Into the Fire – 11th April 2010
I apologize everybody for the delay in blogs, but I have been busy/lazy/traveling a lot within the past month so I have several stories to update you on!
First off, starting March 26th was my first day of spring break, and boy was it well needed. I remember sitting in my last class the day before and EVERYONE was on edge just wanting to leave. I left early in the morning for my trip to IRELAND and actually ran into some friends from the program who were waiting for my same connecting flight to Istanbul, where they were going for spring break. However, as I changed planes in Istanbul to fly to Dublin, the stories already start. I was waiting at my gate for about 1.5 hours and we finally started boarding. However, we did not board onto a plane, but rather onto a large bus which would then take us to our plane. Normal….sometimes, right? However, as we approached our plane, several things were out of place….first, we boarded the plane through the back door because the front door had a long, red carpet leading from a fancy building to the stairs adjacent to the front of the plane. Secondly, there was a Turkish military honor guard (9 soldiers, 1 officer) standing at parade rest with rifles next to the red carpet. (Not so normal). The flag poles next to this fancy building were flying both the Turkish and Irish flag. (Keep piecing it together!) I was lucky enough to be sitting on the proper side of the plane because I got to witness someone’s entourage board the plane. (Knowing what I do, I could tell the entourage was not the most important part because the soldiers did not move an inch.) However, a few minutes later, what I did see was the honor guard snap to attention and bring their rifles to present arms. As this happened, I saw a woman in a black business suit (wearing a pink scarf), with blonde hair begin walking towards the plane, followed (not led by) two very high ranking Generals whose uniforms were covered in gold embroidery (the kind you have to earn). I was incredulous because I was piecing it together, but I didn’t think it was possible. No, it couldn’t have been…..right? But as we landed, our pilot over the intercom confirmed our suspicisons and professionally thanked the Irish President, Mary McAleese, for flying with us on Turkish Airlines today. I could only snap photos from where I was sitting, but I have the photos of the honor guard to prove it! (Thanks brother, for putting me on her flight)
It was a cool story to tell the girlfriend when I finally made it to Ireland! It was such a nice reunion when I got to see my girlfriend after only being able to skype for so long! We spent the afternoon hanging out around Dublin before we had to catch our 5 hour bus ride back to Cork. That night, there was a birthday party for one of the roommates there, so I got to spend the night meeting a lot of their friends and socializing. It was SUCH a welcomed break from the Middle East. In Ireland, the average girls skirt came up higher than mid thigh, beer is in no way taboo, etc. whereas the Middle East is the exact opposite. I do however, feel that somehow, getting a break from having to speak Arabic for awhile somehow made my Arabic better when I got back. Throughout the entire trip to Ireland, the girlfriend and I explored Cork, where I ate plenty of fish’n’chips, I had my share of Guiness related beverages, I got to tour her campus, and even to go see the 19th century city jail. (Which in my opinion, didn’t have a good re-entry program for their inmates) We went out to eat at this REALLY nice Italian restaurant to celebrate my birthday too. (Did I mention it was nice to eat “normal” food too?) The next day, we went to Blarney Castle, where we took a lovely walk around the castle grounds, getting to take in the wonderful countryside, and of course I kissed the Blarney Stone. That night, we also went to this really nice pub in Cork called the “Franciscan Well” where they brewed their own beer. I tried the Rebel Red Ale, which was very enjoyable. On Wednesday, we took a bus ride through Kilarney county to get to this quaint little town on the bay called Dingle, where we stayed a night and spent the next day touring the city and taking a 2 hr bike ride through the Irish countryside along the Atlantic coast. It was absolutely gorgeous, however sometimes the weather did not cooperate. In fact, as we were walking to the hotel, it was slightly cloudy but the sun was still poking out. In an instant, we immediately found ourselves running down the street to find an alleyway where we could shield ourselves from the flash hail that began pounding Dingle. Following this little side trip, my spring break sadly came to an end and my girlfriend and I found ourselves on a train to Dublin to take me to the airport. However, due to good planning, as I was leaving, my girlfriends family was arriving to Dublin to begin their trip abroad with their daughter, so it was very relaxing to get to say hi to all of them before I left back to Amman! (However, I had a few hours to kill while my girlfriend went to the airport to pick them up. I was planning on touring the Guinness Brewery and becoming a certified Guinness-pourer, but just my luck, it was Good Friday and everything was closed down.) Unlike the trip to Ireland, the ride back was uneventful (other than my $15 mojito, which was not worth it!!) Finding myself back kin Jordan was comforting but at the same time, after being back in Western culture, I badly want to be back. However, I only have 5 weeks left, which will be filled with finals and travels so it will be well worth it!
