it's abu ali. at the kishk. "culture for the whole"
the mosque lit up at night. from my hood.
night in the hood. that wall is the edge of the monarchies crib. holler
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
yuh
it's abu ali. at the kishk. "culture for the whole"the mosque lit up at night. from my hood.night in the hood. that wall is the edge of the monarchies crib. holler
what do you speak
WED FEB 21st
This might be another one of those "the cat crossed the street moments" but i'd like to share it. Last night I met with two Jordanians for a Language exchange session, where you exchange an hour of Arabic for an hour of English helping the other improve their language skills. Originally i was just to meet a Jordanian fellow of 28 named Muhamad, who picked me up and we went to a mall to sit at a cafe. Later his girlfriend came over, who i felt was a large confidant for him, forcing him to really focus on his spoken English. Muhammad's English is not that good, but he is in need of it. He's trying to get a job in Kuwait where he needs to be able to speak English fluently. As is turns out, he was supposed to be interviewed yesterday over the phone to make sure that he was conversational in English, and to also ask him technical terms about the type of work he does "technical engineering" of some sort. He explained to me that he had just heard about this interview the day before, and became very scared at the idea... and then literally half hour he had found out about it, i had called him to see if he was interested in language exchange (his enthusiasm over the phone had been made clear to me before, but now i understood the reason). He said he saw me as good luck for him.
But why is this job so important for him? His girlfriend is 22 and she explained to me the situation when Muhamad went to pray Mughreb. Yasmine (her name) is also an engineer, but a agricultural one. She graduated last year and is already working for a major company, but regardless of what sounded like a great job when she described it, she told me that she only makes 200 JD a month ($300 in america), and that that was the same amount that Muhamad has been able to find in Amman. So now they're looking to work in Kuwait where they can make more money, because there are no opportunities in Amman. It struck me at this point how important for Muhamad learning this language must be. Here i am, spending however many thousands of dollars to fly across an ocean and study a language, when i don't even really know my plans for the future, where Muhamad finds english lessons for free in order to get a job that will pay his daily bills. ( i understand that this might be a harsh generalization of the situation, but I'm almost certain that it isn't that far from the truth for some).
And then i got to thinking again. Yesterday morning we had an american come speak to us on his experience in studying Arabic. he could speak well, having studied for quite a while, but by no means would i say he was at the level of many of the people (foreigners studying arabic) i met from Syria. He told us that in order for us to really excel in our study of the language, we have to know why we're studying it. ugh. I've pondered that question for so long, and still can't come up with a straight answer, but perhaps my point is this: maybe i can't come up with an answer for that because i don't have to yet. Muhammad studies English now because he must. Why do i study Arabic: because it's a beautiful language, because it's a challenge (and i have an ego problem), because i hate the idea of ever trying to understand someone without speaking to them in their native tongue (whether it be Arabic or Engrabic...), because i think it's sad that the number of americans i've heard speak the language with the grace that a native speaker does still fits easily on the fingers of one hand. But what does this all mean? i guess I'm just trying to point out that fact that regardless of how many privileged americans have the chance through SIT and many other abroad programs in the Middle East to travel here and learn this language, that doesn't translate into the same number of privileged americans who study it with the same rigor and will eventually speak it with the ease that Yasmine spoke English with me (and that eventually Muhammad must reach).
I sat patiently last night trying to recall what little English grammar i studied in school in order to explain why i say "i have worn" instead of "i have wearing" when talking about the rings on my fingers that i've worn since 8th grade (note that Muhammad said that these were the very first things he noticed about me when he picked me up... i wear rings on both of my ring fingers... enough to confuse any man looking for a wife). I wish i had paid more attention during those few grammar lessons we had. looks like both he and i have a lot to learn together.
This might be another one of those "the cat crossed the street moments" but i'd like to share it. Last night I met with two Jordanians for a Language exchange session, where you exchange an hour of Arabic for an hour of English helping the other improve their language skills. Originally i was just to meet a Jordanian fellow of 28 named Muhamad, who picked me up and we went to a mall to sit at a cafe. Later his girlfriend came over, who i felt was a large confidant for him, forcing him to really focus on his spoken English. Muhammad's English is not that good, but he is in need of it. He's trying to get a job in Kuwait where he needs to be able to speak English fluently. As is turns out, he was supposed to be interviewed yesterday over the phone to make sure that he was conversational in English, and to also ask him technical terms about the type of work he does "technical engineering" of some sort. He explained to me that he had just heard about this interview the day before, and became very scared at the idea... and then literally half hour he had found out about it, i had called him to see if he was interested in language exchange (his enthusiasm over the phone had been made clear to me before, but now i understood the reason). He said he saw me as good luck for him.
