Welcome to Jordan!

I am back in the Middle East! It was a relief landing. I am glad to be back. I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, so apologies for how boring and wordy this is.

Even from above, at night, Jordan looked more organized and developed than Egypt as I landed. Lights were in orderly swirls - it looked like roads were lit! - and there were even different kinds of streetlights for different functions. Ah, money. The airport didn't look like it was built in the middle of the Cold War, either.

Now that I'm here, I am shocked at how clean it is. It's cleaner than, say, a lot of New Haven. Even the Jordanians I asked are amazed at how clean their country is - according to who I've talked to, none of the other Arab countries are this clean.

Also, the people are much more polite. There is barely a hint of the staring and pointing and shouting that constantly accompanied me in Egypt. There's some catcalling, but only late at night when all the women are back at home and men roam the streets unchecked. Even the soldiers and police are nicely civil. They'll respond if you greet them, but otherwise they're silent. Apparently the police here are the opposite of corrupt (unlike the Egyptian police), and keep the country very safe. Alhamdulilah.

I miss Egypt's energy, as Jordan feels much sleepier already, but Amman is beautiful. It's made of massive, rolling hills, so you see these beautiful vistas of cream-covered houses and apartment buildings. All the houses that I've seen are made of white Jordanian stone - some of them are gorgeous and well-designed. It's the opposite of Egypt, where there was the occasion nice 19th century building, but all of it was so decrepit it was hard to tell.

I am Annoying Egypt Girl in my group. I'll spare you the messy details, but basically everything that happens I say 'Well in Egypt, it's like...' and describe something that makes Egypt more interesting that Amman. And then I complain about how hard Egyptian Arabic is. I'm sick of listening to myself already. We're going to Egypt for a week right after my birthday, though, so that'll be great!! I cannot wait to get back to Cairo (though a week is about the longest I think I could spend there without beginning to go crazy).

My group is almost all Americans. They're an interesting bunch, but I am probably the most advanced Arabic speaker. It is a shock, since I'm used to being at the bottom of whatever class I'm in. I feel like I spent far too much time in Egypt with American study-abroad students, and I am not going to let that happen again. Our homestays begin tomorrow, so that should help!

On the bright side, the program seems like it is very interested in exposing us to Jordanians. I spent lunch practicing my feeble Arabic with some people and discussing different social standards, including complaining about curfews and American dating.

Oh my. Today the high school final exams scores were released by the Jordanian government. People with scores over 65/100 get to go to college, and some people do very well. Families, even extended families, are deeply invested in how the kids do, so when someone does well there is huge celebration. About 4 cars have passed in front of the very wealthy, deserted street the school is on, honking their horns and shouting. Someone just went by with a loudspeaker. All in all, it's good fun. I wonder where the people who didn't do well are, though...