Happy New Year!

I just got back from ringing in the New Year with some friends from my apartment building and some of their friends. :) We even had fireworks (not just firecrackers, mind you) that we shot off at midnight. And it has been raining for the past two days, so that made it feel a bit more like winter and not fall or spring. :)
Anyway, I'm going to go to bed now, and sleep while the rest of you in the States ring in the New Year there.
May you all have a wonderful start to 2011!

Visiting...

Yesterday I visited Roa'a's (now that looks strange with two apostrophes) house since I only had one class in the morning. She met me at the university and we took the bus to a nearby town (almost a suburb, but not quite the same) where she lives. Her mom made us lunch and we spent a couple hours just talking. It was nice to get out of the city and see something other than my neighborhood or the route to and from school. :) I wish I would have taken my camera along because the scenery and the mix of people was so fascinating. I tried to take it all in but I don't think I could ever do justice to it. Also on the way home I had the adventure/misfortune of getting the taxi driver lost trying to find my way to my neighborhood, since we came from a different direction. Poor guy...he couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak Arabic, plus I didn't really know exactly how to get him to my street.

I must admit that traveling outside the city like that made me feel very foreign...like I stuck out like a sore thumb. But maybe it was mostly because everything around me was foreign to me. I hope that in time I won't feel as much like I don't belong, even if I still look foreign to the people around me. :)

I am counting down the days until finals day...the 6th of January!! Although I'm not exactly sure yet what I will do to fill my time during the weeks of break (besides the trip to Germany) I'm looking forward to a change of pace.

Finally, I'll leave you with a picture that was taken while my friends were visiting. I am always fascinated by the differences in people here...people watching brings all kinds of interesting perspectives. :)

I got it!

I realized after I put up that last post that I hadn't confirmed that I did in fact get my ikama, or residency card. I even took a picture I was so relieved/excited. :) I can now stay here until the beginning of December 2011. Humdillalah!

Student Elections

I wish I would have taken my camera to school this morning. On Thursday the university held their student elections and today everyone was celebrating. :) There was a huge group of guys dancing and singing close to the language center, and groups of guys were "demonstrating" (according to Roa'a)/marching and chanting down the streets.
The student elections were basically a smaller version of the nation's elections...lots of posters everywhere and on Thursday they were handing out all kinds of candy and treats to entice their fellow students to vote. :) All the students wore something that declared who they were voting for and everyone was really involved in it. It was very different than the way universities in the States do elections, and Roa'a kept laughing at me because I was fascinated by all that was going on. :)
Last week my teacher paid me a compliment...she told me that I'm doing really well with Arabic, and that if my writing is any indication I should be able to speak perfectly. :) I tried to explain that I have to remember the words to be able to speak, but it was nice to know that she thinks I can do it. Here's to hoping she's right. :)

Merry Christmas!

I just got up (it's after 10 am) and as I was sitting here checking email I heard some church bells start to ring, playing "Silent Night". It was beautiful and a reminder that today is in fact Christmas, instead of the normal Saturday.
Yesterday I spent the morning just relaxing, and baked some snickerdoodles, before opening presents "with" my family back home. :) Skype is a wonderful thing! Then I went to my church's Christmas Eve service and afterwards went to celebrate with some people who I have a really random and fun connection with. :) Thanks Janine and Stacy! This couple work mostly with South and Central Americans, so it seemed so crazy to be celebrating Christmas in the Middle East, with Latinos. But they were so generous in welcoming me, and I had a lot of fun. :)
Tonight I'm gathering with some single women from the building and we are celebrating together.

It's not Christmas at home (and they have a really white Christmas!) but I'm content, or at least reminding myself to be content that my purposes here are so much better than being at home for Christmas this year. :)

And tomorrow it's school as usual... :)

All I Want For Christmas...

...is my residency card! Inshallah, tomorrow I will finally get all the paperwork needed and can finish up the process. It has been a crazy process, because I'm not sure I understood everything fully when I started out in it, but now that I have a specific list things are better. :) I have learned things along the way, and will definitely have some advice to give for those who are coming after me, but all in all, I have a feeling this is nothing compared to the process for getting residency in the U.S. or even some countries in Europe.

Hopefully before Christmas Eve I will have the card in hand, which will make it much more relaxing to travel to Berlin in a few weeks. :) And speaking of Berlin, I am so excited to go and see Kidron and Kenton, who I haven't seen in well over a year! I missed them by just a week or two this fall when they were back in Iowa for a month. And they are expecting a little girl anytime now, so that will be an added bonus to be the first of the Iowans to meet the new little one. Not to make anyone jealous or anything. ;)

All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for and to anticipate this Christmas season, even though I'm missing home, I think now more so than ever since Kerri and Tony are both home right now and the family is all gathering. I keep reminding myself, though, that this opportunity to live here for this year should not be taken for granted...I may or may not have the chance again (although I really hope I do). :)

Merry Christmas!

8 Days 'Til Christmas!

It's hard to believe Christmas is next week. :) In some ways it seems like that time of the year, and in some ways hardly at all. However, I do have plans for Christmas (rest assured, Mom) both on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I'll even get to "join" my family when they open presents there, thanks to the wonderful technology of skype. :)
This weekend is pretty a nice chance to relax, and in about half an hour I'm headed out to go see the new Narnia movie with another American woman and then we'll go to services this evening. Tomorrow I'll spend time getting ready for the surprise celebration on Sunday a couple other women and I are throwing for my roommate's birthday, who actually has the same birthday as Kerri. :)
And then the next week brings a guest in the form of Jeremy Pickard, who is coming on business but is also a friend and willingly a courier of items from home. :) Humdillallah!

Pictures

Some pictures from last week.

