I haven't felt like I had the time or patience to do this until now...as I sit here in the computer lab of the Ford Forestry Center in Alberta, MI. Everything is green outside, the air smells wonderful again, and Lake Superior is just 10 minutes away. I'm very glad to be home, finally.
My last two weeks in Jordan were actually rather uneventful, unless you count final exams. Alhamdulillah, I aced everything. :) On the last day of classes, my friends Sam, Monica and Jafar gave a really funny skit where they made fun of everybody - students AND teachers. I laughed really hard after getting crap about a.my cat, b.my tattoo, and c.my love of minesweeper. Monica wore a blonde wig to better step into her role as Kaye. It was hilarious.
Everybody keeps asking me how it was, and I keep saying "amazing". It wasn't necessarily wonderful all of the time, but I was constantly amazed. I really feel as though I got my money's worth. It was a study abroad trip, and I learned SO MUCH - not just about the Arabic language and culture, but also about being a better, more tolerant and patient person, about life, and about ancient Roman history =).
I decided to make a list of the top 10 things I'll miss about Jordan:
1. Bread and hommos (it's just not the same here)
2. Arabic writing
3. The call to prayer
4. Hospitable people
5. Dawali/manakeesh/mansaf/everything else delicious
6. Monica/Shereen/Trent/Subhi/Hala/Lana/Sahar/Hiba
7. Arabic music and dancing
8. Mount Nebo Wine (the wine of the holy land...=P)
9. Gloria Jean's coffee shop
10. Keefic? Kwayyeza! Wa inti? Hamdulillah! Kwayyeza!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Quick Update
So, I went to the desert for the weekend and notable events included a bedouin dance party and sleeping under the stars.
I had an exam this week and I did fabulously.
I only have 8 more days of class.
I'll write a long, heart-felt, wrap-up blog before I leave.
I had an exam this week and I did fabulously.
I only have 8 more days of class.
I'll write a long, heart-felt, wrap-up blog before I leave.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
It doesn't matter whether or not you're studying. You're always learning about life.
At the time, it feels like WAY more than you EVER wanted to know. The lesson is why people do the things they do - it's not hard to understand, but sometimes it's hard to accept - so, some people choose not to understand. As for me, I'm working on accepting, since acceptance is the first step to recovery. =P
Okay, enough of the heavy. Update: I am very happy in my new home. I looooove my new zamila amreekeeya Monica; I really enjoy spending my entire life with her, from dawn to dusk.
My new host mother Lana is the WOMAN....she's so strong. Her husband lives and works in America, and she's been raising the kids on her own for the past few years. She resists every attempt by her family to get her to move in with them. They don't understand how she can manage a house on her own. They obviously don't understand much. She encourages her daughter Zaina to continue to be BA at soccer, even though, once again, she gets a lot of people asking her how she can support her female child playing sports....the same people who just don't understand. She's good for a quality discussion.
I'm halfway through my second session of classes. The days seem to alternate - one day I'll feel like the all-knowing Queen of Arabic, and the next it seems like I know absolutely nothing at all. And vice versa. That's the mark of learning, right? Learning. Learning, learning, learning. I can't even begin to tell you. L. E. A. R. N. I. N. G. If you ever want your head to feel similar to a stuffed animal that somebody left on the stuffing machine for too long, enroll in an AMIDEAST summer intensive Arabic program. I MEAN THIS IN A GOOD, AMAZING, WONDERFUL WAY.
I miss my cat soooooo much. Roommates: if you read this, please please please give her a hug for me.
I have $100 left in my bank account for the next 2.5 weeks, which translates to about 70 JDs - let's just say it's one of the many reasons I am relieved to be coming home soon.
I <3 Jordan at night.
Ma-Salaama, Shukran for reading my stream-of-consciousness blog entries.
Okay, enough of the heavy. Update: I am very happy in my new home. I looooove my new zamila amreekeeya Monica; I really enjoy spending my entire life with her, from dawn to dusk.
My new host mother Lana is the WOMAN....she's so strong. Her husband lives and works in America, and she's been raising the kids on her own for the past few years. She resists every attempt by her family to get her to move in with them. They don't understand how she can manage a house on her own. They obviously don't understand much. She encourages her daughter Zaina to continue to be BA at soccer, even though, once again, she gets a lot of people asking her how she can support her female child playing sports....the same people who just don't understand. She's good for a quality discussion.
I'm halfway through my second session of classes. The days seem to alternate - one day I'll feel like the all-knowing Queen of Arabic, and the next it seems like I know absolutely nothing at all. And vice versa. That's the mark of learning, right? Learning. Learning, learning, learning. I can't even begin to tell you. L. E. A. R. N. I. N. G. If you ever want your head to feel similar to a stuffed animal that somebody left on the stuffing machine for too long, enroll in an AMIDEAST summer intensive Arabic program. I MEAN THIS IN A GOOD, AMAZING, WONDERFUL WAY.
