Since I have last written, I have taken two batches of tests and learned a lot about Ramadan. The tests here always seem to be difficult for me, but I try my best and sometimes that shows. Last weekend, July 29-30, I stayed in Irbid to prepare for my last week of classes at the language center. It was a nice quiet weekend, something I needed for the busy week that came. My last week of classes at Yarmouk University went by quickly. We learned about Ramadan from our teachers and the reading assignment for the week. We also discussed the financial crisis in America along with political cartoons from the uprisings in Egypt and Syria.
Ramadan began on August 1 this year, but it changes every year depending on moon; it is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and lasts for about 29-30 days. Fasting takes place from dawn to sunset, and it is only ok to eat and drink again once iftar, the breaking of the fast, is announced from the mosque. Ramadan is supposed to teach patience and humility, helping you become more spiritual and closer to God. This is my first time experiencing Ramadan, and I have noticed a lot of changes in Irbid alone. Some shops and homes are decorated with paper stars that have lights in them, and crescent moons and stars that light up their windows. A lot of finals have taken place in the university resulting in a quiet campus. Most stores and restaurants do not open until iftar or later, making the streets empty as well. I have also experienced some food that is traditionally eaten during Ramadan such as dates, a sweet tamarind drink, and qatayef.
Sara, my Jordanian friend, and I ate rice, lamb, dates, yogurt, Arabic salad, and drank a tamarind drink for my first iftar. We listened for the call of prayer and then went out to find a restaurant that was open. It was a good way to begin my Ramadan experience. We walked around the city and talked about the places that we have visited and what we think about them. Sara spent a year in Madrid, Spain because she is studying Spanish along with tourism. She said that it was extremely different, but she enjoyed her time there and met many interesting people. Sara offered to help me with some of my homework so we worked on that after our walk. Sara is thinking about going back to Spain to teach Arabic so we both benefited from that tutoring session.
Bobby Joe and I broke the fast together the following night with kabsa in a restaurant right across the street from the university. Kabsa is a rice dish that is considered to be the national dish of Saudi Arabia; the rice is cooked with special spices such as caramon, saffron, black pepper, cloves, black lime, cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay leaves. Ours was also garnished with raisins, which is common. I ate that with chicken and it was delicious! The minute that we sat down in the restaurant, dates, tamarind juice, Arabic salad, and yogurt were placed on the table because those things are expected to be eaten during Ramadan. There were many families there breaking the fast together, and when we left the restaurant some tables and chairs from other restaurants were placed on the sidewalk so people could eat outside. The streets slowly got busier as the night went on and stomachs were filled.
Our speaking and dialect teacher, Rijan, wanted to spend some time with the whole group from Ole Miss outside of class so we all went to a cafe Friday night. We met Rijan at Jafra, a cafe right across the street from the university that is decorated with Ramadan stars and taxidermied animals from Jordan. There was an oud player present who sang while we all talked about our time here in Irbid. Rijan thoughtfully bought all of us "The Message" a movie that tells the story of Islam. I cannot wait to watch it! I ordered the special Ramadan drink that turned out to be a three level fruit drink with strawberry garnishes. The first layer was strawberry, then there was a yellow layer for the bananas, and last but not least a green kiwi layer! It was really nice spending time with Rijan outside of class because she always jokes with us.
Saturday, along with Friday, I read six pages of how and why fasting is beneficial for a number of health problems. Dr. Kimal, our reading and writing teacher, said that a few pages out of the six were what we would be tested on for our final exam. The reading assignment was difficult because of the medical terminology that was used, but I learned some new vocabulary words in the process of reading. The real fun began when it was time to go to Dr. Kimal's house for iftar. He invited everyone from Ole Miss to have iftar at his home with his family. It was a great experience. Dr. Kimal lives in a quiet neighborhood and a nice apartment with high ceilings and seemingly enough room for his whole family. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Dr. Kimal and went to the sitting room. The sitting room has matching red and gold couches and chairs, with a glass coffee table in the center. That room leads out to the front balcony which overlooks the street and neighborhood. Soon after I sat down, Dr. Kimal's three daughters greeted me! Their ages range from about four or five to nine or ten. I was then led to the dinning room to meet Dr. Kimal's lovely wife and their one and a half year old son! All of his children have dark curly hair with dark brown eyes with friendly and sweet dispositions. For dinner, we were all seated around two tables and waited to eat until we heard the call to prayer announcing that it was time to break the fast.
