Istanbul and Caleb

After about a week in Morocco, my group spent a week in Turkey in the beautiful city of Istanbul. This trip made me appreciate that I took a history of the West class last year. All of my readings of Byzantine history are bit more meaningful now since I have been to the historic city of Byzantium. It is also now cool to say that I have been to both ancient Roman Capitals—Rome and Constantinople.

Istanbul is an incredible city, and a very big one. The population is estimated to be around 20 million. The city is also intercontinental between Europe and Asia. There is a very European feel to the city because of the cobble stones, trains, and western style.

The harbour view is absolutely incredible. One of my favourite parts of being in Istanbul was riding the ferry to simply get from one part of the city to the other.

My time in Istanbul included visiting many historic Mosques. Some used to be churches, and others were built by former Ottoman Sultans. I also got to see a whirling Dervish ceremony which is Sufi Muslim and includes traditional music and people spinning. It was quite interesting.  

We also came to Istanbul right after an election so we had quite a few speakers talk about current events in Turkey as well as many of the political issues that Turkey has faced.

View from the hotel

Other highlights include visiting a Hammam—a Turkish bath. This is an experience that my Program Director “refuses to be denied”. It included a sauna, a few steam rooms, a bucket bath, a powerful scrubbing by a Turkish man, and a soapy message. It was a cultural experience to say the least.

I also got a chance to participate in Turkish music. A few of us were looking for a café to listen to some traditional Turkish folk music. We ended up walking past a café, that is intended for jamming, with two musicians play music. I grabbed a guitar off the wall and tried to keep up. Just as many things are different cross culturally—so is guitar. They played in different keys than I was used to and played with different rhythms, but it was very fun and I learned a lot.

Istanbul was all around an incredible experience. I spent a week there and I feel like that I have not even touched the city; there are many incredible historic sites that I did not go in, There is a lot of food that I did not have time or stomach capacity to try, and I also need more time to work on my guitar so I can keep up with the Turkish folk stars.

Morocco and Caleb

From November 6 to November 14, I was in the beautiful land of Morocco. It was my first trip to Africa and I do not think it will be my last.

The first destination was the city of Marrakech. It is a lovely city with fun markets, various spices, wonderful coffee, cheap food, palm trees, beautiful mosques and palaces, and many interesting people. The accommodations for my group was very close to a bakery and café. The bakery was filled with pastries and croissants. A croissant came to be about $0.10 American so it was a wonderful way to start the day. And the café served a drink called nus-nus (half-half) which is steamed milk and espresso for $1—also a great way to start the day.

Our time in Marrakech was filled with hearing speakers about the culture, having a Moroccan Arabic session, bartering at markets, and being able to enjoy music. We had one evening where we heard two musicians whose ethnic line came from slaves who escaped the African slave trade. That made the music incredible. There was an African feel to it, as well as an Arab sound. It was a mixture of many different factors which reflects the culture of Morocco. Morocco is in Northern Africa, just below Spain, was colonized by France, and on the outside of the Arab world. All of that plays into a very distinct Moroccan culture as well as music.

To say the least, I really enjoyed the music so I ended up buying an instrument. It was a way for me to really put my bartering skills to the test. I tried out a few stringed instruments in a music shop, and my asking price got me a small three stringed lamb skin instrument of some sort. I have no idea what is called or how it should be tuned, but it has been really fun to try and play it.  

Using the Moroccan instrument and the limited Moroccan Arabic we knew to make children's' song.

Another destination for our travels was the Eureka valley. It had incredible scenic views and was an opportunity to learn about the Amaghaze population in Morocco. The Amaghazes—also known as Berbers (translates to Barbarians)—is an ethnic minority in Morocco that faces many identity difficulties. Their language and culture has been difficult to maintain in an urbanizing and globalizing world, but it was great to see actions being taken to preserve it. Our day in the Eureka Valley included a beautiful hike, traditional cooking, mint tea, and more music and dancing.

The Eureka Valley

Former camp cook goes to work

Superstar dancers

After Marrakech and the Eureka valley we travelled to Fes. Fes was incredible because it has one of the oldest medinas in the world. This means that it as an old medieval part to the city, which also happened to be where our hostel was. The medina was like a maze and was very fun to navigate through. Our time in Fes was filled with various speakers, tours, and time to explore. A highlight in Fes was coming out of a café and having an 11 year old sales man try to convince us to come to his parents’ restaurant. This sales men ended up being our tour guide through Fes as he brought us to his cousins scarf shop, and then to another relatives leather store. Like I said before, the Medina was confusing, so having a tour guide was very helpful. The evening included lots of laughs, cups of tea, and the purchase of a few presents that may show up at Christmas time.

The gate to the medina

What the evening with the salesman/tour guide became

Our time in Fes almost took us to the end of our time in Morocco, however we had an evening and a morning to explore Casablanca. The Atlantic coast in Casablanca was beautiful and was also a place where many young men spent time playing soccer. I saw this and realized that I was a young man who likes soccer… so there was some potential for fun here. I walked on the beach wanting someone to invite me to play with them and before I knew it someone yelled Swesteiger (A name of a famous German Soccer player… I am blonde so I guess it makes sense) and passed a soccer ball to me. I ended up playing in a game which I was the only non-Moroccan. It was interesting because I really like to communicate in sports, but there happened to be a language barrier. That meant my communication was a mixture of French, Spanish, Arabic and English. I am not great at any of those languages, but it was really fun to try and communicate with people.

