Dinner with the Sheikhs

The Whole gang with a TON of food

Today was the infamous dinner with the Sheikhs and other wonderful adventures that filled the day and made it spectacular.

Outside of the Mosque

 This morning we headed back to work and because of our bus sitting for 20 minutes waiting for more passengers we didn't get there until almost 10:00 o'clock and our boss was a little bit angry.  The funny part was that the only thing they had for us to do was to rip out some carpet that literally took 15 minutes to do.  After that, we swept and organized the room and did some extra work in the bathroom cleaning off some of the grout that had been left behind.  When we asked our boss what else we could do he led us outside and talked to us for an hour about nonsense and then told me that I should take a nap which was extremely wonderful.  Finally a little before 12:00 we told them we were leaving and would return the next day.  We decided that since the day was still young we would go on some adventures and headed off on the bus to Wisit-il Balad or the old down-town where all of the cool little shops and things are.  Also, we decided we would visit one of the larger mosques in Jordan and one of the only ones that allowed non-muslims into the prayer hall itself, the King Abdullah Mosque.

The person in Orange is Austin and
that is right where I took my little cat-nap

  The King Abdullah Mosque is monstrous and very new.  It was built in honor of King Abdullah "The Martyr" (For more information go to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan).  Anyway, it has HUGE minarets that can be seen from most spots in the city and a ginormious blue dome.  We were really excited to go in and found the prayer hall generally empty so we walked around and took a number of pictures.  Well, after our experience with our naps last week we were both thoroughly encouraged to take naps here as well.  I ventured out to the middle of the mosque with the intention of taking a few pictures of what I thought was a very cool roof.  Next thing I know, I woke myself up with my snoring in the middle of the mosque.  Luckily there were no worshippers close by that I could have offended but we did beat a hasty retreat.  We then went to the Museum which was pretty interesting and the Charity Bazaar which was very nice and reasonably priced.  As soon as we entered the bazaar both myself and Aussie were gifted with female companions who literally followed us around the whole time and anytime we decided to look at an item they would pick it up and tell us all about it.  It was very annoying, but they did succeed in guilting both of us into purchasing something (btw, stamps here are ridiculously expensive so I hope everyone wasn't expecting a lot of letters from me).  Anyway it was quite a nice little adventure and as we were walking out we met some Americans from Oregon who talked to us for a little while because I was wearing and OSU t-shirt GO BEAVERS!

My friend the calligraphy artist

  Well, from the Mosque we walked a little ways and got some amazing Lamb Kebab in a sandwich and then proceeded to the barbers where I got my weekly shave and Austin decided to have one too.  I love those shaves, they hurt so good!  We had a suitably interesting religious conversation with Omar the owner (I mainly listened and nodded but I cold understand some of it) before leaving and heading down the street towards Wisit il-Balad.  On the way to Wisit il-Ballad we stopped in to see my calligraphy friend who was glad to see us but very busy.  We stayed for a while and had a great time talking to him about many things and giving him our opinion on his art-work, which stuff would sell best where and what colors he should use in his calligraphy/paintings.  He also did a sweet sketch where he wrote Austin's name in calligraphy which was really awesome.  I'm gonna see him a number of more times as I try to figure out what calligraphy stuff I want from him and plus he's just fun to be with and talk to.  From there we headed into Wisit il-Balad where I was able to buy a Quran that is in both English and Arabic and which I have been dying to get my hands on.  I can't wait to read it and understand a lot more about Islam and the people that are all around me.  We then jumped on a service taxi and headed home to change before going to the Sheikhs home for dinner.

Sheikh Yusef serenading us

  Dinner with the Sheikhs.... I'm not going to lie, we were a bit nervous.  The entire time we were joking about all the bad things that could happen but we took all the necessary precautions by telling people where we were going, using public transportation and having contact numbers in case of emergency.  It turns out that all of our fears were unfounded and we had yet another amazing cultural experience.  When we arrived we found that it was not only us and Sheikh Yusef but the other Sheikh from the parade, Sheikh Hussin and another Sheikh who both had traveled over 100 kilometers to meet us for dinner!  To start off we all sat around and talked for about an hour about all sorts of different subjects.  They spoke almost no English so Austin spoke a lot as did our friend and translator "Luai" who was friends with their son and our go between for the night.  They had a bunch of pictures of Sheikh Yusef up on the wall so I asked if he could explain them to me.  They were really cool and showed him with all sorts of important people like meeting the King, the Prime Minister, big time generals and him as a young soldier.  In addition to idle small talk we asked them about what it means to be a Sheikh.  Apparently Sheikh Yusef is a member of parliament and many other organizations.  He became Sheikh both by blood but also by democratic consent of his "family" or tribe over which he is the head.  It is a full time job and he apparently has quite a bit of power as there are only 24 Sheikhs in Amman.  Sheikh Hussin is from a small village called Jordan Valley and his main duty is to act as a judge.  They all said that being a sheikh was very important and surprisingly informed us that there were even female sheikhs from time to time.  I thought that was pretty cool.  Other interesting parts of our conversation were that when they found out I was engaged they told me they were going to come to my wedding!  I told them that it was really far away and would be really expensive but they said it was no problem and that they had a friend at the airport who would get them a flight for free.  How cool will it be if some Sheikhs actually come to my wedding?  After talking and taking pictures for awhile Sheikh Yusef pulled out the Arabic version of a guitar and began serenading us for the next hour.  A number of the songs were quite interesting, especially since we didn't understand anything except for when he said our names.  It was an awesome time, and he even sang a song about my fiancee missing me in America which was hilariously awesome to say the least.  After he finished singing and before we ate dinner I asked if I could sing them a song from my homeland in gratitude and I sang them the song "Shenandoah", which I think they enjoyed.

