On Safety: It looks like Baltimore is more dangerous than Amman at the moment...
http://foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_6579.shtml
On The Orthodox Club (Matrix): This is the name of the gym where most of us Americans bought a membership to a few days ago. Matrix is arguably the nicest gym in Amman besides the Olympic Sports Complex. It is the closest gym to our SIT Base Camp where we spend most of our time. Anne Bond moment: If we said we were related we got a "family" discount on our gym membership. Out of the group of 9 who walked in, there were 3 families. My friend Biff and I were cousins, a believable story. However, the three girls named Sarah in our group decided to pretend to be a family. I cannot believe the Matrix employee believed them. Upon further questioning, 2 Sarahs were the same age but had different Dads and were thus step sisters and the 3rd Sarah was a year younger than the other two. So one Dad had two girls a year apart and named them both Sarah. The result...they saved 5JD each and none of them have their last name on their ID's. Really entertaining to watch. I met a Spanish woman in the locker room named Mauri. She married an Arab man and has lived in Amman for 40 years. We spoke some quality Sparabic together. The number of languages spoken in that locker room is paramount. Many of the members work at the surrounding embassies in Abdoun. ImmmMERsion.
On Sidewalks: I don't know what inspired the concept of putting trees IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK, but it is definitely frustrating and disappointing. And then they shave the trees to make them more distracting as if putting them directly in your path is not frustrating enough. I have determined that shaving the trees outside your residence is a sign of wealth. I would judge my Jordanian family to be upper-middle class. They do not have heat but they have a large house and a contracted maid from Sri Lanka of all places.
On My New Pseudonym: Al hob is a derivative of the name of my alterego and car, "El Hob". "El" the Spanish article was converted upon arrival to "Al" the arabic article. Fun fact, "Al" is actually pronounced"il" in Levantine spoken Arabic. The direct translation of "Hob" is love, which is perfectly ironic because I have put up this wall of bitterness to protect the little squirrel dignity that I have. I have been short with cab drivers, I have ignored men who smile and say things like "welcome, hello, and how are you?". This bothers me at the core and I plan to slowly let my guard down until I can find that happy medium between being nice and being naive. Hubs is another very close Arabic word....it means bread. I have been gluten free in Jordan so far so as to avoid extreme stomach discomfort as part of the immersion process. Lastly, my initials are ALH (AL Hob) so I think this is meant to be.
On Food: Hummas is the new ketchup. Nutella is the new jelly. Yogurt and sour cream are interchangeable. Pita is the only utensil you will ever need.
On TV: Upper-middle class Jordanians watch more TV than I can handle. It is on 18/24 hours. Coveted shows include: Desperate Housewives, CSI, ER, SHAUN THE SHEEP (inspired by Wallace and Gromit), a hilarious Turkish Drama whose Arabic title means "Forbidden Love", any and all movies (any movie is available at the DVD stores downtown where they sell illegal copies in high quality for 1JD each even before they are released to be shown in theaters) and most importantly, reruns of Arab's Got Talent. This is a spin off of American Idol with three judges and any and all talents welcome. There's a pretty good beat boxer from Lebanon.
Here's a Jordanian boy on Arab's Got Talent:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4q-iYR5TcU&feature=channel>
On Michael Jackson: He's an Arab obsession. Apparently one of my host sister's friends became severely depressed when he died. She had attended all of his concerts worldwide. Every 8th person on Arab's Got Talent incorporates a Michael Jackson impression.
On Arabic: The backwards three is a four, and the 7 symbol is a 6. There are 16 different verb forms. 16. I can't even count that high in Arabic. Moomtaz! (excellent)
On my Jordanian Father Ali: He has kind, forgiving eyes but a powerful aura and figure. He works for an engineering company and goes to Aqaba (the southern port) each week. Actually, he reminds me of Christian the lion in the following video, I can't fully explain why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNv2A4Kfx4k&feature=related
On Squirrels: There are none. Nor have I seen any insect or pest. Today I compared myself to a squirrel in the arctic--I constantly feel like a foreigner here.
On Cats: This is the only capital city I have ever been in that does not have street dogs. There are NO dogs because they are dirty, unholy animals in Islam, so the cats reign free. They jump out of dumpsters and leave treasures on the parts of the sidewalks not consumed by decorative flora. Bis bis (Arabic slang for meow). Cats are the closest things to pests here.
On the Superbowl: It showed at 1am 3 nights ago. Uhhh...not that dedicated.
