Rather than trying to make up for the past month and a half without an update, I'll merely share my day with you today in hopes that it gives you an idea of what life in Jordan is often like.
I woke up in Amman after a wonderful day and evening of celebration for a good friend's birthday. My friend who lives in a village near me and I both had to be at work (school is back in session, more on that later) at 8. We left our dingy but cheap hostel at 6 for the station where we are supposed to be able to get services (shared taxis) up to Ajloun. Walked around the circle, got directed to walk a couple blocks up, then got re-directed to go back to the circle only to find out some 30 minutes later that there were no services or buses running to Ajloun. A taxi driver told us he would take us for 30JD. That's about how much I spend each month on food, so no. We go to the other bus station and wait around until about 7:30 when the bus finally comes and we just barely squeeze on. The girl next to me offers me some of her cookie as me and Alison shake our heads, laugh and mutter ooooh Jordan. Even when it drives me crazy, something as simple as a girl offering me her cookie makes me fall back in love with this little country.
I get off in the town that neighbors mine at about 8:30 and am lucky to catch a service right away. However, this particular service driver happens to also deliver the newspaper. So we stop several times so that he can run to different shops and houses to bring folks their morning news. I tell him that I was supposed to be at work at 8 and am running kinda late. He laughs and tells me that he was supposed to deliver these newspapers at 6 and I shouldn't worry about it. Alrighty. He gives me a newspaper and drops me off at school and only charges me .50c when it's usually 2JD. Sweet.
I'm greeted by students I haven't seen all summer who are running around outside trying to collect all their books. No classes are in session just yet. The mom of one of my students frantically runs up to me and asks for my landlord's phone number, who works for the Ministry of Education. She explains that the Kindergarten has filled up and she can't enroll her son. This is a typical and unfortunate problem throughout Jordan right now. The Ministry is doing its best to accommodate, but classrooms are overcrowded. I heard that each of my 1st grade classes has around 43 students. There are about 20,000 Syrian refugee children in Jordan trying to enroll in public schools, particularly in the north.
I came home and napped and awoke a couple hours later to an invite to come have lunch upstairs at my landlords' house. Duwali. Delicious as always. As we were getting ready to eat, a procession of honking cars and pick-ups drove down the road honoring the newly elected mayor, a man I know nothing about other than that he is a Freihat. There are at least 5 big tribes, or families, that live in Kufranjah and I live amidst the Freihats. Thus, all of the celebrations today have taken place just a few meters outside my door.
There was an article recently in The Jordan Times that asked Jordanians if they were more likely to vote for a relative/tribe member who was incompetent or corrupt, or someone with a reputation for honesty and effectiveness who was not a relative or tribe member. A majority said that relative/tribe member is the most important consideration, significantly more so than honesty and effectiveness. The area that I live in has much less tribal rivalry than other areas of Jordan, but loyalty to one's tribe is a nation wide factor, and perhaps problem, in Jordan's political system.
The major celebration started around 7 and is continuing as I write this. We watched from the roof for a while as all the men danced and shot off fireworks in the street.
The women celebrate in a similar fashion (maybe sans fireworks and guns) at a separate party not too far away, but I opted not to go. Around 8:30 the music shut off and the party came to a temporary pause as the adhan, or call to prayer, recited from the mosques. Some men went to the mosque while others went inside the municipality building to pray and others just hung out smoking and chatting in the street. Then, men from the other tribes, 2 of whom had candidates running, came down to congratulate the family and eat some kunafa. I'm fortunate to live in an area where tribal tension and conflict is low.
It can not go unstated that the impending attack on Syria is of particular concern and focus right now. A major shift is happening. I don't know if it is a shift in the right direction or not, but I hope so. There is a lot of uncertainty in what will happen in the coming days. Other than being a home to refugees (well over half a million now), the US and Jordanian governments claim that Jordan will not be a 'launch pad' for the strikes nor will Jordan be drawn further into the conflict as a result. My heart goes out to the millions of people whose lives have been so drastically shaken as a result of this war.
