Jordanian Drift

Eid Mubarak

2009-09-22T01:44:00.001+10:00

Eid Mubarak all. Another Ramadan has ended and another Eid (complete with traditional pancake breakfast) has come (and now gone)...

Hit the gym and the pool today, such disastrously hot weather here still.

Brother has arrived, will post up details and pics of our trip soon.

Much love and ma'a salama

Ramadan Mubarak to all...

2009-08-22T19:34:00.003+10:00

Today (Saturday) is the first day of Ramadan here in Oman. And as with every other year I can remember (for Ramadan anywhere I've been at the time), today is mercifully cooler than yesterday, subha'Allah. There is a sweet breeze, and although the sun is still singing everything it touches, the heat is not quite so oppressive.

Work hours are reduced to 6 hours per day in Ramadan by Ministerial Decree - beautiful! I finished work for the day about 40mins ago and am at home "resting". No one is allowed to eat in public here (I'm led to believe you could actually be arrested) - with the exception of little children - which is definitely a new experience. I'm living in a foodless, waterless world at the moment lol

I'm wondering if I'll have the energy to go swimming this afternoon - it certainly sounds tempting. But I've been invited to an iftaar (fast-breaking meal) and its probably a little rude if I scoff a date, sip some water and run off to the pool. This means that by the time I've actually eaten there won't be much time for swimming once the food settles - unless I want minimal sleep again tonight. Oh the decisions we have to make!

Al-hamdoulillah despite missing suhur (morning meal taken before the fast begins) today I'm not feeling to bad - a little dehydrated but nothing to serious. Going shopping in a couple of minutes for some last minute goodies (plus I need a box of choccies for my lovely host this evening). The down side of all this arriving and spending is that I'm now virtually penniless till payday (ok, so I have A$100 about RO29)... this means no vacuum cleaner, no water dispenser and no more candy purchases! Good thing Ramadan is a cheap month for food!

Much love and Ma'a salama

*~* RAMADAN MUBARAK TO ALL *~*

Losing count of the days.

2009-08-19T04:39:00.002+10:00

So today was the first day that was meeting free - which means it was a day to be at work and mostly stare at the wall being that my supervisor is not back from holidays yet and not much else is going on. Oh, all the other new staff went of to get their liquor licenses today - you need a special card to get on the grog here!

Temp timetables came out today - Math (I know, don't laugh), Business and IT. Sounds great! It'll be a first for teaching littlies (Math) which should be a nice change. I'm looking forward to getting myself organised this weekend - feeling very unprepared at the moment.

Headed back to the fabric/tailoring district tonight to drop off some material for some skirts. Also picked up my boxes today which was super exciting - its amazing how much stuff I packed that is just totally unrealistic for here.

Anyway, early start tomorrow so off to beddy-byes.

Much love and Ma'a salama.

Catch up

2009-08-19T04:36:00.002+10:00

Touched down in Oman about 4.5 hours ago. Met at the airport, got the visa, picked up the bags and was out. Did the usual and changed some money and bought a SIM - that did take some effort to work out, but, interestingly enough, Oman Mobile’s customer service is available and completely functioning before the sun comes up - I was terribly impressed.

So, where am I? I’m not living at work, I’m across the road, not far, apparently 200m or thereabouts - walk in the heat at your own sweaty peril! So I shall need a car to get to school (I’m not kidding I was told it was necessary). My apartment is huge! Walk in the front door to the hallway, immediately to the right is a small room, bare except for two decaying plants. Next on the right is the first of many bathrooms. On the left is my lounge dining room. Continue on into a kind of “holding” room - I don’t really see any function for this room, maybe as a separate dining? On the left off that room is a rather spacious kitchen - alas the stove is electric, no roti-making for me. Diagonally opposite from the kitchen is the master bed with en suite, and opposite that is a single bedroom with en suite. Space is nice, but then I think about all the cleaning and dusting and the cost of running the AC! Oman is very, very, very HOT and humid. At present I cannot leave my bedroom because I turned the AC off in the rest of the house (being green) and now its a good 5/6 degrees hotter out there, and its sticky! Can’t open the windows, to hot. Cold water faucet is persistently luke warm. I think its the first time I’ve opted to have a cold shower (where there was hot water available, therefore Jordan is excluded). Will post pics of the house when I upload my photos.

So, presently lying under the AC on my bed, blogging about the heat and wondering how on earth I can get internet hooked up by this evening and buy all the things I want (RIGHT NOW) form Carrefour without a car!

Conundrums. Maybe I’ll nap on it.

***End day one***

So my first day in Oman has come to an end. I’m unpacked (except for my invisible boxes) and I’ve started on the “new house top to bottom cleaning” which seems to accompany every move. Went to the supermarket (equiv. of Spinneys in Egypt) and picked up urgent items like disinfectant, bleach and soap. Unfortunately there were no latex gloves so my hands have been destroyed. Al-hamdoulillah.

Lunch was nice, dinner was nice - so were the choccies from my favourite little possums.

I’m feeling terribly tired. Might read a little then sleep - once I finish washing all my new kitchen stuff.

Off to do more shopping tomorrow, hopefully will complete most of the list and find out the prices for the rest... Don’t think there’ll be much money saved this month, but you know what they say... You gotta spend money to make money... or maybe its the other way around. Anyway whatever, I’ve got dishes to wash.

Much love and ma’a salama.

*** Day Two***

Late breakkie this morning followed by tour of the school and some meetings. Afternoon dominated by a trip to City Centre - shopping mall, includes Carrefour - and a blinding headache. Still no internet set up at home - could be a while - and the schools internet is down for a systems upgrade or something. Decided that I am definitely buying a washing machine. My boxes haven’t been delivered yet and I’m running out of clothes - no one was kidding when they said three outfits for one day. The humidity here is shockingly high (90% last week apparently). Hopefully by then end of tomorrow I’ll have a hire car sorted. Thinking I’ll hire until I can work out whether or not to buy. Seems that the comfort of all included insurance and not being responsible for the maintenance/repair of the car in case of issues/accident is a good way to go - potentially long-term, it seems to work out a little more expensive to buy a new car rather than hire. Other alternative is a second-hand, looking into a Jeep... All price dependent of course. Anyway, I am off to bed to nurse the remnants of my blinding headache. Hopefully tomorrow brings significantly less pain.

Much love and ma’a salama

***Sometime Later***

I’ve got my car! *woot* It’s all very exciting, I can now get out and about without bugging people for rides. Just a Nissan something-a-rather, sedan, auto (which makes traveling on the crazy Omani roads a breeze) and its white (not sure of the relevance but you get the idea).

Day before yesterday was a morning meeting to “demystify” Islam, and the afternoon was dominated by the medical check up. Interesting experience. We were bussed to a medical centre about 30mins away to have our chests listened to, eyes checked, blood drawn, pee placed in a cup and a chest x-ray. It took 4 hours. Very long hours, but thankfully I did not faint (I was too busy marveling at how little blood they need to draw here in order to test for HIV compared to home...amazing).

Yesterday was the day for organising Resident cards - pretty much nothing can be done/organised here with out this particular card. First stop was a non-descript building 40mins away. After some time waiting our finger prints and photos were taken. Then it was back to the bus - approximately a 1minute ride - then we decamped into another non-descript building in the same compound. More sitting. More waiting. Finally we are called in. Another photo, finger print scan and this time we had to sign a digital pad. That signing was more difficult than it sounds, you couldn’t see where you’d written, nor could you watch the screen as it occurred. In the end just about everyones signature looked like a poor attempt by a five year old. Forwarded onto another waiting room. We waited. Sat and waited. Eventually names were called, we filed up to get our brand new resident cards and then made our way back to the bus and eventually back home.

That afternoon most people went on an excursion, I didn’t attend, deciding instead to go shopping. So I took my wheels for a spin and headed out to Carrefour to pick up most of the things I hadn’t already, and a bunch of delicious stuff not on the list. I’d like to say my fridge is filled with healthy and delicious food, but unfortunately only the delicious side of the equation is really true.

I’m still not used to the heat. Always so sweaty, its quite horrible. I think I need to drink more water. Still no internet and still no boxes. Hoping for tomorrow for the boxes and perhaps the delivery of my washing machine! I am officially out of clothes - i.e. even being able to re-wear items.

Tonight I headed out to the fabric district after dinner. The plan was to find some fabulous, soft cotton in plain colours and get some skirts made. Turns out that plain cotton is a rare commodity here in Oman - rare as in non-existent! The traffic into Seeb was crazy, bumper to bumper. But the main drag was just fabric shop after fabric shop. Some of the most beautiful hand-embroidered cloth I’ve seen masha’Allah. Went into several, disappointed each time by the lack of plain cotton fabric. Managed to get home with only one (minor) incident - hitting a massive pothole at 70km. I think the car survived. Guess I’ll check the tyres in the morning.

Anyway, after a less than fruitful expedition to the fabric district in Seeb, I shall say goodnight.

Much Love and Ma’a salama

Abu Dhabi

2009-08-13T06:17:00.002+10:00

Stepped off the plan and was hit with a big, fat, thick wall of disgusting humidity. Sweating, so gross, still have to go and get on another flight...

Have a tummy ache from the plane food (how unusual no?). Oh how I wish I had a very delicious hotel to slink off to with a powerful shower and a clean, fresh bed!

I haven't slept. So that means in the last three days I've had appx 8 hours of sleep. I'm getting those little moments where you feel so dizzy you think you might just black out. But no, I'm sure I'll be fine, so not to worry.

Anyway, off to the boarding gate for the next flight - if there are screaming babies I may just punch out the window, jump and hope for the best!

Much Love and Ma'a salama

2009-08-13T06:15:00.002+10:00

Ok ok, I know I never finished (or even attempted) to write about most of the traveling at the end of the last trip... I'd like to say I was just "too busy" but that would be a big fat lie. I thin kI just like the way it is in memory better than actually writing it all out (ok I'm lazy, happy?).

So the blogging begins afresh. Its a new adventure this time - meaning a new country that I have not yet set foot in (well actually by the time this is posted this small statement will no longer true). Also, apparently this trip is all about becoming an adult, taking responsibility, holding down a real job (it all sounds so terribly un-fun!) so that means my blog will be terribly boring as well - not much happening when you have to go to work everyday! You have been forewarned!

Presently about 3000kms above the water of some ocean that I am not all together familiar with, watching the sunset magically on the horizon which seems so terribly far away and makes it appear as if you could just sail a little boat right on over there and drop off right off the face of the earth into oblivion. Which, right now seems terribly appealing being that the kid in the row next to me has screamed for most the the five hours I have been glued to my (pretty good) seat (exit row, room to move, no one seated next to me!) and has sullied her nappy in the most foul way imaginable not just once, but TWICE! I have lost count of the number of times I have gagged thus far - at least her grampa is nice and told her mum to chuck out her filthy nappies on the other side of the plane when he saw me struggling for breath.

Moving on. Aside from the headache (already downed the “complimentary” panadol), knawing hunger in my belly and the little shit behind me who has thus far not ceased kicking my chair (it is taking EXTRAORDINARY patience and self-control not to flip out) I am well.

Had a little sooky la-la moment when the plane took off, which I think scared the poor flight attendant (who is remarkably good looking), but am now looking forward to arriving (if only because the closer it comes so does my next meal). So, I’ve had my Apple and Potato Salad with Salmon, followed by the Ricotta Tortellini and topped with a rather delicious Tiramisu and only have a hamper service and light meal to look forward to AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH (sorry more squealing from the child). No surprises, traveling back in cattle/scum class is a depressing experience - I just keep dreaming of a la carte service, a lack of children and fresh brewed coffee. I need to come into some serious money - or flyer miles, this is not a long term solution to my traveling needs!

Anyway, first thing I’ll do when I get through customs and find my new accommodation... Shower. Then, maybe, I’ll go for a walk (yes in the 4am-35 degree-heat), apparently its 3km to Carrefour (supermarket) so perhaps I will stroll all the way there. Or not.

Turbulence has arrived and I have to put my bag away (its presently blocking the emergency exit - opps).

I’ll post this when I find an internet connection (preferably a free one - gotta love the ME), and put up some pics of the new digs when I’ve settled in.

Much love and ma’a salama.

Day One...

2009-03-24T13:19:00.003+11:00

Went without sleep last night. Picked up at 3am by Dad and the driver. Transported to an amazing hotel. Its like another world – honestly you could forget you were in Cairo... If only you didn’t see the pyramids from your bed in the morning.

My room and its view...

After very little sleep (2 hours maybe), headed off to breakfast, and with time to spare before the driver arrived for the day took a quick dip in the pool – which is sub-zero! After that, quick shower and the driver called to announce his arrival.

Up in the mini-bus we head across the city to the Citadel of Salahudin Ayoubi and the 19th century mosque of Muhammed Ali. From the Citadel we could see out over Cairo – the pollution clouding the skyline, the Mosque of Al-Azhar, the wide expanse of the City of the Dead.

Brief stop at Khan el-Khalili. Originally a stop for passing caravans collecting water as the passed over the desert sands now its a super tourist oriented shopping joint. Pretty much anything can be found in the narrow winding lanes, complete with the customary shopkeeper harassment.

From the Khan we went of to lunch on the Nile which was nice and from there to the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. What a crazy place. There is stuff everywhere – most of it unlabelled. Amazing. Our guide was great, but by the end of it, it was all we could do to keep our eyes open on the way back to the hotel.

21 Days

2009-03-05T19:18:00.001+11:00

Egypt is cold this week, very cold. Currently I’m sitting on my couch wearing trackies, thick snow socks, a thermal top, two jumpers and a cap – and I’m still cold. My feet are numb and my nose is starting to run... Whoever told me Egypt was warm even in winter was a big fat liar... Wouldn’t mind having the thermals back that I gave away in Jordan, but at least I still have my Uggs...

Last weekend went shopping for clothes in Giza, which was an interesting experience. Got some good deals on some skirts, so I left happy. After shopping we decided to go eat, but we needed an atm first. So we (the four of us) decided to get an Egyptian motorcycle taxi – let me make this very clear, they are not made for four reasonable sized women.... After having to back in butt first, I ended up on the lap of one of the girls - my own legs hanging out the side of the cab – which if you know anything about Egyptian driving/traffic, you know I am very lucky to still be connected to my dear little legs. Three near misses later – yes on each occasion my legs were almost crushed, first by a bus, secondly by a motocycle, and thirdly by a parked car – we got to the back, and after a brief argument with the driver who wanted us to pay more than we’d agreed because he’d worked out we were foreign we got some money and finally grabbed some food. Now I just need to find a tailor who won’t charge me an arm and a leg to get my skirts taken up...

Other than shopping, my week has been the same as every other week. Class, homework, sleep, class, homework, sleep... you get the picture. Been trying to find a freighting company to get some stuff home, but it is so unbelievably expensive here – more than Jordan even. Oh and I got cornbraids – hurt like hell! Thank God I have white woman hair, if it were a necessity to go through that every week or two I’d probably just shave my head! Does look nice though.

Much Love and Ma’a Salama

Update

2009-02-22T18:46:00.000+11:00

Once again its been a while since I’ve written anything here. There are two reasons, the first, is that I don’t have internet at home, and the second is that I don’t really do anything worth mentioning since I’m in class 3-4hours a day (sometimes more) and my weekends are filled with attempting to catch up on all the backward homework... So anyway, I haven’t really done anything of much interest.

I went to the Cairo book fair a couple of weeks ago. Basically a lot of international publishing houses get together and open stores in this big fair ground. The prices are meant to be better than in the normal shops, but I think it was all much the same really. My teacher from the school was kind enough to take me (and speak on my behalf – you know that being foreign thing means you get jacked for cash left right and centre). I got a couple of books, most of what I wanted couldn’t be found unfortunately... Apparently I have to go to Yemen for them! Which is not a bad idea in and of itself... Except that the ticket from Aussie is $4000 – and that’s only to San’a! So I have some stuff to ship back, but not a lot – which is good and bad, good, the price shouldn’t be to bad, bad the cost per kilo will be ridiculously high... sigh.

The only other remotely eventful happening was going hijab shopping. There is a mall here in Cairo which is just hijabs, store upon store of hijabs. I pulled all the hard bargaining moves I know, and generally came up with decent prices – for a foreigner anyway... My friend calls it “white privilege” – apparently my ability to get a better price is based on my “whiteness”, I don’t know if I agree with her, I think it just affects the level of harassment you get really. There was one stage where me and my friend were being followed and surrounded by no less than 10 men all apparently wanting to “sell” us their hijabs – that was not the nicest part of the evening, but it was funny. So anyway, I dropped a fair bit of money there – I may even go back...

So other than hijab shopping and the book fair, nothing much is really happening. Just got back from an Arabic party – yes a party where you are only allowed to speak Arabic and you play super-cool Arabic games like “treasure hunt” and “jeopardy” and “taboo” all in Arabic! And of course there was awesome paki-food and lots of sweets and cake. I met lots of lovely girls to which was nice – I don’t really get to meet people since my class runs right through the middle of the day and afterwards all I want to do is sleep...

And with the mention of that word, I am off to sleep now. For once there are no shabab in the street causing a ruckus so I shall try to get some decent snoozing in.

Much Love and Ma’a Salama

Friday

2009-01-18T08:51:00.000+11:00

Went on a little exploration trip today. Started off with a short taxi ride to the citadel where I attended one of the Sultun some-thing-a-rather mosque for Juma’a (Friday) Prayer. The Mosque was amazing – a labrynth of tunnels with rooms that once accommodated scholars and students of knowledge in time past leads to the main prayer area. In the centre of the open-roofed stone courtyard is a functioning wudu (the washing of the body that muslims perform before prayer) fountain. The walls are covered with brilliant calligraphy carved into the stone of the ancient walls that have seen some of the greatest thinkers of Islam sitting against them. Around the courtyard are four large alcoves – now the areas for prayer, they once provided space for scholars from each of the four Sunni schools of legal thought to teach their respective science – in fact the name of each school is inscribed in their alcove. No segregation barrier in sight – just like in the time of the Prophet (saaws) women prayed behind the men in their own alcove. Testament to the dirt and pollution of Cairo, the classic red and white block pattern of Andalus was barely discernable from the rest of the stone wall. I sat to the back, leaned against the cool stone and watched the clouds move across the sky behind the minaret that stands solidly against what is visible of the blue sky through the thick smog.

After prayer we went down to the downtown area and got lunch at a great Lebanese restaurant – Tabouli – near the American Embassy. We took the food and wandered down to the Nile to hire a boat. After some haggling with the operator we were off on the Nile eating our lunch. I was amazed at the disgusting colour of the water – it looked like a watery brown soup, with more trash than I’ve ever seen in a body of water floating in it. The sun was warm and the wind was low – if it wasn’t for the operator blasting his horrible Egyptian pop songs it would have been beautiful.

