So in a couple days I will officially have been here two months and have two months to go! We're going into mid-term season, and spring break is in two weeks. I had my first mid-term last week and it went pretty well, in sha allah. Now onto this past week's happenings:
1) As some of you may know already, I had to switch host families. My previous host family stole money from me. When I confronted them about it my host father reimbursed me for the amount I was missing and said "Taline (my younger sister) must have taken it by accident because it was in a bag" which didn't make sense because it was in my purse which was in my zipped backpack. Then, later in the day, my host dad asked if I could "keep it just between us." So I didn't feel comfortable living with them anymore since the trust was gone.
Some pictures from the new house:
The move was great and I love my new host family. My host mom is 65 and just came back from the US about two weeks ago. She had been there for four months having open heart surgery. Her husband passed away about two years ago and her youngest son (who is about 40) lives at home with us. We also have a maid who's treated like family and is great. She 25 and has been here for 4 years. She showed me all around the house and area. They keep asking me if I'm happy and if I like it here, which I think is touching. The house itself is much nicer than my previous home too. I actually have warm water when I wash my hands in the bathroom!!! (Some of the simple joys in life) The house is also much closer to the University of Jordan. I can walk to the South Gate (which I'll do twice a week when I have class) in about 15 minutes. It takes me about 40 minutes to walk to the gym or North Gate, which I did both yesterday and today but I think usually I'll just take a taxi.
2) For lunch, I usually go to this small falafel place close to the CIEE center, because I can get a falafel sandwich for 40 qirsh (about 60 cents). Since I go so frequently, I sometimes get a free sandwich or half off. However, this past week, the guy who runs it kissed me as he handed me my sandwich (I turned my head so it was on the cheek). He looks to be about 50-60, but I know he has a young son about 4 so he could be younger and just be graying early. And I don't know if he kissed me just because I go there often and that seems like an Jordanian thing to do to someone who's daughter-like. However, I found it weird and am probably not going to go back. At least for a while.
3) We watched Braveheart in class this past week. It was in Arabic so we couldn't understand all of it but I suspect I might like the movie better if I saw it again in English. The one thing I did not like about the movie were the scenes that were deleted because they were not deemed "appropriate" for Jordanian audiences. Here, sexual abuse is more widely accepted than sex itself. As such, they cut out a sex scene between two married people, but left in the scene where the British soldier tries to rape a girl. I was appalled.
4) I booked my spring break trip! I will be going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muskat (Oman) and Bahrain with my friend Amanda. Surprisingly, it was one of the cheapest options (hotel and flight cost $500) compared to Istanbul, which is where the majority of our program is going for Spring Break. I'm excited. Two weeks!
5) Arab Idol began last night. It uses the same music as American Idol, same concept, same everything. Except instead of getting a ticket to Hollywood, you get a ticket to Beirut, Lebanon. However, I was a bit disappointed with the auditions. In my opinion, the auditions, at least in the US, are the best part. You have the really good and fantastic people but you also have the really terrible people who think they're awesome. There was none of that on Arab Idol. In every single audition they showed on tv, the person got a ticket to Beirut! Also, I learned that I can't tell the difference between good and bad singers when they're singing in Arabic.
That's all for now. I need to go write more of my research paper - I'm only five pages in (out of twenty).
1) As some of you may know already, I had to switch host families. My previous host family stole money from me. When I confronted them about it my host father reimbursed me for the amount I was missing and said "Taline (my younger sister) must have taken it by accident because it was in a bag" which didn't make sense because it was in my purse which was in my zipped backpack. Then, later in the day, my host dad asked if I could "keep it just between us." So I didn't feel comfortable living with them anymore since the trust was gone.
Some pictures from the new house:
My new bedroom. It's pretty simple. I have a desk, a bed, and that last closet section. There's another bed in the room as well, off to the right of my bed.
We have a garden! We have apple trees, grape vines, and all sorts of flowers. Not too much is in bloom right now but in April it's supposed to be better. There is also a swing that will hopefully be set up when it warms up. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but there are grape vines all around the structure above your head. I can't wait until everything is blooming. I think I'll be studying more outside once it's nicer.
I've nicknamed this room The Parlor. It seems to only be used when we have a lot of company over (aka we haven't used it yet). As you can see, it's very ornate and European.
2) For lunch, I usually go to this small falafel place close to the CIEE center, because I can get a falafel sandwich for 40 qirsh (about 60 cents). Since I go so frequently, I sometimes get a free sandwich or half off. However, this past week, the guy who runs it kissed me as he handed me my sandwich (I turned my head so it was on the cheek). He looks to be about 50-60, but I know he has a young son about 4 so he could be younger and just be graying early. And I don't know if he kissed me just because I go there often and that seems like an Jordanian thing to do to someone who's daughter-like. However, I found it weird and am probably not going to go back. At least for a while.
3) We watched Braveheart in class this past week. It was in Arabic so we couldn't understand all of it but I suspect I might like the movie better if I saw it again in English. The one thing I did not like about the movie were the scenes that were deleted because they were not deemed "appropriate" for Jordanian audiences. Here, sexual abuse is more widely accepted than sex itself. As such, they cut out a sex scene between two married people, but left in the scene where the British soldier tries to rape a girl. I was appalled.
4) I booked my spring break trip! I will be going to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muskat (Oman) and Bahrain with my friend Amanda. Surprisingly, it was one of the cheapest options (hotel and flight cost $500) compared to Istanbul, which is where the majority of our program is going for Spring Break. I'm excited. Two weeks!
5) Arab Idol began last night. It uses the same music as American Idol, same concept, same everything. Except instead of getting a ticket to Hollywood, you get a ticket to Beirut, Lebanon. However, I was a bit disappointed with the auditions. In my opinion, the auditions, at least in the US, are the best part. You have the really good and fantastic people but you also have the really terrible people who think they're awesome. There was none of that on Arab Idol. In every single audition they showed on tv, the person got a ticket to Beirut! Also, I learned that I can't tell the difference between good and bad singers when they're singing in Arabic.
That's all for now. I need to go write more of my research paper - I'm only five pages in (out of twenty).
No comments:
Post a Comment