Battle to the Death

Battle to the Death (Well, not really. Just thought it sounded cool) - 31 January 2010

So ends the first weekend with my family and I think everyone deserves a recap. The biggest struggle from the weekend was trying to read cultural taboos. That, and trying to understand what people are saying. It takes so much energy that by 7:30-8:00 at night, I am dead tried. I spend most of my time in the family room because we were told that it is very rude just to stay locked up in your room all day. I.e., it’s hard for me to figure out when I should/shouldn’t Skype, etc. I also spent a lot, I mean a LOT of time socializing. When guests come over, it’s a BIG deal. Everyone sits in the living room and catches up while drinking tea. I also gave my gifts to my host family! I gave them a large photo album style book about the US that has pictures of people all over the country; it’s called America 24/7. I also brought two big bags of Twix and Hersey’s Chocolate. The food here has been great and plentiful and the family has been welcoming and loving. Everything here is great.

1 February 2010- So today I had a goal of looking less American than usual on campus. I dressed nice, like everyone does, but I didn’t wear anything overtly American (say, like white sneakers and a hockey jersey). I wore my black Express jacket, because every guy here wears a black jacket, and had nice plain brown shoes on. I didn’t take a backpack to school today because if you carry a backpack, you’re an American. Period. I also spent the day people watching and looking and posture and personalities of people walking around. The ultimate test came when I was meeting up with some friends on the way home. We were meeting by a bus station near campus so I leaned up against a bus stop platform right next to a group of guys, didn’t smile, and just waited. My friends walked right past me without seeing me! SUCCESS! Then I was so happy I proceeded to smile, once again labeling myself as an American.

FUN FACTS:

Pull out a map and your immediately labeled a foreigner. As a guy who uses maps and cardinal directions to navigate, its hard living in a culture that’s the exact opposite. I tried asking my host sister which way is north and she gave me a blank stare. Funny thing is though, now that I have asked, she is starting to figure out cardinal directions.

A taxi driver was pointing to his taxi and asking me if I wanted to go to Syria. He was actually pointing to his open trunk. I hope I never get driven to Syria via the trunk of a car.

A friend told me that more books have been translated into Spanish last year than into Arabic in the past 100,000 years.

Also, I live only a few blocks away from the Jordanian Parliament Building and the National Art Gallery.