Cultural Traditions

So this week was kind of blur, migraines tend to do that to people. I got a really bad one that started Tuesday night, worsened Wednesday night, and made Thursday a complete and total whirlwind. I even took excedrin each day that I brought with me from the States to try to keep it to a manageable level, and it made a difference but not nearly enough. You know when you can hear/feel your heartbeat inside your head and each beat sounds like an army of soldiers stabbing their bayonets and into your head and shooting a bullet into as well for good measure? That is kind of what I think migraines feel like, at least it's a comparable measure of pain.

Anyway, even with the pain, the last week was full of great adventures and derring do. As always, there was magnificent food, the nicest people, new places to see and explore, and lots of homework. Although this past week the homework was a lot more interesting and intriguing. In issue class this week, we talked about various traditions in Jordan and how they compare to traditions in America. It was an absolutely fascinating subject! We discussed weddings, funerals, births, graduations, and more. Weddings in Jordan and engagements are a long convoluted and complicated process in some facets. More simple than American festivities in others. When a boy sees a girl that he likes or finds attractive or whatever, he has to figure out where she lives. So usually he creepily stalks her home that first day. After getting the address, he has to get his mother to contact her mother and see if any possible connection between the two can be made. The mothers will discuss social class, what tribes they come from, connections they have in the military or university or in some sort of power, what their children studied at school, what careers they have, how much money they make yearly, etc. If all these different standards align somehow, the next step can be taken. If not, kiss any thought of a relationship goodbye. The father of the guy's family then must contact the father of the girl's family and set up a "Gaha" where all the men of both families can meet and discuss the possibility of engagement and other matters. At this big meeting, the most influential members of both families sit at the front and conduct business. The potential bride is responsible for making mansaf with lamb (mansaf with chicken means there will be no engagement since chicken is a subpar meat) and feeding both families. If her cooking is only so-so or bad, then the possible engagement will also get called off. If however, she can cook well, then the men can take the next step of writing up the engagement agreement. If both the potential bride and groom sign it and the influential men in both families agree to it, then the couple is finally officially engaged. After that, they can go on "date" that may or may not have supervision from one or both sets of parents. At the very least, they will be in the next room over to make sure nothing sketchy takes place. After six months or a year of being engaged (with no kissing or hand-holding or anything) the marriage will take place. The marriage is a three day extravaganza. So much celebrating, and they don't even have alcohol. The men and women are usually separated and the men take part in dancing and music and food (prepared by bride again or perhaps catered in modern times). The women, meanwhile, apply henna to the bride and make sure everything about her is absolutely perfect. Whenever the wedding party moves from one location to another, there is a long caravan of cars that incessantly honk their horns in some sort of rhythm congratulating the happy couple. There is at least one of these wedding caravan somewhere in the neighborhood of our apartment that goes by every couple days or so. When they stop, the people celebrate by lighting fireworks, shooting guns into the air, using noisemakers, etc. It made the first few days exciting trying to figure out where gunshots were coming from. Nothing as nerve-wrecking as an invading extremist army - it was only weddings. However, I still have a mild fear that a stray bullet will come down on my head, but the chances have to be fairly slim is my bet.

Funerals here last three days and take place as soon after the death of the deceased as possible. There can be no waiting around as we do in the States for the next weekend or opportune time for people's schedules. Such a move would show disrespect to the one who has passed on. They bury in the body in only a white canvas because of their firm belief that you can't take anything worldly with you to the next life. I find that notion noble and thought-provoking. No fancy suits or jewelry, just the simple garb of the lowest peasants throughout history. Those in attendance wear black and must not do anything happy or joyous for at least three days (which is usually how long the funeral lasts anyway). The wife or close family of the deceased mourns for forty days and must not partake in weddings, holidays, promotions, or other joyful occasions. Again, the meal of choice is mansaf with lamb. However, it is not required in this instance and if the close family of the deceased prefers another dish, that is ok.

Interestingly, one of the most important occasions of any family function or gathering for whatever occasion is the drinking of coffee. If someone shares their coffee with you at a gathering, it means you are accepted by them and have the right to contribute to the conversations or the proceedings. Coffee means you truly belong. However, it can also send other messages. For example, in arranged marriages when the hopeful man visits the young lady before any engagement takes place in her home with her relatives and they are given about an hour to get to know each other before agreeing to the marriage, the serving of coffee means the conversation is over and that it is time for the man to leave. That is one of my teacher's strategies. She is a conservative Muslim, but does not agree to arranged traditional marriages. Whenever a gentleman caller comes by hoping for her hand in marriage, she refuses to wear make-up or her nicest clothes. As soon as he is done talking about himself and asks her a questions, she replies, "Do you want your coffee with sugar or no sugar?". Then they have to leave. Coffee is such a major part of the culture here for social reasons among the normal help-you-stay-awake reasons. It is good I can just it is against my religion because then they don't get offended when I refuse their offers to share with them.

