Jordan Class Day Three Email

All,

If anything, today's class exceeded even my rather generous expectations, and, with the exception of our visit from Laila Al-Atrash, was even more interesting than yesterday. We had the same teacher, Ustatha Suhail, and the subject was the Arab family, in particular Bedouin customs and the phenomenon of people moving from the countryside to the cities and their effects on the family structure. This teacher is perhaps the best I have had. She speaks clearly and calmly and I can say with all honesty that I understand 100% of what she says. There is no English, even for word definitions, which is hugely beneficial.

The Arab view of the bedouins is a romantic one, perhaps best compared to Americans nostalgia for the "Old West." That wild sense of adventure, lawlessness and freedom, all but lost now in this modern age of urban sprawl and the choking fumes of diesel engines. It is the last faint stirrings of the pride and honor of a nomadic people now relegated to a sedentary existence of business suits and fast food restaurants. Hearing it explained in such a moving way by one who truly feels this passion, it is easy to see the attraction. In truth the whole of the Bedouin's code was tied to survival in the harsh environment of the desert. I will not bore you with the details, but the lesson was definitely entertaining and informational.

After class ended at noon, we accompanied our teacher (the one who came with us ffrom the US) to his hometown, where we enjoyed a wonderful traditional meal prepared by his mother. Only about 5% of the population is Christian and my teacher's family is among them (not terribly important, but...). After this we shared a class of mint tea (Shai Na'Na') with his father and his father's brother (and a rather lovely cousin, who served us the tea..yeah, yeah, sue me...). His father drove us back to Amman in his school bus. Though TV does nothing for me whatsoever and I have not watched it for some eleven years or so, looking out of the window of a bus is a fine substitute. Little gives me the same sense of inner peace than simply sitting on a bus watching the world pass by, tucked away in the great crush of my fellow human beings, secure beneath an impenetrable cloak of anonymity (this sounded better in my head on the bus..I will fix it later).

Below is a link to Laila Al-Atrash's sight. She is the author we met yesterday. Sorry this is not terribly well written. I am extremely tired and still have forty odd (very odd) pages of Arabic to attempt to read, in addition to some other homework.

Laila Al-Atrash

Take care all,

Joel