Today begins the last five days that our group has in this county, and it was also the last day that I had at work.
Although I was originally tasked with writing grants and had my own project with crafting an environmental policy framework, those projects were finished very quickly (too quickly for my taste). As of the last few days, my job involved completing odd jobs such filling out applications to invite new interns as well as reorganizing the library system in the office. Though I was ready to be done with the odd jobs, I was not ready to say goodbye to the people from my work.
I work in a small office, and got quite close to both of my bosses (see my earlier post about James and Habiba). Tareq, the CEO of the Gardens also frequently comes to chat with me. Though he is Jordanian, he speaks perfect English and is well-versed in Chinese. He grew up in Taiwan, where he went to international school - I have learned that almost all of the wealthy families send their children to international school out of the country. His sister continues to live in Shanghai and is perfectly fluent in Chinese, and he tells me that he visits often. I have often joked with him that he's probably been to more places in the US and China than I have, which is rather shameful.
I was introduced to the Princess herself when she came in to work, which is quite rare. I think that she was surprised to meet me and may not have even know that I had been working in the office for weeks. She was reserved and seemed startled, which would explain why she did not say much when Tareq introduced us. However, she was nevertheless friendly.
Nevertheless, it was an incredibly night. All of these events are bringing our trip full circle. Tomorrow we head for one more excursion - this time to Jerash. This was a famous ancient religious area and is now a tourist area that hosts a famous summer dance and music festival. After Jerash we will go to Ajloun, an outdoorsy region that is famous for its wildlife reserve and acts a tourist hiking region. This sounds like so much fun and I can't wait until we get to see these places tomorrow!
Although I was originally tasked with writing grants and had my own project with crafting an environmental policy framework, those projects were finished very quickly (too quickly for my taste). As of the last few days, my job involved completing odd jobs such filling out applications to invite new interns as well as reorganizing the library system in the office. Though I was ready to be done with the odd jobs, I was not ready to say goodbye to the people from my work.
I work in a small office, and got quite close to both of my bosses (see my earlier post about James and Habiba). Tareq, the CEO of the Gardens also frequently comes to chat with me. Though he is Jordanian, he speaks perfect English and is well-versed in Chinese. He grew up in Taiwan, where he went to international school - I have learned that almost all of the wealthy families send their children to international school out of the country. His sister continues to live in Shanghai and is perfectly fluent in Chinese, and he tells me that he visits often. I have often joked with him that he's probably been to more places in the US and China than I have, which is rather shameful.
I was introduced to the Princess herself when she came in to work, which is quite rare. I think that she was surprised to meet me and may not have even know that I had been working in the office for weeks. She was reserved and seemed startled, which would explain why she did not say much when Tareq introduced us. However, she was nevertheless friendly.
Anyways, my goodbye today was rather awkward because I had to interrupt a meeting to say goodbye to Tareq and Habiba. However, it was nevertheless very heartfelt and Habiba hugged me very tightly, making me promise that I would keep in touch. Both she and Tareq were very adamant that I had done a great job at work and should contact them in the future if I needed any references. What sweethearts.
On a brighter note, I had the most lovely dinner yesterday night. Rosie, a fellow DukeEngager who works at the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), invited us over to her boss's luxury apartment in Abdoun. I had anticipated a standard Jordanian household with a feast of rice, chicken, and pita.
But everything about the dinner was ten times better than I had ever hoped. We were greeted by quietly clear classic music, including some violin concertos that I had played from Suzuki. His apartment was beautifully decorated with abstract oil paintings (which were done by his brother, a well-known artist in Jordan, how wonderful!), his living room was tastefully arranged to have plenty of open space, and there were piles of travel books stacked across the coffee tables. Simply perfection.
He and his wife were British Jordanians, and it was intriguing to listen to their experiences traveling between cultures. Before working in Jordan, he had worked at the ITN and BBC and reported various conflicts throughout the middle east. They were both incredibly well traveled, having visited and even lived in many countries in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
And the food was superb. Rosie made the (great) mistake was telling her boss that we were all vegetarian. They put together a delicious vegetable-based cuisine that continued quinoa, salad, simmered eggplants, stuffed crispy cheese rolls, and the most delicious vegetarian lasagna ever. I had to stop myself from going back over and over again. Then his wife brought out dessert - American style apple crumble! It was the best meal I could possibly hope for, with wonderful company.
During dinner, we talked with him and his wife about our experiences in Jordan, especially with regards to feeling unsafe when walking down the streets and harassment by youth males (shebabs). Although that part of the trip has been less than ideal, I have begun to realize that it is particularly directed towards tourists and is not incredibly common for upper-class women. How interesting.
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