Last Saturday (and I get to go again tomorrow) we went to Wadi Mujib and it by far the most beautiful and awe-inspiring place I have been on the planet. I have seen quite a few cool places as well, don't get me wrong. It was a narrow slot canyon with a little creek running through it. Each twist and turn brought new, amazing views of the canyon cliffs, the sun, and the wonders of water in a desert climate. The water was not cold in the slightest but it wasn't too warm either. It was a nice break from always feeling dry with that slight salty residue because you sweat just a little bit from the heat of the day while walking around. Anyway, the views in this place were amazing. Every now and then, we also got to climb up big boulders or obstacles with the aide of iron ladders or strong ropes. At the end of the trail, there was a 50-foot waterfall that you could explore and even climb behind and look out if you wanted to. It was just gorgeous. I can't even begin to give the site justice. The other problem is that I couldn't take a camera because everything gets soaked, at some points you are pretty much swimming up the trail. It was a blast though and one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. Just picture towering 50-foot canyon walls only a few yards apart with crystal clear water running between them. The walls have lots of depressions, abstract designs, and sedimentary layers showing because of the countless years that they have been carved by the water running through them. So much fun! I hope to get a few pictures to prove I went tomorrow by keeping my camera in the car and running to get it after we finish the hike and snapping pictures of the beginning of the trail. Or I might wrap my Ipod in a couple ziploc bags and see what I can do with that. It has a lived a long and productive life if worse comes to worse. We shall see.

Another thing I just did today was run down with some people to visit Suuq Jara again. It is kind of like an arts-and-crafts fair. I bought some things because I didn't know if I would find stuff like them ever again. Plus they just looked cool and I figure I should get the souvenirs I like. Most of the stuff I bought will probably end up going to other people, but it will be cool as long as they are appreciated. I bought an original painting that abstractly looks like the old city of Amman with people in traditional garb. I also got a wooden carving of a map of Israel with engraving of the old city of Jerusalem in it, and key chains and magnets that were made by hand to benefit the women shelters. I am a sucker for charity causes. These women shelters are mostly out in the country areas of Jordan. Single women or women in struggling families make handicrafts from scratch and local materials and then different charity companies and organizations bring these products into the city and sell them. All the money gets back to the women by order of the King, so that is nice to know. They make the most amazing things though. I also bought a watermelon juice from the market today. I couldn't resist. It is the best tasting juice/drink that I have had in a very long time. I watched them mix it and they put in a whole lot of watermelon, quite a bit of sugar, and then three different "secret" liquid ingredients (although only a small splash of each) to make the drink. It tastes like pure heaven. All the refreshing qualities of watermelon but totally liquid - no pulp, seeds, or weird textures like you normally find in smoothies. True heaven.

Oh sidenote: I am glad I brought my ankle brace. No worries, I am not the one using it right now. Yaoyao, one of the girls in my program, sprained her ankle pretty bad on the Wadi Mujib trip last week. She hasn't been really able to get around. Today, I remember I had packed the brace so I dug it out and gave it to her. I hope it makes a difference. Before I left, I really wondered if I needed it because of the space it would take up with my limitations on what I could pack. The Spirit kept nagging me to pack it though, so it ended up in the suitcase. And what do you know? Like every other time I have followed a spiritual prompting, it was for a reason. Granted, it took about a month to know why for this one, but it is just another small testimony builder to me that God is aware of us and will bless us in a multitude of ways if we are willing to listen. The amount of tender mercies one receives in any location, stage of life, or reason are amazing!

A lot of this week was also taken up trying to fill out application stuff for a Saudi Arabia Fellowship opportunity. I had to write an essay, update my resume and cover letters, find ways to get letters of recommendation as well as hard copies of passport style pictures to D.C. I want to thank my family for getting those photos sent in with all the other stuff I couldn't email. You guys rock! I also want to thank all my friends for their constructive support and editing of my essay. It made a big difference, especially because right now I can't do well in Arabic or English grammar - I just have this weird mashup of both that is driving me crazy. Supposedly, they eventually separate better in your brain though so this should be a short phase I can persevere through! Thanks again for everything! This fellowship would be an almost-all-expenses-paid two week trip to Saudi Arabia to visit with dignitaries, business, cultural, and political leaders in that country. Then, I would get to come home and share what I have learned with others through a variety of activities and efforts! So, if I can ask everyone who reads this blog to do one last thing: pray for me to be able to get this fellowship. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime (and it would make up the for the fact that I have never had an internship yet). Even if I don't get it, it was a good experience to apply for it and take stock of all my recent accomplishments and other events in my life. Again, if you could just pray for me, that would be great! Also, while I am on the topic of prayer: if you could pray for me to have the gift of tongues and to have my tongue loosed or something to that effect that would be great! I am understanding what people say better and better everyday, but I am still struggling with speaking. I freeze up and forget Arabic when I first try to say things. This doesn't happen all the time, but it is often enough that it is a problem. Thanks for your faith and prayers in advance and for all those who have already been doing so!

Ok, the food of this week. Amazing as always. I am thoroughly convinced Arabs have never made a bad food in their entire history as a culture. That or I am just blessed with extremely adaptable taste buds. Take your pick. This week we visited the restaurant Fruit Salad. Don't be misled by the misnomer, this place is the most unhealthy of anything I have eaten yet. Yes, the dishes do contain an entire two weeks' worth of fruit (like an apple, pear, watermelon, coconut slice, pluot, pomegranate seeds, kiwi, pineapple, strawberries, guavas, and so much more I am forgetting). However, they are all draped with delicious, fresh whipped cream and some sort of delicious honey that has a more fruity base to it than normal. This cocktail means all the sugars of the fruit convalesce into some sickenly sweet fruit syrup all around the dish. Then of course, there is the ice cream - like an entire giant bowl's worth. So much amazing food! I didn't even get the nutella one where everything is dipped in chocolate and you have candy bars mixed in. That will definitely be a future endeavor of mine. The last hour of classes this week, we had a giant party where the teachers all brought homemade dishes to share with us. It was a dream come true. There were grape leaves and squashes stuffed with rice and spices and other delicious things that I have I no idea what they were. Picture the best stuffed bell pepper you have ever had and imagine it a million times better - you get how much I loved these stuffed foods. There was also a lot of breads stuffed with cheeses or meats or zatir. Zatir means "tyme" but in Jordan it means tyme mixed with a variety of other tantalizing spices and flavors. Every zatir is different and unique and delicious. I'll have to see if I can bring any home so that you guys can have a small taste and understand what we are missing out on. There was also this really great spicy hummus with nuts on top that added zest to all the other dishes and was even great just plain. I think that is all the exciting new food I tried this week. I did learn that my body does not like the long term milk that most other countries use. It made my stomach quite unhappy, so I'll have to go find where there is fresh milk so I can keep my bones nice and strong. Oh, I did also discover this watermelon juice that is mixed with rose extract or something like that, it's quite good.

