Blogs from Amman, North, Jordan, Middle East - page 22

So, I actually had this blog this afternoon, my time, and then the internet went down and I lost it:) So, I will start over by telling you about my day yesterday. We went to two mosques yesterday. One was basically just used for tourists and special occassions. It was nice. The second one we were not able to go into, it was closed for the day. Going into the first one, foreign females have to be completely covered. We had to zip ourselves into these robe/cape things that covered our entire body. Inside it is really elaborate. There are several meanings for some of the decor. The carpet has a specific pattern on it so it is easy for the men to line up in straight lines during prayer. The pulpit is always on the ... read more

Today I arrived to Jordan by bus from Damascus. It was fairly uneventful at the border which was nice. I had lunch with a Irish guy named Steve that I met at my hostel who is going to work for an NGO in Togo, Africa for 7 months. Then I hibernated from the heat for the worst part of the day (it was 40C), and just too hot to be walking around with a long dress and backpack, so I relaxed until it was cooler. Aterward, I checked out the Roman ampitheatre and odeon that is Amman's main (and really only) attraction. I sat in the park surrounding the ruins and planned the next leg of my Middle East journey, and then I strolled around the streets. I shared my room with a woman and her ... read more

Today we visited "The Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists." It was a very interesting place. We met with some of the Mansoor's which was the family we visited the other night. While we were there we also were able to meet the Editor in Chief of the 2nd largest newspaper in Jordan. He was a very intelligent and interesting man. Then we were finished with class by like 11:30ish again today. Of course we have a couple of papers due tomorrow. Most people are getting them finished today and going to a place called Jaresh. It bascially is a very nicely preserved ancient Roman ruins. I on the other hand take forever writing two 3 page papers and will not be participating on the trip, but that is ok, I like to hang out at ... read more

Hello everyone! This will probably be short, it is 10pm here and I have reading to do and some sleep to get:) Today we did not have class until 3:30ish so, I basically got up early and lounged around the place we are staying, it was nice. Then we went to a family's home and had a traditional Jordanian dinner. It was good. There was chicken and lamb with lots of new spices! It was almost too much to handle all at once. There were about 30 people total. There were lots of people our ages from the family, and most spoke English very well. Children in Jordan are required to learn English from about what is the equivalent age of 1st grade for us. Then most of us went to a cafe type place and ... read more

Today we went back to the market and was able to walk around for a few hours. Then we went to a restaurant that served Jordanian food, it was very good and there was alot of food! It was a very nice touristy restaurant, so the service was better than any I have ever had in the states. Then we came back, it was exceptionally hot today, but it didn't feel that bad. We were put into groups this time so the cab drivers wouldn't over charge us, that was a plus! From there nothing too exciting I pretty much stayed in the building and just talked with a couple people with all intentions of doing my reading for tomorrow! Tomorrow we are going to family's home and having linner (lunch/dinner, this is not an arabic ... read more