Qibsa and a broken down minibuss

A few weeks ago me and group got invited back to Aiman (the Mansef guy) to enjoy another traditional Arab dinner. This time in his hometown Irbid and instead of Mansef there was Qibsa. Again, the food was more than enough and we only got through about a tenth of what they had. I don't think I could ever afford to follow the Arabs example of hospitality.

After dinner we went to a salon (everyone in Jordan calls them "saloons") which Aiman's wife owns, to get henna. This seemed like such a wonderful idea at the time and it wasn't until the next day that I remembered that I really can't stand anything on my skin. Still, it was fun to spend some time with Aiman's wife and his three daughters and see how excited they were to show us the different patterns we could get. The little girl in the picture is his youngest daughter and she was absolutely adorable. The dress she is wearing is made out of a pattern that is symbolic to Jordan. It's the same kind that people often wear as scarfs here, known as a kufeya.

We didn't end up leaving Irbid until a little after 11pm and seeing as the town is about an hour and half away we realized we wouldn't be getting home until late. It turned out to be later than any of us expected. They loaded us all into their minivan and we started the drive home, but about half way there the car suddenly broke down.

We were stuck in the middle of the night on a deserted highway. To entertain ourselves while we waited for help we played games and the Jordanian guys who had been driving us (Aiman's son and nephew) danced the Jordanian traditional dance, dabka, and tried to teach the other guys with us. That is definitely a memory I won't forget.  A group of men lined up along a silent desert highway dancing in the middle of the night. 

Our unexpected adventure brought us home at around four in the morning. After many attempts at restarting the car and calling the police to help us (who showed up but I never quite figured out what they did since nothing changed after they left either) we finally managed to hail two stray taxis to take the eight of us home to our apartments, which are the most expensive taxi rides I have taken in Jordan. The poor Jordanian guys spent the night in the broken down van, but they had someone come and get them the next day.

Hanging out with some Syrian Revolutionists...

Abdulaziz and Muhammad Sukar. Two cousins from Syria that have made it to Jordan and escaped the dangers raging in Syria at the moment. There are thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan located either in refugee camps or around in the various cities. These two shabab are part of a center that helps other people who have arrived from Syria in whatever needs they have. I wish I could be more involved in the actual humanitarian work with the refugees here but because of how the laws are in Jordan we are actually rather limited in what we are allowed to do. However... I have been able to talk to these two guys, who are roughly about the same age as me, and listened to what they have to say about the revolution in Syria.

I think in general, despite the fact that I have been lucky enough to travel a lot in my life, that I have more or less been rather sheltered. The news hasn't really been a very large part of my life and although I have known logically that the things I see on the news are real it hasn't really penetrated much deeper than that.

I remember reading about the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the American Revolution and it was fascinating history, but it was history and impersonal. Everything became a lot more real to me when the revolution in Egypt happened. I watched the news and recognized streets I had been walking down only a month before, I saw buildings I had passed and a square full of protesters that I had taken a taxi to almost weekly. And I worried about my friends there. There were people involved that I knew and it wasn't just the news and now looking back at it I don't feel I am remembering an unattached history.

Being here and talking to people from Syria is once again making things more real for me. While talking to Abdulaziz and Muhammad about mundane things like hobbies and interests we got into the topic of music and they told me about one of their favorite songs of the moment. They are more the typical Dubstep and Rap kind of guys but this song was more traditionally Arabic. It is called "Ya Haif" (O Shame) and was the first song written and published about the Syrian Revolution.

They translated the lyrics to me eagerly but also very somberly and it was obvious that the song really meant alot to them. They explained that when the song was first played on the opposition channel many of the people listening to the song cried, and as they translated the words I could understand why.

It tells about the first attack in Syria that was the trigger for the uprising that spread throughout the country. It started in a little village close to the border of Jordan. A group of kids, all about 10 years of age, were caught writing anti-government slogans on a wall and taken into custody. According to the two Syrians the stories about exactly what happened to the kids differs but they told the version they believed of how the kids were tortured for days, despite the plea of the parents that they were too young to have understood exactly what they were doing. When the parents asked the police (loyal to the Assad Regime) to return their children they responded that if they didn't know how to get new children the men could send their wives to them and the police would show them. These details aren't mentioned in the song but it talks about people turning on their brothers and betraying trust and killing without feeling. Whether or not the above story is true or it has been exaggerated in an attempt of opposition propaganda I do believe that the situation in Syria has been bad and the government has treated its people poorly. I have no idea how the revolution will end and if it will make a difference but I do hope my friends Abdulaziz and Muhammad can get their lives back, finish the studies and be reunited with their families in an area where they don't have to fear for their lives.

