Making Paths Through the Desert (Part 1)

First off, an apology to those who have been checking this blog hoping for a new post and have been disappointed for weeks.  Things here have really picked up and I've been really busy, but I'm hoping to be much better about posting something (even if it's short!) every few days.  Here's the first part about my epic trip to southern Jordan:

A few weeks ago, our entire program went on a tour of Jordan's "Golden Triangle" of tourist sites: the desert moonscapes of Wadi Rum, the beaches and clear blue waters of Aqaba, and the striking ancient capital of the Nabatean civilization: Petra.  We all got to skip our thursday classes in order to fit it all into one weekend and left early thursday morning for the southern desert.  Along the way, we stopped at what must be the Jordanian equivalent of those huge truck stops along I-5 through the California central valley.  Instead of being packed with football jerseys, cheap electronics, and various western crafts and statuettes, there were bejeweled swords, decorative chess/backgammon tables, and 3-foot high statues of camels and horses.  It all left me wondering the same thing I wonder when I visit on of those truck stops along I-5: who actually buys any of this stuff?

After another couple of hours on the bus, we arrived at the Wadi Rum visitors center, which commands a pretty stunning view of the rock formation dubbed "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom."  All the guides will tell you that T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia, first called it that on his way past during the Great Arab Revolt and subsequently used the phrase for the title of his memoirs about the revolt, written years afterward.  While the title of Lawrence's memoirs is in fact "Seven Pillars of Wisdom," the whole rock formation thing is basically a tourist gimmick, since Lawrence and the army of the Arab revolt never decided to wander through the dangerous wilds of Wadi Rum.  (Even though it's where most of the film "Lawrence of Arabia" was filmed)

The Seven Pillars of Wisdom

After lunch, we got what we had all been waiting for.  A short walk from the visitors center, we found the herd of nerly 150 camels that would take us all to the desert campsite where we would be spending the night.  After a little bit of a false start, when my camel decided to stand up before I was actually on him, I managed to hop up onto the saddle and head off into the desert.  Most of the time, the camels were tetheder together in packs of three or four, with a local guide in charge of each group.  These guides were pretty impressive athletes, considering they made the 3-hour trek across the sand on foot.

We stopped a few times to climb some of the fantastic rock formations  that dot the landscape.  One thing I noticed about being in Wadi Rum was that I lost almost all my bearing on distance.  From even a slight distance above the desert floor, the huge expanses between rock formations seemed to shrink to deceptively manageable distances. 

Dangerously Deceptive Distances

My view for most of that afternoon...

We rode through the afternoon and dismounted just before sunset within walking distance of our campsite.  After watching the sun set over the sand, we walked down to our camp for dinner.  Our camp was pretty cool, but obviously set up to give tourists what I would call an "artificially authentic" experience.  We slept in bedouin-style tents and electricity in the camp as a whole was very limited, but there were also clean bathroom facilities and showers.  The staff were all dressed traditionally and while we were waiting for dinner, they broke out instruments and started up an Arab dance party, which quickly turned into the Americans all standing around watching or trying to copy the moves of the small group of Arabs dancing away in the center.

After dinner, I went out with a small group of people and walked away from camp a short distance to look at the stars.  The top layer of sand had already cooled, but when I dug my toes down a couple of inches, the sand underneath was still warm and as I lay there under the stars I felt the same kind of peace in nature that I feel while camping in the Sierra Nevadas by pine trees and mountain lakes.  The extraordinary setting also provided a nice backdrop for some unexpected fellowship with some of the other Christians here on my program.  Like me, it seems that most of them came here expecting to spend a semester without much support from other Christians, but have been pleasantly surprised to find like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ.  

The next morning, we stepped out of camp after breakfast to find a fleet of (mostly) Japanese-made 4x4 trucks with beds converted into makeshift passenger compartments waiting to take us the rest of the way across Wadi Rum to where we would meet up with our tour busses and continue on to Aqaba.  The "jeeps" were definitely faster and slightly more comfortable than the camels from the day before, but it was by no means a comfortable ride.

The "jeeps" rolling out

Our caravan

That's it for part one, check back soon to hear about Aqaba and Petra!

Getting Into a Rhythm

So I just realized today that it's been over a week since my last post and I should probably update everyone on how I am.  I'm now in my second week of school and have started to settle into the rhythm of life here.  As someone who tends toward routines, I've quickly figured out just how long it takes me to get up and get to school, who has free time when I do, and where I can go to have access to the internet on a regular basis.  On the subject of internet, not having constant access to the internet has been frustrating at times, but has definitely made me appreciate it when I do get it.  I've also been able to focus on where I am, instead of being distracted by the usual array of internet-based diversions.

