Reflection about my Travels

Hello All,

I have been back in the US for about three days now. I have enjoyed seeing and spending time with my family, but I miss Jordan too. Last night I even had I dream I was watching a movie with my host mom and sister. I woke up happy remembering our great times together.

Honestly, culture shock has not been as bad as I anticipated. However, my major issue is how people treat each other in the US. I have had three different store employees roll their eyes at me and just give me major attitude. In Jordan, this never happened. Store owners went above and beyond to show me their goods and to get me interested in their items. I was always treated with kindness by everyone I met as Jordanians have a no tolerance for rudeness culture. For example, if a friend asks you to do something, you must say yes. Saying no would be rude. This is one of the many examples of how Jordanians cannot be rude.

I have adjusted to wearing shorts very easily, which surprises me. I thought I would have a tougher time showing my legs. However, I know that when I am wearing my shorts I am not offending anyone and I am also not going to receive as much unwanted attention from young men. However, I have had young guys cat call me and yell at me since I have returned to the United States. This shocked me and reminded me that sexual harassment happens everywhere and that it is a universal issue everyone should work towards correcting. Also, I was unable to enjoy a glass of sangria with my dinner tonight because I left my ID at home. In Jordan, I never had to show an ID as the drinking age is 18. I would have liked to have enjoyed the glass of sangria....


I also thought about what my favorite parts of my experience were. First and foremost, I would have to say my host family truly made my experience stellar. Especially in the beginning when I was having trouble finding my place among the other students, they helped me to not feel lonely and were my close friends. I am truly appreciative for everything they did for me and for everything that they taught me. They will be lifelong friends.

As far as things I saw, I would say the following were my favorites.

1)Wadi Rum. Spending the night in the desert was an absolutely amazing experience. I thank Ahmed for taking my friend Paige and I out into the desert to mediate. It was so calming to just stare at the mountains and to be one with the desert. It is a feeling and experience that I will never forget.
2)Meeting with Prince Hassan- It was awesome to meet a member of the royal family. I even had my picture taken with him. That was such a treat!
3)Seeing the Whirling Dervishes in Istanbul- It was so nice to get to witness something so spiritual and to have a program that explained all the significances so well. If you ever go to Istanbul, splurge on the ticket. You will not regret it. You can truly feel the spirituality in the room.
4)Wadi Mujib- We climbed a waterfall during my last few days in Jordan. I was really appreciative for all the people who assisted me in the climb and helped me to achieve such a beautiful and wonderful feat. This experience will be something I cherish for the rest of my life.

The following were instances that proved to be challenging

1) My Homestay in the Badia- Honestly, this was rough. It was very cold at night and my host family and I did not necessarily click. However, I would do this experience over and over again. I learned so much about the Bedouin lifestyle during this week as well as how a plural marriage works. It was truly eye opening. Also, as time has passed, I have come to understand why Ariel and I got in trouble for walking along the road. Walking along the high way was dangerous as someone could have driven by and taken us. My host family was right to send out a search party and worried about my safety. At the time, I was just frustrated to be sitting inside all day, as I like to move and explore. While everyone in my Badia homestay was a tough person, they were all really kind people who did the best they could with me. I truly appreciate them and all they taught me
2)Sexual Harassment- It was really hard sometimes to hear young men talking or yelling at me. It was amazing to feel such a lack of respect and sometimes fear. I really hope that steps will be taken to erase sexual harassment from the world. It is awful.

Things that have changed with me
1) I will respect people more and be less rude. No eye rolling or sass. It is unbecoming
2)I have trouble with eye contact and men. In Jordan, women did not look men that they did not know in the eyes. Even now, I feel myself staring at the floor sometimes if a man is talking to me.

Things that have surprised me about home
1) THERE IS SO MUCH WATER IN THE TOLIET BOWL!
2) People in my area do not dress well. In Jordan, everyone was always dressed nicely when going our in Amman. I wish that we would sometimes put as much care into our appearance,
3)There is so so much grass and greenery
4)Everyone buys everything with a credit card
5) I missed my car so so much. No more Taxi Drivers!

This is it for now,
Natalie



 

An Exciting Day

Hello,

Now that my fifty five page research project on Arabic Sociolinguistics and Identity is over, I can blog again. I assure you that my paper had less grammar mistakes then this blog.

Today I went to my host sister, Mayas' open house, or open day at school. I left on the Middle School bus with my sister at 830 in the morning and arrived at school, The Jordanian International School. There were many different vendors around and many people. I watched Mayas preform two Zumba solos. SHE WAS AMAZING! I was so proud of her and she looked so happy. The other dances were not nearly as good as hers and she stole the show.

