here's my phone number.
country code. 963
number for out of jordan calls= 796314701
in country... just put a 0 before the in country number.
ok later
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Mostly for mom and dad
This post is mostly for my parents... as it informs you of all the small basic details that parents worry about. There are some observations at the bottom that you might find interesting, but really nothing special... just day to day stuff. More interesting stuff will hopefully be coming soon once I get a phone and feel more comfortable going off on my own.
in the mean time, enjoy. and forgive the grammar mistakes. I'm not reading it over. you can't make me.
June 19th 10:30-
Wow. the past 18 hours or so have been pretty interesting. I still haven't gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep since the monday night. This morning we had yet another orientation at ACOR (American Center for Oriental Research) which is coordinating our program (although we are studying at an Institute named Qasid which is just a 5-8 minute taxi ride down the road... thank goodness because it only takes a 1 Dinar ride to get there). After our first part of orientation we had a great lunch provided by ACOR. it was delicious.
After lunch some people from the embassy came over and talked to us about jordan. mostly things I hadn't heard before. Except for the new fun fact that you can now actually get second temporary visas SPECIFICALLY for traveling to Israel (as in, the government gives them out just for the people who need to travel to both Israel and states like Syria that don't let you in with an Israeli stamp). That's definitely cool, and I definitely think I'm going to do that. Only $70. We'll see when my plans start to fall into place.
Ok, so after that we went to Qasid and had our placement exams. No big sweat, although for some reason I was extremely nervous. That subsided as soon as everything was underway though. I am a bit frustrated with how slow my writing has gotten, since I haven't been practicing for almost a year now, but I'm sure it will come back quickly.
After the test is was already pretty late (probably around 8) so me and a couple other girls and the group went over to the mall right next door to get some basic food supplies. (Ketan, it was Mukhtar Mall... and they were selling Malto....I almost grabbed 10 and ran). They gave us half of our stipend this morning, most of which I'm keeping in the safe at ACOR right now until I'm in need of it.
Now I'm back at the apartment. I got to finally take my first shower tonight since leaving... our apartment is really nice. There are 6 girls living in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathe, kitchen, and living room space. This is definitely a step up from most places I've ever stayed in the Middle East, with the exception of my home stay here in Jordan previously... but that was just ridiculous.
We have wireless internet downstairs in the lobby. Our laundry will be done for us at a price of $5 a load up to as much as every week. Haven't checked out the sports options yet, given that I haven't had any time, but supposedly Qasid is very close to the sports park in Amman, where even running outside might be allowed (amazing!).
I'm not gonna be able to get a phone card for a while though because our passports have been in the hands of various people and will continue to be for the next few days as we set up all of our arrangements in town. You need your passport to buy a card, so most likely it could be a few days.
Meanwhile, tomorrow we have a 9 oclock tour of Amman, and then our first free afternoon. I hope to rest up, perhaps do a bit more shopping for things needed in the apartment, and then get to talking with as many people as possible.
Today was a great day.
As far as we know our arabic program is going to be a bit odd. We actually only have 2 hours of class each day. Then we have to go on 'excursions" two of which we have to write a report on within a week. We then have nothing else mandatory. It's actually quite absurd. Hopefully I'll be able to set up appointments with tutors 3-4 times a week, because otherwise I know I will quickly become frustrated with the pace of the course. I am excited about the teachers at Qasid though, as well as the size of our classes. We will only be having about 6 kids per class, and after this placement exam I'm nearly certain that I'll be with people that are at my level and higher. Most of all I'm excited to learn with others.... it's been a very long time since I felt like I was sharing a learning process in Arabic, so I can't wait to feed off of that energy. Already a lot of us have been speaking in Arabic with each other at about 50%, and I'm sure this will only increase as we become more comfortable with each other and have more things to share and work on.
Observations from today:
1) the smell is still coming to me. I'll get passes of it when a dusty breeze comes through the window, or when I step outside, or even in the odd smells of the bathrooms and the water. Today it was much more pleasant, in fact it was almost soothing. For some reason though it's reminding me more of Damascus now, than it is of Amman. Perhaps it's the summer that's really affecting it, since I first went to Damascus while it was in similar heat.
2) The dust. every now and then i close my mouth and i can feel the grit soaked into my tongue and lips. It's so fine that you almost can't tell, but it's a nice reminder that I'm in desert country.
3) The heat. We are lucky enough to have an airconditioned apartment in addition to all of our classes and buildings being in air conditioning. There have been moments when rooms were getting a bit too hot today though, which was a bit rough on top of jet lag, but overall I don't think it's that much worse than home. We'll see how the rest of the summer pans out.