Eating it in the traditional way!

     After I sang we all sat done to an amazing platter of the Jordanian National Dish, mansef, with lamb's meat.  The traditional way to eat the mansef is to roll the rice into a ball along with the meat and the bread and eat it all in one big bite.  Apparently the bigger the ball you make the cooler you are and the Sheikhs thoroughly enjoyed watching us try to make the balls.  I actually made an instructional video for everyone to see but since my internet is so slow I don't know when I'll be able to upload it along with my pictures.  The mansef was absolutely amazing and just as wonderful as it sounds.  I was completely full by the end of the evening and had such an awesome experience it is hard for me to realize it actually happened.
  Let me just say, in case you can't tell already, that Jordanians are some of the nicest and most hospitable people that I have ever met.  They are so willing to be friends and if you show any interest in them or their lives they are more than willing to go out of there way to help you and make you comfortable.  Sometimes it can seem a bit excessive but it most definitely wonderful and once you settle into the role of guest it makes it all worth it.  I love being here and hope to continue to meet and see many wonderful people!
  

Karak and other random adventures

The Museum at Dana... sort of small but cool nonetheless

Pounding the Oregano with a rock

Today was a nice, rather slow paced day where we got to enjoy ourselves and basically do whatever we wanted for much of the day.  We didn't really have a plan for today except we wanted to explore the area of Dana a little bit and also have plenty of time to see Karak and get home before things got too late.  In the morning, about half of the group slept in late while the other half decided we really wanted to explore Dana village and see what we could find.  I packed up all of my stuff for a quick exit and then headed outside.  We had heard that there was some sort of giftshop and craft making area but were unsure of where we could find it.  I headed down an interesting little alley and found a nice bridge to cross over.  As I was crossing the bridge I started to hear pounding and thought it sounded interesting so I decided I would head in the direction of the pounding while taking pictures and enjoying my surrounding. Imagine my surprise when I entered a beautiful little building and found 5 or 6 women pounding the snot our of oregano with rocks to create the spice that we all use in our cooking.  I found it very interesting and was content to watch but was soon invited to join in and take a turn at smashing some oregano.  The dust got everywhere but it was surprisingly enjoyable especially when one of the women began singing a song in time with the pounding.  It made me realize just how cool this experience really was.  I was sitting there pounding oregano  when the rest of the group found me and started laughing because they always seem to find me doing something with the locals and having a great time of it.

Engraving my ring

  Anyway, after the I had taken a few pictures of the Oregano production, the girls informed us that there was silver smith shopped close by a long with a museum that sold all of the goods that were handmade here on site.  Of course I jumped at the opportunity to go see all of that stuff and everyone else wanted to go as well so off we went.  There was a cool little museum explaining the preserve as well as a guest house where we found that we had been royally ripped off with our accommodations and hadn't even seen the nature preserve or entered it!  We were more than a little mad with our tour guide but decided that we would simply come back later to enjoy the preserve and see some of Jordan's beautiful wildlife.  Also in the center was an awesome little gift shop with tons of hand made items for sale and two really nice ladies that informed us that a lot of the silver was made on site and we could go see the silver shop down stairs.  The silver shop was not very busy, they said they didn't have any orders, but it was interesting to see how they cut our and shaped everything by hand.  I have discovered, in Jordan at least, that if you stand around looking at something long enough the person doing the job will invite you to do it with them and teach you how to do it which I find is really cool and very nice.  Today was no different as they promptly placed us in a chair and showed us how they flattened the metal, cut it out by hand, polished and a number of other things.  As we were watching they showed us a polishing wheel and then asked me for my irish ring.  They then polished the heck out of it and made it look better than it ever had when I bought it in Ireland.  It was really cool, however, when they asked me to spell my name in Arabic and then engraved it on the inside of the ring along with a heart.  So now my Irish ring is engraved with " سكاي "    and a heart which I think is pretty cool.  I wonder what other cool things can happen to this ring before the end?  Well, after I got my ring engraved we took a few final pictures and then headed of to the North so we could see the ancient remains of Al-Karak the Castle.