After lunch we headed off to the Metro (Egypt’s underground rail) and caught a train to Nasser (only one stop, but too far to walk). We rode in the car for women only – don’t ever be fooled into thinking that women have better manners or are less agreeive than men. There is no waiting for people to get out of the carriage when the train pulls in, rather all the women on the platform push each other around in order to force their way through the carriage doors as soon as they open. There is no concept of “if we get on on the right side of the door and you alight from the left there will be no need for us to try to trample each other in order to get on”... Safely on the train (which was not even full, seats were taken but plenty of standing room) we arrived at our stop quickly. Out of the station we were hunting for the hostel that my friend will be staying at from tomorrow with her aunt. Found it checked it out – staff were lovely and it looked clean and neat (Let Me Inn). From there we wandered to a coffee joint where they told us we had to spend a minimum of 20EGP each (one coffee was 7EGP) we got up and found a famous fruit and vegitable market hidden in one of the side streets. I picked up my fruit and veg for a week for the equivalent of A$1.60! AWESOME!!!

Jumped back on the metro and went to Pottery Cafe (most awesomest cafe I’ve been to – rivalling Pattersons Patissarie)! Had a delicious coffee, jumped in a cab and finally got home just as the adhan (call to prayer) was being sounded for Maghreb (sunset prayer) Al-hamdoulillah.

But when I walk through my front door I find that as I was sitting in the taxi returning from my day out, five children aged between 7 and 12 years of age, along with their mother were being obliterated – their father “moderately wounded” – only a short distance away. How do you continue to live when your family is wiped out in the blink of an eye? Would you not be crazed with anger? Lost in grief? How would you rise every morning knowing that everything you loved was gone? I’d say the “G” word but someone would call me “anti-semetic”.
Doesn’t really make one want to discuss the mundane details of life as a student/visitor.

All praise is to you Allah, Lord of the Worlds. And salutations and greetings upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. Ya Allah, grant the innocents of Palestine respite from the oppression under which they suffer and provide for them protection from the brutality of their oppressor. Ya Allah, for those who are wounded grant them wellbeing, for those who have passed on grant them the peace that they could not attain upon this Earth, for those that continue guide them and keep them steadfast. Ya Allah for those who oppress the weak either guide them or humiliate them and give them the recompense of which they deserve. Ya Allah, protect humanity form the baseness of our natures and raise amongst us the just as leaders who will direct towards good for the wellbeing of all.

With Sadness...Much Love and Ma’a Salama

Mogama'

2009-01-18T08:49:00.000+11:00

Went to sort out visas on Thursday. Advised to expect total rudeness, a maddening run-a-round, incompetence and a long wait, we armed ourselves with patience and cabbed it to downtown. Entering the building we automatically leave any Arabic we know at the door, we find the floor we need (there are over 20) and make our way though a labriynth of hallways, lines of shabab, and smokiness and finally to “Window 12”. After being ignored for 10 minutes while the employee chats casually with a couple of workers, the employee turns and enquires: Nationality. Not sure if its a question or statement I hold up my passport. She snatches it out of my hand. Demands photos – I say I have them – demands photocopies of my passport – I hold them up. She shoves a form at me and tells me to go. I fill it in and return to the window. I wait a little for her to bother to grace me with her attention. She holds out her hand for my form. Re-opens my passport. Muslim? I reply in the affirmative and she looks at me like I’m a big fat liar. Fathers name. Mothers name. More glaring. She calls over her friend and passes my forms to her. I move over a window. The new lady is NICE! “Window 42” she says – 11EGP. I pay – make sure you have exact change, if you don’t you won’t get anything back no matter how much you hand over for your stamps. Back to “Window 12”. Nice lady has disappeared. Mean lady grunts in my direction. Stamps. I hand them over. Get another – 10 Piasters. Back to the payment window, I pay 1EGP for a 10 Paiester stamp (100 Piasters in 1EGP). Back to “Window 12”. More grunting. Come back at 2PM... ITS 9AM IN THE MORNING!!! How long can it take for you to stick them into my passport. And they CLOSE at 2PM, obviously she thinks I’m a moron, “Window 38” to pick up she grunts. When I try to confirm she glares and ignores me.
We wander off to a coffee shop nearby and sit and drink coffee and study.

After two hours we return to the mogama’. We walk the labyrinth again and arrive at “Window 38”. Nationality. Again its not a question. She pulls my passport from the bottom of the pile and shoves it at my face. I smile. Thank her. Get the hell out.

Sounds nasty, but that is an excellent experience. It can take hours, serious rudeness and abuse. That is what you call extracting an Egyptian visa with ease! Al-hamdoulillah I am happy I won’t need to do it again. I miss the manners that exist in the west – they are sorely lacking all over the middle east unfortunately.

Much Love and Ma’a Salama

Two weeks gone...

2009-01-04T19:45:00.002+11:00

So two weeks gone and finally settling in properly...

It seems I’ve developed a nasty form of insomnia... I get tired, I go to bed, I lie for hours (seriously last night I went to bed at 9.30pm and didn’t sleep till after 3am), and I never fall asleep... I spoke to a couple of the girls here and they said its normal. Apparently the pollution/air quality is so bad it messes with your sleep, the girls said it takes about 6 weeks to get used to it. Which is half my time here – so by the time I get to sleeping properly I’ll be going home... I started exercising (walking regularly ( in an attempt to get my body super tired for sleep), but as yet it hasn’t worked. I just come home coughing and sneezing blackness – super gross!

Yesterday I took my first microbus. It looks like this:

And normally there is about 20 or more people crammed into what is a space only meant for 14 including the driver and his mates! Al-hamdoulillah the one we managed to hop on was only half full so we got seats. Tonight however was a completely different story. We decided we would go to Ma’adi (an area close to the Nile – about 20km from home) for dinner, and to get there we would take a micro to the station and get the train. All up such a trip would cost each of us 3 ganayh (less than A$1) rather than the taxi that is 25 ganayh (if you bargain well enough to get the basic “foreigner” fare for the trip). Anyway the micros were all so full that we didn’t even want to contemplate wedging ourselves into the sea of bodies that flowed out the door of the bus even while in motion. In fact one guy almost died in front of our eyes as he rode the micro hanging out of the door – his hand slipped and he was hanging on by the other trying not to let his legs hit the road. Somehow he managed to balance and someone stuck their hand through the window from the inside to hold him so he didn’t fall again. Scary. Anyway, after seeing multiple full micros we decided we’d rather grab a taxi and pay the extra. So we arrived in Ma’adi but the taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong place so we had to walk some to find my flatties sister. Finally we got to where we were meant to be. We purchased out Britta Bottle (those water purifier things), had dinner, had ice cream (baskin robins) and headed home – to tired to be bothered with bargaining, we paid far to much but got home in one piece (surprisingly considering the way the driver was negotiating the road). Really the purpose of the trip was the purifier, but we decided dinner was a necessity and I spotted the ice cream joint out the window of the restaurant... Good food.

So I have class in the morning. Its going well. I do 3.5 hours a day four days a week, but am increasing it to 5hours a day (possibly 5 days a week) from this week or next week insha’Allah. All my classes here are one-on-one and conducted entirely in Arabic since my teachers know next-to-no English...but of a change. I’ve realised how little I can communicate and comprehend. My teacher laughs when I give her a detailed grammatical analysis of a sentence (about the only thing I can do coherently in Arabic) but can’t tell her what it means... I really need to work on my vocabulary – but that’s nothing I didn’t know already..

.
Still not used to being without internet at home – but I am replacing the time I would spend on it with tv. Not good. TV here is different to home... very different. Here you see everything, when people die the news doesn’t show you the sanitised shot of a bunch of people covered by white sheets, instead you see the bloodied, burnt, twisted and mutilated bodies. Nothing is sanitised. From the half severed heads hanging to bodies by a sliver of skin shown close-up to the little children with arms/legs missing, blood gushing and snapped bones visible. It’s sickening. Often I can’t watch the news, it’s just too painful. If the rest of the world saw what you see here on the news, there’s no way people would allow what is going on to continue. In the “West” we treat our pets better. Subhan’Allah it is really insanity.

Other than the news and the insomnia I’m loving Egypt – such a difference from Jordan, subhan’Allah.

Hope you are all well.

Much love and Ma’a salama

New House

2008-12-30T00:33:00.009+11:00

Photos from our place in Egypt. Al-hamdoulillah its a nice place...

My room...

Kitchen...

Dining room...
Bathroom...

Lounge (with TV *yay*!)

My beautiful balcony (with SWING!!!!)

As usual blogger is being a pain in the butt for me uploading the pics, so probably will try to put up one or two a day until they are all here.

Much love and ma'a salama

Second day in Cairo.

2008-12-25T18:30:00.002+11:00

After seeing the apartment we looked at on the first day and being told interesting stories about the travails of finding a decent place to live in Cairo we decided to check out a place (very) close to the centre (less than a 1.5minute walk) even though the rent was out of our price range at 3000LE/month. It was a nice place, 2 bed, lounge, kitchen, bathroom, nice balcony, 3rd floor with elevator (!) – and most importantly relatively clean. After bargaining with the owner we got the price to 2500LE and decided to take it. So within a couple of hours we moved in our stuff – then we discovered the cockroaches in the kitchen (apparently it is completely normal for entire houses to be infested with roaches and we were “fortunate” that they tucked themselves away in one cupboard).

We went back to the centre and completed a little more of the exam before we decided to go to the Mall and buy everything for the house. We discovered that we were collectively broke. I had already changed all my JDs and ended up with very little, and while my flatmate couldn’t access her account (the bank barred it because she didn’t inform them she was travelling to Egypt) I had no money in mine. Anyway, we managed to stretch the JDs to buy all the cleaning stuff (all together A$65 – and we bought a hell of a lot of stuff). We spent the rest of the night (9-1am) cleaning – not that we finished everything. The bathroom alone took 2.5hours, and its tiny!

Third Day.

Went to the centre and completed the exam. Its not that it was hard or even very complicated – in fact it was very simple... But four exams in 1 week is far to many! My brain is fried. After the exam we set out to the bank, picked up some lunch and made our way back to the mall to buy the rest of the stuff we didn’t bother with the day before. Finally home, we finished the cleaning and went to bed to tired to eat.

Which brings me to today – relatively boring.

Went to a near-by mall and picked up a few more things – I am still unable to get over how cheap everything is in Egypt compared to Jordan (except rent – that’s expensive). We bought a good quality iron for A$7 brand new! Then to the centre to find out about our classes. They have put me and my flattie in the same level which is dumb to say the least – she completed the program (1yr) at the centre in Jordan, while I only completed 2 skills levels and three grammar levels... She is far more advanced than I. Even looking at the books we have been allocated, we have covered it all – in level one! We are left wondering if they even looked at the entrance exam we sat, because apparently if you get more than 70% (which we both managed easily) you are in level three or higher – we are in level two!

Anyway, class starts on Sunday...

Thoughts on Egypt – the good the bad and the ugly:

- Super busy/polluted and super crazy traffic at all hours
- The weirdness of the adhan (call to prayer), all the mosques call it at different times (sometimes up to an hour apart) – how the hell am I supposed to know when to pray?
- Taxis not having meters – agreeing a price with you and then changing their minds halfway through the journey ensuring an argument... Annoying to say the least!
- Beds that feel like the mattresses are filled with sand... Every morning brings a new type of agony you have never experienced before!
- Not having internet at home
- The water here has so much chlorine in it you feel like you have accidently swallowed in the pool while brushing your teeth or you are actually in the pool while showering.
- Hearing nasty nasty horror stories from female students about riding taxis – I’m talking drivers pleasuring themselves while trying to engage the sisters in conversation! Eww...
- Most places open 24hours – this city never sleeps!
- Food and household items are super cheap
- Our amazing apartment – especially the elevator... Would not have liked to have to carry the shopping up three floors... Oh and the swing on the balcony – beautiful in the morning sun.
- Fresh fruit juices – I’m sure when I find them they’ll be excellent!

Hope everyong is enjoying the holidays. Photos of the new place will probably go up on Sunday.

Much love and Ma'a salama

Egypt!

2008-12-22T04:29:00.002+11:00

Salam all

Arrived in Egypt early this morning - wasn't even out of the plane before I managed to get my first marriage proposal of the day! lol

Haven't sorted an appartment, but one of the girls who was in Jordan some time ago has kindly decided to put us up till we can organise an appartment. So my travelling companion and I shall share a room until further notice insha'Allah.

We looked at one appartment today that was just terrible - the floor was sticky and brown, the furniture worse than anything I've ever seen at vinnies and a serious roach problem - and thats just the beginning! We are looking at one tomorrow and also finishing off the entrance exam. Finished half of it al-hamdoulillah, but to intensly brain-dead to get anywhere on the second half...

Anyway, time for showering and sleeping - did I mention that there is water pressure in this country? Al-hamdoulillah

Much love and ma'a salama

Finished...

2008-12-21T07:11:00.005+11:00

Peace all!

Tonight is my last night in Jordan Al-hamdoulillahi Rabbil 'Aalamin!

Checked in my suitcases early this morning - reason being you get an extra 10kg in weight allowance for FREE! But it wasn't a big deal because I only had 36kg (limit 20) but my travelling companion had 56kg! Seriously Americans do NOT understand the meaning of weight limits subhan'Allah!

So after that it was the final goodbye to my teachers and the staff (mainly the admin staff and female teachers to be honest). Then on to the khatm (for the sisters who took their ijaza in tajweed, masha'Allah they are amazing)... Then on to an arab wedding, lol. It was quite nice, very loud, lots of aunties, several proposals - kidding! It was segregated (before you rabid segregationists all attempt to kill me)... So yeah, just got home. Said goodbye to my favourite two ladies who will stay in Jordan (insha'Allah I will see you two again either in Egypt or if I ever make the trek to the USA).

SO...

EGYPT HERE I COME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! w00t!

I leave at 5am, its already 11pm. Gotta clean my room, what joy.

Insha'Allah all are well, seasons greetings and enjoy the festivities and new year.

Much Love and Ma'a Salama

Getting there...

2008-12-05T06:40:00.002+11:00

So I ended up taking the re-take for the med-term last Saturday - looks like it went relatively well, but I haven't got the final mark for it yet. Khayr Insha'allah.

Two of my flatties left to go home for Eid today. I won't see them again before I leave for Egypt so I had a little sooki-lala moment and it took quite a while for them to get out the door. They are such beautiful girls masha'allah. I promised to visit them in Turkey one day, so insha'Allah I'll get there.

Last day of class today. Al-Hamdoulillah! I'm so glad its over. I'll take my final on Saturday insha'Allah and then jet of to Palestine for Eid on Sunday. I'm terribly excited, but I need to go to the bank again - which seems to be becoming a more and more depressing excursion as time goes on.

I think its beginning to hit me how much I'm going to miss some of my very wonderful sisters from here. Certainly not all, but some definitely. Its kind of sad actually. Probably the worst part about studying and living abroad. Sometimes its just easier not to think about the fact that "the end" means leaving behind some of the best people you've ever met. Insha'allah I'll see them again someday.... I'm try to convince them that a mass visit to Australia is required lol. So I'm doing my bit for the economy! ;)

Insha'Allah all is well. Please make du'a for my final (I really don't want to have to re-take after the Eid), my safe journeying and also for Umm Khadija who is due to give birth on the 15th of Dec insha'Allah.

Much Love and Ma'a salama

Home Stretch

2008-11-24T07:17:00.002+11:00

Ahhh.. So I'm into the home stretch... Less that one month to go Al-Hamdoulillah. I really don't think I can get out of here soon enough. May Allah swt give me patience.

So had the second of the three exams for this quarter - it didn't go as well as I'd hoped so Insha'allah I'll sit the retake either on Tuesday or Saturday depending on the homework situation and how muc study I actually get in...

Had a wonderful experience in a taxi today (I know it almost sounds like a lie)! So I leave class and I go wait on the street for a cab and after a few short minutes one stops. He doesn't argue with me about taking me where I want to go, in fact he is quite pleasant - he asks my permission to stop for petrol, which due to his manners I agree to and don't even bother to get irritated that the meter is still running (standard practice). Anyway, while waiting for the car to be filled he asks me if I'd like some 1JD notes (Jordan is strange in that everybody wants you to pay for everything in "ones" - using a bigger note can result in scorn and even rejection - its like buying groceries for a week with one dollar coins!). I take his notes and give him a five, which he promptly gives to the petrol-man (no arguement because the petrol is exactly 5JD). The we continue on our merry way. He asked me if I was at the mall, and I explain that I study near by. So he tells me that he remembers me, he's driven me before apparently on the way to school with two of the other girls about a month back - a little weird considering how many people he must pick up each day, but anyway he seemed vaguely familiar. So he asks if I'm American. After I explain that I am from Australia, he asks if there are a lot of Muslims in Aussie (Arabs love this question for some reason), so I explain that there aren't really that many when compared to the rest of the population. So he asks if I'm muslim. Now there comes a time when you no longer have the energy to be irritated by this question - it took time, but I have reached that point. So I reply in the affirmative. He asks if I'm really Australian, once again I reply in the affirmative. But he is convinced I am (at least) part-Arab. So I explain "Dad's from Aussie and Mum's from Britain". He asks if they are muslim too. I say no. So he starts praying for them - that was nice. So he asks if I'm married - standard fare...I say yes... Anyway, so we get to the house and I go to pay and he refuses to take my money. He told me the ride was free and he hoped my studies went well.

I was smiling for most of the afternoon - what a nice fellow. May Allah swt reward him. Amin.
In fact, now that I think about it, I've had good taxi drivers for the last month or so - not one inappropriate comment... Maybe its because my Arabic is getting slightly better...

So now I'm back to the drugery of "house life". Feeling very constrained. Very tired of things. Very irritable. Need to get out of here and onto somewhere else. Need change.

Early class in the morning - just what I need on my day off. Al-hamdoulillah.

Insha'allah all is well. Still missing home. Space. Greenery. The water. Kheir insha'allah.

Much love and ma'a salama

Still Alive

2008-11-11T05:24:00.002+11:00

Yes, I am still alive. Nothing much of interest has occurred of late. Just study, study and more study.. Oh and the development of an obsession with Sugar Daddies! *yum* It is probably the only place in Jordan where you can buy real cupcakes! I may have to blow the weekly food budget just to have one, but damn it, its worth it!

Sat my first exam of the quarter almost a month ago now and I did ok - the second exam of the quarter is on Saturday (du'as please).

Today was an interesting day. I started off with tajweed - where I convieniently learnt how to curse more accurately (in arabic of course) - and read more pages in one lesson than I have ever read before, which was very exciting and motivating. Al-hamdoulillah I'm almost finished Juz Amma - quite an achievement if you had heard me attempt to read less than a month ago subhan'allah. After tajweed (cleaning the house, getting worked up at the slowness of our internet, pretending to do homework) the girls went out to lunch with on of the teachers - she's hilarious, she's finally realised my arabic is NOT good enough to have a conversation lol, but masha'allah she is very patient. Lunch was ok, not great, blew the budget, still feeling ill... I really need to stop overeating.

Other than that the remainder of the day has thus far consisted of homework and note writing, all I really want to do is sleep and its only 8PM! Daylight saving changes are killing my time. Insha'allah we're planning a trip to the Occupied Territories for the next Eid break instead of a re-run of Wadi Mujib. I'm sooo excited!

In the short-term though, I'm more excited about my chai and watching Summer Heights High (yes I have spent the last 40 hours downloading lol - I told you, ridiculously slow internet)...

So life is as it was. Insha'allah all are well. I'm missing clean air, open spaces, parks, trees, any form of greenery really, and the sea.

Much Love and Ma'a Salama.