With Roa'a and my friend who visited

Discussing political and spiritual implications in this region

With our hosts and another American after a meal together

The mosque in the balad

O The Weather Outside Is Frightful...

....And a fire would be delightful. :)

Today the wind has raged outside, stirring up the dust and making the temps drop, both outside and inside. I have been wrapped in my blanket most of the day, trying to keep warm. This morning as I was waking up I could almost believe I was back in Iowa with the wind whistling against the windows, but then I opened my eyes and I was still here. :) I'm grateful that I didn't have to go out today, and I'm hoping the wind will die down in the night before I have to venture out for class. I've heard rumors that there might be snow tomorrow or Monday, but the temperatures aren't quite low enough, so it'll probably just be rain. If it snows I'll be sure to take pictures. :)

The past few days I've had visitors! We had a wonderful time exploring some of the balad and I got to show them the university. It was such a blessing. I have some pictures from the past few days, but I'll upload them later.

I hope you all stay warm back home...I hear most of you will be getting a white Christmas. :)

The University

I got an email yesterday asking for more information about the university, which I am happy to share. :) If any of the rest of you have questions send them my way...I am always happy to know what you are interested in hearing about.

Anyway, the university is probably one of the largest in the country, and I was told by an Arab friend that there are around 42,000 students altogether, this semester. They have buildings for all the programs and I'm pretty sure I haven't seen half of the campus yet, because it probably is half a mile or more from one end to the other. Connected to the campus is the university hospital where the medical students study, similar to the U of Iowa I guess. However, unlike the U of I, I don't think this hospital would be considered the go-to place for procedures. They tend to have smaller hospitals (more like clinics really) that are in about every neighborhood. My little part of the university is called the Language Center. Not only does it house the classrooms for us foreigners, it also holds classes in other languages for Arab students. I'm not sure how many foreign students there are in the Language Center program...but there are 7 levels and probably 4 of those levels have two classes. There is also an exchange program operating out of the university that has probably close to 100 American students, but they are not just taking language, they are taking other classes about the culture and history of this region.

Demographics...I'd say from my observations (don't depend on these to be totally accurate) that there are at least equal numbers of guys and girls, and possibly a majority of girls. At least around the capital here probably 9 out of 10 high school graduates go on to university of some kind. I think you will find women in about every program, or faculty as they call them. I'd say the vast majority of the students are Muslim, and most of the girls at least are pretty conservative in the way they dress, wearing either just the hijab or also the veil. There are some Christians (I've met at least one, and had several others pointed out by Roa'a) and I don't think they would be discriminated against in entering the university. I don't think there are any Arabs who are not from this country or Palestine...it doesn't appear to me that they travel great distances to attend university, since family is so integral to their lives.

My roommate told me after she came to the university one day that it seems pretty chill compared to some parts of the city. She didn't feel like the guys were staring or making noises at her.

The campus itself has a lot of trees and is pretty green (as in, there's more vegetation) compared to most of the city, which is nice.

Umm...and that's all I can think of to describe about the university at the moment. :)

Today is the Islamic New Year so we didn't have school, and Roa'a came over and we made snickerdoodles and hung out for a few hours. Tonight I'm going to the airport to pick up some friends who are visiting for the rest of the week. :)

Winter Has Officially Arrived

I wish I could add to the title by saying it snowed, but instead I'll have to be content with lower temperatures and rain. Actually, it's a really good thing it rained, even though it makes it a bit miserable to be out and about. Apparently it was supposed to have rained awhile ago, and the lack of rain has been a huge concern for farmers, since they were in danger of losing their crops. Last week they held a time of prayer for rain here in the city, if not in the rest of the country as well. I have a feeling the lack of rain contributed to the wildfire that raged this past week near Haifa too.
The coming of the rain means that from now until maybe March the temperatures will be a lot colder. I even pulled out my winter coat today. Now, granted, it's not nearly as cold as it is back home...I saw the temp listed at 11 degrees Celsius, which is right around 50 degrees Fahrenheit...but still. :)
The rain has stopped for the moment now, and it looks like the sun is trying to break through.

Another way I'm marking the transition to winter is with Christmas decorations! Last night my roommate pulled out her decorations and we put them up. It isn't much, but it does help me feel like Christmas is around the corner, rather than months away. I guess the presents I got in the package from my family helped that feeling too. :)

Anyway, here are some pictures of the decorations

The stocking from my Mom, hanging in my room

The door leading to the bedrooms

Our tree :)

Yay for packages!

Today I went to the post office to pick up the package Mom sent for Christmas. :) I have been anticipating it for awhile now, and so it was great to finally have it arrive.
I didn't realize the process for picking up a package was so complicated here. I had to go to this office and then that office, and then get a signature and then back again for another paper and then upstairs to pay customs then back down again, then.... you get the picture. :) But it was worth it to open it up and find some new clothes, lotion, Stringtown gummies (my favorite!), a stocking and several wrapped packages (it's going to be hard to wait to open them) and Reggie's school picture and Katie's newest picture. :) I'm excited to wear the new clothes and now Christmas seems even closer with presents wrapped and waiting.
Thanks Mom!!!

Speaking Arabic

Well, I finally made a movie, but I must admit I'm not sure about it. :) Hopefully you enjoy it though. Audrey, I hope you're happy. 

Tomorrow we are having breakfast together as a class, since my teacher wanted to make sure that we experience all the different food that they eat here. Also, on Tuesday next week we have yet another holiday, this time for the New Year according to the Islamic calendar. It is now the year 1431 according to their calendar. I've enjoyed the random breaks throughout the semester so I really hope we have some next semester, even though there aren't any Islamic holidays in the spring. 

Ma Salaam!