4)Azzan. the called to prayer is beautiful in Amman, echoing off of the mountains and penetrating your spirit.
in the mean time, enjoy. and forgive the grammar mistakes. I'm not reading it over. you can't make me.
June 19th 10:30-
Wow. the past 18 hours or so have been pretty interesting. I still haven't gotten more than three consecutive hours of sleep since the monday night. This morning we had yet another orientation at ACOR (American Center for Oriental Research) which is coordinating our program (although we are studying at an Institute named Qasid which is just a 5-8 minute taxi ride down the road... thank goodness because it only takes a 1 Dinar ride to get there). After our first part of orientation we had a great lunch provided by ACOR. it was delicious.
After lunch some people from the embassy came over and talked to us about jordan. mostly things I hadn't heard before. Except for the new fun fact that you can now actually get second temporary visas SPECIFICALLY for traveling to Israel (as in, the government gives them out just for the people who need to travel to both Israel and states like Syria that don't let you in with an Israeli stamp). That's definitely cool, and I definitely think I'm going to do that. Only $70. We'll see when my plans start to fall into place.
Ok, so after that we went to Qasid and had our placement exams. No big sweat, although for some reason I was extremely nervous. That subsided as soon as everything was underway though. I am a bit frustrated with how slow my writing has gotten, since I haven't been practicing for almost a year now, but I'm sure it will come back quickly.
After the test is was already pretty late (probably around 8) so me and a couple other girls and the group went over to the mall right next door to get some basic food supplies. (Ketan, it was Mukhtar Mall... and they were selling Malto....I almost grabbed 10 and ran). They gave us half of our stipend this morning, most of which I'm keeping in the safe at ACOR right now until I'm in need of it.
Now I'm back at the apartment. I got to finally take my first shower tonight since leaving... our apartment is really nice. There are 6 girls living in a 3 bedroom, 2 bathe, kitchen, and living room space. This is definitely a step up from most places I've ever stayed in the Middle East, with the exception of my home stay here in Jordan previously... but that was just ridiculous.
We have wireless internet downstairs in the lobby. Our laundry will be done for us at a price of $5 a load up to as much as every week. Haven't checked out the sports options yet, given that I haven't had any time, but supposedly Qasid is very close to the sports park in Amman, where even running outside might be allowed (amazing!).
I'm not gonna be able to get a phone card for a while though because our passports have been in the hands of various people and will continue to be for the next few days as we set up all of our arrangements in town. You need your passport to buy a card, so most likely it could be a few days.
Meanwhile, tomorrow we have a 9 oclock tour of Amman, and then our first free afternoon. I hope to rest up, perhaps do a bit more shopping for things needed in the apartment, and then get to talking with as many people as possible.
Today was a great day.
As far as we know our arabic program is going to be a bit odd. We actually only have 2 hours of class each day. Then we have to go on 'excursions" two of which we have to write a report on within a week. We then have nothing else mandatory. It's actually quite absurd. Hopefully I'll be able to set up appointments with tutors 3-4 times a week, because otherwise I know I will quickly become frustrated with the pace of the course. I am excited about the teachers at Qasid though, as well as the size of our classes. We will only be having about 6 kids per class, and after this placement exam I'm nearly certain that I'll be with people that are at my level and higher. Most of all I'm excited to learn with others.... it's been a very long time since I felt like I was sharing a learning process in Arabic, so I can't wait to feed off of that energy. Already a lot of us have been speaking in Arabic with each other at about 50%, and I'm sure this will only increase as we become more comfortable with each other and have more things to share and work on.
Observations from today:
1) the smell is still coming to me. I'll get passes of it when a dusty breeze comes through the window, or when I step outside, or even in the odd smells of the bathrooms and the water. Today it was much more pleasant, in fact it was almost soothing. For some reason though it's reminding me more of Damascus now, than it is of Amman. Perhaps it's the summer that's really affecting it, since I first went to Damascus while it was in similar heat.
2) The dust. every now and then i close my mouth and i can feel the grit soaked into my tongue and lips. It's so fine that you almost can't tell, but it's a nice reminder that I'm in desert country.
3) The heat. We are lucky enough to have an airconditioned apartment in addition to all of our classes and buildings being in air conditioning. There have been moments when rooms were getting a bit too hot today though, which was a bit rough on top of jet lag, but overall I don't think it's that much worse than home. We'll see how the rest of the summer pans out.
4)Azzan. the called to prayer is beautiful in Amman, echoing off of the mountains and penetrating your spirit.
