A Farewell to English

Tomorrow, I sign the language pledge.  That means I don't get to speak any more English.  Or French.  Or Spanish.  Ruh-roh.

It's been a fun few days in Amman.  From the Abuesalem's house, I've moved over to my homestay with my new family.  It's been really fun, and the food here has been amazing.  Jamal is the father, and he's extremely nice.  Bego (Begonia) is the mother, and she's a whirlwind of Arabic but means very well and is awesome!  Bego and Jamal own a restaurant in Amman, and she does much of the cooking here at the house... Yum!  Othman, their 22-year-old son, just got a job offer from Dubai so he flew out yesterday (and I have yet to meet him, but I've seen pictures and he looks cool.

Want to visit now Eliza?

We started orientation on Sunday, which is the start of the week here in Jordan.  The directors are awesome, as are all of my fellow students!  We've got people from most of the US, from colleges as far west as Pomona and Wisconsin and as far south as Davidson - it's a pretty good bunch!  I live with another Midd student, Tyler, who was here last semester and has excellent Arabic.  He's been a huge help and I'm not sure I'd be able to get around without him.  He does a lot of translation for me, which will stop tomorrow.  Begonia talks to me, I give Tyler a confused look, and he translates/puts what she said into fusha Arabic.  Fusha is "Modern Standard Arabic" but what they speak here is called "Amiya" or the local Jordanian dialect, which is different in many ways from the Arabic I've learned.  There's a pretty good learning curve there.

Best Grilled Cheese Ever

The first day we all went to City Mall (they have those) and the granddaddy of all Arabian supermarkets, Carrefour.  They had a ton of stuff to offer, but as I'm living with a family I didn't need much.  All I got was a towel (which I forgot to pack.  whoops!).  There were plenty of American stores, and I'm sure my sister will be jealous, a PinkBerry (free samples?  Yum!).  That night, I took a taxi back to some friends' apartment and because of their lack of propane for the stove, we had grilled cheese made with an iron.  Food innovation at it's finest.

We've met some Jordanian students at the University, and they love the fact that I'm Lebanese.  I've already been invited to the Maronite Church here (al-kaneesa marounia) which could be an interesting experience.  We shall see.  There's been a lot going on and I got my first schwarma tonight, after Yemeni food for lunch today and Lebanese food yesterday.  I love it here, and I'm happy and safe.  All is well and I can't wait to be able to do more on my own here (I do feel handicapped by the language barrier, though I can get places in taxis for pretty cheap).


Until next time, inshallah.  I hope all is well in the States!

PS Happy Valentine's day!  My sister's a cutie pie and slipped an awesome present in my suitcase!