The group before heading out of Dana

The castle from the top of the Umayyad addition 

  As we pulled up to the castle I knew it was going to be amazing.  It was huge and precariously perched on top of a huge hill overlooking all of the surrounding valleys and the dead sea which we could just see off in the distance.  As we were walking about to the gate I saw a little shop that said I could buy an audio tour thing for 5 bucks and thought that it would be sweet so I bought it, the only one in the group oddly enough.  Well, that audio tour was amazing but would end up creating some issues later on.  It turns out that the castle mount had been continuously inhabited for thousands of years but that the earliest fortifications dated back to the time of the Frankish Crusaders.  Since that time they were modified by all of the Islamic Dynasties and had amazingly preserve ruins of the castle.  I found out some amazing stories from the Audio tour about how Salah Din had besieged the castle on multiple occasions and how the castle had traded sides multiple times.  Apparently Karak is located on a major north south trading route and controls a port city on the dead sea.  The Castle was huge with a giant underground market that ran over 100 meters, a mosque, huge kitchen areas, a church, giant underground rooms, a stable, barracks and giant walls.  It was amazing and every step of the way the audio tour explained and directed me along at what I THOUGHT was a reasonable pace.  Something else that was awesome is that you can climb and explore anywhere you want.  So every random staircase I saw I could go up and every doorway leading to a dark hole, I could explore.  It was a lot of fun and allowed me to see some amazing views and spectacular ruins.

The "Bath of the Lily"

  Well, it turns out that although I thought we were supposed to all meet up at 5:00 everyone else had finished exploring the castle in under an hour.  When they were sick of waiting they called my cell-phone which I answered but had no response from the other end.  I figured my friend Austin had but dialed me and so when he called two seconds after that I simply didn't answer the phone.  Also, when they came looking for me in the Castle, much of the time I was underground and so I couldn't hear their calls or see them searching.  Basically it was a perfect storm to make it so that everyone else was waiting for me for about an hour while I was enjoying myself inside the castle having lots of fun exploring and listening to my Audio Guide.  I felt really bad when they finally found me but I stick by my decision to purchase the audio tour.  I think they are so much fun and they make the experience so much better because it is no longer simply a bunch of ruins but actually has meaning, stories, and interesting facts along with it.  I think any time there is an audio tour, people should purchase them.  Just my two cents, also make sure you have a meeting place and time set up with your group so everyone knows the expectation.

Just a cool passageway
I found while exploring

The view from inside the ruined mosque at the temple

  Well, that was pretty much the end of my adventures this weekend.  I'll upload some pictures on this soon so everyone can be jealous of my awesome adventures and I'll keep updating you.  Tomorrow I'm headed off to the Sheikh's house for dinner which should be pretty sweet!

Adventures with Heat Stroke

The Canyon of Heat Stroke

This was just one of the few things offered at the "market"

Today was the first adventure we had as a program and we went off to the Wadi Dana nature preserve and Al-Karak Castle south of Amman.  We were really excited to go to the nature preserve because on the website there were a number of amazing hikes that were promised including one to abandoned roman copper mines, a waterfall, and local craft shops as well.  I was really excited because we were also promised there would be running water at the 'rustic hotel' and I hadn't gotten a shower for almost a week.  Well, we woke up early and all jumped in a van with our driver Mr. Shoeki and headed down the freeway to Dana.  For breakfast I usually eat a piece of fruit or something small like that so I was really hungry when we arrived in Dana village at lunch time.  I hadn't bought any food along the road because Mr. Shoeki had told us that there would be many supermarkets open in the village and we could get food for cheap there.  However, when we arrived in Dana village our tour guide then informed us that all of the supermarkets were closed but that we would be able to eat when we got back from our hike because dinner was provided.  (Anyone who has ever hiked knows that his was a bad idea).  We wanted some snacks or something to eat so we pushed him a little more and were finally able to get him to take us to a 'supermarket' where they were selling only badly refined sugar that had been sitting on the shelf for far to long.  Well, I bought them just in case and then we headed out down the valley.

The sweet ruins I found and explored

  The valley was pretty cool, although hiking down hill was hard on the knees and the whole time I was thinking about how much it was going to suck to have to hike back up this huge hill.  The first part of the hike was pretty boring and quite ugly, it was simply really deserty and boring.  However, as soon as we saw something cool off in the distance we left the path and began exploring for real.  This is how our adventures truly began as we started to climb all over cool rock formations, sun bath, take cool pictues and generally have a great time.  We also discovered some ruins that were perched precariously on the top of a huge rock that were pretty fun to explore as well.  Most of all I simply enjoyed being in nature and being in peace for a small time.  Like always I spent some time simply sitting down and enjoying the peace while taking sometime to ponder (which most other people don't really understand here on the trip and is starting to make me sort of the joke of the group but that is ok).  At this point half of the group broke off and returned to the village in hope of finding a cooler hike with more to see while the other half proceeded further into the canyon where we could see beautiful green flowering plants in the base.  The valley floor was beautiful and quite like a jungle and the half that I was with spent some good time down there simply talking and enjoying one another's company.  Realizing it was getting a little bit late we then proceeded up the mountain and in an attempt to cut a little bit of distance from our trip we took a short cut which caused us to go up a very steep rock cliff.  As we got about half way up the cliff I bega to feel a little bit flushed, winded and dizzy so I sat down and took a little break.  I soon recovered my breath and continued waling, making it another quarter way up the mountain before feeling extremely weak.  At this point I took stock of my symptoms and what may ave been happening to me and decided that I must be suffereing from heat stroke or something related to it.  I was not sweating, my skin was extremely warm, I don't think I was dehydrated since I had drank almost two liters of water and I felt dizzy and extremely weak.  Unfortunately for me I discovered as we crested the rock hill that we were probably still about two kilometers away from the village, food, and cold water.