But why is this job so important for him? His girlfriend is 22 and she explained to me the situation when Muhamad went to pray Mughreb. Yasmine (her name) is also an engineer, but a agricultural one. She graduated last year and is already working for a major company, but regardless of what sounded like a great job when she described it, she told me that she only makes 200 JD a month ($300 in america), and that that was the same amount that Muhamad has been able to find in Amman. So now they're looking to work in Kuwait where they can make more money, because there are no opportunities in Amman. It struck me at this point how important for Muhamad learning this language must be. Here i am, spending however many thousands of dollars to fly across an ocean and study a language, when i don't even really know my plans for the future, where Muhamad finds english lessons for free in order to get a job that will pay his daily bills. ( i understand that this might be a harsh generalization of the situation, but I'm almost certain that it isn't that far from the truth for some).
And then i got to thinking again. Yesterday morning we had an american come speak to us on his experience in studying Arabic. he could speak well, having studied for quite a while, but by no means would i say he was at the level of many of the people (foreigners studying arabic) i met from Syria. He told us that in order for us to really excel in our study of the language, we have to know why we're studying it. ugh. I've pondered that question for so long, and still can't come up with a straight answer, but perhaps my point is this: maybe i can't come up with an answer for that because i don't have to yet. Muhammad studies English now because he must. Why do i study Arabic: because it's a beautiful language, because it's a challenge (and i have an ego problem), because i hate the idea of ever trying to understand someone without speaking to them in their native tongue (whether it be Arabic or Engrabic...), because i think it's sad that the number of americans i've heard speak the language with the grace that a native speaker does still fits easily on the fingers of one hand. But what does this all mean? i guess I'm just trying to point out that fact that regardless of how many privileged americans have the chance through SIT and many other abroad programs in the Middle East to travel here and learn this language, that doesn't translate into the same number of privileged americans who study it with the same rigor and will eventually speak it with the ease that Yasmine spoke English with me (and that eventually Muhammad must reach).
I sat patiently last night trying to recall what little English grammar i studied in school in order to explain why i say "i have worn" instead of "i have wearing" when talking about the rings on my fingers that i've worn since 8th grade (note that Muhammad said that these were the very first things he noticed about me when he picked me up... i wear rings on both of my ring fingers... enough to confuse any man looking for a wife). I wish i had paid more attention during those few grammar lessons we had. looks like both he and i have a lot to learn together.
Monday, February 19, 2007
same picture from below but backed up.
masjid in the "hood" as ahmad might say
friday morning in East Amman, peops shopping
street on friday morning
the kishk of abu ali
guy on a set of stairs, rainy friday morningstuff
Feb 18th at night:
Firstly and foremost, i'd like to apologize again for how rambling and long my posts can sometimes be, it's just that I'm finding that nearly every second here is so loaded with observations and realizations that I'm interested in expressing, and constantly rethinking over that there is too much for my brain to organize. I think everyone on our trip can relate to that. This said, i have many things on the agenda for today because it's been too long since I've written last, so bare with me.
The past few days have been hard. For friends and family at home, we've all been dealing with the grave health of one of our friends from high-school, Crisitn Duprey, my junior year roommate, confidant in Bobby Brown karaoke, practically everyone's big momma at SAS at some point, the woman who taught me how to shake (harlem shake that is), the one who kept me up at night talking to love's back in the city until who knows when in the morning, and perhaps most importantly, someone who i could always count on to be there for me when i needed her. And although i could go on, i don't feel that this blog is the place to truly do justice to her. It's been difficult dealing with the fact that I'm half way across the world and can only make brief calls to friends and family in order to find out her health status, or to speak to people for support. I'm having a hard enough time trying to reconcile the very world I'm living with here, let alone a second one closer to my heart, but farther in actual space.