I was lucky to get back the day I did because that allowed me to have the opportunity to spend Easter with my Jordanian family! I went to church with them, which was very interesting! I’m sure it’d be more interesting if I knew what was being said but the entire service seemed like a hymn. The most interesting part was around midnight when ½ the priests went outside and began knocking on the door,. All the lights were turned off in the church and it was solely illuminated by candle light and when the priests reentered the church, they marched back down the aisle into the church, they were chanting “he has risen.” (Al Messih qam: Haqqan qam = The messiah has risen: surely he has.) The next day, we had an absolutely massive lunch with nearly every family member there imaginable. Initially, we had 20 people trying to fit around a 10 person table, but we soon had to split up. For those family members who were not at the lunch, they visited the house over the next three days. I must say I did get to do a lot of socializing, in Arabic, with new family members. The way it usually went was the doorbell would ring, I would go meet them as they entered, we would sit to drink tea, they’d ask who I was (since I didn’t look like family), they’d become interested, we’d talk, break the ice, and leave liking each other. However, the oddest introduction was when I met my host sister-in-laws uncle (try that one again). They had already sat down in our living room when I entered the room and I’m used to getting weird looks because I’m obviously not Jordanian, but he did not make an effort to hid it. He gave me a look that falls somewhere in between him thinking I was about to arrest him to “what the heck is going on here?!” (However, his intention was not to be mean.) He was a very nice man to get to know, but my sister and I talked afterward and she said she could barely keep her bearing when she saw her uncle looking at me. Although I’m used to it, we both thought it was hilarious!
This past weekend I got to go on a day trip called “Desert Castles” where we traveled to Castle Al-Tuba, Castle Kharaneh, Castle Azraq, Castle Hallabat, and the Azraq Wetlands. My favorite was Castle Azraq, where I got to stand in the room that T.E. Lawrence and Emir Faisel planned the Arab Revolt of 1916! It was absolutely stunning! The castles themselves were more like forts, regarding size, but getting to see the architectural designs of ancient castles was amazing! We also traveled so close to the Iraqi border that we stopped the bus and took photos of the street signs pointing towards the border. (No worries, we didn’t enter) The Azraq Wetland were gorgeous. As I had mentioned in a previous blog, Jordan is one of the most water poor countries in the world! The water out of Azraq fills 1 out of every 4 glasses in Jordan. However, because Jordan is pumping so much water out of it, it is greatly affecting the ecology of the entire area, prompting environmentalist efforts to save the wetlands. I, personally, think it must be aggravating to have to make the decision to either save the wetlands or to provide water to your people—Jordan can’t do both.
There has been some recent troubling developments within Jordan that affect me and my program. Recently, a fight broke out between two men in the city of Salt, near Amman. In the ensuing brawl, one of the men was stabbed and died of his wounds in the hospital. However, because the of tribal structure of society, this incident has had far reaching ramifications that have drawn this fight into Amman and near my University. Because the two men from the fight were from large, powerful tribes in As-Salt (the Salt’s and the Abbadi’s), this fight has caused a blood feud between the tribes. This affects my program because the initial fight escalated into a street battle between members of the respective tribes. In an effort to “settle” the dispute, the men decided to move the fight to the Jordan University campus where, because of political precedent, Jordanian police are not allowed to enter, essentially giving the men a free-for-all zone. (However, there is campus security) Although that attempt was unsuccessful, our program has been on high alert to keep tabs on this ongoing situation in order to keep us all out of harm’s way. Because this fight has turned into a blood feud, fighting will not stop until a member of the “aggressor” tribe has been killed, exacting revenge for the initial killing. All members of the tribe are viable targets. (tribes are like last names, so available targets would be someone with the same last name as you, like the “Johnson tribe”) Eventually, the tribal elders will meet when they feel it is necessary to talk out some sort of truce and compensation. However, this could last for several weeks. As of now, we’ve had multiple classes cancelled because of fist fights and stone throwing on campus. Campus security is TIGHT. Although police are not allowed on campus, there are several vans of police parked outside the main gates, there is secret police EVERYWHERE, and campus security is reacting swiftly to EVERYTING on campus. (which makes me feel safer) As of now, all is well, I’ve felt in no danger whatsoever, and I’ve been very much impressed with the way my program has handled this.
FUN-AFTER-A-DEPRESSING-STORY FACTS:
Friend of mine went to Egypt over break. He wanted to take a picture of a government building, so the guard demanded a bribe. He told the guard that he only had a twenty, so the guard gave him change.
Arab Custom when guests come over: Invite them into the fancy sitting area of the house, serve tea, talk, serve chocolate/pastries, talk, serve coffee (which means get out).
