This week has gone by in a flash, or time flies faster and faster with no chance of slowing down. Apparently "time flies" is even an expression in Arabic, I used it in a presentation this week and my teacher liked it a lot. Also, they share the notion of something "spreading like a wildfire". It is nice to know some things bridge multiple languages and cultures. However, other sayings and expression definitely do not translate well in either direction. For example, at church today President Hammond tried to say death was not an exclamation point, but a comma. That definitely does not translate well into Arabic. They do not have the same meaning or feeling behind it. It didn't translate well at all, but points for a cool English saying. On the other hand, Arabs love to joke about how they will kill you. They will cut off your head or stab you or shoot you, etc. They always do it in jest, but it is their favorite comeback to anything. If they cannot come up with a witty remark to match what you said, they just say they will kill you and that is like the end all, be all in teasing one another. I guess we might also do that in America, but they are much more willing to jump to that saying here than I feel like we do back home. Now, don't fear for my safety, they mean "kill you" as in conceding the fact that you have the best argument or best sarcastic remark when they tease or kid or joke with one another or us.
On that note, saying greetings here in Arabic is quite a procedure. It is always a contest to see who can say the most stuff and compliment the other person the most. You say hi, hello, how are you, how's your family, how's your work, how's your mother, how's your studies, how's all your friends (you list the ones out by name that you know of), what's new with you, etc. The greetings themselves can take about 30 minutes and you can repeat the same question a few questions later with no problem. It can be very entertaining sometimes to see how long it will take to get to having a substantial conversation that is more than just the niceties. Also, each compliment must be returned in kind and then further returned. It is like a compliment battle that goes back and forth over and over and over. You always want to give the last and most creative and awe-inspiring compliment. It is quite a fun game to play and can be quite entertaining.
Ok, so sidetrack to Halloween. Halloween this year was declared illegal in Jordan so costumes or formal parties anywhere in public could end up with a person being arrested. As exciting as that sounds, I have made a life goal to stay out of foreign prisons if at all possible. Islam and some Muslims view Halloween as a devil's day and see it as a semblance of evil. They see it as a pagan holiday (basically any holiday that doesn't have a religious connection or meeting is a bad thing so Valentine's Day ST. Patrick's Day, etc.). Although independence days are ok, I guess building patriotism is always a good reason for a holiday. Anyway, Halloween was illegal and we warned about traveling to any parties in costume or mentioning anything to do with Halloween. Flash forward to me being in the activity and basically in charge of throwing a huge double-branch Halloween party with Zoya and her husband. And the help of all the students in our program, but basically just trying to plan everything was crazy. But it all turned out ok! We had a haunted house, a chili dinner, and lots of carnival games such as pumpkin bowling, a cake walk, donut-on-a-string, and bobbing for apples. We had a pretty big turn out and it was a lot of fun for everyone I think. Also, there were a lot of costumes and no one got arrested. We all just changed at the church and had the party and then changed back into regular clothes before catching a taxi back. I ended up just dressing up as Laurence of Arabia - long "thob", kuffiya and all. Then I worked the cake walk for most of the night after spending the day setting up and shopping for everything else that was needed. Then we cleaned up and that was that.
I also attended a Halloween party last night where we watched Hocus Pocus and enjoyed the great drink of wassail. I love that drink, especially this version that had lots of orange in it. It was a party thrown by Kendra and Phil and I brought the movie because I found it for one dinar at the movie store downtown. I also watched the Kung Fu Panda movie this week that I got from the same store in Arabic. It was a good boost to my confidence to realize I can finally understand the vast majority of children's animated movies in Arabic now. It only took 2 and a half years or so of study to get to this point, but it is nice to know I have improved over time. It is also hard to believe that there is only about a month left of classes and the program, I hope to improve even more and must keep working hard. It is so easy to burn out though sometimes and feel tired of trying to speak another language. However, it is worth it when I can speak to people and have a lot of good conversations on a variety of topics. I had a conversation with a taxi driver this past week on the way to the orphanage about the policies of both President Bush-es and President Clinton as well as President Obama. We were able to talk about different policies, especially in foreign affairs. It was an interesting debate to have and I was glad I was able to have it in a different language. I hope to keep practicing the language to get better and have even more deep conversations on a variety of topics.