Photos from Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea 01

2008-10-11T21:53:00.002+11:00

Salty rocks on the Dead Sea shore

Sunset. And the view from Wadi Mujib over the Dead Sea into Occupied Palestine

Chillaxing in ma' hammock

Our Chalets (mine's the one at the front where I'm standing ;) )

Eid Trip Part 03: Wadi Mujib

2008-10-11T21:30:00.005+11:00

An hour and a half, two Snickers bars and half a packet of Ulker biscuits later we were back on the road to Wadi Mujib, which is a nature reserve that sits on the Dead Sea. On the drive down (very windy very dangerous – especially in a car with bald tyres) we made the unanimous decision not to hike that afternoon, but rather to swim in the Dead Sea and chillax in our chalets.
We arrived at the chalets, dumped our bags, prayed and rushed down to the water. Any hope that it would be a nice and refreshing dip were dashed as we quickly realised that the water was not only as warm as a bath, but burned every millimetre of skin that it came into contact with! With 9 times the salt concentration of a regular sea, the Dead Sea is certainly salty. Accidently swallow some and you’ll feel like your throat is closing. Get it in your eyes and you’ll swear you’ll never see again! AGONY! But beautifully relaxing once you get passed all that. Truly you do float – no effort required, but it does feel strangely oily... One of the girls can’t swim and she was floating in it for hours! There was one rather serious issue, but I don’t think I can mention that in public... I’ll let you know when I get home!

We swam for several hours and al-hamdoulillah did not see one living soul even pop their head over the stony cliff above us. It was all for us! When we were tired, dehydrated and burnt enough, we headed for the showers and got ready for dinner. We ate at the reserve dining hall (there is no where else to eat) and the food was surprisingly good. We had soup, salad, a huge plate each of chicken and vegies as well as soft drinks and dessert (all for 12JD)! On top the waiter and manager were excellent!

So we wandered back to our chalets to pray and agreed to meet at the chalet I was sharing with one of the girls once we were ready for bed. Amazingly there was only one other couple at the reserve – whereas it had been booked out the night before (there are 15 double chalets)! So we sat together and watched the stars and stared out over the West Bank (of Occupied Palestine). Once the couple went to bed and all the lights were off on the reserve, we chillaxed sans hijab and felt the ever stronger breeze in our hair. Really beautiful. Two hours and one traveller passed out in a hammock later we made for bed.

In the morning we did breakfast and then headed off into the Wadi for our hike. Now the trail we took was described as follows:

“The Siq trail, a lovely 2km splash up into the gorge, ending at a dramatic waterfall.”

Glorious. The splash conjured up images of wading (at most knee deep) through idyllic waters. Not exactly the honest truth of it. Sure the first few hundred metres were at most knee deep and the water only required you to walk at a slight angle to push through, but that description said nothing about navigating mini-(5-10metre)waterfalls often without guidance or ropes! So we all banded together, encouraging each other, pushing each other and guiding each other through the more difficult parts – at one point the water was so deep and current so strong that you couldn’t touch the bottom and had to pull yourself along using a frayed rope that was nailed into the side of the canyon. At this point we dumped our bags, cameras and all behind a rock – everything was getting soaked and Jordanian snaplock bags can only be trusted to keep things dry for so long.

Looking into the Wadi (before the hike began)

Looking back to the beginning...

It seems we weren’t the only ones to have an issue. We had just finished climbing what was the most challenging waterfall (probably a little over 11metres with water rushing everywhere) – about 45minutes – when three other hikers popped out of nowhere, obviously they caught up to us as we were navigating said challenging waterfall. So we stayed to help them up to. First we directed the young lady and then with three of us working as a human chain hoisted her over onto the rocks. Then we worked with her to get her husband and father to the same point. For the rest of the way we stuck together. They were really nice. The woman was German, her husband was Jordanian and her Dad and Mum were visiting them – although her Mum didn’t come on the hike.

Pottering along...

One of the kinder obstacles...

Finally we reached the end waterfall and promptly sat down in the middle of the water – not the brightest idea as it carried me about 10metres down before I managed to get afoot wedged on a rock. So we sat. And talked. And sang. And then a group of about 20 rounded the corner and we decided it was time to head off. So did our friends. We helped each other back down – her Dad was particularly concerned for us which was quite cute. Back at the beginning, totally drenched, with see-through clothing we sloshed our way back to the visitors centre where the chalet manager picked us up in his ute – not before I gave my email to the German lady so she could send me her photos of the waterfall (she had one of those old school waterproof cameras we used to take on school camps). Insha’allah we’ll get pics soon (first the camera is returning to Germany to be developed, then the photos will be emailed back and then hopefully on to me).

Back to the chalets and one final swim in the Dead Sea before showering and clambering back in the car for the drive back to Amman.

Wadi Mujib was amazing – better than Petra even! We are even planning to do the “medium” trail at Wadi Mujib in the coming Eid holidays (yes both Eids will fall in this term) *yay* But we’ll have to see – with the Aussie dollar as it is I can barely afford to feed myself let alone blow the equivalent of $180 Aussie a night on a chalet! Kheir insha’allah.

So that was the trip. Hope you enjoyed the read, sorry about the pics being everywhere – blogger has serious issues.

Much Love and Ma’a salama.

Photos of Kerak 03

2008-10-11T06:45:00.002+11:00

Castle kitchen with cool shaft of light. We got a little excited and started taking uber-cheesy du'a shots!

Can you see the Dead Sea? from the top of the castle

Surrounding fields

No that is not me!

Castle walls...

Photos from Kerak 02

2008-10-11T06:08:00.004+11:00

Castle walls - you know like 1/2 the modern city is built on top of the remains of the castle... Its like they woke up one day and said "so there's amazing historical value in this place...khalas lets just build on it"

No that is not me^

On the road again

Photos from Kerak 01

2008-10-11T05:46:00.004+11:00

Eid Trip Part 02: Kerak

2008-10-11T05:28:00.004+11:00

We awoke early, packed and wandered on down for breakfast. After a quick eat, we packed the car, paid the hotel (which we got that lovely discount on) and began out drive to Wadi Mujib via Kerak.

On the road..to where?

Initially I had intended to drive all the way back to the highway and go to Kerak that way, but on the way there we saw a sign that said Kerak so we turned off and began a little journey through a lot of open space, small and sleepy towns and empty roads. Eventually we got to a town (not sure of the name) and the sign to Kerak pointed to a road that was blocked off. So we drove around the concrete road blocks and continued for about 5 minutes until we realised that about 10 metres ahead of us there was no more road. So we back tracked and took a right before the concrete blocks. This led us back the way we’d came (albeit on a different road), so we stopped and (thank God for our Jordanian traveller) asked a man with more tatts than I’ve ever seen on one bloke in my life which way exactly was Kerak. He told us to take the next left and rejoin the road into the town, and then take the first right then first left. So we did – with the exception of taking the last left. We drove on a little, then did a u-turn and stopped in front of the sign that stood approximately 1x4metres but had only 2 readable LETTERS on it (the rest had faded or fallen off). There was some semblance of an arrow so we decided that we’d follow the man’s instructions after all. So we are driving along another empty road surrounded by desert which looks like it is going nowhere, then we see a couple of Bedu blokes looking after a truck so we stop again and ask for directs. They confirmed that we were on the right track, so we continued... Can you believe that we eventually rejoined the highway I had initially intended to take! ARRRGGGHH the signs in this country!

Scenery

So back on the highway we followed the signs, decided not to get petrol, watched the freight train go by and continued on. Finally we came upon a sign telling us to go left for Kerak, so I pulled a u-turn (only option, no left actually existed) and then came to a stop at the very next road. There was a sign. It said “Qadsiyyah, Husseinyah”. Being that it didn’t mention Kerak, we drove on for another 20mins until we realised that there wasn’t another left, and the signs on the other side of the highway were pointing to Kerak back the way we’d come. So after another u-turn, 20mins of driving and yet another u-turn we returned to that very sign and turned off the highway. It was an amazing sight, the desert was flat for kilometres (very unusual in Jordan) and the road looked like it disappeared somewhere off on the horizon. So we happened upon a small town (maybe 10 houses) and came to yet another sign. “DETOUR”. Not good. So we take the detour, driving along. We come to a right – there is no sign. We have two options: I know we have to drive across Jordan (west to east) to get to the Dead Sea but there’s no sign to tell me if this is the detour or not, so do I go right or continue to go straight. We took a vote. 3 for straight, one (me) for right. We were down to less than a ¼ tank of petrol and another detour could see us breakdown. So we went right.

In the end a good decision, we finally came to one of the towns mentioned on the original sign on the highway. We stopped at a small shop and asked the guy for directions – turns out we were going the right way. He also said there was a petrol station at the end of the road which was a relief. So after refuelling (and being starred at by far to many men) we drove and drove until we finally reached Kerak.

Interesting place – all the road were one way, which proved a problem when I did the Aussie thing and began driving the wrong way... We stopped at the Crusader Castle in the centre of Kerak. The castle was built in 1142CE by Crusader king Baldwin I of Jerusalem and passed through a succession of Crusader hands until it was laid siege to and taken by Salahdin’s armies in 1183. Interestingly more than ½ the castle has still not been explored because the passageways are to unsafe – but that doesn’t mean you can’t climb all over it!

An hour and a half, two Snickers bars and half a packet of Ulker biscuits later we were back on the road to Wadi Mujib, which is a nature reserve that sits on the Dead Sea.

Photos from Petra 04

2008-10-10T21:27:00.002+11:00

Uneishu Tomb

The Great Temple

Beginning of the stairs on the way up to the High Place of Sacrifice

Looking back down the stairs mid-way

Still not at the top...

Sorry all the pics are out of order - blogger is giving me a massive headache getting them uploaded and published... Lets hope it works out better for the next two posts...

Photos from Petra 03

2008-10-10T21:07:00.003+11:00

Urn TombThe front of the Theatre

Homes and tombs cut into the rock face
High Place of Sacrifice
Little kittens (not-so-friendly)

Photos from Petra 02

2008-10-10T19:08:00.002+11:00

Another niche

The Siq
Tree growing out of the rocks
The Siq widening and narrowing
Remains of a goddess

Photos from Petra 01

2008-10-10T17:48:00.006+11:00

Wandering down The Siq

Water channels running alongside The Siq

Niches along the walls of The Siq

Peeking out of The Siq onto the Treasury

The Treasury

Eid Trip Part One: Petra

2008-10-10T06:36:00.005+11:00

So, I returned from our little Eid trip almost a week ago. This maybe a long post – be prepared!

So as with all trips, there needs to be some form of drama , initial hiccups – thankfully we got ours out of the way before we had even left the Hayy. The first problem was typically Arab. So I had booked the rental car to be picked up at 7am – thinking it highly unusual that an Arab company would be open at such an hour I decided to ring them the day before to make sure. Well, lets just say that it was a good thing I did. My first surprise was that I was meant to pick up the car from somewhere other than the place they told me to – obviously I was just supposed to “know” this somehow. The second was slightly more amusing. It went like this:

Me: I’ve made a reservation to pick up a car tomorrow morning at 7am.
Car Guy: Yes – I see that Ms X.
Me: I just wanted to confirm that everything is fine for me to come at 7 and collect the car?
Car Guy: Yes yes that is fine.
Me: So you will be open at 7?
Car Guy: Yes yes... *pause* No no no. We open at 8.
Me: So you open at 8 but it is fine for me to pick up the car at 7?
Car Guy: Yes. Wait. No. Come between 8 and 8:30.
Me: OK. *shakes head at Arab mode of operation*

So we turn up to pick up the car at 8am. We wait till 9.15. Finally the place opens. One of the girls with me asks the bloke why we were told to pick up the car between 8 and 8:30 and it is now 9:15 and they have only just opened. To which he responds “Jordanian time”. Well, don’t tell a pissed off Jordanian that is is because of Jordanian time that you are a slacker – she gave him a massive earful and al-hamdoulillah he got the message and we were driving out of the parking lot at 9:45.

Now, as some may have guessed, I was driving. Yes, people drive on the other side of the road over here. It was a little disconcerting. So we got off to a good start – firstly I attempted to drive up the wrong ramp to exit the car park, and then after reversing back down again I mounted the curb (fully) when going out the correct exit. Now in my defence, I must maintain that it was not my fault – it is very difficult to get used to being on the wrong side of a car.
So when we finally got out of the car park, we headed out of the city towards the airport to get on the highway.

Me driving - OMG two hands!

Desert Highway

First stop: Petra! So we drove along a mostly boring desert-surrounded highway and learnt one very important lesson. Jordanian road signs are not reliable. For example, sign would say, “take next right”, if you took said right you will end up in the middle of nowhere when the road mysteriously disappears from sight and you are left confronting sand. So bear in mind – wait a couple of rights before you bother. We stopped for petrol which was great – they still fill your car for you here – and I almost lost the rear-view mirror on the right-hand-side of the car – I swear the pylon moved! The only other issue we had was my problematic drifting. It seems I am unable to align myself with the middle of the road when driving here – I kept running us off the highway which was not all that funny for the girls in the back who were trying to sleep, or my front-seat buddy who thought she was going to die. We thought we were lost no less than 6 times, but al-hamdoulillah everything was fine and we arrived in Petra three and a bit hours later and found our hotel.

Beds...

Window... looks out onto...

Graveyard!!! YAY

So this is our hotel room – it was a budget, but the staff were incredibly friendly and we had a great view over a graveyard from our window! Only downside was that, as with most other budget hotels in Jordan, hot water is only available at certain times of the day. But it was nice, and we got a discount on the rooms when the owner realised that we were “real” muslims (whatever that means)!

Looking out over Petra City

So we dumped our stuff, prayed and headed out to do Petra by day – lets just say there was a LOT of walking involved!

Healthy snacks for hiking!

On entering the Petra tourist site, we payed an exorbitant amount for our entry fees (21JD = A$45 each) – crazy stuff – and purchased our tickets for Petra-by-night (12JD each).
Petra is amazing. Really there are not to many words to describe the insignificance on feels when walking through the Siq with the massive stone walls extending further than you can see, merging with the sky. Or the amazement one experiences when looking at centuries old carvings into unforgiving rock faces that have maintained the minutest detail despite the passing of the years. Subhan’allah. I let the pictures do the talking:

The Siq
Interestingly the Siq was created by tectonic shifts, not water erosion. It extends for about 1.2 km, starting at a (modern) bridge which was built over a dam that was built by the Nabataeans around 50AD. Along the walls there are many niches and carvings, some have been almost completely destroyed, others can still be made out. Amazingly, the water channels either side of the Siq – which were used to bring water into Petra – are almost fully intact! The Siq seemed to go on forever, continually widening, then shrinking again. At one point I turned around to speak to one of the girls, only to find myself face to face with one of my teachers from Amman – quite the unnerving experience! Anyway, eventually we arrived at the Treasury – but not until after we’d almost been killed by a number of horses, donkeys and camels rushing past at high speeds.

The Treasury
As the Siq opened up on the Treasury, we were faced with what is undoubtedly the most common image to spring to mind when one thinks of Petra. The facade of the rose-red Treasury has been preserved in the most amazing way. The smallest details remain to be seen. Although initially carved out of the sand stone to serve as a tomb for Aretas III (a Nabataean king), the Treasury gets its name from the story that the Egyptian Pharaoh hid his treasure in the urn on the second level of the tomb apparently.

The Street of Facades and Theatre
From the Treasury we headed down The Street of Facades until we reached the Theatre. The Street of Facades is filled with about 40 tombs and homes built by the Nabataeans. We were extremely interested in exploring them, but unfortunately in Petra, these days everywhere is used as a toilet by less than respectful tourists (and yes, there are porta-potties available for those who are desperate)! On several occasions I was wandering up to look at something, only to be confronted by a man who was zipping himself up – honestly it was disgusting! On to the Theatre, which, despite its distinctly Roman look, was originally built by the Nabataeans more than 2000 years ago.

The Royal Tombs
From the Theatre, Wadi Musa opens up and along the sides a are whole heap of ornately carved Royal Tombs. The first, which I only noticed because there was a rather sad (and cranky) looking dog nursing a broken leg coming in my direction, was Uneishu Tomb. It is dedicated to a minister of the Nabataean Queen Shafialt II (the wife of Aretas IV) and located almost directly opposite from the Theatre. The second, more obvious tomb was the Urn Tomb, which you climb several hundred uneven stairs to reach, but it is well worth it. The centre tomb is huge, and the Greek inscriptions at the back detail that the space was once used as a Byzantine Church in the mid-5th century.

The Colonnaded Street and Great Temple
After clambering down a rock-face, we rejoined the worn path through Wadi Musa, and wandered through the Colonnaded Street. Built in 106CE by the Romans, on top of an existing Nabataean walkway, the Colonnaded Street begins at the Nymphaeum – which is only marked by an incredibly old Pistachio tree – on the left are the remains of the market area – which was coincidently filled with Beduin women selling their wares – opposite the barely recognisable remains of the Royal Palace, and futher along the ruins of the Nabataean Baths. Eventually one happens upon the most remarkable set of even stairs – the entrance to the Great Temple. Built in the first century BCE, the Temple was in use until the late Byzantine Period.

Unfortunately for us, we did not have enough time to do the climb up to the Monastery (it took our friends a total of 6 hours up, they ran out of water and managed to hitch a ride back with the police). On the way back we decided to see how close to the High Place of Sacrifice we could get.

The High Place of Sacrifice
After hiking up about 800 uneven and steep stairs, we found ourselves at the High Place of Sacrifice. Highly unimpressive in and of itself – it is basically a large square hollow on top of the mountain with a sacrificial alter (not well preserved) and drainage points which were, apparently, to allow the blood of sacrificed animals to drain out and run back down the mountain. The views from the top though were amazing. On the way back down we found some not-so-friendly kittens attempting to sleep on the edge of the mountain path (verrry close to the edge).

It was getting late, so we high-tailed it out of Petra (it closes at sunset) and headed back to the hotel. Thankfully I didn’t get a fine for parking on the pavement and the car was still in one piece – although the pain in my legs from all the walking made driving near impossible.

Odd signage...

Once back at the hotel we prayed, then ran out to eat dinner at an interesting Pizza shop, whose sign told us that we could access the shop either by wandering into the middle of the road or walking into a wall (probably not as funny to those who did not experience it!). After a quick dinner of pizza (which was remarkably good) we headed back to Petra to do the night tour. This was AMAZING! The walk through the Siq and into the Treasury was lit by 100s of candles. I wandered off by myself for the walk down to the Treasury which was nice, easy to think. I believe I mostly was imagining myself as a camel (I know weird eh?) walking with my eyes closed and a strange sway to my walk. Beautiful! When I reached the Treasury I was promptly accosted by a Bedouin whose dialect was completely incomprehensible to me so I sat down to wait for the other girls and watched the stars. No sooner had I parked my bum, I saw a shooting star race across the sky above the Treasury! Anyway, the girls joined me, and our handy Jordanian sister explained that the Bedu bloke wanted us to sit at the back where there were tables. But we ended up sitting on the ground not quite able to figure out where exactly he wanted us to go. There were two beautiful performances – one on a lute-like instrument performed by a Bedouin who sang poetry to his tune about Allah swt, the Prophet saaws, the Qur’an, life, marriage death... the usual. And then a second performer who played an instrument not unlike a flute which was completely enchanting. He played a wedding song and a couple of others, but I can’t remember what they were for. The performances were outstanding and so was the atmosphere – with the exception of the tourists who insisted on taking photos with flash every millisecond and those who tought we’d all like to bask in the stink of their cigarette smoke. Anyway, after the performances, the same Bedouin bloke saw us sitting on the ground and came over. He began apologising profusely saying that we should have been sitting at the back at the tables because it was improper for his Muslim sisters to be sitting on the ground. He was such a nice guy, he practically had tears in his eyes when he found out that we weren’t Arabs, and were indeed Muslims raised in the west. Al-hamdoulillah it was a beautiful night.

