This has definitely been a busy and interesting week. To begin with, on Tuesday Dr. Rula Quawas, a professor at the University of Jordan in Amman, came to give everyone at the the language center a speech on the women's movement in Amman. The talk was given in English and there were a lot of interesting points that she made that had never occured to me. This speech was timed perfectly with what my class has been discussing with our teachers, women's role in society. Dr. Quawas said that feminism is seen as an idea from the West, that it is imported, not homegrown. Feminism is seen as something versus nationalism, not something that is one and the same. Also, to understand the role of women in this society, it is extremely important to know that Sharia Law and the tribal system make it difficult for women to be seen as equals. Sharia Law is governered by men, and women just have to follow the laws that are placed before them without participation. The tribal system is strong and focuses on the group, not the individual. Family honor is very important and women are the keepers of this honor through their virginity before marriage. If virginity is not kept, there are sometimes honor killings (rare in Jordan) where a family member kills the woman for dishonoring the family and bringing shame. Sometimes women who have dishonored their family are put in prison for their own protection knowing that if they leave, they won't be able to live.
It is a culture of religion that governs this society and growing up with a mindset that men are the protectors of women. Women cannot be equal because they are seen as weak, thus needing the men for their protection. I found that statement to be extremely true since one of my teachers said that he would not allow his wife (who is weak) to travel to Egypt with her friends because he would not be able to provide her with his protection. Dr. Quawas said that protection is oppression because women have to learn how to take care of themselves. She quoted Frederick Douglas, who once said that "If we cannot stand up, let us fall down!" Dr. Quawas wants to raise awareness of what role women play, she cannot empower them because they have to learn how to do that for themselves. To think to themselves, have respect for the family or for myself? She wants the women in Jordan to learn new things and unlearn some of the old things that keep them back.
Women in Jordan earned the right to vote in 1972 and there are even some women involved in politics. Those that are involved in politics have some visibility but they are not allowed to make important decisions. Though there is a new constitutional committee, there is not one woman who was invited to participate in it and help make changes for the country. There are laws that have been ratified, but not implemented. Though Dr. Quawas is very passionate about women being equal to men, she is also cautious about seeing it happen. She recognizes that things are a bit better, but there are still stumbling blocks that must be overcome. It is also difficult to keep the spark alive. All in all, Dr. Quawas just wants women to make choices based on what they want for themselves. It was such a touching and enlightening speach.
We had to take our tests on Wednesday instead of Thursday, when the school week ends, which we all found interesting. We were able to take our writing test at home, where we had to write about the "effects of religion in society." Since that is such a broad subject I made it more specific and wrote about Christianity's effects on American society. Media was one of the easier tests for me, but reading was extremely difficult, and I think that I'm slowly improving in listening class based on that test. We are not given study guides for our tests, just told that we will have to take them. I definitely had to unwind after having a day full of tests, so Iskander (Alex McLelland) and I went to go throw a frisbee. Iskander called a French girl, Theri, that he met the other day who also likes throwing frisbees to join us. Theri is very lively and friendly; she is here for about two months with three other friends teaching French as a foreign language here at Yarmouk. Theri patiently taught me a new way to throw the frisbee. Thursday was not a difficult day, thankfully because I was already in weekend mode.
Thursday night Iskander and I made a mexican casserole for dinner. It tasted amazing! That night was filled with good food and interesting conversations about politics and society. There were about seven of us just sharing our views on society and education. The conversation lasted well into the night, and before I knew it, I needed to go to sleep so that I would be able to wake up for the next day's adventures. Friday morning, we all woke up early and met outside of the university apartments. Ayham, of course, was there along with Theri and her friends and a Turkish group who are also here to learn Arabic. Riding in the Yarmouk University charter bus was comfortable enough. I mostly looked out of the window and saw camels, donkeys and horses on the side of the road. There were also a lot of fruit vendors and olive trees.
We all arrived to Mount Nebo ready to stretch our legs. Mount Nebo is the sight where Moses was shown the Holy Land before he died. Some people think that he is buried somewhere on that mountain. From the mountain, I saw amazing views and I also saw some great mosaics. We stayed on the mountain for about 30-40 minutes so that everyone could look around before we headed to Jesus' baptism site. Since I went to the baptism site last year, I, along with some other people, decided to opt out of seeing it again. We had to wait on the others under an awning with ambitious flies trying to land all over us without getting swatted away. The wait was not bad at all because I brought a book to entertain me. Once that part of the trip was over, we were off to the main event, the Dead Sea!
