Culture

I keep updating this post because I'm forgetting things.  


I just got denied a handshake for the second time.  It doesn't feel good :(  The first time I held out my hand and the guy just looked away... so I said "Oh.." and slowly dropped my hand.  The second time I stuck out my hand to a different person and he put his hand on his heart and shook his head.  I said "Oh, I'm sorry.."  It was actually pretty uncomfortable for me because I made him uncomfortable.  I think I'm done extending my hand.  

Here's some pictures that I mentioned in my other blog:

Büşra put this Turkish headscarf on me

Oh yeah, this is Büşra! :D

K let's color-code this.  

Random

Fashion:  Guys

Fashion:  Girls

Men

Traffic

Jerusalem

More Random

Daily Schedule

I have a language partner, and her name is Shefa'.  She's 24, very petite, and hardly speaks any English.  She still speaks more English than I speak Arabic though.  We get together every few days and teach each other.  She's very sweet :)  I bought her a dictionary and she said "Oh, thank you!  I like you!"  

I bought an Arabic drum!!  It's swell :)  

The North Star is especially bright here.  

Everyone speaks really really loudly.  

I've had another week of cold showers.  


I've been told by a few locals that I look like Angelina Jolie.

I'm afraid to mention anything about the King because I could get arrested if I am seen or heard saying anything bad about him.

Fashion -  

   Guys:   

1.  Tight clothing

2.  Dark colors

3.  Dress shirt, unbuttoned 2 buttons

4.  If boots, pointed to a flat tip

5.  Nice watch

6.  Perhaps cologne

7.  Fitted black trousers

8.  Fitted jeans

9.  Short, perhaps spiky, gelled hair

10.  Shades

I'll have to take better pictures of the fashion.  

Girls:  Depends on the girl.  

Girl 1.  Somewhat common.  Normal, loose-to-tight clothes and no hijab.  Maybe heels, cute sandals, or tennis shoes.  Big black hair.  

Girl 2.  Layers of tight clothing that cover everything.  Skinny jeans.  Long sleeve t-shirt with another longer stylish shirt over it.  Heels, cute sandals, or tennis shoes.  Hijab.  Lots of eye makeup.   However, I'm told this is not Islam because it's not modest enough.  

Girl 3.  Hijab, long baggy trench coats that almost reach the ankles OR long baggy black dress, pants, tennis shoes.   Ankles, neck, elbows, and wrists are covered.  This is modest.  

Girl 4.  Everything covered in a black baggy material except the eyes.

Girl 5.  Everything covered in a black baggy material, including the eyes.  

Girls 2 and 3 are the most common.  

I also would like to emphasize the bromance.  I mentioned before that men hold hands.  Men are just so close with each other here.. sometimes they kiss cheeks or put their hands in their friend's pocket.... and with the tight clothing, we Americans would wonder.  But they are not gay, they are just very very close with each other.  And it's true, men rule everything.  Women don't have much of a say.. Women shouldn't be seen outside at night.  Women shouldn't see or talk to any male friends, even in a group, if she is seeing someone.  Women shouldn't laugh too loudly.  Women should just pretty much keep all attention off themselves.  I often find myself feeling very small and my opinions don't really seem to matter much.  If I say, "No, I'm busy tomorrow,"  it doesn't have value.  Or "Please don't do this" isn't heard.  Of course, that might depend on the person.  Either way, men control.  

Traffic -  

There are cars everywhere all the time.  They honk all the time.  They screech their brakes all the time.  Pedestrians don't have the right of way, so when you're crossing the street, it's like Frogger, literally.  Don't expect the car to stop for you because they're probably not paying attention anyway.  The cars on the street vary from old to new.. most of them are pretty old and taxi drivers use cardboard on their left window as a sunvisor.  Taxis also vary from new to old.  

Jerusalem -

So I went to Jerusalem on Friday!!  I went with 2 of my guy friends.. we could only go for 1 day because the border closes at 12 PM and we have classes Sunday.  So Friday morning at 4:30 AM I get up, leave at 5:30 (I had to sneak out the window because they lock everyone in), passed the border around 11:30.  I got in trouble by one of the guards for taking a picture of the security place, then he just happened to put my passport in his pocket and walk away.  After 10-15 minutes we found him and asked for my passport.  

There was just something magical about the whole place... even though there's tension there, there was something peaceful and pure about it.  It felt like I was on a cloud the whole time. 

AND I saw two more places from my dreams.. it was so crazy!  I also saw the Wailing Wall and Dome of the Rock, Via Dolorosa, and the Church of Holy Sepulchre.  We stayed at the Mount of Olives hotel for the night.   