My 4 wheel drive up the mountain...

  Finally, putting my pride aside and realizing that I was in a dangerous situation I admitted that I was too weak to make it to the top of the hill and to the safety of the village.  Luckily we had cell phone reception and were able to call the village and explain the situation.  Although we were on a nice road they originally told us that they would not be able to send a car down to get us and instead would be sending a mule train.  Well, instead of making me sad I thought this was pretty cool since it would be a really cool cultural experience and after I felt better I knew it would make for an even cooler story.  Just as I was getting used to the idea of a mule train they called back to tell us that a car was on it's way and it was bringing cold water and bread for me because it was likely my blood sugar was low.  Luckily it didn't take too long for the truck to get to us and the scariest part of the entire trip was when he was turning around and backing up to the edge of a cliff in a manual.  I got scared but one of the girls that was with me, Jennae, actually screamed out and bit into her back pack because she was scared.  Anyway, the ride up was great and really saved my bacon so for that I am extremely grateful.

A small view of our beautiful hotel

  The evening passed rather uneventfully with us eating dinner, playing chess in a semi-permanent bedouin tent and talking with everyone in the group who I really like.  The best part of the entire day, however, was the fact that I finally was able to take a shower!  Although the water pressure was horrible and I didn't really have the things I needed it felt so good to finally be clean again after so long of a wait.  It was wonderful and I know that the first thing I do when I get home is going to be to take a really long warm shower and then dry off with a nice, thick, clean towel.  Oh glorious!  Anyway, tomorrow we go to Karak which is supposed to be the best and largest ancient castle in Jordan so I am really excited.  Hopefully I won't be suffering from heat stroke again tomorrow!

Aeed Istiklal " عيد الاستقلال"

  Today was Jordan's Independence Day (May 25th) from Britain and it was most definitely fantastic.  We had originally told our friend Ahmed that we wanted to go visit him in Aqaba but then we found out that there were a ton of celebrations in the city including a military parade where the king and queen might appear.  So Ahmed decided he would meet us in Amman and we would have a little party with him and then we would go to see the parade.  We hoped it would be a fun day and knew that spending some time with Ahmed was always fun.

Ahmed and I in the ampitheater

  We met Ahmed downtown and he promptly whisked us off to see the Roman Amphitheater and museums that are downtown.  He told us that we were supposed to be charged a dollar for entrance fee, the locals are only charged 15 cents, but that he told the guards we were working with the ministry and they let us in for free.  He then told us that he could get us into Petra for free also which is pretty sweet considering it's a 70 dollar entrance fee (unless you entered Jordan that day, then it's a 140 dollars.  They do that so that Israelis can't simply cross the border and go to Petra.  Pretty sneaky eh?).  Anyway, the Roman Amphitheater is huge and absolutely gorgeous.  I'm constantly amazed at the public works they created and the workmanship that has allowed such structures to stand for 2000 years or so.  Also, as I have mentioned before, I find it interesting that the largest theater in Jordan is the one that was built 200o years ago but that is still used today for artistic performances.  Being the person that I am, I of course had to explore every nook and crevice of the amphitheater and take lots of pictures because it was really cool.
  As we left the amphitheater, Ahmed told us we needed to stop at a mosque so he could do his afternoon prayers but on the way I saw a 'dagger' workshop and I just had to stop in.  There we met an older gentleman and his brother who hand made traditional bedouin and arab daggers.  He said the business had been in his family for over 5 generations and that they had even made a dagger for the king (he had an official picture right there).  I got to watch him engrave a dagger and talked with him for quite awhile.  I told him I would come back soon, when I have a better idea of what I want engraved on a knife or what type of knife that I want.  He said alright and probably didn't believe me one bit.  However, I love little shops where they make the craft by hand and would rather pay double for a product I saw made or had commissioned than to pay for a crappy product that was supposedly made by hand by a factory worker in China.  Anyway, he was a really nice man and I look forward to going back and speaking with him in the future.

The mosque where I took a nap "groofwa"

  After we left the dagger place we went to find Ahmed and found him chilling under the front veranda of the mosque talking to his new Egyptian friend.  We talked to him for a while and then because we had some time to spare we all took a short little cat nap under the front awning.  It was one of the most peaceful and relaxing naps that I feel I have ever had and how many westerners can say they took a nap on a mosque's porch in the middle of Amman, I bet not too many.  From there we headed up to the Parade route and this is where the true fun begins.