On the White City: Amman is gorgeous in the way that Orlando Bloom's face is gorgeous. Bold claim, I know. If you zoom in, it's full glory cannot be appreciated. Comparatively, trash lines the sidewalks and congeals along the curbs and in parks. But when you zoom out, mintakat jadeeda! (beautiful area!). I take a cab home to 7th circle (duwar sebeaah) and I walk 15 minutes every day while the sun sets over the white city and the call to prayer echoes around me. Apparently, Queen Noor decided that she wanted Orlando Bloom to be blond forever ( I have to agree) and announced that all buildings must be white in Amman. In the setting sun, they are egg-shell colored and the horizon is dotted with minarets from the mosques with tiny green glowing windows. Jumanah, one of my Arabic teachers, said that the minerets shine green because green represents an oasis in the time of the Prophet and his bedouin tribe. In the modern sense, it refers to paradise. In this way, Green is the traditional color of Islam and the traditional color of turtles. This is why many Arab country's flags are green...including Jordan's:
The sight of the minarets is so gorgeous it's ominous. It is cold, 50 degrees constantly, it keeps me on my toes and in my sleeping bag respectively.
On Blind Squirrels: Yesterday, we went to al Balad (downtown) in East Amman. I have gathered that East Amman<West Amman in wealth and thus I am very lucky to live where I live. In East Amman, the older part of the city exists and by old I mean Roman time old. SPQR giant roman amphitheater. After a decent walk, me and 4 other squirrels decided to get a "chi binana" (a sweet mint tea that is horribly addicting) at a cafe. About halfway through our semi-awkward tea break, Biff put two and two together. We, four females, had found ourselves in an exclusive Men-only cafe. This quickly explained the pool table, the moments hesitation to wave us in, the staring and the lack of other females. Shame set in again. Sometimes we forget to open our eyes to these obvious cultural differences. Or maybe we are doing ourselves a favor by ignoring the subtle sexism...the ratio of men to women perusing the streets of Al Balad is something like 14 to 1. And no woman walks without her husband at her side.
On Qualitative Research: I have determined that Qualitative Research is English for Experiential Education. Our Independent Study Project is based in the concept of Qualitative research which requires me to acquire raw data and reflect on it in the context of my own life. This is what I have attempted to do in this post.
Yallah Bye!
-Al Hob
http://foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wbff_vid_6579.shtml
On The Orthodox Club (Matrix): This is the name of the gym where most of us Americans bought a membership to a few days ago. Matrix is arguably the nicest gym in Amman besides the Olympic Sports Complex. It is the closest gym to our SIT Base Camp where we spend most of our time. Anne Bond moment: If we said we were related we got a "family" discount on our gym membership. Out of the group of 9 who walked in, there were 3 families. My friend Biff and I were cousins, a believable story. However, the three girls named Sarah in our group decided to pretend to be a family. I cannot believe the Matrix employee believed them. Upon further questioning, 2 Sarahs were the same age but had different Dads and were thus step sisters and the 3rd Sarah was a year younger than the other two. So one Dad had two girls a year apart and named them both Sarah. The result...they saved 5JD each and none of them have their last name on their ID's. Really entertaining to watch. I met a Spanish woman in the locker room named Mauri. She married an Arab man and has lived in Amman for 40 years. We spoke some quality Sparabic together. The number of languages spoken in that locker room is paramount. Many of the members work at the surrounding embassies in Abdoun. ImmmMERsion.
On Sidewalks: I don't know what inspired the concept of putting trees IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK, but it is definitely frustrating and disappointing. And then they shave the trees to make them more distracting as if putting them directly in your path is not frustrating enough. I have determined that shaving the trees outside your residence is a sign of wealth. I would judge my Jordanian family to be upper-middle class. They do not have heat but they have a large house and a contracted maid from Sri Lanka of all places.
On My New Pseudonym: Al hob is a derivative of the name of my alterego and car, "El Hob". "El" the Spanish article was converted upon arrival to "Al" the arabic article. Fun fact, "Al" is actually pronounced"il" in Levantine spoken Arabic. The direct translation of "Hob" is love, which is perfectly ironic because I have put up this wall of bitterness to protect the little squirrel dignity that I have. I have been short with cab drivers, I have ignored men who smile and say things like "welcome, hello, and how are you?". This bothers me at the core and I plan to slowly let my guard down until I can find that happy medium between being nice and being naive. Hubs is another very close Arabic word....it means bread. I have been gluten free in Jordan so far so as to avoid extreme stomach discomfort as part of the immersion process. Lastly, my initials are ALH (AL Hob) so I think this is meant to be.
On Food: Hummas is the new ketchup. Nutella is the new jelly. Yogurt and sour cream are interchangeable. Pita is the only utensil you will ever need.
On TV: Upper-middle class Jordanians watch more TV than I can handle. It is on 18/24 hours. Coveted shows include: Desperate Housewives, CSI, ER, SHAUN THE SHEEP (inspired by Wallace and Gromit), a hilarious Turkish Drama whose Arabic title means "Forbidden Love", any and all movies (any movie is available at the DVD stores downtown where they sell illegal copies in high quality for 1JD each even before they are released to be shown in theaters) and most importantly, reruns of Arab's Got Talent. This is a spin off of American Idol with three judges and any and all talents welcome. There's a pretty good beat boxer from Lebanon.
