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One month in Amman!

Had a weekend full of hanging out, making art, luxurious bathing, and drinks.Went out for a much deserved beer on Thursday night at La Calle to celebrate this momentous milestone. The next morning Savannah and I walked down to the Bake House - the closest thing to anything resembling Cajun Kitchen (my favorite SB breakfast spot) in Amman. Friday night was spent at Books@Cafe listening to live music and spoken word poets performing as a benefit for Syria. Saturday morning was the most luxurious scrub-down in the history of scrub-downs...Al-Pasha Turkish Bath. We were steamed. We were jacuzzi-ed. We were sauna-ed. We were scrubbed. We were massaged. We were showered. It was heavenly. I loved every second. I feel cleaner than I have ever, ever felt before in my life. It's a beautiful feeling. I feel pretty, oh so pretty.

I've been working on some artwork - found a great art store here called Samir & Ghassan - that incorporates my surrounding environment and a little mosaic influence. I made the paper and then clipped from Al-Rai, one of the daily Arabic newspapers here, and put it all together! I created these two pieces as thank-you gifts...but I'm already working on one for myself...check em out...

A friend just shared a great article with me via BBC and Lonely Planet. So much fun to read about the neighborhood that I'm living in - Rainbow Street in Jabal Amman, "one of the most colourful and multi-ethnic streets in the Middle East." Who knew? Thanks Kat!!!


http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20120627-the-cosmopolitan-crossroads-of-the-middle-east




Good stuff!

Jerusalem

Gorgeous weather today – it’s been consistently beautiful since the heat broke early last week. I’m currently lounged on a couch in the shade on our rooftop deck. Nice, huh? The last week has been pretty busy - traveled to Jerusalem for 3 days to do a bit of work in the Ecole Biblique and a lot of site seeing. Jerusalem was beautiful - can't wait to visit again with mom. The day after returning to Jordan Savannah and I moved into our new apartment - it's fantastic to have our own space. Pictures soon! Stories first...

On the morning of the 18^th I woke up expecting the worst. I’ve heard horror stories of crossing the border – google searches, strip searches, bag searches, entire photo libraries being deleted from cameras. More than anything else I was expecting to wait….and wait….and wait. We loaded up into a taxi around 7 and drove over to the border crossing. Once our passports were cleared on the Jordanian side we moved to a large bus that drove us to the Israeli border. This was the only point of the trip that could have been overwhelming – more people, more lines – but it was actually really easy. We waited in line, kept our backpacks on, had our passports checked (but not stamped) and then hopped onto a little taxi/bus that took us into Jerusalem. The entire crossing took about 4 hours.

When we arrived at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem Savannah and I walked down to our hotel in the Muslim Quarter (Hashimi – definite recommend). Then we headed out to explore the Old City. It was really great to be in a walkable city - and the Old City is unique and beautiful. 

The night was spent downtown on Ben Yehuda Street drinking beers and eating pasta with Savannah, Raf, and Eli. Next morning we all tackled the Mount of Olives before collapsing into our sugary slushies. HOT. I spent the afternoon doing a bit of research at the Ecole Biblique before an incredible dinner at Amigo Emil’s in the Muslim Quarter. 

View over the Old City towards Dome of the Rock from our hotel

Souq 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Buying something yummy

The day before leaving, Savannah and I did a bit more site seeing – Dome of the Rock, Church of All Nations, and then we went on a political tour of Jerusalem with Alternative Tours. 

Western Wall

Dome of the Rock

Alternative Tour

The political tour of Jerusalem was solely intended to educate and inform. Our guide took us on a drive around the Palestinian refugee camp in Jerusalem, through a check point into the West Bank, showed us the extensive walls that are continuously built directly through Palestinian land, and spoke about the impact that the United States has had on the peace process. Our last stop on the tour was a neighborhood in Jerusalem where two Palestinian families were forcefully removed from their homes by the IDF. Their homes are now occupied by American-Jewish settlers from New York City. The space is hostile. walls are covered in spray painted messages demanding peace and freedom for Palestine.   The Palestinian-Israeli conflict/issue/peace process/whatever you want to call it is something that is emotional for me – complex and emotional - and one of the only contemporary issues that I have felt a serious connection to. This tour further solidified my thoughts, opinions, and beliefs and gave everything that I’ve read about a physical presence. I feel compelled to ask that everyone reading my blog keep an open mind while looking through the photos.

