So life in Amman has been going pretty normal. I go to class, I hang out in Gloria Jeans (a good coffee shop to study except they recently changed their Internet so you have to buy something in order to get a specific username and password for the internet and it's only valid for an hour), and then I go home.
Well this past weekend I got celebrate my younger sister's birthday - 9 years old!
Now, I Googled Fit 'n Fun to see what it was and everyone said it was an indoor kids gym. That is a severe exaggeration and wishful thinking. When someone says indoor kids gym, I think of climbing structures, foam pit, trampoline, or giant structure like they have at McDonald's. And maybe a large open area to run around, kick a ball, etc. That was not the case.
When we walked in, I first saw two rows of computers. The small area next to that had children's sized exercise equipment - mini treadmills, presses, bikes - but they were all old or not functioning. After that small area was a fake store where someone can pretend to be the cashier and everyone else can buy fake chicken and fake bananas and you can check out with a fake cash register. Then there was a videogame screen set up with wheel and drums. One of the kids played Need for Speed during the party. The rest of the area, maybe 20'x20' MAX had a slide, a ball pit the size of a baby pool, and a small climbing structure. There was also a separate room that had a disco ball and loud music playing (I think I heard Gangam Style by Psy a total of 20 times by the end of the two hour party).
I was quite disappointed. Granted, it wasn't my party and my younger sister had a blast so that's all that matters, but I was definitely expecting something different. Fit 'n Fun reminded me of my preschool, minus the computers and video games. In my opinion, I thought it was more appropriate for kids 2-6. Luckily, most of the kids in attendance were cousins within that age range. But my sister's friends, who are her age, were too old. One of the girls I saw exited out the Barbie Princess game set up on the computers and logged on to her Facebook instead. Also, about 4 of the families there had help who stayed with the children in the playing areas while the mothers sat and chatted. Overall, it was an interesting experience.
Now to change topics completely, I wanted to write about disabilities and Amman.
Something I began to notice as the rest of Jordan started classes (they started 2-3 weeks after us) at UJ, was the accessibility of the school for people with disabilities. I've seen maybe two blind people and a handful of people in wheelchairs. Now I know that disabilities are not only physical but I began to take notice of how easy or difficult it would be for someone even with crutches to get around. It would be hard. Some of the buildings don't have easily visible ramps and the ones that do aren't always the best. There's one ramp to go to the building that has The Village, UJ's equivalent to EaglesNest and that ramp is awful. There isn't actually a way to get in the building itself because there's a step that is impossible if someone's in a wheelchair. I can't even imagine how hard life must be if you are in a wheelchair in Amman. I have yet to find a bus that's even wheelchair accessible. Something to ponder.
Well this past weekend I got celebrate my younger sister's birthday - 9 years old!
My Invitation
Now, I Googled Fit 'n Fun to see what it was and everyone said it was an indoor kids gym. That is a severe exaggeration and wishful thinking. When someone says indoor kids gym, I think of climbing structures, foam pit, trampoline, or giant structure like they have at McDonald's. And maybe a large open area to run around, kick a ball, etc. That was not the case.
When we walked in, I first saw two rows of computers. The small area next to that had children's sized exercise equipment - mini treadmills, presses, bikes - but they were all old or not functioning. After that small area was a fake store where someone can pretend to be the cashier and everyone else can buy fake chicken and fake bananas and you can check out with a fake cash register. Then there was a videogame screen set up with wheel and drums. One of the kids played Need for Speed during the party. The rest of the area, maybe 20'x20' MAX had a slide, a ball pit the size of a baby pool, and a small climbing structure. There was also a separate room that had a disco ball and loud music playing (I think I heard Gangam Style by Psy a total of 20 times by the end of the two hour party).
The Computers - two rows about 10 total
The kids exercise area - mini treadmills, presses etc.
The "gym" part.
The Dance Room
I was quite disappointed. Granted, it wasn't my party and my younger sister had a blast so that's all that matters, but I was definitely expecting something different. Fit 'n Fun reminded me of my preschool, minus the computers and video games. In my opinion, I thought it was more appropriate for kids 2-6. Luckily, most of the kids in attendance were cousins within that age range. But my sister's friends, who are her age, were too old. One of the girls I saw exited out the Barbie Princess game set up on the computers and logged on to her Facebook instead. Also, about 4 of the families there had help who stayed with the children in the playing areas while the mothers sat and chatted. Overall, it was an interesting experience.
Now to change topics completely, I wanted to write about disabilities and Amman.
Something I began to notice as the rest of Jordan started classes (they started 2-3 weeks after us) at UJ, was the accessibility of the school for people with disabilities. I've seen maybe two blind people and a handful of people in wheelchairs. Now I know that disabilities are not only physical but I began to take notice of how easy or difficult it would be for someone even with crutches to get around. It would be hard. Some of the buildings don't have easily visible ramps and the ones that do aren't always the best. There's one ramp to go to the building that has The Village, UJ's equivalent to EaglesNest and that ramp is awful. There isn't actually a way to get in the building itself because there's a step that is impossible if someone's in a wheelchair. I can't even imagine how hard life must be if you are in a wheelchair in Amman. I have yet to find a bus that's even wheelchair accessible. Something to ponder.
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