I am currently sitting at the terminal of the Queen Alia airport, waiting to board the first flight that will take me to Dubai and another that will take me to Washington Dulles. In many ways, I am excited for this trip and beyond excited to be heading back to America and the comfort of my own home.
Speaking of home, last night Mama and Leen surprised me while I was packing with beautiful parting gifts. Leen bought me a beautiful beaded pearl-eque necklace and Mama brought me a cuffed bracelet. I was touched by these gifts, and will cherish them as momentos of the good memories I made with my host family.
I had a cheerful but also poignant exchange with my host family last night after I had finished stuffing my plethora of souvenirs and clothes into my suitcases. I timidly went into the living room, where the family was watching television, and told them that I had a wonderful time in Jordan, that they were great as a host family, and that although I wish my Arabic had been better I enjoyed my experience. They in turn told me that they were glad to hear this and that they had always hoped to make the house a home for me. Touched by the exchanged, I spent the rest of the night contemplating my host family experience.
There were barriers to communication between me and the family because I did not know Arabic and had not come to Jordan to study the language (though I did pick up quite a bit during my stay!). At times, my schedule prevented me from interacting fully with the family - they were often busy traveling or working. Dalia, who I shared a room with, often did not come home until midnight due to her shop keeping part-time job.
Regardless, being with a host family was a greatly immersive experience. It gave me perspective about the culture of the city; I realized that many Arab and Muslim families were not much different from Western families. This is definitely not true of all families, but Mama often walked around the house scantily clad, and my host sisters would stay out very late hanging out with friends.
It was also a great place to come back to after a frustrating day dealing with Shebabs and taxi drivers and realize that this was not the dominant Jordanian culture. My host brother and Baba were so respectful of women and considerate that it was easy to forget the annoyance of other men.
When I look back on my experiences, I remember the day to day of going to work, eating Middle Eastern cuisine, working out, blogging, reading, and talking. However, the excursions and trips to different areas of the country were what made the experience. I cannot believe that I can tell people that I had the wonderful experience of swimming in the dead sea, or of exploring Petra, or of riding a camel, or of exploring castles, or of staying with a Bedouin tribe. And yet even these experiences were part of the day to day of our stay, which makes it even more incredible and dream-like.
A girl from our program compiled a video montage of our stay - listening to the music and watching all of the glorious and best times of the experience literally brought me to tears, which is a huge feat because I almost never cry when I leave places. I did not cry when our family moved, nor when I left my grandparents home in China, nor even when I graduated high school. Yet I cried thinking back on Jordan.
In time I may miss my daily taxi rides, the Mansaf, the Arabic, and even our cultural immersion classes at SIT. Even now, sitting at the terminal of the airplane, it does not seem real that I am leaving the country. Yet I know that in a few minutes time, I will be sailing in the sky, saying goodbye to the vast, dry expanse of dessert and goodbye to Amman. Rather than being greeted by the gold of the sands of Amman, I will see the green of trees and the blue of water.
No comments:
Post a Comment