A Crazy Little Thing Called Wasta

Hello,

First, I have to make a confession, I did sing "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" at Karaoke last night with John and Max. It was wrong of me to do it especially in a public Jordanian space. But let me explain.

Yesterday I found out that I cannot get permission from the University of Jordan to hand out my surveys for my research in their classes. Gettysburg College wants me to get a letter of approval from a Dean of the University, but that is not possible. I could do the surveys in Amman with SIT, but due to the lack of permission, Gettysburg College would not let me use the surveys for my thesis. Poop.

"Natalie, why can't you get a letter from a dean? Your research is about how people talk and has nothing to do with politics?"

That is a fantastic question! It all comes down to a small word: wasta. Wasta is a word that essentially sums up how business is done in the Middle East. You need connections to get anything done. If you want your license renewed, you use your connections to get your license renewed. Without wasta, you would be waiting months to get your license renewed. As you can imagine, the American chick has no wasta. Due to the lack of wasta, I cannot get the University of Jordan to notice me at all and thus things will never move forward.  I am depended on the wasta of the people around me. This makes things move slower. I wish there was a fairy who give me wasta!

This realization made me cry. Why couldn't it just be simple? At Gettysburg College I could go see a head of a department and just hand out surveys all around campus. There would be no problem. In the United States, my thoughts are my thoughts and I can share them with whomever I damn well please.  In Jordanian Universities, you need to get permission from a specific professor and hand out the surveys in their class. If you go around handing out surveys, you will be arrested. The students are not able to freely share their thoughts. Also, the professor of the class is held responsible if things go bad. Ahmed had to go bail some kids out a couple years ago after they handed out surveys at the University of Jordan. So this is a legit issue. While the University of Jordan has thousands of students, the odd American would always stick out. I felt really frustrated. I just want to ask people what dialects of Arabic they like! I'm not trying to bring down the man! I literally found out the survey rule as I was about to leave SIT to hand out Surveys at JU. I happened to be talking to Dr. Raed about it. He looked at me like I was crazy and explained the rules. I was pissed off. I asked him when he was planning on sharing this important information with us. He said he thought everyone knew. I recommended that he send out an email. He did. Turns out all the students were as surprised as I was. A couple of other students had to stop what they were doing as well.

I went to go talk to Jumana about my situation and how I needed permission from a dean. I was really frustrated and she helped me a lot. Turns out a professor was in the office today. He works at a smaller university, Hashamite University. He told me I could survey his class and could get a dean, one of his best friends, to write a letter for me. He even promised me official looking letterhead. I really appreciated this. He will use his wasta to help me out. This is really nice of him and I really appreciate it. He fixed all my problems.

At Middlebury last summer, our teacher kept trying to explain wasta. However, I did not fully understand how wasta works until this week. It is everything. Connections are everything. Favoritism is everything. Wasta is used to get your child into school. Without wasta, you will never be able to enroll in the University of Jordan, even if you are a genius. While this is a great system if you have wasta, it stinks at the same time. Not efficient, not fair and often corrupt.

When I got home, I took a nap then talked to my host sister, Mayas. Mayas was like "Oh yea, Wasta is totally everything". We made a bunch of wasta jokes. I kept asking if you needed wasta to put a commercial for your business on TV. She laughed and said no. I said thank God. I think even she finds wasta frustrating. That was nice to hear.

After this day, when the two guys called me up to sing with them, I could not resist. I wanted to belt a song about American freedom. Murica!

Talk to you later,
Natalie

The Strangest Night of My Life...at Waffle House

Hello,

After working hard at my project, I came home and passed out for a solid hour. Once again, I used my phone to track my sleep (cause I'm a weirdo) and I was in a stone cold deep sleep for a solid hour. Impressive!

After that, I watched TV by myself for an hour and remembered that the SIT group was meeting a restaurant called Waffle House to celebrate a girl's birthday. I really did not jump off the sofa to go. How fun could a Waffle House be? But I decided I should show up. Worse case, I could leave. Turns out all 22 people showed up and the whole group sat at one large table, last super style.

IT WAS AMAZING!

