but I felt like I visited the places that I wanted to see.  The places were Big Ben (which is also where Parliament meets), Buckingham Palace, and Westminster Abbey.  Overall it was neat to see Big Ben and how old looking that area of London looks, but right across the river there are brand new buildings and infrastructure.  The contrast was neat to see.  Food there was not that unique except for maybe the fresh croissants they had available for breakfast.  Yes, I did eat some fish and chips too, but besides being a big portion there was nothing that special about this meal.  Language there was interesting to hear the British ascent, and also to hear the various other languages being spoken.  The other languages included French, Spanish, Dutch, and the Celtic dialects (Northern United Kingdom). 

            My next stop was Paris which was just a simple two hour train ride down to the city of the lights.  This place I felt was very congested and was not one of the places I enjoyed that much.  While there I did go to the Louvre, Eifel Tower, Notre Dame, and Sacre Coeur.  The Louvre was neat to see the various pieces of history, and Mona Lisa even though does draw a crowd is not the best piece there.  Not sure which one I liked the best, and that probably has to do with the fact that I have not been into art that much.  Eifel tower was real neat to see and right there on the lawn below the Eifel tower it seems really big, but in reality the other Paris buildings do cover it up from a distance.  The Notre Dame was a huge church and so far on the trip was the neatest to see.  The food in Paris was pretty good including the crepes which every little vendor is making fresh anytime of the day.  Plus their Panini sandwiches were quite feeling and each place had a good variety.  Overall I mainly heard French being spoken, which I feel is one of the harder languages to pick up. 

            Next destination was the country of Spain which I was able to visit a lot of smaller towns in Spain.  First stop was San Sebastian which is right on the border of France and Spain.  I stopped here because I had been traveling for about twenty hours via train to get that far from Paris, and plus San Sebastian is on the ocean.  Stayed there for two nights watching how the locals and tourists stayed up all night it seemed like just hanging out eating tapas and visiting.  Tapas are simply a bunch of appetizers that every establishment serves in the night time, and people go from one place to another eating the various types of food.  It was good to spend a day at the ocean and beach because the fact that it was my first chance to get out of the big cities.  Next stop was Bilbao, Spain which was about an hour and a half bus ride from San Sebastian.  Bilbao is originally a mining town so it is situated between these mountains, so the bus ride was neat to see the mountain area.  It pretty much was green vegetation the whole way, with various fields, and every once in a while could see the ocean.  At Bilbao I stayed one night there and was there to go see the gran semana.  This is basically the towns yearly festival where everybody goes downtown during the night and celebrates there independence with concerts, drinking, and visiting.  When I say the whole town it was the whole town.  Next stop was Oviedo, Spain which I had not planned on staying there, but I could not get on a train to Portugal until the next day.  So here I basically walked around near the train station, and that is where I bought a new suitcase because the fact that my first one did not have any wheels left.  I than went onto Portugal, but I will finish talking about Spain now.  Ended up not staying a night in Madrid, but I did have about a seven hour wait for a train so I did leave the station and walked around.  It seems like a pretty modern city and ultimately I ended up at the local soccer stadium.  I thought that would be the closest I would come to watch a futbol game, but I was wrong and that is how I ended up in Barcelona.  Barcelona was right before I went over to Italy via ferry, and my main purpose to visit Barcelona was to see the futbol match.  It was a good game for the home team (F.C. Barcelona) who ended up beating the visiting team of Vill a Real.  That was neat to see the full stadium to go crazy for their team, and no one left early.  The way out to the metro was a huge crowd of people, and also the Metro itself we were packed in like sardines.  The next day I walked around visiting Barcelona and did see La gran Familia.  It was a neat site to visit with construction still happening on the very detailed church.  The food throughout Spain was different depending on the region I visited.  Paella in the Bosque country was not as good as in Barcelona.  The tapas overall were pretty good, and a good lunch was the bocadilla.  Spain was fun to communicate to the locals because the fact that I understood them, and for the most part they understood me.  There Spanish is not like Mexico’s  Spanish and a comparison I heard that does make sense is that Spain’s Spanish is like Great Britains English when compared to U.S. English.  Basically it is really proper.  Another neat aspect of Spain which I did notice in every city whether it was small or big was the fact that family is really important.  One way that I noticed this is the fact that there were a lot of parks throughout the neighborhoods.  Sure we do have this in Arizona, but there were a lot more parks, and every evening they were full of kids playing.  Since the kids are playing that means the parents/adults are around talking and catching up with how everyone is doing.

            So before making it to Barcelona I did travel from Madrid, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal.  Out of all the places I visited this was the best city I was able to visit.  Lisbon itself is not on the ocean thanks to these outer pieces of land, but there is a big river that runs along Lisbon which eventually makes its way to the Ocean.  In Lisbon I visited the Ocenario (aquarium) which was set up pretty neat showing each of the different oceans.  Plus they did have a sea turtle exhibit with some pretty big sea turtles.  Near the Ocenario it is basically these huge buildings where big conferences and events can occur and also a big mall.  So this area was a pretty nice area, and did not represent the whole of Lisbon.  I took the local bus out to the Ocenario (it was about a fourty minute ride) from where I was staying.  This allowed me to see how different the neighborhoods were throughout Lisbon when it came to the nice and the not so nice.  The next day I took a thirty minute train out to Cais Cais where the beach and the ocean are located.  Nice area and in fact walked quite a ways away from the beach along the coastline and came across this real neat cove.  Could not swim there but the water had eaten out a big chunk of the rock and made it into a neat formation.  The beach was a nice beach and was a little busy, but I was there on a Saturday so all the locals were out there too.  The water was a little cold but not as bad as California waters, and it seemed like there was less amount of salt in the water.  Within Portugal I visited an old castle that was used to defend against invaders along the coast line.  Plus walked quite a ways to this statue looking monument that is the most photographed object in Lisbon.  This statue monument piece had some nice detail in the people that were carved into it.  I enjoyed Portugal so much because I felt like it was an international city.  This city brought together many cultures from various places.  The main language in Portugal is Portuguese, but I heard English, Spanish, French, and even Italian.  There was a lot more to do in Lisbon itself and throughout Portugal (including scuba diving) but I was on a time limit and I had to make it to Rome on a certain date. 

