The End

I will be leaving Jordan in exactly one week. I’m not quite sure how to feel; there are so many emotions running through me as I think about leaving. I’m sad; there are many people here I will miss. But something happened yesterday that really highlighted why I am looking forward to going home.

I was walking from the gym to the library to work on a paper. As I left the gym a taxi driver honked at me, rolled down his window and then whistled. I thought to myself, “Screw you! I just left the gym, I don’t even look good right now!” It made me feel a little better. Not ten minutes later I saw another man approaching me. This man however was clearly Western. Westerners are easier to spot here than the sun on a cloudy day. He was wearing khaki pants, some sort of hiking boot and the most obvious sign was a khaki safari-esque bucket hat. When we were about to pass each other, he looked me in the eyes, gave a small smile and nodded. I cannot remember the last time I felt respected like that from a stranger who was a man who was not doing it because it was his job like a waiter or taxi driver. It was incredible! Such a small thing but I was walking on air…for about five minutes until I walked past a car and the man in the passenger seat made a kissing noise as I walked by. But as I thought more about the incident with the Western man it made me realize how excited I am to get back to a place where that is an everyday occurrence.

That being said there are things I’m going to miss about Jordan. Here’s a few:

1. My Arabic professor Ghadeer: I’ve described her as ‘the most badass Muslim woman I’ve ever met.’ I had class with her everyday and every day I looked forward to it. She is married, has two children and is pregnant with the third (due in a couple months). She used to race rally cars, has a slight obsession with Range Rovers, has a gun collection and heads to the shooting range for fun. Oh, did I mention she’s working on her Ph.D? She’s awesome and I’m really going to miss her.

My Arabic class.
Soren, Hannah, Jordan, Jasmine, Ghadeer, Christian, Hannah, me.

Ghadeer and me.

2. Cheap falafel: Falafel Man. The man who owns a falafel restaurant across the street from campus where you can get pretty much everything for less than 1JD (basically equivalent to $1).

3. The Yemeni restaurant: This place is delicious. I’ve never had an interest in going to Yemen before but if this is the food I would eat while I’m there, put me on a plane.

3. My host parents: They haven’t been the ones who show me the nightlife in Amman (maybe because it hardly exists?) but they have been so kind and warm and welcoming that I know I could have been much more miserable had they been different.

Nasser, me, Nuha

4. And obviously, new friends. I’ve gotten to know some pretty wonderful people here that have taught me a lot and I am going to miss them all dearly.

Anna Mae, Becca, Hannah, me.

Olivia, me.

What am I looking forward to most about coming home?

1. Seeing my family!

2. Being able to call a friend when I think of them, rather than waiting until I’m by a computer that has internet so I can send them an email.

3. Flushing toilet paper down the toilet!!! I know it sounds minor, but trust me. And actually, I’m just excited to use toilets in general because I know they will always be accessible and always be clean.

4. My mom’s cooking.

5. Not being harassed when I walk down the street!!!

6. To wear shorts!

I leave Jordan on May 13, then I’m heading to Israel with two friends until May 17. On the 17^th I’ll be flying from Tel Aviv to Munich and on the 18^th I’ll fly from Munich to Chicago. I can’t believe this adventure is almost over; the time has flown. But before ya know it, they’ll be a new adventure. 

Here are a few pictures from around campus:

The main entrance

The library

Cafeteria

Track

the tunnel!

Salt... not the NaCl kind

There is a town called Salt about 30 minutes from Amman, I went this past weekend with a friend and his peer tutor. His peer tutor lives and grew up in Salt so he showed us around. It was great to get the tour from a local. Salt is one of the oldest cities in Jordan and has more history than Amman but when they were deciding what city should be the capital, they decided against Salt because they were afraid that the commercialization that comes with a capital city would ruin the history. Here's a few pictures:

It was a bit dusty the day we went, but on a clear day you can see Palestine.

The oldest high school in Jordan.

This is where all the old men hang out. They play a game similar to Mancala...but after watching them it seems to be a bit different and a bit harder. 

Me and Yazan. 

There's a street in Salt where a few movies have been filmed. The street looks like streets in the Old City of Jerusalem so filmmakers will tape here rather than in Jerusalem.

A shop owner playing a traditional instrument for us. 

Yazan and his peer tutor Nmir.

"Welcome to Jordan"

Mansaf. The most traditional meal in Jordan. 

“Welcome to Jordan!” (If you know a Jordanian accent, please read this phrase again in that tone.)