I somehow directed the cab to the restaurant based off of what Max, a student from SIT, told me. I made it on time too. Surely this was a perfect indication of how the night was going to go. The Waffle House was amazing and totally different then a Waffle House in America. I ordered an orange juice, scrambled eggs, white toast and potatoes. It was cooked diner style which was amazing soul food. The potatoes were a bit raw, but all in all it was amazing, especially since I have been missing my diner food. They even had a large bottle of ketchup on the table and I used so so much of it. It was a total American moment.

After I ate my breakfast, I joined the group in smoking argeela. Such a weird combo. Argeela at a Breakfast place? They had a strawberry flavor that was so so smooth, arguably the best argeela I have ever had. After that, we had legit American coffee. You have no idea how hard that is to find. This place had so many little treasures.

Paige and Allan. Allan is pretending to eat syrup while Paige is smoking argeela. 

I also bumped into a girl from Middlebury at Waffle House. She was not particularly kind to me. She walked over to me and started up a conversation, then brought me over to her table to tell me how bad my program was and how essentially my Arabic must suck in front of all of her friends. I told her she was wrong and cranky then walked away. No time for haters, especially ones that go to Ivy League schools. I was going to have fun while she sat there with a stick in her bum smoking her cigarette.

There was another large group of Jordanians sitting at a large table next to us. Turns out, the Waffle House is also a Karaoke spot and they started singing Adele songs. While this is not typically good karaoke music, the woman was an awesome singer. Some of the people also sang Arabic songs. It was impressive and great. Soon, the SITers decided to join in. I forget who sang the first song from our group and what it was, but I went second. This surprised the group as I am normally the person that sits in the corner when I happen to be there. I told the man at the cash register that I wanted to sing "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith. He put it on. I picked that song because it does not require great vocal ability, I could make it funny if things went bad and I could act it out in a cute way. When the phrase "Freddy Mac can Kiss my Ass" came on, I literally stuck out my butt. So haram!

Me singing Red Solo Cup

Party at the Waffle House

Singing "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue".

I think the group was shocked. I had dance moves with the song and emphasized certain words. I honestly think I got the party party started. I kept yelling for them to join in. The room was signing loudly with me. It was so neat as I have never done Karaoke before, especially in a Waffle House. When I stopped singing, all the employees stopped to clap and all 21 SITers started chanting my name. It was so different. I was stunned. This happened for no one else.

We kept singing. I participated in singing "Wherever, Whenever" by Shakira with a group. There was no way I was going to top "Red Solo Cup", so I left that as my song. Some of the other songs that were sung were "Afternoon Delight" and "I Touch Myself". A group of guys also sang "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue [Angry America]" by Toby Keith just to do something crazy. Surprisingly the owner was so happy to have us. He kept letting us sing and even the waiters kept leading us in dancing.  I believe one of our last songs was "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor. This was hysterical. I put the videos of the songs below.

Red Solo Cup- A fun song by Toby Keith
"A red solo cup is cheap and disposable
And in 14 years they are decomposableAnd unlike my home, they are not foreclosableFreddie-Mac can kiss my ass. Woo!"
Whenever, Wherever 

"Whenever, wherever
We're meant to be together
I'll be there and you'll be near
And that's the deal my dear"


"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue"- Toby Keith wrote this song after September 11 and the songs discusses how America is going to get whoever is responsible not exactly in the best way.
"Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you’ll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
`Cause we`ll put a boot in your ass
It`s the American way"- So inappropriate for a Jordanian anything. 


I Will Survive- 
"And you see me, somebody new
I'm not that chained up little person still in love with you
And so you felt like dropping in and just expect me to be free
But now I'm saving all my loving for someone who's loving me"


After singing for a while, we just started to dance. They put on some country songs that I really enjoyed dancing to. People really liked my country dancing. They also put on Michael Jackson's "Thriller". I busted out my MJ moves that I have from long ago. The floor actually cleared out and people stood around me and clapped. I was more surprised that I still remembered the dances and was able to move that way. The owner thought I was hysterical and liked how I could dance to everything. He decided to put on Riverdance. Surely no one could dance to that. Meg turned to me and goes "Do you know Irish Dance". I replied "Actually, I know a small bit". As a result the group forced me to dance. I wound up Irish dancing in the Jordanian Waffle House. I actually did a pretty good job for my experience. The owner was shocked and I think it confirmed in all my classmates minds that I have a varied group of interests.