Despite a cloudy and momentarily rainy day last wednesday, the rest of the week and through this weekend was really hot.  Even my host family has been complaining that it's been unseasonably warm.  In addition, the other day I came outside to walk home and was shocked to find everything outside shrouded in mist.  Unfortunately, as I discovered after taking a breath of rather rocky-tasting air, it wasn't mist at all, but a cloud of fine dust that had settled over the city.  It wasn't like the dust storms you see in movies with high winds and biting sand, it was just like a fog, which ended up drifting through open windows and leaving a fine layer over everything in my host family's living room.  The hot, dry air has been leaving many of us Americans exhausted and dehydrated, to the point that a girl passed out momentarily in my Arabic class sunday afternoon.  I've been downing around 4 or 5 liters of water a day and still feel a little dried out at times.

Saturday evening I was able to join a group of other CIEE students and visit a local church called the Amman International Church.  The service was in English and the congregation was full of both Americans and Jordanians.  The church is nondenominational and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of students in my program that showed up.  Afterwards, some of us got together and decided to figure out a time when we can all get together during the week for a Bible study or fellowship of some kind.  It's been really nice to find some unexpected Christian community here where I was expecting a rather isolated semester.

In terms of my classes, this semester could end up being just as challenging as a semester at Georgetown.  Though I didn't think it possible, I have about twice as many contact hours in Arabic classes as I have in a regular semester of intensive Arabic at Georgetown.  In addition, it seems that the two area studies courses that I've chosen are the two most reading- and research-intense classes offered by my program.  While my Conflicts in the Middle East class has a lot of reading, the rest of the workload won't be too bad and I'm really looking forward to the discussions we'll be having.  My other class, International Relations and Diplomacy in the Middle East, has even more reading and the professor has spent significant time teaching at American universities, so he has high standards and expects a lot from us.  In both classes, I'll have to write a significant research paper in addition to presentations on topics of my choosing.

I'm also really excited about this weekend.  All CIEE students get thursday off from class so we can leave for a weekend of touring and camping in the desert of southern Jordan.  We'll get to see Wadi Rum where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed; Petra, the city carved into solid rock and immortalized in movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Transformers 2; and Aqaba, Jordan's beach resort city and only port on the Red Sea.  I promise I will bring my camera and get some good pictures to post here.

First Days of School

So, I seem to have covered the "abroad" part pretty well, now for the "study."  Yesterday (sunday) was the first day of classes, and even though I only had one, it turned out to be quite a day.  I'm lucky enough to live within walking distance of the University of Jordan, though some of you might dispute that if you saw the 30-minute hike that's involved.  Amman is a very hilly city, filling the valleys (or wadis) between the mountains on the east side of the Great Rift Valley (through which the Jordan River flows) as they peter off into the desert.  The city was not built to be very walker-friendly.  The spread of the city and the plentiful supply of taxis make sidewalks a pretty low priority, so I try to stick to quiet, residential streets as much as possible to make my way to the closest gate into the university.  Once inside the gate, the atmosphere changes completely.  Built on one of the few patches of forested land in the area of Amman, the University of Jordan campus is covered in pine trees (pretty pitiful ones by NorCal standards) and has very little vehicle traffic.  On campus, there are many girls who wear the hijab, or scarf covering the hair and neck, that most people associate with Islam and some even wear a niqab, or veil covering the whole face except for the eyes.  However, there are also many girls who wear no head covering and dress in western styles, though certainly not in the more revealing ones you'd find on an American college campus.

Yesterday, I only had one class, but it was a marathon session of Modern Standard Arabic, or fus'haa, that lasted just under 3 hours.  I have just this one 3-hour class on sundays, tuesdays, and thursdays.  This morning, I had my first Jordanian Colloquial, or 'ammiyya, class, which will be a big help in understanding and being able to communicate with my host family.  This afternoon, I have two classes: Conflicts in the Middle East, and Diplomacy and International Relations in the Middle East.  Both of these are taught in English by local professors specifically hired by CIEE (the company organizing my program) for their expertise and experience teaching Americans.  Because of this structure, all of my classes will be with other American students only, but held on the university campus in the same facilities used by local students.  Between classes, I can use a phenomenal study center located just across the street from the main gate of the university.  There is free internet access and plenty of quiet, comfortable study space, all provided by a local businessman as a service to University of Jordan students.  In a pretty cool example of leapfrogging technology, access to the study center, called TAGKS (we just call it "tags") is by fingerprint recognition.  Registration is free, so it's a popular spot for CIEE students, as most people don't have internet in their homestays.

Classes so far have been pretty relaxed, being in the first week, and schedules are potentially still up in the air.  For now, it's just nice to have something to do and somewhere to be as opposed to playing tourist or just hanging around the house.