"Rachel Ray on cooking in the Middle East"
At home things have been going well (no worries Nour....). It's been difficult personally dealing with the fact that there is a Maid in the house, who's story i've recently come to uncover, and am not satisfied with. But this is something that I'm dealing with daily, and also feel as inappropriate to speak about here. Relations with the family are building. I essentially come home everyday from school around 4-5, where they have lunch set out waiting for me, and it's always delicious. I sit and eat, and then when I'm done i go sit with the family in the sitting room. Usually Nabil is sleeping on the couch, taking his daily nap, while A3beer and any assortment of children sit around the TV watching some show or another. I still don't really understand the selection of TV they watch (usually American shows like ER, Rachel Ray, and Dr. Phil, or American movies that i've never heard of or seen). Something i do notice though, and appreciate, are the constant comments of misunderstanding that come from Nabil on some of the things he sees. Today for instance, we were watching rachel ray and she was making a lasagna in the kitchen. After the meal was finished and she was scooping it out on a plate, Nabil simply commented "they make such weird food." The youngest daughter Rayia agreed, and i thought to myself, I wonder what would happen if i took them home with them and fed them the odd contraptions that my family eats... would Nabil even accept the food? Would he talk and complain about how bad it was afterwards to A3beer? I then got to thinking about how my parents (american) are always asking about what type of foods i eat here, and how they can make it. Is it true that our food is just weird, and bad, and that Middle Eastern food is the triumph of all cuisine? I doubt that. Perhaps is just a part of American culture, as being so plural, to seek new adventures in the Kitchen... after-all what is American food besides stolen food from far away destinations (with the exception of Tex-Mex, and the favorite hamburger and fries meal... are they even American truly though?). I then started making connections back to a reoccurring discussion brought up recently about the food of jordan, and relating it to the short history of the country.
Jordan itself, doesn't really have any historically famous meals. The food is taken from the culturally richer and older regions of the Middle East, like Palestine and Syria, because Jordan in itself never really had a settled/stagnant population to construe up their own contraptions. Are the meals here in Jordan, like the famous Munsaf, seen to be more "authentic" then because their origins are just a few miles away, rather than across the atlantic, like most of ours might be? But before i state talking about what is "authentic", perhaps it's just better to ask : Why does Nabil really think our food is weird? Is it too unauthentic, unhistorical, oddly contrapted food of the ignorant? Perhaps just the lasagna Rachel Ray was making looked too odd for him, but why would he generalize all of "their" food as weird just from one dish? I have no idea what types of assumptions and beliefs about America his short statement really held, and what it really comes down to, is the fact that i shouldn't be talking about these assumptions until he makes them really clear to me. I mean, what good are assumptions about assumptions anyways...? Of course, this isn't the only time that he's commented on the weirdness of something he's seen on TV (for instance the curios manner of a crazy woman in an American movie). Perhaps if i keep note of all the strange things he comments on i could have a better vague understanding of the gaps he sees between his culture and mine. It pains me that such an understanding comes from the television, but perhaps it's more incentive for me to really make use of my time in this house
"Negative Receiver"
Another fun conversation I had today was with my arabic teacher Mahmood, about a lesson that i had studied from the Arabic learning book he had written using excerpts of newspaper clippings to teach the language. The first exercise was on Arab Media, and how it needs to develop into a critical thinking entity. What was interesting though, was the direct Arabic translation that i didn't quite understand all the time. Specifically, there was a direct translation from the words for negative and positive "selbi" and "ejabi" that Mahmood understood as giving meaning to how critical a person was when listening to the news. For instance, one of the questions for discussion translates directly into " the person must not be a negative receiver of information but he must discuss and analyze with positive analyzation" Negative receiver (this is also how Mahmood directly translated it for me, but he also says that he doesn't speak english very well)
يجت أن لا يكون الإنسان متلقيا سلبيا: بل يجت أن يناقشها و يحللها تحليلا إجابيا
So when i read this passage, i read it as, we should read the news in a positive manner (i.e. be happy about it... rather than constantly be upset with what we hear on the news). Only after i expressed my confusion to Mahmood, did it become clear that a "negative receiver" wasn't necessarily someone who simply got mad at the news, but was someone who didn't question the news or examine it. I wonder what other types of phrases like this i've read over the past six months and have misinterpreted or translated? I've certainly read some passages that i had thought we over simplified in content, but was this because there was too little information/argumentation, or because i simply didn't understand it?
I think it would also be interesting to ask why these two words "selbi" and "ejabi" are used here, where the positive and negative connotation of not questioning the news is made directly obvious, and not through round about context that would be assumed in an english conversation in America (i.e. perhaps in an English context, not questioning the news is already presumed to have negative connotations of naivety or ignorance that need not be highlighted in a discussion). Perhaps i really just don't understand the meaning of these two words. Perhaps the word for negative, also has a connotation of being incorrect and visa versa where positive means being correct? who knows.
