"Game Show"
Hello Hello! This is my first journal entry for Kelly's Adventure in Jordan! How exciting!!! I'm pretty much packed and ready to go, I'm just waiting for word on our first stop. After acceptance into the Peace Corps, and prior to "serving" there are a few steps that a future volunteer will take.
1. Staging -This is a 3 day orientation in a U.S. city. I would imagine that we'll get a little more information on what it will be like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer, we'll be filling out forms, and meeting the people we'll be serving with!
2. Training - This is a 2-3 month activity. We'll begin to learn Arabic, live with a host family, get to know everyone even better, be evaluated, and then be told where we will be serving and what exactly we'll be doing.
3. Swearing in - We'll officially become "Peace Corps Volunteers" and from what I gather, this will take place sometime around September 2004. Until then I'm a Peace Corps Trainee....but for now, I'm a Future Peace Corps Volunteer
The day to leave have finally come...and gone. I've been in DC for 2 days now. The first day everyone checked into the hotel and waited until our rooms were ready. Then at 1:30 pm we went to register which offically made us "Peace Corps Trainees." Immediately following the registeration and inital "getting-to know-yous" we had class. Class ran from 3:00 - 6:00 PM. The Director of the Peace Corps came to wish us well on our journey which was pretty exciting. After the classes ended, 21 of the 25 of us went to dinner at a small/inexpensive Italian resturant. At this point I thought I was one of the oldest. There is a married couple that is in their 40/50's, and 29 year old guy. Then there was me...26/27 next month. Most everyone else falls into the 22-25 age range. After the resturant we get back to the hotel and many of us go to the hotel bar for a drink. We closed the bar down, but luckily no one got drunk and everyone got back to their room ok, because yesturday was another day of training. We had to be in class from 8:30 to 6:00 but we got out a little early (5:15 pm). The Ambassador of Jordan came to speak to the group on the 8th to wish us well. Its amazing that all these imporant people came to say goodbye. The day was long and the material was quite repitious but after it was done, we all went back to our room to do various things. The PC staff said that we had to put a bag in storage once we got to Jordan so I was flipping out because I didn't bring all that much...not to mention things that I won't need for the next 3 months! I met up with everyone at 7:00 for dinner and got the impression from other volunteers that my mere two bags were probably ok to bring to training. Some people here was WELL over the 80 pound limit...with multiple bags and other carry items. Someone in the group did call the airline yesturday and found out that we could travel with a 70-pound bag rather than the 50-pounds the PC told us, so many people were able to relax a little more with that information. As for me I packed everything back up, for what might actually be close to 30th time and enjoyed my dinner. We went to a Thai resturant, which was a first for me, but I wimped out and got a dish that was mild and tasted very similar to something I might make at home. Now that Friday is here I'm getting ready to check out of the hotel at 12 noon. The shuttle to the airport leaves at 1PM for our 6 PM flight to (and our 12 hour layover in) Frankfurt, Germany! More to write later!
Right now I'm in Jordan but I have to write about where I was yesturday first. After we left the hotel we went to the aiport for our 6:00 pm flight. We arrived at our layover destination, Frankfurt, Germany, at 8:00 AM, Saturday morning. The PC staff advised us to get a dayroom and sleep the day away so we would be refreshed for Jordan. The advice was good, however, there were several of us that had never been to Germany so we toured Frankfurt. The city was a mix between NYC and your sterotypical European city. Small cars, quaint LITTLE houses, a lot of international people walking around, etc. I am SO glad we went because I can't even imagine sleeping the day away while in Germany, no good stories. One of the guys that are here had a friend that lives in Frankfurt and we met him out. This guy took us to the top of the tallest building in Europe....gorgeous, but it can be compared to going to the top of the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty....except it was OUTDOORS! NICE! I took a lot of pictures in Germany as all the other places we have been but I hsave not been able to upload them.
We left Germany on a 9PM flight to Amman, Jordan. We arrived at 1:55 AM this morning and was quickly swept through customs and everything on our group visa. We then went to baggage claims where the men who worked there were so eager to help with the luggage and all. Unfortunately we hadn't been given any money yet and couldn't tip anyone...not even the woman in the bathroom.
