Hello,
Currently it is 1:30 in the morning and I am not going to go to bed anytime soon. I'n not tired and just feel really jazzed. I decided I would fill share some information that I haven't shared and does not really fit in in any other blog posting. I like to keep my posts upbeat, but this one has to deal with a real weird taxi driver. However, the end is positive.
Yesterday I left SIT with a group of friends. Shannon hailed a taxi for me and I headed home. Everything was going well until the driver gave a weird laugh and said "I Know where you live and the building". I was immediately creeped out and stared at the driver to see if he had driven me home before. I had never seen him before. I decided to ignore the comment and just sit in the car quietly. I was tired and wanted to go home. The man went on to say how all the Study Abroad students tend to stay in the same buildings in my neighborhood. I said I hadn't noticed. So he didn't know exactly where I lived, he just had a guess which might have been wrong. To be frank, my neighborhood is large ( I mean miles long) and I have never seen an American walking around. I just wanted to sit quietly and get home. The driver went onto tell me his name and say that he worked at CIEE (SIT's rival study abroad program) a year ago but now is a full time Taxi driver. I found this odd. Surely something made him leave his job at CIEE as CIEE is a better job than driving a taxi. I just nodded and stared out the window. Maybe he was fired? I don't know.
We sat in silence for a while but then he pulled out his smart phone. Nothing unusal here as taxi drivers in Amman can drive 90 miles per hour, without traffic rules, smoking a cigarette, drinking coffee and texting. It's the 8th wonder of the world. He proceeded to show me a picture of a girl that currently studies at CIEE. It looked like a facebook profile picture he had just down loaded from the internet. Why would he have a photo of her if he was not currently working with CIEE? He asked me if I knew where she lived. I said no, because honestly I didn't and I wasn't going to tell him even if I knew. He knew her name and that she lived in my neighborhood. At this point, we were a far way off from my house, but I was close enough to walk. It would be a hike, but it was the best option. I asked to get out. He handed me his business card (like I would ever call him!) and left. I walked home frankly upset. I was upset that the man was a weirdo and upset for the other female student. Something was weird. At least he did not know where I lived as I never have taxis take me to my home anyway (I always have them drop me off at a busy street and I walk for a ways). I made sure he didn't follow me.
I went on with my evening at home with my host family. But I was still bothered by the man in the taxi. In general it was a bad day. I was having problems with my debit card, I was overloaded with work and I had to deal with a weirdo on the way home. Also, I was missing an awesome sorority event week at college. I was at my limit. For dinner I was served falafel. Everyone loves falafel except me. I keep trying to eat it, but it makes me gag. Everyone in the world loves falafel and I can't even eat it. My host mom keeps giving it to be (maybe once every 2 weeks) because all sane Americans love falafel and she thinks that it is one of my favorite foods. She is literally killing me with kindness. I feel too bad to speak up and say I don't like it so I try to eat it the best I can. The falafel sandwich was the straw that broke the camels back, I started to feel really sad. Just not a good day.
After struggling to sleep, I finally fell asleep. Things would be better tomorrow.
I woke up this morning to find a large homemade rice krispie treat on a plate on my placemat. My host mom had made my rice krispie recipe that I gave her. I also had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. The day was already looking bright. I walked around for a bit and got ready for the day. After I watched the news with my host mom and drank tea, she went into the kitchen. She made me my favorite sandwich, peanut butter and banana. It was even warm! I happily ate the sandwich and wrapped up the remainders for school. My host mom is the best lady ever! She always knows when I'm feeling down and does the sweetest things to make me smile. Sometimes she makes me homemade pancakes with fresh fruit too. She is amazing! I love breakfast time at my house every day because I always get something special. :)
I went to school and got help translating some surveys for my project. Afterwards, I talked with some of the SIT girls about my taxi experience. They told me to go tell Ahmed and that CIEE should be notified of the situation. I agreed with them and walked upstairs to go to the administrators offices. I was nervous. I don't like discussing issues. I like to just go with the flow. But I was worried about the other girl.
I walked in and Ahmed was not at his desk. Instead, I talked with the Student Affairs coordinator, Jumana. I was so nervous, I was out of breath. I told her my story, gave her the business card of the driver and a description of the girl I saw in the photo. She said she would call CIEE and alert them of the problem. Turns out she is best friends with the director of the program. I was happy that it was going to be taken care of, but I was embarrassed. I always feel like I do something to egg on the weirdos. No one else ever has the taxi problems I do and it makes me feel bad, like I'm the whore of the town or something. Jumana could tell I was upset and gave me a hug. I laughed and asked why I attract weirdos. We both laughed and she said it was okay and thanked me for letting her know. (Seriously, 95% of the taxi drivers are so sweet, I just always happen to get the 5%).
The point I really want to get across is how much I love the people in my life in Amman. My host mom has the ability to make me smile and make me happy no matter what. She truly cares about me. I find this amazing as I am her ninth students she has hosted. Wouldn't she have stopped caring by now? Also I have been living off her for months, wouldn't she be tired of doing really nice things for me? Apparently not. I truly love my host family.
The staff of SIT is also amazing. Jumana is always there to listen and legitmently cares when I am upset. I know she will take care of the issue and that everything will be okay. She cares about the driver and the other girl too. Ahmed also cares very much too. Today he literally opened his home to us and fed ten of us a large lunch. That is so so generous! When it was time to leave, he hailed taxis for us and helped to make sure the drivers were good and would not rip us off. I appreciated that. Someone briefly told him about my taxi story and he was concerned. He told me not to drive with that man again. I said of course. He will also look into the situation.
I am truly blessed to have so many kind people around me.
