There is just so much to cover since I last wrote and I don't really have the time at all.
But first thing's first: I see my parents in three days! They arrive in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and I will cross the border on Thursday to see them.
The reason I don't see them sooner is because I have midterms all this week, and my lovely and oh-so-threatening foos'ha (modern standard Arabic) exam is on Thursday and lord knows I need to do well on that.
Last weekend I went on the program overnight trip to Wadi Rum where we raced jeeps and camels through the desert and all its beauty. The stars at night were spectacular (nothing compares) and I would've spent the whole night on the sands, but the temperature plummets once the sun goes down. And I raced a camel. That was one of my goals on coming here, and it was realized on Saturday. Seriously, me and my camel raced for at least a mile, encouraging the others in the train to speed up their camels, but with about a kilometer to go, I paced the last twenty camels and arrived at the camp first. Along with my awesome partner in crime, Desiree (a neighborhood gal), and our wonderfully obliging bedouin, Yousef.
Finally, while on this trip, protests downtown on Friday, which just this past week gained momentum again, went from peaceful to downright ugly. Pro-reform protestors stood on onside of the Dakhlia circle, and supporters of the king stood on the other. It started on Wednesday and they called themselves the March 24th Shabab (youth) as the pro-reform group mostly consisted of twenty-something year olds. Anyways, long story short, on Friday rocks were thrown from the opposition group (supporting the king) despite calls of peace from the March 24th Shabab, riot police came, water hoses were aimed on the shabab to be dispersed, and people were beaten in the process of evacuation. One man, aged 56, died from heart failure that was caused from the beatings. My Political Islam professor was there, and told us about it today. He was very discouraged and disappointed with the governments reaction and what this means for Jordan and state reform.
Rumors that the shabab consisted of Palestinians wanting to create a revolution against the king, or rumors that the Islamists were behind it, are false. PM Bakhit blamed Islamists for the clash on Friday. However, according to my professor, Islamist groups did not show up the protest until it was well under way. It wasn't their push. Nor were the shabab mostly Palestinian.
It is disheartening to see the government take such a position against people asking for reform - the same reforms that King Abdullah has been talking about in the past weeks. This could have been a good opportunity to rally with the people, instead, the pitted the nation against itself. People are taking sides, spreading rumors and not understanding each other. Hopefully, people will start a dialogue. In the meantime it is frustrating to watch - very, very frustrating.
Well, that wasn't as brief as intended. No matter. Now back to the books. :-)
Pictures are coming soon.
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