I’ve heard this phrase too many times to count since I arrived. The most often is from taxi drivers. “Where are you from?” they ask. “America,” I say. “Ah, welcome to Jordan!” they reply. I have this conversation at least once a day, if not two or three times. Shopkeepers, restaurant owners and men, yelling out their car windows as they drive by or saying it behind your back when you walk by, are always saying, “Welcome to Jordan.” Sometimes it’s annoying and sometimes it’s a bit harassing, but most of the time it’s friendly. When it’s annoying I roll my eyes; when it’s harassing I say to myself, “It’s about time! I’ve been here three months already!” which always makes me feel better and when it’s almost always friendly, I nod my head and say thank you.

The phrase has also become something of an explanation or catch phrase amongst our group. When something goes wrong or something doesn’t work or something is running 20 minutes late or something seems so illogical there can be no possible explanation, we sigh and say, “Welcome to Jordan.”

When your curfew is 11 on a Thursday night (which is like Friday)? “Welcome to Jordan.”

When the internet suddenly stops working just when you really need it? “Welcome to Jordan.”

When you get in a taxi only to have him stop so he can grab a cup of coffee? “Welcome to Jordan.”

When you're walking through a market and salesmen want to get your attention with the only English they know? "Welcome to Jordan."

Perhaps one of the best examples of this came just this week. This is our last week of Arabic classes and most students will have finals on Sunday. But on Tuesday the Prime Minister announced that Sunday would be a national holiday. Labor Day, in fact. In Jordan, Labor Day is May 1. Now, you may be thinking Sunday is not May 1 and if you are, you are in fact correct. Sunday is April 29. So why is May 1 a holiday? Because they wanted to have a three-day weekend of course! I’ve asked so many Jordanians to try to explain this to me. None of them ever remember the date of a holiday changing like this. But are they surprised? No! Things like this are typical! Can you imagine what would happen in the States if the President declared tomorrow was a holiday and every business, school and store had to be closed?! It would never happen! We Americans have places to be and things to do! So this sudden change in plans was frustrating; now when would we take our tests? Of course everything was switched around and in reality it’s not that big of a deal. But the sheer normalcy by which every Jordanian took this change in plans made me throw up my hands and say, “Welcome to Jordan.”

My time in Jordan is coming to a close; I’ll be in America in 21 days. But I have no doubt, that as I leave this country, my taxi driver will be saying, “Welcome to Jordan!”

My friend Emma is in a choir here that is a mix of expats and locals. They had their performance last night and it was SO much fun. They sang a variety of songs from different musicals like The Lion King, Les Mesierables, Pirates of Penzance, Mama Mia and even a song from Glee. But they also sang songs from Arab musicals which was really fun to hear too. 

Singing Mama Mia

Madaba and Mt. Nebo

Yesterday I went to Madaba and Mount Nebo for the day. It was a great day trip; we left around 9:30 and got home around 5. We took a bus from Amman to Madaba. The 30 minute ride cost us each less than a dollar! In Madaba we visited a museum, multiple churches and then hired a taxi to take us to Mount Nebo. The weather was beautiful so it was a fantastic day. Here's some pictures. 

The Catholic Church in Madaba. However, they call it The Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist.
Our tour guide proudly stated, "It is the only one in the world named this!" 

The church had a multitude of mosaic replicas which we thought were pretty cool until we realized we would be seeing all the originals later in the day. 

A mosaic they discovered in the church just a month ago. 

This well, they told us, is more than 2000 years old. 

We climbed up to the bell tower and this was our view. Amazing.

The crew: Christian, Rory, Evelina, Helin, Stephanie, Liese, me. 

There were mosaics everywhere, yet all of them were impressive. At this one, the man sprayed a bit of water on it and the way it revealed the colors underneath was amazing. They are so incredibly beautiful!

The Apostle's Church.

The entire floor was covered with a mosaic. It's sheer size was impressive. 

I couldn't resist. Misspellings of English words on signs is often good for a laugh.

This is the Church of the Map or Church of Saint George. 

On the floor in the church is a mosaic map that is the oldest known map of the Holy Land.
If you want more info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madaba_Map   

I've been interning at Siyaha, a USAID funded tourism development group in Jordan this semester. This was a project they helped fund.

Mount Nebo! If you don't know, Mount Nebo is famous as the site where Moses, right before his death,  looked out over the Promised Land for the first time.
More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nebo

This was our taxi driver. I asked him to take a picture of our group, but he misunderstood and thought I wanted a picture of him...oh well. 

All the places you can see from this spot on Mount Nebo. It's a pretty impressive list: Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, the Dead Sea, Nablus, Ramallah and the Mount of Olives.