A Week with Bedouins

This week we’re on our retreat in Ajloun, Jordan. Ajloun is north-north-west of Amman and it is amazing. Everything is so green. Bright green, not the dark New England forest green I’m used to. We’re staying at the Friends of Middle East Eco Lodge in small cabins. The cabins are fantastic. They have heat/AC, a normal bed, a comfy pillow, a warm comforter, nightstands, an armoire, and electricity. I would actually prefer to live in this cabin with my friend, Amanda, than live in my home to be honest. It’s much more comfy, private and warm.

Our schedule each day is pretty packed, beginning with breakfast at 8am and ending with cultural time/games around 10-11pm. The first day we went on a hike around the lake near our camp. We started off on a path with our guide using his knife to clear anything in our way. Then, he somehow ended in the middle and the director of Arabic Language was leading the way. Well, as it goes, we lost him after we had to cross the river (I was in front). So my friend, Sarah, and I just started walking and found a road which eventually led us back to the camp. On the way back we saw the most beautiful sunset. Our camp is located in a valley so when the sun sets over the valley, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

The second day we visited a local school. We first met with the principal and gave her gifts such a basketballs, paints, tennis rackets, etc. for the children since their budget is 300JD a month, which is about $5,000 a year. They split us into groups of three that would go to each classroom. I went to an 8^th grade math class and could actually follow the lesson. The good thing about math is that it’s the same in every language, even if they use different letters for variables and different symbols for numbers. The class was all female, even though the school was mixed. Something I noticed is that the class was very loud – constant people talking over each other. And the teacher barely tried to deter that. She just talked over them. I was surprised because that would not fly at all in the US. After the lesson finished, we were swarmed. I was asked questions such as “Are you married?” and “What’s your mom’s name?” in addition to the normal “How old are you?” and “Where are you from?” All the girls were extremely nice and loved to take pictures of me with them. Afterwards we went down to the courtyard and played 6 on 6 girls soccer (Americans versus Jordanians). I scored a goal! We ended up winning 4-3. They play dirty though. None of us were expecting that.

Nick and me with some 8th grade students

Eventually we said goodbye and headed back to camp for lunch and classes (yes, we still had classes this week despite being away from the city). The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. Yesterday we started off the day with painting the entirety of a local family’s house. Their farm was near the camp, about a five-minute drive away. I made myself the designated photographer for the trip since there were too many students and not enough work. I got some great shots. One of my favorites is of the sheep – I just find it funny. It reminds me of the ostrich photo I took in Honduras two summers ago. Both are below for comparison.

Painting the inside

The sheep

The Ostrich (flashback to Honduras)

After returning, we ate lunch, had classes and then walked up a small hill to sit with an 85-year-old Bedouin man and ask him questions about history, Jordan, culture, etc. It was very interesting listening to him talk and to hear his opinions. We asked what he knew about the US and his views on Israel and Jerusalem. He was honest. He doesn’t think there will ever be a peace with Israel and he doesn’t like the US because we’ve sided with Israel. Understandable. We also spoke with a woman today who voiced similar opinions. After discussing our thoughts after both talks, a lot of us agree that it’s the older generation that’s holding peace back. The younger generation is tired of war and we’d rather have peace. It’s a great experience to talk with the people though; in fact, I think it’s necessary that we did that.

The man we talked to

The view from his tent at sunset

Today was the day I was slightly dreading because all we were doing this morning was preparing lunch, a dish called Mansouf. It has bread on the bottom, rice on top of that, and meat on top of that. It doesn’t sound complicated and you probably have no idea why I was dreading eating that meal. Well. We were making this from scratch. This morning, two lambs were brought to our camp. Yes, folks. We had to kill, skin, and cook our meat. Originally I wasn’t going to watch them being killed, but then I figured that since I am a carnivore, I should watch it. So I did. Watching the actual slitting of the throat and bleed out was the hardest. After we hung them up and started to skin them it wasn’t that bad. I even helped out skinning them (you would’ve been proud of me, Mom!). It was also a great photograph opportunity. As my friend Lucie said, “That is the most photogenic rib cage I’ve ever seen.” And I had to agree. I got some really great shots. I won’t post them here but if you want to see them just shoot me an email or Facebook message and I can send you some. The meat was delicious. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to eat it, but I did.

We convinced our professors to not have class today so I wrote most of this in our three-hour break before “dinner.” Dinner is a loose term because all we were going to eat was eggplant and Kinafa (a dessert) since we ate such a large lunch. That night we finished up the weeklong competition that’s been going on. They split us into two teams and we’ve done different competitions throughout the week such as arm wrestling (which I won!), 3-legged races, who can eat the most crackers/drink the most Pepsi in 2 minutes, etc. My team ended up winning and we're all supposed to get a 5JD phone credit, which is coveted here.

Today we went to the Dead Sea and the headed back to Amman. The Dead Sea was really cool. Everybody was complaining how cold it was so I was nervous to go in but after tentatively stepping in I pretty much ran the rest of the way in. The water was so warm!! Much warmer than Maine or Massachusetts in the summer. It was strange how buoyant I was. You could actually stand in the water and not be touching anything because you wouldn't sink. I loved it. Almost like zero gravity. But boy, was it salty. You could see the salt on my body after the water evaporated - that's how salty it was. I was so happy to take a shower.

I was both relieved and sad to be going back to the city. This week was great and necessary because staying in the city the whole semester would drive me crazy. And the great thing is it’s only a hour or so away from Amman.

Random Observations/Thoughts:

- Bedouins make the best tea.

- I’m amazed that the US has such a good relation with Jordan despite the attitude of many of its people. No wonder the US embassy is a fortress here.

- I miss camping.

Our lake by the camp