Hello all (If anyone is reading this),
Judging by the title of this entry, you know that I will be talking about my first full day with the family. Last night I set my alarm clock for 9:30 am. I wanted to make sure I would get up at a reasonable time that way I would not be known as the girl who slept all day. So I woke up at 9:30 and walked around. All the members of the family were still asleep, or at least in their rooms with the door shut. So I went back to my room and started reviewing Arabic vocabulary and grammar. I certainly know how to entertain myself. After two hours of that, I still did not hear anyone awake so I started to reorganize my books. Next I took funny pictures which are posted below. One is of my turtle in front of the heater. In Amman there is no central heat and all families use heaters at night. I placed my turtle in front for a laugh. It is surprising cold here. I am writing this with two pair of slipper socks on, sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. Yea, it can get cold. There are also pictures of SIT things. Ahmed, aka the coolest SIT staff member, just posted them to the facebook page.
After a bit more time, the mother woke up and I went to greet her. Honestly, these are my type of people. I love to sleep in and it seems that I will have the ability to do so here. The mother offered me cereal right away which I declined because I am not a big breakfast person. Plus, I was still full from last night's food. After about fifteen minutes, the mother gave each person in the family a wonderful slice of chocolate cake. It was simply amazing! However, after that cake I was so full again! Around three o'clock we sat down for the main meal of the day, lunch. The father of the house brought back KFC chicken for us to eat. The chicken in Amman is tastier than the chicken in the US, believe it or not. Twas finger licking good. After one piece I was content, but of course the mother wanted me to eat more, so I ate a wing. So tasty!
After lunch, I gave the family the gifts I brought from America. I brought Apples to Apples, Uno, Berger Cookies and two glasses with the Gettysburg College Emblem. My host brother, Muhammad loves the Uno game. I saw that he played possiblly with my host father while I was out today. I think he also touched the Apples to Apples. The family had the cookies and said they liked them, but I'm not sure they did. They might have found them too rich, but I think they liked trying something different.
After a few hours, the mother asked me if I would want to go to the mall with her and her sister. Her sister is not actually a blood relative, but they occasionally both nursed from the same woman so they consider themselves sisters. I had met this lady yesterday and she was such a kind person. After having the afternoon cup of Turkish coffee, which surprisingly I enjoy, my host sister, mother and I headed to the mall. We went to the Taj mall in Amman which is near SIT as well as our home. When arriving to the Taj mall, we drove in the parking garage and I saw that all the cars were asked to pop their trunks when entering. A guard checked and made sure that everything was okay. There were guards all around the garage and at the entrances. This was some mall. The Taj mall itself is so epic. My host sister told me that Katy Perry preformed at the mall two weeks ago. Yea, the Taj Mall is that big of a deal. It has prob six circular floors filled with stores. I saw Victoria Secret, American Eagle, H and M, Bath and Body works and many other stores that we have in America. Honestly, I have never seen a mall so big.
Picture of Taj mall
When I was in one store, A lady came up to me and said hi. In Arabic, she quickly spoke to me. The only works I got were I like your jeans, what size are they and her sister's birthday is next week. I turned to my host sister really confused. Could this woman be asking me for my jeans? Nah, surely my host sister was needed to translate. Afterall, there is an American Eagle store at the mall. Turns out I was right. Trying not to appear shocked and trying not to offend the lady, I said they were a 6 short. She walked away after the short part. I guess her sister isn't from the land of little people. My host sister later told me that it is normal for people to come up to you and ask you to buy something that you have on. I had on American Eagle jeans. I believe AE is expensive in Jordan. The woman most likely noticed that my jeans were AE and nice and wanted to get them for a bargain. I am flattered she asked, but I like my broken in jeans. Plus, I think I would like pants for the car ride home.
After doing some shopping, we sat down to have some coffee at a cafe. When my host mom asked me what I wanted, I told her I would take care of it and that I only wanted a bottle of water. She seemed puzzled by my reaction and request. She asked me if I had cash and I said yes. Then she nicely suggested that I get a hot drink. I think she thought I was trying to save money, but honestly I wanted the water. I have coffee often here, but water is hard to find. Jordan is a water poor country, so it is not simply lying around and being wasted. Also, I cannot drink the tap water because it would make me ill. As a result, I have become dehydrated. Yesterday before the language placement exam I started to feel light headed and like I was going to pass out. I walked up to the teacher and explained my situation. She told me that culturally they do no drink water in Amman and that it is rarely available. However, I can fill up my water bottle as much as possible while at SIT or buy water bottles. Case and point, I get water when I can. Since I wasn't at SIT today, I needed to get the water. I was feeling kind of sick and knew that the water could help. I feel better now.