Thus, I feel like is it very easy for there to be a miscommunication between Arabic speakers and English speakers without discussion of meanings, but of course this is probably possible with any two people who speak two different language and have only a basic grasp of the other language. Things that might be assumed in one language or the other are different. Thus i have a lot more to study, a lot more people to talk to, and a lot more positive receiving to do.
For another discussion, we could also highlight what Mahmood is arguing about in this point. He brings up the responsibility of the individual to be an active listener to his surroundings, and the need of the Arabic media to be more aware of their surroundings and situations. I brought up the point that freedom of speech and interpretation is sometimes limited to closely by the government, and thus has brought about a culture of stagnancy perhaps. He simply responded by agreeing that the governments work was bad (i chose another Arab country as an example, not Jordan), but that again he returned to individual agency. He concluded with a discussion that almost mirrored what our class had heard from a lecturer from the Center for Strategic Studies, by saying that it was upon the society to reorganize a new mindset for critical thinking separate from the government-- the house, the schools, and he cautiously also approached with "if there are religious organizations, then it is their responsibility as well". It was upon the society to take up the stance in an organized fashion. Is this the revolutionary thoughts that China and Ben are seeking? Perhaps they don't come from the rambunctious teenagers who are more concerned with having a cellphone that plays MP3's, but from the people who've seen developments in the society already, and are ready to push their agenda's on the lucky foreigners who seek to learn the language.
"irrelevant observations"
Muhamad, you can skip this part, because these will be those "the cat crossed the street" type statements, that I'm adding simply for family and friends.
- On Saturday a friend and i got to meet up with a local Jordanian (23) who is studying "American Studies" to get his Masters at the Jordan University. The major is new, and it was fun to finally have the tables turned on us, and be the "other" for once. We met at a cafe in Shmaisani and exchanged Arabic and English. I got to learn some fun knew proverbs in Arabic, "what the cat digs up lands on its head"---> the arabic equivalent of "what goes around comes around".
- I've also been in contact with this guys friend recently to set me up with some work around town. If all works out, i will be helping two orphaned children who live in my neighborhood (mind you on the other side of the hill) teaching the daughter English so that she can excel in school, and then hopefully on Saturday's joining an "exchange of culture" organization that matches up foreigners with locals to share in common interests and discuss. I hope both options come together.
-I'm getting the feeling that Amman is definitely a much more laid back town than Damascus. I woke up this morning with the Azzan at 4:44 am, and was pleased with the slower version of the call than what I heard in Damascus or Istanbul. There was a definite break between each line, of almost equal length to the call itself, making me feel as if the mu'zzen (caller) was almost taking a coffee break in between, or chatting to those behind him (perhaps not a funny joke... i take it back?) Either way, i've also been getting it from my family, and people I've spoken with in the Souqs (btw i found souqs that were either a 1. huge mall, 2. carrfoure or 3. a highway strip with big stores on the side) who take no pain in answering questions of mine, or with allowing me to look at their merchandise quietly.
-I've also realized that Jordanian dialect is a lot easier to understand than any other dialect i've encountered (including Shammy/Syrian). I feel like they speak slower, and perhaps with more words that are closer to FosHa. I'm not exactly sure why.
-I've also decided that i now have sufficiently lost all capabilities to speak in either English or Arabic, or at least that my vocabularies have withered into meaningless hand movements like the o-so-famous 'ishara" from my time at University of Damascus that could be associated with a number of words from "pressure, tyranny, falling, wolf, government, attacks, to flip over..." and the list goes on. I now speak fluently in "Engrabic" or "Arabeezy" and feel awkwardly sufficiently as i stumble over words in front of some of my extremely eloquent and well-read colleagues.
Firstly and foremost, i'd like to apologize again for how rambling and long my posts can sometimes be, it's just that I'm finding that nearly every second here is so loaded with observations and realizations that I'm interested in expressing, and constantly rethinking over that there is too much for my brain to organize. I think everyone on our trip can relate to that. This said, i have many things on the agenda for today because it's been too long since I've written last, so bare with me.
The past few days have been hard. For friends and family at home, we've all been dealing with the grave health of one of our friends from high-school, Crisitn Duprey, my junior year roommate, confidant in Bobby Brown karaoke, practically everyone's big momma at SAS at some point, the woman who taught me how to shake (harlem shake that is), the one who kept me up at night talking to love's back in the city until who knows when in the morning, and perhaps most importantly, someone who i could always count on to be there for me when i needed her. And although i could go on, i don't feel that this blog is the place to truly do justice to her. It's been difficult dealing with the fact that I'm half way across the world and can only make brief calls to friends and family in order to find out her health status, or to speak to people for support. I'm having a hard enough time trying to reconcile the very world I'm living with here, let alone a second one closer to my heart, but farther in actual space.