Not a specific exciting adventure... just a little bit about learning a language...

I am almost halfway through my program here in Jordan and looking at what I have learned during the few weeks I have been here kind of surprises me.

I am far from being fluent in the language and make many, many mistakes all the time, and still have to ask people to repeat themselves a lot of the time but... I am making progress.

I remember when I first decided to learn Arabic I kept telling myself that one day I would actually be able to speak it, even though at the time I was struggling through listening to a simple conversation of exchanging greetings. Even though it seemed far away I always got excited about the idea.

I am at the point now where I can carry a conversation to a certain degree, but what I am most excited about is the new way my language is being put into use. Of course, it goes without saying that being in the country where the language is spoken will make a big difference but I never even imagined the things I would be trying to explain in Arabic. For example, I have explained the rules of American football, summarized Lord of the Rings to people who have never heard about it before, played risk and helped explain the rules of the game, discussed the concept of superficial crushes, described what the Aurora Borealis is, and thoroughly participated in conversations regarding political issues of all kinds ranging from the revolution in Syria to the Islamic stance on abortion. Not to mention the random conversation I once had about time travel and cannibalism... don't quite remember how those two fit together...

I tried not to make this sound braggy, but I think I may have failed because, to be perfectly honest, not only am I thrilled that I have had to find a way to discuss these issues in Arabic, I am also somewhat proud that  I have managed to do this. I feel like learning a new language is like entering a new world. Right now, all I have been able to do in Arabic is put my foot through the door but it has been a wonderful experience.

I don't really have any pictures to put to this so I drew a pretty picture of a belly dancer on paint:

The day I decided I am quitting college and becoming a professional adventurer...

Or maybe not... But I felt very tempted today...

The world is so incredibly amazing! I absolutley love it! And I am so grateful that God had made all of these wonderful places. I am always astuonded at the amazing imagination that he must have. And I have been so incredibly blessed to see some really beautfiul things in my life. Wadi Mujib in Jordan is just another miracle that God has created for us to enjoy and wonder at as one of his marvelous creations.

Unfortunatly I don't have any of my own pictures from todays trip (the one above is courtsey of Google search) since 1) my camera is feeling a little sick and 2) it really wouldn't have been a good idea to bring a camera on this treck anyway...

It is about an hour and a half hike through a river until you reach a waterfall. The canyon is breathtaking with patterns on the wall in different coloured sand that looks like beautiful abrstact landscape painting. Being in Jordan just makes you appreciate all the water even more. It is the perfect temperture for hiking. Warm enough to trek through comfortably and cool enough to keep you going through the narrow canyon. At certain points we were scrambling up waterfalls with help of ropes and at other points we were lying on our backs floating down the river enjoying the scenerary. I only wish it could have lasted longer. There are other hikes they offer which include rock climbing and repelling (read: experiencing heaven) but to my very deep disappointment BYU rules don't allow students to join these hikes.

Today was magical though. I wish I could do this for the rest of my life; just enjoy being a part of nature and experiencing it hands on. This is definitly at the top of amazing things I have done in Jordan. Absolutely breathtaking, I was smiling the entire trip.

That time I brought a kitten home...

It's been about two weeks since the kitten incident.

One day I was coming home after a visit to the local Greek Orthodox church meeting with a few friends when suddenly we heard a little meow. In Jordan that isn't really a very rare incident, but as soon as I saw it was a kitten there wasn't much I could do. The cats here in general aren't very friendly, not like in Egypt were they would usually let you pet them. But this little kitten was too little to be scared and came up to us looking utterly pitiful.

I picked it up and asked my roommate who was with me if it was alright if I took it home. She said "One night only" and I said "Okay" with no intention of keeping it for one night only...

So we brought the poor thing home and gave it a bath. Unfortunately I was far to excited about the kitten to think about taking any "before" picture but have tried to render it through a paint program picture:

Not quite sure I did it justice...

But after three washes with mild baby shampoo it actually started to look like a kitten!

Our biggest concern (me and the roommates) was that we had to think of where he was going to live when we left in three months. This problem was solved the very next day when we mentioned to our teacher that we had found a stray kitten and he said he would love to have it for his baby girl when we leave. 

With that main issue solved the roommates realized that the kitten was staying. We've even had the vet over for a visit and he declared the cat was a healthy, five week old male (six weeks now) and will have his first vaccine in a couple of weeks. 

