Week #1

I’m now into my second week of classes! It’s hard to believe it’s only the second week because I feel like I’ve been here so much longer. Each day and even each hour my mood changes so much. One minute I feel great and the next I’m feeling completely overwhelmed and helpless. I try to take things in small chunks but sometimes it’s hard to see the pieces when the whole picture seems so huge.

This past weekend was my first to really explore the city and that is exactly what I did. On Thursday night (which is like my Friday) some people decided they were really missing the States and wanted a taste of home. We ended up eating dinner at Buffalo Wings and Rings; basically Buffalo Wild Wings. I walked in, was greeted in English, heard AC/DC playing overhead, saw Fox Sports on the many TVs and noticed every waiter or waitress was wearing a Patriots or Giants shirt in preparation for the Super Bowl. We shared wings and beer for dinner. I can’t say I’ll be going there very often (if ever, again while I’m here) but part of me felt good to have some comforts of home. After dinner we headed to a club called La Calle. It was filled with expats and natives alike dancing to a great DJ.

On Friday morning I met friends at a small café called Turtle Green for some coffee before we headed to the souk (market) downtown. We spent almost two hours walking around the market. It lined both sides of the street for about five blocks. Anything you could want, you would find it here. I only purchased two scarves but had I needed a new kitchen sink, electrical converters or pigeons for racing or fighting, I would have found a multitude of choices. We ended the adventure at Hashem’s, a famous restaurant where, if you’re lucky, you might find the king. At Hashem’s you seat yourself as soon as a table opens up and everyone eats the same thing. The waiters make sure you never run out of tea, hummus, ful (a sort of bean spread), tomatoes, mint, onions, pita and falafel! We watched the falafel being cooked in a fryer not more than four feet from my chair. If it wasn’t the most delicious falafel I’ve had, it was definitely the freshest. Not only was the food delicious, it is cheap! A group of five of us ate for eight dinars (about $10 aka $2 per person)!!!

you can still find Dora at the market in Amman.

Hashem's

fresh falafel!

Just in case I'm missing the Logan neighborhood...there's a Safeway right around the corner.

The spice section at Safeway. It smelled delicious and I know my mom wishes this was available in Viroqua.

The following are some pictures from my neighborhood. This is the street I live on.

Garbage cats are everywhere! I already didn't like cats...this is not helping.

Saturday was the day I met my peer tutor. If you sign up to have a peer tutor you meet with another University of Jordan student about three hours each week with the sole purpose of speaking Arabic. I met my peer, Ghadeer (which means ‘small river’ and is also the name of a bottled water company here) and completed a scavenger hunt put together by CIEE which took us all over the city. It was fun but exhausting. After a quick nap at home I went with my host parents to a baby shower for my host dad's niece. It was fun to be part of a typical Jordanian event like this although most of the time I had no idea what was being said around me. 

My peer tutor, Ghadeer, and I with a poster of the king.

Habiba, famous for the dessert kunafa. 

Finally found the theater!

Anna Mae and I with our fresh juice.

Fish market, gross.

Amman has lots of hills...which means lots of stairs.

In Arabic, elephant is pronounced "feel"...

This is my first week of regular classes as last week was almost solely language classes. It will be nice to finally know what my typical schedule will be like, but after one day I know I will be busy all. the. time. I’m hoping that once I find a rhythm I won’t feel nearly as overwhelmed as I did today.

On Friday I head to Wadi Rum and Petra for an overnight camping trip. The excitement is motivating me to get through the week!