Eid al-Adha is over. Students are back from their excursions around the Middle East. I am lamenting the lack of pumpkin in Jordan. Term paper deadlines are approaching fast and furious while available weekends are diminishing at a seemingly more rapid pace. I am engrossed in research about the Moslem Brethren of Syria - unfortunately, Syria does not like to publish anything that might mar their reputation. And I am out of peanut butter.
Thus, I think it is the perfect time to share with you what I love about Jordan.
1) I know I've said this before, but I love the evenings. The air is cool, the setting sun casts a pink glow on the white buildings of the city, things quiet down, and visitors come calling to sit on the veranda and sip chai while enjoying relaxed conversation. I often curl up on the couch with various members of my host family, and half watch the TV, half listen to the conversations around me. Evenings are beautiful.
2) I love the call to prayer. Five times throughout the day, it gives a sense of continuity and stability to the day, the week, to life. The prayers are not all the same: some lamenting and sad, some deep and beautiful, and some passionate and commanding. I don't know what they say, but nonetheless, the sound is beautiful, echoing from minaret to minaret to cover the city in reminder to pray. (Side note: Koranic verse is very complicated because of its old vernacular - many Arabs do not understand what some of the words mean.)
3) There is something delightful about standing in line at the closest falafel shop to get your 50 cent sandwich. The pita is warm, the falafel is fresh, and the hummus is creamy: zakey kateer and the perfect mid-day lunch to get you through the rest of the day's classes.
4) When you greet someone here and ask how they are doing, a common response is alhamdulillah, meaning "Praise be to God." I find that nice. If their day is going well, they immediately respond by giving God the credit. I know that the response has become casual and probably off-hand without much thought to the meaning, but as a foreigner to this culture, I find the practice interesting.
5) Produce trucks - I really like the produce trucks. Not only do they sit on the side of the road loaded to overflowing with fresh bananas, pomegranates, etc., often topped with a young boy sitting non-chalantly on his throne of fruit; these trucks are also bejeweled with hearts and swirls of metallic colors painted on the truck's sides. It's a fun sight.
6) Finally, I like the cats. They are at every dumpster, by every street corner: calicoes, tortoise-shelled, tabbies, every color with yellow and green eyes pausing to watch you pass. These are cats that frequent trash heaps, but their grace and posture would have them exploring marble halls instead.
These are just a few things I like about Jordan, but these six are what I see and experience everyday. Little things, yet they are happy.
A happy Thanksgiving to all!
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