Here are videos of Open Day

Sick in Amman

Hello,

Yesterday and today I have felt sick. I have sharp pains in my stomach among other issues. My host mom, noticing that I am pretty sick gave me some herbal remedies.

1) A drink that is named after Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It has a pale yellow color
2) A clove of garlic- I swallow pieces of garlic whole.
3) yoghurt

All three of these have helped me to feel better. I really enjoy trying the different remedies. This is an experience you would not get if you were living in a hotel or in an apartment with other Americans. This is a unique homestay experience.


Til next time,
Natalie

A Wedding to Remember

Hello,

So last weekend I went to my Host mother's neice's engagement party. I was very excited all week about going to this event. I have not been to a wedding or an event like the such since I was very little. I was excited to have a good time and learn about engagements and such in Jordan. 

In preporation for the event, I bought a new dress. It was the dress I wore when I saw Prince Hassan. Something told me that this engagement party called for a new dress. A couple of days later, my host mom asked to see what I was going to wear to the engagement party. I showed her the dress and told her I would wear black tights so my legs would not be showing. She said the dress was nice and that it would look better without tights. In essence, she said leave the tights at home. I was shocked. I told myself not to wear the tights because my host mom said no, but at the same time the idea of showing my knee caps was a bit terrifying. 

A week before the party, my host sister, Mayas, went on a field trip where she went climbing on rocks. Unfortunately, she really scraped up her knees. This cause my host mom and host sister to worry about what she would wear to the party as they did not want her scraped knees to show. I personally wondered what the big fuss was. This was a kid! If the kid had a banged up knee it would be okay. I suggested tights or using concealer. They liked the tights idea and I suggested a medium thickness pair. Then my host sister modeled different dresses. My host mom kept asking me which one she should wear. I was a bit stunned. Surely the sixteen year old could pick out her own outfit! However, looking back, this was a bonding and fun activity. Also, I would soon learn the reason why making sure everyone looked their best was important. 

The day before the event, my host mom got her hair cut. The next day we went back to the salon to have our hair blowout. I had the man wash mine as well because anytime someone wants to put soap and water on my fine blonde hair, they are totally welcome. My hair was blown out in about 15 minutes and the guy used really technical ways of doing it. The man was Syrian and we talked about Syria and made small talk. He seemed so nervous about blow drying my hair. I told him not to worry and to do the best he could. He seemed to relax after that and talk more. He did a great job! Blowing out my host mom's hair took about 45 minutes. She now has a short bob, but she has so so much hair! As a result, I decided to get my nails done while I waited. The nail lady was a Philapino lady. She told me that she hates living in Amman and told me of the struggles Philapino ladies and workers face in Amman. I am glad I had this conversation. I kept on listening because it was important information. I was not bothered by her sharing her story as it is important to know how hard it is in Jordan for domestic workers. She asked if I was studying Arabic because I was hoping to marry an Arab man. This was a first for me. I said not particularly and that I just enjoyed the grammar. She seemed surprised at my answer. I had my nails done hot pink. Soon my host mom was finished with her hair. She told me how much she loved it now and that the man had done a better job at blowing it out. I finally relaxed. Preparing for this event was a lot of pressure. Would there be alcohol at the party....? (Of course not hehe)

Finally the party was hear! The party would be at the father of the bride's house on the outskirts of Amman. The house is huge and has a lovely patio. I have been over there a few times now and was excited to learn that the party would be there. My host mom, sister and I arrived a few hours early to help set up. Mostly, I just sat in a chair in the corner and tried not to bother anyone. I enjoyed watching the ladies walk into the room. They showed up at the door in abayyas, a type of cloak. I silently played the game of who would have the most "patrytastic" outfit based off of the shoes peaking out from under the cloak. I totally guessed the winner. One girl was wearing sky high,black platformed heels and a short halter dress. One false move and this fourteen year old girl would have flashed someone. The other guests were dressed nicely as well and in a classy way. No one looked at ridiculous as this girl. Some of the other guests laughed at her. I agree, her outfit was a bit much for a wedding celebration and belonged more in a club. Meanwhile I sat there tugging at my shirt feeling like I was showing too much knee. Since men and women sit in different places for the party, women can really wear anything they want. 