 Ask questions. Research. Learn about this issue. 

Afternoon in Jerash

The heat was tipping the scale towards unbearable as we walked through some of the best preserved ruins of a Roman city in the world. Despite the weather, which hovered around the low 100's, visiting was quite an experience. Jerash is only about 30 miles outside of crazy, busy Amman - but as soon as you walk through Hadrian's Arch you enter a different world completely. One of the reasons that Jerash is so well preserved is because nothing is really done to the site. All around are pillars, standing tall, falling down, everything rests as it has for centuries. People are allowed to walk, climb, crawl over everything (note the kids on the pillars of the Arch) and weeds grow freely throughout the compound. There's a certain authenticity here, almost like you have no choice but to take it as it is and imagine the rest on your own. The depth of history here is a bit mind boggling, another reason why the Jordan Rough Guide book was such a fantastic purchase. According to the guide, archaelogical investigation has revealed evidence of settlement going back to the Middle Bronze Age (1600 BC). The actual city of Jerash (Gerasa in ancient times) was founded around 170 BC but the majority of the city's growth didn't occur until the first century AD. It is the basic town plan  and layout from this time that survives today.  Can't wait to bring mom here - maybe she'll be more impressed by Jerash than the Colosseum in Rome? 

Hadrian's Arch

Columns in the Oval Plaza

Life in Amman - Week One

I've officially lived in Amman for a full week!!  It's amazing how quickly all of this has happened. Just three weeks ago I was walking across the stage grabbing my diploma. How is that already a distant memory?

Life is very, very easy for me here. My usual routine includes waking up, making some breakfast, and hopping into a cab to go to the University of Jordan. I primarily do my research at this university, as well as at ACOR (American Center of Oriental Research). This last week was dedicated to learning the basics of the research process - lots of flipping through microfiche slides and reading relevant books and articles. Basically I'm looking through thousands of newspapers from the 1920's to present for advertisements that incorporate Islam in some way. The idea that I'm investigating is that in this culture where identity is defined by religion in so many ways, religious symbols are used to sell products and services to Muslims. Buying "Islamic" products further perpetuates the religious identity. Once all of this background research is done Sarah will turn it into a book!

This weekend has been really busy, starting with packing and moving out of our apartment. The place we were living in turned out to be pretty busy with people frequently moving in and out. We did a little apartment shopping and settled on an incredible one-bedroom just above a bookstore off of Rainbow Street. So our new place will be in the same neighborhood that we love, but it will be all our own. In the interim (the apartment is not available until June 21, and we're leaving for Jerusalem on the 18th) we are staying with the father of Sarah's friend in a fantastic home. Homestay experience? Check.

On Thursday night Sarah took us to Mecca Mall (one of 4-5 giant malls in Amman) to buy abayas so that we could attend mosque on Friday morning. When we arrived we went upstairs, removed our shoes, and quietly sat at the back to observe. Women and men are, of course, separated during their time in the mosque. The room for women is 1/30th the size of the men's room (which actually extends into the outdoor courtyard) because women are not even technically supposed to attend mosque to pray. Most stay at home. The entire experience lasted no longer than 30 minutes - but is actually broadcasted throughout Jordan (the mosque that we went to is the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque). Here we are after the prayer in our abayas, walking through the mosque, and in the cab later.

Saturday morning Savannah and I attended an orientation at Qasid - the language school where we will take a colloquial Arabic class. The orientation covered a lot of basics about taking taxis and how to get water. Totally knew it all. After this Sarah picked us up and we headed towards the Dead Sea, making stops at the Church of the Map in Madaba and Mount Nebo. 

mosaic of the Middle East

view towards the Dead Sea and Jerusalem beyond

When we arrived at the Dead Sea it was all I could do to keep myself from running right into the water. We got day passes at the Dead Sea Spa Hotel (30JD w/15JD food credit included) and floated around. I'm not sure I can adequately describe what an odd feeling it is to float in the Dead Sea. You're just going to have to try it for yourself...