"Rachel Ray on cooking in the Middle East"
At home things have been going well (no worries Nour....). It's been difficult personally dealing with the fact that there is a Maid in the house, who's story i've recently come to uncover, and am not satisfied with. But this is something that I'm dealing with daily, and also feel as inappropriate to speak about here. Relations with the family are building. I essentially come home everyday from school around 4-5, where they have lunch set out waiting for me, and it's always delicious. I sit and eat, and then when I'm done i go sit with the family in the sitting room. Usually Nabil is sleeping on the couch, taking his daily nap, while A3beer and any assortment of children sit around the TV watching some show or another. I still don't really understand the selection of TV they watch (usually American shows like ER, Rachel Ray, and Dr. Phil, or American movies that i've never heard of or seen). Something i do notice though, and appreciate, are the constant comments of misunderstanding that come from Nabil on some of the things he sees. Today for instance, we were watching rachel ray and she was making a lasagna in the kitchen. After the meal was finished and she was scooping it out on a plate, Nabil simply commented "they make such weird food." The youngest daughter Rayia agreed, and i thought to myself, I wonder what would happen if i took them home with them and fed them the odd contraptions that my family eats... would Nabil even accept the food? Would he talk and complain about how bad it was afterwards to A3beer? I then got to thinking about how my parents (american) are always asking about what type of foods i eat here, and how they can make it. Is it true that our food is just weird, and bad, and that Middle Eastern food is the triumph of all cuisine? I doubt that. Perhaps is just a part of American culture, as being so plural, to seek new adventures in the Kitchen... after-all what is American food besides stolen food from far away destinations (with the exception of Tex-Mex, and the favorite hamburger and fries meal... are they even American truly though?). I then started making connections back to a reoccurring discussion brought up recently about the food of jordan, and relating it to the short history of the country.
Jordan itself, doesn't really have any historically famous meals. The food is taken from the culturally richer and older regions of the Middle East, like Palestine and Syria, because Jordan in itself never really had a settled/stagnant population to construe up their own contraptions. Are the meals here in Jordan, like the famous Munsaf, seen to be more "authentic" then because their origins are just a few miles away, rather than across the atlantic, like most of ours might be? But before i state talking about what is "authentic", perhaps it's just better to ask : Why does Nabil really think our food is weird? Is it too unauthentic, unhistorical, oddly contrapted food of the ignorant? Perhaps just the lasagna Rachel Ray was making looked too odd for him, but why would he generalize all of "their" food as weird just from one dish? I have no idea what types of assumptions and beliefs about America his short statement really held, and what it really comes down to, is the fact that i shouldn't be talking about these assumptions until he makes them really clear to me. I mean, what good are assumptions about assumptions anyways...? Of course, this isn't the only time that he's commented on the weirdness of something he's seen on TV (for instance the curios manner of a crazy woman in an American movie). Perhaps if i keep note of all the strange things he comments on i could have a better vague understanding of the gaps he sees between his culture and mine. It pains me that such an understanding comes from the television, but perhaps it's more incentive for me to really make use of my time in this house
"Negative Receiver"
Another fun conversation I had today was with my arabic teacher Mahmood, about a lesson that i had studied from the Arabic learning book he had written using excerpts of newspaper clippings to teach the language. The first exercise was on Arab Media, and how it needs to develop into a critical thinking entity. What was interesting though, was the direct Arabic translation that i didn't quite understand all the time. Specifically, there was a direct translation from the words for negative and positive "selbi" and "ejabi" that Mahmood understood as giving meaning to how critical a person was when listening to the news. For instance, one of the questions for discussion translates directly into " the person must not be a negative receiver of information but he must discuss and analyze with positive analyzation" Negative receiver (this is also how Mahmood directly translated it for me, but he also says that he doesn't speak english very well)
يجت أن لا يكون الإنسان متلقيا سلبيا: بل يجت أن يناقشها و يحللها تحليلا إجابيا
So when i read this passage, i read it as, we should read the news in a positive manner (i.e. be happy about it... rather than constantly be upset with what we hear on the news). Only after i expressed my confusion to Mahmood, did it become clear that a "negative receiver" wasn't necessarily someone who simply got mad at the news, but was someone who didn't question the news or examine it. I wonder what other types of phrases like this i've read over the past six months and have misinterpreted or translated? I've certainly read some passages that i had thought we over simplified in content, but was this because there was too little information/argumentation, or because i simply didn't understand it?