The women at the party wore many different types of dresses. Some wore Arabian dresses, Beduoin Dress and Western Dress. I enjoyed seeing all the fashion. The groom's family is Beduoin, so many of the women from that side of the family wore thobes. The matriarchs of the bedouin family were there are well. I honestly cannot respect a single group of women more than Bedu matriarchs. They have had many children who now have children. Essentially, she runs the village because of the amount of offspring she has. In a sense, she is Godfather like because her word is infallible. She does what she wants and is taken care of by all her children. She is a boss. I enjoyed seeing the Bedouin tattoos on the women's faces. Honestly, if I were them I would have mad ink as well. These women are strong and tough. 

Finally the soon to be bride arrived! She came from the salon and rushed past everyone to get dressed. Moments later, she came out in her first outfit, a white and gold Arabian dress. This was the outfit she would wear to sign her marriage contract. In Islam, a women signs a contract (as well as the groom) stipulating the amount of money she would receive if her husband ever divorced her. Since a woman returns to her father's house if she is divorced, she does not solely live off the money stipulated in the contract. Her father and brothers will provide for her, but the money helps. This is a happy occasion, not a sad one. Personally, I view it as a prenuptial agreement. I like it and it will help to avoid mess later if the marriage fails. Personally, I am in favor of these agreements for everyone. Mays, the bride, ran out and hugged and kissed all of us one by one. She looked gorgeous! 

Soon after the marriage contract was signed. I did not witness this personally as I did not know if I was invited to see. I did not want to get to involved in things. I was afraid I would offend. A holy man, Immam, writes the contract. Going back to tribal customs, the eldest male on the groom's side asks the eldest male on the bride's side if the man can take the woman as his wife. The eldest male of the bride's side speaks for the family. Of course this is all show. Mays very much loves Mutaz and wants to marry him and her parents like the arrangement. After this exchange the contract is signed. Mays put on a hijab for this part as well as my host mom. I was surprised that women who never cover their hair did so at this moment. Apparently, in the presence of the holy man, you cover your hair. I'm glad I didn't walk in then. I did not have a scarf since I figured if I did not need tights, I did not need a scarf. After the contract was signed, the men fired celebratory gun shots. I loved this!

After this, Mays went and changed into a peach dress that was stunning. She and Mutaz walked in to the women's party arm in arm. At this point, the grooms sister gave Mays so much diamond jewelry. The sister handed it to Mutaz and he put it on Mays. There were three rings, a diamond headband, a long diamond chain necklace and a diamond bracelet. It is customary that the groom give his future wife jewelry at the engagement party. It was so many diamonds, but it was stunning and she wore it well. 

After this, there was dancing. Mays and Mutaz danced together. I enjoyed watching but I was soon pulled into the dancing. I danced a little, feeling like I was "the white girl in the club" without dance moves. I danced with Mays mother as well as my host mom. It was a good time and I enjoyed the Arabic music. Mays and Mutaz went between parties to visit guests. At this point, I figured out that the men were just on the other side of the house. 

There was cutting of the cake, a three layered fondant cake. The couple fed each other the cake. They also sipped a glass of wine with their arms crossed. I enjoyed seeing these more western elements incorporated. It was a beautiful time. 

Towards the end of the party, the father's of the couple and brothers came to the women's party to dance. The Mays father and Mays danced. It was so cute and I was glad to see the father's come to out party. However, this meant that the women had to put on hijab and their cloaks again. Suddenly the perfectly salon styled hair was gone and so was the one girl's very short dress. Even the mother's of the couple put on a hijab. Mays mother was wearing a long red, sleeveless evening gown. She put on a cardigan at this point to cover her arms. This was because the father of the groom and his sons were present. The other mother did the same thing. The coming over of the men is a traditional element in less conservative families. It reminded me of a father daughter dance. 

The brother of the bride is a young doctor in his 20s. He is gorgeous and so smart. When he joined the party I was like, Ladies go over and make a move! However that would have been culturally inappropriate.

What I learned from the party was that a man is supposed to take care of his wife. This entire party was about the man showing he can and will provide for his wife. Mutaz gave her a promise of security if they get divorced showing that he is going to take care of her even if things don't work out. He also gave her so much expensive jewelry further showing that he will provide and take care of her.

There were many important guests that I never saw, but were there. Apparently the Italian Ambassador was there. Also, Queen Noor's son, Prince Hamzah was also a guest. He knows the groom's family and came to the engagement party. Big deal! I wish I could have seen them, but they were men's party only guests. This was why looking so good was important!

Mays and Mutaz so so cute and in love!

Host mom and Host sister

The women got the best location, the patio

Mutaz and Mays seat

My host sister and I

Entarance after the contract. 