I miss my cat soooooo much. Roommates: if you read this, please please please give her a hug for me.
I have $100 left in my bank account for the next 2.5 weeks, which translates to about 70 JDs - let's just say it's one of the many reasons I am relieved to be coming home soon.
I <3 Jordan at night.
Ma-Salaama, Shukran for reading my stream-of-consciousness blog entries.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
People aren't always what they seem...but I still have faith in them.
Wellll....I had a slight problem with my current host family, involving...I won't go into details. I've been moved to a new place. I feel awful about my old host mother and the kids...I know they must be really upset. But, there's nothing I can do about it. I couldn't stay there. I didn't feel comfortable. I hate when things like this happen...but they happen. Also, I left most of my clothes there and I have to wait for an Amideast representative to go and pick them up. I should get them sometime later today, but seriously. I just want clean underwear NOW.
I'm now at a new place. It's just a mother, Lana, and her two children. The father lives in America. I really like it a lot. Lana is wonderful, and so are her children. I have my own room, AND there is another American student living here. Her name is Monica. She's awesome. I hate to say it, but I can already tell that I'll be much more comfortable here. Things are more low-key. It's only women and babies. I have much more privacy. Inshallah, pictures of my new family will be up soon. I'm not going to the wedding I was going to go to with my other family, but I'm going to a DIFFERENT wedding today with my new family. Go figure. Lol. Monica is loaning me a dress.
Tomorrow I'm going on a second trip to the Dead Sea with Amideast...very excited about swimming. I'm swimming so much this summer - I didn't think I would be at all. I love swimming. Actually, I've realized, I need swimming. I've totally lucked out.
It's really hard for me to express myself in this blog without being too explicit about current events in my life. All I can say is that I try not to hate people for their actions - I try to feel sorry for them. It's hard.
I guess it would seem to an outsider like this has been a super traumatic transition for me, but it really hasn't, for some reason. I'm just glad I'm where I am.
I'm now at a new place. It's just a mother, Lana, and her two children. The father lives in America. I really like it a lot. Lana is wonderful, and so are her children. I have my own room, AND there is another American student living here. Her name is Monica. She's awesome. I hate to say it, but I can already tell that I'll be much more comfortable here. Things are more low-key. It's only women and babies. I have much more privacy. Inshallah, pictures of my new family will be up soon. I'm not going to the wedding I was going to go to with my other family, but I'm going to a DIFFERENT wedding today with my new family. Go figure. Lol. Monica is loaning me a dress.
Tomorrow I'm going on a second trip to the Dead Sea with Amideast...very excited about swimming. I'm swimming so much this summer - I didn't think I would be at all. I love swimming. Actually, I've realized, I need swimming. I've totally lucked out.
It's really hard for me to express myself in this blog without being too explicit about current events in my life. All I can say is that I try not to hate people for their actions - I try to feel sorry for them. It's hard.
I guess it would seem to an outsider like this has been a super traumatic transition for me, but it really hasn't, for some reason. I'm just glad I'm where I am.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
I am currently eating a cucumber whole.
This is because I'm trying to diet. Because for the past two mornings I had free breakfast at a hotel in Aqaba and I am ashamed of the number of pastries I ate.
The Red Sea is beautiful. The water on the beach is very clean and the resort I stayed at with Trent, Shereen and Emily was fabulous. We could only afford it because one of our study abroad program helpers got us a deal. I spent the entire time just swimming and laying in the sun. It was great.
My trip is more than halfway completed now. My first round of classes is over, and my week-long break is nearly over. I start up again on Monday. I'm glad because, frankly, I am slightly bored just sitting in my bedroom in Amman. It doesn't take much, hey?
I'm not going to lie, I really miss home. I miss Michigan, and the Great Lakes, and trees, and my cat, and my family, and my friends, and MTU, and Houghton, and Suomi, and the Portage, and McLain State Park, and the farm, and Pelkie, and the Sturgeon River, and Taco Bell, and people turning off the TV and the lights when they leave the room.
That said, I'm still going to enjoy my time here as much as I can because I only have five more weeks. Tomorrow I get to go to a wedding party (yay!), and soon the World Cup will be over and I'll be able to get into restaurants without a minimum charge again (double yay).
The Red Sea is beautiful. The water on the beach is very clean and the resort I stayed at with Trent, Shereen and Emily was fabulous. We could only afford it because one of our study abroad program helpers got us a deal. I spent the entire time just swimming and laying in the sun. It was great.
My trip is more than halfway completed now. My first round of classes is over, and my week-long break is nearly over. I start up again on Monday. I'm glad because, frankly, I am slightly bored just sitting in my bedroom in Amman. It doesn't take much, hey?