I think it would also be interesting to ask why these two words "selbi" and "ejabi" are used here, where the positive and negative connotation of not questioning the news is made directly obvious, and not through round about context that would be assumed in an english conversation in America (i.e. perhaps in an English context, not questioning the news is already presumed to have negative connotations of naivety or ignorance that need not be highlighted in a discussion). Perhaps i really just don't understand the meaning of these two words. Perhaps the word for negative, also has a connotation of being incorrect and visa versa where positive means being correct? who knows.
Thus, I feel like is it very easy for there to be a miscommunication between Arabic speakers and English speakers without discussion of meanings, but of course this is probably possible with any two people who speak two different language and have only a basic grasp of the other language. Things that might be assumed in one language or the other are different. Thus i have a lot more to study, a lot more people to talk to, and a lot more positive receiving to do.
For another discussion, we could also highlight what Mahmood is arguing about in this point. He brings up the responsibility of the individual to be an active listener to his surroundings, and the need of the Arabic media to be more aware of their surroundings and situations. I brought up the point that freedom of speech and interpretation is sometimes limited to closely by the government, and thus has brought about a culture of stagnancy perhaps. He simply responded by agreeing that the governments work was bad (i chose another Arab country as an example, not Jordan), but that again he returned to individual agency. He concluded with a discussion that almost mirrored what our class had heard from a lecturer from the Center for Strategic Studies, by saying that it was upon the society to reorganize a new mindset for critical thinking separate from the government-- the house, the schools, and he cautiously also approached with "if there are religious organizations, then it is their responsibility as well". It was upon the society to take up the stance in an organized fashion. Is this the revolutionary thoughts that China and Ben are seeking? Perhaps they don't come from the rambunctious teenagers who are more concerned with having a cellphone that plays MP3's, but from the people who've seen developments in the society already, and are ready to push their agenda's on the lucky foreigners who seek to learn the language.
"irrelevant observations"
Muhamad, you can skip this part, because these will be those "the cat crossed the street" type statements, that I'm adding simply for family and friends.
- On Saturday a friend and i got to meet up with a local Jordanian (23) who is studying "American Studies" to get his Masters at the Jordan University. The major is new, and it was fun to finally have the tables turned on us, and be the "other" for once. We met at a cafe in Shmaisani and exchanged Arabic and English. I got to learn some fun knew proverbs in Arabic, "what the cat digs up lands on its head"---> the arabic equivalent of "what goes around comes around".
- I've also been in contact with this guys friend recently to set me up with some work around town. If all works out, i will be helping two orphaned children who live in my neighborhood (mind you on the other side of the hill) teaching the daughter English so that she can excel in school, and then hopefully on Saturday's joining an "exchange of culture" organization that matches up foreigners with locals to share in common interests and discuss. I hope both options come together.
-I'm getting the feeling that Amman is definitely a much more laid back town than Damascus. I woke up this morning with the Azzan at 4:44 am, and was pleased with the slower version of the call than what I heard in Damascus or Istanbul. There was a definite break between each line, of almost equal length to the call itself, making me feel as if the mu'zzen (caller) was almost taking a coffee break in between, or chatting to those behind him (perhaps not a funny joke... i take it back?) Either way, i've also been getting it from my family, and people I've spoken with in the Souqs (btw i found souqs that were either a 1. huge mall, 2. carrfoure or 3. a highway strip with big stores on the side) who take no pain in answering questions of mine, or with allowing me to look at their merchandise quietly.
-I've also realized that Jordanian dialect is a lot easier to understand than any other dialect i've encountered (including Shammy/Syrian). I feel like they speak slower, and perhaps with more words that are closer to FosHa. I'm not exactly sure why.
-I've also decided that i now have sufficiently lost all capabilities to speak in either English or Arabic, or at least that my vocabularies have withered into meaningless hand movements like the o-so-famous 'ishara" from my time at University of Damascus that could be associated with a number of words from "pressure, tyranny, falling, wolf, government, attacks, to flip over..." and the list goes on. I now speak fluently in "Engrabic" or "Arabeezy" and feel awkwardly sufficiently as i stumble over words in front of some of my extremely eloquent and well-read colleagues.
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