Arabic Lesson

I guess it's time for another round of learning Arabic with Erica. :) How would you like to learn some greetings? If you don't, you might as well stop reading this post now.

            *One note: I will be writing the words the way they sound, not necessarily in their correct spelling.

Okay, when I walk into a store, or get into a taxi, the first thing I usually say is "A Salaam Al Lei Kum" or just "A Salaam". This literally means "peace be upon you" or at least I'm pretty sure it does. :) The response is "Wa A-Lei Kum Salaam", which means "and upon you too" (not literally though). "Wa" is "and" in Arabic.

Another greeting that means "hello" is "Mar-ha-ba". When I greet Christians this is what I use, since the first phrase is a Muslim greeting. The little shop across the street that I go to get pop sometimes is one of the places where I use "marhaba" since Christians own the shop.

In the mornings at school, the greeting "Sa-bakh al Hare" which means "good morning". The response to this is "Sa-bakh al Noor". "Sabakh" is the word for morning, and so in the evening another word (that I can't remember at the moment and I don't want to get up to find it in my notes) is substituted within the same two greetings.

When I walk into a store I am often greeted with "A-ha-lan Wa Sa-ha-lan" which is basically "welcome" although I don't know the exact translation.

Well, that should be enough for now. :) I am still contemplating doing a short video so that you can actually hear how it sounds, but at the moment, I'm feeling a bit grubby and so I'm not about to videotape myself now. Insh-allah I will do it this week sometime. :)

Thanksgiving

Although yesterday was a holiday in the U.S.,  here it was life as usual for me. We even had an exam in class, to add to the feeling of a non-holiday. :) Apparently none of us in the class did very well on our mid-term exam, so they made us take another one. And to be perfectly honest, this one was easier. :)
Last night I did get to talk to the entire family...the first time since Tony and Kerri left for college. They are in Hesson for Thanksgiving, along with Ross (my cousin) and Kerri's friend Meredith, so it was a good end to the day, and was worth it to stay up later. :)
This evening I played Cities and Knights (a version of Settlers of Catan) with some other ex-pat women here, which was fun. It is nice to sometimes have hang out times with other single women and be able to have fun.
And now, since Thanksgiving is over, I can officially listen to Christmas music! Which is what I am doing right now. :) The Christmas and Advent season is definitely one of my favorite times of the years; from the music to the new snow to the anticipation of the season...all of it adds to the holiday atmosphere, and I love it. Even far from home, I think that this Christmas season will be special. :)
Anyway, I apologize if posts are becoming fewer and farther between...I think the new-ness is starting to wear off of my life and I'm left without much to share. :) If you have specific questions or want me to share about something specific, please leave a comment or email me and I can write a post just for you. :)
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!!

Jackpot!

I feel like I hit the jackpot today! :) I went to check for mail and found 5, that's right, 5 letters waiting for me! I was so excited, and it was so much fun to open them and hear what is going on back home. :) There was even pictures in a couple of them.
In all actuality I shouldn't have received these letters all at once. One of them appeared to have been sitting for about a month before it got to the university. :( But they might have been sitting for a lot longer except yesterday I went and finally asked how often the mail comes and the international student advisor said someone was just being lazy and not going to the post office to pick up the mail, so it was all collecting at the post office and not finding it's way to the students. He promised that the mail would be picked up, and today when I went and checked, there it was! I guess the best thing will be to keep asking and making sure they are picking the mail up regularly. I am waiting for a package from my family (early Christmas presents!) so I will definitely be checking regularly. :)
Anyway, thanks to those of you who sent cards...I loved them!

Back to the Routine

After a wonderful 8 day break today I started back to classes. I must admit it was not very easy to get up this morning after being able to sleep in all last week. :)
It definitely doesn't seem like the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I guess that is to be expected since they don't celebrate either holiday here, or at least the vast majority of them don't. There is one or two shops in my neighborhood that are owned by Christians, and they have completely decorated for Christmas.
Anyway, maybe tonight or tomorrow I can put another "lesson" of Arabic on here. :)

Trip to the North

Yesterday my roommate and I, along with her friend who's visiting, went up to Ajloun and Jerash, in the northern part of the country to see some of the sights. 

There is a castle in Ajloun that was built by Saladin's nephew (Saladin was the Muslim general who took Jerusalem back from the Crusaders) and it is pretty well preserved. According to my guidebook, this castle was one of a network of posts that could pass a message by passenger pigeons from Damascus to Cairo in one day. It is built on the top of the tallest hill in the area, and we could see for miles in every direction from the top of the castle. Here are some pictures I took.

Looking down towards Ajloun...most of this area was actually heavily wooded, but it was cleared because of the need of wood. They are trying to replant trees to some extent, and the majority of the trees that you see on the hill right below are olive trees.

The old castle...we had a beautiful, albeit windy, day to visit.

Standing on the western wall of the castle. Right below me was the two story dry moat and from this perch we thought we caught a glimpse of the Jordan River and Palestine beyond it. 

We walked down the hill to the bus, and this is from the road looking back up at the castle. 

Along the road we found this really random cab, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a picture. :)

From Ajloun we traveled back the way we came to Jerash, or Gerasa as it was known in Roman times. It was one of the cities of the Decapolis during the time of the Herods. The ruins go on for acres and since they have spent time restoring some of them, we got a pretty good idea of what the buildings would have looked like back in it's glory. 

While we were eating lunch right outside, they were doing a re-inactment in the hippodrome, and we caught glimpses of men dressed as Roman soldiers. :)

This gate was built to commemorate the Emperor Hadrian's visit to the city. 