Myself, Ahmed, Austin and the Bedouin Dancers

  When we got to the circle where we were going to watch the parade we were immediately greeted by a few huge pictures of the king and his father.  A lot of heavily armed military men, an F-350 with at least two 60 cal. machine guns and gigantic masses of chanting and dancing shabab (young men and boys) waving Jordanian Flags and chanting, "Aesh jallal Maleek Abdullah" or long live King Abudallah.  To tell you the truth, it was exactly like the scenes we see replayed on CNN all the time except that this one was an extremely joyous and happy occasion for all involved.  On one side of the road there were a series of Imams and other traditionally clothed individuals lined up shoulder to shoulder while on our side there were people dancing, a stage set up, and bedouin dancing troupe dressed in traditional white that Ahmed said he wanted us to dance with.  Well, Ahmed introduced us to the dancers and we got some pictures taken with them and then went behind the barrier to where their stage was set up.  Here was where the real fun began.  As the crowd grew larger more and more shabab congregated around the stage and they began to play some really loud Arabic music.  I listened at first and then as I was introduced to many new people my age by Ahmed, I began to be dragged into the dancing and taught how to do it.  For the next hour and a half I was constantly jumping, clapping, being pulled into a circle, shimmying or holding a random Arab man's hand as he grabbed me to go off to dance.  I'm pretty sure that if you were to search, "stupid american dancing at Jordan's Independence Day", you would find at least 2 dozen movies and hundreds of pictures.  The arabs were all amazingly enthralled that a huge blonde, blue-eyed American was dancing and having tons of fun with them in the middle of the parade.  They were so enthralled that every time I would leave one group I would get sucked into another and the process of holding hands, dancing, clapping and smiling for tons of pictures would begin again.  It was very interesting, although tiring, and I loved it completely.
  On a side note, I realize a lot better now why Arab boys are so touchy feely.  During the party, there were absolutely no women involved.  The only women I saw were on the periphery and they were not having any fun.  That meant that the Shabab had to dance with each other and have fun in that manner rather that doing the unthinkable in their culture and have physical contact with a woman (btw, that's an exaggeration).  Anyway, it just taught me a lot more about the people I am around every day.

One of my many chances to dance with the Shabab

  When I finally got out of the Shabab, my new friend Luai asked me if I wanted to dance with the Sheikhs out in front of the parade.  The Sheikhs were two arab men dressed in traditional clothing with black overcoats dancing in front of the parade waving flags and dancing with a sword.  At first I thought that I would be nervous being in front of so many people, but my desire to have fun, experience something new, and have a cool story quickly overwhelmed that opinion.  So, like a true Herrick at hitched it out in front of the entire parade, put on one of their black see-through robes and proceeded to be paraded up and down the line of people and meet all types of other Sheikhs, Army Officers and other people.  It was pretty funny, and fun because of how many people took pictures and just how amazing it was.  Also, every time Skeikh Yusef would lead me to one end of the people a lady would give me horrible Arabic Coffee to drink.  I didn't have time to explain that I don't drink coffee for religious reasons and I didn't want to offend them so I just drank it, 4 times!  It was, interesting to say the least.  Anyway, tons of people took pictures and I met a number of important people although I don't really know who.  I was also on T.V. and in the newspaper dancing with the Sheikhs!  It was an awesome experience and Sheikh Yusef invited me over to his house to eat dinner sometime soon. Also, I got to see the King and Queen drive by because I was in the front row and they had to wave at all the Sheikhs around me so they rolled down the window.  It was really cool.

With the Sheikhs again, just a sweet picture

Living it up with Sheikh Yusef and Sheikh Hussin

  After the King went by the parade was over and so everyone split very quickly, including us.  We didn't really know where we were going but Ahmed put us on the bus with all the dancers and we rode with them to the next event where we though Ahmed was going to meet us but it turns out that he went back to Aqaba.  Well, the next event we went to was a huge celebration that was much more modern.  It was hosted by Zain, one of the big internet/phone companies here, and was pretty crazy.  There were HUGE bouncers everywhere and 'big black men' (what every Arab tells us they are afraid of) barring our way through.  It took some convincing by the dancers but finally we were allowed to go back stage with them and watched their performance from the shelter of the VIP tent with all sorts of interesting and powerful people (also free drinks!).  It was awesome and when we finally got home we collapsed into bed!
  Seriously, can you believe the experiences I am having here in Jordan?  I think the key is simply to try lots of things and never be afraid to make a fool of yourself.  It happens to me enough anyway so why should I be afraid right?  Anyway, I have definitely found the Arabic people to be amazingly hospitable and nice in every way and although I miss many things in America I am thoroughly enjoying my time here.  Till next time!

The Arab form of Work...

