here's a reminder of what wadi rum looks like (this picture is actually from a year ago)
Pardon the delay:
The past week has been a but hectic with having confusion over out of classroom assignments mixed with a overnight trip down to the south of Jordan (the Desert of Wadi Rum--- where, if you have read previously, spent a month living with two families last year). The trip in itself was extremely packed... not of events necessarily but of a lot of things. i'm still trying to figure out a way to pack it all in, but i'm not even sure it's packed into my head. So i'm going to save discussion of that trip for personal conversation, which is deserves.
As for life here in Amman right now. Classes have been going pretty well. Actually, the most rewarding aspect of the program has now become the tutors, and one particular tutor that all of the students love. Truthfully, all of the tutors are great and have their own quarks to offer. I am in need to find another outlet for speaking, but that's up to me... so we'll see what I do. I think with all the confusion settling over these "out of class excursions" I may find a way to get out on my own time.
The weather here is getting hotter. But there always seems to be some type of breeze (shout out to whatever force makes it...).
Food. I've been pretty bad, basically just snacking on things (not snack food though... no worries) mostly yogurt, cereal, cucumbers, fruits (apricots, apples), and canned tuna (spicy! that is). Today was the first day that I semi-cooked. i fried some potatoes and onions and made some pasta, and made a little cucumber salad. It was after a brief but fulfilling (and needed) yoga/stretch/jump around session. I'm finding that i'm using the hills as my exercise these days and then doing push-ups, yoga, basic room fitness on the regular. despite not running I feel quite healthy, so i'm happy.
Things that might be more interesting:
going down to Wadi Rum this weekend was a nice reminder of how much i have to learn. The bedouin accent that my family speaks in is extremely heavy, and I had forgotten how hard it had been for me to speak with them (even after living with them previously). Respectively, I had forgotten how frustrating it is to feel like a mute/deaf/dumb. I mean, I can understand and communicate for the most part. Having Ahmad (my connection to the family... he was my 'helper' when i was doing my research) around is always helpful because he understands my arabic accent and can translate into it... ie. he knows what i understand and what will be too hard for me. Take for instance though, the moment when i was sitting alone with his sister and she brought up the ever recurring topic of Islam, and why i should convert (whole different story)... this topic is so important to her, and i can see how excited she gets when she speaks to me about it. I guess the moment i'm trying to focus on is the moment when you can tell she's come just upon a really good point and she asks a question to see if i understand, and i can only say that I didn't catch it. and ever when she repeats it, I only catch a general idea... perhaps mostly now because i'm thinking about how bad i feel for not being able to understand, and how frustrating that is, that I actually end up not listening to her at all... so that even if i could get what she was saying, i'm now not even listening... and then to see the look on her face when i say again that i didn't get it... or when i nod as if i did, but she knows i didn't fully understand. that disappointment is heavy. and then what do you do? sit in silence. watch the two toddler boys play with the toys that i just got them... see their mom get frustrated with them as they start to fight over the toys. I know that their mother asked if the toys were from america probably to double check and make sure they weren't Haram (forbidden in Islam). Luckily i had gotten them in Jordan (which doesn't go for the bracelets that I got them).
Anyways, as you can see, i'm getting into the topic that i said i would stay away from. I could go on for a long time about this, but I really wouldn't do justice to either my own feelings, or theirs.... so i'll stop.
something else:
I'm feeling as if i'm beginning to find my fingers in part of arabic. I'm particularly enjoying poetry. The greatest thing about arabic poetry is that it's unending and has such a great history. Memorizing poetry is like the base of all arabic. People refer to certain poets as the source for studies of what is "proper arabic" (modern standard arabic i'm referring to) I'm enjoying memorizing some lines myself.
really, what's so great about poetry, is talking about it with people. From my tutors at ACOR, to one of the workers here at the hotel (egyptian), to one of Ahmad's friends down in Wadi Rum (bedouin), knowing poetry and also having written a poem in Arabic (which i can luckily recite off hand) has allowed me to have the most rewarding, engaging, and quite literally linguistically/musically beautiful conversations i feel like i've ever had. My recent 'revelation' was that i could spend the rest of my life just memorizing poetry and discussing it with people (and perhaps writing myself). of course, it's not just the poetry, it's really the interaction that comes with it that i'm interested in.
Truthfully, my favorite moment from the trip down to Wadi Rum this past weekend was when I got Ahmad's friend to go into multiple renditions of his favorite songs, poems, and lines of Samir (type of song.... see my research stuff below). At first we had been separated by the fact that I was not understanding his quick/heavy accent. Then I started reciting lines that I knew, and also recited a few lines from a poem that my tutor had just taught me. Instantaneously he was asking me... do you know this one?! and this Poet?! and this poem?! it goes like this.... And even though he would still stick to his thick gutteral accent, reciting poetry would force him to be speaking slower and more methodically to follow the melody, and it would depend mostly on FusHa (standard arabic) that I understand... although the bedouin dialect is also nearly completely FusHa, and most of the poetry he recited would use the Bedouin uses of FusHa words, having a general background in the dialect would give me access to the FusHa they were using. Poetry in itself is nearly impossible for me to understand off hand, unless it was extremely simple. The reason is mostly just the rhythm.
anyways, as we were bumping along in the desert trying to make our way out to the camp fire where Ahmad's uncles were having tea and entertaining some guests from Saudi, i couldn't help but grin so wide as the words ran over me.
One last thing about the desert... tea made over camp fire is simply unbeatable. as is the view of the stars, and the milky way....
ok that's it.