It seemed like this was the main hub of the ancient city. Behind me was the temple of Zeus, and there was at least one other temple to Artemis further into the site. The pictures don't do justice to how massive everything was...the stones in the pavement, the stones used for the columns, the stones used for everything. :)

The setting sun behind one of the buildings

We wondered what had happened to push the paving stones up like they are on the right of the picture, but didn't get any definite answers. You can see the modern city behind the ruins...we guessed that under all of it there were probably ruins exactly like what we were walking around in, but they hadn't been excavated before the city was built up. 

All in all it was a great day, and I enjoyed getting out of the city for the first time. It is much greener up there, and so it was nice to see trees and vegetation beyond a few trees encased in cement. :) 

I also loved visiting places that held so much history. Some of you know that I love history, and it was incredible to walk through those ruins and try to imagine what kind of people walked where I was walking, and what life was like back then. Not all of the history connected with these places is pleasant of course, but it still has a lot to teach us and effects us even today. If history doesn't effect our lives I wouldn't be where I am today, but I am, all because of a single man from Nazareth. :)

University Pictures

The other day I was at the university early and since I had my camera along with me I decided to take a few pictures as stealthily as I could. I hate pulling out my camera and becoming a tourist, but there are so many sights I wish I could capture to share with you all, so with the help of my zoom, this day I tried. :) I wanted to capture the wide range of dress that I see at the university every day, and to give you a glimpse of what kind of people around me.

This is right inside the main gate, looking towards the clock tower, which is a landmark, if you will, at least for me. On the right is the library and I usually go to the left to get to the language center, which is nearby.

Here you see some of the women, wearing the hijab along with the long coats. Also, I managed to catch this man wearing the long robe thing and scarf head covering. This is not such a typical sight, but there are a few men in the university who wear this type of clothing. I'm not sure exactly where this style comes from...although if you are familiar with the red and white checked scarves, those are specifically Palestinian, and I'll see men wearing those but not the robe-type outfit.

As you can see some of these girls are not wearing the long coats...some girls just wear the hijab and a longer shirt to cover their hips. But the vast majority of girls on campus that I see are covered, and I've heard that the university is much more conservative than some. 

And then there are some like the girl on the right who also wear the veil. I don't see that as often, but there are some women who do wear it at the university. In the background you see can see the other extreme...a girl not covered and dressed in the latest fashion. Also, a sidenote, you might notice the cat...well, there are stray cats all over the city. I was in a mall one evening and I even saw one inside roaming up in the rafters. :) They are kinda like the stray dogs of India...not many people own them as pets but they sure are everywhere. :)

I took some other pictures tonight on the way to visit a family who is close to my roommate (I went with my roommate) but they haven't been uploaded to my computer yet, so you'll have to wait to see those. :)

Maybe this week because I don't have classes I'll have time to put another "lesson" in Arabic on here. Someone also suggested that I put a video of myself speaking in Arabic on here, but I'm still thinking about that one. :) Let me know if you really want that to happen and I'll do my best.

Another Achievement to Mark

I don't have any pictures from Petra, since I didn't end up going to Petra. :) I will get there, I promise, but this past weekend just was not the best time...

Anyway, today I took my mid-term exam, which was not as easy as my teacher was making it out to be. :( I didn't fail (at least I don't think I did) but I had trouble with not knowing some of the words. However, if the rumbling in the class could be trusted, I think everyone had trouble with some of the vocabulary. So, at least I'm not at the bottom. :)

And now more about that achievement...yesterday and today I successfully hosted Arab girls here in the apartment. :) Some might say that this is not an accomplishment, but for a single woman in an Arab culture,  like me, it is. Hospitality here is very important, and there are certain customs to be observed so that I don't offend the guests. Thankfully, while Arabs value hospitality they also are very forgiving of foreigners. :) Yesterday Haneen came home with me from the university and we ate lunch and then I taught her Dutch Blitz. (a vonderful gut and easy game to teach) Since I was at the university I couldn't exactly cook a meal, so instead we stopped and picked up a roasted chicken on the way home. There is this place in the neighborhood that makes rotisserie-type chicken that is delicious. And then today after my exam Roa'a met me at the university and came back with me. We talked for awhile and then went and got lunch (chicken again) and then I taught her Dutch Blitz as well. I tend to have deeper conversations with Roa'a since her English is a bit better than Haneen's (not that Haneen's English isn't good, I think she just doesn't have all the vocab that Roa'a does), but I know Haneen enjoyed the game more. :) All in all, I think I was a successful hostess. :) I guess we'll see if they come back or not...that will be the true test.

Tomorrow is a holiday because of the elections. I'm assuming everything will be closed at least for part of the day, so I'm planning to stay at home and study and rest. :)

What To Write...

I am realizing that as the weeks pass by I am finding less to write about. So if any of you want me to write anything specific let me know.

This week has been a very nice contrast to the previous weeks in terms of weather. I even pulled out the down comforter that was in my closet, although it really isn't quite cold enough for that. But I am sitting here in short-sleeves thinking about going to get my fleece and some socks since I'm getting chilly. :)
Because of the time change it is actually light out when I get up (although yesterday....well, I'll tell that story in a bit), however, before 5 it is pretty much dark, which makes me tired.

So, yesterday....well, for some unknown reason my alarm clock got set ahead an hour (I must have bumped the right combination of buttons or something) and so at what I thought was 6:30 I was out of bed getting ready for the day. I even thought I was running a tad late so I rushed out the door at what I thought was 7:30, and had made it halfway up our little alley before it occurred to me that there were no children out and about, and normally at 7:30 the streets are crawling with children on their way to school. I glanced at my watch and here it said 6:30! Not quite believing it, I checked my ipod, since I knew that it had the right time. And yes, it was definitely just 6:30, not 7:30. So I went back inside, checked my email and actually straightened my hair before leaving again, this time at 7:30. :) You may ask why I didn't realize it earlier, but even when I did look at my other time-keeping devices I really only noticed the minutes, not the hours because that was all I really cared about, since of course, I had gotten up at 6:30. So, anyway, I was tired last night and tried to get to bed a bit earlier than normal.

