The Trip

Well, after staying up until around three a.m. on the 16^th, in order to try to get my things organized enough that Greg would not trip over them for two months (did it help at all?), it was up at seven for the trip to Jordan. Although it was sad to say goodbye to Fred and Maddie and then Greg, it was rather exciting to be off! RDU was relatively painless, but JFK was a nightmare. Even with two hours in line to check into Delta, however, including being bypassed by everyone behind me who was late for a trip to Trinidad, the nightmare was nothing compared to the move. This was easy! I’m probably going to have to postpone my return flight to RDU on the 16^th of August, though. I doubt I will get through JFK in time to catch that return flight. At least I will not be cranky and sweaty when I return home!

Flying to Turkey was a little annoying, since they had to stop the coach movie in order to fix the business class system that was down; but I am not sure that missing part of Fool’s Gold was all that much of a tragedy. I skipped The Bucket List in favor of sleep. I did awaken in time for the fantastic view of Istanbul, though. Clear skies allowed a comprehensive view of the city with all the intersecting waterways and the mosques dotting the landscape. I was a bit of a nerd, though, thinking back to this spring’s intro class, where we discussed the rises and falls of Constantinople/Istanbul, trying to picture it all without cars, highways, and motor boats.

The airport in Istanbul was a little bit of pain. I had to purchase a visa, even though I was only there for a five-six hour layover. And I was worried at first that I would not be able to drink any Turkish coffee in Turkey, because the airport was dotted with Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s establishments; however, I finally found a café in which to get a cup of the thick elixir. It’s funny, because I don’t normally like black coffee, but I do love Turkish coffee. (I can’t wait to try some Arabic coffee in Jordan, apparently flavored with cardamom.)

My nerd moment in Istanbul was pondering the sign in the airport restroom that asked women to refrain from using the sinks for religious ablutions and instead to do this in the masjid (or prayer room) facilities. As most of you may know, Turkey is rather secular in terms of public Islamic practices, hence the prohibition of restroom ablutions that are important to certain Islamic groups; however, the airport’s sensibility in creating an alternative space is largely absent in the United States. This reminded me of a wonderful poem by Mohja Kahf, whose writings were the subject of my master’s thesis. In “My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink in the Bathroom at Sears (pp. 26-28 in Kahf’s E-mails from Scheherazad ),” Kahf writes of a woman who attempts to prepare for prayer while shopping at a Midwestern Sears department store: “…I can see / a clash of civilizations brewing in the Sears bathroom /…/ My grandmother knows one culture—the right one, / as do these matrons of the Middle West (26-27).” I do not necessarily advocate for every U.S. washroom to be retrofitted in order to be in alignment with these Islamic practice, because this would require attention to every single other religion, which would be impossible to identify let alone comply with. At the same time, being immersed in this different culture increases my awareness (and I hope yours!) of how Americans should be more attentive to other cultures. I’m trying my best to be respectful in the opposite manner as a guest in Jordan. (OK, Cara, I sound like the children’s books that Irina McGovern dislikes so much!)

Royal Jordanian was the airline that I took to Amman, and it comes in a close second to SAS. (RJ did not have poetry on their salt and pepper wrappers as SAS does. For some reason, that is incredibly endearing.) We received hot towels and a decent meal for a short two hour flight. (And, Daddy, I saved the placemat for you!) Queen Alia Airport in Amman was beautiful, too! I will have to take pictures at the end of the trip, since my camera was in the overhead baggage during the taxi into the gate, but I did manage to snap one of the arrival gate. The entire outside resembles a desert castle, with teardrop windows that are much more interesting than the sterile rectangles I am used to in the States.

Unfortunately, I misinterpreted the suggestions of last year’s Jordan group a little, and I had no Jordanian dinars (one dinar is the equivalent of about 1.4 dollars currently) when I disembarked. As in Turkey, I needed a visa before going through passport control. Unlike Turkey, they would not take credit. I only had a few American dollars to exchange (yes, stupid move…), so the visa official had to walk me through the Duty Free shop (which is past passport control) in order to find the ATM. He was good-natured, though, and I think he was just entertained by the dumb American! Fortunately, once that was over, my bags had arrived and my professor was there to meet me. (As of Thursday night, one in our group still had not received his luggage.) We waited a little while for the rest of the Wednesday group, three more students. (There are a total of 13 of us from Miami and one from Ohio U, although we have not met him/her yet.) We then took a harrowing taxi ride to our apartment building—my professor Saleh’s descriptions of Jordanian driving were right on. I am glad I don’t have to drive here, but, apparently, accidents are rare here. It’s harrowing, true, but those who brave the streets are very talented drivers. As-Shareef Apartments are very near the University of Jordan, where our classes will be held, and it’s great to all be in the same building. I’ve included pics of the apartment on the side. It’s proven to be cool enough with fans and AC during the day, and the evenings are cool. I wish the shower water was not so cool, but it’s somewhat refreshing. The warmest water is in the middle of the day, since the water is solar-heated; however, the end of the day is when the shower is needed the most. Even the cool shower, though, is not nearly as cold as that Oxford water when I first moved to Ohio in ’06 and the apartment folks neglected to tell me that I needed to turn the gas on until it was too late to catch the technicians before the weekend. [Found out on Saturday that it’s warmest in the middle of the day. I have started taking my main showers then, and it’s SO much better!]