We were taken to our hotel ( the group was split into 2 different hotels). I'm rooming this time with Ryan, who is a girl that I was in touch with before I left.
At 4:00 AM we heard the call of the prayer from our hotel window!!! AMAZING! We went to sleep around 4:45 AM and awoke (late) at 10:15 AM. I used my cell phone as my alarm clock and I must have disalarmed it by accident! Wes, one of the guys in our group came and woke us up. The funny part was the PC staff put us on the same floor with guys only because he thought with the names of Ryan and Kelly, we were men...so we were sharing a bathroom...completely in violation of cultural norms.
I'm being rushed out of here....AAAhhh I'll finish this later!
I only have a few minutes to write since a bunch of us are going shopping at 6:00 PM our time, 10AM EST. Today we had our second day of classes. Arabic is hard! but we're all getting through it. We were talking about how it feels like we've been here a lot longer than we actually have been. The only thing we have "falling victim" to are stares, everyone is curious but we're also o curious about them. We move into our host family homes (homestays) on Wednesday so I'm sure that is going to be a nerve racking day. Today we had some culture classes; shaking hands, accepting coffee/tea, how to answer personal questions, how to deal with wedding proposal (and we've all be assured that we'll get PLENTY of those...maybe I won't be single at 30 after all, HAHAHA!)
I wrote yesturday about how we were sharing a bathroom with two of the other volunteers that were men. When we got back to the hotel last night, one of the PC trainers, also staying at the hotel, told us that we had to move rooms. The bad part was, the new room was on the 3rd floor of the non-elevator hotel, the good news was we had our own private bathroom with a shower curtain...never under-estimate the luxuary of the shower curtain!!! The first night I was there I took a shower but there was a small leak in the hand-held shower...by the end of the shower, the ENTIRE bathroom was drenched!
I just realized that I didn't tell you about the bathroom incident (there's been a lot of bathroom things here...there is one more but I'll write about the 3rd another day when I can actually speak from experience)...anyway, yesturday at training on a break, a few of us went to use the bathroom. I waited in line and one of the male volunteers came out of a stall. I went in when all of a sudden I hear, "this is the men's room!"...the three girls just froze because men and women can not share a bathroom if they are not in the same family. We just started laughing and ran out. It was funny.
I'm again getting chased out of here to get to our next appointment...SHOPPING.
Until next time!
We have been in Jordan for exactly one week now and I've made a lot of cultural observations.
1) Jordanians are incredibly hospitable people. I actually had to have my LCF (PC staff person that lives in our village) to talk to my host family because they were feeding me too much....to the point where I would dread a meal because saying NO, just wan't going to cut it. There are three meals a day. Breakfast and dinner are usually the same meal, perhaps with a slight variation, but basically the same. Pita bread (which is at very meal), cheese (in one form or another), a dairy product (sort of like yogurt or sour cream), and tea. Lunch is the big meal and when I say big...I mean it! Jordanians have five basic staples in their diet - pita bread, meat, rice, veggetables, and fruit. Minus the carbs, Jordanians eat really healthy.
The problem with the food is that the families are just too generous. Meat is expensive and amoung a lot of Jordanians is usually a luxuary item and thus is difficult to refuse because then you're just asking them to throw away money. The positive thing I realized is that if I don't eat something, someone else in the family will, once I'm done with it.
2) Showering - In Muslim religion, people pray five times a day. In the Koran it states that you must wash (pretty extensively from what I've heard) prior to each prayer. While this keeps the Jordanians clean, I'm at a bit of a loss. There is a water shortgage everywhere in the Middle East so people do not shower everyday. I take a shower every other day, and based on observation, I wear the same outfit for two days in a row. I'm still not sure how often laundry is done but I THINK for a family of 8 (like the one I'm living in) laundry is done maybe once per week.