When I went up to buy the water, which was 1JD, I handed the cashier a 20JD note. I did not want to pay with a 1JD note because I will need them for taxis. In Amman, a taxi driver will not usually give you change and most cab rides are under 5JD. As a result, I wanted to both break a larger bill into smaller ones while also saving the 1JD bills that I had for next week when I will be taking many taxis to SIT. When I handed the cashier the bill, he looked amazed and annoyed that I handed him the bill. He said he would not break it and said "Don't you have 1JD?". I lied and said no (wanting to save mine) and instead handed him a 10JD. He was still annoyed but broke it. I guess a 20JD note is a rather large note. In the US I could pay for a $1 water bottle with a $20 bill, but in Amman I can not. I had the feeling he felt I was flaunting my wealth. I just wanted smaller bills.
After the mall, we returned home. We watched Morgan Ahmed Morgan, an Arab movie with my favorite Arabic film star, Adel Imam. I enjoyed the Arabic movie and worked hard to follow the story and dialogue without subtitles. My homestay family is fluent in English which is both great and bad. Great because it is easy to talk to them but back because I want to practice my Arabic. I told my host mom tonight that I want to and need to practice. She looked a bit sad and I felt bad. I should not have said anything. They are so nice and hospitable and are most likely trying to make me feel at home. I should give it more time before the Arabic. Also, they have hosted 5 girls before me, all of whom came without any Arabic knowledge. They are not used to having an American in the house that knows some Arabic. However, when dad is in the room everything goes to Arabic, because he doesn't speak English. Then I enjoy listening, but have not yet had the courage to speak. Perhaps speaking up would help things. My host mom did make me talk to her sister today for a bit in Arabic. After telling her in English that my accent is awful and that I made some mistakes, her sister commented that she was amazed at my confidence and how I just kept going. She was able to understand also. She also said that if she went to America, she would not speak English because she does not feel confident. I told her that she speaks well and that she should go for it.
The family really is a perfect fit for me and reminds me of my American family. The mom loves to shop and looks amazing, like my mother. My host father is smart and appears good with math, like my father. My host brother is quiet and kind, like my brother. My host sister is like me. She loves colors and acting goofy. I have so much fun with her and I truly feel like I can be myself. Tonight, she utubed a video for how to make hot chocolate and asked me to make it with her. I said sure and helped out. Apparently, she had never cooked by herself before and this was an important moment. I was happy I was there to help. The hot chocolate was homemade and the best I have ever had. I loved the caramel on top. After we finished, my host mother tasted it. She didn't seem to like it as much as we had, but to each their own. Afterwards, my host sister turned to me and asked me my opinion. I said it was amazing and that she did a good job. She told me to give her my honest opinion and that she could handle it. I guess she didn't believe me. I told her it was excellent and asked if Jordanians drank hot chocolate. She said no. I told her she made it exactly how we like it in the States. She seemed proud as she should be. It was nice of her to make something American and to allow me to help her. It was touching.
The night closed by my host father bringing home falafel sandwiches. The sandwich was good but between all the coffee, tea, snacks and other food I was full. My host mom seemed concerned that I didn't eat much of my sandwich. I told her I am full, but I don't think she believed me. Way too much food here. I talked to some SIT students on facebook today and we all agreed that we are being given too much food. Some people are even sick from eating too much. I think this is a hysterical problem to have. Only we could complain about having too much to eat. It seems ridiculous, but it is so true.
Also, I heard about the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Turkey. That is truly awful and such a shock. We are supposed to go to Istanbul and I was looking forward to that. I wonder if the trip will still be on. On the way back from the mall, my host mom took me to the US Embassy to have a look. It is very guarded and has a man out front on a truck with a rather large gun. There are also high walls that would be hard to climb to enter the embassy. The British Embassy is also very very guarded. The SIT building is located in the middle of many embassies, such as the British and Egyptian Embassies. Because of this, SIT is super safe. Not many people would go wandering around the Abdoun neighborhood looking for trouble. They would have to have a death wish.