I have started to make Arab friends as well, which has been really nice. They call me and want to hang out and they usually don't really speak English so that's great. I think I might just start walking up to people this week and talking to them out of the blue. My approach to make it more normal and less awkward and missionary-feeling is to ask them if I can take their picture for my travel blog (this one) and then talk with them after so I can record their life stories and experiences. So if you start to posts each day on the blog, that is the reason why. They will be much shorter though with a picture and not posted to Facebook. It will be a little bio of someone I met. It also gives me the opportunity to talk with a variety of people who work a variety of trades. I want to visit a halal butcher (like kosher for Muslims) as well as fruit stand owners, spicer shop workers, bakery men, etc. this week and find out how they do what they do. And what it means to them. That is my hope for this week, so if you like travel blogs that give lots of little bios of a variety of people, make sure you start following the blog itself. If not, I'll still post my weekly musings, thoughts, and reactions to Facebook each Friday. I hope this will get me in better with the Arab people. They do relationships differently. Strangers are just that - strange and not to be trusted or interacted with unless you are trying to sell something (and then you be extra nice to try to get as much out of them as possible) but if you can become someone that they actually know, you are like family to them. They will call you everyday, feed you, find out every secret they can about you and your life and share the same with you, introduce you to their families and friends, and use their connections to get you everything possible. It is just such a different dynamic than what I am used to, but I have been adapting and once you get to know an Arab - it is like you have been best friends since birth with all the expectations that such a relationship implies (the good and the bad).

I guess I should also write and let you all know that life here is perfectly safe and fine. They have upped the security around here a little bit and the rules that we have to follow because of the recent declaration on ISIS by a multitude of countries. Overwhelmingly, the people here HATE ISIS, they disavow them in every way, shape, and form possible. Everyone I have talked to makes sure that I know that ISIS has no religion, the people have left every teaching and practice that Islam stands for. They make sure I understand these are terrible people and that God has a very special plan for them in the next life to make them pay for what they are currently doing. That being said, we are relatively close to the two countries where the action is taking place, so now we are no longer allowed to go out alone at all at night. We must always have someone from the program with us even to walk down the street. If we are leaving the immediate area where we have classes, we must also be with someone from the program. We are not allowed to even visit the next neighborhood of Amman without a classmate. There is also a more visible police and army security presence on the major streets and traffic circles. So no worries, we are being well taken care of and protected. If anything does happen, we have already been told we will be on the first plane out of here or we will be in lockdown in our apartments for a few days depending on the situation. But such a scenario is extremely unlikely, so believe me when I say don't worry and don't stress.

I think that is all for this week, I need to get headed to bed soon anyway. I just barely got over the migraine and can't afford to do anything that would make it come back. Thanks again for all that you guys have done to support me and are currently doing. I hope you enjoyed my post today!

The Layers of History in Jordan (or "Cake, everybody loves Cake!" name that movie and you are one amazing person!)

