One final note for the night

Over the last few days a few of us been hearing noises that sound suspiciously like gunshots. We haven't really talked about it much to each other because we didn't want to seem paranoid or like we were overreacting. Finally my roommate asked our Academic Director Emily about it and she explained that we're visiting Jordan during wedding season. Apparently the tradition in Jordan is to celebrate a new marriage by firing semi automatic weapons into the air. Luckily, Emily assured us, there have only been a few accidents. People do the same thing in the US on the forth of July and other holidays, so nothing to worry about.

It's ironic that even though so many people picture Jordan as a pretty dangerous place and tried to convince me that I shouldn't go, I feel much much safer here than I did when I was in Lima or Chiclayo in Peru. That might be because when I was in Peru we were only allowed to go out in groups of 3 or more and only for a few hours. Here we're encouraged to use the minibusses to get around, practice our Arabic by fighting with taxi drivers, and even get ourselves lost to interact more with people and really learn the layout of the city. I've only visited West Amman and T'la Al'Ali so far. West Amman is pretty touristy while T'la al Ali is a fairly quiet residential district (except when there are weddings like there are right now. Then the music lasts late into the night and can probably be heard for miles). I'm loving my time in Jordan and look forward to experiencing more of Jordanian tradition and culture, though I doubt I'll get a chance to fire a congratulatory shot of my own! Ma'salaama!

PS I'm sitting in my living room right now, realizing how much work I have to do this summer to become really proficient in Arabic. I'm practicing the words for left and right with my roommates, who both speak better Arabic than I do, so that I can give better directions to taxi drivers. I've just learned that the word for left changes depending on whether or not one is facing Mecca. The word for right can also mean North, depending on the location of Mecca. As a non-Muslim I'm not used to immediately determining where I am in relation to Mecca, let alone while giving directions in Arabic in a city I just arrived in. It's a challenge, but a fun one.