Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
The time is 12:55 AM
This past week has been slightly busy and eventful. Oh. I am lying in bed and listening to Grace Cathedral Hill by the Decemberists. It is Friday morning. There is a nice breeze blowing through the window, the sky is blue, and I woke up a couple of hours ago. I think it's the 13th of August. I can hear the sermon from the Minarette and the sound of somebody hammering something? The song is now Bella Donna by the Avett Brothers. This past week Ramadan started on Wednesday here in Jordan. it's interesting because even though the month starts with teh crescent moon, and we can predict these for hundreds of years, it is still a visual science. Some Islamist Scholars or sheikhs will go out into the desert and look for the new moon. (The song is now "Daughters" by John Mayer). If 2 people see it then the month of Ramadan will start the next day. However, sometimes governments will do their own thing and not start until they think it is time... Saudi Arabia is usually the first to start (because they are slightly ahead and I'm guessing you can see the moon easier in a large desert). If they say Ramadan starts the next day then Jordan will usually listen and start the next day. Fasting hasn't been too bad so far. Once the sun comes up you can't drink any water, eat, smoke, or anything physical with your spouse. Once the sun goes down (the time is usually around 7:20 pm here) you can do all of those things.(Sparks by Cold Play now) It is common and traditional to break your fast with dates and water and then eat your meal. Cameron and I broke our fast on Wednesday night with the nice Yemeni Place. We had dates, water, half a chicken a piece, soup, rice, yogurt, basically the whole shabang. We were pretty stuffed but at about 11:00pm that night the land lady came by our place and gave us a dish she had made and it was probably the best thing I've eaten since I've been here! The spices were just right! It was rice, lamb, potatoes, tomatoes (Society by Eddie Vedder). It was amazing. We had helped her and her friend pick grape leaves from the vines outside our window the night before so I think that we can look forward to those in the future :) Classes have been good and we covered the last bit of grammar we will cover yesterday so next week will be a review of every thing we have learned for the final. It's crazy to think this is worth a year's study of Arabic. We went though (Garage Sale, Avett Brothers) the entire 2nd Al Kitaab book and have covered a ton of stuff. Going by the back of the book and its aims for learning, I should be at advanced proficiency now... We'll see. I know I"ve learned a ton, but there is still so much to learn and grasp. I highly recommend this program though. I bought some Coco Krispies and milk at the store the other day and they were delicious last night before bed. It's interesting being here during Ramadan. It really has changed compared to earlier. There are less people in the streets, less stores open during the day, and everyone stays up alot later. I'll be an interesting experience for Laura when she comes in 2 weeks!! Kind of crazy to think that this summer is drawing to a close and that the test is looming closer. Cameron and I are going to Wast Al Balad today and I'm going to make my purchases I've been meaning to get. Those include a thobe, hookah pipe, and maybe a jed robe.... ....we'll see (oops!! song is Accidental Babies by Damien Rice). We're also going to see if we can get a pitcher of sugar cane juice to bring home for Iftar (breakfast). Some good or better news this past week came from Ahmed. He sent us the new invitation letters from Saudi Arabia and we took them by the Embassy Wednesday Morning to try once again for the VISA. We got there at 8 in the morning and found out that they have shorter business hours during Ramadan (which is the norm here) and that they didn't open until 10:00! As we were waiting a man walked up that worked for one of the many Agencies around the Embassy and told us that he could help us out. We followed him to the Agency (I would be Sad, Avett Brothers) and the man there knew what he was doing without a doubt! He was much more knowledgeable than the other company we had talked to and had the exact forms that we needed on top of the one's that we already had. We left our stuff with him and he said to come back on Sunday to see if the VISA went through. This is the best chance that we've had going to KSA and basically we're all in at this point. Thursday is our final exam and Friday we can be on a bus or flight to Dammam :) I think that pretty much sums everything up from this past week except that the internet has been out all week! So annoying. Oh and I also saw the Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Surrogate. Fantastic Mr. Fox was awesome and the dialog was excellent! Surrogate, not so much. Laterz (Dogs, Damien Rice).
- comments