Sometimes it is hard to find the time and the focus to sit down and write. Not because anything really important is going on, but just because there are an infinite amount of distractions in this life and writing takes focus and energy. So hopefully I can focus enough to get through all the amazing things that happened this week. Also, sidenote: sorry for all the car pictures. I just have a thing for amazing old mint condition cars and there were a bzillion of them at the Royal Car Museum so I took a lot of pictures of them. You all have to understand my interests and that is one of them. Also, I am a Humanities TA so I went mosaic crazy as well on the pictures I posted to Facebook today. Just forgive me and understand it as like a dream come true and I could not get enough. I was basically "starstruck" by mosaics so look at them like you look at pictures of celebrities, just saying.
Last Saturday was a big, fun field trip to visit sacred Christian sites with lots of cool history. I could have toured them all day (probably because I am my father's child) but most other people got bored of them pretty fast for some reason. I might have to go back to Madaba at least (plus they had cool Christian souvenirs like Nativity sets or Tree of Life mosaics that I really want and will probably be cheaper than Jerusalem or Israel). We started off by visiting Machareus which is the ruins of the ancient Herodian temple where John the Baptist was beheaded. There wasn't much left to see, but you can see why they build a fort-palace there. You can see for miles in any direction and protect the fortress from pretty much anything. Romans did like to protect their trade routes/collect taxes from anyone doing the trading within their empire. The Dead Sea was below the mountain. The barren landscape surround the area made me feel like I was in Nevada or northern Arizona around Lake Powell or something. There was not much happening there by means of plant or animal life. There were some bedouin camps set up nearby but that was about it. There was small, little remnants of wall so you can see where the palace used to be. There were two forlorn pillars marking the ancient entrance to the fortress but that's about it. Otherwise it was a mess of rock and dust. It was hard to picture it during ancient times. But maybe that is a fitting tribe to the prophet's memory. Kind of like God was sad about such a tragedy and so left the area barren and desolate to show that. I found it fitting. There was a giant cistern in the middle of the ruins that we got to climb down into. There was an old rickety, wood ladder that descended down into the pit and that shook as you went down so that made it exciting. After we got to the bottom it was fun to see the amazing acoustics of a giant pit in the ground. A bunch of people sang a church hymn in great harmony. After climbing back out, the girls also showed us how the woman danced to trick Herod into beheading John the Baptist. I am sure "Turn Down for What" was her song of choice for the dance (if you have never heard the song, ask Adam my brother about it because it is one of his favorites). We got to climb around the mountain and look for caves after that and there were many. All of them at one point or another were used for water storage since I don't think they get much naturally there.
After leaving this place, we headed to the infamous Mount Nebo. They weren't kidding when they referred to it as a mountain in the Bible, it's quite large compared to everything around it. You could see forever, kind of like when you drive up on the rim heading to the cabin. From the barren desert of where we were, we could see the rest of the desert and far off in the distance we could see lush greenery (at least by comparison). It wasn't hard to picture Moses or any of the children of Israel for that matter looking towards the land with longing and regret because of their previous actions. Wandering around in the desert must have been very exhausting, although I still find it beautiful. There were also restoring an old Byzantine church while we were there that sits right on top of the mountain. It is filled with beautiful mosaics, however, it wasn't yet open to the public when we went, so now I will have to go back another day in a month or so to see them all again. They did have some other mosaics there that were really awesome and intricate. I can't imagine the immense sense of patience that those people must have had. I lack it, that's all I know for sure.
Next, we headed to Madaba which is probably one of my favorite places in the whole world right now. For one thing, not all the houses had to be white like in Amman. There were flashes of color and individuality. There was also such an immense amount of history in each building and I could have stayed there forever studying them. There were buildings from before Christ, Roman times, Byzantine times, Ottoman times, modern times, etc. It was apparent everywhere you turned to see all the different eras of architecture and art. It was a sight to behold. We visited a church with the most amazing mosaics I have ever seen. It was the church of St. George (like the British one who slayed the dragon) and had mosaics everywhere you looked. Half the floor was taken up by a giant map of early Christian times (like really early). You could see the churches in Jerusalem and Egypt and Jordan as well as people fishing in the Dead Sea. It was amazing! Each wall was covered in mosaics remembering various Saints or telling stories of Christ's life. It was a peaceful, quiet place. I could have sat there all day contemplating my beliefs, but they only gave us about 15 minutes. Then we toured some other places filled with mosaics of various things. They also were an excellent example of the layering that goes on here in these lands. You could see the bottom layer of where the Greeks built and then where the Romans built on top of them and then were the Christians built on top of them and then the Ottomans on top of them and then modern on top of them. Different areas were excavated down to different eras, it kind of looks like a giant multi-layered cake. That doesn't do it justice, but might be the best description that I can give. The history itself of this land just blows my mind. America, and Arizona in particular, are so new. Nothing is much older than a couple hundred years tops (except for the ancient Native American ruins and I do find those fascinating as well). The dry desert air keeps everything in great condition so that we can still enjoy those amazing works of art today. We also visited a mosaic shop where we could see how they make the mosaics using the traditional or newer methods. I think Ashley would find her dream career there if she ever had a chance to visit. They have a whole school devoted to the art of mosaic making. Madaba was a wonderful place and I am looking forward to catching a bus back there in the next couple weeks to pick up souvenirs and see more of the sites. It also has a different feel and atmosphere to it because 1/3 of the population is Christian. I love Muslims and Islam, a lot, but it was nice to feel a little change.
That was my exciting field trip for the week, I will have another one for next week to write because tomorrow we are headed to Wadi Mujib which apparently is similar to the Narrows in Zion's Canyon. I am beyond excited. Hiking and swimming are two of my favorite activities. Don't worry, I will be wearing a hat, rash guard, and lots of sunscreen. I can't afford to be sunsick the rest of the week.
This week a lot of other exciting things also happened. For one, I am getting better and feeling more comfortable having basic conversation with people. Talking with taxi drivers is the best. Maybe because they can't get away if they can't understand you, so they try their hardest to and help you to understand them as well. They all have such amazing stories and experiences to share. Most of them have lived in Jordan their whole lives but are of Palestinian origin. They always dream and talk of the day of when they will be able to return back to their homeland. When their families fled from Palestine, most of them had nothing. They entered Jordan as refugees and eeked out meager lives living in squalid conditions in refugee camps for awhile. Eventually, Jordan gave them citizenship and allowed them to live a semblance of a normal life. However, they still can't do everything. There is some discrimination here in Jordan, at least a little bit. I'm not saying everyone is guilty or that it is a terrible problem, but we might have a similar issue with Mexicans in Arizona. A lot of people view them as outsiders or lower than themselves, like one human can really be above another. Palestinians often work in lower class jobs (like taxi drivers) and can never get high positions in business, government, or the army. Only Jordanians can do that. I find it interesting to view class and racial systems in a different land where I am removed from it. It gives me new perspective on the Hispanic population in Arizona and the problems that we are having there with that huge topic. Anyway, taxi drivers are more than willing to talk and are great conversationists. It has helped my Arabic and confidence a lot to ride with them and chat with them. I also have talked with some shop owners who were nice as well and some students up on the University of Jordan. I feel like a missionary again because I just walk up and talk with random people on the street. The people here are nice though and love to talk. They try their best to keep the conversation at a level I can understand and we use a lot of gestures to get more difficult points across. Each day we have homework questions that we are supposed to ask people out on the street to aid in our class discussion the next day. It is interesting to hear people's opinions and how fast and willing they are able to give them. People in America are much more reserved generally and harder to crack open. It is refreshing to have much more open people. Even when you disagree with them on a point, they don't freeze up or try to persuade you. They let you have your position and they have theirs. You can share information with each other but understand you will keep your beliefs and your position. Staunch Democrats and Republicans or political people of any sort would do well to learn this strategy of respect even in differences. It is nicer than the vicious and useless mudslinging and brawling of current American politics. This past week we discussed the Palestinian/Israeli conflict everyday. It was cool to see the opposite side of everything from what we usually see or hear in America. I have to say I find both sides guilty of terrible atrocities. Neither side is innocent or completely right or wrong. I feel for the Palestinian people and their plight. I think of what I would do if I was driven from my home and forced to live out my life in a different country and circumstance or living under a security state that monitors your every move and controls every opportunity or future you might have. Of life stuck behind the wall, like a caged animal. On the other hand, I can see Israeli stance trying to find stability and protection after the Holocaust and losing so many people to such a terrible event. I can understand their fear of having that repeat and their want for a strong military to ensure the safety and security of their people. After living so long at the bottom of the social systems of Europe, I can understand their hunger for their own country and their desire for their own system. I will get off my soapbox now, but I get both sides and I refuse to say one is right and one is wrong. Trying to find a solution this week in class was tricky and I don't know that there will be one in the near (or even far) future.
This week I also had the best kebob I have ever had in my life. They were made in this little, shady street cart downtown. I was a little afraid that I would get sick later from eating it, but the taste alone would have been worth it. They were out of this world, I will definitely be heading back soon. I am getting used to the different sense of hospitality that Jordanians have. They refuse to let you sit and talk with them for long before feeding you and giving you drink. If you try to refuse, it is like a mortal affront to them. It is considered extremely rude. I mean sure people in America are generous. But we don't insist on feeding every person that we talk with. Also, once you get to know a shop or restaurant owner, they start to give you food for free. These are people that are struggling to support their families but because they see you as a friend, they give you what you ordered with no or extremely reduced cost. Way different from how restaurants work in America, I can tell you that. It is nice though. Relationships mean a lot to the people here more than almost anything else. It is an adjustment from America where only money really does the talking. Here relationships and connections mean everything and make all the difference. It is a very different dichotomy and way of thinking and living. In one of my culture classes they described it as the bee and the spider. Americans are the bees of the world - they are always busy, always looking to get stuff done, rushing from one task to the next. We work for the benefit of all, if we find something good we try to share it with other so that it can benefit everyone else in the hive. We spend all our time work and improving what we think needs to be improved. Life is a list of to-do lists and schedules. On the other hand, Jordanians are like spiders. They build intricate and delicate webs. All of their time is spent strengthening the individual strands of their webs so that they can catch all the food that they can. Sharing information with other spiders on the best places to build web would endanger their way of life so they take care in what they share. If you end up being attached to one of their strands though, they will do everything in their power to make sure you are a secure and steadfast strand. Those relationships mean everything to them. With no web, spiders could not eat or survive. I find it an interesting comparison and one that I am seeing in my daily interactions with people here.
Let's see, what else? I have decided Mormons should learn from Muslims. They have no fear about sharing their religion or asking right at the outset why you haven't joined their religion yet. They are amazed that we live so many standards as Mormons. They view us as basically "dry" Muslims, all we would have to do is recite the shahada and we would be good to go! We already live the right lifestyle. But even after you refuse them and say you are interested in discussing religion and not converting, they are still your friend. Nothing really changes. In fact, they continue to invite you to join them in Islamic activities or join their religion at every opportunity. I don't even find it the least bit annoying because I know they mean so well. They truly feel they are showing the most love for me that they can by inviting me. My salvation is more important than annoying me, offending me, or scaring me away. I think that would be an interesting approach to missionary work within the Mormon faith. A lot more boldness but also a lot more love. i love visiting mosques and seeing such dedicated adherence to their religion. Youth spend three days or more a week learning to recite the Qur'an and how to faithfully live their beliefs. It is amazing to see how much more dedication they have than a lot of the people in America that I know. It has been a great example to me of always living my beliefs and looking at each opportunity to serve or attend church activities or services as a privilege and a blessing and not as a checklist or a burden.
Ok, I know I probably already wrote too much. But let me just say one more thing. The tariffs to get foreign products into the US I find slightly annoying right now. They have held me back from so much amazing food, snacks, and treats. Like England has these "Digestive" cookies (nothing healthy about them like fiber or anything, why they have that name I do not know) but they are simply delicious. I buy them at least once a week if not more. They also have Canadian "Smarties" here, they are kind of like M&M's but bigger and better. Also, the chocolate here is not the fake, waxy stuff of Hershey's but legit and delectable. Everything here is much fresher like the fruit and bread. It makes a big difference in taste (however it also goes bad a ton faster so I can see why American companies do use preservatives and such things but sacrificing taste might not be worth it). The fruit just tastes so much better, like you just picked it fresh of the tree each and every time. It will be hard to adjust back to the American supermarket fruit or bread. Also the sauces they put on the meat or rice here are so savory and so flavorful. Americans just putting butter on everything is kind of sad in comparison. That being said, I do miss cereal and milk at decent prices, so I will give America that win haha. I might have to visit Trader Joe's or special markets a lot more often when I come back though so I can continue to get some of the food and stuff that I have started to get used to here in Jordan.
If you made it to the end of this, congratulations and thanks for putting up with me! Thanks for being such amazing friends and family, I love you all!