A quick stop in Rabbat on the way to Casablanca. This is where Tom Cruise was in the new Mission Impossible movie.

The next morning included a visit to the King Hassan II mosque. It is only a few years old and is the third biggest mosque in the world, and the biggest outside of Saudi Arabia.

This blog post ended up being longer than I expected, I guess that just proves that it was a wonderful trip.

A little update

Hello my friends,

I hope all is well in your lives. I have heard of this white substance called 'snow' falling on some of you. I am so sorry. But in all honesty, I am getting a little chilly myself. Jordan is getting cold! And by that I mean that it is has been as low as 15'C some days. Those of you experiencing frost right now may be wishing for me to stop complaining, but please let me explain myself. With spending a month in a very hot and humid climate in El Salvador, and then coming to a scorching hot desert (it was 40 a lot of the time.. lots of sweating), 15 feels a little cold. I guess it is all relative, but the fact that I come back to Canada in mid December is going to be a shock to my system.

All joking aside, Amman, Jordan, and the Middle East in general has been great. Throughout this semester I have always been amazed as I learn more about the culture and history here. Recent classes and guest lectures have covered topics such as tribalism, refugees, feminism, Arab Christianity, Islamic history, and many more topics. Every time I feel like that I start to learn more, I become very overwhelmed with all that I don"t know. These topics and situations are so complicated and then the media is given the task to try and simplify it. It has been very interesting reading western articles, and following elections talking about the Middle East and Islam.It is sad to see generalizations that can be incredibly offensive, but I can understand the difficulties in covering such a large and complicated topic.

I am about to learn a lot more about the Muslim world as I travel to Morocco and Turkey (3 continents in one trip). It will be a fun two week trip. But that means I do not have that much time left in Amman. After the two weeks of travel, I will have two left in Jordan... and then I am back to the land of Moose and Maple syrup.

I have many hours on planes and buses on the trip to come so I will have time to write own some good stories to share with you.

Until then, enjoy some fun photos

Last day of tutoring at the American Academy in Zarqa 

Pondering from a castle

Making Friends

It's been a while since my last post... I apologise for that. It is not because I have not experienced anything worth writing about-- it is quite the opposite actually. Since the last time I have posted, I have swam in the dead sea twice, done some fun hikes, travelled in Israel and Palestine, studied a lot (it is true Mom!), and have met a lot of cool people.

I want to talk about the people I have met. Mainly because in all of the cool places I have, it is the people that I am with or meet that make the experience so much better. As well as learning about language, politics, culture, and religion, it is from ordinary people that I learn the most.

Jordan is in an interesting spot because it boarders so many countries where people are fleeing, or fled, for safety, such as Syria, Iraq, and Palestine.

This means that Jordan has a high level of cultural diversity. Over half of the population's family line originally comes from Palestine. This is a result of the 1948 war.There are also people from all over due to the many conflicts currently in the Middle East. When people ask me where I am from I will say Canada, and then I will ask where they are from. Their response is often either "I am Jordanian-Jordanian" or "I am Philistine(Palestine)-Jordanian. Other responses will include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and many many more. It is amazing to see all of the diversity in Amman!

There is a cafe that I often go to called Strand. There are three waiters there that I get along with really well. I go to the cafe because of the strong internet connection so I can skype my friends and family. All of my waiter friends will also join my skype calls to wave at who ever I am talking to. It is quite the fun experience, and if you want to be a part of it, then lets set up a skype appointment. These waiters are very fun, when ever they see me walk by the cafe they will wave me down to come and say hi, we have even gotten to the level of friendship where we do that Arab cheek kissing thing. The three waiters are from Palestine, Sudan, and Burkina Faso. They give me a chance to practice my Arabic, and the waiter from Burkina Faso gives me a chance to practice my elementary French.

Down the road from this cafe is an electronics store. Outside of the store is a security guard. There are two guards that I often see who will rotate shifts. One is from Sudan and he often shows me pictures of King Abdullah II and likes to talk about how he used to serve him as a police officer. The other one is from Syria and knows English very well. We often make jokes about how we are both always on the move, and most recently poked fun about how the Sudanese guard sits down too much.

It is fun being in a place long enough where I can see familiar faces. It is also great being in a culture where people are so chatty and welcoming. It may be partly because I am a tourist on why they want to talk to me--but who cares-- I am making friends learning lots, and having a blast.

Here are a few photos from my past few weeks:

On the Mount of Olives looking at Jerusalem 

Floating on the Dead Sea like a champ

Jumping in the Dead Sea while being coated in mud.. like a Champ!

Wadi Mujib hike

Petra

It is not everyday that I get to explore one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I would like to make it more of frequent hobby though.