Til next time, 

Natalie

Nothing like a Bad Haircut to Ruin a Weekend

Hello,

Tomorrow, my host family is going to their neice's engagement party. My host mother and sister are really excited and want to look perfect. As a result, we were going to get our nails done today and get our hair done tomorrow. My host mom wanted to go to the salon I do in Abdoun because she said I get the best haircuts. Where I go is a European place that is cheap by American standards for hair cuts, but expensive by Jordanian standards. My host mom was willing to take the expense because she wanted to look perfect.

So I come home today early from school to go with my host mom to get our nails done. But there had been a change of plans. My host mom wanted the exact man who cuts my hair to cut hers. Turns out he was not working tomorrow, so she had to go today. We skipped the nails (kind of disappointing) and I went with my host mom to get her hair cut.

That was a disaster. My host mom hates her hair cut which is now a short, cute bob. She dies her hair blonde on a regular basis and the way the man cut her hair makes her dye job look streaky. I did not think that cutting hair could make the coloring look different. Needless to say, she is pissed.

In essence, I feel like an asshole. I have the blonde hair and the owner gives me awesome cuts. She wants blonder hair and the owner gives her a good cut, but one that makes her hair coloring look awful. The party is tomorrow, so thank God her appointment was moved from tomorrow to today. All the ride home she was angrily calling her friends. I feel really bad

Something is Brewing in Jordan

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  Mister So and So's Facebook Page

  
  

  

  
  

  3 hours ago 
  

  
  I took this photo during my visit to Zaatri camp, two Syrian refuge women are getting hygiene kit from UNICEF. I hope that all Syrian refugees back home safely to enjoy their real hygiene life.
  

  Unlike ·  · Share
  

  • You and a large number of people like this.
  • "Someone Who has a Comment's Facebook Page" - Mister So and So, you and I know very well that there are many Jordanian women have a worst life than what we see in Zaatri. The bad thing is that the world knows Zaatari camp and the difficult life that the Syrian have there and at the same time the world does not know that many Jordanian live in this area with less standards than Zaatri. The other bad thing in Jordan is that our appointed government hides the truth about the living standards of Jordanians. In this picture I see the ladies getting some support but in our area our people do not get any thing...they donate every thing even they donated their home country.

    
    

    
    

    No longer the post however I cannot change the format. 

    
    

    This is what I saw on my Facebook wall today. I have little issue posting it on my blog since this comment and discussion was posted on a public domain, Facebook. However, I did change names because I do want to respect people's privacy. I believe that this Facebook discusses a major point of contention in Jordan at the moment. Many Jordanians are upset about the Syrian Refugee crisis in Jordan. While there are agencies making sure that the Syrian people receive food and water, Jordanians who live in rural areas do not have agencies making sure that their basic needs are being met. Jordanians feel that their limited resources are being given to Syrian people. There is a type of Jordan first attitude among some Jordanians at the moment. Many people are protesting or complaining about the amount of Refugees in Jordan at the moment. That was event yesterday during my visit at the University of Jordan. 

    
    

    However, Jordan has always and will definitely continue to look after its Arab brothers and will not turn people away from its borders. The looking after the Arab Brother's idea is actually in the Hashemite Family Constitution.  It will be interesting to see how the monarchy is going to balance this compassion with the fact that its citizens are concerned about limited water and resources for Jordanians.  Jordanians have been giving and giving to many refugee groups: Iraqi, Sudanese, Afgani, Egyptian and now Syrian. I feel that people are starting to feel less giving now. The Jordanians are at their limit. Honestly, I think everyone would be concerned in this situation. The Jordanians are great people, but are worried about how they will feed themselves and quench their thirst. Jordan is one of the most water poor contrives in the world, and that is always on a Jordanian's mind. Small towns, such as Irbid and Ma'an are starting to protest the vast number of refugees entering Jordan as it very much effects the rural communities. Most people living in Amman have families living in the villages and are very aware of the issues. It is constantly talked about at dinners and teas. 

    
    

    Maybe on the 26th when Obama and Abdullah meet there will be some sort of help package for Jordan. It would be in the United States interest as they would want to keep their ally, Jordan, politically stable. The Jordanian people have been patient when it comes to political and economic reforms, but people are beginning to feel a bit more frustrated now. 

    
    

    
    

    That is it for now, 

    Natalie

    
    

An Overdue Post on A Cooking Class

Hello,

Two weeks ago, I went with a friend, Bridget to a cooking class in Amman, Jordan. While I rarely talk about food in great detail in my blog, it is an important part of culture. Plus, Bridget wanted someone to go with.

We went to a place called Beit Sitti or "My Grandmother's House". The owner of the place greeted us and told us the story of Beit Sitti. Beit Sitti is in her old grandmother's house. After her grandmother passed away, the family turned the house into a cooking school in order to help keep her grandmother's memory alive. The owner is a professional chef as well.