We returned to the hotel and promptly fell asleep. No sooner had my head hit the pillow, but I heard my alarm going off to wake me for fajr prayer!

Toodles

2008-10-02T14:26:00.001+10:00

Leaving for Eid trip in a matter of minutes insha'allah.

Please everyone make du'a for our safe travels and safe return.

Toodles party peeps!

Much love and ma'a salama.

Eid

2008-10-01T01:18:00.003+10:00

EID MUBARAK!!!

So, today (Tuesday) happened to be declared Eid in Jordan. Al-hamdoulillah. I went visiting last night and as it turned out wound up with less than 2 hours sleep by the time I rolled out of bed at fajr and had to start getting ready for the Eid prayer. The masjid was full, but not packed which was nice, and EVERYONE (locals, foreigners, visitors, residents etc) went around giving salams, kissing each other, spearding the "Eid love" - so different to Sydney where people only greet their family and ignore those they don't know. It took at least 45mins just to get through the greetings alone! Subhan'allah. Such a community feel. I wish Eid could be done again tomorrow. After prayer I headed to the girls place across the way and cooked up a pancake storm for Eid breakfast. There was a brief moment where imminent disaster was almost a sureity - the gas ran out mid-pancake making! Al-hamdoulillah teh haris had stocked up and he quite happily rushed up and changed the gas cannisters over for us. Man I ate so many pancakes I thought I was going to be ill! I came home after that, called home and then promptly fell into bed and to sleep. Was meant to be going to dinner tonight, but one of my flatties is really ill and to be honest I'm still tired and my head has that fuzzy feeling one gets from combining too much sugar and not enough sleep. Al-hamdoulillah.
So I hear that there is dessention in Sydney once again with regards to Eid - May Allah swt bless all your families on Eid and fill the coming year with barakah allowing them to see yet another glorious Ramadan. Amin.

It seems that winter is slowly (but not unnoticably) decending upon Amman. The temperatures are dropping quite quickly in the evenings and although I still only sleep with a sheet, I have begun to wear a jumper. We had a little rain on laylatul-qadr and it rained this morning before and during the Eid prayer. The sky has looked gloomy and gray for the past few days although there have been sunny breaks sneaking though, warming up the days and reminding us that summer is not quite ready to say goodbye. Walking to school in the mornings has become quite a treat. The temp is just right and the view I get over most of Amman as I walk down the hill is amazing - the smell of the goats is not so, but I guess that's just the way it is. Al-hamdoulillah.

I won't be leaving tomorrow on our trip. Al-hamdoulillah we pushed it back one day just incase Eid happened to be tomorrow (Wednesday). So I guess I can get all my homework out of the way tomorrow and have a relatively grammar-free few days. I am very excited Al-hamdouillah.

As I write this I'm listening to the Maghrib adhan which signals the end to the first day of Eid (in the Islamic calender the new day begins at nightfall). Just sublime masha'allah. May Allah swt protect you all and draw you to the sirat al-mustaqeen.

Much love, many hugs, Eid greetings and ma'a salama.

Problems

2008-09-27T20:25:00.005+10:00

It seems we have no water - this is a problem since today is meant to be the day that we recieve free-flowing water from the government (you only got one day a week, but it is not 100% set in stone what that day is) and our tank is meant to be refilled. We ran out on Friday night and used the emergency tank already, so it seems it may develop into a much bigger problem in the very near future. I really hope we don't have to go without water for the whole week, I just can't function without rinsing off in the mornings...

Last night I attended the laylat al-qadr (often translated as "Night of Power/Decree" refers to the night that Muhammed saaws recieved the first part of the revelation - Qur'an - from the Angel Gabriel) program at the Zawiya, which was really nice al-hamdoulillah. It was busy, non-stop. So today, on minimal sleep (few hours after fajr - dawn prayer - before class) I'm feeling a little tired, but its not to bad. I had a delicious mug of Patterson's coffee last night which kept me going, I even found it hard to fall asleep at fajr time subhan'allah. So there were two hadras (in which I was a non-participant), one lesson in Arabic, and two in English, followed by scrumptious pancake-like things with nuts and raisons in them smothered in syrup, followed by salat al-tasbih, witr and Qur'an recitation. Was quite different to how it is in Sydney (at least at Lakemba anyway). Al-hamdoulillah.

Grammar is going ok. Did abysmally on a test today - didn't study and my brain was pretty much non-functioning when it came to doing verbal analysis this morning - so insha'allah I'll retake it at some point in the near future. I'm thinking after Eid, since the Eid break starts on Monday (i.e. the day after tomorrow). I haven't had tajweed for a little while because my teachers mum is in hospital, so if you all wouldn't mind making du'a for her swift recovery I would appreciate it.

So Ramadan is almost over, and that brings us to the very exciting day of Eid! *yay* I've decided to put on a pancake breakfast for the single sisters (who are studying and not murids of the shaykh) since we only really have each other here. I know some of hte girls are already upset that they won't be with family etc, but what can you do. Surely pancakes will make it al better. Now. The much more exciting news is of course that I have managed to organise a small Eid trip (within Jordan) which I am uber-excited about! Basically, we (me, one of my old flatties and two of the other girls) are going to hire a car and drive down the Dead Sea Highway to Wadi Mujib where we will hike, swim in the dead sea and otherwise entertain ourselves. Then we will drive on to Kerak where we will explore the Crusader castle that remains there and have lunch. From there onto Petra, where we will do a Petra by night tour and then the next day do the regular 4/5hr hike before returning to Amman. Oh it is soo exciting. I'm sure that I will be crawling up the stairs at Petra panting disgracefully and that come the end of the break and my return to school I will be unable to walk, sit, stand - move pretty much. Should be GREAT! As usual I'll keep you posted and I'll get some pics organised - one of the girls can't swim and doesn't want to go in the dead sea because she's sure she will drown, no ammount of persuasion on my part reassures her that she will just float (all she needs todo is keep herself face up!). So if she manages to drown I'll certainly post it up - it would be somewhat of a miracle. SO in preparation for the trip I went shopping yesterday and managed to pick up 3 shirts and a quality pair of pants for 25JD/A$50 (the pants were reduced from 65JD to 10JD - BIG bargain). I need some stuff to hike in, all my clothes are for winter :(. What is very strange is that I thought I left more clothing here than I did, but apparently I have it all, so maybe I just have a fuzzy memory.

So that's about all my news really. Insha'allah you're all doing well. Please make du'a for me.

Much love and ma'a salama.

TGIF!

2008-09-19T06:59:00.005+10:00

So its Thursday evening, and that means only one thing... WEEKEND!!! Ok so its only one day, and I've got a mountain of homeworkfor grammar and study for tajweed to do, but... TGIF! Man do I need to get some serious sleep (to the extent that I randomly found myself singing the national anthem so I could post it to a friend on FB - she was paying out on the Queen's English)! I think I'm beginning to lose it!

We (i.e. my flatties and I) hosted iftar for the girls across the street (and a few extras ;) ) this evening, which means I've been on my feet, cooking, serving and doing more washing up than I've seen in this lifetime since well before 'Asr (the mid-afternoon prayer). I never want to see another dirty dish again - but alas, I know that tomorrow's suhur (pre-dawn meal) will only create more. Subhan'allah. I made my trademark Minestrone Soup - why is it a trademark soup you ask? Well, it was one of the old favourites from the days at Abu Momo that I used to make. Everyone (I'm not exaggerating) said it was really good al-hamdoulillah. Lots of veggies which was good for everyone (but not my wallet) al-hamdoulillah! And I instructed one of my other flatties on making Lebo-style mansaf which turned out really well al-hamdoulillah (nothing like Jordanian mansaf thank God because, well, most of us find that almost completely inedible). The Turkish sisters ( two of my other flatties) made some delicious Turkish-style salads, one potato and the other was pasta, and the last flattie made chocolate chip cookies which were delicious! I'm suffering from big cravings for waraq 'ainab - mmmmmmm..... I really need to make a conscious effort to drink more water, with all the walking I do here I'm getting very dehydrated - my poor lips are cracked to bleeding already.

I paid off my rent today (and my tuition yesterday) which means I'm now out of Aussie dollars and going to go on a serious belt tightening rampage! Al-hamdoulillah it seems that the school overcharged me for my tuition so I'll get back about the equivilent of $120 (60JD - about 3 weeks of food if I scrimp) al-hamdoulillah - food for a little bit.

Have I mentioned how expensive food is here? It seems to have increased by about 50% since I left 2 and a half months ago subhan'allah! It seems we (i.e. the foreigners) are not the only ones to notice - many Palestinians in the camps here are really struggling. Al-hamdoulillah I've had the good fortune of meeting Umm Farooq and getting involved with her work (see here: http://southernmuslimah.blogspot.com/ ).

So back to my studies (facinating as they are to you all)! I started tajweed yesterday, I did a one hour class and seriously I felt like I could not stand up afterwards, subhan'allah I didn't think that using my mouth (i.e. talking) could engender such serious fatigue! It was really tough. I learnt a few new rules and Ustadha Arwa is very strict in correcting me which is really good - lets just say that my pronunciation can be somewhat painful for her ears to cope with lol! After that I had grammar and was completely non-functioning! I could not for the life of me think of a word that began with a "waw" - really, I just starred vacantly at my teacher when he asked. Quite scary. I saw Ustadh Momo today (old skills teacher) - just looking at that man makes you smile, he is such a good bloke masha'allah. I really miss his classes, he was soo funny. He asked me approximately 4 questions in Arabic (all of which began with Kayf - i.e. "how was") on a variety of topics, all of which I think he was amused to see I had to traslate into English first, then check my translation with him, then give him a reply. Subhan'allah I think my brain is on serious walk-a-bout! Top bloke masha'allah!

I'm still to pay my ticket to Egypt, but I did speak to the institute there and they seem very friendly and professional which was nice (and also slightly unexpected - it can be hard to get decent information sometimes).

In addition to my cracked lips and painful feet (too much walking) I think I'm about to be hit with the flu (or some other equally disturbing illness). My throat is agony this evening... Insha'allah I wake up and its gone, a nothing. Insha'allah.

Anyway, its past midnight here - you are all enjoying yet another crisp, fresh Sydney morning. And I will struggle with the monster that is the heat to catch just a few hours of sleep before sahur insha'allah. Tomorrow is call home day - looking forward to it ;)

Much love and ma'a salama.

First Day.

2008-09-17T07:00:00.003+10:00

So, today was the first day of classes (well, actually for me it is just "class" - only one). It seemed to go relatively well. My class is dominated by blokes (there are 8/9 of them, and only me and one other girl), but they seem quiet - unlikely to totally dominate classes like has happened in past levels. Kheir insha'allah we'll see what happens.
The teacher has decided to impose a new and funky grading system on us - basically, instead of getting your heighest marks on various assignments as your class mark, you will now be getting the lowest score as your mark. I think he's trying to motivate us to work consistently - but I'm not to sure how its going to work in practice... What if someone has an off day?

I organised my tajweed classes today. I think I'm going to do one hour three days a week and two hours on one day of the week. I'll have to finalise with the teacher tomorrow - this of course all depends on how much she is charging me ;)

So after class I decided to go shopping with one of my flatties - she bought some really beautiful hijabs (I was very restrained... I bought nothing. Possibly because I've found that buying food here is about 50% more expensive then when I left 3 months ago subhan'allah). After shopping we came home and decided that we'd go out for iftar - so we sat on the couch in the lounge for about 2 hours trying to decide what to do, then the adhan went off... and we were still sitting there lol. Finally we decided to go to Mecca Mall (have I yet outlined my intense dislike for Amman's malls?) where we had a snack and then my flattie did a little more shopping (she's going home for a visit and to spend Eid with her family on Friday insha'allah. Very exciting for her). Finally got home, then collapsed on the lounge again and chatted for about 2 hours - lets just say I'm very very tired right now!

Ended up going to the community iftar last night - it was quite nice, probably about 100 women and children there. We were on the roof of the zawiya (building used for Islamic lessons etc) so there was a nice breeze and we had a great view of the full moon. It was stunning.

My little legs are super sore from the long (and hot and dehydrating) walk to school today. I can't sit, stand or walk without agony! Insha'allah I'll wake up to less pain.

In other sad news, my facebook was changed over to the new format today. I'm very upset.

So I'm off to bed for another night of sub-5-hour sleep.

Insha'allah all are doing well. I'm missing home (already I know I'm such a baby).

Much love and ma'a salama.

Riding it out.

2008-09-15T18:03:00.002+10:00

So classes begin tomorrow - at least they are supposed to, but nothing has been posted about times/locations yet. I've pretty much decided that I'll be doing the grammar three and tajweed.

One of my old flatties is supposed to return today so I'm looking forward to seeing her. Other than that, not much is new. The weather is still warm, the drumming man has failed to come by for several days now, the gas truck still distrubs me with its rather annoying tune and I (still) have not done anywhere near the study I should have. Subhan'allah this heat makes me lazy - I just want to sleep all the time.

Tonight there is supposed to be a "community" iftar on, don't know if I'll go - not feeling like a people-person today. Although maybe that will change if I actually get out of my PJs!

Not much to say really - I'll try and live a more interesting life in the days to come... No promises though!

Much Love & Ma'a salama

Morning.

2008-09-13T15:44:00.003+10:00

Well, I woke up this morning to see a strapping young lad marching down our street in the dark beating a drum and calling everyone to eat suhur (the pre-dawn meal eaten in Ramadan). Rather kind of him I think since he also needs to go eat. The Gas Truck Man is obviously slightly less work-conscious in Ramadan, he's not starting till well after 9am!

I'm beginning to love mornings here - there is the most wonderful breeze ruffling my curtains, but alas it will be gone soon, replaced by semi-oppressive heat that you just can't keep out.

One of my new flatties (i.e. not living with the same girls as before) went to Carrefour yesterday and I am very excited to learn that they have many, many varieties of Soy Milk (and other assorted western items - Rice Biscuits maybe?) on offer. I think I'll go if I can find some time in between all the study I'm supposed to be doing.

I'm still in two minds about what courses I'll actually be taking this quarter, there are two real options:

I take level three skills and grammar (I don't like skills, I don't feel like I really benefit and it really stresses me out - I am simply unable to memorise 50-70words a night)
I take level three grammar and take tajweed (kinda like speech correction)

SO they are the options...Leaning towards option two...

My washing is almost finished and I must study.

Lovely day to all.

The Hayy...Again!

2008-09-13T05:44:00.009+10:00

Salam all,

I arrived back in the Hayy yesterday morning after a long, and exhausting flight. Its very warm here, by about 10am its to much to go outside (for me anyway) so I've been busying myself with study and attempting to prepare for the exam I'm meant to sit tomorrow, but will instead sit in a couple of days time.

I've mostly managed to settle into the new appartment which is much nicer than the last one al-hamdoulillah.

This is the guest lounge:

Kitchen (when you go through the dorrway in the above pic its on the right):

My room:

Al-hamdoulillah my bed is much more comfortable than the one in Abu Momo, and I have a proper deak - no more studying on my bed wreaking my back!

We had a few of the girls over for iftar (meal to break the fast in Ramadan) this evening, which was nice because it meant I didn't have to cook. Tomorrow is my day for sorting out my food and stuff. I'm not sure how fasting will go here - I'm drinking about 4.5litres of water a day because I'm so constantly thirsty! Kheir insha'allah.

So that's about it, I think I'm going to settle in early for sleep since washing day is tomorrow and I'm first cab off the rank.

Hope all is well - I'm missing the 20/21 degree weather *sigh*

Much love and ma'a salama

Fresh Round of Goodbyes

2008-09-10T13:43:00.002+10:00

Salam to all...

Well the time has come to again say goodbye to my beloved Aussie and head back to the dust, heat and plume of cigarette smoke that is Amman.

So what are the plans?
Insha'allah its looking like three months Jordan, three months Egypt and then a brief sojourn in Morocco, and finally, back home.

I've not fully finished packing, so I better get to it. I've got a nice supply going on (NCC Dinosaurs, Chocolate - two varieties - Jols, homemade muffins - yes I made them myself - croissant, dates, and finally gingerbread men). God love Pattersons Pattisserie! I live to think I'm prepared for a very healthy iftar.

Please all, make du'a for my safe travels and safe return and insha'allah I'll be making du'a for you all.

Ma'a salama and much love.

***
By the way, I know I never got around to posting on Dubai - my laptop "gave up the ghost" as HY would say.

Dubai

2008-06-19T02:13:00.002+10:00

Hot. Busy. Tiring. Expensive.

Love my room. Love my bed. Love room service.

I'll post properly tomorrow from the airport (coz its free and this is costing an arm and a leg) - that's if my wireless works on my laptop... It's having issues.

Salam all.

Last Day

2008-06-18T13:20:00.002+10:00

Today is my last morning in Jordan. Everything's packed and I'm ready to go at 8:30 insha'allah. Just need to make some calls.

Didn't sleep much last night.

Looking forward to home.

Please make du'a for me for a safe trip insha'allah without incident.

Love for all.

Ma'a salama

Goodbyes begin early

2008-06-18T13:19:00.000+10:00

One of my flatties left for paki-land yesterday. She’s off to visit her parents and in-laws. I missed her within three hours of her leaving (there was no one to empty the grotty water from the bucket I used to mop the floor on the vacant lot next door. It’s got scummy stuff floating on the top and it smells soo bad I gag when I walk by it. So it remains in the doorway to the kitchen). Anyway, a couple of the girls visited to say good bye to me in the evening, which was nice. We mucked around for a bit, ate junkfood and sang old Disney songs (gotta love the Lion King) until we were exhausted.

So now it’s just me and one flattie. We both suffer from extreme irrational fears so we’re sleeping with all the lights on in the apartment tonight – let’s see how it works out.

Anyway, early morning tomorrow. Finished most of the packing three days ago, just need to add a couple more things and I’m done.

I don’t miss Jordan. I miss my sisters.

Ma’a salama – be seeing y’all sooner than you know it insha’allah.

Love.

Waiting to come home...

2008-06-18T13:15:00.002+10:00

There is something about Australia that draws you to it. Curled up deep within your heart, calling you.

Today I had a conversation with an American sister who was asking me about Australia – the good the bad and the ugly. And I had a sudden realization that I am really deeply patriotic. I love my country. Not in the wave-the-flag-chant-slogans-and-run-with-an-unruly-mob -drinking-liquor type of patriotism. But the quiet patriotism bred of deep love for something very very special. Maybe it is simply the love of “home”, but I think it is more than that. It is the laid-back façade that smoothes over the hectic rush of city life, the easy-going attitude to everything and the sour taste that is left when one tries “too hard”. Its being trapped in peak-hour traffic on an arterial road and swearing at the miserable state of it all while re-electing the same party to power that got it the way it is – simply out of dislike for the “elite”.