Today my one roommate came out to the university and met Roa'a my friend I had made. We had a good time hanging out together, and apparently my enjoyment of shwerma is getting to be quite humorous to them.

Anyway, I'm finding that I'm falling more and more towards the middle/bottom-middle of my class as far as proficiency goes. This is somewhat of a new thing for me, since normally it isn't that hard for me to keep at the front of the pack. I'm finding that while I can read and write fairly well (as in understanding what I'm doing), I am still horrible at speaking. When I am asked a question my mind goes blank and all those words I thought I knew fly out of my head and I'm left like a fish out of water, struggling to produce even the basic sentences. :P Let me just be honest and say that this isn't a pleasant feeling for me to not have schoolwork come easily and has definitely caused some soul searching in what I place my identity in. But I am trying to use more and more of the language as I'm out, in taxis and with my Arab friends, so inshallah I will continue to get better. I also have to keep reminding myself that I've only started learning this language 6 weeks ago, and that I should have more grace for myself.

Anyway, things I'm looking forward to...going to visit Petra on Saturday, a vacation day because of the elections next Tuesday, and then the Eid (I think it's where they celebrate the sacrifice of Abraham's son, but don't quote me on that) the following week, which means a full week off of school!

Well, that was a nice long update...I wasn't expecting that much when I sat down to write tonight. :)

Salaam!

Time Change

I didn't realize until mid-afternoon, but apparently Thursday night the time changed here for Daylight Savings. So, now, instead of 8 hours difference to Iowa it is now 7 hours, and 6 hours to the East Coast. For any of you who happen to keep track of the time here, I wanted to make sure that you changed along with me. :)

Sunset...

I have enjoyed a very low-key weekend, although I wasn't feeling the best health-wise. Yesterday my roommate and I went out on the roof again to enjoy the chilly weather and the gorgeous sunset. I am finally able to wear my fleece and be comfortable which is wonderful feeling after the heat of earlier. It is supposed to rain today, and the breeze coming in my bedroom window makes my room almost cold. :) Anyway, here are some pictures I took from the roof last night. Enjoy!

Early Start to the Weekend

Today I woke up before my alarm and realized that I would starting my weekend early. It seems I caught the flu-like bug that has been going around and so I'm staying close to home today. I don't feel that bad necessarily, but being across the city at school sounded not so fun so I skipped out on review and listening lab. I'm not too sorry to miss listening lab, but I was planning to see some Arab friends today so that is a bummer.

Maybe later I'll think of something to update this with and I can write more.

Friends, Cookies, Water Heaters, Bracelets & Cooler Weather

These things may seem very unrelated, but they are the big events in my life in the past few days. :)

First, friends...on Friday night we hosted a few women here at our apartment and it was a wonderful time of sharing, laughter and blessing. It was fun to help host here for the first time.

Second, cookies...Friday afternoon I attempted for the first time to bake here. I made chocolate chip cookies and they turned out pretty well, and seemed to be a hit with my roommates. :) They tasted a bit different from when Mom makes them, but I think it was because the vanilla was different.

Third, water heaters...this is one of the most exciting events, to be honest. :) We didn't have any hot water for showering and such, which wasn't a big deal since it has been so hot, but to be perfectly honest I'm not a fan of cold (or even cool) showers. So, it was wonderful yesterday when a couple of men came and installed a hot water heater in our bathroom. And it even can be used in the rest of the house, so we can wash the dishes in hot water as well. :) It was with a great deal of joy that I took a hot shower yesterday afternoon.

Fourth, bracelets...today in class I commented on a classmate's bracelet, not realizing the murky water I had just gotten into. :) She is Turkish, and I forgot that in this part of the world if you complement something you might end up owning it. So, after class she comes up to me and hands over the bracelet! A good lesson in humility and culture. :)

Fifth, cooler weather...no joke, this weekend I think the heat finally broke and is gone for awhile! It is still warm in the day, don't get me wrong, but this morning I was actually cold in a thin sweater when I was walking towards the language center. It is a relief to not sit on the bus and have sweat dripping down my back. I said this in an earlier post, but I want to say again, I have a lot of admiration for the women here who cover themselves completely, or even just wearing the hijab (scarf to cover their hair). I cannot imagine how hot they must have been during the summer.

Taxi Drivers and Scarves

I have a feeling tonight is going to be another random post. :) I am sitting out on our balcony enjoying the refreshing breeze, looking up at the moon as night overtakes the city below me. It is too nice to not enjoy it while I can.

Today it was still hot out in the sun, but not as hot as the days before, and the breeze is cooler. Finally, finally, finally we might see cooler temperatures set in.

So first of all, taxi drivers. The past few days I have gotten two different taxi drivers who took it upon themselves to teach me a bit of Arabic. The first one made sure I knew straight, right, left....important words for giving directions. :) This morning my taxi driver spent most of the drive to the university teaching me and then quizzing me on the words for traffic, car, plane, hospital and I forget what else. :) It was good practice, but I feel so inept at the lack of useable language skills that I have at this point.

Secondly, scarves. :) Now some of you may find this really silly, but those of you who love scarves can identify with me. I could buy so many scarves here...there are shops full of them! It has taken a lot of self-control not to buy them whenever I see some. :) However, I have bought a couple since I've arrived. One I bought in Turkey, actually, and I got it because I hadn't seen the design here at all. The second one I bought this evening at a souk (marketplace) near the house of a friend. Anyway, there's not much more to the story...I am just excited by having new scarves, even though with the weather at 90+ degrees there is no way I'm wearing them any time soon. :)

Oh, and since I'm excited about them, I took a picture of my new scarves to share with you all. :) The black and green scarf is from Turkey and the purple and white one is the one I bought this evening.