Judging by the title of this entry, you know that I will be talking about my first full day with the family. Last night I set my alarm clock for 9:30 am. I wanted to make sure I would get up at a reasonable time that way I would not be known as the girl who slept all day. So I woke up at 9:30 and walked around. All the members of the family were still asleep, or at least in their rooms with the door shut. So I went back to my room and started reviewing Arabic vocabulary and grammar. I certainly know how to entertain myself. After two hours of that, I still did not hear anyone awake so I started to reorganize my books. Next I took funny pictures which are posted below. One is of my turtle in front of the heater. In Amman there is no central heat and all families use heaters at night. I placed my turtle in front for a laugh. It is surprising cold here. I am writing this with two pair of slipper socks on, sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt. Yea, it can get cold. There are also pictures of SIT things. Ahmed, aka the coolest SIT staff member, just posted them to the facebook page.
The SIT Tribe..yea, we Kinda rock :)
Getting Ready to Leave SIT Yesterday
My host mother, host sister and I a minute after our introduction. I love my sister's bow!
The Turtle in Front of the heater
After a bit more time, the mother woke up and I went to greet her. Honestly, these are my type of people. I love to sleep in and it seems that I will have the ability to do so here. The mother offered me cereal right away which I declined because I am not a big breakfast person. Plus, I was still full from last night's food. After about fifteen minutes, the mother gave each person in the family a wonderful slice of chocolate cake. It was simply amazing! However, after that cake I was so full again! Around three o'clock we sat down for the main meal of the day, lunch. The father of the house brought back KFC chicken for us to eat. The chicken in Amman is tastier than the chicken in the US, believe it or not. Twas finger licking good. After one piece I was content, but of course the mother wanted me to eat more, so I ate a wing. So tasty!
After lunch, I gave the family the gifts I brought from America. I brought Apples to Apples, Uno, Berger Cookies and two glasses with the Gettysburg College Emblem. My host brother, Muhammad loves the Uno game. I saw that he played possiblly with my host father while I was out today. I think he also touched the Apples to Apples. The family had the cookies and said they liked them, but I'm not sure they did. They might have found them too rich, but I think they liked trying something different.
After a few hours, the mother asked me if I would want to go to the mall with her and her sister. Her sister is not actually a blood relative, but they occasionally both nursed from the same woman so they consider themselves sisters. I had met this lady yesterday and she was such a kind person. After having the afternoon cup of Turkish coffee, which surprisingly I enjoy, my host sister, mother and I headed to the mall. We went to the Taj mall in Amman which is near SIT as well as our home. When arriving to the Taj mall, we drove in the parking garage and I saw that all the cars were asked to pop their trunks when entering. A guard checked and made sure that everything was okay. There were guards all around the garage and at the entrances. This was some mall. The Taj mall itself is so epic. My host sister told me that Katy Perry preformed at the mall two weeks ago. Yea, the Taj Mall is that big of a deal. It has prob six circular floors filled with stores. I saw Victoria Secret, American Eagle, H and M, Bath and Body works and many other stores that we have in America. Honestly, I have never seen a mall so big.
Picture of Taj mall
When I was in one store, A lady came up to me and said hi. In Arabic, she quickly spoke to me. The only works I got were I like your jeans, what size are they and her sister's birthday is next week. I turned to my host sister really confused. Could this woman be asking me for my jeans? Nah, surely my host sister was needed to translate. Afterall, there is an American Eagle store at the mall. Turns out I was right. Trying not to appear shocked and trying not to offend the lady, I said they were a 6 short. She walked away after the short part. I guess her sister isn't from the land of little people. My host sister later told me that it is normal for people to come up to you and ask you to buy something that you have on. I had on American Eagle jeans. I believe AE is expensive in Jordan. The woman most likely noticed that my jeans were AE and nice and wanted to get them for a bargain. I am flattered she asked, but I like my broken in jeans. Plus, I think I would like pants for the car ride home.
After doing some shopping, we sat down to have some coffee at a cafe. When my host mom asked me what I wanted, I told her I would take care of it and that I only wanted a bottle of water. She seemed puzzled by my reaction and request. She asked me if I had cash and I said yes. Then she nicely suggested that I get a hot drink. I think she thought I was trying to save money, but honestly I wanted the water. I have coffee often here, but water is hard to find. Jordan is a water poor country, so it is not simply lying around and being wasted. Also, I cannot drink the tap water because it would make me ill. As a result, I have become dehydrated. Yesterday before the language placement exam I started to feel light headed and like I was going to pass out. I walked up to the teacher and explained my situation. She told me that culturally they do no drink water in Amman and that it is rarely available. However, I can fill up my water bottle as much as possible while at SIT or buy water bottles. Case and point, I get water when I can. Since I wasn't at SIT today, I needed to get the water. I was feeling kind of sick and knew that the water could help. I feel better now.