We still haven't quite settled on a name. He goes by Bissa a lot (Jordanian for cat). But Sorokh has also been suggested (Arabic for Rocket). We might have stuck to that name if we hadn't discovered that it is also used in street lingo for sexy chick... seeing as he is a boy there wasn't really any sense in calling him that...

An Old Castle and Some Caves

A few of us went on a little field trip to Wadi Al-Seer and Iraq Al-Ameen last week. There are some ruins of a castle from about 200 BC there that a group of French archaeologists partially restored. Of course I was super thrilled to be around ruins again, but I only got a few pictures because the batteries died in my camera.

We also went to some caves that have been used for a very long time for very different reasons. There is evidence of housing, burials, church and meeting functions and the Ottomans even used them as stables for their horses. There was also a lot of bats that I wish I could have gotten a good picture of. 

At the end of our trip we went to visit a local workshop run by women to raise money and create work for women in need. The place was really interesting with some very cool handmade crafts like paper, soap, pottery and they even offer to do dinners for those interested, which includes music and traditional dancing. I hope we can come back here some evening and do that. 

My favorite part though was a group of kids playing football in the streets who let us join them.

How to survive an Arabic dinner...

Eating slowly is the trick...

Last Sunday some of the people who attended to aforementioned football game were invited home to dinner by one of the locals. Eight of us took taxis to a remote town an hour away called Sahaab and were greeted warmly by Aiman and his family.

They took us into a room on the side of the house that I assume is the guest room. Everything inside it was purple and there was one table in the middle of the room and no chairs. Instead, they had cushion-like-chairs all around the walls (also purple) that were very comfortable. In Arabic culture it is offensive to point your feet at someone so finding a comfortable position without doing this was a little challenging, but it was easy to get used to.

We talked for a while discussing the game and being introduced to the family (which included a mum, brothers, sisters, brother's wife, and children), until it was time for dinner. The menu for the day was mansef, the traditional meal of Jordan. I had it the first week I was in Jordan at a restaurant and loved it. 

It is a rice and meat dish that is fairly simple to make. If I have understood it correctly you boil the rice along  with some spices while boiling the meat (either goat or sheep) in a sort of yogurt broth in another pot. Then you pour the broth over the rice and sprinkle cilantro and roasted nuts on top of it. I actually got to help prepare this meal (the putting together part of it) and it was wonderful! Especially when they scooped out the two boiled sheep's heads from the pot and placed them neatly in the middle of the tray of rice. 

They filled three large trays with this, brought it out and exclaimed "tfadlou!", the Arabic equivalent to "bon appetit" or "værsågod". Instantly my mind flashed back to warning I had heard from people who had eaten at Arab houses before. "Eat slowly. Very, very, slowly..." I tried very hard to follow their advice but realized that even this tactic would only help so much. They started off by filling up my plate and kept reloading it every time I took a bite. It was kind of like trying to defeat the Hydra, but instead if heads it was bites of food; for every one spoonful I ate, three more were put on my plate to replace it.  

About halfway through the meal one of our hosts asked "bidkum lisaan il kharoof". Translation: "Do y'all want the sheep's tongue?". Three of us tried it. I'm still not sure if it was a good idea or not. I thought, I might as well since I would be able to say that I have eaten sheep's tongue but looking back on it now I'm not sure if I want to admit to that. The taste really wasn't that bad, and the texture was even okay, it was more the idea of it that still makes me a bit queasy... Later on they offered the brain as well and that time only two of us accepted. I chickened out on this one... I don't know... maybe next time I am invited to eat mansef I'll give it a go, but I was already having a hard time keeping all my food down with the amount that I had eaten and the small bite of sheep's tongue... Anyway, this is what I missed out on:

Okay, imagine the fullest you have ever been... then multiply it by six! And then they came out with fruit... not just an apple each, but a plate filled with apples (note the plural), an apricot, an orange, a banana, and a mango... each... By this time some of our hosts started pitying us and told us to hide the fruits in our bags while Aiman, the main host, wasn't looking. Which we did. And then they brought out nuts... a plate full of them for each of us... 

It was a super fun experience. I just loved how wonderful all the people were. Super kind, and friendly and warm hearted. There definitely is a different culture of hosting here. There isn't just supposed to be enough food for everyone, there is supposed to be more than we could ever be able to eat. This just doesn't happen in the west because no one wants to spend money on something they know will go to waste, but in the minds of the Arabs it isn't waste, it was there way of showing how welcome their guests are and how much they want them to feel welcome. It was a wonderful night, with the people, and the food, and the cultural experience. Definitely one I will remember.