            Last and final country I visited was Italy.  Particularly I stayed in the Rome area.  Rome has a lot of history there and is one of the first major cities in the world.  I visited the Vatican which included St. Peter’s Cathedral, the square, and the Vatican Museum.  St. Peter’s Cathedral was gigantic and the best church that I saw on the whole trip.  Vatican Museum did have a lot of neat things, but the most famous thing was a bit of a letdown.  Yep, I thought there were a lot better items than the Sistine Chapel.  I guess it could be because of the particular artist is the reason it is so famous.  The next day I visited my last beach in Europe for some time.  Since Rome is not on the coast I took another train ride out to a beach by the name of Cristofer Columbo.  This beach was unique because the fact that the sand was more of a black color and not a typical white or brown color.  The water itself was warmer than in Spain, but not as warm as Puerto Penansco or San Carlos.  Last day in Rome was spent seeing the Pantheon, Roman Forum, and Colleseoum.  The Roman forum is basically a bunch of torn down monuments and old buildings, but was interesting to think that it used to be a grand city.  The Colleseoum was real neat to see and overall the best old site that I visited.  Even though pieces are missing it was still really big.  Sure this place was basically used for entertainment and a lot of people were killed there it was still an outstanding place to visit.  In Rome the food was real good.  I have already described how the pizza was bought but even the lasagna and pasta was good too.  The language in Italy is Italian, but within Rome there are a lot of English speakers.  This is probable due to the fact that tourism is so big there and giving tours is a good way to make money. 

            Overall Europe was a neat place to visit and experience.  It seems like for Europeans language is not that hard to learn.  I say this because the younger generations were usually at minimum trilingual and some knew even more.  I guess it could be that the United States is so big and our main language is English, while in Europe it is big but each little country had their own language.  Plus it does not take that long to travel between the countries to be able to use all the various languages.  Now I am currently in Amman, Jordan where there main language is Arabic.  Which that is the reason I am here to learn this language.  My next post I will describe how orientation went and what my host family is like. 

                                                       Good bye, au revoir, adios, tchau, ciao.   

Pictures of London and Paris

Goooaall!

Well I was able to make it to a futbol game.  Went to the game in Barcelona, Spain on Monday evening.  It was a real neat experience to see how devoted to the game the Spanish are.   In fact they don't even need announcers or any type of sound que in order for them to start making chants and backing up their team.  The two teams that I say was Barcelona and Vill a Real.  Barcelona was the home team and they ended up shutting them out and scoring five points too.  With it being a Monday evening I didn't think it would be completely full, but it was filled all the way to the top.  The rush to leave after the game was real crazy. 

Let me back up a little bit.  Spent last weekend in Lisbon, Portugal which was a real neat city.  In fact those two nights and three days was not enough for seeing the Lisbon area.  Took a train to Madrid after Lisbon, but I just stayed there long enough to catch a train to get to Barcelona for the futbol game.  Visited Barcelona for a couple times and my next stop was Rome, Italy.  To speed up travel I took a ferry from Barcelona to Civitavechia, Italy.  This took only about eighteen hours with no stops compared to about a twenty-three hour trip by train with multiple stops.  It would have been multiple stops because I would of had to go through France on my way into Italy, and once in a different country they have different train companies.  So I missed that coast line by not taking the train ride, but with needing to fly out on Saturday I figured it would be best to get to Italy quicker so I have some time to see the sites. 

Right now I am in Rome, Italy visiting the tourist areas yesterday, and than today just got back from the beach.  It was only about a thirty minute ride by train out to the beach.  Nice little area with black sand, which is a speciality over here. The Vatican, St. Peter's Cathedral, and Colosseum were all pretty huge structures and neat to see.  Tomorrow will visit the Pantheon and eat some more of their pizza.  The pizza here is real interesting because you pay by how much it weighs.  So you walk in and pick out the type (which there are multiple types) and they have there knife and you tell them where you want them to cut it.  Plus the pizzas are not round, but are a rectangular shape so it is easier for them to cut and serve.  Tomorrow is my last day in Europe and I fly out tomorrow night to Amman, Jordan.  Its been a quick fast forward trip in Europe, but now I am ready to get to Jordan and really start to understand and learn about the Middle Eastern culture. 

I should have some pictures posted up by today.  These pictures will only be from the first part of the trip though.  Pretty much only London and Paris.  I have yet to upload all the other pictures onto my computer yet.  Well next post will be from Jordan.  Not sure when I will get a chance to start with because orientation is the first week and that is supposed to be pretty intense.  So will write when I do get a chance to give my first thoughts on Jordan.  Fate attenzione, ciao