This is how I center looked
when we got to work this morning

Sunday was pretty uneventful with us going to work for only a couple hours and mainly just watching other people do work.  On Sunday, however, I ate one of the most humble and delicious meals I have ever had with the Egyptian workers at the center.  They bought some pita bread, a can of tuna fish and a box of soft cheese.  The tuna and cheese they poured out onto plastic bags and then you would rip off a piece of the bread and grab some of the cheese or tuna and then drink some tea with it.  Honestly, the entire thing fed five people and it was amazing, and it made me so grateful for the many things I have back in America.  However, after one of our Jordanian co-workers saw us he said that that was a horrible meal and that he would show us a great meal tomorrow and then we would explore the caves that are nearby.  So, the rest of this post is going to be about Monday which was absolutely amazing!
  First of all, we showed up to work late because our boss from the previous day told us there wouldn't be much to do and it was alright if we showed up at 10:30 or later if we wanted.  So, we got to the center a little after 10:30 and then did the obligatory sit around for awhile and make small talk that we can't really do because we (or at least I) don't know enough Arabic.  By the time we started moving furniture and doing a bit of cleaning it was almost 11 and we were told that the painters would not be coming that day to finish it and so there wasn't much that we could do anyway.  So, we moved a little bit of furniture around and swept out the corridor and the front area with horribly inadequate tools.  Once that was finished we decided we would go clean up the play area which was covered in discarded building supplies.  So, we asked Mahmud if he had some gloves and he said, "No".  So then we asked if they had a rake, and he said, "No".  We then decided that we could work with a shovel so we asked him and he said, "No".  Finally we decided all we needed was a wheelbarrow but once again he said, "No".  So finally we said, well then what do you have?  Mahmud then proceeded to hand us a broken old plastic bucket and were able to find a dustpan to use as a shovel.  It was epic.  So, we simply did the best that we could cleaning up the area and after our hour of work was done and there was nothing else to do Mahmud took us on an adventure!

Mahmud and I at lunch

  Our adventure consisted of visiting the local Women's Co-op where they hand-made paper, ceramics, wove and made soap.  It was awesome and they gave us brochures talking about how we could get them to teach us how to make these things for not that much money at all.  It was an amazing place, but it only got better when we sat down to eat lunch. which was also epic!  We had for lunch a traditional bedouin breakfast where everything was in communal dishes that you ate by taking a chunk of pita bread, ripping it off and dipping or grabbing whatever it was that you wanted to eat.  The food included awesome jelly, scrambled eggs, olive oil, yoghurt sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes (which I didn't touch) and the most amazing potatoes ever.  It was amazingly good because of the simplicity, versatility and vitality of the food.  It was so fresh and raw that it was amazing to have.  Quite a change from the processed food that I must normally eat.  Once we were stuffed fool and wanted to go into a food coma from the delicious meal Mahmud led us across the street to explore the caves that had been carved from the solid rock walls.

Some of the caves I got to explore today

  The caves were really cool, and that is an amazing understatement.  Something I love and find sort of disturbing at the same time is that no sights are really protected in Jordan that I have seen so far.  You can pretty much crawl over any ruin you see and touch anything you want unless the government makes it physically impossible for you to do so.  This means that while seeing the caves we got to explore and climb through every nook and cranny looking for fun things to see and talk about.  It reminded me a lot of when we would explore the cave dwellings of the Native Americans in New Mexico all the time as a family.  I was constantly seeing new things and analyzing the things that I saw.  It was amazing, however, because these caves were so much older than the ones I had seen in the United States and they were so much more sophisticated as well.  A number of the caves had carved rectangular doorways and were multiple stories tall.  There was also a sophistacted system of writing that was extremely interesting to analyze and think about what it said.  We spent a solid two-hours there so all together we worked for an hour and then spent the next three chillaxing and enjoying ourselves exploring our region.  It was so much fun and I am definitely going to go back to learn how to weave and make paper, not to mention have another delicious meal!
  Anyway, the rest of the day wasn't really anything to highlight but tomorrow is Aid Istiklal or independence day for Jordan and there are supposed to be some pretty sweet celebrations and a parade by the army that the King might even be in!  I'll tell you how it went tomorrow!

Fun Fact:  It is the arab way to just make do with what you have or fix it as many times as possible until it breaks into a million pieces.  For instance, when I asked for a screwdriver at work I was given a Knife and when a bed broke in our house we nailed it back together and coated it with what smelled like Elmer's glue.  It's very cool.

Saturday... the day for Adventures!!!

The inside of the rebuilt Umayyad dome on the citadel

Saturdays, they have always been quite wonderful to me and in the Middle East it is no different.  I am completely free of all other distractions and have an entire day to do nothing productive except have a TON of fun and cool experiences!  Are you ready for this amazing day?  Read on and enjoy...