From my dream (above)

Also from my dream (above)

Oh myyyy... this was the best Baklava EVER.  

I wrote down the most common Hebrew phrases to speak while I was there. 

I had my first Hebrew conversation!!!  It was deep and intense.. it went like this:

Me:  Anglit?  (English?)

Him:  Cain.  (Yes.)

It was great.  

I also had the best fig I have ever and will ever eat in my entire life.  

Haha.. here's a nice Arabic mistake my friend made.  Earlier that day we had all eaten kebab.  He wanted more so he meant to say "Man, I could really go for some kebab right now!"  but he said "Man, I could really go for some shebab right now!"  Hahahahah.... shebab means a group of guys.  So what he said was "Man, I could really go for some young men right now!"   Nobody caught it.  I still laugh out loud when I think about it, and I'm laughing out loud now.  


We left early Saturday morning at 6 and because it was Shabbat, there were nooooo cars on the street from 6:00 to the time we got to the border, about 8ish.  Our Palestinian taxi driver told us that people can get in trouble with the law if they're driving on Shabbat.  We made it home around 11:00 on Saturday and I slept all day.  

More Random -

This is really random, but I notice that people brag differently.  In the United States, tons of people tend to brag about how good they look or maybe how much money they have.  Here, people might brag about how many people they know or how much respect they have.  But actually, hardly anyone here brags at all.  They never feel the need to flatter themselves.  That to me is such a beautiful thing.  It's humble.  Everyone should have humility, including myself.  

Friendly customer service doesn't really exist.  People never say "Can I help you?"  or anything similar.  For example, when I was looking to get my blood test for my visa, the lady at the desk said "Shu biddek?"  which means "What do you want?"  and when I signed up for classes, the girl in front of me didn't have enough money.  The lady yelled at her for not having  enough money and for waiting in line the whole time without it.  

Oh yeah, lines.  They don't exist.  At lunch, if you want something to eat, you push your way to the front to pay.  Otherwise you'll never get to the front.  It's like a mob of students.  

That's the lunch "line"  ...  also take note of the fashion.  

So let's take a peek at a typical daily schedule:

9:00 - 10:40  -- First class

11:00 - 12:40  -- Second class

1:15 - 2ish -- Lunch

Then the evening varies.. I usually meet up with Shefa' or other people and finish my day around 9 or 10ish.  Tuesdays after lunch, some of my friends and I sing worship music in an empty room till 3.  Friday night is church.  

Well, thank you for your suggestions about my blog since almost everything has become normal to me and I forget to mention them.  And thanks for reading! 

Haircut

So.. I need some prayer.  I need peace.  I'm willing to share but not on my blog.

Oh and don't worry.. all your comments are posting!  I have to moderate them before they post but they do post :)

Let's see, today I went to the mall with one of my really good friends, Yasmeen, and we had lots of fun :)  I feel that my US shirts are too tight and short so I went looking for different ones, and I found one.  I also bought jeans. I love jeans.  Bargaining in Arabic really helps us practice our numbers.

 I also bought a wedding ring so that men will leave me alone.  Sometimes they drive up to me and stop and say things out their window, or they'll whistle or honk their horns every 2 seconds.  Walking at night (even around 8 or 9 PM) is really uncomfortable for me.. everyone stares daggers and whistles, probably because they think I'm a prostitute.  Which I was just told that no matter what you're wearing, whether it be a bikini or a niqab (in the picture), you're still seen as a prostitute if you're walking alone at night.  But getting back to my first point, if you tell a man you're married, he'll respect it and buzz off.  Atleast he should.  Saying you have a boyfriend doesn't count.

One of my friends was walking down the street and there was a man hardcore staring at her.  The landlord saw him and noticed she was uncomfortable and said something like "Hey buddy, she's married to the blonde guy who lives here," (which wasn't true) but he apologized and looked down right away.

I went to Petra yesterday with the school, and it was nice.  It was different than I thought it would be, but it was still really spectacular and picturesque.  Here are some pictures :)

That guy is Ahmad, one of the staff in the University of Jordan.. he's one of the best guys ever.  So nice and fun.

Oh my goodness, I got my hair cut and dyed.  The guy knew everything.  He said "I know your color, wait,"  and he pulled out a color and started putting it on.  I told him I wanted layers but not too short.  He starts chopping and chopping.. there's hair flying everywhere.. in my face, on my hands, in the air, aaaallll over the floor.  Bam, perfect hair.  Perfect color.  It's the color I've always pictured.

  Oh and Büşra put a Turkish headscarf on me and I took a picture but it's not loading :(  I will try for the next blog.