Goodnight (?),
Natalie
Currently it is 1:30 in the morning and I am not going to go to bed anytime soon. I'n not tired and just feel really jazzed. I decided I would fill share some information that I haven't shared and does not really fit in in any other blog posting. I like to keep my posts upbeat, but this one has to deal with a real weird taxi driver. However, the end is positive.
Yesterday I left SIT with a group of friends. Shannon hailed a taxi for me and I headed home. Everything was going well until the driver gave a weird laugh and said "I Know where you live and the building". I was immediately creeped out and stared at the driver to see if he had driven me home before. I had never seen him before. I decided to ignore the comment and just sit in the car quietly. I was tired and wanted to go home. The man went on to say how all the Study Abroad students tend to stay in the same buildings in my neighborhood. I said I hadn't noticed. So he didn't know exactly where I lived, he just had a guess which might have been wrong. To be frank, my neighborhood is large ( I mean miles long) and I have never seen an American walking around. I just wanted to sit quietly and get home. The driver went onto tell me his name and say that he worked at CIEE (SIT's rival study abroad program) a year ago but now is a full time Taxi driver. I found this odd. Surely something made him leave his job at CIEE as CIEE is a better job than driving a taxi. I just nodded and stared out the window. Maybe he was fired? I don't know.
We sat in silence for a while but then he pulled out his smart phone. Nothing unusal here as taxi drivers in Amman can drive 90 miles per hour, without traffic rules, smoking a cigarette, drinking coffee and texting. It's the 8th wonder of the world. He proceeded to show me a picture of a girl that currently studies at CIEE. It looked like a facebook profile picture he had just down loaded from the internet. Why would he have a photo of her if he was not currently working with CIEE? He asked me if I knew where she lived. I said no, because honestly I didn't and I wasn't going to tell him even if I knew. He knew her name and that she lived in my neighborhood. At this point, we were a far way off from my house, but I was close enough to walk. It would be a hike, but it was the best option. I asked to get out. He handed me his business card (like I would ever call him!) and left. I walked home frankly upset. I was upset that the man was a weirdo and upset for the other female student. Something was weird. At least he did not know where I lived as I never have taxis take me to my home anyway (I always have them drop me off at a busy street and I walk for a ways). I made sure he didn't follow me.
I went on with my evening at home with my host family. But I was still bothered by the man in the taxi. In general it was a bad day. I was having problems with my debit card, I was overloaded with work and I had to deal with a weirdo on the way home. Also, I was missing an awesome sorority event week at college. I was at my limit. For dinner I was served falafel. Everyone loves falafel except me. I keep trying to eat it, but it makes me gag. Everyone in the world loves falafel and I can't even eat it. My host mom keeps giving it to be (maybe once every 2 weeks) because all sane Americans love falafel and she thinks that it is one of my favorite foods. She is literally killing me with kindness. I feel too bad to speak up and say I don't like it so I try to eat it the best I can. The falafel sandwich was the straw that broke the camels back, I started to feel really sad. Just not a good day.
After struggling to sleep, I finally fell asleep. Things would be better tomorrow.
I woke up this morning to find a large homemade rice krispie treat on a plate on my placemat. My host mom had made my rice krispie recipe that I gave her. I also had a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. The day was already looking bright. I walked around for a bit and got ready for the day. After I watched the news with my host mom and drank tea, she went into the kitchen. She made me my favorite sandwich, peanut butter and banana. It was even warm! I happily ate the sandwich and wrapped up the remainders for school. My host mom is the best lady ever! She always knows when I'm feeling down and does the sweetest things to make me smile. Sometimes she makes me homemade pancakes with fresh fruit too. She is amazing! I love breakfast time at my house every day because I always get something special. :)
I went to school and got help translating some surveys for my project. Afterwards, I talked with some of the SIT girls about my taxi experience. They told me to go tell Ahmed and that CIEE should be notified of the situation. I agreed with them and walked upstairs to go to the administrators offices. I was nervous. I don't like discussing issues. I like to just go with the flow. But I was worried about the other girl.
I walked in and Ahmed was not at his desk. Instead, I talked with the Student Affairs coordinator, Jumana. I was so nervous, I was out of breath. I told her my story, gave her the business card of the driver and a description of the girl I saw in the photo. She said she would call CIEE and alert them of the problem. Turns out she is best friends with the director of the program. I was happy that it was going to be taken care of, but I was embarrassed. I always feel like I do something to egg on the weirdos. No one else ever has the taxi problems I do and it makes me feel bad, like I'm the whore of the town or something. Jumana could tell I was upset and gave me a hug. I laughed and asked why I attract weirdos. We both laughed and she said it was okay and thanked me for letting her know. (Seriously, 95% of the taxi drivers are so sweet, I just always happen to get the 5%).
The point I really want to get across is how much I love the people in my life in Amman. My host mom has the ability to make me smile and make me happy no matter what. She truly cares about me. I find this amazing as I am her ninth students she has hosted. Wouldn't she have stopped caring by now? Also I have been living off her for months, wouldn't she be tired of doing really nice things for me? Apparently not. I truly love my host family.
The staff of SIT is also amazing. Jumana is always there to listen and legitmently cares when I am upset. I know she will take care of the issue and that everything will be okay. She cares about the driver and the other girl too. Ahmed also cares very much too. Today he literally opened his home to us and fed ten of us a large lunch. That is so so generous! When it was time to leave, he hailed taxis for us and helped to make sure the drivers were good and would not rip us off. I appreciated that. Someone briefly told him about my taxi story and he was concerned. He told me not to drive with that man again. I said of course. He will also look into the situation.
I am truly blessed to have so many kind people around me.
Goodnight (?),
Natalie
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