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March 26, 2005
The other other side of Amman
This weekend I had the opportunity to go out with my host sister, Tamara. Our parents were out of town so we go to go wherever we wanted. Of course, we aren't very wild so that meant going to a cafe in Abdoun and then to Chili House (a fast food place) for dinner. We met up with Annie after a bit and had a pretty good time.
What was so unique about this outting, however, was how different it was from my adventure to Wox a few days ago. I have kind of realized that if a Jordanian speaks better English than they do Arabic then they aren't really the type of Jordanians I can to Jordan to meet. When we went to Wox everybody spoke in English even when the Jordanians were only speaking with each other. However, this weekend (especially after Annie arrived) most of the conversation took place in Arabic. Annie tells me that my host sister is pretty crazy (the exact wording is "she is such a goober"). Mostly, she just says off the wall stuff and likes to have a lot of fun but it is all done in a very Jordanian way. At one point we ordered a plate of nuts to snack on but there was some miscommunication and we ended up with crushed peanuts that are supposed to go on the top of icecream. It was a pretty crazy adventure trying to explain what we really wanted even though my sister speaks fluent Arabic. The snobby Abdoun girls would have never approved any of this.
After the cafe, we all headed over to Chili House to eat dinner. After about an hour, Tamara got a phone call and Annie translates that two guys are comming to meet us. At first we thought that one of them was my sister's boyfriend but we quickly realized that this was the first time she had met him. Instead, it was the boyfriend of my sister's friend, Manar. Tamara was really paranoid that Annie and I would think she was an immoral girl but I actually thought that the whole situation made her seem more human. Instead of blindly following her parent's rules, she tries her best to live a little but doesn't push the boundries so far that she could end up in trouble. It was a lot of fun to hang out with the not-so-cool crowd but experience what an average Jordanian girl experiences.
Anyways, I always knew my host family rocked. This is just proof.
Posted by rcollins at March 26, 2005 9:28 AM
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Comments
Hey,
I didn't quite get your name, but mine is zaid. I'm originally from Jordan and am currently living in Canada. I left Amman some 7 years ago, and I haven't got the chance to visit since then. It has been very interesting reading your daily postings. I don't know how I got to this site, but I was looking for something completely different, and this got my attention. I just spent 2 hours to read all your postings... very informative.. Thank you. I understand that you are struggling with fruitless hours daily, but trust me it wouldn't be as bad once you get to the summer. Jordanians are very outgoing once you get to know them, and trust me, it is very easy to win them as friends. You don't need to fear their intentions cause their morals and religious teachings, whether muslim or christian, will refrain them from incurring any harm or abuse. But I do agree that staring is a bad habit. there is still so much to see and much to learn from our culture. My dad is a pilot, and I have travelled to many places, but Jordan holds this distinctive taste that you will only get used to after a while. there is something mystical about the place, at least that is my recollection. Life has a different interprestation in that part of the world, something that I long for amidst this systematic and routine life that I lead now in Montreal. don't get me wrong, Montreal is such a special and beautiful place and I urge you to visit. but its not as fulfilling nor as compelling of a life as in Jordan. although, jordan would be considered empty when compared to first world countries like where you come from, but some mysterious thing makes up for that. I dont' know... I hope you can relate to what I'm saying, cause if you don't then I might seem crazy. If you are interested, I can introduce you to a few friends of mine that reside in Jordan. I'm sure they will make your stay worthwhile. One is a girl that I went to high school with. she is so nice and speaks fluent english and arabic. the second is a guy that was my neighbor for as long as I can remember. Let me know if your interested. I'm gonna bookmark this link, so i stay updated with your latest activities. Enjoy your time and venture into new things.. we only live one life.... ciao
Zaid
Posted by: Zaid Ghouleh at March 29, 2005 2:46 AM