The outside, it was my favorite building

  Today I decided that I would explore the city of Amman on my own and have a wonderful day doing tons of different things.  I had a whole lists of things that I wanted to do but I should have known, as I have learned many times, that the best way to be unproductive in Jordan is to make a plan.  The first thing I want to do was to go see "The Citadel" in the middle of Amman.  The Citadel is a giant flat hill in downtown Amman that is full of ruins and apparently has a great view of the city.  All I knew was that it had some Roman ruins up there and that sounded like fun so I got in a taxi and after a bit of trying was able to finally communicate to the taxi driver where I wanted to go (quite a feat when you don't know a ton of Arabic).  The Citadel was amazing, especially for the small price of only 2 JDs (about 3 bucks).  The Roman ruins were probably the least cool part of the entire citadel with caves being used back to the Stone Age, Byzantines, Abassids, Umayyads and everything in between.  Also, in Jordan they aren't very much about actually preserving the ruins... instead you get to climb over everything and look into every little nook and cranny you want.  My favorite part was the Umayyad palace with a rebuilt dome and colonnaded streets.  Also there was an awesome Archaeological Museum with artifacts from all over Jordan.  I saw the first example of sculpture and a ton of other really cool objects before walking outside and hearing the prayer calls echoing through the city.

  Can I just say that this is my most favorite part of being in the Middle East?  It is odd, because in Arabic culture they don't really support the arts of dance, instrumental or voice music (at least from what I have been able to gather).  In fact, the largest theatre in the country was built two thousand years ago by the Romans!  However, the caller to prayer is literally one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard.  I have heard some of the best instrumentalists and vocalists in the world in amazing venues like Philadelphia, Chicago and New York but the simple and humble prayer car is greater than them all.  Perhaps it is because I am a religious man and there is something about the praises of God ringing and echoing through a modern city that is poetic but I think it is more than that.  I think it is a combination of the exotic sound, the simplicity, and beauty with which it echoes and resounds from hill to hill in Amman.  Truly, it is amazing and I don't believe I will ever get sick of it. I think everyone should hear it at least once in their life!

What's left of the Temple of Hercules

  After looking around the citadel for awhile I sat down at a viewing area overlooking down town Amman and just pondered for awhile.  I highly recommend some good pondering time for everyone in the world, it really calms the mind and just gives you some time to be with yourself.  Anyway, I was thoroughly enjoying myself just sitting watching and thinking and then this nice Jordanian fellow came by and sat next to me.  We started talking and I had a great time learning some more Arabic and practicing mine with him.  I couldn't believe it, but I actually carried on a reasonable conversation with him for about an hour!  Who would have thunk it?  It was sad, though, when he asked about my work in America and realized that I make more as a student working part time in a week than he does working 14 hour days 6 days a week.  The inequality of the world order has been starkly placed in front of my face here in Jordan, another thing that I think each of us should do in order to remember the wonderful blessings we have.  Anyway, that was really fun and then as the park was closing I got a taxi to head over to my favorite barbershop in town and get my second wonderful Jordanian shave.

I just thought this was a cool picture

  I got the shave, and it was glorious like always (I've decided to get a shave there every week and that's the only time I'm gonna shave in Jordan!  Heck yeah), and then started walking to the downtown to catch a service taxi home to go grocery shopping and do some of the things that I needed to get down today.  Well, that was the plan until I was walking along and I saw this shop that had beautiful Arabic calligraphy hanging up and the guys were making a frame right in front of me.  I vacillated back and forth about whether I should go in and finally I asked one of the guys how much the calligraphy cost.  He looked at me for a second and invited me in to the shop and asked me to sit down.  This then precipitated them purchasing me soft drinks and talking to me for the next almost 3 hours!  Two of the guys had amazing English, one of them lived in America for a while and the other studied accounting in the American University in Cairo.  We talked about all types of things, they told me about their homes in Jerusalem and what it was like to live here in Jordan.  One of them was a photographer and told me I have to look up his pictures on the internet. We had a great talk and they were amazed that I had any prior knowledge of Islam, I only had a rough knowledge, and said I was a smart foreigner.  I also got to ask them some of their feelings about Palestine and Israel and when I did their entire demeener changed, but I was able to pass it off on being just a stupid American.  It wasn't until after we were finished and they were all getting ready to go home that I was finally able to ask them what the calligraphy cost.  It took five minutes and I got a straight answer, and then I was on the road heading home.

The amazing view from where I sat and pondered

  Now, the reason I loved this experience (in case it isn't obvious) is because of how different it makes me feel.  As a visitor or a western tourist I do not expect be treated like a guest when entering a business, nor do I expect the people in that business to buy me drinks and introduce me to random friends of theirs who live close to me.  In the west, good business includes being cordial but getting me in and out of your store without actually making a connection.  This was amazingly different, and so wonderful.  Also, it shows how we as westerners need to interact with the Arab people.  I am not saying that I am a paragon of cultural awareness, I say and do amazingly stupid things everyday, but we must be patient and enjoy the culture simply for the culture, not seek to be in a country just to take pictures and bring our country with it.  I think in a later blog post I am going to write about the difference between a tourist, and what I have so far called a culturalist (I'm seeking for a better term).  Anyway, it was simply a spectacular experience that left me so grateful for a wonderful day full of adventures on my own, new friends and some great conversations in Arabic.  In the end, I feel like this is what life is really about (excuse my soapbox) but we need to build relationships, gain knowledge, and seek to know that which we find strange or scary.  Life is too short for me to build a box and spend my whole life within it, it is up to us to break our comfortable little boxes and seek to understand others better so that all of us can have better, more vivid existences.