I almost got run over the other day.  I MIGHT not have been looking both ways and heard a REALLY loud screech about 1 foot in front of me.  The car slowed down to a stop, rolled down its window and the guy started screaming, fist in the air.  I don't know what he said because I don't speak Arabic so I said "Uh.. ana assifa?  Ma behki 3arbi..." which means "Uh.. I'm sorry?  I don't speak Arabic.."  and I ran away :/

That's all for today, I will update soon.  :)

New Apartment

Ahhh I am sorry my fellow blog-followers!  I very honestly haven't had time to use the internet, I'm just glad I sleep and bathe myself.  Which by the way, I had a swell week of cold showers :) mmmmm.   BUT now my apartment has internet!!

Boys playing soccer

Me, Büşra, Sena in Wasat al Balad

My textbook

 KANAFA mmmmm!

 The Language Center

Nice view

 The promised land

 

The promised land

 Mt. Nebo

 Same, the promised land

 Awesome Jordanian dancing

 Wadi Rum

Same 

 Driving in Wadi Rum

 

Debka dance!

 Me and Büşra on a camel

Lemon and mint, my favorite drink ever

 Dead Sea hotel

 Dead Sea

 My apartment

 Same

I think it's time to color-code this one again.  

Random

Wadi Rum

Aqaba

Dead Sea

Other Random

Jeez, where did I even leave off?  Let's see.  Oh I think I forgot to mention earlier that I met another synaesthete..  which is someone who sees things in colors.  (For example we see numbers and letters in colors.. you can google more if you're interested.)  But to find another person with it is so cool!  

Tamara and her dad left last week :(  I'm now in my new apartment, which is SO MUCH closer to campus, which is wonderful.  It's also by the gate closest to the building where I study.  And it's by lots of places to eat.  I'm sad that Tamara isn't here, but I'm so glad she was here for the length of time she was.  She helped soooooo much.  

OH!  I saw yet another place from a previous dream!  This time it was really strange because I was looking at it from the same angle as the dream.  I was legit freaked out, but it was still cool.  I saw that place on the way home from seeing one of Tamara's aunts.. wow, her place is wonderful, and so are the people.  SO much.  The house is surrounded by fruit trees.. let me list what there was:  Berries, pomegranates, figs, grapes, ginger, lemons, oranges, tomatoes, peaches.. was I in heaven?  Um, YES.  YES I was in heaven.  

Do you remember I talked about the prayer call here?  5 times a day, a man goes to the mosque and sings a prayer on the loud speaker for the city to hear.  I was at a small concert and when the prayer call came on, the lady wouldn't start her next song until the prayer call was over.  That was just so interesting to me, and so respectful.  I admire that.  

Last weekend I went to Wadi Rum (a desert) and got to hang out with Bedouins.  It was sooo nice... there was Arabic dancing, food, tents, jeep-ing through the desert and driving down sand hills.. aaahh :)  There was also TONS of heat.  And beautiful skies with sunsets and sunrises.  We all climbed this rock/mountain thing.. so fun.  Plus the stars at night were SOOOOO visible and SOO beautiful!  That night my thoughts were actually really catching up with me and I was really upset, so I went off in the sand and prayed for a bit about why I was here in the first place.  Long story short, I came back to everyone and my one friend out of nowhere said "Hey Charisse I was just looking at this verse, I think you'll like it."  It was Psalm 139, a little too long to post, you can look it up here:  

 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+139&version=NIV

And the cool thing is that I hadn't told him anything.  I hadn't told ANYONE anything actually, so nobody had any idea that that was relevant.  I didn't even know he had that app with him.

  OH and THEN my other Christian friend came over and another long story short, I wanted to ask if I could play my guitar sometime so we could all sing worship music so I said "This is random, but I bought a guitar and was wondering if.."  and she interrupted me right then and said "You're joking!  I just prayed the other day that someone would have a guitar that I could use and sing with!"   Not a coincidence, wallah.  We did sing at school and it was great.  

The next day I rode a camel before we left for Aqaba... it was fun!  It was my Turkish friend Büşra and me riding two separate camels.  After we got off, the camel man wanted a picture with me, and right when Büşra went to take the picture he grabbed my arm and put his other hand on my stomach right beneath my boobs and held tight.  NO.  Do NOT touch me there, camel man.  I deleted the picture.  But then we were off to Aqaba where we used a hotel's pool and beach area to swim.  The water was so nice, even in the ocean it was a nice temperature.  My friend's skin for some reason (probably his sunblock plus the pool chemicals) turned green everywhere, haha.  Poor guy.  Sometimes his arms still turn green.  