Home Sweet Homestay

So I've been in Jordan less than a week, but it feels like it could have been a month.  I moved in with my host family about 24 hours ago and I already feel like a part of the family.  Granted, a rather quiet member of the family who understands maybe 10% of what's going on and can't really eat properly, but a member nonetheless.  About my family: my host dad works for Jordanian civil defense and is originally from the city of Jerash in northern Jordan; my host mom stays at home and cooks (really well!) and takes care of the house; I have a host brother named Fahed who is 16 and goes to private high school;  my host sister Lana is 10 and is a pretty good cook herself (she made lunch today), but is pretty quiet;  finally, my host brother Firas is 5 and very energetic and loud and seems to think it's rather funny how clueless I am.  The family is Catholic and so all the children go to private Catholic schools.  I moved in last night and after a delicious dinner went down the street to the house of some relatives (cousins or an aunt or something, I never really got a good explanation) and had the traditional Arab evening you read about.  Over tea (shai) and fruit, there was a long (and loud) conversation about topics from my host dad's recent trip to Europe to the concept of al-naseeb, or fate.  I'm already starting to pick up on some of the tricks to the local 'ammiyya, or Jordanian colloquial Arabic (think of it as the Jordanian accent).  I have no problem making myself understood within the bounds of my own vocabulary, but I'm discovering just how small that really is.  Luckily, maamaa (my host mom) has been very understanding and speaks a fair amount of English.  Breakfast this morning turned into an interactive (and delicious) vocabulary lesson.  Here in Jordan, the weekend is Friday and Saturday, so this morning everyone slept in until 11 or so.  I was up a little earlier and was able to get a couple of hours to myself, which was really nice after days of new faces, orientation presentations, and placement tests.  My family, though Christian, lives directly behind a huge mosque, so the dawn call to prayer, which is pumped through the minaret's loudspeakers around 4:30 each morning, definitely woke me up.  In addition, since Friday is the Muslim holy day, from noon until one this afternoon the house was filled with the noon prayers, which are also broadcast through the minaret's loudspeakers.  My family seems to be used to it, they just turn up the TV and then shout to talk to each other.  One thing that people don't seem to mind here is lots and lots of noise (the TV was on and volume up during the whole visit last night as well).  Usually the family just hangs around the house all day on Friday.  The Catholic schools actually have school on Saturday and are off again on Sunday to allow for mass.  My first class at the University of Jordan is on Sunday, though we were all told that the first week is always very relaxed to allow for registration changes and issues to be worked out.  I'm looking forward to getting into a regular routine and exploring the different perspectives from which I'm sure my classes will be presented this semester.  At some point I will try to post pictures here of what I'm up to.  Thank you all for the continued prayers.

Between Iraq and a Hard Place

After two days of orientation, I'm definitely feeling oriented.  Maybe a little over-oriented.  Today we got to sit through hours of presentation on safety and security in Jordan.  Don't get carried away, though, apparently there's a vastly greater chance that I get hit by a car while walking in Amman than any of the other sinister things people associate with the region.  This morning we all took the Arabic placement exam that will determine which Arabic class we take for the semester and after shaking off a summer's worth of cobwebs, I felt pretty good about both the written test and my oral interview.

Yesterday was fantastic.  Our group was bussed out to the dead sea for a brief cultural orientation followed by an afternoon of bobbing in the super-buoyant salt water.  I also covered myself in the (supposedly) restorative mud that is dredged up from the bottom of the sea.  For those of you who don't know, the dead sea is the lowest point on earth and is so salty that you can float on top of the water without moving at all.  You float so well that it's actually rather difficult to swim regularly.  Check that one off the bucket list.

Speaking of security, for those of you who read a lot of news or watch State Dept. travel warnings, yes we are aware of the warning issued about travel to Aqaba, and no, no one was planning on going this weekend anyway.

We don't have any more orientation tonight, thankfully, but I'll probably be heading out with other people who will inevitably want to explore.  Also, tomorrow we meet our host families and move to where we will stay for the rest of the semester.  Thanks to those of you who have kept me in your prayers and don't hesitate to email me if you want to know more about what I'm doing!

Greetings from Amman!

Well, here I am.  I'm staring out the window in my hotel room as the lights of Amman stretch out into the desert.  After leaving Nevada City at 5:30 sunday morning I spent 26 hours in transit, catching just a few winks on planes, before checking into a nice hotel in downtown Amman where my program's orientation will be based.  A quick dinner and several new friends later, I set out with a group of fellow Americans to stretch our legs and explore the surrounding area.  At 9 PM, the streets and cafes were packed and the smell of hookah smoke hung over every corner.  Despite the long days each of us had, we were suddenly energized by the prospect of spending the next few months exploring the city.  Despite this excitement, I'm now very ready for bed, especially since we have a full day tomorrow, including an afternoon at the Dead Sea.  So good night for now and مع السلامة!

Leaving Tomorrow!

Hey everyone!  I'm just taking a quick break from packing to officially inaugurate my study-abroad blog.  Tomorrow morning I'm flying out of San Francisco and after a stop in Chicago will be headed to Amman, Jordan.  I promise I'll have much more interesting posts after I arrive in country, meet my host family, and start going to school at the University of Jordan, but until then thanks for stopping by and check back soon to hear about all the adventures of a Jackson in Jordan.