I'm not going to lie, I really miss home. I miss Michigan, and the Great Lakes, and trees, and my cat, and my family, and my friends, and MTU, and Houghton, and Suomi, and the Portage, and McLain State Park, and the farm, and Pelkie, and the Sturgeon River, and Taco Bell, and people turning off the TV and the lights when they leave the room.
That said, I'm still going to enjoy my time here as much as I can because I only have five more weeks. Tomorrow I get to go to a wedding party (yay!), and soon the World Cup will be over and I'll be able to get into restaurants without a minimum charge again (double yay).
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tolerating Intolerance
I am straight. I am Buddhist. However, recently, I got involved in a conflict between homosexuality and Christianity. How did it end? I cried because people are intolerant, and I cried because I lost my temper and became intolerant myself.
How do you find the balance between respecting the beliefs of others and standing up against something you know is wrong? Where is the line between a peaceful person and somebody who fights for peace?
"An engineering professor is treating her husband, a loan officer, to dinner for finally giving in to her pleas to shave off the scraggly beard he grew on vacation. His favorite restaurant is a casual place where they both feel comfortable in slacks and cotton/polyester-blend golf shirts. But, as always, she wears the gold and pearl pendant he gave her the day her divorce decree was final. They're laughing over their menus because they know he always ends up diving into a giant plate of ribs but she won't be talked into anything more fattening than shrimp.
Quiz: How many biblical prohibitions are they violating? Well, wives are supposed to be 'submissive' to their husbands (I Peter 3:1). And all women are forbidden to teach men (I Timothy 2:12), wear gold or pearls (I Timothy 2:9) or dress in clothing that 'pertains to a man' (Deuteronomy 22:5). Shellfish and pork are definitely out (Leviticus 11:7, 10) as are usury (Deuteronomy 23:19), shaving (Leviticus 19:27) and clothes of more than one fabric (Leviticus 19:19). And since the Bible rarely recognizes divorce, they're committing adultery, which carries the rather harsh penalty of death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22).
So why are they having such a good time? Probably because they wouldn't think of worrying about rules that seem absurd, anachronistic or - at best - unrealistic."
Good story, right? So, why can't the same thinking be applied to biblical prohibitions of homosexuality? Why do we find it so easy to wear gold and pearls but so difficult to accept people who love differently? To me, it seems there are two answers. One must be fear. People fear differences, so their natural response is hate. The second is a lack of free thought. Why haven't Christians taken the time to examine the "rules" put down in the Bible, and see if they match up with Jesus' philosophy? It's not even a difficult chain of logic. What was Jesus for? Loving everybody. What was he against? Hurting people. Do gays love each other? Yes. Do they hurt anybody? No. I cannot believe that this extremely simple piece of critical thinking is so beyond the reach of much of humanity.
I cannot remember Jesus saying a single sentence about "unnatural sexual practices" or anything like that. Why? Because sexual orientation is a minor detail compared to all of the other threads that make up the fabric of a human being! What about if they are loyal, honest, and compassionate? Does it really matter what they do in the privacy of their bedroom?
I hate myself when I lose control. I hate myself when I lose my temper. But I also cannot imagine a world in which I don't try to open people's minds, no matter how futile the task is.
How do you find the balance between respecting the beliefs of others and standing up against something you know is wrong? Where is the line between a peaceful person and somebody who fights for peace?
"An engineering professor is treating her husband, a loan officer, to dinner for finally giving in to her pleas to shave off the scraggly beard he grew on vacation. His favorite restaurant is a casual place where they both feel comfortable in slacks and cotton/polyester-blend golf shirts. But, as always, she wears the gold and pearl pendant he gave her the day her divorce decree was final. They're laughing over their menus because they know he always ends up diving into a giant plate of ribs but she won't be talked into anything more fattening than shrimp.
Quiz: How many biblical prohibitions are they violating? Well, wives are supposed to be 'submissive' to their husbands (I Peter 3:1). And all women are forbidden to teach men (I Timothy 2:12), wear gold or pearls (I Timothy 2:9) or dress in clothing that 'pertains to a man' (Deuteronomy 22:5). Shellfish and pork are definitely out (Leviticus 11:7, 10) as are usury (Deuteronomy 23:19), shaving (Leviticus 19:27) and clothes of more than one fabric (Leviticus 19:19). And since the Bible rarely recognizes divorce, they're committing adultery, which carries the rather harsh penalty of death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22).
So why are they having such a good time? Probably because they wouldn't think of worrying about rules that seem absurd, anachronistic or - at best - unrealistic."