Bridget and I were accompanied by four other people: Two Canadians and Two people from Denmark.  It was a pleasant group of people, but it was funny seeing tourists. While Bridget and I have had our fair share of touristy moments, we live in Amman. We know how things work. The other people had never had a home cooked Arabic meal or had any experience with Arab cuisine. Automatically Bridget and I got brownie points from the instructor.

However, I am not a domestic goddess. When the instructor handed me a lemon to squeeze, I literally started squeezing it in my hand. After 30 seconds I asked if she wanted me to juice it. She said yes and laughed.

We made the following dishes:
Maaloubeh 
Farmers salad
Mutabal
Osmaliyeh 
Is that ok with you

Maaloubeh is a staple in the Jordanian diet. It includes rice, meat and vegetables that are cooked in a pot. The order goes meat, vegetables and rice. When you are finished cooking the dish, you flip it upside down so the meat is on top of the rice. It is very delicious and argueablly my favorite dish that my host mom cooks. 

Mutabal is a Levantine type of dish. It is also known as Baba Ganoush. It consists of eggplant, Tahini, leban and olive oil. You eat it with pita bread. 

Osmaliyeh is a type of dessert. It consists of angel hair pasta and a custard. 

We also made Arabic bread from scratch. I could have ate 30 rolls. 

I am happy I took the class, but to be honest, eating the Beit Sitti maagloubeh was not as good as my host mother's. Bridget felt the same way. It was like restaurant maagloubeh and was missing the added touch of love. I kind of felt that the other members of our group were missing out. 

Me after flipping over my personal sized maagloubeh

You put tomatoes at the bottom of the pot so that the rice and vegetables do not burn. This is often the most flavorful part of the dish and most people fight for the tomatoes

Me in an apron

Mutabal

Me finally juicing the lemon

Farmer's Salad

Me cutting some shit

Roasting the eggplant for the Magloubeh.

My Station

The chicken in Magloubeh is boiled in an Arabic style which is so difference from English boiling. 

On the way out, Bridget and I helped the others find cabs. It was a pleasant evening. 

Talk to you later, 

Natalie

An Interesting Lunch Date

Hello,

First and foremost, I would like to explain my absence from posting. I am currently in the research part of my program. As a result, I am running around all day to conduct surveys and interviews. As a result, I do not always want to blog when I come home from a long day. Plus, there is nothing really going on that is blog material.

Today I ran to the University of Jordan with a girl in my class to hand out survey's in our professor's class. As we were walking through the main gate of the university, there was a group of about 30 students chanting in Arabic and using a megaphone. This was the first demonstration that I have seen in Jordan and it was so small. My friend and I just walked past them and headed to the Faculty of Arts building to meet our professor. Upon arrival, we asked if he happened to know what the group was protesting. All we could understand was the phrase "Listen Carefully", so we had no idea why the group was upset. The professor said he had no idea and said that it might be about Syria or other things. These type of demonstrates are known to spring up at the university and are not a big deal. My friend Brooke who was with me said that there are protests like this at her university, Harvard (no big deal..), weekly and it is just a part of the college scene at Harvard as well.

After handing out surveys, I rushed home in massive traffic. My host mom, sister and I were going to my host mom's best friend's house for lunch, or the main meal of the day. My host mom very much wanted me to come and I very much wanted to be there. After driving for a bit, we arrived at the friend's house. I have never seen such a beautiful apartment! The details in the decorations were absolutely gorgeous. Everything was just so, and made me wonder if a professional design team (There are Ethan Allan stores in Amman) had designed the house. I was kind of shocked. I immediately started to worry about messing things up, because I tend to be clumsy when I am nervous. I was also glad I have put on a nicer scarf and teeshirt before heading to the apartment.

The friend made the best meal that I have had in Jordan, which is saying a lot. The friend's grandmother was Circassian and made a Circassian dish for me to try. It was awesome! There were huge balls of rice on a platter. You mashed it around on a plate with your hands. You then ate it with chicken and sauce that had garlic and other spices in it. You ate the dish with your hands. My host mom always worries that I will not like eating with my hands. Honestly, I am totally down as long as everyone else is using their hands. If that is how I should eat it, that is how I am going to eat it. The friend laid out a fork and spoon for me just in case, but I just dug in. The dish was called something similar to the words "Chips and Salsa". We joked about this for the entire meal. It was so so good!