This has been the week of the malls and learning that Jordanians love malls probably even more than Americans do. Bitool (my Arabic issues class teacher) says that it is sad that the Jordanian people love the mall more than they love museums or cultural things. I know this to be true. The museum of Jordan is free for everyone who goes there right now (it only barely opened and parts are still closed off). We went last Saturday to the Jordan National Museum near downtown Amman and it was completely empty. It is a world class museum with lots of amazing things, but nevertheless, it is completely empty. We were the only people there except for the security and museum staff. It was an awesome place to tour though. The museum moves chronologically through the history of Jordan from very early prehistory to modern times. They have exhibits from ancient Mesopotamia, bedouin tribes, ancient Biblical times, Greek times, Roman times, Islamic times, Byzantine times, and modern times. All they had for modern times was displays of how they do archeological digging mixed with clips from Indiana Jones and Transformers (both have scenes where they show parts of Petra). The prehistory stuff was amazing - they had the oldest human figurine statue-like things that have even been discovered. Then, there was lots of pottery, rock drawings, basketry, etc. All that was followed by the metal ages - the age of copper, brass, steel, etc. All with their different weapons, arts, customs, traditions, etc. All the best pictures I could take of my expedition to the museum with a brief description of each are posted on Facebook, so look there if you want a taste of the experience. I could easily have spent days in the museum, but being hungry is a powerful motivation to move through the exhibits quickly.

