So yesterday my buddy John and I signed a three month lease on a two bedroom apartment in Abdoun. As mentioned in my previous post, Abdoun is considered the cleanest, most upscale, and westernized district in Amman. John and I looked at a couple apartments in Sports City (close to Qasid), but ultimately decided that it would be advantageous to live elsewhere in Amman.
The apartment is situated on the top floor of a five story building, and features a nice wrap around balcony which will be great come Spring time (pictures to follow). The complex is about a five minute cab ride to Abdoun Circle, where one can find the upscale Abdoun Mall, as well as some of the nicer restaurants and cafes in the city.
Tonite I plan to pack up all my things, with hopes that we can move tomorrow afternoon. It'll be a shame to say 'goodbye' to the staff at Shuqaq al-Nabhan. The staff has grown pretty fond of me ("Mr. Geoff") in the last week and a half.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Christmas in J-Town
Merry Christmas to all from Amman! If anyone had told me last year this time that I'd be spending my next Christmas in a Muslim country, I'd have said they were crazy...
So I woke up yesterday morning at 5am to sun-up prayer calls, followed a little later by a call from Ahmed at the front desk wishing "Mr. Geoff" a Merry Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, my Jordanian contact, Malia Asfour invited me to Christmas dinner at her parent's house. Malia's family was extremely generous, I don't think I could have eaten much more than I did. Oddly enough, Malia and her two sisters are all married to Americans, naturally we had a nice little discussion about the NFL playoff picture. Dinner was served around 2:30pm, followed by a little dessert, then a trip downtown to pick up pirated DVDs. Malia's husband, Harry, had a list of about 75 DVDs to pick up, comprised of everything from Disney movies to the latest movies in the theaters. For all of 1 JD a piece, you can get pretty much any DVD your heart desires, most of which are good quality.
Following our trip downtown, I went back to the hotel and took a nap before meeting up with my buddy John. After stopping by the liquor store, we went over to our friend Alex's apartment. Alex hosted a little Christmas party of 10-15 people. Shortly after arriving I was introduced to a guy from Detroit who just so happens to be a junior at Miami!
Otherwise, everything else is going well. Classes are pretty much review, at least the first couple weeks will be. John and I are still looking for apartments on the side. We've started looking outside the Sports City area (near Qasid), in a district called Abdoun. This is the most upscale, westernized part of town. We've be dealing with this friendly South African real estate agent who is constantly joking about how Johannesburg is such a craphole. Anyways, hopefully John and I can settle on something this weekend.
So I woke up yesterday morning at 5am to sun-up prayer calls, followed a little later by a call from Ahmed at the front desk wishing "Mr. Geoff" a Merry Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, my Jordanian contact, Malia Asfour invited me to Christmas dinner at her parent's house. Malia's family was extremely generous, I don't think I could have eaten much more than I did. Oddly enough, Malia and her two sisters are all married to Americans, naturally we had a nice little discussion about the NFL playoff picture. Dinner was served around 2:30pm, followed by a little dessert, then a trip downtown to pick up pirated DVDs. Malia's husband, Harry, had a list of about 75 DVDs to pick up, comprised of everything from Disney movies to the latest movies in the theaters. For all of 1 JD a piece, you can get pretty much any DVD your heart desires, most of which are good quality.
Following our trip downtown, I went back to the hotel and took a nap before meeting up with my buddy John. After stopping by the liquor store, we went over to our friend Alex's apartment. Alex hosted a little Christmas party of 10-15 people. Shortly after arriving I was introduced to a guy from Detroit who just so happens to be a junior at Miami!