Circassian, a Muslim kinda Russian group, people arrived in Amman, Jordan from the Northern Caucus in 1878 after the Russo-Circassian War and the Circassian Genocide. They lived in very good land in Jordan to the point where the local Bedouins were upset that they were taking their grazing lands. In the 20th contrary, many of the Circassian people worked on building the Hijaz railway and eventually ended up in the high castes of Jordanian society. Circassian people make up 5% of the greater Amman area. The group receives a quota of seats in the Jordanian lower parliament. They are considered full citizens in Jordan. Honestly, I had never heard of any of this information until I my host mom talked to me about it. I feel so ignorant that I did not know about a genocide.

Below is a link about Circassian people in Jordan:
Circassian people in Jordan
 Here is link about Circassians in General
CircassianHistory

My host mom showed me this video about Circassian Dance. It reminds me of Russian folk dance.
Circassian Dance

After lunch, we had tea and fruits. We had watermelon, strawberries and green cherries which are very popular in Jordan. We sipped green tea, which was a nice change from the normal tea. I enjoyed playing with the two little girls, one was in kindergarden, the other in fourth grade. We watched Calliou. I was very very impressed by these girls. They known three languages: Arabic, English and French. The girls would just casually switch between all three languages when talking with each other with total ease. I cannot discribe the jealousy I felt! I wish I could switch between Arabic and English easier! The youngest girl started watching a youtube video in Spanish. I asked if she knew Spanish. She replied no. Very few young children would watch a show in a language that they do not know. These are very bright young ladies. If I ever have kids, I want them to go to a school with an emphasis on languages. Learning languages broadens your horizons and helps you look at different cultures and different ways of thinking. So envious!

The youngest girl has a tradition of giving nicknames. My host sister, Mayas, has the nickname of MuMu. The pattern being using the first letter of the girl's first name and throwing it in front of the ew sound. As a result, the little girl called me NuNu. I laughed and thought this was cute. Apparently, NuNu in Arabic means to pee or urinate. So the adults asked her to pick a new name. I personally didn't care. The girls started talking about Justin Beiber. So I said that my friends joking call Justin Beiber "The Beibs" in America. My host sister gave me a weird look. Apparently in Arabic "the Beibs" means boobs. The little girls kept pointing at their chest and I just thought why is it always me? Simply put this afternoon was a journey in language. It was funny.

After a while, one of the girls was telling me that she wants to go to America. I said cool and maybe she will go soon. My host mom then told me that the girl's father was in DC currently with King Abdullah. King Abdullah has a meeting with President Obama on the 26th so he is traveling with the king. I did not want to ask there what type of position the father has because I was worried about being awkward. Apparently, he is the Minister of Economic Affairs in Jordan. Holy Crap! That is such an important office. Now the Ethan Allan designed apartment made sense. Kudos to him!

After the fruits and tea,  we had coffee and donuts. At a lunch or event in Jordan, you as a guest always gorge yourself on food and any Jordanian woman near you will always pile your plate full with more rice and chicken at any moment. It is hard for me to follow a conversation as I am trying to eat in a ladylike manner, and guard my plate from getting anymore food. I like to think of it as defensive eating. It is rude to not finish your plate as they take it ask you did not enjoy the food. As a result, once it is on your plate you better make a good effort to eat it all.  It is also viewed as wasteful, which is totally understandable. I completed one full plate, which is a large victory for me as a not large eater. However, I was unable to finish the second and stopped halfway through. I had a feeling there would be desserts and fruit and I did not want to reach the "I'm going to throw up" part before the other courses. Plus, I like to enjoy the food and don't like walking away feeling gross. My host mom explained to her friend and it seems like everything was okay. Everyone else at the table did not have rice being put onto their plate, just me as the American. It appears to be customary to give the guest ridiculous amounts of food to eat. Arab hospitably it amazing, but sometimes it can be a bit heavy.

Essentially, I was talked into eating 2.5 doughnuts. I was now at my limit and the Jordanians were happy with my level of food consumption. Everything was delicious. At this point, the girls wanted to ask me some questions. The first question was if I was married. I said heck no and laughed. Then they asked if I have children. I paused and said no. I feel it is odd that people ask me if I have kids in Jordan even though I am not married. This happens in cabs all the time. I wonder if shows like "Teen Mom" lead to the idea that most American young women have children out of wedlock. Just a thought. They also asked me if girls were mean in high school and made fun of the types of clothing you wore. I said in my experience, No. They told me that in movies, people always get made fun of for their clothes in high school. I said maybe sometimes, but I had never experienced it. I did not have the "cool" clothes in high school because I came from private school where I wore uniforms for years. I had no idea about brands or fashion at the beginning of my high school career, but I caught on by the end of my sophomore year. I was never made fun of for my clothes, but people did laugh at me when I asked them what the logo on their shirt was. They often did not answer my question either.