I hope you all have a great weekend...I know I'm planning on it. :)

Election Time

It is election time here and there are posters and banners everywhere. I haven't been brave enough to pull out my camera on the way to and from school yet, but I found a picture in one of the English papers that gives you a good idea of what the streets look like here.

The elections are November 9th, and they are for the Lower House of Parliament. Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about why they're having the elections, and who the popular candidates are. I think they are trying to fill all 120 seats in the House. 

I'm not expecting the elections to be anything other than just that, and I really don't think they will affect me much, since in reality the King carries the weight of the power here (and his power is pretty secure), but I'll let you know if anything exciting happens. :)

My First Shwerma

Tonight I had my first official shwerma here. What is shwerma, you may ask? Well, shwerma is delicious, that's what. :) Shwerma is a wrap-type of sandwich, similar to a gyro. They put the meat (lamb, beef or chicken) on a huge upright spit and as it turns the meat is cooked. Then they shave the meat off so that it is in smaller pieces and wrap it with tomatoes and onions and other various condiments into a thin wrap and it's ready to go. :) And the best part, it is super cheap. As in, half a dinar kind of cheap. (1 dinar = 1.30 dollars) Even better than the dollar menu at McDonald's and much tastier. I was going to take a picture, but when I remembered I was already halfway into it, and my hands were a bit messy, so no picture of this first taste. However, I do have a picture from Turkey of basically the same thing, although it's called by a different name there.

As you can see, there are two spits with two different kinds of meat. I wouldn't be able to tell you what the meats are though. :)

Anyway, maybe next time I get shwerma I'll take a picture.

Turkey Pictures

My time in Turkey was very refreshing, although it went by quickly. My friends came from different parts of the region and was a good time of renewing relationships. We stayed at a resort along the beach and so it was wonderful to walk just a couple of minutes and get to the sea. Our time also included a day trip into the old part of Antalya, where we did a scavenger hunt, shopped and then in the afternoon took a boat out onto the sea for a few hours.

Here are some pictures from the week.

The view from our first room. We switched rooms after the first night because it just so happened that the disco was right below us, which made it a bit difficult to sleep. You can see the sea just beyond the trees.

The two women I did the scavenger hunt with. Both are women I admire and it was a joy to spend some time with them. You can see what a gorgeous setting we were in. :)

One of the items on the scavenger hunt was to model a pair of these pants, called shalwars. They basically are a skirt, with the bottom sewn together except for holes for the feet. The village women wear them so that they can be up and down and doing all kinds of things without having to worry about modesty.

The Antalya harbor...because the stone is so hard, they say that the harbor looks almost exactly like it did 2000 years ago.

On the boat on our way out to sea

A lovely waterfall we passed on our sea trip. We anchored near it for awhile.

And while we were anchored we had the chance to jump off the boat and swim. :) The water was actually about the perfect temperature and although I got a mouthful of salty water at times it was well worth it.

Good-bye to Turkey

I had an absolutely marvelous time in Turkey these past few days. It was so refreshing to be with my friends and to spend time together. I have some pictures from the resort, and from our outing on Monday, but they aren't on my computer yet, so I will post them over the weekend when I have a chance to unpack and get settled back in at home.
I am sitting in the Istanbul airport now, at Starbucks waiting for my final flight in about 3 hours. This is the first time I've been able to access the internet on my laptop so I am taking the opportunity to update this a bit. I'll have more stories and lots of pictures to share when I get the chance. :)
Now it's back to the daily routine of classes and studying. I was intending to work on my Arabic while I was gone, but I didn't get much accomplished. I'm afraid tomorrow will not be fun trying to get back into class after missing four days. :( At least I'll have the weekend to try and get my feet back under me.
Well, I'm going to keep moving...you'll hear from me soon.

Turkey

I'm here in Turkey and it is beautiful! However my computer is not behaving with the wireless so I'm on my iPod at the moment. That means I probably won't be updating this any more until I get home. So hopefully next Thursday I'll have lots of pictures to share. :)

Reflections

I'm at the end of another week of classes, and I am leaving for Turkey in less than 12 hours!!! I feel a tab bit spoiled that I get to have a vacation after being here less than a month, but I'm also so excited that I don't really care. :) I am so grateful for the chance to connect with some friends and to spend time being "Western" again. Because I live in a more conservative area of the city, I have to dress appropriately. And honestly, most of the time I really don't mind wearing longer shirts and long sleeves and pants, (even though that doesn't hide the fact that I'm a Westerner) but I do remember the feeling of being able to actually be a tourist in India and wear what I would normally wear, and I'm looking forward to that again.

As far as classes go...we are starting to be able to write sentences! Small accomplishments to be sure, but I'm hoping that soon there will be bigger accomplishments to mark. :) We are working with a list of about 60-70+ nouns, and 24+ verbs, and now I can conjugate those verbs into the past tense to create sentences. We also have added to our list most of the question words (i.e. how, where, who, what), pronouns and today we added some prepositions and learned how to make a word possessive (i.e. my book, your house).

All of what I am learning is what they call "foosa", or classical Arabic. I have had a lot of people ask me why I didn't learn the spoken Arabic first, since it is different than foosa, but I feel like this is a good starting point, for me at least. In a few months I'll be able to read and write pretty well, and from there I can work with a language partner to adjust the vocabulary to spoken Arabic. Right now it's hard for me to even wrap my tongue around the sounds anyway, so I feel like at least I'm moving ahead, instead of being mired in a mess of trying to get sounds to come out of my month that I haven't used before. :)

Look for pictures from Turkey in the next few days!