We all began our meal with dates, and then moved on to this creamy mushroom soup. After that we were presented with a meat pie of sorts; it was meat cooked in the shape of a pie with tomatoes, onions and gravy. Once that was eaten up, it was time for the main dish, maqluba. Maqluba is a rice dish with cauliflower and eggplant that can be served with chicken or lamb; ours was with chicken. The maqluba tasted amazing, along with the Arabic salad, yogurt, and potatoes. There was also tamarind juice and water to drink. It was an amazing meal! I can only imagine how long it took to prepare everything and in such a huge quantity, especially without eating or drinking. Once everyone had their fill, we went back to the sitting room for coffee. All of Dr. Kimal's kids joined us; the two older girls were playing with each other, and wispering in each other's ear, giggling. The youngest daughter kept asking for coffee and tea, she was never happy with the little bit that she was given! Dr. Kimal's son tried to grab everything he saw and if it was taken away he cried for one minute until his dad said to be quiet in a stern voice. After the first round of coffee came tea with mint. We all sat in the room talking with each other and watching the kids play, they were so funny. Dr. Kimal went to go buy a special dessert that is only eaten during Ramadan, qatayef. Qatayef is made with batter that is cooked similarly to pancakes except that only one side is cooked. Once that is done, unsalted cheese or nuts (pecans in my case) and cinnamon are sandwiched in the "pancake" and then deep-fried. A simple syrup is then placed over the final product adding another layer of flavor. It tasted good and sweet. Once we ate dessert, another round of coffee was presented. I can only hope to be half as good of a hostess as Dr. Kimal and his family were to the Ole Miss group. The night was an amazing experience that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Today has also been busy; we had our final exams which were not without difficulty. Reading was the most challenging, but I think I did well on listening and media! Tomorrow we are going to have a graduation ceremony of sorts and an opportunity to say goodbye and thank you to our teachers for the last time. Leaving is going to be bittersweet.
Ramadan began on August 1 this year, but it changes every year depending on moon; it is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and lasts for about 29-30 days. Fasting takes place from dawn to sunset, and it is only ok to eat and drink again once iftar, the breaking of the fast, is announced from the mosque. Ramadan is supposed to teach patience and humility, helping you become more spiritual and closer to God. This is my first time experiencing Ramadan, and I have noticed a lot of changes in Irbid alone. Some shops and homes are decorated with paper stars that have lights in them, and crescent moons and stars that light up their windows. A lot of finals have taken place in the university resulting in a quiet campus. Most stores and restaurants do not open until iftar or later, making the streets empty as well. I have also experienced some food that is traditionally eaten during Ramadan such as dates, a sweet tamarind drink, and qatayef.
Sara, my Jordanian friend, and I ate rice, lamb, dates, yogurt, Arabic salad, and drank a tamarind drink for my first iftar. We listened for the call of prayer and then went out to find a restaurant that was open. It was a good way to begin my Ramadan experience. We walked around the city and talked about the places that we have visited and what we think about them. Sara spent a year in Madrid, Spain because she is studying Spanish along with tourism. She said that it was extremely different, but she enjoyed her time there and met many interesting people. Sara offered to help me with some of my homework so we worked on that after our walk. Sara is thinking about going back to Spain to teach Arabic so we both benefited from that tutoring session.
Bobby Joe and I broke the fast together the following night with kabsa in a restaurant right across the street from the university. Kabsa is a rice dish that is considered to be the national dish of Saudi Arabia; the rice is cooked with special spices such as caramon, saffron, black pepper, cloves, black lime, cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay leaves. Ours was also garnished with raisins, which is common. I ate that with chicken and it was delicious! The minute that we sat down in the restaurant, dates, tamarind juice, Arabic salad, and yogurt were placed on the table because those things are expected to be eaten during Ramadan. There were many families there breaking the fast together, and when we left the restaurant some tables and chairs from other restaurants were placed on the sidewalk so people could eat outside. The streets slowly got busier as the night went on and stomachs were filled.