Otherwise, everything else is going well. Classes are pretty much review, at least the first couple weeks will be. John and I are still looking for apartments on the side. We've started looking outside the Sports City area (near Qasid), in a district called Abdoun. This is the most upscale, westernized part of town. We've be dealing with this friendly South African real estate agent who is constantly joking about how Johannesburg is such a craphole. Anyways, hopefully John and I can settle on something this weekend.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Orientation
Orientation went well on Saturday morning. The placement exam and interview that followed were used to gauge students’ existing Arabic skills. It looks like I’ll be placed in the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) level one class, as was expected. Classes will be held from 8am-11 Tuesday-Thursday, as well as Saturday and Sunday. Since the program has apparently decided to change the students’ off days to Friday and Monday, I won’t be afforded a proper weekend unfortunately. It looks like Qasid has planned a number of day trips over the next few months, not sure however how I’m going to swing other trips outside Jordan.
There are a number of other Americans attending Qasid for the winter session. John, a recent graduate from Princeton, is also looking to move to another apartment over the next couple weeks. This afternoon John and I will be looking at a place that is a bit closer to school. One of the Qasid professors has introduced us to a British guy, named Hani, who works at Islamica Magazine, which is headquartered out of the same building as Qasid. Hani lives in a compound with his British family, and is looking to rent out a few rooms to Qasid students. John and I are scheduled to meet with him this afternoon, then take a tour of his apartment. It looks like this will be a much cheaper alternative to living in the hotel where I’m currently staying.
Yesterday I took a day trip to a small city northwest of Amman called Ajlun, home to the famous Ajlun Castle (al-Qar’at ar-Rabad) which was built in the 12th century on the orders of Saladin. Tomorrow I'll post some cool photos I took, as well as a brief historical overview of the castle and its significance.
There are a number of other Americans attending Qasid for the winter session. John, a recent graduate from Princeton, is also looking to move to another apartment over the next couple weeks. This afternoon John and I will be looking at a place that is a bit closer to school. One of the Qasid professors has introduced us to a British guy, named Hani, who works at Islamica Magazine, which is headquartered out of the same building as Qasid. Hani lives in a compound with his British family, and is looking to rent out a few rooms to Qasid students. John and I are scheduled to meet with him this afternoon, then take a tour of his apartment. It looks like this will be a much cheaper alternative to living in the hotel where I’m currently staying.
Yesterday I took a day trip to a small city northwest of Amman called Ajlun, home to the famous Ajlun Castle (al-Qar’at ar-Rabad) which was built in the 12th century on the orders of Saladin. Tomorrow I'll post some cool photos I took, as well as a brief historical overview of the castle and its significance.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Abdullah from Safeway
Friday was pretty exciting as I made my first Jordanian friend. Yesterday evening I decided to stop into the Safeway before heading back to my apartment. Upon entering the supermarket, I was immediately confronted by a Safeway security official (oddly enough they have security officials at entrances to most supermarkets, malls, and brandname stores) who told me I needed to re-enter through the metal detector (most of which are dysfunctional anyway).
Shortly before leaving the Safeway, I struck up a little conversation with the security official. Speaking in broken english, he told me that he's always wanted to visit America, but that his wife has been a little apprehensive. Jokingly, I told him I could convince his wife that America would be very welcoming to friendly Jordanians. Five minutes into our conversation, my new friend, Abdullah, decided to invite me to eat with him at the KFC next door to Safeway (only later did I find out that this man was OBSESSED with fried chicken).
Later that night, I met up with Abdullah at the KFC where he very graciously paid for my meal. Our conversation basically consisted of me teaching him english, and him teaching me arabic. We also discussed some American pop culture, to include his favorite actors, Antonio Banderas, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean Claude Van Damme. At the end of our meal. Abdullah proceeded to spark one cigaratte after another. All told, I think he smoked about five marlboro reds in the course of half an hour. Before we parted ways, Abdullah cordially offered to host me at his home in the next week, insha'allah (God Willing), as he wants to introduce me to his wife. I'm not sure yet if I'll take him up on his offer, but in any case it was nice having good conversation with a Jordanian.
This morning I had my Qasid orientation which went very well. Orientation was comprised of a brief program and academic overview, as well as a placement exam and interview. I'll leave the details for a posting tomorrow night.