The rest of the group was heading to a bar. It was midnight so I wanted to get home. When I went to leave, the "cool" kids said I was the VIP of the evening. They really liked my dancing and how I brought the party. I laughed and went home, even though they wanted me to go to the bar. That was nice of them.

Surprisingly, most of the people at Waffle House (including me) were sober. Everything this group does together turns into a booze cruise without the booze. I think three hours of activity cost me 4JD. So this place we will definitely be returning to.

So that about sums up my weird, but perfect evening.
Talk to you later,
Natalie

Picture from Refugee Camp

Here is a picture from the last time I went to Al Beqqa.

Talk to you later, 

Natalie

The ramblings of an Insomniac

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

Party at Ahmed's!

Hello,

Today after coming some work on my research project, I went with the group to Ahmed's house. Ahmed lives about forty-five minutes away from SIT. He drove us to his house to have lunch and to meet his children.

Ahmed and his wife have six children, five boys and one girl. They are also expecting another child, perhaps a little girl. Lunch was great, Ahmed's wife made us mansef, a traditional Jordanian dish. Mansef is lamb or chicken cooked in fermented yoghurt and served over rice with nuts. I very much love this dish. Two Sheiks also came over to the house to visit while we were there. They ate lunch as well. Turns out, These two men were two badia host dads for two students in the program. It was nice how the students could talk to their home stay dad and catch up for a bit.

The men sat in a different room than the women, so Ahmed came in and told me to come to the men's room. I did not know what to expect, but I followed hesitantly. When I entered the room, a man in a blue dishdash and kefiya turned around. It was my Badia host father, or Ahmed's uncle. I talked to him for a bit and then he told me that "mama" was next door. It was a nice conversation and he seemed legitmently happy to see me. One of Ahmed's friends ushered me next door so I could sit with mama. I walked next door to find my Badia host mom sitting in a new pinkish thobe around a large group of women. I wonder if this was inspired by my pink thobe that I wore to the Badia (She kept telling me over and over again when I lived with her how much she loved the color of my thobe). She invited me to sit down and have tea. She was really happy to see me and was happy to catch up. I had a large glass of tea and asked about how her kids were and how the village was. She said all was well and that she was just coming to visit family. She asked how Ariel was, I said good and that was all she said/ asked about Ariel. I was impressed by how much she really was happy to see me. I did not think her or her husband liked me at all, but apparently they did. She told me that my Arabic has really improved and that she was impressed. I really appreciated that. It was nice to try to talk with a bedouin accent again. She definitely noticed and felt happy that I made the gesture.

I actually enjoyed getting to see my Badia host parents again. They were kind. I was wearing my skinny jeans, flip flops and flannel shirt...essentially I was just myself. There was no judgement from either side. It was nice to have another conversation or chance to connect with them. In a sense, I had the opportunity to redo part of my previous experience with them. I was treated as family and a guest. They immediately jumped up to make sure I had a large glass of Bedouin tea and snacks, even when I said it was not necessary. We even joked about the amount of tea my Badia host mother drank. I am shocked to say this, but I had a good time. After about five teen minutes, I walked back next door to hang out with the SIT people at Ahmed's. I felt like I got some type of closure. My Badia host mother was much warmer towards me and frankly less scary. It was like seeing a different side of her. She introduced me to people with pride as well. Once again...I'm shocked.


I really liked Ahmed's house alot. It was in the suburbs of Amman and was an actual house with some land. His house had elements of the Badia in addition to elements of Amman households.
Things that were Badia Elements:
1) There were separate sitting rooms for men and women
2) The furniture was arranged all around the walls
3) No pictures of animals or people on the wall-  religious reasons
4) Bedouin tea- tea with buckets of sugar and mint

Amman elements
1)  There were actual sofas to sit on. In the Badia you sit on cushions
2) Nice furnishings and decorations. Very Modern.

After spending a nice afternoon together, Ahmed helped us hail a taxi and go home.

Once I was home, my host mother and sister helped me edit something I wrote in Arabic. Wow, it was not pretty. I thought I had done well, but apparently not. So much more to learn....