It’s the memories of the beach that raised me. Running along the storm water drain only to scuttle back in an attempt not to be swamped by what I once believed to be a rather large wave. It’s the clambering over rocks at low tide discovering sucky-bottomed snails and sticking fingers into urchins waiting with a mixture of excitement and fear as they closed around them, all the while munching on buttermenthols and licorice. It’s the jumping off the wharf heart-in-throat suspended indefinitely above the water waiting for the stinging slap of impact.

The same beach that I grew up on. Sunbaking bikini-clad when the one-piece was no longer cool. Spending afternoons swimming when the parents thought I was at a friends doing homework. Smoking my first cigarette, have my first unwatched and under-aged drink, kissing my first boy (I think I was two). My place of escape when things got hard. My place to contemplate life and my place in it. Religion. The place that led me to change.

I think my love stems from the beauty that is Australia. The knowledge that Allah swt created that beauty and led me to Him through it. There is something in watching the waves roll in at night or in the early light of fajr that gives peace. Proof.

That’s why I love my country.

Biking...

2008-06-07T23:57:00.002+10:00

Went biking again yesterday - this time through Irbid up to Umm Qais (25km).
The ride was completely made up of hills, up a big one then down a little bit, then up another big one then down just a little bit and so on (we were going up a mountain side apparently).
Anyway, when we got to Umm Qais we walked though the ruins up to a beautiful restaurant which had a fantastic view of the Dead Sea (were were meant to cycle down to the sea from Umm Qais, but the Jordanian army wouldn't let us on the last stretch of road for some reason). So anyway, the lunch was absolutely fantastic! There was a huge mezze for entre, and for the main I had the most delicious Thai chicken with roasted veges... mmmm. Best food I've had in Jordan so far, and subhan'allah not more expensive than Amman!

Anyway, today I'm incredibly sore and feeling sorry for myself. The girls didn't bother to go to the market yesterday so I have been eating junk all day (the supermarket here doesn't sell anything remotely healthy) and feel sick.

Presentation tomorrow. Must memorise.

Ma'a salama

Exam time again...

2008-06-06T00:51:00.002+10:00

Salam all,

It's exam time again. I've got a presentation assessment on Sunday, my sciences exam on Tuesday and my skills exam the Saturday after that... There is just not enough time in the day to get through everything. Subhan'allah. Please make du'a for me insha'allah.

12 days till I leave... 13 till I see Sydney again... Insha'allah.

Missing home.

Love for all.

Ma'a salama

Cleansing...

2008-05-30T22:37:00.002+10:00

I met my first Jordainan mosquito last night over dinner. He was a very persistent little bugger. Al-hamdoulillah at least the meal was good.

So I’ve been a little absent for quite a while now – each week I intend to write, but I just don’t seem to have the himma for some reason sleep just seems so much more appealing. So I’ll put some bits and pieces down and see where we get to. Warning: this post will probably be all over the place.

Prior to exam week not much happened at all. Just study and study and study. The exams went ok, I got an 80% in skills and 97.625% (don’t ask – our teacher is very…ummm… specific?) in sciences. So al-hamdoulillah I was relatively pleased with the marks.

Between then and last weekend it was just more and more study – although I’m terribly behind at the moment. So last weekend was Jordanian Independence Day (long weekend) which meant that we had three days of class which was really nice – although the 6 day week before the break was torturous! My flatmate and I trotted off to Syria to escape the crazyness of Amman. We left after class on Thursday and got a taxi from Abd Ali to the boarder, where al-hamdoulillah the Syrians were very kind and processed my visa request swiftly. All I can say is thank God I am traveling on my Aussie passport – it cost me US$30 to enter Syria – if I was on the British it was US$56! Either way it sucks to be Conganese, they have to pay a whopping US$256! Subhan’allah.

Anyway, so we got into Damascus at around 9:30pm and went to the hotel to dump stuff before heading out to dinner. By the time we left for dinner it was 10pm and we didn’t get back to the hotel until 2:30am… A little crazy – fajr was agonizing at 4am.

On the first day we went to Bosra to see the Roman ruins and then went to the local mosque (which was really nice, and surprisingly had a massive women’s section – in Jordan it can sometimes be hard to find a mosque with room for ladies). Unfortunately I couldn’t pray though – someone had locked themselves in the women’s wudu section was was refusing to open the door… So I couldn’t pray. Kheir insha’allah – Al-hamdoulillah for shafi’i prayer dispensations while traveling.

From Bosra we went to Nowah to visit the maqam of Imam Nawawi. Subhan’allah it is such a mubarak place. Imam Nawawi banned anyone from constructing anything over his grave, but subhan’allah within months a massive tree had grown out of the earth of his grave to shade him. Subhan’allah, it really is an amazing site to see. It is the only tree of that type in the area and is HUGE!

After that, we headed back to Damascus to pick up some snacks before heading off to Ma’lula, a small Christian town situated in the mountains above Damascus, built out of the mountain-sides. It’s a really beautiful little town, there are two monestaries and a sprawling old city. We went up to the top of the mountain and when walked down though the gorge that cuts through the middle of the town. All the street signs are in Aramaic (the language of Prophet Isa – Jesus – a.s.) and the main spoken language is Aramaic – subhan’allah. The people of the town also keep the original Sabbath (i.e. Friday night/Saturday day until sunset). The town looked absolutely amazing at sunset, all the mountains were glowing pink, subhan’allah.

From Ma’lula we returned to Damascus and our hotel to wash up before dinner – it was another late night…2:30am! I was so wrecked – I’m just not as young as I once was! Lol

On the second day we headed to Bab As-Saghrir – which is a graveyard that covers about three blocks in the middle of Damascus – where a large number of companions and family of the Prophet Muhammed saaws are buried (like Bilal Habshi – the Prophet’s muezzin – and Ruqayyah – the Prophet saaws daughter among many others). After that we walked through the Old City, did a bit of shipping and had an amazing lunch – there was this fruit salad, it was so fresh, with fresh cream aaaaaarrrrrrggggggggghhhhhh…. And soooooo cheap. I’ve failed to mention just how good the food is in Syria and just how little it costs! Mmmmmmmmm….

After lunch we went up to this mountain lookout above Damascus for the sunset and watched the Omayyad Mosque in the middle of Damascus shine yellow and then glow pink until the sunset and the lights came on making it golden again. So we drove down and went to the mosque to pray and wander. It was stunning. There was so much space, and so many people sitting around. I just stood there thinking that up until 100 years ago some of the most brilliant scholars the Ummah has ever known were sitting and taking knowledge in the courtyard. Subhan’allah.

After prayer we went to dinner at a truly amazing restaurant in the old city which looked over an old Church and the Mosque next door to it. The place was filled with ex-pats, but we ordered so much food it couldn’t fit on the table (nor could we finish it) and all it cost us was JD9! I really can’t explain just how good the food is in Syria. Subhan’allah I’m so tempted to go and study at Abu Nur University just so I can eat well (except that there are no “real” toilets to be found, and well you know, I have a very sensitive stomache)!

We got back to the hotel at around midnight – which was a nice early change.

On our last morning we went to the souk and shopped for gifts – no I’m not telling what I bought so don’t ask!

We left Damascus at 1pm and headed out on the highway with our driver. It was an insane ride – most of the time he was traveling at about 160kmph (no joke I was scared)! Apparently Jordan doesn’t allow hired taxi’s to cross the boarder after 3pm and you just have to sit and wait until they feel that maybe, just maybe you can cross. So driving along at 160km I notice that the driver is trying to turn the ignition… over and over again he tries and nothing happens. We slow to a stop on the edge of the highway (still in Syria) in the middle of nowhere and he tells us we’ve run out of petrol. So he stands for half an hour trying to flag down a passing motorist for a tow (there are not many) and no one stops. After about 45mins a truck stops and attempts to give us a tow but has no success, so the drivers hops into the truck and roars off to the closest petrol station, and we sit on the rocky embankment next to the taxi. He returns about 25mins later with a little 1.25lt bottle of fuel empties it into the car and attempts to start it. NO SUCCESS! He tries for about 10mins and then my flattie and I get out to push the car. And we do. It must have looked ridiculous – two hijabi ajanib pushing a Syrian taxi along the highway in the middle of nowhere, thank God there were only the goats and sheep to watch. Anyway, alhamdoulillah the car starts and he start flying towards the boarder – I swear faster than before but commonsense tells me that the car couldn’t handle it, so I just didn’t look at the speedo… And no, there are no seatbelts!

We got to the Syrian side of the boarder at about 2:55pm, got our exit visas in 4 mins and ran back to the car. We made it to the Jordanian gate at 3:01pm! They wouldn’t let us through! Subhan’allah. So the driver put on a sad face and said “habibi” (my darling) more times than I could count to the Customs officer manning the gate, and after about 20mins they let us cross (once they made sure we weren’t American lol).

I was upset that the Jordanians made me pay for an entry visa even though I have Iqama (residency) – but apparently that’s just how it works. Al-hamdoulillah we got home right on ‘Asr (4pm).

So that was Syria.

Today I went on a 30km cycle ride from Madaba to Mount Nebo which was fantastic – I was amazed that I actually finished it! It was a mix of hills and flats. After traveling on the main road for about 20mins, the rest of the ride was through the villages on the hills up to Mount Nebo (been before see earlier posts for pics – I think it was one of the first posts I did). It was really peaceful – I wish I had the moolah to go every week (its about $30 aussie which includes all equipment, snacks, lunch and unlimited water). So I’m feeling active and alert this afternoon, which is perfect because I haven’t done any work at all and need to do a mountain of it.

My flattie is about to make Pakkora (YUM) and I’ve got to get a wriggle on and write my assessment presentation – I think we might have to give it this week – 10mins in Arabic, no papers/English or anything – my topic is Islamic Spain, history, places to visit etc. Make du’a for me it goes well – I think the teacher might be inviting the other classes to watch them… I’m scared!

Anyway, I can’t wait to come home – I’m really missing open space and the sea (yes of course I miss you all too). Being here really makes me realize how fortunate I am to have been born, raised and to live in a country as beautiful as Australia. Subhan’allah, there are just so many blessings in it.

Anyway, insha’allah you are all in the best of health and imaan. Please make du’a for my final exams (sciences is on the 10^th and skills is on the 16^th) – there are crazy days ahead!

Much love. Ma’a salama.

Syria

2008-05-22T17:14:00.001+10:00

Sorry I've been so lazy. Much to update on. No time.

Off to Syria for the looooooooooooooooong weekend (Jordanian Independence Day)! YAY

Lets hope the Syrian's let us in...

Much Love, Ma'a Salama.

Exam Time

2008-05-03T19:02:00.002+10:00

Salam Y'all,

Sorry haven't been posting in awhile - exams are on this week... I have several blog posts to add, but they're sitting on my computer at home - and since the battery only lasts a total of 12minutes now, I really have to have high himma to bother to plug it in in the loungeroom.

Insha'allah after the exams (this week) I'll update you.

Much Love.

Ma'a salama

Back to School

2008-03-28T02:21:00.001+11:00

The new quarter started on Tuesday, and today is the beginning of the first weekend. Unlike last quarter, every weekend is a two-day weekend, which is good and bad. Good, because I can spend more time revising and consolidating work rather than just finishing of homework that addresses new concepts. Bad because I am away from speaking Arabic for 2 days – you would not believe how bad that is for your spoken skills, trust me I didn’t either.

So my first class, skills, is at 8am. My teacher masha’allah is great. He’s funny, patient and easy going enough for you to feel able to be yourself in class. I really like the way he is conducting the class to, I’m finding it quite beneficial and we’ve only had two days.

My second class, sciences/grammar, is not until 1pm. Quite a gap! At least it enables me to get my skills homework done in the break between them. While we haven’t actually started any new material yet in this class, I know that the teacher and his methods are great, because my flatmate had him last term and learned so much masha’allah. Really learned it, not superficially. Al-hamdoulillah.

So those are my classes. Most of my day is now spent at school which is good when things get done, not so good when all the sisters are around to socialize with!

I’ll post my holiday stuff soon insha’allah – photos aren’t uploaded yet.

Ma’a salama

FYI: Incase you don’t notice, my entry on the trip to Aqaba is below.

Aqaba...

2008-03-28T02:17:00.015+11:00

As promised, my account of Aqaba and my little adventure – all organised with the aid of the Lonely Planet Guide J

***

We left on Wednesday, early. Al-hamdoulillah we left early because we practically had to walk to the next suburb in order to find a taxi. That done we (one flatmate and another sister from the Hay who decided to join us at the last minute) had a 30min wait at the bus station. Unfortunately the bus was fully booked so they couldn’t change our seats so that we were together, so preggie (that’s what we call the sister who came with us, primarily because she is seven months pregnant) was sitting alone on the top level of the bus, while my flatmate and I were on the bottom. Lucky for preggie the person who booked the seat next to her didn’t turn up so she had two. The bus ride was pretty disgusting. None of the windows opened and all the men insisted on smoking pretty much constantly so most of the trip was spent trying not to be physically sick. There was a family of six sitting on the opposite side of the bus to us, and the older girl stared at me through most of the trip. About an hour before Aqaba, I happen to be looking out her window and he says “What’s your name?” So we had a nice little conversation. For a twelve year old who’s ESL she spoke very good English – she didn’t want me to speak Arabic to her so she could practice.

So we arrived in Aqaba and got off the bus only to be greeted by 34⁰ heat! Bah! It was so humid. Unlike Aussie men, Jordanian men find it amusing to watch women struggle with large suitcases which are obviously to heavy for them to lift from a bus holding area that is above their heads – have I mentioned at I can’t wait to come home (and yes Fint it’s the Arabs, they’re getting to me).

So we arrived at the hotel, lobby was nice, elevators were working, employee carried our bags – beautiful. Entered the room, not to bad – the colour scheme looked like it was something out of a Dr Seuss book – the bathroom was so tiny that if I stood against one wall and reached out my arm I could touch the other side lol. But, it was the only hotel that offered a triple, and it had air conditioning – perfect!

We lazed around for a bit, the bus ride was incredibly tiring. Then wandered off to see the water/beach, ate lunch, went shopping at Dream Mall, discovered Gloria Jean's (which had e all excited... the coffee on the shelf had a little sticker: "Made in Australia". I woul have taken a photo but the employees already though I was odd enough after I stole the chocolate sauce squirter and used 3/4 of it on my drink) and went home for a nap before dinner. We ate dinner at the Syrian Palace and it was fantastic. The seafood was delicious and the waiters were so friendly. To top it all, it was reasonably priced (for Aqaba). We staggered home ridiculously full, stopped by the souk for a peek, but resolved it was time to sleep.

GLORIA'S!

We had planned on the first day in Aqaba to go snorkeling, unfortunately that didn’t happen because all the cruises were cancelled, so we decided that we’d go to Wadi Rum. We asked at the hotel in the morning and they offered to organise something for us for 150JD (that’s A$300)! Politely we declined and decided to get the bus. So we arrived at the bus station at 8.30am and found the bus and asked the driver what time he’d be leaving. He said one hour. So we decided to get lunch to take with us and return. So we returned and sat and waited…and waited…and waited… 1 ½ hours had passed and the driver looked in no mood to move, so we asked him again. This time he said, 12:30 (it was 10am)! So we wandered to the shade and sat down to discuss what we wanted to do (a taxi to Rum costs 25JD one way – for tourists anyway). SO we were sitting and debating when the driver comes over, deciding that the wants conversation. He asks us what we want to see, and then tells us what we should see (he apparently grew up in Wadi Rum). After about 30mins he decides that he could put something together for us for about 40JD each… We bargain him down to 30JD and decide that we’ll go. The deal was this: he would transport us to Wadi Rum and back to Aqaba, we would get a guide for 4 hours and we could see whatever we wanted in that time. So he goes about organising. He tells us that we were to get on a different bus (since he still wasn’t going to leave until 12.30). We were to get off at the Rum highway junction where the guide would meet us. My companions were doubtful, so in true Aussie style I cajoled them into adventure! We got on the bus and off we went. After a solid 45mins bumping along the highway (desert all around), one check point and a hell of a lot of second-hand smoke, we tumbled off the bus at the highway junction and into the care of Abdullah the Bedu. Abdullah called the original bus driver who organised things so he could reassure us we were with the right Bedu, since about 6 others got off at the junction too, then led us to his ute. The three of us clambered into the tray and off we went through the desert on our way to Rum. About 25mins into the drive he pulls over and (pointing at Preggie) says we should get in the front because it was going to get really bumpy. I told the others to get in the front and I’d stay in the tray because otherwise one of us would have been in Abdullah’s lap – he wasn’t kidding, it was terribly bumpy! So we continued along the road for about two minutes, passed a check point with incredibly bored looking officers who didn’t even lift their heads as we passed, then he swerved into the sand – the purpose of this cross-country drive into the Rum protected area, we found out later, was to avoid the entrance fees charged to tourists.

The Bus

In Abdullah's Ute...Leaving the Highway Behind...

Lone Tree

Camel

Our fist stop was the Nabatean inscriptions.

Second stop was the sand dunes. Abdullah decided to point us in the general direction and then promptly sat down under a rock and slept. So we went down to the dunes. Took some pictures, climbed a little way, took more pictures. My flatmate and I decided that we would try and run to the top – I go ¾ of the way up and decided I’d sit instead (my flatmate stopped just behind me). We made Preggie take a pic from the bottom, and then we decided that we would move on. I decided to roll down the sand dune (since Abdullah couldn’t see us), which while fun resulted in my eating a lot of sand and collecting even more under my hijab and in my trousers. Abdullah woke as we returned, looked strangely at my sand encrusted hijab, said nothing, and we moved on.

Sand Dunes

General Rum Photos

Third stop was the canyon, which was absolutely amazing. Once again Abdullah pointed us in the general direction and then went to have tea in the tent with his Bedu friends which was nearby. We ambled over to the canyon, where it was about 10 degrees cooler in the shade, climbed as far through it as we could go with Preggie, took some snaps and returned to the Bedu tent where we drank tea and were slyly photographed by European tourists who obviously thought that we were from Rum – personally I would have thought that the speaking of English, western clothing and Nike trainers would have given it away… Apparently not. (Waiting on Photos from Preggie, I'd already filled the memory card by this point)

From there we were off to the small rock bridge – not enough time to get to the big one (I was a little sad at that). We had to climb awfully high which was a little hard for Preggie, but Abdullah was like a little mountain goat, he kept having to stop and wait for us which he found amusing. So we walked across the bridge, took many photos and then clambered back down. It was rather cute, insead of springing off quickly, Abdullah went about two metres then would turn around and watch with concern as we assisted Preggie to the bottom. After that we bumped back through the desert and were sneakily taken into the Beduin village in Rum (apparently foreigners were not supposed to be there) where the driver from Aqaba (the one who organised everything, his name is Zaid) reappeared. We desperately needed to pray because there was only 45mins left till Asr (not so problematic for Preggie and I as we were combining since we were travelers, but my flatmate happens to be hanifi and they are unable to combine), only to be told that the mosque in Rum does not cater for women. So Zaid said he’d take us back to the highway to get us on a bus back to Aqaba. So we are driving along and we turn into this little village and stop outside a little house. There is a beautiful little boy at the gate looking slightly bewildered at our arrival. Zaid tells us that this is his home and that we can pray here because (again) the mosque in his village doesn’t cater for women. So we tumble out of the car and are greeted by his wife and EIGHT children! Masha’allah such beautiful children. Zaid, after introducing us to his wife and children disappears off into another room with his older sons, leaving us with his wife, his girls, and the little boy. We quickly made wudu (which I felt really bad about since like everywhere else in Jordan they get very little water) and prayed. His wife was so cute, she made us tea and bought out a cinnamon cake that she had made, and then demanded that we eat it. Zaid’s eldest daughter Fatima engaged us in great conversation in English – she too apparently learns at school and has a really good command of the language masha’allah. Zaid’s wife was so insistent on plying us with tea and cake that we only just made the bus back to Aqaba! Two of the boys, one about ten and the other maybe about 14/15 drove us to the bus stop in the village – quite a sight for his friends that we encountered on the way, judging from their stunned faces – only to find that the bus was about twenty metres up the road having already left. Knowing that we have to be on that bus, they kindly sped up, overtaking it and stopped in front of it, forcing it to stop. We said goodbye and hopped on for the bumpy ride back to Aqaba.

