jayeed

Al Salaam Alaykkum.

Today, I feel sooooo much better. A hot shower (albeit with extremely low water pressure) and a good night's sleep helped a lot. My in-country director, Hala, was also a large factor. She is so understanding, and I was able to tell her about everything that was going on with me. She is GREAT. She is one of the most eloquent, intelligent, interesting, cool and warm-hearted people I have ever met.

Julie and Mom: Today, I wore the sequin-pocket shirt, and it looked great.

I now officially know roughly half of the Arabic alphabet. It's so cool - I'm reading street signs! I'm usually not sure what the words mean, but I can translate that curly script into something spoken aloud! I'm also picking up quite a bit as far as actual communication goes. Between my family and my classes and my new friends, I learn new words all the time. I can't believe it's only the fourth day. I've learned so much already, and I can't wait to see where I'm at at the end of the summer.

I already feel at home in Amman. It is interesting, beautiful, and exciting, but most importantly, the people are extremely hospitable. If any of you readers have negative perceptions of the Arab world, I would think again. While some are conservative and all are different from Westerners, Arabs are warm, friendly, and always ready to help you out. They are also incredibly full of life. They laugh a lot, eat a lot, and hang out in groups a lot.

While a large portion of Jordanian women cover their hair with a scarf, it is CERTAINLY not a necessity. I can walk around in jeans and a t-shirt and look quite normal.

My host family could not be any more welcoming and accepting. While officially Muslim, they really seem to be more open to ideas than anything else. They all thought it was really cool that I'm a Buddhist. Joud loves to dance, and I kid you not, today, we were busting a move to Pitbull in the living room (with her mother looking on and encouraging it!). I showed them some videos of the dance team, and they were delighted. They are very excited because they just realized that I'll be staying for 11 weeks instead of 5. They want to take me to some weddings.

I'm so thrilled because I already have friends and a life. I met a girl named Shereen in my class, and we've quickly become friends. She is from Texas, but her parents are Palestinian and spent a large portion of their lives in Jordan. Consequently, she knows quite a bit of Jordanian Arabic, which comes in handy for me. Also, one of her college friends is actually a Jordanian native who is home for the summer. Shereen is living with this friend, and through them, I've been able to meet all kinds of Jordanians my age! We all hang out together and it's so much fun.

I feel sort of bad because I got home at 11:30 and I woke my family up because I got lost on the way home and had to call them, but I can't be that upset about it. I had a GREAT time tonight. We went to a shishah (hookah) bar, and just sat and smoked hookah and sipped coffee for hours. Then we got ice cream, and to end the night, we drove around listening to a mix of American pop/rap and Jordanian traditional music, singing and dancing and just being goofy.

My life is so perfect right now, and the little devil in my brain always has something to say when that happens..."you're going to mess it up, Kaye". I just tell him to shush.

This weekend, I'm going to see Biblical Jordan (Jerash, Madaba) and the Dead Sea! I can't wait to lay on a beach.

I miss my family and friends and cat back home. Love you all.

Ma-Salaama,

Kaye