Other things that happened this week. I went to the best Chinese restaurant that I have ever experienced in my life. One of my friends from the Amman branch was messaging me because I have obviously been missing it since now I got to the north branch. She was concerned that I was going less active and such. However, once I told her that I was assigned to go up north, she was ok with that but really wanted to hang out with me and a Chinese girl named Yao Yao. Yao Yao and Lucy (my Arabic branch friend) love Chinese food and so do I. So we planned to go to this Chinese restaurant where the real Chinese people go. When we got there, there were only Chinese people eating and our server could only speak Chinese or broken Arabic. All of these were very good signs. I opened the menu and what should appear? (I'll give you a hint it wasn't 8 tiny reindeer haha) it was pumpkin and vegetables with fried rice. My life was complete in that instant. It was fall, I am in a foreign country, Halloween was illegal, there was no leaves changing colors or even falling for that matter, and I get a touch of home with a foreign twist - pumpkin. Let me tell you, I am still fantasizing about that rice. It was absolutely perfect and I couldn't get over the taste of it. I don't know what the difference is or how they cook it to be so awesome, but it was. And also, pumpkin just makes everything the best ever.
In other words, volunteering at the Garden and at the Orphanage this week was a blast again. We made fire-starters this week at the garden that they sell for a dinar each. It was breaking up big twigs and branches into tiny pieces of wood and bundling them up. People in Amman love to drive out to places where there is a wide shoulder of the road that is dirt and have bonfires and picnics there. Almost of all Amman has some sort of awesome view because it is built on hills and valleys, so you can pretty much go anywhere to have an epic picnic. People just need a way to be able to start a fire which is there small fire starters. All the money then goes into the handicapped adults and the various activities and classes that the Garden tries to provide for them. At the orphanage, I had a lot of fun playing basketball with a group of very rambunctious, young boys. They were so excited to try to play. However, their favorite sport is soccer, of course. A lot of them were so excited to show me their Real Madrid jerseys and tell me why that is the best team that has ever existed on the planet. It was great.
I think that about raps up this week. Although, I also had amazing Arab food yesterday before the party. Spencer's friends Deen and Ahmed came over. Deen brought various vegetables that were cored and stuffed with a rice, meat, and spices cocktail. Ahmed made really great sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatoes, fried chicken, french fries, and some mayonnaise mixed with spices. Next week, Ahmed is going to make Egyptian food and I am so excited! I hope he makes us kushri, although I would be excited to try anything new as well. The Iraqi food that Deen brought was other worldly. There were peppers, eggplants, onions, grape leaves, and tomatoes that were all cored and then stuffed. Each different vegetable base lended its own unique flavor and texture to the dish that made it simply superb. I had to try each and every one and loved them all. I still think my previous comments about gaining weight by the time I come home might be accurate. At least partially at any rate.
The people here are so amazing. They are a continual reminder to me about the blessings and love of God in all our lives. They place such a high priority on religion and living good morals and worshipping God and God blesses them with happiness and peace in this very war-torn and war-weary part of the world where new tragedies and setbacks seem to occur on an almost hourly basis. These people will tell me stories of fleeing their countries in the middle of the night, how they watched brothers or mothers or children get killed in the most inhumane and barbaric of ways, how they lost everything and had to restart live and now live in small tents or temporary structures, and the list goes on and on. Their stories make me want to weep each time, and yet, they are such a happy and optimistic people. They believe that God loves them and has a plan for them and that He is in control. They have such a solid foundation of faith that nothing could really blow them down. It has been a great testimony strengthener to me about the need to build my faith and to truly put all my trust in God, regardless of what may be going on in my life. Allowing him to direct me will lead to happiness, peace, and contentment even in the direst and poorest of circumstances.
Happy Halloween to those of you who are in the USA! I hope you enjoyed it and also enjoyed the freedom to celebrate it, which is something I will never be able to take for granted again. I hope all of you are having a great Fall. And you should all know that Fall weather has arrived here in Amman - it was in the 50's all day and raining. It was marvelous!!! Have a great week!
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