We got back about 5:30pm. Showered, rested for half an hour then wandered back out for dinner. We went down to the “rich” tourist area of Aqaba, where all the 5-star hotels are looking for somewhere to eat. We happened on a wood-fire pizza joint and decided to stop. We ate, it was not in anyway delicious, and as usual was massively overpriced. Back to the souk – spent up a little storm – back to bed. A really long, draining day. Al-hamdoulillah.

View from the hotel... Those hills on the otherside are Occupied Palestine.

On our second day we organised to go on a glass bottom boat cruise and a snorkeling trip. The girls bought burqinis from “Dream Mall” (which incidently is not so “dreamy”). After much struggle, we finally found the boat and hopped aboard just as it was about to leave the marina. We sailed down the Jordanian side of the Red Sea, past Occupied Palestine and past the Egyptian boarder. We sat in the shade at the back of the boat as most of the European tourists had shed most of their clothing and were sunning themselves on the deck and smoking constantly. There wan’t much to see through the bottom of the boat because the water had gone cloudy, but the swimming was great! The water was so nice, and terribly salty. I got the other two girls to leave the safety of the boat so we could swim out a little. Preggie hang on to the lifebuoy though so our distance was limited. As people started to get out of the water we just kept on swimming – we decided lunch could wait, where else in Jordan were we going to be swimming anytime soon? Eventually we got out, changed (which was a feat all in itself) and went up to the deck for lunch… Boy was lunch fabulous! There was fish, chicken, beef, three different salads, dips and more. It was great food, and we were all quite impressed! The way back was nice, with the afternoon sun on us. Once again we sat on the lower deck, although this time it was to avoid the smoking only. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people smoke quite so much as I have seen in Jordan. It really makes you say Al-hamdoulillah for Australia and the fabulous legislation preventing smoking in so many places.

When we got back to the hotel we prayed and then ran off to dinner. We ate at the Syrian Palace again because the food was just too good. Then headed to the all-night souk for some shopping. I got a couple of lighter abayas for summer which were not terribly cheap, but cheap for Jordan, aswell as a couple of hijabs (although not as many as I would have like because I bought everything he had in the particular style, which was not much!). Then back to the hotel to sleep, and sleep we did.

On the last day we got up late, mopped around packing, trotted off to rustle up some breakfast from the bakery, returned already sweaty and feeling yuk (it was already 28⁰ outside). Ate. Checked out. Got the bus home, on which, thankfully, no one smoked. Al-hamdoulillahi rabbi-alamin!

So back “home” in Amman. Went to Abdoun for dinner, couldn’t be bothered to cook. Can’t wait to sleep.

***

So, my observations on Aqaba:

- The men are sleezy and have minimal respect (except for the Bedus)

- It is uncomfortably hot at all hours except between 2-4am.

- Everything is really pricy, even if you bargain.

- Your inability to escape the stench of cigarettes will drive you mental.

- After three months in Amman it is truly a blessing to see some green grass, some trees with leaves and… the sea.

Ma’a salama

Back "home"

2008-03-23T01:12:00.001+11:00

Just arrived back from Aqaba... Had a wonderful time... Will post on it tomorrow insha'allah.

Hope everyone is well.

Umm Mariam - I will call you tomorrow insha'allah.

Love for all.

Ma'a salama

Maqaamat Trip & Catch Up

2008-03-17T00:24:00.003+11:00

Again sorry…it’s been awhile. Finished the term on Thursday. Sat the exam. Al-hamdoulillah it went well, I say my marked paper today and probably 90% of it was correct (there was no grade on it yet though). So I’m pretty happy with that. We went out to dinner on Thursday night to celebrate. We had Thai and then Gerard’s – nutella crepes…mmm… Managed to get myself some Gloria’s (Gloria Jean’s) last night and it reminded me so much of home, which I am missing somewhat at the moment… I actually considered leaving… But I’m staying insha’allah.

Anyway, spent today shopping for presents for a friend here (who’s having a baby), and my teachers (one who had a little baby girl last week, masha’allah). So am now totally exhausted and cannot be bothered to make dinner. We also shopped for our flatmate who’s off to see her husband in Turkey for the break – I have never been so irritated by male shop assistants in my life, they stick to you like glue here, even after you tell them several times you are “just looking”. It’s creepy.

So yeah, as you can tell I’m not presently in Syria, I’m still in Amman. Hotels proved to expensive (high season) as all the budget ones were booked out. As it turns out, al-hamdoulillah we didn’t go, because a friend and her husband left today for Syria, and even though the wife has a visa, the Syrians wouldn’t allow them to enter the country. So Al-hamdoulillah. Since we’re not going to Syria, we’ve extended our visit to the South of Jordan – I’m really looking forward to some swimming and snorkeling insha’allah. Wish I had an underwater camera, apparently the sea life in Aqaba is amazing. Kheir Insha’allah.

About two weeks ago I went on a trip with the murid sisters to a couple of the maqams (graves) south of Amman, which was fantastic, and totally crazy. On the way to our destination, our bus driver decided that he would take the incomplete highway which is meant to link Amman to this particular area. So anyway, this highway is being built over a massive (and very very deep) valley and it was so foggy that you couldn’t see 50cm out of the bus windows and the driver is motoring along at about 70kmph and then suddenly there was a really large bang and the bus dropped about 10cm off an incomplete join in the road. So the driver decides that he will drive a little more slowly. I was looking out of the window down to the ground and you could clearly see that the highway was nowhere near being completed – there were large boulders all over the road, it wasn’t properly sealed, every 10 metres or so there was a small drop where the connection had not yet been complete, and there were long iron poles (the type you see in concrete buildings when they are being built, you know, the put them inside the cement – sorry don’t know what they are called) sticking out of the road surface. It was a miracle that the bus was not totally destroyed. So after about 30mins on this road, the driver decides that indeed he is on the wrong road (duh!) and decides to make a u-turn, great – except there is no u-turn bay and there is a median strip about 40cm high and a metre wide between our side of the road and the other. So the driver begins to make his “many-point” turn. All on the bus are slightly concerned, especially those of us at the back, who could see that if he reversed just a little to far, the drop into the valley below was a good 200metres! Finally we got turned around, and so the driver proceeded to drive back up the highway on the wrong side of the road (no way to get over the median strip) in the densest fog I’ve seen yet in Jordan… Naturally, we (the girls) were quite concerned, and so they (the murids) began to recite the burda, I simply closed my eyes and prayed that there was no truck heading in the opposite direction. We finally made it back to the road he was not supposed to turn off to begin with and were heading along at high speed once again. Salt was beautiful, we stopped on the road that wound its way down into the Jordan valley, the fog had cleared, the sun was out and we could see into Palestine. It was green – such a contrast to Amman. After our brief stop we headed to the maqams we had planned to visit – I’ll put the details of who, where, what at the end of this post insha’allah. We got back later than expected, but it was a really nice day (excluding the drive) al-hamdoulillah. So that was the trip.

***

Sorry this is all over the place, I have a massive headache – sugar withdrawal, I’m on a health kick…Again. *lol*

Insha’allah you’re all well.

Ma’a salama.

~ Video Coming Soon ~

Amman's Wildlife

2008-02-29T01:16:00.002+11:00

Subhan’allah finally a day off! I can’t take six days in a row… On Sunday there will only be two weeks left of this quarter and it seems that they are trying to cram as many complicated concepts as possible into what little time remains. So yeah, I really don’t like اعْراب. And no, there are sill no mid-term marks – apparently they’ll be given on Saturday. I’ve been sick again Al-hamdoulillah. Caught the second round of the flu for the season, kindly transferred to me by one of my flatmates… Getting over I now, but I have the most disgusting cough… Al-hamdoulillah. I’m hoping it’ll start to warm up soon since we’re almost into Spring.

The wonderful thing I have learned about learning Arabic is that you completely lose your English language skills. The other night I wrote the word “cat” in my notes spelt “K-A-T”, of course I realized my error, use the white out to erase it and then write it again…and again, and again… It took four white-outs for me to successfully write “C-A-T”. Unfortunately that is not the only example. I am however, taking solace in the fact that it is not just me suffering from this odd disorder – one of my flatmates is just as bad!

So yeah, end of the quarter… Thinking I’m off to Syria with one of my flatmates (the other is off to meet her husband in Turkey for the break) and another two sisters insha’allah. We need to go to extend our visas – normally you can get an extension for another three months (after your first three) but unfortunately for us we’ll have overstayed our visas before the next quarter finishes. And since we no that we won’t have time to go during the quarter, we decided to go in the break instead insha’allah… I’m really looking forward to it – although not the wait on the boarder, apparently with an American/Canadian/Aussie/British passport the wait can be upto and beyond 6 hours depending on the mood of Syrian customs… We are currently in the planning phase, we’re thinking either bus to Jerash then cab to Syria or just getting a cab all the way to Syria… Much cheaper to get the bus, but more chance of issues being women traveling “alone” and all. Anyway we’ll see. If one of the other girls comes we’ll have a private driver from the area – which would be nice… Hmmm…

Now you’ll all be delighted to know that my contacts finally arrived! Yes I only waited three months for the Jordanian Postal Service to work it all out! So anyway, I took the day off school on Monday because I was really unwell and was blissfully napping when my phone rang (9am). Answered the phone and it was a gentleman from customs who convieniently spoke no English. So in my broken Arabic I deciphered that he was actually calling my from Customs and that there was a parcel for me and that I had to pick it up before 2pm or it would “be sent back”! Quite annoyed I got up and went downtown to the post office to retrieve my parcel. Get there and, like last time was told to go to room A. In room A there were two men who were shuffling papers around apparently looking for one with my name on it. One of the men looks up and says “there’s nothing here for you, go to room C”. So I told him, “I’ve just come from room C, please check again.” So he checks again, and lo and behold my little slip of paper is found (you just had to hear the pronunciation of my surname), he smiles sheepishly and demands my passport, marvels briefly at the fact I’m from Australia, then directs me into room D. In room D there’s no one… So I wait… and wait… and wait… And then finally a customs officer comes, then calls in three of his friends, all smoking – did I mention I was sick? – and tells me to open the parcel. I open it, I pull out my contacts. One of the (non-customs) men takes out one of the smaller boxes and decides that he wants to open it – i.e. take the contacts out – while I’m trying to explain to the customs officer just what contacts are, I’m trying to think about how to ask the guy to please stop opening the box. So the customs officer also marvels at the fact I’m Australian (and so obviously a convert) and then he says that if I didn’t come today to get the contacts he would have charged me a tax because APPARENTLY THE CONTACTS HAD BEEN SITTING THERE FOR THREE WEEKS! Just waiting innocently to be collected. Then he tells me that they had tried to call sooo many times but never received an answer, so I was fortunate that he was so nice that he wouldn’t charge me a tax. So then he directs me to room E (minus the package, they kept that with them) and I gave my passport to yet another man who looked at my passport and the slip of paper filled in by the first officer and stamped it. He then directed me back to room D where once again there is no one. So I wait… and wait… and wait… Then the customs officer and his friends return (still smoking) and he takes my papers and checks them. Then he tells me “This is my country and you are our guests so no tax for you”, to which his friend replies, “No, this is her country and we are guests” reference of course to the fact that I’m a westerner and that the west owns everything – I didn’t feel the need to clarify that Australia wasn’t part of America. So they laughed manically for a short while, finally give me my package and said I could leave. BLAH! Not how I wanted to spend my sick day. Plus all the cigarette smoke made me feel so much worse. But anyway, al-hamdoulillah I now have my contacts *yay*

Two other points of interest, both are related to animals.

Two nights ago I was walking hoe from seerah class and attempting to walk up a hill while eating banana cake under my niqab, when this little kitten ran out miaowing and running around my feet (really unusual, all the cats here are scared of people because they are treated badly). So anyway, I pat it a little and it started licking my fingers that I was eating the banana cake with. So I gave it a little cake and walked on. It ate the cake and ran after me. So I fed it more cake. It ate and then ran after me again. So anyway, it followed us all the way home (about 1.5km) and ate all my cake! It was such a cute little thing – got class again tonight, wonder if I’ll see it again… Wonder if I’ll get banana cake again!

The other animal story is not so cute… Prior to leaving home to go to seerah class, I was pinning my hijab in the bathroom – now all bathrooms and kitchens here have drains in the middle of the floor so you can squeejy them, like mopping but you don’t have a mop you have what looks like a car windscreen wiper minus the foamy bit to pushy dirty water around with for a bit. So anyway, I’m pinning my hijab and I can hear squeaking – neep, neep neep neep – I’m thinking, there are mice somewhere, must be outside, I continue to pin my hijab. The squeaking gets louder so I turn around and my bathroom drain pops up, so I immediately step on it to push it back down and there is resistance under my foot. I screamed and ran out of the bathroom. THERE ARE MICE IN OUR DRAINS! Now on’t get me wrong, I like mice, in fact my mice I had as a kid had babies and I loved them, but for some reason, mice that live in sewer-like drains I just can’t deal with. So anyway, now there is mouse-poison all over the house – I can’t wait to move… Did I mention I’m moving place – three weeks to go!

So In other news, we (flatmates and I) decided that we would invest in a blender, which we purchased today. I’m in love. No more spending 2 hours chopping parsley and mint for tabouli… If only I could find red chilli I could make sambal… I miss having real chilli in food.

Still waiting on Umm Rabi’ to get a landline! Unless you’re coming to join me get a wriggle on woman!

Getting excited to come home… I know, three more months…

Ma'a salama

Fancy-pants-ing Around Amman (well kind of)...

2008-02-23T20:20:00.005+11:00

Salam all.

Enjoying another long weekend – not because of snow al-hamdoulillah. This is our last double weekend – considering that there is only 3 weeks left of the course and we don’t have that much homework at all for Sunday, it’s not to bad.

So as you can probably guess, the snow that was predicted did not eventuate – there was a little accompanied by a lot of hail and rain. The pics below are of the fog in the morning when we were walking to class – visibility was really low, the bread shop didn’t even open so I went hungry (no breakfast L).

So the week has been relatively normal, just studying and whatnot… Class has been more relaxed since the mid-term, apparently everything from now to the end is more revision… We haven’t got our marks back for the mid-term yet, but when asked about it the teachers don’t sound very positive at all – some (I think most) are considering a resit, especially the students here on scholarship because their marks go back to their unis. Anyway, we’ll see, probably get them back on Sunday.

So yesterday afternoon I decided that we (i.e. my flatmates and I) were going out for a little party to celebrate the end of the mid-terms (actually it was just an excuse to do something other than be at home). So we went to Abdoun Circle – known as the “mummy’s boy area” of Amman (well that’s what our teacher said anyway). It’s basically a really wealthy area with lots of restaurants, clubs, and cafes (most serve liquor) where the trendy-set chillax. Oh and lots of Jordanian boys drive around in their parents fancy cars making a lot of noise – pretty much like the city (in Sydney) is on a Friday or Saturday night…

So anyway, we dressed up, which was a feat being that it was so cold we still needed to be wearing layers of thermals (I know it’s hard to imagine, but it’s true) and went to dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant – where the beef red curry tasted just like Thai Hutt in Bankstown, but the sizzling chicken was heaps better. Initially we were going to have Italian, but we couldn’t find the place – which I’m kind of happy about because I can make pasta and pizza at home. After dinner, we went to a place called Gerard’s which had about 30 flavours of ice cream (I got tiramisu and strawberry cheese cake) as well as some awesome crepes filled with nutella (of which I had one). They did coffee and whatnot, but when crepes are on offer…

When we were leaving Gerard’s, and were walking up to find a cab, I mentioned (maybe a little to loudly) what one of my flatmates looked like she was our Aunty (she was wearing more conservative clothing and she’s a little older) and she was taking us out in an attempt to marry us off. Apparently most of the Jordanians in Abdoun speak good enough English to understand, even though my accent because I said it as we passed by a table of young blokes in another restaurant who seemed to think my comment was hilariously funny. Quite embarrassing – as I’m not sure that they would have understood the sarcasm. Our way home was not a fabulous adventure, our cab driver insisted on speeding through Amman like a maniac, and he was literally falling asleep at the wheel – every time he looked like he was going to nod off (i.e. eyelids were drooping and head dropped a little) I started to cough really loudly. So I guess your wondering why we didn’t just get out and find another cab? Just look back to my first or second post in Amman about waiting for cabs and you’ll figure it out. Anyway, we got home safely Al-hamdoulillah, didn’t sleep till really late, so I’m a little tired today…

Umm KJ: I was looking at photos of one of my flatmates nieces and subhan’allah she looks exactly like KJ (about 6months younger though). Same eyes, nose (I know the NOSE!) and lips subhan’allah it’s almost freaky. The little one has a Fijian daddy and an Indian mummy – I always told you KJ looked Fijian-Indian. Where by the way are my photos?

I’m actually looking forward to my visit home for Ramadan now – even though its months away, this term has really flown subhan’allah and I’m sure the next one is going to be exactly the same. Anyway, time to eat J.

Ma’a salama.

Update.

2008-02-18T17:56:00.001+11:00

Salam all,

Again it’s been awhile – apologies, but there isn’t really that much to tell. We had our exam yesterday, which was a giant ball of madness wrapped in insanity. 4 HOURS! That’s how long it took me to finish. I forgot the most basic stuff (verb conjugations – I kept mixing past and present tense) which really bugged me because I had it down, I just could not remember them properly for the life of me… But other than that I think it went ok, not great, ok. Definitely not HD material…

So now that the exam is over and I have some time to relax (yeah right) we are supposed to be expecting heavy snow again tomorrow night, at least that’s what the teacher’s are reporting… *joy* I’ve checked online weather reports and there is no mention of snow, just rain – and I’m not feeling it in the taps yet, maybe in the morning… We’ll see.

The sky was so clear tonight masha’allah. Walking back from a gathering this evening all the stars were out, there was a hint of warmth in the air left over from the day, and the moon was so bright – the middle of this week is the white days, so its almost full. It was really beautiful masha’allah, I really wish we had a balcony big enough to sit on…

Actually it’s been really hard to get back into the swing of things since the uber-extended snow weekend. I’m really felling drained – probably because I’ve become the biggest study-junkie nerd ever. Really, all I do is study, all the time, it’s scary. I have to get back into my routine and I really need to catch up on my vocab insha’allah.