After leaving the museum, we walked to Wast al-Balad and ate one of the most famous restaurants in all of Jordan - Hashem's. The falafel and the hummus at that place was simply out of this world, there can be no comparison. Also they just brought everything fresh on huge platters so you could pick exactly what you wanted and make sandwiches. I found the best was to stuff pickles, falafel, and tomatoes into pita bread and then dip it into hummus for each and every bite. Picture the best meal ever and times it by quite a bit and you get my experience at Hashem's. I will definitely be going back at some point (when I'm not drowning in homework but more on that later). After eating, we went to the Mecca of all movie stores, Hammouda's. They have everything, and I mean everything (including Work and the Glory - of all things). Their store has three different levels and every nook and cranny is lined with movies and each for like $1.50 or so only. It was like stepping into paradise seeing what I could get there. It is a good thing I don't have buckets of free time (or free space) or I would be bringing home 100's of new additions to my collection. As it is, I will probably be bringing home a fair few (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America 2, lots of Disney movies in Arabic, and I will be hunting through the whole store to find Better Off Dead as well). I will find other souvenirs to bring home as well so don't worry about that. But life wouldn't be complete without some extra movies, just saying.

The other "tourist" thing I did this week was to visit many of the malls of Amman. I saw the Muchtar Mall, the Taj Mall (get it?), the City Mall, and the Mecca Mall. Again, Arabs love their malls. They are crowded and bigger than any mall that I have seen in the states - 5 or 6 floors with hundreds of stores or shops or restaurants. Muchtar Mall is a lower middle class mall. It has a Carrefour (a French WalMart type of store) and then every floor is operated by the same company with a different of department per floor. Nothing too great or exciting. City Mall is more of a American middle class mall and I mean American - Papa John's, Burger King, Popeyes, movie theater, etc. And then shops from all over the world - American, Italian, French, Russian, etc. All middle class level though so nothing too fancy so picture a mall full of Aeropostales or American Eagles and there you go. The Taj Mall is the crowning shipping center of Amman. It is the mall of the rich and famous - Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Armani, PF Chang's, fancy French bistros, the classiest of the classy in shops and foods of the world including a 3d imax theater on the top floor. I also had the best churro of my life in this mall - it was filled with Nutella then dipped in dark chocolate a couple times and then drizzled with white and milk chocolate. Delicious beyond compare and also my week's supply of chocolate or sugar. There was also a lovely balcony on the top floor to with a nice view of the city. I was out of my element in that mall, getting one or two things might have blown my entire life's savings. It was a beautiful mall but one that I cannot afford. Mecca Mall was just simply huge. It was the biggest mall I have ever seen in my entire life. It had everything you could ever want in life in one gigantic, behemoth of a building. Put Arizona Mills combined with Superstition Springs combined with Tempe Marketplace and San Tan and you might get close the size of this mall (and it was about 5 or 6 stories at least). So much stuff! I didn't know Jordanians loved shopping so much, I had no idea. But they might even beat out America for that fact of life.

Speaking about America, with yesterday being 9/11. We decided to go have some American food and do some American things to remember our great country and those that died. They have a Fuddrucker's here! We had the most delicious of burgers! Although they cook them like they do in Europe where a well done only comes out a medium to be honest (those that ordered medium rare got meat that look like it was still alive....dark, deep red...so I was glad I chose well done, thanks for telling us your stories of France for that Mom). The guacamole that came with my burger was also very good and just like any you would get with a burger in Arizona. The bacon though was not even close to the same. Beef bacon has nothing on pork bacon. I can understand they don't eat pork, but turkey bacon at least is somewhat of a better texture. Beef bacon is stringy and tough like jerky... I might have pulled that off my sandwich. Also the milkshake was more of sweet cream with vanilla flavoring but it still tasted awesome. Then we came home and watched the 80's classic that is Better Off Dead, one of my favorite movies ever. So many good quotes and opportunities to laugh.