Unfortunately the internet access in my building is virtually non-existent. I'm thinking I will probably be moving to a new apartment in the next couple weeks.
That is all for now. More to follow tomorrow.
Shortly before leaving the Safeway, I struck up a little conversation with the security official. Speaking in broken english, he told me that he's always wanted to visit America, but that his wife has been a little apprehensive. Jokingly, I told him I could convince his wife that America would be very welcoming to friendly Jordanians. Five minutes into our conversation, my new friend, Abdullah, decided to invite me to eat with him at the KFC next door to Safeway (only later did I find out that this man was OBSESSED with fried chicken).
Later that night, I met up with Abdullah at the KFC where he very graciously paid for my meal. Our conversation basically consisted of me teaching him english, and him teaching me arabic. We also discussed some American pop culture, to include his favorite actors, Antonio Banderas, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean Claude Van Damme. At the end of our meal. Abdullah proceeded to spark one cigaratte after another. All told, I think he smoked about five marlboro reds in the course of half an hour. Before we parted ways, Abdullah cordially offered to host me at his home in the next week, insha'allah (God Willing), as he wants to introduce me to his wife. I'm not sure yet if I'll take him up on his offer, but in any case it was nice having good conversation with a Jordanian.
This morning I had my Qasid orientation which went very well. Orientation was comprised of a brief program and academic overview, as well as a placement exam and interview. I'll leave the details for a posting tomorrow night.
Unfortunately the internet access in my building is virtually non-existent. I'm thinking I will probably be moving to a new apartment in the next couple weeks.
That is all for now. More to follow tomorrow.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
First Day in Jordan
So my first day went pretty well. I was a little sick and jet lagged today but otherwise can't really complain. Most of the day was spent touring the Shmeisani district of West Amman, where I'm currently living. The traffic in West Amman is absolutely crazy (think Grand Theft Auto with the cars screaming by, people darting in and out of traffic, and horns blaring, without any lanes).
The converted hotel I'm living in, called Shuqaq al-Nabhan, is a little bit better than what I expected. The internet access is somewhat spotty, but more perturbing is the low temp in my apartment. Apparently insulation is lacking in a number of Amman's apartment buildings. This is due to the fact that the majority of the citys apt buildings are constructed almost entirely of concrete.
Moment it hit me I was far from home:
Being woken up at 5:30am to the broadcasted muslim prayer emanating from the King Hussein Mosque.
That is all for now, I will follow with more tomorrow . I hope to get some pictures up soon.
The converted hotel I'm living in, called Shuqaq al-Nabhan, is a little bit better than what I expected. The internet access is somewhat spotty, but more perturbing is the low temp in my apartment. Apparently insulation is lacking in a number of Amman's apartment buildings. This is due to the fact that the majority of the citys apt buildings are constructed almost entirely of concrete.
Moment it hit me I was far from home:
Being woken up at 5:30am to the broadcasted muslim prayer emanating from the King Hussein Mosque.
That is all for now, I will follow with more tomorrow . I hope to get some pictures up soon.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Not really sure what I'm doing...
So here's the deal--
First off, this is the first time I've set up a blog, so don't give me a hard time. Second, there are two reasons I've set up the blog:
1) To share with you my trials and tribulations in Jordan, otherwise known as J-Town, whatever the kids are calling it these days
2) So you can update me on what's going on in your life
That is all for now. Last night was my quasi-going away night out with my friends, so I'm pretty hungover. This means that I'm lacking big time in terms of wittiness and creativity right now.
First off, this is the first time I've set up a blog, so don't give me a hard time. Second, there are two reasons I've set up the blog:
1) To share with you my trials and tribulations in Jordan, otherwise known as J-Town, whatever the kids are calling it these days
2) So you can update me on what's going on in your life
That is all for now. Last night was my quasi-going away night out with my friends, so I'm pretty hungover. This means that I'm lacking big time in terms of wittiness and creativity right now.
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