Anyway, so we went fruit shopping again on Friday, which was a lovely adventure. The cab driver took us on this really long drive to the middle of nowhere – when we saw the sign for Jerash we realized that he wasn’t just going the long way, but the WRONG way, which was kind of scary. So we (forcefully) told him to go to the place we wanted and he complied – although made a big show of being all cranky about it – like it was our fault. Anyway, so we got to the market and the fruit was good and cheap and that’s all that matters. Insha’allah tomorrow, along with memorizing two presentations I’ll be trying my hand at tabouli.

Went to the dentist after the exam for a check up – dental is soo cheap here, 5JD (A$10) for the check up. I was really impressed with the dentist to, masha’allah, she was really good. While I was a the dentist, there was obviously some very important person in one of the rooms, because there were about seven big, burly security men (who looked like secret police, or their equivalent) and a photographer (he had a really big professional camera) waiting outside one of the consult rooms, and outside the centre there were soldiers and regular police (all armed with very large guns) – quite odd, although I am getting more used to seeing men in uniforms with big guns in most public places. So, my visit to the dentist earned me a trip to Safeway (because it’s across the road) and I finally found kecap manis *yay* (but still no red chilli) food will actually have taste now!

So as you can tell, there isn’t much to tell. I’ll let y’all know hot I went in the exam (maybe) when we get them back insha’allah. In the meantime, please all make du’a for Allah swt to expand my brain’s capacity to retain information…

Insha’allah everyone is well.

Ma’a salama

Not much to share...

2008-02-09T03:02:00.000+11:00

Salam all.

Made it back to AbdAli for fruit and veg today, al-hamdouillah no dramas (possibly curtesy of the niqab?). Tried to do a bit of study but not been to successful. There is exactly one week until our second set of mid-terms. I did my oral exam the other day and was praised with "ah'santi"! My first ever in class - I should explain, it's like the highest level of praise given in our classes and rare to get so I was happy al-hamdoulillah... My presentation was 11mins long! Subhan'allah! And yes Miss T, you featured, my whole class know all about you now lol.

There was obviously a wedding in the Hay today, because there have been about 15 cars doing happy laps since 11am tooting like maniacs... Still haven't stopped. Apparently to celebrate a wedding here you need to constantly fire weapons into the air (has been going on intermittantly since lunch, still hasn't stopped)... I didn't want to go out once that started... As they say "what goes up must come down"... It's a strange way to celebrate anything when you think about it...

So at the moment I'm hungry - its dinner time - supposed to be having Paki-food again *yum* I think I need to befriend some Jordanian women so I can convince them to cook for me...

The snow sill has not melted, everywhere you walk there are large clumps of blackened ice - looks like styrofoam. I've fallen over so many times on the ice in the mornings... Such a dag.

My brother is off on a long holiday before uni goes back and Dad is travelling to atm so I'd appreciate if you could add their safe return to your du'a insha'allah... And as usual I'll ask for you to remember me in your du'a. :)

Anyway, off to study and cook - so much vocab to finish off insha'allah.

For those who keep asking for my return date, I'm ot actually sure when it will be, but my best guess is late June/mid-July...

Missing everyone.

Ma'a salama.

Another Snow Day...

2008-01-31T19:39:00.000+11:00

We had more snow overnight so we have another snowday, which means that we effectively have three days off in a row (thanks to juma'a). It is too cold to get out of bed...

I'm adding pics of yesty's snow to yesty's entry...

SNOW DAY!!! yay

2008-01-30T14:51:00.001+11:00

So this evening we are bracing ourselves for the worst snow storms that Jordan has seen in 20 years – or so our teachers and the meteorologists keep saying. It’s been really, really, really cold (or in Arabic: barid jidan, jidan, jidan!). Last night was so windy that I slept in my flatmate’s room – tonight is no different, so I think I’ll sleep there again. We have taken to heating only one room, which we will all then study in because all you want to do elsewhere in the place is sleep – no amount of heating devices can keep the cold out because the windows aren’t properly sealed, you can always feel a draught, even with the external shutters closed as well… In case you didn’t guess, the room that I have taken to sleeping in is the one we are heating (sneaky I know)… Al-hamdoulillah my flatmate doesn’t mind. Actually we have turned her room into a kind of mini-lounge. We have moved all the cushions off the couches in the lounge room and strategically placed them around her room – it’s quite nice al-hamdoulillah.

We are expecting so much snow tomorrow that we have been given advanced warning of a possible “snow day” – so classes may be cancelled, which means I need to learn two A4 pages of form I verbs *shudders at the thought*. To think, only a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have even been able to tell you what a verb/adjective/preposition etc was (but then that’s “whole language” for you – “whole language” is a teaching philosophy that I was (un)fortunate enough to experience throughout school – google it). So anyway (educational rant over), classes are going well Al-hamdoulillah. We got our mid-term exams back (still without a mark) and the teacher said that everyone got over 90% - I think that may be a half truth, but I can’t be bothered to add up the tick on my page because I have found that a tick here does not necessarily equate to a mark. We have started more detailed grammatical work (which for once I am getting al-hamdoulillah) and are doing a lot more speaking (most of the class is now done in Arabic), which unfortunately results in the need to memorise a whole heap more stuff, which is a bit of a struggle.

Courtesy of the expected bad weather, supplies of gas and diesel are being affected. Apparently as of Thursday the prices of both will be jumping substantially – gas will go from 4JD a canister to 7JD a canister! Apparently the prices will not be coming down anytime soon either. We have been warned to expect another price hike at the end of Feb/early March and told that the prices will not come down even if the expected bad weather doesn’t materialize! As a result, I convinced my flatmates to purchase a 50JD unit of diesel now (should get us through March) and a spare gas canister (which means that we will have two spare, which should at least get us to late Feb insha’allah).

I got my care package from Mum al-hamdoulillah (although still my contact lenses haven’t materialized) which included a new supply of vegemite and tetley, so all is right with the world for now (thanks mum *hug*). Still living on mostly Paki food – dhal, rice some vege thing and kafta (not so Pakistani) – and I’ve started to force my flatmate (not the one who’s room I’ve invaded) to make me Paki-rice pudding (kheer?)– which I have just finished a warm bowl of *mmm*…

So, I have done no study as yet tonight – the “snow day” has not yet been declared, but everyone is acting as if it is definitely going to happen, even the teachers… Which means that there is a lot of homework to do al-hamdoulillah.

Snow Pics:

These were taken at midday, it continued to snow all day and all night. Apparently there was even snow in the Saudi desert!

Drought... and speaking to soon...

2008-01-20T06:23:00.001+11:00

Sat my exam – 13 pages! Subhan’allah! I think I did ok. I left a few questions blank. Had a nice celebratory meal at a Yemini restaurant where we worked out our Arabic much to the delight of the waiter (he had a laugh). We walked home through the mall later and it was packed out. Hardly anything is open at 11am on any given day, but at 8pm on a Saturday night everything is open and there are people everywhere – all dressed up – looks quite odd. At least we found ourselves a skipping rope. Al-hamdoulillah.

Went shopping after the exam to try and find a replacement abaya for my black-melted one. No such luck – everything here is so over-the-top decorated it’s scary… There was one nice black one that was like 50JD (so overpriced) but that was about it. So one of the girls and I have decided to just buy fabric and get them made – easier, cheaper. Also got a jacket finally, no more freezing… and a couple more jumpers.

Anyway, so like I was saying this morning about everyone running out of water and us not having any problems… I spoke to soon. Just before we left for class the taps went dry, and we just got home (8:30pm) and still no water… Very very concerned… Have tried calling all the housing contacts and no one is answering, so I guess we’ll just have to wait… Let’s all just pray it’s a building problem and not that the council forgot to deliver to us, because that could take more than a week to be fixed.

I’m off to have chai and chocolate, and then I may sleep because I’m so buggered.

Ma’a salama.

Salam All!

2008-01-19T16:03:00.000+11:00

It’s been a little while since I made a proper entry, and I’m not sure that this will break the drought. Its just before midnight and I have my mid-term exams in the morning (although I won’t post this tonight, so it would only be possible for you to read this when I am actually sitting the exam). I’m not really looking forward to the exam – in actual fact I was given an extension because I have absolutely no clue what we have done in grammar over the last two weeks. My teacher, however, wants me to sit the exam anyway (the extension was granted by the “principal”) – he told me to pretend it is an assessment… I told him that the problem was not that it was an exam, do not get fussed over them (as most who know me will attest to) but rather the fact that I DON”T KNOW ANYTHING! So what is the problem? My class consists of seven people. All but one (me) have done everything we are doing before so the class is moving really really fast. Not only have they done the work, but all but one of those six speak, read and write Urdu, which shares the same script and many words are common. So anyway, I’ve spoken to the administration, and am thinking of “demanding” an additional class for myself if my needs cannot be met in the regular class (I am paying just as much as everyone else, why should I not be benefiting as well?).

*rant over*

So anyway, the cold snap continues – its been getting down to -4 at night, and its actually colder inside our place than out. Apparently some people have woken to find that their water pipes are frozen so they can’t use any water, and others have had their water entirely disappear for a week! Al-hamdoulillah we haven’t had any dramas, and I guess even if we did we have a well… Which is probably frozen too now that I think about it…

Speaking of the cold snap, all the water in the gutters is totally frozen in the mornings when we walk to school. One of the strangest things is that every morning about 6:30am people wash their cars, it is so cold out that the skin on your face actually feels like it is burning! What is totally scary is that by 7:30 when I walk down to class all the water they used to wash their cars has frozen in little soapy-rivulets on the road. Brrrr….

***

Went to a friend’s house for dinner last Monday evening. We left about 10pm an got to the bottom of the little laneway next to the zawiya (short cut home) when my flatmate discovered that she had left her handbag behind (not an unusual occurrence I’m afraid, she’s as absent minded as me). So we walked back to the top of the laneway and one of my flatmates and myself decided that we would wait there for her to get her bag (to lazy to have to do the hill again). So we were waiting and chatting… And waiting and chatting (quietly mind you). The next thing we know there is a little man poking his head over the wall next to us holding a rather large gun! We jumped about a metre in the air when he appeared, he really freaked us. He didn’t say anything, just stared at us. So we ignored him and continued to chat. Then three roller shutters on the same building went up simultaneously – the bloke with the gun was still watching us. We kept talking like nothing had happened. About 2mins later our other flatmate returned with bag and we left quickly. Apparently that is the building that belongs to the Jordanian secret police in our area… We see them driving around all the time. I’m not impressed with the number of men carrying weapons in this country – even if they are all in uniform. Weapons appear to be very easy to come by here. I went to the balad (downtown) on Monday morning and we happened to walk all the way to the end of the shops, and there in a row were about 8 gun shops. There was no security, no bars, no buzzer-to-get-in doors, just a large display of weaponry in the windows. Hmmm…

***

The water comes on for us on Friday nights (did I mention that we have rationing?), so I did some washing before, found that my favourite black abaya has been partially melted by something – possibly the heater (which we have incorrectly named in Arabic, but now no one can remember the real word for it) – and has a massive hole about midway down at the back… Need to buy a new one on Monday insha’allah (not happy).

***

Been listening to Sheikh Haisam Farache’s lessons in the evenings – masha’allah some good stuff – dare I say, just what the muslim community in Sydney needs??? If you haven’t listened do, and if you have the chance go to the lessons – I wish I could. If you are going, could you kindly tell the brothers to upload the rest of the lessons (only 2-8 are online)… Jazaks!

Found a Shafi’i fiqh circle on here which is just for sisters, which I hope to attend insha’allah. Not many shafi’i’s in the Hay… Most are hanafi (surprise surprise). This place is full of Paki-ma-stanis!

Anyway, need to sleep (the chai is keeping me up)…

Hope everyone is well, I’m missing y’all lots.

Ma’a salama.

*Donation Box: Dua’a for Drifter Accepted Here*

Don’t forget me!

News Flash

2008-01-10T21:25:00.000+11:00

*insert appropriate news anthem*

This news update is bought to you by Ulker Bar - the chocolate of choice in Jordan... And Marwa - water you can actually drink!

Goodmorning, breaking news today: The Drifter will no longer be returning to Sydney in March. Her tour of duty has been extended until late-June.

More details as the story unfolds.

*insert appropriate news anthem*

*Drifter hides from Tia*

New Year, Paki-fication, Markets, Fog and Parties.

2008-01-10T19:20:00.000+11:00

Happy Hijri NewYear! Today is the first day of Muharram which is the first day of the Islamic (Hijri) Calendar. It marks the day the Prophet Muhammed (sal Allahu alayhi wa salam – peace and blessings be upon him) migrated from Mecca to Madina to escape the persecution of his tribe, the Quraysh.

In respect of the new year, we have the day off al-hamdoulillah. Add that to Friday – the day of Juma’a and…(wait for it)… we have a two day weekend! *yay* The downside is of course that I have so much work to do/catch up on I can’t really do anything or go anywhere. We have our first “major” exam/test on Saturday – on all the vocab so far, which effectively means I have a day and a half (I got up late because I’m not feeling well…again) to learn about 5-600 words as well as relearn all the grammar rules because we need to construct sentences. I intend on starting as soon as I have finished this post insha’allah.

I am being slowly Paki-fied. Both my flatmates are of Paki-descent and they have taken it upon themselves to convert me to Pakistani-ism! I have learnt how to make dhal, this vegetable thing, sheik kababs and very, very good chai. In fact, my chai is so good that I had 5 cups yesterday between returning from class and going to sleep (which has probably resulted in my sickness feeling today). The secret… lots and lots of sugar + condensed milk! They are also trying to adjust my accent, so if I come back not with Arabic, but some strange Paki-sounding English, you know who to blame!

Went to the markets at Abdali last Friday (it was a nice sunny day – no photos sorry) to get some more winter clothes – which was a good and nasty experience all rolled into one.

The Good: For approximately $A8 I got one pair of trackie pants, three warm skivvies, one big jumper and two pairs of wool socks. Couldn’t find a beanie (but decided that I didn’t want to get one at markets…I’d rather pay a little more and get it from the mall) and couldn’t find a coat. Actually, that is not strictly true, I found the most beautiful honey coloured coat which was so warm for 10JD (appx. $A20) but I didn’t get it. The colour was so impractical. So I’m hoping to go downtown and find myself a coat somewhere (one of the girls said she knows a place).

The Bad: I stupidly decided not to wear my niqab because I was so sick (sneezing and runny nose + niqab = disgusting, messy disaster… think about it!). And despite being with two niqabed women and a child, a disgusting slug of a man (if you could call him a man) decided that he would physically assault me. Not kidding. I was standing there helping my friends daughter try on a shoe (i.e. protecting her from being swept away by the perpetual stream of people passing through the small space) when I felt someone push up against me – then grab my bum! Not a little pinch, a total, full-handed grab! So I elbowed the culprit as hard as I could in the gut and turned around to hit him, but he ran off. I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t even say anything for about 10mins (mostly because of my friend’s daughter, not really an appropriate thing for a child to hear about). So anyway, we walked away from the area down to where the fruit market was and I was standing behind one of the girls, looking behind me talking to my friend’s daughter, and I saw him following us! I turned back around and told the girl in front of me (at this point he was right next to me again) and I think he realized because he kept walking, did a circle around the table we were at and then walked up a little way and stood on this raised ledge and stared at me. We looked around for tourist police (who usually deal with these issues – don’t let the name fool you, most “tourist” police do not speak a word of English, which tells you how effective they can be) and could see none, so we quickly got what we needed and left. I was really upset for the rest of the day (so much so that I was going to blog about it but I needed a week to recover). I wish I had of knocked the scumbag out, or at least made a really big, loud deal out of it. I just felt so gross. Anyway, suffice to say if I return to the markets I’ll be wearing my niqab and if anyone touches me I might just… well we learnt the verb “to kill” in class, so you put two-and-two together…

As I expected the cold snap has arrived (I could feel it in the taps on Monday – no really! The water through our pipes has been warmer for the last week than it was when I arrived and then it got cold again). So on Tuesday morning there was such a low, heavy fog that we couldn’t even see the block of apartments across the road (about 7 metres away)! The walk to school was, not only incredibly dangerous as we need to walk on the road in part and we couldn’t see more than a metre in front of us, but it was also that incredibly cold that my hands were numb before we reached the corner – even in gloves. The last 5 minutes of our walk it began to really rain, so I ran the last bit (stop laughing Fint) and thought that my hands were warm. When I got to school I went up to the bathrooms to wash them (there is instant hot water at school, unlike at home) and it was agony. What I thought was de-numb-ification was in fact just a figment of my imagination – I was so numb I thought my hands were warm! It bought back the most horrible memories of rowing! Anyway, its cold and foggy again today so I don’t think I’ll leave the house (and quite possibly my bed, except that there is a little party on tonight in the neighbourhood (after Isha – the night prayer), and they are making CAKE! If there is one thing I have learnt about Jordan (ok ok add it to the list of things I have learnt so far) it is that Jordanians do NOT know how to make cake. They know how to decorate them – the cakes here look beautiful, but the taste is so bad!

Went to the police station yesterday to extend my visa. I never, ever want to set foot in a Jordanian police station again. It smelt so horrible I was gagging most of the time. In the end it took about an hour to have three different people do (what appeared to be) absolutely nothing, a woman fill in a card with our names on them, then take fingerprints, then a tript to an individual I shall call "the Big Man" who signed a stamp in the passport put there by the woman before. Such a long drawn out process, al-hamdoulillah the school sends us with an Arabic speaker, I would hate to have to try and work it out because the officers are really no help and speak next to no English.

Anyway, as a result of my wild partying ways, I’d better get started on my work or else tomorrow (when I least want to do anything) I’ll be in a spot of bother!

Cigarettes, Sickness, School, and Style…

2008-01-01T20:44:00.000+11:00

Subhan’allah, there is no where you can go in Amman where you will not be assaulted by the foul stench of cigarette smoke! People smoke in cafes, restaurants, taxis (the drivers!), shops, shopping malls, in busses, elevators, you name it they smoke there. As a result my throat is sore and I’m having trouble breathing. Which leads me to my sickness. I’ve got flu. I got sick the night before classes started and have felt yuk ever since. All I want to do is sleep, my brain is contantly foggy, my muscles ache, throat hurts, ears hurt, and now I’m coughing – Brilliant. Al-hamdoulillah – I am consoling myself with the fact that my sins are being lifted insha’allah.

School is busy, al-hamdoulillah. I’m doing well in my first class insha’allah, just that my memory won’t retain all the vocab. We have to memorise a minimum of 50 words per night – but that is working on the basis that you already know some Arabic, so I have about 80 words a night, and you all know how my memory is! My second class, grammar and sciences, is not going so well al-hamdoulillah. The teacher speaks really fast, and although it is meant to be a class that begins from “the beginning” he’s working on the basis that we already have a basic knowledge of grammatical structures – which I don’t, not even in English! I often get totally lost because he uses English grammatical terms that I don’t get (never done grammar in English – yes I am a product of the pedagogical philosophy of “grammar by osmosis), and then combines them with a million new Arabic terms all in the space of 60 seconds! Masha’allah! So yeah, tomorrow is our first day off from classes because there is a public holiday for New Years Day (apparently there are some great sales starting tomorrow – if I hadn’t spent way over budget in this last week [about a months worth of $] then I’d shop).