Anyway, that was my tourist or American stuff of the week. Class and homework are seriously taking most of my time during the normal week. It is almost like being back in the MTC but with more freedom on the food we get to eat. We do language learning activities 24/7 and understand a lot of what is going on, but definitely not everything. We are supposed to talk with Arabs for two hours a day out on the street or wherever we meet them. It isn't hard to get the time, but I definitely don't understand everything they say back to me or have the words I wish I had to say back to them. I usually ask them their opinions about class topics that we have the next day. This week we talked, discussed, and debated the Arab Spring. We did Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, Jordan, etc. Our group presentation was on the start of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt. This time our presentation and the discussion that led lasted for a whole hour! I had no idea that I could even get close to doing that in Arabic!!! I know prayers and the Lord are the reason why and I am grateful for that. I really enjoy class discussions and I feel that my Arabic is slowly improving and that I am getting more and more to say. I look forward to going to class everyday and I like that the classes are small and I get the chance to say quite a bit. The two hours goes by pretty fast each day and that is a blessing as well. The translation homework is fun, but usually challenging and leaves you feeling pretty drained. Talking with people is also tiring, so I am always really tired each and every day. Kind of like being on a mission again in that way too.

The people here are the nicest people. They love to talk, all you have to do is ask the right question. They aren't closed and reserved like people are in the States, they are willing to talk and take what limited Arabic you may have and use it help you understand what they want to tell you. Having deep conversations requires a great deal of focus and concentration, but is worth it. Well, tomorrow we head to a bunch of great early Christian sites like Madaba or the place where John the Baptist was beheaded. So expect plenty of pictures and I will write about them next Friday. I love you all and hope you are doing well! Keep on keeping on!

Life couldn't possibly get any better (unless we planted a fig tree back home...)

So here goes my attempt at trying to post once a week making this post 2 of my study abroad experience. I hope you all enjoy!

This first week in Jordan has gone by in a flash. I feel like I just barely got to Jordan and have started to experience all the wonders of a new place, culture, language, etc. At the same time, I already feel like I have been here a long time. Kind of weird, huh? Either way, I am in love with the experience so it doesn't matter either way to me. What's even crazier to me is that we only have around 12 weeks of school left and then a few days of finals and then it's off to Jerusalem. Apparently, we see everything that the Jerusalem Center kids get to see, just in a much shorter amount of time so with little sleep or time to eat. That made me even more excited to be here and experience life here. The same problem still applies though because I can't get the pictures from my camera to my computer. All the ones I can post come from my cellphone, so I need to get better at taking those pictures. Anyway, here is the experiences of my first week living in Amman, Jordan.

The food. Don't even get me started. This must be akin to what they eat in heaven, end of story. Mansaf is one of my new favorite meals. I'm not sure how to explain the diverse palate of flavors that comes with this meal. I posted a picture yesterday when I was eating at the Mata'am Al-Quds (Jerusalem Restaurant) and I hope you all got to see it. It's a gigantic slab of lamb meat on top of a giant plate of delicious rice. All of this is underneath a piece of delectable bread. They bring a goat yogurt sauce in a giant bowl to the side and then you dump this over everything. Traditionally, you can only eat mansaf with your hands. However, we were at a semi-nice restaurant and so there was the convenience of modern silverware. I tried both ways though and found it to be more enjoyable to eat with my hands and mix more flavors. Don't mess with tradition and cultural practice, it's there for a reason. In this case, how to eat such an awesome meal in the best way. I'm going to eat mansaf all I can while I am here in Jordan because I know of no place in the states that serves it whatsoever. They also had a bowl of delicious olives to eat and good bread and hummus. I also tried kunafa this week and found it to be just as good. It is a common dessert in Jordan. It's like a mozzarella stick mixed with some sugary-honey sauce and then topped with delicious crumbs. Again, you really have to try it for yourself to have any idea about what it tastes like or how awesome it is. And unfortunately, it is another dish I think I can only find in Jordan. Another common dessert here is baclava, which can be found in the States. So picture the best one you have ever tasted at a Mediterranean restaurant and then times it by 10 and you get the level of baclava available here. Such a treat. Also, there is this magical Palestinian sweet bread call "baboosa". It is covered in delicious nuts, again soaked in some sort of sugary syrup. Sooooooooo good. If you thought I was going to come home extremely skinny from not eating, you are going to be sadly mistaken, just saying. I'm just hoping I don't gain too much weight, haha. I also love all the falafel, hummus, pita bread, and shwarma. Everything is so good. And everything is so cheap - you can get a meal from a nicer restaurant for only 5 dinar (about $7.50) - that was the mansaf meal price. A falafel sandwich from the restaurant across the street from Qasid Institute (where my classes are) will set you back only 40 'ursh (about 60 cents). Definitely affordable eating and living here. Visiting the fruit stand for figs, pomegranates, pears, nectarines, etc. will only cost from 2-3 dinar ($3-$4.50) for kilos of fruity goodness. Strangely (to me at least) one of my biggest expenses of this trip is going to be water.