3) Behavior - Although this is an incredibly conservative country, when the women are alone in the house they have fun. After the cooking and the chores are done, the girls in my house (along with the cousins) all come into my room to listen to my CD player (Erin...the girls LOVE the CDs!!!!) Not only do they listen to the music, but they sing and dance....provactively!!! Its nice to see that the girls are given the opportunity to develop a unique personality that encompasses more to life than cooking, cleaning, and bearing a ton of children.
4) The dreaded conversations - There are subjects that the Jordanians love to discuss...and rightly so. Politics and Religion are ones that intrigue the Jordanians as well. Its very interesting to have such discussions face-to-face with someone from a completely different mind frame from yourself (I'm actually talking about the PC staff at this point because there is no way to communicate with the families but we have all been told than once our Arabic is good enough....we'll be having these discussions with everyone). I have been asked if the people in the US blame all Arabs for September 11th. I have been asked why Walmart is so controversial. I have been asked why Americans would be upset if large corporations left America to have factories in other countries (some of these were trigger responses from larger discussions but they were extremely interesting to me).
Items that the Arabs think about the US that just don't seem to be true. These aren't even stereotypes that the Arabs have, they are truths that they assume.
1) People here think that there is no unemployment rate in the US - and that there are ample jobs in the US to keep everyone happy
2) People think that all Americans are rich (a sterotype is that Americans burn money in a fireplace)
3) People think that when Americans graduate from college that there are a lot of companies looking to hire them (this conversation took place in today's sessions...and they were floored when we told them that its the same in the US as in Jordan....places are NOT willing to give people the experience they need in order to get jobs that require experience.)
Being here is the most fascinating thing I have ever done in my life. When you think about it, I'm living someone else's life. These people have opened up their homes, their families, and their way of life to us. Looking back I can't believe I didn't do this sooner and on the other hand...I still can't believe that I'm here. Its all so surreal but its all so amazing. I might not be able to write for a few days but I'm hoping to have some pictures up by next week. A friend of mine here is letting me use his computer to burn pictures to a CD that I will then upload to the computer. I'll try to write more on the cultural differences, specifically the gender roles because it is truely fascinating.
Bye!!!
Today we are in Amman at the Peace Corps office. We're also visiting the King Abdullah's National Mosque and we're going to meet the other J7's at the Country Directors house. I wanted to write on here and tell everyone that things are going really well but I can't find the opportunity to write here more office. Please also know that I can't email everyone back right now. I think that once we get to our sites I might have more time to write even if its only once a week.
P.S. Oren says hi and dirt.
I went to my first wedding on Thursday night! It was a very interesting experience! Everyone was laughing at me because I can't dance...although I did! I also found a new friend! And I think I have a play date set up! There was a 15 year old girl and her 14 year old brother that talked to me the whole night because their English was really good. I hung out with the girl the entire night and then at the end of the night the boy said to me "you come home with us" I didn't know what to say or do so I said No...I have to go to my house. Then the mother was brought over and the sister came over and they all said "You come home with us!!" Then my host mother came over and agreed so I felt like I was being exiled from my house. Luckily someone was able to translate that I was going to be going to this other house but that my host family would be picking me up within an hour. So we walked over to the other house and it was gorgeous! The family is very well off because the father is a Captain in the police department. Apparently, he went to Kosov about 9 months ago for a 6-month period. I couldn't figure out why, but it was something to do with work. I told the girl that I was going to be going to the 3rd day of the wedding but when I woke up the next morning the parents had already left for the wedding :( So I didn't get to go. My host sister said that my new friend U-Ripp was looking for me and I think we have a play date set up now but I don't know when. LOL!!!
Also, today I was thinking that I've been out of work for a month! It feels like 6 months!!! Its crazy how much as happened to my in a month. Probably more excitement than my entire life...and I am soooo glad that I'm here. Someday I think, its so normal that I'm here, we've fallen into a pattern, and its just the way life is now. Other days I'm thinking..."I'm in Jordan!!! This is nuts!!!
NOTE: What I write here is un-edited. I treat this as a journal and then I don't re-read and thus edit. I'm sorry but I think that I would censor myself if I re-read. Enjoy the weekend!