Talk to you soon,
Natalie

Fashion in Amman

Hello,

I just go back from a lovely lunch with my friend Paige. We went to TAJ mall, a local mall near our school to eat at a cafe. She really wanted a nice salad. I really wanted food. It was a good match. She got a great goat cheese salad and I got a USDA approved roast beef sandwich. Turns out I can still eat red meat and I really enjoy it. I'm just a beef snob. We enjoyed sitting there drinking carrot juice and lemon mint juice on the outside patio. This sounds dumb, but I always eat at home or essentially fast food. It was nice to be handed a menu and eat something not at home that has great nutritional value.

I really love wandering around the malls in Amman. The malls close to where I live are filled with many different international stores. As a result, you get a lot of British fashion. I really like the British looks I see in Amman. It is fresh and different from the American fashion I am used to. The trick is to make things Jordan appropriate. The sleeveless dresses must be worn over a shirt with a sleeve. The short dresses must have leggings or tights underneath. I have even see my host sister wear shorts with tights to a party. It was adorable and so classy looking, but then again she is a classy gal.

Jordanian women put a lot of work into getting dressed in the morning. There makeup is fully done and their hair is just so (If they do not wear hijab). There clothes go together perfectly and everyone looks so fashionable. Its to the point where if I sit with my host mom and her friends when they are visiting, I feel like a slob. My makeup is very natural, I have my hair in a pony tail and generally my outfit is casual. Jordanians somehow make jeans look more formal than any American does.

H&M in TAJ mall is the British version of Tall Mall. The prices are a tad bit higher, but the quality is about 10x higher than H&M in the United States. Other popular stores are Vera Moda, Monsoon, Diesel, French Connection and Calliope.

Below are generic descriptions to the stores

Monsoon

Monsoon plc is a leading women's clothing and accessories retailer in the United Kingdom, operating three retail store concepts. There's just no mistaking the Monsoon signature: it's all about the beauty of fabric, color and traditional craftsmanship from all around the world. Meanwhile, Monsoon Children is a destination for Children's accessories and special occasions; it's highly acclaimed and award winning party range, brings a touch of class to any wardrobe.

Calliope

Calliope was created in 2005, with a comfortable style but at the same time refined, suitable for those who love nature & adventure.

http://en.calliope.info

Diesel
The Italian design company will finally open their first store at Fashion Level 2. Some say Diesel is a state of mind and others label it as a positive distraction but for many the only thing that matters is Diesel is here to stay.
http://www.diesel.com

Vero Moda
One world ,one philosophy ,one family

Vero Moda is the brand of choice for the fashion-conscious, independent young woman who wants to dress smart. With a range of four design lines - VERO MODA, VERO MODA Jeans, VERO MODA Very and VERO MODA Basic - to cover the needs of each and every customer, VERO MODA offers quality, affordable and inspiring clothing for the young women who wants the look good of a trustworthy fashionista. 

http://www.veromoda.com


French Connection
Fashion Level 2 welcomes the fashion retailer French Connection UK creating a wave of style and unique designs. Renowned for stylish apparel and accessories with a quirky spin on design, excellent quality and affordable prices, French Connection UK, is a truly global fashion brand. Recently, French Connection expanded its portfolio to include exciting new lines, such as men's and women's toiletries, sunglasses and opticals, watches and shoes.

http://www.frenchconnection.com

Me drinking some juice outside 

Talk to you later, 

Natalie

Sandstorms, hookah and more...oh my

Hello,

I want to talk about a few different things under this solo blog post. Please bear with me as always.

Sandstorms
During my stay in Jordan, I have experienced sandstorms three different types. Each time, I have not realized that it was a sandstorm until my host mother told me what was going on. I will relate my first experience. I was walking from school to grab a cab. I felt exhausted and had a bad headache. As I was walking, dust blew straight into my eyes. This hurt pretty badly. I carried on and walked to hail a cab. The driver of this cab was slow moving and very grouchy. He just kept complaining about how he had to work and was just a pain in the butt with asking for more cash than I should ever pay him. When I got out of the cab, I told him he was grouchy in Arabic, because I too was grouchy. I slammed the door and left (because apparently I am 13). I walked to my host family's apartment and I started to really feel sick. I went upstairs, talked with my host family and ate my lunch. Afterwards, I went in my room and slept. I woke up still with a headache and still grumpy. All I wanted to do was sleep. I went to the living room to partake in the afternoon movie. My host mom looked really tired. All of a sudden she asked my host sister to bring her some hand lotion. She explained how she always feels tired and has a headache during sandstorms. I asked her if that was what was going on. She took me to the window and pointed to the sky. It just looked cloudy to me, but apparently it was all dust.