I woke up in Amman after a wonderful day and evening of celebration for a good friend's birthday. My friend who lives in a village near me and I both had to be at work (school is back in session, more on that later) at 8. We left our dingy but cheap hostel at 6 for the station where we are supposed to be able to get services (shared taxis) up to Ajloun. Walked around the circle, got directed to walk a couple blocks up, then got re-directed to go back to the circle only to find out some 30 minutes later that there were no services or buses running to Ajloun. A taxi driver told us he would take us for 30JD. That's about how much I spend each month on food, so no. We go to the other bus station and wait around until about 7:30 when the bus finally comes and we just barely squeeze on. The girl next to me offers me some of her cookie as me and Alison shake our heads, laugh and mutter ooooh Jordan. Even when it drives me crazy, something as simple as a girl offering me her cookie makes me fall back in love with this little country.
I get off in the town that neighbors mine at about 8:30 and am lucky to catch a service right away. However, this particular service driver happens to also deliver the newspaper. So we stop several times so that he can run to different shops and houses to bring folks their morning news. I tell him that I was supposed to be at work at 8 and am running kinda late. He laughs and tells me that he was supposed to deliver these newspapers at 6 and I shouldn't worry about it. Alrighty. He gives me a newspaper and drops me off at school and only charges me .50c when it's usually 2JD. Sweet.
I'm greeted by students I haven't seen all summer who are running around outside trying to collect all their books. No classes are in session just yet. The mom of one of my students frantically runs up to me and asks for my landlord's phone number, who works for the Ministry of Education. She explains that the Kindergarten has filled up and she can't enroll her son. This is a typical and unfortunate problem throughout Jordan right now. The Ministry is doing its best to accommodate, but classrooms are overcrowded. I heard that each of my 1st grade classes has around 43 students. There are about 20,000 Syrian refugee children in Jordan trying to enroll in public schools, particularly in the north.
I came home and napped and awoke a couple hours later to an invite to come have lunch upstairs at my landlords' house. Duwali. Delicious as always. As we were getting ready to eat, a procession of honking cars and pick-ups drove down the road honoring the newly elected mayor, a man I know nothing about other than that he is a Freihat. There are at least 5 big tribes, or families, that live in Kufranjah and I live amidst the Freihats. Thus, all of the celebrations today have taken place just a few meters outside my door.
There was an article recently in The Jordan Times that asked Jordanians if they were more likely to vote for a relative/tribe member who was incompetent or corrupt, or someone with a reputation for honesty and effectiveness who was not a relative or tribe member. A majority said that relative/tribe member is the most important consideration, significantly more so than honesty and effectiveness. The area that I live in has much less tribal rivalry than other areas of Jordan, but loyalty to one's tribe is a nation wide factor, and perhaps problem, in Jordan's political system.
The major celebration started around 7 and is continuing as I write this. We watched from the roof for a while as all the men danced and shot off fireworks in the street.
The women celebrate in a similar fashion (maybe sans fireworks and guns) at a separate party not too far away, but I opted not to go. Around 8:30 the music shut off and the party came to a temporary pause as the adhan, or call to prayer, recited from the mosques. Some men went to the mosque while others went inside the municipality building to pray and others just hung out smoking and chatting in the street. Then, men from the other tribes, 2 of whom had candidates running, came down to congratulate the family and eat some kunafa. I'm fortunate to live in an area where tribal tension and conflict is low.
It can not go unstated that the impending attack on Syria is of particular concern and focus right now. A major shift is happening. I don't know if it is a shift in the right direction or not, but I hope so. There is a lot of uncertainty in what will happen in the coming days. Other than being a home to refugees (well over half a million now), the US and Jordanian governments claim that Jordan will not be a 'launch pad' for the strikes nor will Jordan be drawn further into the conflict as a result. My heart goes out to the millions of people whose lives have been so drastically shaken as a result of this war.