Another fun event of the day was playing with the stuffed animals. The littlest girl brought out a collection of stuffed animals for me to play with. One was a monkey which she named Natalie (bahahah!). The others were dogs and one was a camel. I enjoyed playing the stuffed animals with a fellow animal lover.

When I go home I watched TV for an hour and I heard my host mom making sandwiches in the kitchen. I thought, "Dear God, no!". I walked into the kitchen and she asked what I wanted on my sandwich. I said I was so full from lunch that I did not think I could eat a sandwich. She looked surprised so I compromised and ate a banana. She seemed pretty pleased with that.

This is all for now,
Natalie

A Meeting with his Royal Highness

Hello,

So today I had the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a member of the Hashemite Royal family, His Royal Highness Prince Hassan bin Talal. The director of my program, Dr.  Raed knows the Prince through their work together on environmental projects. After talking to the Prince, our beloved director was able to get a meeting for our class with him.

Prince Hassan is the current king of Jordan, King Abudllah II's, brother. He was the Crown Prince of Jordan from 1965-1999. King Hussein, Hassan's brother, made King Abdullah II the Crown Prince shortly before his death. He studied at Christ Church, Oxford College and recieved his BA in Oriental Studies and went on to receive his MA. He is fluent in Arabic, English, French and German. He has working knowledge of Turkish and Spanish and also studied Hebrew in University, a decision that he told us he was criticized for. He is married to the daughter of a Pakistani diplomat.

To read more about Prince Hassan, please read the attached link:
Biography

To prepare for this meeting, the SIT group was told to dress in formal attire. So this morning, we all showed up in our best outfits and boarded the bus. On the bus, we were told that we should stand when the Prince walked into the room and to avoid asking questions about members of the Royal family or personal questions. No problem.

We sat in a conference room for a while. We were given juice and an assortment of pastries that were served to us on a small plate. It was fancy. Arab hospitality is totally spoiling me! After waiting for a few minutes, the Prince came in. We all stood up. He walked around to shake our hands. He made small talk and asked us where we are from and what schools we attend. He was a pleasant and personable man.

He opened the discussion with a joke. It was about a Jewish man. I thought oh no! Please don't be awkward. And it was not. The joke was that a Jewish man constantly prayed to God to let him win the lottery. He prayed and prayed and had received no luck. Finally he asked God why he had not won the lottery. God replied that it was necessary for the man to buy a ticket first. He used this as an example of peace in the Middle East. Everyone wants peace, but no one is "buying a ticket" or taking steps to make it happen.

The Prince was probably one of the most intelligent men I have ever heard speak.  He is so well read! We were fortunate to have 3 hours of the Prince's time. During that time, the group asked four questions. Each question received at least a 35 minute answer. Sometimes the answers were hard to follow as he was providing us with so much information that it was hard to store in my little head.

During his lecture, he talked about many things. He addressed the civil war in Syria calling it "Mutalation". He also discussed much of the history of the Middle East that occurred after World War 1. In reference to the Sykes- Picot Agreement, the Prince said "Sykes Picot agreement carried with in it the seeds of its own distraction". The Sykes-Picot agreement was the agreement between the British and the French as to who would mandate certain parts in the Middle East. Syria was given to the French, Jordan to Britain and other existing countries were divided between the two empires based on resources. The treaty said that the British/French  would rule the territories until the Arab countries could rule themselves. However, we all know this did not happen and eventually each country fought for freedom. He concluded this part of the discussion with "My family suffered because of the plans it tried to impose".

The most interesting thing, in my opinion is that he referred to the Middle East as "West Asia". The term, Middle East has recently been contested as it is Western Centric. West Asia is the term that the Prince prefers and uses. Another interesting comment the Prince made was "Totalitarian regimes contain everyone in the region- even monarchs". This is interesting. Is he referring to Jordan as a Totalitarian regime? Is this comment reflexing his dissatisfaction with the current government, or head of Government? I don't want to say for sure, but it is worth thinking about. I did get the feeling that he is kind of the black sheep of the family for having different views and opinions. This might also be because he is the only true academic of the family. He also said "I'm not happy to see the choreography of the Jordanian parliament", referencing how the parliament keeps changing and is not stable. I really appreciated his honestly. He also stated that he feels more institutions and parties should help run things in Jordan: "Why should [the King] be working 24 hours where there are institutions and people benefitting from [the King's] coat tails". Very interesting stuff.

There was a lot more said, but honestly it was hard to write down.