Relief...

...as in, relief from the heat! Today it only reached 28 degrees Celsius, (or at least that all the warmer it was supposed to get) which means only about 82 degrees Fahrenheit. And now after dark, I was sitting out on the balcony and it was chilly enough that I put on my long-sleeved t-shirt!
Al Humdilallah!

Friends

The past couple of weeks I've made a couple of Arab friends that are also attending the University. The first one is named Roa'a. She's studying law and most days I find her outside the language center when I come out after classes. I've had some great conversations with her. :)

The second friend is named Haneen. I randomly sat next to her on the bus on the way home one day, and now I've seen her a few times, and one day soon I'll hopefully be able to visit her home and meet her family.

Yesterday Haneen took me to the balad to show me some of her favorite places. As we were walking from where we got off the bus I took a few pictures of the jabel where I live. :)

This is from the bottom of the hill

And I even picked out my apartment building from the bottom :) It's the one with the corner balcony.

Haneen took me me to the Roman amphitheater, but we didn't go in since there was an admissions charge.

I took a picture with Haneen before we went our separate ways then. In the background you can see the servees, or shared taxis. These taxis run on specific routes, but they are the least expensive kind of transportation.

Today I took a picture with Roa'a. She's quite opinionated, but very fun to talk with. 

Shopping and Weather and Other Exciting News

Today I went out with another friend from the building to Mecca Mall. This mall is at least 4 stories (maybe more) and has about anything you could want, including a grocery store and Ace Hardware. :) I got some groceries (I want to make cookies sometime this week) and also some measuring utensils so that I can actually get the correct portions into the cookies. :)
It was super hot today and then late afternoon the wind picked up, slamming doors in the apartment, and blew in a dust storm. This one didn't last very long, and I managed to get the apartment closed up tight before it got too dusty, so that is one thing to be grateful for.
Anyway, I'm on a countdown now 'til Friday when I leave for Turkey! I'm going to meet up with some friends who are also living in various places in the region. I have to leave super early on Friday morning, but it will be worth it to spend some time with these friends. I'm going to be gone from Friday morning 'til Wednesday night, so hopefully my Arabic studies won't suffer too badly while I'm gone. I'm planning on taking along my book and working on the lessons while I'm in Turkey...maybe. :)
Another exciting thing I am anticipating is an early morning (for me) skype conversation with family. My parents, Reggie, my aunt Brenda and my Grandma all traveled out to Indiana to cheer on Ross and Andrew in soccer. Also on the itinerary was a stop in Ohio to visit Jeryl's and to watch Tanner and Lauren run cross-country. Anyway, I'll get to hopefully talk with all the people in Indiana and hopefully that will help the jealousy I feel at missing out on such a fun time. :)

Girls Night

On Wednesday night my Korean roommate shared some Korean facial masks with my British roommate and I, which we had a lot of fun with. :)

Here are the packets...I used the grape one.

Here are the 3 of us wearing the facial mask things. I also believe that this is the first time since I've been here that I have a picture of myself. :)

I realize we look a bit scary, but these women have become dear sisters already. I am truly blessed to have ended up rooming with them for this fall.

I'm Not Convinced....

Today on the way home from school I saw a sign giving the temperature here. It said 41 degrees Celsius. I did a quick conversion (on my ipod, not in my head...sorry, I'm not that good at math) and discovered that it would equate to over 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not convinced that is quite accurate though, because while it is hot, and by hot I mean for sure in the 90's, it doesn't feel like it's 105 degrees. Even in the sun. Audrey, maybe you could tell me how hot it is here... :)

I'm supposed to be studying...

I should be studying right now, but I thought I might have more motivation if I included you all in a quick lesson on Arabic. :)
First the basics...Arabic is read from right to left, and so when you open a book, you would start with the spine on the right and turn the pages to the right. Check it out in the picture of my text book and notebooks.

Anyway, we've been starting with the alphabet and learning all the sounds. I must say my untrained ear is having a hard time distinguishing between  ح and ھ. They both are a "ha" sound, but the first one is deeper, more from the throat, and the second is light, like a hahaha sound. Anyway, those aren't the only sounds I'm having trouble with, but that is an example. 


Another helpful hint when trying to read Arabic... (which, I'm not sure why you would try to read it...but still...this is my lesson!) :) The letter shape changes depending on where in the sentence it falls. The beginning of the word has a different shape than the middle and the end is different too. Oh, and there's letters that don't connect to each other, and if there is one more letter after a non-connecting one in the word, that shape is still a different shape.

All that to say...I'm learning slowly but surely.


Alright for your first lesson.....


The word is bint. It's pronounced bin-t. It means girl. (I would show you the Arabic script for it, but apparently blogger doesn't like when I copy and paste things from a document.)


I have a bunch of other words I'm working on too, that are examples of the letters in each of the different shapes (you know, the different shapes they take depending on placement in the word). 


Today we finished the alphabet and so tomorrow and next week we will be moving on to verbs and their conjugations! 


Here's to hoping I can somehow manage to wrap my brain around this language and somehow train my ear to hear the different, but very similar sounds. :)

Breezy Evening

Just a quick note to say that I'm and gratefully enjoying the wonderful breeze coming in our windows at the moment. Maybe it's a sign of cooler weather on the way. :)

More Pictures

The weekend was definitely a relaxing one, as I stayed around the apartment, only going out Saturday for groceries with my roommate. On Friday (or maybe Saturday...I can't remember) evening we went up to watch the sunset from the roof of our apartment. The buildings here have flat roofs that usually have a door to get out onto them, unlike the U.S. where roofs are peaked. (Roofs? Rooves? How in the heck do you pronounce the plural of roof?!) :)

Here are some pictures that I took recently...

