Salaam from Jordan!
Hey @IL!
I arrived safely in Amman, Jordan at 4:30am yesterday morning. It has been an intense last 48 hours, but it's been great!
Many many thanks to Ashraf and Wesam who came to the airport at 4:30am to pick me up. My worst fear was not having someone there, but all went well! I was so glad just to be off the airplane, after a 7 hour layover in JFK and then another 11 hours in London. It was so wonderful to see the AIESECers and their big sign that said "Welcome Laura to AIESEC Jordan"!
The very first thing I noticed in Jordan is that EVERYONE smokes. While I was waiting at the baggage claim, I could have sworn that I smelled cigarette smoke. I looked around, and sure enough there was a guy smoking right there. It has reminded me a lot of Turkey, where people smoked even in the malls!
It was about a 30 minute drive from the airport to my apartment, and we chatted along the way about the city mostly, different neighborhoods and such. Then we got to my apartment, it's really very nice. It is very big, with three bedrooms. Right now I only have one roommate, another trainee from Switzerland named Ronald. He's very cool and it's nice living with someone who kind of knows the way around the city. He got there in April, but unfortunately on the way to Aqaba (a resort city on the Red Sea in the south) he got in a bad car crash and has been having problems remembering things and a concussion.
After they AIESECers dropped me off, I unpacked my stuff, took a shower, and slept for a couple hours. Then I got up and Wesam took me to get a cell phone and some food. I am living in West Amman, which is a very nice area. Unfortunately, it is also a newer area, so it's not quite as built up as the rest of the city. That means that you have to walk a little ways to get to the shops. My apartment building is at the top of a very big hill, and at the bottom of the hill is the entrance to Jordan University (where LC Amman is) and a bunch of shops/restaurants/cafes. So it's not that far, but you have to walk up and down this monstrous hill to get to anything. Oh well, it's good exercise :)
After getting my phone I just hung around for awhile, and the Walaa (anyone who went to MENA in Morocco will remember her) took Ronald and I to the nearby department store for some stuff. We are the first ones to live in this apartment, so we had to buy a lot of practical things, like stuff for the kitchen, laundry detergent, etc. Then we went to the grocery section (the department store had clothes, home stuff AND food!) and got the essentials and food. Then we went home and cleaned, since the landlord didn't do a lot of things that he promised, such as clean the place before we moved in. Walaa even helped us scrub the cabinets, which was so nice of her. I can't believe that on her free afternoon she wanted to be on her hands and knees with us helping clean and driving us around everywhere! It was so nice.
After that my roommate and I went to the other trainee's apartment. Currently there are only four trainees here, me, Ronald, Nadim from Canada (its nice to have one person that has the same accent as me!) and Barbara, from Germany. There is a girl from Kenya, but she is in Irbid, a city north of Amman. On the MC, there is Momani from Jordan (also at MENA in Morocco and my TN manager), Saba who is from Pakistan (whom I can speak Hindi/Urdu with :) ) and Oksana, from Ukraine. They all are really great.
Anyways, Nadim adopted a street kitten and it now lives with him and Barbara. We went over there last night to see them (and the kitten, of course). Their apartment is much different than mine. They are living in the older part of the city, so there is a lot more around in the neighborhood, but their running water and electricity is unreliable. However, I actually think I would rather live there. They really live in the heart of everything, and they have an amazing rooftop. Last night me, the other interns, Saba and Oksana (and the kitten) sat up on the rooftop for a good four hours or so just chatting. The rooftop has a beautiful view of the whole city, and it was especially gorgeous as the sun set with the call to prayer for maghrib.
I was EXHAUSTED after barely sleeping the last 48 hours, so I went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake up until 11am today. Right now we have a friend of Barbara and Ronald's living in the third bedroom of the apartment for a couple days. Wesam from the LC came over and brought us felafel sandwiches, which were delicious. After that I came to this coffee shop with wireless, which is where I will probably be going a lot since my apartment doesn't have internet.
One thing that has been difficult so far is the language barrier. Only the main street signs are in English, so I am trying to learn to at least read Arabic. It seems that very few people speak English, as far as in shops and taxi drivers go. I forgot how beneficial it was to know Hindi while I was in India. I feel like a child all over again, having to learn everything from scratch.
Overall its been a pretty good couple of days. The LC is really great. It's nice to be in a place that doesn't yet bring it too many interns, because they is especially invested in the ones that are here.
I am posting some pics on my Picasa site, its
I arrived safely in Amman, Jordan at 4:30am yesterday morning. It has been an intense last 48 hours, but it's been great!