Here's a Jordanian boy on Arab's Got Talent:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4q-iYR5TcU&feature=channel>
On Michael Jackson: He's an Arab obsession. Apparently one of my host sister's friends became severely depressed when he died. She had attended all of his concerts worldwide. Every 8th person on Arab's Got Talent incorporates a Michael Jackson impression.
On Arabic: The backwards three is a four, and the 7 symbol is a 6. There are 16 different verb forms. 16. I can't even count that high in Arabic. Moomtaz! (excellent)
On my Jordanian Father Ali: He has kind, forgiving eyes but a powerful aura and figure. He works for an engineering company and goes to Aqaba (the southern port) each week. Actually, he reminds me of Christian the lion in the following video, I can't fully explain why:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNv2A4Kfx4k&feature=related
On Squirrels: There are none. Nor have I seen any insect or pest. Today I compared myself to a squirrel in the arctic--I constantly feel like a foreigner here.
On Cats: This is the only capital city I have ever been in that does not have street dogs. There are NO dogs because they are dirty, unholy animals in Islam, so the cats reign free. They jump out of dumpsters and leave treasures on the parts of the sidewalks not consumed by decorative flora. Bis bis (Arabic slang for meow). Cats are the closest things to pests here.
On the Superbowl: It showed at 1am 3 nights ago. Uhhh...not that dedicated.
On the Universe: "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch,
you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan. Yesterday I made cookies for my homestay family and took credit for them...so by the transitive property of thought, I also took credit for creating the universe. I disclosed that I am an expert at making sugar cookies to my family yesterday. This prompted a quest to bake all of them a batch of Hob's famous cookies. I succeeded with the help of Razan(ingredient finder), Sara(stove magician) and Hamed (stirrer). The butter is rich and the vanilla extract is less concentrated. They have the kind of oven that you must light with a match or in our case a burned page from Al Jazeera. Also, everything is in kilograms. Oh metric system, you humble me.
you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan. Yesterday I made cookies for my homestay family and took credit for them...so by the transitive property of thought, I also took credit for creating the universe. I disclosed that I am an expert at making sugar cookies to my family yesterday. This prompted a quest to bake all of them a batch of Hob's famous cookies. I succeeded with the help of Razan(ingredient finder), Sara(stove magician) and Hamed (stirrer). The butter is rich and the vanilla extract is less concentrated. They have the kind of oven that you must light with a match or in our case a burned page from Al Jazeera. Also, everything is in kilograms. Oh metric system, you humble me.
On the White City: Amman is gorgeous in the way that Orlando Bloom's face is gorgeous. Bold claim, I know. If you zoom in, it's full glory cannot be appreciated. Comparatively, trash lines the sidewalks and congeals along the curbs and in parks. But when you zoom out, mintakat jadeeda! (beautiful area!). I take a cab home to 7th circle (duwar sebeaah) and I walk 15 minutes every day while the sun sets over the white city and the call to prayer echoes around me. Apparently, Queen Noor decided that she wanted Orlando Bloom to be blond forever ( I have to agree) and announced that all buildings must be white in Amman. In the setting sun, they are egg-shell colored and the horizon is dotted with minarets from the mosques with tiny green glowing windows. Jumanah, one of my Arabic teachers, said that the minerets shine green because green represents an oasis in the time of the Prophet and his bedouin tribe. In the modern sense, it refers to paradise. In this way, Green is the traditional color of Islam and the traditional color of turtles. This is why many Arab country's flags are green...including Jordan's:
The sight of the minarets is so gorgeous it's ominous. It is cold, 50 degrees constantly, it keeps me on my toes and in my sleeping bag respectively.
On Blind Squirrels: Yesterday, we went to al Balad (downtown) in East Amman. I have gathered that East Amman<West Amman in wealth and thus I am very lucky to live where I live. In East Amman, the older part of the city exists and by old I mean Roman time old. SPQR giant roman amphitheater. After a decent walk, me and 4 other squirrels decided to get a "chi binana" (a sweet mint tea that is horribly addicting) at a cafe. About halfway through our semi-awkward tea break, Biff put two and two together. We, four females, had found ourselves in an exclusive Men-only cafe. This quickly explained the pool table, the moments hesitation to wave us in, the staring and the lack of other females. Shame set in again. Sometimes we forget to open our eyes to these obvious cultural differences. Or maybe we are doing ourselves a favor by ignoring the subtle sexism...the ratio of men to women perusing the streets of Al Balad is something like 14 to 1. And no woman walks without her husband at her side.
On Qualitative Research: I have determined that Qualitative Research is English for Experiential Education. Our Independent Study Project is based in the concept of Qualitative research which requires me to acquire raw data and reflect on it in the context of my own life. This is what I have attempted to do in this post.
Yallah Bye!
-Al Hob
Sparabic, spanglish, spatin,& spitalian.
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