So water, I thought I was used to living in the desert and great at conserving water. That is just not the case. I have never been limited to 2 cubic meters of water per week for seven people before and it makes life an interesting challenge. Showering at home is a 1 1/2 minute affair with absolutely no water pressure, you have to scrub the soap off of you. Washing clothes is a delicate balance of figuring out who can go which week and making your clothes last until it is your turn (good thing deoderant and cologne exist here in Jordan is the answer to that problem). Even having enough water to clean all our marble tile floors (I'm not joking when I say we live in the apartment of the rich and the famous) takes some thought. I figured out just using the Clorox cleaning wipes Mom got me was the best solution and they seemed to do the job just fine. Bottled water at restaurants is costs at least twice as much as the meal, if not three times. Bottled water from the store doesn't come too cheap either. I have found one supermarket near our place that will give us a 10 liter jug of water for 1 dinar and that is what I am going to stick with from now on.

Enough about water and food, let's get to the places I visited this week. I went and saw the Roman Ampitheater again and went to Wast al-Balad (downtown Amman) last night. We even caught an old Arab man rapping down at the Ampitheater, pretty sweet and way better than I can do. Today I went and visit the Suuq al-Jarra and Rainbow Street. the Suuq al-Jarra was kind of like a craft fair with lots of different booths and tents set up, all hawking paintings, clothes, woodwork, stonework, souvenirs, etc - with a Jordanian flair. At the food court, we got to taste test banana cookie ice cream, grape leaves stuffed with ricey and tomatoey goodness, and the best watermelon juice available on this planet. It might have been better than my last trip to Costco (and to be honest that was spectacular - I got free ahi tuna sushi that was out of this world). After visiting the markets, we wandered up and down Rainbow Street. It felt more like we were walking through some Parisian neighborhood than a Middle Eastern city. White people were everywhere along with nutella and crepe signs and cafes. It definitely is a place that caters to tourists. It was fun, but nothing overly exciting or different. The best part was we wandered off Rainbow Street into a different neighborhood and found the perfect lookout point to see the city from. We could see for miles and it was sunset and it was around 68 degrees with a faint breeze and was next to some fig trees. Picture the perfect day with the perfect weather with the perfect sunset (all colors) with the perfect view and you have what we sat and gazed at for 30 minutes at least. We also had fun taking a bunch of pictures, talk about amazing!

I also got my calling for my time here in Jordan! Sorry for my non-Mormon friends here, but here is my Mormom paragraph so bear with me (and perhaps even enjoy it!). I am going to be on the Arab branch activity committee. We plan activities bi-monthly for all the members and nonmembers of the Arab branch and just get to have a blast with them (and eat their delicious food). No other students from BYU or invited or people who speak English. It will just be about 6 of us and then 30+ Arabs playing games or throwing water balloons or whatever. It is going to be a blast. So story time. I prayed earlier this week if I should request any specific callings. Our teacher, Dil, sent out emails with options to go up to the north branch, give sacrament meeting talks, teach classes, hometeach, etc. We could reply and say what we felt comfortable doing. I prayed about it and got the response that I needed to be on the activities committee. Then I forgot to send in any email whatsoever. Dil reads out callings yesterday and come-to-find-out that I am on the activities committee! The Lord is truly aware of me, even here in Jordan. He still answers prayers and still is definitely leading and guiding my life. Attending the Arab branch was a blast today as well - I understood the vast majority (90%+) of it. I take that as a blessing from God as well. Ok enough of my Mormon moment, just know I know God lives and loves me and all of the people here in the Middle East.

Classes this week have been a stretch for me. I somehow ended up in a class with all natural talent language learners who are also brilliant. I can study a lot to learn vocab...but Arabic doesn't just come naturally to me. It is a huge struggle. So I am kind of out of my league, but I have been learning a lot. I have also been having a lot of fun. Each day was have a new topic to discuss and debate. This week we covered comparing Amman with our home cities, our hobbies and interests, who we are as a person, etc. Yesterday (our Friday) we had to give a group presentation complete with questions and discussion on American stereotypes of Arabs (hence why I Facebook messaged a lot of you and thanks for your responses). We did it all in Arabic and we went for about 25 minutes, so we did much better than I thought we were going to do. There are seven of us in the class with the teacher. We spend 8 hours a week studying and speaking foosha while doing debates and discussion on various topics. Foosha is modern standard Arabic or formal Arabic that is common across the Arab world. Then we spend two hours a week learning 'aamia (the Jordanian dialect of Arabic). We studied Egyptian before and there is quite a lot of differences. Picture the difference between Portuguese and Spanish and you get the difference between dialects in Arabic. So they can understand one another, but it takes some struggle and you can't quite speak their language right. We then have the BYU class with Dil where we go over more Jordanian Arabic situations and how to deal with them (like taking taxis or changing our standard greetings from Egyptian or formal). Then we have two (usually it takes three) hours of translation homework. We read two articles and answer questions about them, listen to an article and answer questions about it. Then we also have to translate word perfect another article. It is fun, but sometimes feels a little tedious. Then we have to talk with Arabs for at least two hours. I need to make some good Arab friends so I can just chat with them everyday. So far my best luck has been with taxi drivers and visiting the university as well as shop owners (when their shop is not busy). This schedule I think will keep me busy every week of classes, but the goal is to learn the language and I think this will help. We also have lots of extra appointments that will start up this week so that will take more time as well. Weekends are our little haven of freedom and I am going to enjoy every minute of them.

I think that is pretty much my week this week from what I can remember or think. I hope you are all having amazing lives back in the United States and school started great for those of you at BYU! Until next time!