Good story, right? So, why can't the same thinking be applied to biblical prohibitions of homosexuality? Why do we find it so easy to wear gold and pearls but so difficult to accept people who love differently? To me, it seems there are two answers. One must be fear. People fear differences, so their natural response is hate. The second is a lack of free thought. Why haven't Christians taken the time to examine the "rules" put down in the Bible, and see if they match up with Jesus' philosophy? It's not even a difficult chain of logic. What was Jesus for? Loving everybody. What was he against? Hurting people. Do gays love each other? Yes. Do they hurt anybody? No. I cannot believe that this extremely simple piece of critical thinking is so beyond the reach of much of humanity.
I cannot remember Jesus saying a single sentence about "unnatural sexual practices" or anything like that. Why? Because sexual orientation is a minor detail compared to all of the other threads that make up the fabric of a human being! What about if they are loyal, honest, and compassionate? Does it really matter what they do in the privacy of their bedroom?
I hate myself when I lose control. I hate myself when I lose my temper. But I also cannot imagine a world in which I don't try to open people's minds, no matter how futile the task is.
Friday, June 18, 2010
An Arab Wedding and Petra
I sincerely hope my English doesn't get sketchy from lack of use. What in the world would I do without writing skills.........*shudder*.
So, I'm almost done with my first session of Arabic classes. I can hardly believe how much I've learned! Apart from reading and writing relatively well, I can understand about 50% of what is said to me (if spoken slowly)! I can also get across my point in most situations, albeit by using rather roundabout words. I've done very well and aced my exams/quizzes, although it doesn't matter because it's just going to show up as 5 transfer credits on my transcript. Ah well.
I had all kinds of plans of perhaps going to Turkey or Lebanon or Egypt over my week-long break, but honestly, I'm running out of money. On that note, it costs 60 JDS to get into Petra - that's almost 90 US Dollars! Even though I was annoyed at the price, it was definitely worth it. I'm not sure how I can describe it....let's just say that it's a fabulous, massive, ancient city carved into the walls of a large canyon. I think that pretty much sums it up. Honestly, I was just as appreciative of the natural desert rock formations as I was of the ancient architecture. See Facebook/Flickr for pictures. I'm very sunburned and I saw real Bedouins! How cool.
Last night, I attended my first Arabic wedding. Before you ask me - the bride wore a white gown shipped in from the United States. Jordanians LOVE American wedding dresses. There was no church, the thing was held mostly in a hotel ballroom. We actually ate and danced BEFORE the ceremony. Oh, dancing....the party actually started at the bride's home, and I kid you not, a posse of dancing and singing Jordanians followed her out the door, into the limo, and all the way to the hotel to welcome her. Apparently I picked up Arabic dancing quite well. Whatev - it doesn't matter where you are; if you can move your hips, you can move your hips.
Sorry this blog isn't super deep, but I'm too tired to relay how surreal it was to be standing in a city that was once bustling with pre-Jesus citizens, or how much I love how full of life Arabs are. Oh wait, I just did.
Ana tabbanih kteer wa anna biddi douche wa takhti.
Ma-Salaama.
Kaye
So, I'm almost done with my first session of Arabic classes. I can hardly believe how much I've learned! Apart from reading and writing relatively well, I can understand about 50% of what is said to me (if spoken slowly)! I can also get across my point in most situations, albeit by using rather roundabout words. I've done very well and aced my exams/quizzes, although it doesn't matter because it's just going to show up as 5 transfer credits on my transcript. Ah well.
I had all kinds of plans of perhaps going to Turkey or Lebanon or Egypt over my week-long break, but honestly, I'm running out of money. On that note, it costs 60 JDS to get into Petra - that's almost 90 US Dollars! Even though I was annoyed at the price, it was definitely worth it. I'm not sure how I can describe it....let's just say that it's a fabulous, massive, ancient city carved into the walls of a large canyon. I think that pretty much sums it up. Honestly, I was just as appreciative of the natural desert rock formations as I was of the ancient architecture. See Facebook/Flickr for pictures. I'm very sunburned and I saw real Bedouins! How cool.
Last night, I attended my first Arabic wedding. Before you ask me - the bride wore a white gown shipped in from the United States. Jordanians LOVE American wedding dresses. There was no church, the thing was held mostly in a hotel ballroom. We actually ate and danced BEFORE the ceremony. Oh, dancing....the party actually started at the bride's home, and I kid you not, a posse of dancing and singing Jordanians followed her out the door, into the limo, and all the way to the hotel to welcome her. Apparently I picked up Arabic dancing quite well. Whatev - it doesn't matter where you are; if you can move your hips, you can move your hips.
Sorry this blog isn't super deep, but I'm too tired to relay how surreal it was to be standing in a city that was once bustling with pre-Jesus citizens, or how much I love how full of life Arabs are. Oh wait, I just did.
Ana tabbanih kteer wa anna biddi douche wa takhti.
Ma-Salaama.
Kaye
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