First feelings:
It hit me harder than I had expected. The moon. Outside the window as we were landing in Amman was the brightest white I had ever seen. I thought a helicopter spotlight was shining in my eye.
The smell. I stepped off the plane and took a whiff of something that I haven't smelled, felt, remembered, forgotten, licked, coughed, picked, had soaked into me for just over a year now. I'm now in my hotel where I'll be staying for my two month journey through the governments idea of intensive arabic study. I'll have more to write about that on once we have orientation in a few hours.
I could write about our 30+ journey to get here, the amazing people that are with me on this program, the niceness of the apartments where we are staying, but i my mind is stuck on that smell. I had never felt that feeling before. It was like all of the emotions, the horrors, the memories, details that I had purposefully put aside for the last year came running into me like a mac truck. It was shining in my eyes like an interrogation light (the helicopter...moon), it was seeping into my blood through the oxygen I breathed, and is now soaking into my mind. There is so much that I have put aside in this past year in order to cope with some of my time here in Jordan and in Syria. I knew that I would have to face it when I got here, but I didn't know it was be as invasive that this surgery feels.
Now without being to allusive or lyrical about my experience, let me just make clear that now, only 3 hours after arriving in Jordan, my feelings are intense. That's the only way I can put them. I'm already feeling the frustrations that being a woman come with in terms of access to certain communities and places-- which for me seem as the perfect opportunity to really use my arabic. I have the fears of running into certain people. I am also extremely excited to see others though. I'm excited to have those moments when I'm surprised by the genuine spirit of someone I misjudged. Like today on the plane, when I had one of my first 'exchange' of languages where I felt as if we were both learning the same amount from each other (me from his arabic, and he from my english). I'm so happy about learning from those around me. I'm excited to rediscover this city. I'm so excited to find myself in this city, to remember myself in this city, and the be myself in this city. I'm excited to have absolutely no time on my hands. I'm stoked to march up and down the hill outside our apartments when I don't have a place to run, or don't have time to go to a gym (one of the steepest hills I've ever seen). I'm scared that I'll get too wrapped up at moments, But I'm thrilled to find myself in those moments, realize it, and get myself out of them.
Most of all. I'm speaking Arabic. and i love it. I have boundless opportunities in front of me to not only learn a language, but to challenge myself in doing it, to overcome my personal fears that hinder me when in the highest need to learn. Who could ask for anything more?
The smell. I stepped off the plane and took a whiff of something that I haven't smelled, felt, remembered, forgotten, licked, coughed, picked, had soaked into me for just over a year now. I'm now in my hotel where I'll be staying for my two month journey through the governments idea of intensive arabic study. I'll have more to write about that on once we have orientation in a few hours.
I could write about our 30+ journey to get here, the amazing people that are with me on this program, the niceness of the apartments where we are staying, but i my mind is stuck on that smell. I had never felt that feeling before. It was like all of the emotions, the horrors, the memories, details that I had purposefully put aside for the last year came running into me like a mac truck. It was shining in my eyes like an interrogation light (the helicopter...moon), it was seeping into my blood through the oxygen I breathed, and is now soaking into my mind. There is so much that I have put aside in this past year in order to cope with some of my time here in Jordan and in Syria. I knew that I would have to face it when I got here, but I didn't know it was be as invasive that this surgery feels.
Now without being to allusive or lyrical about my experience, let me just make clear that now, only 3 hours after arriving in Jordan, my feelings are intense. That's the only way I can put them. I'm already feeling the frustrations that being a woman come with in terms of access to certain communities and places-- which for me seem as the perfect opportunity to really use my arabic. I have the fears of running into certain people. I am also extremely excited to see others though. I'm excited to have those moments when I'm surprised by the genuine spirit of someone I misjudged. Like today on the plane, when I had one of my first 'exchange' of languages where I felt as if we were both learning the same amount from each other (me from his arabic, and he from my english). I'm so happy about learning from those around me. I'm excited to rediscover this city. I'm so excited to find myself in this city, to remember myself in this city, and the be myself in this city. I'm excited to have absolutely no time on my hands. I'm stoked to march up and down the hill outside our apartments when I don't have a place to run, or don't have time to go to a gym (one of the steepest hills I've ever seen). I'm scared that I'll get too wrapped up at moments, But I'm thrilled to find myself in those moments, realize it, and get myself out of them.
Most of all. I'm speaking Arabic. and i love it. I have boundless opportunities in front of me to not only learn a language, but to challenge myself in doing it, to overcome my personal fears that hinder me when in the highest need to learn. Who could ask for anything more?
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