Our speaking and dialect teacher, Rijan, wanted to spend some time with the whole group from Ole Miss outside of class so we all went to a cafe Friday night. We met Rijan at Jafra, a cafe right across the street from the university that is decorated with Ramadan stars and taxidermied animals from Jordan. There was an oud player present who sang while we all talked about our time here in Irbid. Rijan thoughtfully bought all of us "The Message" a movie that tells the story of Islam. I cannot wait to watch it! I ordered the special Ramadan drink that turned out to be a three level fruit drink with strawberry garnishes. The first layer was strawberry, then there was a yellow layer for the bananas, and last but not least a green kiwi layer! It was really nice spending time with Rijan outside of class because she always jokes with us.
Saturday, along with Friday, I read six pages of how and why fasting is beneficial for a number of health problems. Dr. Kimal, our reading and writing teacher, said that a few pages out of the six were what we would be tested on for our final exam. The reading assignment was difficult because of the medical terminology that was used, but I learned some new vocabulary words in the process of reading. The real fun began when it was time to go to Dr. Kimal's house for iftar. He invited everyone from Ole Miss to have iftar at his home with his family. It was a great experience. Dr. Kimal lives in a quiet neighborhood and a nice apartment with high ceilings and seemingly enough room for his whole family. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Dr. Kimal and went to the sitting room. The sitting room has matching red and gold couches and chairs, with a glass coffee table in the center. That room leads out to the front balcony which overlooks the street and neighborhood. Soon after I sat down, Dr. Kimal's three daughters greeted me! Their ages range from about four or five to nine or ten. I was then led to the dinning room to meet Dr. Kimal's lovely wife and their one and a half year old son! All of his children have dark curly hair with dark brown eyes with friendly and sweet dispositions. For dinner, we were all seated around two tables and waited to eat until we heard the call to prayer announcing that it was time to break the fast.
We all began our meal with dates, and then moved on to this creamy mushroom soup. After that we were presented with a meat pie of sorts; it was meat cooked in the shape of a pie with tomatoes, onions and gravy. Once that was eaten up, it was time for the main dish, maqluba. Maqluba is a rice dish with cauliflower and eggplant that can be served with chicken or lamb; ours was with chicken. The maqluba tasted amazing, along with the Arabic salad, yogurt, and potatoes. There was also tamarind juice and water to drink. It was an amazing meal! I can only imagine how long it took to prepare everything and in such a huge quantity, especially without eating or drinking. Once everyone had their fill, we went back to the sitting room for coffee. All of Dr. Kimal's kids joined us; the two older girls were playing with each other, and wispering in each other's ear, giggling. The youngest daughter kept asking for coffee and tea, she was never happy with the little bit that she was given! Dr. Kimal's son tried to grab everything he saw and if it was taken away he cried for one minute until his dad said to be quiet in a stern voice. After the first round of coffee came tea with mint. We all sat in the room talking with each other and watching the kids play, they were so funny. Dr. Kimal went to go buy a special dessert that is only eaten during Ramadan, qatayef. Qatayef is made with batter that is cooked similarly to pancakes except that only one side is cooked. Once that is done, unsalted cheese or nuts (pecans in my case) and cinnamon are sandwiched in the "pancake" and then deep-fried. A simple syrup is then placed over the final product adding another layer of flavor. It tasted good and sweet. Once we ate dessert, another round of coffee was presented. I can only hope to be half as good of a hostess as Dr. Kimal and his family were to the Ole Miss group. The night was an amazing experience that I thoroughly enjoyed!
Today has also been busy; we had our final exams which were not without difficulty. Reading was the most challenging, but I think I did well on listening and media! Tomorrow we are going to have a graduation ceremony of sorts and an opportunity to say goodbye and thank you to our teachers for the last time. Leaving is going to be bittersweet.
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