First Letter

Hey Everyone!!!

Sorry that it has taken me so long to write everyone! Life here has been crazy, but of course a blast :o) I've officially been in Jordan now for 8 or 9 days and I have loved every moment of it. The people are very friendly and will literally give you the shirt off of their back.

Hmmm…Where to start… I really don't know, there are so many things that I could say, so I suppose I will start off with saying a little about the structure of my life. I am with a program called SIT-Study Abroad (www.sit.edu/studyabroad); we have our own office in the Abdoun region of the city. For anyone who knows Amman it is the rich area of the city and all of the embassies are located here. School runs on a Muslim work week of Sunday-Thursday and we have class beginning at 8.30am. My family doesn't want me going the whole way alone in the morning, so they drive me to the main part of the city at 7am and then I take a taxi the rest of the way to Al Leetani St. We have Arabic lessons every day from 8.30 – 11.45am, lunch, and then we have a lecture in the afternoon. 3 days a week we study the hasty of the society from top speakers in the Muslim world and 2 days a week we focus on the techniques of field study. I am doing very well with my Arabic, and it always surprises me how quickly you pick something up when you are thrown into a strange situation. From the second day on I understood the Arabic numbers and how to communicate with cab drivers.

My family lives in the Khalda region of the city and it is mainly Christian, as is my family. I am still a little disappointed that I was placed with a Christian family, because I was very anxious to learn about Islam and Ramadan is coming on October 5th. The family is very nice though, and I have 3 sisters (Elaine, Grace, and Merna) that are my age, and a cousin (Raim) from Yemen that is visiting. They are Greek Orthodox, and very very very religious, but it is the Middle East and everyone stands by what they say they believe. The mother has a muscle disease that is similar to that of my mother's, so there are a lot of similarities there as well. The mother and father both speak very little English, but the sisters and cousin are fluent. Hospitality means everything to these people, and really that is because their lives have been built around a tribal system that survived on these principles. We have coffee when we first wake up, breakfast, and then later tea, and then about 2pm lunch which is the biggest meal. There is another tea of coffee break after that and then dinner is generally around 8 or 9pm, followed by fruit for dessert and more coffee or tea. It doesn't matter if I say no (la) they still put more food on my plate and demand that I eat more. It is traditional to refuse the food several times before they stop forcing food down your throat, and I spent this last weekend sick to my stomach with the amount of food… That and when I told them I was lactose intolerant they told me to try it and if I got sick then they would not make me drink milk anymore, so yeah I spent an afternoon sick and then they believed me. It is very important for them to believe that you are not refusing their hospitality, and in some tribal areas I've been told that if you refuse to eat with a family they may force you by gun point to sit down. So yeah, basically shut up and eat the food while thanking them profusely. Lol, it's a way of life to get used to, and I am adjusting. You have to initially take smaller portions and eat as slow as possible, so that they will not refill your plate. ;o) There are always ways around the game.

My first night with my family they took me to a traditional Jordanian wedding…It was Christian, so not entirely traditional, but otherwise very traditional. We started at the bride's house around 4pm where all of the female guests gathered to sing ancient tribal songs, scream, and wish the bride well with dancing (I was drug out to dance and you can imagine my humiliation – This white girl has no moves). After a couple of hours the groom came and took the bride away and everyone followed them out. The men were shooting off their guns and I was busy looking for the bullets that had to eventually come down.

At the church there was more dancing in front of the church and then the bride and groom headed in for the ceremony which was exactly like the one in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Since my family is the immediate aunt and uncle we had to stay till the very end when the million guests left and they took pictures.

Afterwards, I thought that we would be heading to the reception, but we went home to change into even fancier clothes for the reception that was at the Radisson Hotel. Once again there was dancing, from the lobby to the ballroom. The men were dressed in the traditional caftan and military regalia and the drumming, foot stomping, and singing was deafening.

The reception itself last until after 2.30am, but we went home then. There was modern dancing, traditional dancing, and lots of food. More than anything the people are about food!!!

So that was the first major cultural experience. This weekend we are going to Jerash, Bethany, and Madaba, and the week after I will be staying alone with the Bedouin for a week – No one will speak English. If I had more time I would write more, but I have to go to a café and it costs me. Write me with specific questions, and I will try to answer this next time.

Also, if you had something that you wanted to mail me the address is different than what I was originally told:

E-mail to get adress!!

The above address is for packages only, and you should use DHL, UPS, or FEDEX world air mail.

If you do plan on mailing me anything, please stop by October 31st, because it generally takes about a month for it to get to me, and I will not get it after I leave for my independent study.

Ok, I think that is it for now. I will try to get pictures up on-line and things in the mail, but I do not even know where the post office is. Also write to this address, because it is easier for me.
Lotsa Luv -Danie