This weekend we all went to the Dead Sea, which is beautiful because it's surrounded my mountain-like hills.  Everyone slabbed free mud all over themselves and then swam in the saltiest, most-painful-for-cuts body of water.  Everything and everyone floats.. we all laid on our sides, or on our stomachs, knelt on nothing.. :)  It was so interesting.  I was actually having bad heart palpitations (not sure what it was actually) while we were there, and I couldn't walk for more than 10 seconds at a time without feeling the need to die, literally.   My friend Randa stayed with me for a while, she's one of the most selfless people ever.   It passed and then on the way home, I got my other chest pains where a part near my heart pinches really badly when I breathe.  My teacher drove me to my apartment, then Tamara's cousin Motaz took me to the hospital.  Büşra and Sena (another Turkish friend) came with me.  I couldn't help but laugh when I was there because I was so flattered and happy that they wanted to stay with me.  Those 3 people have been such great friends, I can't even explain how much love I have for each of them.  Leaving them will probably rip out my heart.  

The hospital didn't find anything wrong.  My pains lasted for 5 hours.  Oh well, atleast it passed, and I'm just so flattered that my friends wanted to come.  I'm smiling writing it.  

My friend found a small non-denominational Christian church and I went there with her on Friday.  It was just like at home, and it was really nice.  I kind of hoped for more Arabs and Arab-like music, since we were in the Middle East and Christianity is for every race, plus God doesn't have to be worshipped in one style of music.  It was still great though, I plan to go next week.  

I should dye my hair and get it cut tomorrow.. my roots to me are noticeable and my hair is just flat and long.  I'm kinda nervous but we'll see what happens.  

I'm starting to feel like I look promiscuous here, because 95% of people around me have everything covered, and here I am with bare arms and a bare neck and fitting clothes.  Even if I wear a sweater and jeans to school, it just doesn't feel modest enough. 

I'll try to update sooner.. sorry guys!   

Happy 4th of July!

Hi everyone!   Happy 4th of July (and Happy Birthday Amanda!!!!) 

Things here are going great, and I've made the conclusion that I can't come home, so... yeah :)

I have to say this first because I'm so excited about it:  God is real.  SO REAL.  He is everywhere, and He wants to be close with you.  He actually does listen when you talk to Him.  Actually.. He gets pretty excited when you talk to Him.  I have talked to Him about so many very specific things, and those EXACT specific things have been answered in different ways and wonderful timing.  His presence is extremely strong and if you let Him He'll absolutely reveal Himself to you.  Ahhhhh and it's sooooooooo worth it. 

Oh, and this is also interesting:  If you know me well enough, you'll know that I have vivid dreams every night, and I remember them like 70% of the time.  Two completely different worlds... my dreams and real life.  But did you ever have a dream about a place and then much later actually visit that place? 

This isn't the first time, but in Costa Rica we drove past this one hotel and I wondered why it looked so familiar.  It was because I had a dream about that EXACT hotel, and in my dream I walked through it and everything.  It was exactly the same. 

When I first got here, I mentioned that I went to Aqaba and went scuba diving.  It was like dreams I used to have.  I went to Madaba yesterday, and there was a street that I saw that I knew I had seen before.. yes, in a dream.  It was SO VIVID and I was so creeped out.  It's seriously like I've lived in this country before because I've dreamed about it so much.. the streets, the buildings.. everything.  It's soooooo weird.

Then we went to Mount Nebo where Moses saw the promised land. The view was RIDICULOUS, pictures don't do it justice.  And as we were looking at the view, I heard Spanish.  So I looked over and there was a lady speaking to her Ecuador group about God.  The group left before I did, so I passed them on the way out talking again about God and I was so happy that I might have cried a little under my sunglasses.  They talked about how God wants to have that friendship with you.. not just a "pray to me because you have to" kind of thing.  It was so great.. just so great.

Oh I got 2 new pairs of sandals and they're sooooooooooooo comfortable and cute :) I also got a pair of handmade earrings... soo gorgeous :-o

I've been watching lots of soccer.  I took an Argentine flag into a bar full of Arab men dressed in Germany wear.  ...I was told by Tamara's cousin to put it away so I had to hide it in my purse :(  I would have put it away anyway cuz I didn't feel like getting beaten up by the whole restaurant. 

The people at the University here are amazing friends.  There's people from everywhere.. Moldova, Ukraine, Morocco, USA, France, Spain, Turkey, England, Russia, Holland.. everywhere.  This trip is so much more than I could have asked for.  It's like heaven pretty much. 

I PROMISE that I will soon put pictures on here... my laptop is dead and that's where my pictures are.  Please keep reading!!