Lessons during finals week

Sunday, December 19th.  I fly home in five days.  Wasn't my last post about the items I forgot to pack?

I had my Arabic post-test today to gauge how much Arabic I've learned since I've been here. I have learned so much, and even some Arabic on top of that.

Friday I had lunch at a friend's house. I met his four brothers and some relatives, as per usual.  They served me sacchan: a plate piled high with Arabic flat bread 18" wide and grilled with spices, olive oil, roasted almonds and onions, topped with seasoned chicken.  I was eating too slowly for them to wait to fill my plate with a different dish of rice and chicken, so they made another plate for me.  My friend smiled at me and whispered, "You know you have to finish it all."  The family was so sweet, smiling and talking in Arabic and English while they watched me eat... they were long done by the time I started on the plate of rice.  It felt like Thanksgiving, except now I was eating alone and with an audience.  Lesson #1: hospitality is very important.  Not only are you graciously welcomed into the home, you are treated as family.  And you are fed... a lot. 

After lunch, we talked over chai about American verses Arabic culture, and of course - politics.  Lesson #2: Jordanians, Muslims, Arabs - they are eager to tell me that they are much different from the image portrayed in American media.  They want me to know that they don't have red horns.  They want me to know that they are people.  It is very important to them that I understand this.  Understandably so. 

When the sun was just about to set, we went for a walk in the neighborhood.  We passed an enclosed tent with a line of women in fashionable hijaba garb waiting to enter.  There was music coming from the tent, older women expressed their excitement in loud trills, and the sides of the tent shook from dancing.  The wedding celebration for the women.

Up a ways, we passed another tent where the men were.  It was three sided, opened to passerbys.  All the men were seated.  There was no music and only quiet conversations between the men.  My friend explained that this was the official engagement ceremony.  The women don't need to be present, the bride already knows she is engaged.  But here, the men are sealing the engagement, they are shaking hands, and drinking Arabic coffee.

We stopped walking when the houses ended and the valley opened up below us.  We stood on a ledge, looking out across the valleys and hills of Amman and watched as the sun set over the furthest jebal and the lights turned on little by little.  This is my favorite place in Amman.  Maybe one of my favorite places in the world.  I am not alone: the road along this ledge is lined with parked cars and cabs.  They sit there with their friend, brother, or lover, sipping Nescafe and watching the sky change and the valley light up.

Lesson #3: Jordanians value time spent sitting. Sitting together, always together.