We went to the Amman Beach Tourism Resort where there is a pool area beside the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, and all of the salt comes from its intense evaporation rate. The first thing that I did when we arrived was jump into the Dead Sea. The water felt warm and smooth, maybe even a little slimy. It was an amazing sensation to just float there, with nothing but the salty water holding me up! After I had enough of the extreme salt, I went and swam in the pool for a bit. It was a great relaxing trip. We stayed there for a few hours, and then it was time to head back to Irbid. The ride back was anything but dull. Somewhere outside of Amman our bus driver pulled the bus over and got out. Aparently we ran out of gas... It just happened to be the perfect time to see the sunset. Most of us walked accross the highway where there was an amazing view over a random small town. The sunset was beautiful and relaxing and just as it was about to get really dark, the bus driver just happened to get a little bit of gas so that we could make it to a gas station in Amman and really fill up the charter bus. It was a long, but amazingly fun day! Now, it's time for homework...
It is a culture of religion that governs this society and growing up with a mindset that men are the protectors of women. Women cannot be equal because they are seen as weak, thus needing the men for their protection. I found that statement to be extremely true since one of my teachers said that he would not allow his wife (who is weak) to travel to Egypt with her friends because he would not be able to provide her with his protection. Dr. Quawas said that protection is oppression because women have to learn how to take care of themselves. She quoted Frederick Douglas, who once said that "If we cannot stand up, let us fall down!" Dr. Quawas wants to raise awareness of what role women play, she cannot empower them because they have to learn how to do that for themselves. To think to themselves, have respect for the family or for myself? She wants the women in Jordan to learn new things and unlearn some of the old things that keep them back.
Women in Jordan earned the right to vote in 1972 and there are even some women involved in politics. Those that are involved in politics have some visibility but they are not allowed to make important decisions. Though there is a new constitutional committee, there is not one woman who was invited to participate in it and help make changes for the country. There are laws that have been ratified, but not implemented. Though Dr. Quawas is very passionate about women being equal to men, she is also cautious about seeing it happen. She recognizes that things are a bit better, but there are still stumbling blocks that must be overcome. It is also difficult to keep the spark alive. All in all, Dr. Quawas just wants women to make choices based on what they want for themselves. It was such a touching and enlightening speach.
We had to take our tests on Wednesday instead of Thursday, when the school week ends, which we all found interesting. We were able to take our writing test at home, where we had to write about the "effects of religion in society." Since that is such a broad subject I made it more specific and wrote about Christianity's effects on American society. Media was one of the easier tests for me, but reading was extremely difficult, and I think that I'm slowly improving in listening class based on that test. We are not given study guides for our tests, just told that we will have to take them. I definitely had to unwind after having a day full of tests, so Iskander (Alex McLelland) and I went to go throw a frisbee. Iskander called a French girl, Theri, that he met the other day who also likes throwing frisbees to join us. Theri is very lively and friendly; she is here for about two months with three other friends teaching French as a foreign language here at Yarmouk. Theri patiently taught me a new way to throw the frisbee. Thursday was not a difficult day, thankfully because I was already in weekend mode.
Thursday night Iskander and I made a mexican casserole for dinner. It tasted amazing! That night was filled with good food and interesting conversations about politics and society. There were about seven of us just sharing our views on society and education. The conversation lasted well into the night, and before I knew it, I needed to go to sleep so that I would be able to wake up for the next day's adventures. Friday morning, we all woke up early and met outside of the university apartments. Ayham, of course, was there along with Theri and her friends and a Turkish group who are also here to learn Arabic. Riding in the Yarmouk University charter bus was comfortable enough. I mostly looked out of the window and saw camels, donkeys and horses on the side of the road. There were also a lot of fruit vendors and olive trees.
We all arrived to Mount Nebo ready to stretch our legs. Mount Nebo is the sight where Moses was shown the Holy Land before he died. Some people think that he is buried somewhere on that mountain. From the mountain, I saw amazing views and I also saw some great mosaics. We stayed on the mountain for about 30-40 minutes so that everyone could look around before we headed to Jesus' baptism site. Since I went to the baptism site last year, I, along with some other people, decided to opt out of seeing it again. We had to wait on the others under an awning with ambitious flies trying to land all over us without getting swatted away. The wait was not bad at all because I brought a book to entertain me. Once that part of the trip was over, we were off to the main event, the Dead Sea!
We went to the Amman Beach Tourism Resort where there is a pool area beside the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, and all of the salt comes from its intense evaporation rate. The first thing that I did when we arrived was jump into the Dead Sea. The water felt warm and smooth, maybe even a little slimy. It was an amazing sensation to just float there, with nothing but the salty water holding me up! After I had enough of the extreme salt, I went and swam in the pool for a bit. It was a great relaxing trip. We stayed there for a few hours, and then it was time to head back to Irbid. The ride back was anything but dull. Somewhere outside of Amman our bus driver pulled the bus over and got out. Aparently we ran out of gas... It just happened to be the perfect time to see the sunset. Most of us walked accross the highway where there was an amazing view over a random small town. The sunset was beautiful and relaxing and just as it was about to get really dark, the bus driver just happened to get a little bit of gas so that we could make it to a gas station in Amman and really fill up the charter bus. It was a long, but amazingly fun day! Now, it's time for homework...
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