When I went up to buy the water, which was 1JD, I handed the cashier a 20JD note. I did not want to pay with a 1JD note because I will need them for taxis. In Amman, a taxi driver will not usually give you change and most cab rides are under 5JD. As a result, I wanted to both break a larger bill into smaller ones while also saving the 1JD bills that I had for next week when I will be taking many taxis to SIT. When I handed the cashier the bill, he looked amazed and annoyed that I handed him the bill. He said he would not break it and said "Don't you have 1JD?". I lied and said no (wanting to save mine) and instead handed him a 10JD. He was still annoyed but broke it. I guess a 20JD note is a rather large note. In the US I could pay for a $1 water bottle with a $20 bill, but in Amman I can not. I had the feeling he felt I was flaunting my wealth. I just wanted smaller bills.
After the mall, we returned home. We watched Morgan Ahmed Morgan, an Arab movie with my favorite Arabic film star, Adel Imam. I enjoyed the Arabic movie and worked hard to follow the story and dialogue without subtitles. My homestay family is fluent in English which is both great and bad. Great because it is easy to talk to them but back because I want to practice my Arabic. I told my host mom tonight that I want to and need to practice. She looked a bit sad and I felt bad. I should not have said anything. They are so nice and hospitable and are most likely trying to make me feel at home. I should give it more time before the Arabic. Also, they have hosted 5 girls before me, all of whom came without any Arabic knowledge. They are not used to having an American in the house that knows some Arabic. However, when dad is in the room everything goes to Arabic, because he doesn't speak English. Then I enjoy listening, but have not yet had the courage to speak. Perhaps speaking up would help things. My host mom did make me talk to her sister today for a bit in Arabic. After telling her in English that my accent is awful and that I made some mistakes, her sister commented that she was amazed at my confidence and how I just kept going. She was able to understand also. She also said that if she went to America, she would not speak English because she does not feel confident. I told her that she speaks well and that she should go for it.
The family really is a perfect fit for me and reminds me of my American family. The mom loves to shop and looks amazing, like my mother. My host father is smart and appears good with math, like my father. My host brother is quiet and kind, like my brother. My host sister is like me. She loves colors and acting goofy. I have so much fun with her and I truly feel like I can be myself. Tonight, she utubed a video for how to make hot chocolate and asked me to make it with her. I said sure and helped out. Apparently, she had never cooked by herself before and this was an important moment. I was happy I was there to help. The hot chocolate was homemade and the best I have ever had. I loved the caramel on top. After we finished, my host mother tasted it. She didn't seem to like it as much as we had, but to each their own. Afterwards, my host sister turned to me and asked me my opinion. I said it was amazing and that she did a good job. She told me to give her my honest opinion and that she could handle it. I guess she didn't believe me. I told her it was excellent and asked if Jordanians drank hot chocolate. She said no. I told her she made it exactly how we like it in the States. She seemed proud as she should be. It was nice of her to make something American and to allow me to help her. It was touching.
The night closed by my host father bringing home falafel sandwiches. The sandwich was good but between all the coffee, tea, snacks and other food I was full. My host mom seemed concerned that I didn't eat much of my sandwich. I told her I am full, but I don't think she believed me. Way too much food here. I talked to some SIT students on facebook today and we all agreed that we are being given too much food. Some people are even sick from eating too much. I think this is a hysterical problem to have. Only we could complain about having too much to eat. It seems ridiculous, but it is so true.
Also, I heard about the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Turkey. That is truly awful and such a shock. We are supposed to go to Istanbul and I was looking forward to that. I wonder if the trip will still be on. On the way back from the mall, my host mom took me to the US Embassy to have a look. It is very guarded and has a man out front on a truck with a rather large gun. There are also high walls that would be hard to climb to enter the embassy. The British Embassy is also very very guarded. The SIT building is located in the middle of many embassies, such as the British and Egyptian Embassies. Because of this, SIT is super safe. Not many people would go wandering around the Abdoun neighborhood looking for trouble. They would have to have a death wish.
It sounds like you have settled in and are enjoying yourself and learning about your hose family and customs. I've been reading about the attack on the US Embassy and was thinking about you and wondering if you were going to Istanbul. Be safe.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying reading your blog and look forward to your next post.