Next we did the mandatory mud lathering. I'm pretty sure this is one of the only socially acceptable ways to rub mud all over your body in public...

Santa Barbara? Is that you?

Since arriving last week I've had a crash course on Amman and feel more than ready to take on this summer! I've already experienced so much: traditional wedding, Dead Sea, mosque, taxi, falafel...the list goes on and on. I feel so insanely lucky to be here, to experience all of this, to have the support of my family and friends for all of my ideas and plans. This is one crazy life I'm living.

Next up: Jerusalem June 18th-21, new apartment June 22nd, skydiving over Wadi Rum June 26th

Hot, strenuous, looong and gorgeous run just outside Amman. Couldn't have asked for a better afternoon after my first day of work.

Rooftop Sunset  - Books@Cafe 

Home Sweet Amman

The last two days have been UNREAL! After missing my first flight out of LAX I decided to fly the following day... an odd start to this adventure. Funny thing is that as I was driving down to LAX I didn't feel ready to fly. Things happen like they're supposed to and so naturally Wednesday's second attempt was much more successful! I made the flight! After an almost completely sleepless but very entertaining 11 hour plane ride I arrived in London. The next leg of the trip was filled with a lot of running through airports and delayed flights out of both Heathrow and Frankfurt. Arriving in Amman was totally surreal. Quite suddenly nothing looked even remotely familiar. We touched down around 2:30am but didn't get out of the airport until about 5:30 - just in time to catch the sunrise as we drove into the city...

After a few hours of sleep Savannah and I met up with Sarah and walked around Rainbow Street (seriously the hippest area in Amman, lots of coffee shops, local artist market every Friday, outdoor patios for hookah smoking -- my neighborhood) and then met up with a couple of her friends. We ate  and then went on a driving tour of the city. Sarah took us all around Amman, showing us where I'll be working/researching/spending a lot of my time and all of the best places to get falafel and shawerma. Amman is a rolling, sprawling city that goes on and on. The city's layout actually reminds me of Los Angeles in many ways - it never seems to end but there are distinct neighborhoods linked by highways and side streets. Most of the buildings are made out of a beautiful cream-colored stone (lime?) and there is new construction everywhere. Later in the evening Savannah and I grabbed a falafel for dinner and did a little people watching. Friday night is the night to be out and Rainbow Street is packed with people and Top 40 pop blaring from car stereos. 

This morning, Saturday, I was able to sleep in and I wasn't even woken up by the early morning (like 4am early) call to prayer -- it would be nice if that ability developed into a habit...

We met Sarah and her roommate at a ladies-only gym for a workout. The gym, called Revolution, is pretty fantastic and fascinating through the anthropological lens. Once inside women are free to remove any headscarves or abayas they might wear in public. Strutting on the treadmill in sporty shorts and laying out in bikinis down at the outdoor pool -- strikingly familiar to home and yet so completely different from everything about Arab women portrayed by western media sources. I'm going to have to ruminate on these observations...

Next we got all dressed up and drove into East Amman to meet the wedding party before driving to Karak where the actual wedding celebration took place. Bottomlines: everything was separated (women in one section/floor of building, men on another), intriguing influences of western-style weddings mixed with very Arab customs (white wedding dress with add-ons to cover arms, chest, and head), and I've already been selected as a promising potential wife for the cousin of the bride (his mother was VERY insistent about getting my phone number and introducing me to her son. Once we arrived at the wedding - a 2 hour drive away from Amman - we were taken upstairs to the female section and seated right next to the dance floor. Many of the typical wedding events that you'd expect in the States were present at this wedding. There was a cute slideshow of pictures of the couple together, there was an enormous 8-tiered cake, there was dancing, there was a white dress. It was a blast. Lots to think about....

So far, so good. I love my neighborhood and can't wait to start exploring more and finding my favorite places to eat and hang out. I'm beginning to pick up bare-minimum, get-by Arabic essentials -- thank you, hello, numbers....yea that's about it so far. I'm really looking forward to living my daily life in this city...eating breakfast, going to the university, starting a language course, working out, eating falafel...it is all going to be SO GOOD!!!

Still can't believe this is my life,

Jessie