Many many thanks to Ashraf and Wesam who came to the airport at 4:30am to pick me up. My worst fear was not having someone there, but all went well! I was so glad just to be off the airplane, after a 7 hour layover in JFK and then another 11 hours in London. It was so wonderful to see the AIESECers and their big sign that said "Welcome Laura to AIESEC Jordan"!
The very first thing I noticed in Jordan is that EVERYONE smokes. While I was waiting at the baggage claim, I could have sworn that I smelled cigarette smoke. I looked around, and sure enough there was a guy smoking right there. It has reminded me a lot of Turkey, where people smoked even in the malls!
It was about a 30 minute drive from the airport to my apartment, and we chatted along the way about the city mostly, different neighborhoods and such. Then we got to my apartment, it's really very nice. It is very big, with three bedrooms. Right now I only have one roommate, another trainee from Switzerland named Ronald. He's very cool and it's nice living with someone who kind of knows the way around the city. He got there in April, but unfortunately on the way to Aqaba (a resort city on the Red Sea in the south) he got in a bad car crash and has been having problems remembering things and a concussion.
After they AIESECers dropped me off, I unpacked my stuff, took a shower, and slept for a couple hours. Then I got up and Wesam took me to get a cell phone and some food. I am living in West Amman, which is a very nice area. Unfortunately, it is also a newer area, so it's not quite as built up as the rest of the city. That means that you have to walk a little ways to get to the shops. My apartment building is at the top of a very big hill, and at the bottom of the hill is the entrance to Jordan University (where LC Amman is) and a bunch of shops/restaurants/cafes. So it's not that far, but you have to walk up and down this monstrous hill to get to anything. Oh well, it's good exercise :)
After getting my phone I just hung around for awhile, and the Walaa (anyone who went to MENA in Morocco will remember her) took Ronald and I to the nearby department store for some stuff. We are the first ones to live in this apartment, so we had to buy a lot of practical things, like stuff for the kitchen, laundry detergent, etc. Then we went to the grocery section (the department store had clothes, home stuff AND food!) and got the essentials and food. Then we went home and cleaned, since the landlord didn't do a lot of things that he promised, such as clean the place before we moved in. Walaa even helped us scrub the cabinets, which was so nice of her. I can't believe that on her free afternoon she wanted to be on her hands and knees with us helping clean and driving us around everywhere! It was so nice.
After that my roommate and I went to the other trainee's apartment. Currently there are only four trainees here, me, Ronald, Nadim from Canada (its nice to have one person that has the same accent as me!) and Barbara, from Germany. There is a girl from Kenya, but she is in Irbid, a city north of Amman. On the MC, there is Momani from Jordan (also at MENA in Morocco and my TN manager), Saba who is from Pakistan (whom I can speak Hindi/Urdu with :) ) and Oksana, from Ukraine. They all are really great.
Anyways, Nadim adopted a street kitten and it now lives with him and Barbara. We went over there last night to see them (and the kitten, of course). Their apartment is much different than mine. They are living in the older part of the city, so there is a lot more around in the neighborhood, but their running water and electricity is unreliable. However, I actually think I would rather live there. They really live in the heart of everything, and they have an amazing rooftop. Last night me, the other interns, Saba and Oksana (and the kitten) sat up on the rooftop for a good four hours or so just chatting. The rooftop has a beautiful view of the whole city, and it was especially gorgeous as the sun set with the call to prayer for maghrib.
I was EXHAUSTED after barely sleeping the last 48 hours, so I went to bed at 10pm and didn't wake up until 11am today. Right now we have a friend of Barbara and Ronald's living in the third bedroom of the apartment for a couple days. Wesam from the LC came over and brought us felafel sandwiches, which were delicious. After that I came to this coffee shop with wireless, which is where I will probably be going a lot since my apartment doesn't have internet.
One thing that has been difficult so far is the language barrier. Only the main street signs are in English, so I am trying to learn to at least read Arabic. It seems that very few people speak English, as far as in shops and taxi drivers go. I forgot how beneficial it was to know Hindi while I was in India. I feel like a child all over again, having to learn everything from scratch.
Overall its been a pretty good couple of days. The LC is really great. It's nice to be in a place that doesn't yet bring it too many interns, because they is especially invested in the ones that are here.
I am posting some pics on my Picasa site, its
posted by Laura at
5:30 AM
3 Comments:
Laura!!
Ha, I am so into your traineeship. I love hearing your comments, probably because you are the first one to leave, right? I have to check in with Cynthia too.
Anyways...Everything sounds amazing and the pictures look awesome. It seems like you are in a beautiful setting. The language barrier sounds tough, but you are going to learn so much!! I can't wait to hear more!!
Love,
Nisha
Salam from Japan,
Sounds like you'll have alot of fun. Keep us updated! I dont leave for another month.. grrr
you rock!
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