Week 1: May 29 - June 4 2018

Week 1: May 29-June 4

Tuesday, May 29:

Having only arrived to the volunteer house last night/ this morning at 2am, waking up at 6:30am was a little difficult. I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous to meet everyone at the office because I had not talked substantially with anyone before arriving. But upon meeting one of my roommates the night I arrived meeting the other in the morning, I was confident that I had great roommates! I went to the Caritas Volunteer Center to meet my boss and everyone else, then my boss informed me that I would be working at the Restaurant of Mercy today preparing iftar (إفطار), the meal at sunset that Muslims eat when fasting during the month of Ramadan.

I arrived at the restaurant not knowing anyone and noticing that few people spoke English, but thanks to the incredible Fatima, I felt included because she took me under her wing. Her family is originally from Iraq, but she has lived in different countries seeking refuge. She is here in Jordan for now, while her parents are still in Baghdad and her siblings in other countries. She was kind to me by translating jokes that were going around the kitchen, rephrasing questions if I did not understand, and literally forcing me to eat. A common part of the culture here and in many Arab societies is making sure that no one is ever hungry, so when they want you to eat or eat more, they say kouli, kouli (كولي، كولي)! At the kitchen, we washed dishes, prepared food, and spent substantial time dancing and singing to music from Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and more because all of the volunteers in the kitchen were refugees from other countries or from Jordan.

We then drove to a beautiful church far from Amman where we were to serve Iftar. We set up tables and place settings for hundreds of people, then volunteers are pulled to entertain the children coming from orphanages around Jordan before the meal. 

Throughout the day I had felt a little frustrated because I realized how few people spoke Fusha/ Modern Standard Arabic, because everyone speaks the Jordanian dialect which is different. Therefore communication was hard, but through smiles, hugs, and my MSA phrases that people understood like: “Kayfa usayduki (كيف اساعدك؟), meaning “how can I help,” I managed. 

In the evening we served food to the refugees, orphans, and none other than the Princess Alia Al Tabba. What a first day!

Wednesday, May 30:

The second day, my office let me do a project later in the day to allow me to catch up on sleep. Today I worked at the Latin School for Syrian refugee children, run by Caritas. They simply told me to go to the school and meet the Education director, but again my Fusha is not understood by many people. But with everyone’s help, I figured it out and I met a man named Thaer who is in charge of the education sector of Caritas. That day I taught 1^st and 3^rd grade in introductions in English, and I was blown away by their enthusiasm to learn and their bravery in saying new words in front of the class.

When I arrived home from the school, Martin, my roommate from France who has been in Jordan since September, showed me a cool restaurant in Jabal al-Weibdeh where an Italian chef trained Iraqi refugees in cooking Italian food. The food was amazing, and it was right next to a church which was nice for the ambience because the church choir was practicing nearby. I also noticed the large amount of people smoking shisha/ hookah at the restaurant. Martin told me that shisha is a big part of the culture here, like ordering a beer with dinner.

After a delicious dinner, we walked around until we arrived at downtown called Al Balad. We walked by many different vendors, peered at the beautiful lights strung around for Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, and walked to a plaza next to a Roman amphitheater. It was a beautiful introduction to the city!

Thursday, May 31:

Today I started my first desk job in the humanitarian assistance sector and I loved my project comparing the use of the Common Cash Facility used by the UNHCR and Caritas’ distribution methods. I worked on the project the whole day, then stopped at a convenient and cheap fruit stand with Martin on the way home.

It was a long day, so when we got home it was definitely time for a nap! There is not a ton to do during the day during Ramadan because people are sleeping or staying in their houses until Iftar where they then go out and the city is alive. 

However, with the economy as it is, it is expensive to eat out, thus it is always cheaper to cook in. Areen and Martin are much better chefs than me and I am grateful.

Friday, June 1:

Today I got to sleep in because there isn’t work on Fridays, except there is still school in some places. Today I taught 1st and 3rd grade using some of my favorite games like follow the leader and team spelling games. After work I came home and relaxed, then decided to explore the area we live in. 

I live right next to Parliament, a huge mall, and a beautiful mosque. I explored the mall; I swear I’ve never seen a mall that large and I was shocked how expensive everything was. Afterward I went to the mosque and took a tour. The inside of the mosque was spectacular with beautiful stained glass and stunning lanterns hanging above. I went to the part of the mosque for women and it was substantially smaller. After my adventure, I went back to the house and attempted making dinner. I went grocery shopping and found frozen chicken, pasta, and an Italian tomato sauce. I tried my usual methods of cooking chicken in our kitchen but the equipment was very different, so I may have over cooked a few things; however it is a learning experience and now I know what to do. 

Saturday, June 2:

Today I worked in the new office for the humanitarian sector and I loved getting to know everyone. I am so grateful for such a comical and gracious staff to work with. After work I walked home to in order to explore a bit more and then at night, I took myself out to dinner in an area called Paris Circle. The restaurant I went to serves a buffet after 8pm so I tried as much as I could eat and it was delightful. My favorite thing was a drink called tamarind al hendi which is similar to tamarind juice in America. It was a nice and relaxing day. 

Sunday, June 3:

I enjoyed a late start today but made up for it for visiting two schools in Amman where I was interested in studying Arabic. I visited Ahlan World first and met a man named Aziz who by some small chance asked me where I had studied Arabic in Morocco, and I told him Qalam wa Lawh and he knew my dear friend Yousef who went on trips with us when in Morocco. The environment seemed more relaxed by in more of a familial way. After this I went to the Berlitz institute which was in an office building and I got the impression that it was very professional and I took placement tests and spoke to them about my goals, but it was too expensive for me and I believe that I do better in a more supportive and less competitive environment. I was proud however that after taking the Fusha (standard Arabic) placement test, she said I was above a level 6/10 which came as a pleasant surprise for me. 

After visiting the schools, I went home and Martin invited me to a BBQ with some guys that lived in our building and their friends. It turned into one of the most memorable nights so far. I got to know all of the guys and they were so funny and kind, and it was even more funny to watch  how they interacted with each other. We spent most of the night celebrating our friend Shady who was to leave for the Philippines soon. Towards the end of the night, one guy dared me to toss a glass of water at Shady. Although he thought that I would not, I did it, and sub-sequentially Shady has many different drinks and liquids, including soap, thrown at him. It turned into a great time!

Monday, June 4:

Today I went to a city out of Amman to do distribution. Claudia, other volunteers and I went to a center to distribute ATM Cards to registered refugees and I really enjoyed the experience with Claudia. I respect their work and I was grateful to be a part of the team. We met a lot of people from other Caritas centers and I had a chance to briefly talk to a few refugees. 

After a long day at work, I went to the Latin school to teach grades 2nd and 3rd grades and I was grateful to have the chance to talk to the English teacher to better understand where the kids are at. As always, I loved my bus ride home with the kids because we have long conversations and they laugh politely at my attempts to speak the dialect.