First Trip to the Dead Sea

Moroccan Couscous and Chicken Balls

Last night, we decided to host four people over for a "dinner party." At David's urging, I decided we should try to make Moroccan-style couscous and koftit ferakh (or...chicken balls!). Ali and I went shopping in the souk for vegetables and we went to the squeaky-voiced, ultra Christian butcher for chicken. Ali converted lbs and kilos wrong and we ended up with four kilos of ground chicken meat. Way more than we needed. We've decided to make chicken burgers for lunch/dinner for a few days to get rid of the meat.

My mother gave me a Middle Eastern cook book that was given to her by my grandmother. This is where we got the recipe for the couscous and chicken balls. I wish I had remembered to take a picture of the beautiful buffet. It was splendid, I dare say.

Syria: Denied

So this morning Ali and I made the trek to the Syrian border in hopes of experiencing the many wonders of Damascus and the Old City. We were so very excited and every time we successfully proceeded through another checkpoint at the border, our little hearts filled with an overwhelming optimism. I had heard stories from other Americans who had traveled to Syria that it was tough, they held Americans at the checkpoints for 6 hours just to spite you. However, I was determined to get through it efficiently and politely.

We reach the last checkpoint, the Syrian immigration office. We confidently fill out our immigration forms and stride up to the desk labeled "foreigners". The immigration officer took our U.S. passports and immediately informed us that we need to get a visa from the U.S. embassy in order to enter Syria. You've. Got. To. Be. Kidding. When we're going back through the border into Jordan, the Jordanian immigrations officers told us that this policy was new and was being implemented as of yesterday.

So, we head back to Amman. Well, actually we head back to the city of Irbid in a taxi with a mother, her two wild toddlers and one collicky, fresh-out-the-womb infant that she liked to carelessly shove over to her three year old daughter when she was busy.

Then we headed to Amman from there.

Waaaater...please!

So I arrived in Amman and discovered that there was no water at the apartment. I don't know what else to say about Jordan at this point, my lack of personal hygiene has been dominating my thoughts. Today was the first shower I've had in about four days. It took place at the local gym showers where the shower stalls were so short, I'm fairly sure I exposed my entire top half to the rest of the women in the bathroom. I think these shower stalls were made specifically for Arab women, seeing as the other women fit perfectly in them.

In other news: Syria tomorrow! :D

It's Official!

Since returning to New York from Amman, Jordan in January I have been piecing together a summer that I feel will be the most beneficial to me. Originally, I was supposed to return to Cape Cod in the summer and work at yet another clam shack serving tourists and being surrounded by fried seafood all day. However, I decided to try my chances at having a more "alternative" summer, one that would offer me a relevant experience to what I want to do in the future and enhance my knowledge of something I'm interested in.

I applied to two internships located in Amman but I wasn't so optimistic about them due to my age and my lack of knowledge of the Arabic language. I was sure that the competition consisted of grad students and fluent Arabic speakers. Sure enough, I was denied both opportunities.

However, I also applied to a Arabic language school in Amman called Qasid which I was (just a few days ago) accepted to. So, I am officially going to be living in Jordan this summer! I am especially excited at the thought of exponentially improving my Arabic due to the 4 hours a day/5 days a week regiment.

I'll be in Jordan from May 21st-August 26th. So much better than having to deal with a "wicked summer". ; )