I would say Petra is the coolest place I have ever been. I recommend that all of you go and visit, and then invite me to come along because I have much more to explore to and learn about Petra.

However, in my two days of being there, reading some lonely planet, and talking to locals, I can share a little bit about the beautiful site.

The first thing that a few of us students did to get pumped for Petra before we went was watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The film was misleading because it gave me the false hope that I could find the Holy Grail. However, it did give me some awesome one liners to quote while I wore my new and cheap Indian Jones hat.

It was a fun two day experience. Petra is about four hours away from Amman, so that meant that we got a bus to travel in, as well as a hotel to party in. (That is completely true, there was an Arabic Dance Party).

                                                                                                                                                                      

We entered the site of Petra on Thursday afternoon, and got to see the treasury, which is probably the only part of Petra that most of you have seen on post cards, documentaries, oh and Indiana Jones.

Petra is much more than that. It is filled with many caves, ancient buildings and local Bedouins. I had many experiences and conversations with Bedouins over cups of very sweet tea, watching the sun set, and riding donkeys.

We stayed at one of the furthest points from the gate at Petra to watch the sunset. It was after closing hours, but it was okay since we were with locals. After the sunset it got dark quickly, so it made for a beautiful night walk through Petra.

There are special tickets for "Petra at Night". This ticket costs 15 JD (over 25 Canadian) to walk and see the treasury at night with candles lit in front of it. Since we were still trekking from the Monastery we were able to see the beautiful candle lit treasury for no extra charge. However, the security did not like us stopping for photos and constantly repeated that it was time to go.

We got back to the hotel, ate at a buffet, and then had the opportunity to dance after supper. I did participate a little this time, and I had fun but my Arab dancing ability has a lot of room for improvement.

The next morning was filled with more wandering. I hiked up to an ancient sacrifice site and wandered down through a much more secluded section of Petra, but still had many interesting buildings, caves, and cups of tea. The group I was with also happened to find a donkey leg in the middle of the sand.

These are just a few highlights from my two days in Petra. There are a few photos on the bottom  to show some of my incredible experience. However, no amount of blogging or photography can capture the beauty of Petra. I was in absolute awe with the beauty of the site, the history of Petra, and the hospitality that I received.

Service Project

A part of the schedule of the program I am in is to participate in service projects on Tuesdays. My service project is volunteering at a school in a city called Zarqua. It is about an hour, by public transit, from where I am staying in Amman. It has been fun figuring out how to use taxis and busses to get to the school. The combination of limited Arabic and still trying to figure out the layout of Amman guarantees for travel to always be an adventure.

I have now done two days at the school, and it has been a blast. The school is popular because it has many English speaking teachers and administrators. That means that many parents will send their Arabic speaking children to this school so they can learn English. It also means that English speaking parents will send their children to this school so they can understand what they are learning. Therefore, there is combination of Arabic and English classes. I love it since I am trying to learn Arabic, so the quick translations are helpful for me. However, I see it being quite difficult for teachers who can not speak Arabic, and therefore have little hope of being able to control a class.

My role has been interesting so far. My first day consisted of shadowing classes to just get a feel of what the school was like.  I had a bit more purpose on the second day. I spent the whole day in the library with students who needed more individual face time with their English. It was fun, because that usually just entailed helping students read story books. One period I was assigned with a student, who spoke almost no English, that needed help in Science. It was incredibly challenging. The concept of cells is difficult enough, and not being able to communicate in same language is quite the obstacle to add on.

It was an eye opening experience. I can definitely empathise with people struggling to learn a new language. Arabic has been tough so far, and I can see English being a struggle with many students. It is nice being on both sides—the student and the teacher—because it helps me know how to learn and teach more effectively. 

Church

My parents would be proud that I found a church to go to on Sunday morning, my siblings would be more proud that I went to a good lunch spot after.

Two other students and I went to an Episcopal Church on Sunday morning. The service was in Arabic. However, since the Anglican Church is liturgical and English bulletins were provided, I could slightly follow along. I had no clue what the sermon was about though, but that is okay. I have only been in Jordan for two weeks, so there is time for my Arabic to improve.

After the service, there was time for coffee and snacks (My Church in Hinton will be very impressed by that). The congregation was quite welcoming and very kind to three obvious foreigners. That is also just a reflection of Arab culture. Locals have been wonderful hosts to me so far. Proof of that has come from needing to go into a neighbours yard to retrieve a volleyball and then being asked to come over for coffee some time. A much larger example would be being able to attend a Church in predominantly Muslim area.

Christians make up a very small population of Jordan, but they are generally treated quite respectfully. That was made evident when I was talking to a Christian about her experience growing up in Jordan. She said that she has never felt religiously discriminated in Jordan. Many of her friends are Muslim. She would invite her friends to come over for festivals and holidays such as Christmas. Her friends would repay the favour by inviting her over for Islamic celebrations.

And this is just one discussion I have had. Therefore, I am not going to draw conclusions about Christians living in Jordan after talking to one person. However, I can say that I have felt incredibly comfortable so far talking about faith with locals. That makes me excited to continue this semester learning about how faith shapes people’s lives.