This is from our balcony looking down towards the alley and then street. On the left some sheets are drying. I always experience a bit of vertigo when I go to hang up my clothes on the line, because it hangs out and it is a straight drop to the ground 3 stories below.

The sunset over the city from the roof of our building

A church just up the hill a bit from our apartment. Our area has  quite a few churches, mostly connected with more orthodox streams of Christianity

This is looking down the jabel from the roof. Notice the graveyard right below? Well, along the wall between the buildings and the graveyard is a set of stairs that goes down the hill towards the main road, which then streams down to that big circle. I have been walking down those stairs most mornings to catch a taxi, which then goes down to the circle and then heads around the far side of that circle, north towards the University. 

If I were to turn right instead of left towards the circle I would end up in the balad.

Classes this week have been going better...I am finding that I'm maybe not the quickest in the class, but definitely not the slowest, so I don't think I'll get left behind like I was worried about. 

I think the most draining part of each day is not the classes, it's the heat. The sun beats down and makes me wilt, especially walking awhile in it. I have a lot of respect for the women who wear a veil and a long coat every day in this heat. I feel like I'm dying in thin long sleeves and long pants. :)

Today my roommate came to the University to see the campus and to meet a friend of hers who is a student there. We enjoyed some Lebanese food and then this friend helped me figure out the bus that comes back a lot closer to our neighborhood, instead of having to walk through the balad. My roommate is going with me in the morning to make sure I can find the bus okay, and then I'll probably use that as my primary mode of transportation getting there, instead of a taxi.

Dust Storm

That's right, dust storm. :) Remember I said that yesterday was nice and cool because of the rain? Well, for some unknown reason later that evening a dust storm came up. It was crazy! As the sun set the sky turned bright red, and then it got really dark, since the dust obscured all the lights, even the lights from across the street. I didn't get the windows shut quite soon enough, and the dust hung in the rooms throughout the night. Before I went to bed it had cleared off a bit outside, but now everything has been coated with a fine layer of grit. I mopped my floor and the floor of the kitchen, but everything is still a bit dusty.

As far as school news goes, we have jumped right in today, starting with the alphabet and simple words. I have a list of 20 words to practice writing and reading for the weekend, so I am already planning on spending quite a bit of time tomorrow and Saturday working on them. It's amazing what a difference a missed dot or accent makes on the word! Hopefully I can continue to focus and learn quickly in the coming weeks.

More Pictures

Here are a couple more pictures...

My supper last night...hummus, pita and tomatoes = delicious!

The green glow of the minarets at dusk, as the call to prayer sounds throughout the city

Rainy Day

I'm living in the desert, or at least, a desert region, so it was with a bit shock that I woke up this morning at 5 am to hear the crash of a downpour falling outside my window. It only rained hard for a little while, but the sky is still overcast and it continues to sprinkle every so often. Needless to say, this is a huge relief from the extremely high temperatures we have had the two previous days. I think it is about a 30 degree (in Fahrenheit) difference from yesterday.
My first day of classes finally came! It took a while to get a taxi, but I ended up at the school with about 8 minutes to spare, so I was thankful for that. Class today lasted just until 10:40 so it was a nice introduction into the course. My teacher is very nice, and I think I will learn a lot from her. It sounds like the course will be intense though. She told us that in about 10 days or so, she will stop using English and only use Arabic! But it also sounds like if I work hard on studying and practicing I will be able to read, write and communicate clearly by the end of the semester. I only hope that I can comprehend all that will be coming at me for the next 16 weeks.

Orientation

Today was Orientation Day for the Language Center at the University. I left extra early, because I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get a taxi. Well, turns out the second taxi I saw I was able to get into. :) So I was there extra early. But that was okay, because I was able to relax and read a bit.
During the orientation I sat between two young people, both from America, both just high school graduates and both of whom have parents who came from this region originally. It was interesting hearing their perspectives on coming to learn Arabic. They've heard it all their lives from their fathers, but haven't learned it at all while living in the States. The young man is in my class so I think we'll probably connect some more. I had met him on Sunday while I was waiting to finish registering.
Anyway, I have my class schedule now, at least for the rest of the week, and everything is set for tomorrow.
The journey home was another adventure in modes of transportation. I caught a bus (this one was smaller, almost like a large van) to the one end of balat, and then set off walking again, determined to make it all the way to where the servees comes to go up to my neighborhood. I was getting close, but starting to wear out and second guess myself, so I stopped to try and get a taxi. A lady was standing there and I tried to get her help to figure out where the servees are, but I think I ended up confusing her. :) Finally a taxi came and it turns out I was only about two blocks away from the servees. But because of the confusion I took the taxi, and the lady who helped me even rode along to make sure the taxi driver got me there alright.
Tomorrow on the way home I'll know the way now, and be able to save some money on transportation.
Inshallah tomorrow I'll start learning Arabic!

Unexpected Day of Rest

Since school didn't end up starting yesterday I have one more day (today) to rest up before the busy-ness comes. It was wonderful to sleep in (especially since the night before I didn't get much sleep) and then I enjoyed a wonderful traditional breakfast with my roommate. This roommate has been here for 3 years now, and so she made me (well, it didn't really take much actual "making") a traditional breakfast and shared some about what the people here eat. It was delicious!
Also, today became laundry and cleaning and re-arranging day. I cleaned the kitchen floor and I'll finish up the kitchen in a little while. I did all my dirty laundry and it is quickly drying out on the balcony and also switched around my bed and dresser, so that there is an outlet near the mirror for me to dry and straighten my hair in the mornings.
Beyond all that I think the rest of the day will be pretty relaxed. I'm saving up my energy for tomorrow. :)