Masha’allah one thing I cannot get over (other than the rampant smoking) is the way Jordanians dress. You will never see a Jordanian woman in the street without high heels and uber-fashionable clothing – even with hijab! It’s really quite amazing, they even dress up their little girls (one of whom was standing next to me when I was in the supermarket and pulled a mobile phone out of HER handbag – she was no more than 8/9 years old! And no it wasn’t her mother’s because that was who was calling her). There are two ways you can tell a foreign (muslim) woman from a Jordanian woman… look at her shoes, and look at her bag. Even the blokes get dressed up here. The fashion is for hair with a tonne of gel, super-tight jeans and what look like old-school adidas shoes. They all look like they are headed for clubs – even at 8am!

I get a heater today – soooooo cold. Insha’allah I’m going to go to the Abdali markets on Friday to get a warm jacket, wool socks and the like – I don’t think you could ever pack enough clothes to keep you warm through a Jordanian winter. The worst bit is that everyone keeps saying how good/unusual the weather has been so far (i.e. this winter) there’s been no rain and there’s sun everyday! Subhan’allah I don’t know how much more cold I could handle.

So yeah, if Jordan has taught me anything it is that I have no fashion-sense! *lol* Al-hamdoulillah.

So I shall sleep now so that I can manage to get in min 4/5hrs of study tomorrow (to keep my head up). Please make du’a for me, I’m really needing it. Jazakallahu kheirun.

Love y’all fi sabeelillah. Ma’a salama

Ajlun

2007-12-28T19:05:00.000+11:00

Went on an excursion yesterday to Ajlun – had lunch and then went to Salahdin’s Castle. So anyway, the site used to be a Byzantine church, but it was leveled by an earthquake and so Salahdin built a castle there. It was then taken by the Romans (?), then Mongols, then finally the Muslims again (or something like that, I can’t remember because I didn’t take any notes. So as usual, pictures.

Entrance – Stairway

Arrow Slits

Archways

Cistern

Internal Passageways (To Prison)

Internal passageways

View of First Tower from Inside Castle

Catapult balls

Passage to roof

View of Ajlun from roof – you can see all the way to Al-Aqsa in Palestine, snow on the mountains in Lebanon, and to Baghdad – on a clear day that is. We could just see snow on mountains in Lebanon. – 361-4

Second Tower and view towards Iraq

Islamic carvings inside castle

There was this little secret passageway we went through which got us back to the main entrance very quickly, but it was pitch black, and you had to jump down all these mini cliffs – we emerged covered in dust.

Secret Passageway Entrance

Didn’t get home till fairly late – we found Gloria Jeans *yay* so had coffee, then wondered around the area for about 3 hours, buying sweets and other assorted food. So Im tired today…I really wanted to go to the Abdali markets, but everyone else is to tired to so I guess I’ll have to leave that till next week insha’allah.

First day of classes tomorrow – it seems so strange having class on a Saturday. Our weekends are Friday and Monday…

Ma’a Salama

Testing, Testing (1,2,3)…

2007-12-27T15:29:00.000+11:00

Had my orientation and test today… The test took me all of two minutes – long enough to look at each set of questions, realise that I had absolutely no idea how to answer any of them, then to walk out and hand it in. My oral test didn’t last mush longer – salaam, how are you, I don’t understand the question. 30 seconds al-hamdoulillah. I guess I’ll be in level one! *mock surprise*

Went to the bank to get money out to pay rent – got out 100JD. Didn’t realize till I got home that I had forgotten to withdraw rent money… Don’t want to have to get a cab back to the bank (only 2 accept my card). **do’h*blonde moment**

Going to Ajlun tomorrow insha’allah so maybe I’ll have some interesting pics.

Can you believe it’s taken me 5 days to find a garlic crusher – which apparently don’t exist here so I had to settle for a mortar and pestle, just try crushing garlic with one and see how you go! *hmph* Oh, Umm Abdullah: I made the recipe you gave me tonight, except that when I took out my chicken I found it was off, so I had to use chickpeas. It was really good al-hamdoulillah except that I put so much garlic it burned my mouth! Oh and Umm Khadija: you would hate it here, nowhere sells red chillis – not the big ones, not the small ones… NO CHILLI!

Ma'a salama

Al-beled

2007-12-26T16:14:00.000+11:00

Couple of days ago I went on my own little adventure in downtown Amman. See pictures below for brief recap.

Started at Jebel al-Qala’a (the Citadel) – apparently it is the highest hill in Amman which it doesn’t really appear to be so because from the top you still look “up” at other hills (note, there is not any part of Amman that is not a hill, my legs are so sore). Anyway, it is the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon, there are ruins of a fortress and agora on one side of the hill and the ruins of a Umayyad palace on the other side.

Ruins of fortress and agora.

Umayyad palace – domed audience hall

Umayyad palace – Courtyard

Umayyad palace – Colonaded street

Umayyad palace – residential and administrative buildings

Can you spot the well in the first one?

Temple of Hercules – built by Marcus Aurelius

Assorted items from the National Archaeological Museum.

From here we walked to the Roman Theatre.

This one is taken from Jebel al-Qala'a

I walked all the way up. *yay* I'm still feeling it two days on!

From the Roman Theatre we went to the vege market, then late-lunch, then sweets, then the mall (food shopping), then finally home. We left at 10am, got back home at 10pm – I think I’m sill recovering.

Went back downtown yesterday to buy some prayer clothes and such - not such a long journey. I have orientation and my test today… Make du’a for me please.

Reading a really good book at the moment – something to think on…

“When the historical record prevails, it will be recalled that the most serious threat to the world has always been racism and bigotry. Is it that ignorance of the record produces bigotry, or does bigotry exist independent of any record? In any case, the cost of ignorance is always the denial of dignity”. (Abou El Fadl, 2001)

Masjid an-Nur at maghrib

Ma’a salama.

Gas Truck

2007-12-23T19:49:00.001+11:00

This is my friend the gas truck. He starts driving around the area with his little jingle going from 7.30am until 4.30pm - non stop. When you want gas you chase him down so you can trade your canister for one of his. Check out the little boy chasing the truck!

Sorry that it's sideways - you get the drift anyways

Mt Nebo, the Baptismal Site, Jordan River, Jericho and the Occupied Territories

2007-12-23T18:26:00.000+11:00

Today was great – but incredibly tiring. I’m just going to post up the pictures with captions – explanation is too much. Enjoy.

Mt Nebo - this is the place where it is believed that Prophet Musa a.s. (Moses) stood with his people after they had wandered in the desert for 40 years and he saw the Promised Land (i.e. Jerusalem. Prophet Musa a.s. never made it to the Promised Land and it is believe he is buried not to far from Mt Nebo in one of the valleys on the Amman-side.

(1) Mt Nebo - looking towards Amman

(2) Mt Nebo Directional Plaque

(3) Mt Nebo - looking towards Palestine

(4) Mt Nebo looking towards Palestine - you can't really see it in the photo, but Jericho is down there - the little town in the middle.

The following photos are all taken in the museum on top of Mount Nebo - it is actually an old Catholic Church, but it is not used for Mass or anything anymore.

(1&2) Pottery from the ordan Valley

(3) Mosaics

(3a) From a monastery in the Jordan Valley

(3b) From the Kayanos Church

(3c) Latin mosaic from a nearby church

(4) The Catholic Church on Mt Nebo

After another long drive, we arrived at the Baptisimal Site - this is the place where Prophet Isa a.s. (Jesus) was baptised by Yahya (John). There is also a touristy walk in the "Wilderness" to give you the feel for what Prophet Elias a.s. (Elijah) experienced as he wandered in the wilderness. At the end of the "wilderness" path, before you get to the Jordan River is the Church of Bethany. Stuck my hand in the water (Jordan River) and it was so cold, couldn't believe it.

(5) Part of the "Wilderness Walk"

(6) Church at Bethany

(7) Chuch at Bethany through the wire - the wire is there because the area was covered with landmines during the 1967 war with Israel and large areas (the wired off bits) have still not been cleared.

(8) Steps down to the Jordan River on the boarder with Israel.

(9) On the Jordan River - the bank on the other side is Israel, about 3 metres away.

(10) This is the opposit ebank of th eJordan River - you can see the Israili flags just next to the trees.

(11) The beginning of the road home.

It was a really long day - cold then hot, then cold. I think I lost about a billion brain cells from the carbonmonoxide poisioning (I was sitting at the back of the bus). Ate an incredible amount of junk food... Couldn't cook dinner when I got home because I can't figure out the oven... Sometimes I'm little blonde.

Sorry about the formatting but I can't be bothered to fix it at the moment..

C-Town, A Football Game and Road Closures

2007-12-22T15:24:00.000+11:00

Today was the day of my first great adventure in Amman…

The morning was fairly uneventful (other than speaking with the pez) so at about 4pm we headed off to C-Town. When we arrived it wasn’t to busy (like Coles at mid-peak). I got my groceries, which came to 70JD and I didn’t even get everything on “the list”, then some of the other girls arrived and we waited with them till they finished their shop. So around 6pm we went outside to get a cab home. After waiting for about 15mins we managed to get a cab for all but two of us (too much of a squish with 2 babies – although after the things I’ve seen today I would say the driver would not have been fussed to take us all at once). So one of the girls and I waited for another cab. It hit 7pm and every taxi had refused to take us, so we decided to go get something to eat. Back inside the shops it took about 30mins to get a table (we were waiting and this lady just sat down even though she could see we’d been waiting for the table, so we just sat and ignored her as she bitched on us until she moved). So then my friend went to get us some Maccas (that else?) 30mins later she comes back with food after having an argument about the bloke making the cheese burger without meat or pickle (in the end all he made was a bun with tomato sauce, don’t know where the cheese got to), then another argument of some kind about her burger and then another about her drink. So we ate and went back outside – it was 8.15pm… By 9.15pm we were still waiting for a cab – there were plenty but they refused to take us to “the Hay”. It was sooo bloody cold. My glasses were constantly fogged up – much to the amusement of the many kids. Anyway, at 9.45pm we finally managed to get a cab. The traffic was crazy, hardly moving. Apparently there had been a football game on and the police had closed down our suburb. Joy! You think they might make mention of it, but no, just leave you to find out the hard way!

So I’m home. Bit upset with the girl who arrived today who left dirty cups and dishes in the sink. I think I’ll talk to her tomorrow night – I’m not here to be anyone’s washer-lady! So yeah, I have my first flat mate, she’s from America (paki background). Apparently she had her brother here today as well which I’m not to impressed about since the rules clearly state “no male visitors” regardless of their relation to you. Hmm. I think I’ll call the housing coordinator and ask them to spell the rules out to her. Kheir insha’allah.

So tired. Another adventure tomorrow… Hopefully involving fewer rude Arabs and more sightseeing and history. *yay*

Ma’a Salama

My (New) Home.

2007-12-21T17:11:00.000+11:00

Lounge Room^

Dining/TV/Second Lounge Room ^

Dining/TV/Second Lounge Room (again) ^

Kitchen ^ <-- NOTE I HAVE GAS (stove that is)!!! *yay*

My Bedroom ^ˇ

It looks better now my stuff is put away and my bed is made :)

This is taken from the loinge window - you can see the minaret of the mosque at the top of the hill, at the bottom (where the white car meets the black of the bars on the windows) are the shops. I'm on the third floor thats why it loos so far. ^
This is taken from the side window in the second lounge - lots of construction going on in Amman. ^

My bedroom looks onto our balcony and a little courtyard with some nice vines (photo later insha'allah).

We also have 2 bathrooms, 2 other bedrooms (for the other girls) and a big balcony. I'll take some more shots of the area when I go out today insha'allah.

Just finishing off my breakfast - laughing cow cheese (I was so excited when I saw it in the shop) and some leb bread (which is smaller and more puffy/fat than the bread at home). YUM!

Ma-a salama.

"The Hay" <-- where I'm at!

2007-12-21T16:45:00.000+11:00

Al-hamdoulillah I’ve arrived safe and sound in Amman. The flight was delayed out of Dubai so we didn’t arrive until 11am. The delay was for two reasons, (1) apparently some people were no-shows, (2) there was a fight between two groups of arab men at the boarding gate next to ours at Dubai International, everyone wanted to see what would happen so boarding was a little late – couldn’t make out any of the dispute since it was all in Arabic, but it was very… Animated. Anyway, once on board the plane despite having a window seat, I was happily surprised when I realized that the flight was undersold and that no one would be sitting next to me. My joy was short-lived however; a Chinese lady who was allocated a perfectly good seat at the front decided that she would take up my extra seat because there was a baby that was annoying her. She also wanted to talk the entire trip which was most frustrating – all I wanted to do was sleep, and failing that read my book! Additionally her English was really bad, so I found myself nodding a lot because I had no idea what she was saying and didn’t want to seem rude, which left me with a shocking headache! Couple that with the Arab in front of me who help hawking up his spit really loudly and what else is there to say but…Al-hamdoulillah.

***

The adhan is going off at the moment (maghrib) – subhan’Allah it is so beautiful. I can’t wait to hear it at fajr insha’allah, what a way to wake up! So as you can guess I’m not far from the mosque – in fact my apartment is at the bottom of a small hill, the mosque is at the top! I’m very close to a little supermarket (which is way overpriced), a phone shop (for credit), two fruit and veg shops, and apparently only a 15min walk to where my classes will be! I’m loving it! SMS’d one of the girls I know here when I arrived, and was invited for lunch at the zawiya. Had curried lamb and salad, sweets and tea – it was really good. Not so impressed with the short walk there during which I had to step over the bodies of some sheep (or goats, I couldn’t tell) that were being killed, skinned and chopped up in the street! There was so much blood. Thankfully I couldn’t really smell it. But later, walking home it started to rain really heavily (it hailed to), and the blood was everywhere, and the smell was so strong. Ewww… Don’t know if I can eat meat for a little while…

***

There is a small goat that lives across the road to the zawiya. When you pass by it puts its little hoofs in the wall and keeps a watchful eye – quite cute really, I wonder if it bites…

***

I’ve unpacked, made my bed (problem with my fitted sheet, apparently I have a king-single and my fitted sheet is for a standard single blah!), bought some food. Tried out the ADSL to find its not working – have to do something about it in the morning. Going proper shopping tomorrow insha’allah (like food and other necessities – apparently safeway is open, and maybe C-Town too).

***

I’m feeling a little funny at the moment. I feel really off balance. When I’m sitting still or standing I feel like I’m rocking – I’ve even felt like I am going to fall face down when sitting. It’s quite strange, I first noticed it in Dubai. Maybe its just because I haven’t slept properly since I left. I’m sure that this freezing cold is not helping… Al-hamdoulillah.

So sleepy. Hope everyone is doing well. Much love.

___________________________________________________________________

First morning - finally the ADSL is working. The gas truck has been doing happy laps around the area with it's ice cream truck music blaring - I can't help but laugh. It's 7.30am. My bed is harder than the floor, my back is out and I'm famished. Just turned the burner on so I can have hot water in my shower in half-an-hour. Very excited about shopping. Mmmmm food!
Oh and it's good to hear Khadija is missing me. Eid Mubarak to those celebrating on Friday.

___________________________________________________________________

Ma'a Salama

Dubai International

2007-12-20T13:47:00.001+11:00

Salaam all! I have arrived safe and sound at Dubai International - this place is crazy, people everywhere, and it's only 6am local time! One thing I have noticed is that there are no queues - for anything! Getting through the initial baggage check reminded me of a farm scene with cattle being herded willy-nilly through the smallest gate - when there was one twice the size next to it unused!

The Emirates terminal at Dubai is being built, so we had to take a 15min shuttle to the terminal. The shuttle was quite crowded, and the driver didn't turn on the a/c until we got out (?) so it was a little stinky! It's nice outside here though, about 17C, slight breeze, plus FREE wireless - bonus!

So the first leg of the journey was not so bad, lots of turbulence but the food was actually quite good - an achievement! Actually with the exception of breakfast - egg noodles or egg ommlette - ewwww! Ended up with an isle seat *cheer* and the people sitting on the inside rarely got up which was great. Not to much sleep though, decided I'd wait till I left Bangkok then realised that they were going to serve breakfast and snacks to ended up with three hours... Unforunately not going to be so lucky with my connecting flight, I'm wedged in at the window - might try a trade!

So yeah, that's all the boring stuff - no pics yet, battery dying. More later.

Drifting

2007-12-18T20:41:00.000+11:00

I'm leaving tomorrow evening for Jordan. Beginning to feel a little nervous (mostly about flying with Emirates - I've heard to many bad stories in the past week), but totally excited (about arriving in Amman).

I've pretty much packed... Yes, I know - it's a compulsion. I've decided that it's hereditary. Purchased the last of the things I need this afternoon - they'll go in tonight.

So anyway, "What is this "thing"?" I hear you ask... This'll be a little like a travel diary - but probably fairly brief (don't want to waste my time here when I can be out drifting). So, if you are bored, or just missing me like crazy, pop in, check out what I'm up to, check out the photos and drop me a comment.

Fi amanillah, barakAllahu feekum, ma'a salama, Allah hafiz.

***

Ya Allah, I ask You for birr and taqwaa in this journey of mine, and I ask You for deeds which please You. Ya Allah, facilitate my journey and let me cover its distance quickly. Ya Allah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over all, Ya Allah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of heart and being in a bad predicament. Ya Allah protect me and those I leave behind and grant me that which is best for me in this dunya and the akhirah.

~ Amin

***

Jordanian Drift

Eid Mubarak

Ramadan Mubarak to all...

Losing count of the days.

Catch up

Abu Dhabi

Day One...

21 Days

Update

Friday

Mogama'

Two weeks gone...

New House

Second day in Cairo.

Egypt!

Finished...

Getting there...

Home Stretch

Still Alive

Photos from Wadi Mujib and the Dead Sea 01

Eid Trip Part 03: Wadi Mujib

Photos of Kerak 03

Photos from Kerak 02

Photos from Kerak 01

Eid Trip Part 02: Kerak

Photos from Petra 04

Photos from Petra 03

Photos from Petra 02

Photos from Petra 01

Eid Trip Part One: Petra

Toodles

Eid

Problems

TGIF!

First Day.

Riding it out.

Morning.

The Hayy...Again!

Fresh Round of Goodbyes

Dubai

Last Day

Goodbyes begin early

Waiting to come home...

Biking...

Exam time again...

Cleansing...

Syria

Exam Time

Back to School

Aqaba...

Back "home"

Maqaamat Trip & Catch Up

Amman's Wildlife

Fancy-pants-ing Around Amman (well kind of)...

Update.

Not much to share...

Another Snow Day...

SNOW DAY!!! *yay*

Drought... and speaking to soon...

Salam All!

News Flash

New Year, Paki-fication, Markets, Fog and Parties.

Cigarettes, Sickness, School, and Style…

Ajlun

Testing, Testing (1,2,3)…

Al-beled

Gas Truck

Mt Nebo, the Baptismal Site, Jordan River, Jericho and the Occupied Territories

C-Town, A Football Game and Road Closures

My (New) Home.

"The Hay" <-- where I'm at!

Dubai International

Drifting

SNOW DAY!!! yay