This morning Savannah and I went to the weekly flee-ish market in Abdali. We bought pants. Colorful, printed pants. We went a little crazy - but for 1JD each who can resist?

Unknown. Unknowable.

Stares. I could physically feel them on me as I walked by. It’s never been this bad. Skirt down to the floor, scarf strategically draped just so as to cover everything but my forearms, dark sunglasses covering nearly half of my face. Have you no shame? What the hell are you looking at? I will certainly attempt to maintain my sensitivity to cultural relativism and do justice to my anthropological background, but excuse me if I slip for just a moment – I’m feeling frustrated. Sitting at the calmest café I have found yet, Caffe Strada just off Rainbow, I have time to reflect on the world around me while Radiohead and Bon Iver attempt to soothe me. I sit at a corner table next to a wall of windows watching men, cars, men in cars, and the occasional woman pass by. Sipping on an iced latte and waiting for my salad to arrive, I begin to ruminate on what exactly happened on the walk from my apartment to the café. I can’t help reflecting on an article I read in an old issue of JO magazine. The article initially caught my attention for its feature photo: a Barbie-esque doll stands in a cage, being poked and prodded by sticks held by male hands. As a foreign woman in Amman I can relate. Walking down the street I draw attention. My blonde hair alone is probably enough to turn heads – but there seems to be something else in those unrelenting stares. I feel like a strange bird behind a chain-link fence at a zoo, on display yet untouchable, unknowable. Men are also aware of my inherent unknowable-ness. In general, women are unknowable to men post-puberty and pre-marriage. This is the period of time when segregation of the sexes is heightened, and is not resolved until marriage. There is no flirting in public and dates are creatively disguised as group gatherings of friends. There is really no forum for men to learn about women from women. So they stare at us, perhaps attempting to extract knowledge about these mysterious creatures with their eyes. In my case, as a foreign woman, however, the potential for a Jordanian man to ever know me does not ever really exist. Here’s how it generally goes: He will stare. I will keep my head down to avoid eye contact. He will say something to his brood of friends, or leer out the window of his car, maybe even grab a photo with his cell phone camera. He might say something dirty, might call me something dirty, but I can’t understand and will continue walking, only to return home and gripe about it to my roommate. I am unknowable to this man. We will not speak. We will not get to know each other. We will not sleep together. We will not even know each other’s names. I am unknown. I am unknowable. Since arriving I’ve had many thoughts about appropriate behavior and gendered expectations. I've noted that in public women are held accountable for their physical appearance but men don’t seem to be held accountable for much of anything. As a non-Muslim foreigner I certainly do my best to dress modestly in public but there is absolutely no reason for me to cover. I can't help thinking that it could make walking down the street a bit more bearable some days. 

1

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.