Thoughts on a full stomach

Asifa - sorry!  The internet has been down. 

So, last Thursday I joined my family in driving across the city to the relatives.  After kissing everyone in the family (I have figured it out: one kiss on the left cheek and three or more on the right cheek, in most cases) I was told to sit down at the dining table and I watched as two enormous platters piled high with mansef were brought to the table.  Mansef is a traditional rice and lamb dish sprinkled with toasted almonds and served with leban, a yogurt sauce.  One dish was placed on the dining table, the other on what looked like a round coffee table.  The women sat down at the table with their dishes and utensils, and the men stood around the coffee table (the platter filled up the entire table).  As us ladies served ourselves on plates and ate with forks, the men simply cupped their right hand and scooped up the rice and lamb in front of them, tossing it a little in their hand before eating it. I was grateful for the fork and knife. The men were a mess. There was a lot of laughing as the family took turns explaining this tradition and as the men would turn to look at me and smile with rice all over their hands and face.  The leban was poured over the rice and lamb.   Dina's sister-in-law offered to pour me a glass of leban to drink, but from my reaction, she laughed and didn't pour me any.  This is a very filling (and fatty) meal: lamb, white rice, and yogurt - all in Middle Eastern proportions.  The family told me stories of how relatives have passed out for five hours after eating mansef.

When the dishes were cleared, we gathered in the family room and someone put in the wedding dvd of Dina's brother and sister-in-law, who were married in the spring.  The family laughed and argued about different parts of the footage, and explained all the traditions.  At one point, when the bride and groom crossed arms and drank what looked like champagne, everyone laughed at my confusion and explained that it was non-alcoholic.  Most of the footage was of the guests and wedding party dancing and singing.  They explained that weddings start around 5 in the evening at the bride's home, then progress to the hotel or reception place (there is a procession of cars through the city blaring their horns and shouting out the car windows - I have seen several pass by).  At the reception they dance until two or three in the morning.  The whole thing was dancing (and not aided by any sort of spirits, just sayin')! All in all, the explanations of the wedding further highlighted how central family is to the society.  Even their socializing (evening guests are most often relatives) and their living situations (the house we were at was two houses down from the children and other extended family who lived in an addition above the house - a side addition was being made for a sister). 
I would love to go to a wedding.  My peer tutor is getting married in January and invited me to come. Only problem is we have a hard enough time trying to set up a coffee date.  Insha'allah, I will attend one.

about taxis

There are three ways I can die in a taxi; four ways that a cab can claim my life:

1) death by accident: taxi drivers love to live on the edge, stopping within inches of the car (and often pedestrian) in front of them.  Also, the streets are so oily and it never rains, so when it does rain, sirens are wailing.

2) death by second hand smoke: because drivers are a) stressful drivers and b) Jordanians, they are naturally chain smokers.  The amount of cigarette smoke I inhale in the back of the cab is equivalent to smoking myself.

3) death by pollution: similar to smoke, the pollution in Amman is astronomical, especially from black exhaust smoke that billows from cars that shouldn't have passed inspection ten years ago.  And with no A.C. in the cars the windows are left open - which does help lessen the chance of death number 2, but increases, death number 3.

4) death by heart attack: driving in a cab is very stressful.  Not for the weak of heart.  :)

Ahlan! Welcome to Amman!

p.s.  I feel as if I should insert a Yenta quote from Fiddler on the Roof: "But I don't complain, not like the other woman, *tsk tsk*, not I! Not Yenta!" - I probably butchered that quote.

Camels and snorkeling and Petra, oh my!!!!

Our jeeps!

I just had one of the most amazing weekends of my life!  The program set up a three day trip through southern Jordan, rushing us through some major destinations to give us an idea of what there is to do.

On Thursday we skipped classes and bused down to Wadi Rum, one of the desert wadis in Jordan that is barren, harsh and breathtaking.  We were herded from the bus onto camels - my camel was named Gelby and we bonded quickly - and the camel caravan of 140 set off through the desert, stopping a couple times along the way to climb large rock formations.  At one stop I rolled down a sand dune with a friend and cut my back on stick or rock.  I hate being dizzy so I have no idea why I did that.  :) After riding the camels for four or so hours, we stopped to watch the sunset, then walked down the dunes to the bedouin campsite where we were fed a rich meal of kebab on rice, with babaganoosh and hummus for pita, hot tortillas just off the baking stone to scoop up the cool cucumber salad with yogurt, accompanied by assorted olives.  The chai was served in juice glasses (as is the custom) and soft drinks were available.  We sat around low tables and on cushions, while several men played traditional music. A friend and I got up to dance with them, and many students followed suit.  So much energy, such good music and scrumptious food! After dinner and dancing, a couple of my friends and I went out of the camp to lay on some rocks and look at the stars.  They were spectacular, with nothing to veil them from sight.  

The next morning found the traveling party piling into 4-wheeling jeeps to race across the desert, losing the tire tracks, without a second thought.  After three hours of bumping around, taking pictures, and scrambling up more rocks to pose on the natural rock bridge or explore the fortress of Lawrence of Arabia, we found a paved road that led us back to our buses.  The buses took us straight to Aqaba where we were bustled onto three different boats - I had the pleasure of being on the wooden "pirate" ship - and sailed away on the Red Sea to some of the best coral reefs to go snorkeling.  What an experience!  Words can't even described the color of the sea and all the life in those reefs! I have never snorkeled before and the experience was incredible!  I feel as if I need to adopt a whole new vocabulary to describe the life underwater!  It was as though I was on the discovery channel.  So awesome!

The Red Sea

Salty and sun burned, we were put on the buses again and set off for the second bedouin camp, this time in Petra.  By this point in the trip we were all tired and hungry.  Upon arrival, a hot meal of lamb and rice was set before us.  At this camp we had the option to sleep outside, which I would normally, but the students talked late into the night so I just camped in a tent with a friend.  In the morning, half of us opted for a six mile hike through the desert up and around the mountains to enter Petra through the "back door."  The hike was mostly uphill but the views of the region were wonderful.  It was fascinating to watch herders with their goats and sheep in places that seemed stripped of any vegetation or water.  There was one part of the trail that narrowed to a ledge 4 inches wide, so we had to cling to the rocks in order not to fall into the valley below.  And then Petra!  We arrive and oh my word, this city!  We had limited time there, so I must go back.  There were children running all over, calling out, "Miss, do you want a donkey ride?"  "Do you want post cards?"  and compliments left and right in broken english as they try to sell their little items.  Some of the ruins were crude remnants of what was a courtyard or building, while others looked like they were constructed just a few decades ago. It takes at least two full days to explore everything, and we only had an afternoon.  There were a lot of tourists and it was fun trying to identify the various Eastern European countries represented.  American tourists stuck out like a sore thumb.  Haha!

A bit of our camel caravan

Words can't adaquately describe the trip.  Pictures will help.  But I am about to go camping in a wildlife preserve, so the pictures will come later.  Sorry.  :-(


Salam!

Pics are up!

Petra!