So during sandstorms, you will feel more tired, grumpy and sloth like. Your skin will also dry out. My hands swelled due to the climate change and I needed to use lotion. I also woke up the next day and immediately wanted to blow my nose. I essentially blew out sand in my mucus (more than you ever wanted to know about my bodily functions).

Here is an article about one of the sandstorms I experienced.
http://jordantimes.com/sandstorm-hits-jordan-blocks-some-desert-highways

See how "cloudy" the sky looks? It is not the clouds but it is dust in the air

Argeela
"Natalie, in all your smoking pictures, are you smoking weed?" No, it is argeela. Argeela is the levantine word for a water pipe. In argeela, the tobacco (shisha) is passed through water at the base of the pipe and filtered. The hookah originated in either Persia or India, no one is exactly sure.

Argeela is such a part of the culture and tradition in Jordan and the Middle East. It is such a relaxing activity. A group sits around the hookah and takes turns passing it back and forth from person to person. During this time, you usually have great conversations and its a fun way of kicking back and relaxing. The tobacco comes in many different flavors, strawberry, mixed berry, double apple, mint, grape etc. I really enjoy participating in argeela. I feel like everyone just chills. It is better than grabbing beers with friends, but is essentially a similar idea. You will find argeela is most cafes in Amman. You can get a pipe for around 4 JD, so this is a cheap activity to do. Some cafes are men's only, so you have to pay attention before you sit down. In some circles, it is considered suggestive for women to smoke hookah publicly, like the Badia. Other cafes like to be boys clubs and thus do not invite women. It is also common to play traditional Jordanian games while smoking.

Since shisha is tobacco, it is not an illegal substance. There is no high or drug like effect from it. Most people have no effect from the tobacco. However, it is tobacco so it is not healthy for you. Arguably it is healthier for you than a cigarette due to the lack of chemicals and things of that nature. Shisha is all natural and people only buy high quality. Nothing is worse than cheap shisha.

Here is how argeela works. I literally copied this from wikipedia.

Bowl

Also known as the head of the hookah, the bowl is a container, usually made out of clay or marble, that holds the coal and tobacco during the smoking session. The bowl is loaded with tobacco then covered in a small piece of perforated aluminum foil or screen typically glass or metal. Lit coals are then placed on top, which allows the tobacco to heat to the proper temperature.

There is also a variation of the head which employs a fruit rather than the traditional clay bowl. The fruit is hollowed out and perforated in order to achieve the same shape and system a clay bowl has, then it is loaded and used in the same manner.

Bowls have evolved in recent years to incorporate new designs that keep juices in the tobacco from running down the stem. The Tangiers Phunnel Bowl and Sahara Smoke Vortex Bowl are two examples of such bowls.

[edit]Hose

Technically if the pipe has a hose it is not "hookah"—the term historically referred to a straight-neck tube^{[citation needed]}. Today the hose (one or more) is a slender flexible tube that allows the smoke to be drawn for a distance, cooling down before inhalation. The end is typically fitted with a metal, wooden, or plastic mouthpiece of different shapes, size, color or material type. According to J.S. Gamble in A Manual of Indian Timbers in 1902 (Page 668), the bark of the white Himalayan birchBetula utilis ssp. jacquemontii was used to make early hookah tubes.

[edit]Purge valve

Many hookah are equipped with a purge valve connected to the airspace in the water jar to purge stale smoke which has been sitting unused in the jar for too long. This one-way valve is typically a simple ball bearing sitting over a port which seals the port by gravity alone and will open if positive pressure is created by blowing into the hose. The bearing will be held captive with a screw-on cover. The cover should be opened and the bearing and seat cleaned of residue and corrosion regularly to ensure proper sealing.

[edit]Water jar

woodworkers from Damascus,Syria creating wood components for hookah production (19th century)

The body of the hookah sits on top of the water jar, or sometimes referred to as vase, or base. The downstem hangs down below the level of the water in the jar. Smoke passes through the body and out the downstem where it bubbles through the water. This cools and humidifies the smoke. Liquids such as fruit juice may be added to the water or used in substitution. Pieces of fruit, mint leaves, and crushed ice may be added.