I think this picture turned out alright

  I hope you are enjoying reading about My Journey to Jordan!  If you have any questions or things you have wondered about, please post them here or email me and I would be glad to give my opinion on them or the opinions of the Arab friends I have here!  Ma'sallama!

   

Friday... a day of Rest?

I just think it's cool to see the name in Arabic Script

Again, I'm a bit behind but that is simply because my life is so dang cool/awesome here that it's hard to write about all of it.

Friday.  The day of the mosque or the day when most Muslims go to mosque at Noon for Friday Prayer.  It is also the day when most political demonstrations occur in Amman but unfortunately I haven't seen any of these yet.  For me, as an American Christian, it is odd to think of going to church on any other day than Sunday but when in Rome we must do as the Romans do.  Going to church is very interesting in Jordan since the Church I attend, the LDS or Mormon church, is not officially recognized in Jordan.  Since we are not officially recognized as a church, any Jordanian Members must be especially careful or they be followed by the Jordanian Secret Police.  However, the church group here is quite small and I enjoy it greatly.  We have services in both English and Arabic and although I don't understand much of what is being said, I always attend the Arabic classes and will begin attending the Arabic Sacrament Meetings soon.  This week in Sunday School I was able to differentiate between the words the Arabs were speaking and got the general picture that we were talking about modern day prophets.  You may laugh, but anyone who has studied a language and then spoken with a native speaker knows just how dang hard it is.  Anyway, church was fun and I got to talk to some of the Ex-patriot members who are currently working at the Embassy.  They said we can get a tour of the embassy and maybe even meet some of the personel.  SO AWESOME!

Ahmed and Aussie strolling down Sharia Medina

  After Church we headed back home where I promptly took a Sunday nap and ate some food in preparation for meeting up with Mr. Ahmed from the previous day.  Because of a miscommunication in time we ended up meeting Ahmed about 45 minutes late but like the typical Arab he wasn't angry at all. We walked around the Roman Ruins downtown for a few minutes and he then informed us that he had to leave to go see a friend, handed us 5 Dinars and told us to go get a drink and wait for him to return in an hour.  It being my Sunday, and eating Pizza on Sunday being a tradition in my home, we found a little restaurant that we like to frequent and I ordered a pizza that looked oh so delicious.  I then, however, found out how Jordanians make their pizza; WITHOUT SAUCE!  Instead they gave me a ketchup packet (I personally think it is somewhat of an abomination to eat pizza with ketchup) so what I ended up eating was basically a glorified grilled cheese sandwich.  By the time we finished eating it was close to 7 so we headed back to our meeting spot with Ahmed and waited.  Then we waited, and waited and waited some more until about 9:00 o'clock we finally decided that the "Insha a'allah period" had ended and we were gonna head home (I'll right about Insha a'allah later).  Of course, right as we were getting Ahmed calls and asks us where we are and what we want to do for the rest of the evening.   We told him that it was late and so we went home and he asked if he could visit us at our apartment.  Being concerned with safety we told him no and then told him we would see him next week.

Desert with Ahmed

  However, as I began to think about it I realized that we may have offended him greatly and I didn't want to burn any bridges with a potential wonderful Arab friend.  We figured that we could see him again tonight and we asked him to meet us at the Kentucky Fried Chicken that is close to our apartment.  There he insisted on buying us a second dinner and we had a great time talking and joking with him a lot.  He then told us that he wanted to go on a walk to get some desert so we proceeded to walk to the local desert store.  On the way Ahmed would stop every few meters and tell us a different story or ask us a different question such that the walk that should have taken about 15 minutes ended up taking about an hour.  Also as we were walking he told us that he wanted to take us to get a massage in Aqaba so we can feel how nice Arabic massages are and then demonstrated to us an Arabic massage on the side of the busy road.  Something you have to know about Arab men is they are extremely touchy with their friends.  It is quite routine to see two grown men walking down the road hand in hand or arm in arm.  It is casual and there is nothing to it, just like how they love to touch your head or side a lot.  Or how you must kiss each other on the cheeks when greeting one another and how many times you kiss is how important the other person is to you.  Well, Ahmed did that with us and I got photographic evidence for which I am so happy!
  Overall, today was amazing and filled with adventure as well as a lot of speaking in Arabic with Ahmed.  It was so much fun and just another wonderful day in my journey to Jordan.

Fun Fact:  If you ever want to find an Egyptian in Jordan, look at the ones doing the dirty work like construction, cleaning, or garbage pick up.  Many times they are in orange jump suits with "sanitation" written on the back.  Egyptians do the menial jobs that Jordanians feel are below them and are treated much like the Hispanic population in America.  Very interesting!