cloudy with a chance of falafel

This morning, we are experiencing our first truly cloudyish morning.  It doesn't hold a candle to the rainy Portland mornings that I miss so much, but it definitely made our morning walk to school more pleasant.  The heat wave broke early last week, and it's been a manageable heat ever since.  Still, everywhere I go my face turns red as a fire engine.  People here don't have the same social sensitivities as we do in the States, obviously, and a part of that is that my host family is always telling me when I get home how red my face is.  I have told them a few times that it's normal for me when I walk in the hot sun, but still every time I come in from the hot walk home at the end of the day, my host brother Khaled laughs at me. 

Last night, my host family took me and my roommate to Salt for 'ifTaar. 

It was a relief to get out of Amman, and to see some new scenery:

Our host father drove us by his childhood home:

And we finally arrived at his sister's house just in time for a tasty 'ifTaar complete with kunafa, my favourite.  This was the gorgeous view from their porch:

Salaam Aleikum min 'Amman!

Here I am, eleven days into my study abroad in Amman, sitting in the student lounge with my fellow American students.  This is the view out our window:

 I guess that's not the greatest picture of the view, but the picture itself is so quintessentially Middle Eastern, that I can't help smiling when I see it.  The ugly fan, the arched window, the cloudless and dusty sky... Well there you have it; the first picture I took in Amman.

The first few days of orientation we spent mostly in the offices and classrooms, but they also took us out to see the Roman Amphitheater, the Citadel and the ruins of the Ummayad palace on one day.  The Amphitheater is very, very tall and very, very steep to climb to the top, but how could I resist the opportunity to see this view?

Of course, I climbed down like an arthritic old lady.  I was so afraid I would trip, tumble down the broken marble stairs and break my neck.

The Citadel on the hill used to be a temple of Hercules, and hasn't been restored at all.  The crumbling historical site is quite the juxtaposition against Amman's distinct hillsides.  It's quite surreal to see.  The site also has a very unassuming little museum which contains a truly impressive collection of artifacts all the way from the Stone Age through the Islamic Empire, including some pieces of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are unceremoniously and unassumingly kept in one corner.  It's good to be in the cradle of civilization.

  

The Ummayad palace was pretty cool too.  Only biggest part still stands, but it's easy to imagine how it looked from the inside, and one can imagine why people would want to hang out there: it's so much cooler than standing outside in the hot sun!  Amman was experiencing a heat wave while we were at this site, so we really appreciated the break from the heat. 

Another part of our orientation was a scavenger hunt around the West Amman.  We started around the First Circle, then went to Weibdeh area, and then to Swefieh area taking picture of what we saw and taking notes on this and that to prove we were there.  It was our first time out and about in the city on our own, and it was lots of fun in spite of the heat. 

I'm all moved in now with my host family.  They're really excellent.  They understand that I want to learn as much Arabic as possible, so they almost never speak English, and speak Arabic slowly and teach me new words.  It's Ramadan, so the food part of living at home has been a little bit awkward, but they took us to 'ifTaar (the meal after sunset during Ramadan) at the host father's brother's house last week, and tonight we are going to Salt to have 'ifTaar with his sister.  He warned me last night that his brother-in-law is very deaf, so he speaks loudly and hears very little of what other people say.   It should be a fun evening.

In Jordan, it is illegal to eat or drink anything in public during fasting hours (the daylight hours), so we have all been eating very little during the day.  Almost everything is closed for at least half the day, and nothing is open during the day. I'm really glad I am here to see how Ramadan works, but I am starting to look forward to when it ends and I can eat and drink whenever and wherever I want. 

Last night, I took my first taxi alone.  I'm happy to announce that I made it home quite safely, and that I spoke only Arabic.  I have many things to be happy about these days.