[edit]Plate

A plate or ashtray sits just below the bowl to catch ashes falling off the coals.

[edit]Grommets

Grommets in a hookah are usually placed between the bowl and the body, the body's gasket and the water jar and between the body and the hose. The grommets, although not essential (the use of paper or tape has become common), will help to seal the joints between the parts, therefore decreasing the amount of air coming in and maximizing the smoke breathed in.

[edit]Diffuser

A piece attached to the bottom of the stem, usually made of plastic and in a grid pattern, to make a smoother smoke and a subdued noise. By breaking the naturally larger bubbles coming up the water from the pipe into smaller bubbles, it lowers the amount of suction or "pull" needed to continue bringing smoke to the chamber. This also cools the smoke down more efficiently. It is used as a luxury item for a premium smoking experience and is not a required component.

[edit]Consumable Items

[edit]Mu‘assel

Tobacco or Mu‘assel (Arabic: معسل which means "honeyed"), is a syrupy tobacco mix with molasses and vegetable glycerol as moisturizer and specific flavors added to it. Typical flavors of mu‘assel include apple, grape, guava, lemon, mint, as well as many other fruit based mixes. Non tobacco based mu'assel is also available in certain area where tobacco smoking is not allowed.

[edit]Charcoal

Charcoal is the source of energy to produce heat that will be transferred to the tobacco inside the bowl. Since the glycerol is used to moisturize the tobacco, then to produce smoke, the charcoal should be able to generate heat above the boiling point of glycerol that is 290 °C. Therefore, charcoal for hookah smoking must be hard, high density, easy to ignite, and burn longer with persistent heat.^[45]

[edit]Operation

Hookah cross-section view

The jar at the bottom of the hookah is filled with water sufficient to submerge a few centimeters of the body tube, which is sealed tightly to it. Deeper water will only increase the inhalation force needed to use it. Tobacco is placed inside the bowl at the top of the hookah. Often the bowl is covered with perforated tin foil or a metal screen and coal placed on top. The foil or screen separates the coal and the tobacco, which minimizes inhalation of coal ash with the smoke and reduces the temperature the tobacco is exposed to, in order to prevent burning the tobacco directly.

When one inhales through the hose, air is pulled through the charcoal and into the bowl holding the tobacco. The hot air, heated by the charcoal vaporizes (not burns) the tobacco, thus producing smoke, which is passed down through the body tube that extends into the water in the jar. It bubbles up through the water, losing heat, and fills the top part of the jar, to which the hose is attached. When a smoker inhales from the hose, smoke passes into the lungs, and the change in pressure in the jar pulls more air through the charcoal, continuing the process.

If the hookah has been lit and smoked but has not been inhaled for an extended period, the smoke inside the water jar may be regarded as "stale" and undesirable. Stale smoke may be exhausted through the purge valve, if present. This one-way valve is opened by the positive pressure created from gently blowing into the hose. It will not function on a multiple-hose hookah unless all other hoses are plugged. Sometimes one-way valves are put in the hose sockets to avoid the need to manually plug hoses.

Like the cookie monster says "Cookies are a sometimes snack", argeela is too. I do not smoke it often, perhaps once every three weeks for an hour max. I do not want to smoke too much because I know of the health effects. I do want to talk about it because it is part of the culture and traditions in Jordan, and healthy or not I do enjoy and participate. It would be hard to avoid hookah in Amman. It is everywhere. Even when I go to my host mom's sisters host, it is expected that I will participate in the Argeela because it is a social thing. However, if anyone were to offer me a cigarette, my host mom would never let me smoke it (she is a heavy smoker). The argeela is viewed in better light due to tradition and its way of bringing people together


I am the proud owner of a argeela. Mine will mostly be sitting on a bookshelf as a memory, but I will occasionally bring it out to be used. Most hookahs are not as pretty as mine. I bought one in between a touristy argeela and a real Jordanian argeela. I bought it from a shop near my house. The man also delivers argeela to your home. I love Amman! I also bought this is Arabic, so its a language experience as well. It will come to MEIS house next fall :).

My Argeela is full glory. You wrap the hose around the base of the hookah for storage. 

I have a very pretty hose

My pink, silver and gold argeela. 

This is it for now, 

Natalie