The SIT group with Prince Hassan

Fancy conferance room with pastries

The Prince and I

Talk to you later,
Natalie

Camels and Things

Hello,

Here are old pictures of me in Wadi Rum riding a camel as part of the caravan. They were just posted on facebook today.

Also, Below are some pictures from our last day of Arabic class. We were each given a rose to give to someone else who helped us out along the way. 

Me as the narrator in the Arabic presentation. I broke out the gold old thobe again. Our group did a puppet show and translated the story Romeo and Juliet into Arabic. In our version, the friar turns into a genie to bring Romeo and Juliet back to life. Then everyone dances and eats mansef. Everyone wins. 

The group with our roses from our friend. 

My Arabic class and two teachers, Mahmoud and Riham. Four other people joined our class picture to photo bomb it. Funny story. 

Sitting on the floor to watch the Arabic presentations. 

Tis All, 

Natalie

An interesting video to watch

Hello,

A friend of mine shared this on her facebook wall. I think it is a good video to watch. It is a cartoon showing how long people having been fighting to have Palestine and how much blood has been shed. It shows the ridiculousness of the situation too.

"This Land is Mine"

What the creator says:

Who's Killing Who? A Viewer's Guide
Because you can't tell the players without a pogrom!

Early Man
This generic "cave man" represents the first human settlers in Israel/Canaan/the Levant. Whoever they were.

Canaanite
What did ancient Canaanites look like? I don't know, so this is based on ancient Sumerian art.

Egyptian
Canaan was located between two huge empires. Egypt controlled it sometimes, and...

Assyrian
....Assyria controlled it other times.

Israelite
The "Children of Israel" conquered the shit out of the region, according to bloody and violent Old Testament accounts.

Babylonian
Then the Baylonians destroyed their temple and took the Hebrews into exile.

Macedonian/Greek
Here comes Alexander the Great, conquering everything!

Greek/Macedonian
No sooner did Alexander conquer everything, than his generals divided it up and fought with each other.

Ptolemaic
Greek descendants of Ptolemy, another of Alexander's competing generals, ruled Egypt dressed like Egyptian god-kings. (The famous Cleopatra of western mythology and Hollywood was a Ptolemy.)

Seleucid
More Greek-Macedonian legacies of Alexander.

Hebrew Priest
This guy didn't fight, he just ran the Second Temple re-established by Hebrews in Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile.

Maccabee
Led by Judah "The Hammer" Maccabee, who fought the Seleucids, saved the Temple, and invented Channukah. Until...

Roman
....the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and absorbed the region into the Roman Empire...

Byzantine
....which split into Eastern and Western Empires. The eastern part was called the Byzantine Empire. I don't know if "Romans" ever fought "Byzantines" (Eastern Romans) but this is a cartoon.

Arab Caliph
Speaking of cartoon, what did an Arab Caliph look like? This was my best guess.

Crusader
After Crusaders went a-killin' in the name of Jesus Christ, they established Crusader states, most notably the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Mamluk of Egypt
Wikipedia sez, "Over time, mamluks became a powerful military caste in various Muslim societies...In places such as Egypt from the Ayyubid dynasty to the time of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, mamluks were considered to be "true lords", with social status above freeborn Muslims.[7]" And apparently they controlled Palestine for a while.

Ottoman Turk
Did I mention this is a cartoon? Probably no one went to battle looking like this. But big turbans, rich clothing and jewelry seemed to be in vogue among Ottoman Turkish elites, according to paintings I found on the Internet.

Arab
A gross generalization of a generic 19-century "Arab".

British
The British formed alliances with Arabs, then occupied Palestine. This cartoon is an oversimplification, and uses this British caricature as a stand-in for Europeans in general.

Palestinian
The British occupied this guy's land, only to leave it to a vast influx of....

European Jew/Zionist
Desperate and traumatized survivors of European pogroms and death camps, Jewish Zionist settlers were ready to fight to the death for a place to call home, but...

PLO/Hamas/Hezbollah
....so were the people that lived there. Various militarized resistance movements arose in response to Israel: The Palestinian Liberation Organization, Hamas, and Hezbollah.

Guerrilla/Freedom Fighter/tState of Israel
Backed by "the West," especially the US, they got lots of weapons and the only sanctioned nukes in the region.

Guerrilla/Freedom Fighter/Terrorist
Sometimes people fight in military uniforms, sometimes they don't. Creeping up alongside are illicit nukes possibly from Iran or elsewhere in the region. Who's Next?

and finally...

The Angel of Death
The real hero of the Old Testament, and right now too.

Talk to you later,
Natalie