A Few Observations

Some interesting/weird/difficult/awesome things about living in Jordan...

1. One thing I really love about living in a Muslim country is the importance of religion and remembering God on both a societal and individual level.

Muslims pray 5 times a day and I love hearing the call to prayer throughout the day. Just not at 6 am in the morning.

There are mosques EVERYWHERE.

One time I went into a fruit stand and all the workers were in the corner praying. They didn't even acknowledge me, and I just waited until they were done praying to pay for my fruit. I just love that it's normal to worship God in public. Also, I've had several experiences hanging out with friends and they stop to pray. It has really made me reflect on my daily worship and the time I give to God each day.

This is my friend Nour. We stopped at the university prayer room so she could pray.

Also there are signs all over, at intersections and on buildings, that say things like, "Remember God," and "God is Great," and "Praise be to God."

I love it.

2. One thing that has been difficult about living in Jordan is the lack of water. It is very evident. We have a certain allotment of water each week in our apartment so showers are very scarce and short, especially because there are 7 of us girls that live together.

Also, water is not complementary in restaurants and for those who know me, I drink a TON of water. It has not been fun to always be buying water.

3. As I am writing this, I am deliberately not at home. Why? Because it is absolutely freezing. Turns out the Middle East does get cold. Actually, it's not even that cold outside, but our building has no insulation and our landlord refuses to turn on the heaters. It's pretty bad. We can see our breath. It's all good though, we only have a few more days left here and I think we will survive.

 

4. Amman is a beautiful city. But, it is also really really dirty. We walk through this trash pile every day to get home...

 

Just so picturesque...

 

5. In Arab and Islamic culture it's not common for girls and boys to be friends and hang out. Some of our Arab friends have been really surprised that we hang out downstairs in the boys' apartment. They've gotten used to it though.

Also, men rule the streets here. I've had many moments when I'm out and about and I realize that I'm the only girl on the street or the only girl on the bus. It's a strange feeling. One of my friends told me that since it's not really acceptable for men and women to hang out together, it's the men that are always out on the streets.

Speaking of the streets, people don't smile! It's been really strange. My returned missionary self always wants to smile at people, but I constantly have to remind myself not to. Especially since smiling at a man basically means that I want to marry him. But even if I smile at women, they don't smile back. And according to my Arab friends, smiling at strangers is awkward and socially wrong.

 

I struggle with that.

6. Like many countries outside of the US, people love smoking and don't really care where they are when they smoke. In the taxi. In the restaurant. In the mall. Don't really matter. Even though these signs are everywhere...

 

7. Another thing I've noticed while living in Jordan is that everyone knows about politics and has an opinion on everything. I would not say that's true in America. In our classes we've had to discuss a lot of political topics and most of the time, all of us students have no idea what to say about the topics or we don't really have opinions on them. However, all of my teachers and all the people I talk to outside of class seem very well informed and are not shy in sharing their opinions.

 

8. When I imagined coming to the Middle East, I did picture women wearing the veils and men wearing traditional robes, but I don't think I imagined it to be almost everyone. How people dress is quite different than in America and every once in awhile it kind of startles me.

 

 

Most of the women in Jordan wear the hijab or niqab coverings. I've had many discussions with friends about their decision to wear it. To them, it's a personal commitment with God and a choice to focus on their inner selves rather than their outward appearance.

 

Of course, there are also women who choose not to wear the covering. There's also women who wear the hijab along with skinny jeans and tight shirts. And other women who wear the full niqab and black robes. It's been cool to see the variety.

 

 

Just a few observations.

 

 

The Middle East is amazing. It sure is different from America though. 

I have really enjoyed it and learned so much from the differences in culture and lifestyle.

 

I really believe that we have so much to learn from each other.