Universal Language

I am in in love again.  I am in love with a culture and a country in the epicenter of humanity, even though we have just met.  I am in love with the linguistics and اللغة of The Middle East.  I sense something so familiar even though I couldn't be farther from home.

The tip of my tongue has tasted the sweetness of the sounds of which my ears hear when the words stutter off.  Those who know me well can confirm my love for sweets.

I don't even know how it happened so quickly.  One month is barely long enough for some mail to land in a loved one's hands, yet I've managed to fall like an autumn leaf and land on top of a city made of mounds of buildings instead.

Not many will find the beauty in concrete and even I had my doubts, yet when each single room lights up at night like a spec of glitter in the sky, and the sounds of the city include calls to prayer and traveling propane salesmen alike, the alluring distance from home is as clear as the stark blue sky.

There is always something more.  Sometimes feelings of diffidence and humility overcome feelings of love and familiarity... Who am I to dip my toes into the Sea of Galilee?  Who am I to taste the treats and the sweets belonging to a land so ancient,  foreign and grand? Who am I to choose to partake in a civilization too many are forced to forsake; and what's more, even seek to explore my very own "freedom land" soil.

Who are we to wish to test our buoyancy in the deepest depth on Earth, the Dead Sea, when too many families are forced to flee.  It is the inequity and absence of basic rights and human needs; the inequality which sickens me.

I am only slightly sure about what to do and what to say in order to make the world today operate in a better way.

All I know is that making friends on opposite ends of the entire world may spread peace, evoke happiness,  teach a moral,  share a morsel of food for thought, and at the end of the day, translate into a universal language- even if all you can speak is a smile. :)

انا طالبة I am a student

There is a green light glowing in through the window of my apartment overlooking the city of Amman; a city which I now call home, although I've only just arrived.

This green glow emits from a mosque that calls out a prayer to Allah five times during each day and the city lights of homes and shops scatter the hills like low-horizon stars.  Even though I may be alone, in this middle of the east, I experience peace.

I arrived in Jordan three weeks ago to sample a taste of a language I already knew I loved.  Teaching English as a second language for a year and a half to native Arabic speaking students left an alluring flavor on my pallet.  How on Earth were they forming all those tones in theirs?  Furthermore, what did the translations scribbled in the margins of homework stand for?

Aqaba and the Red Sea

As an artist who was already experimenting with writing and typing the English language backwards as a result of coping with the difficulties of learning technical English grammar, exposing myself to the Arabic alphabet instantly became somewhat of a perfect combination of art and linguistics and it was only a matter of time until I became fixated on everything Arabic.

But that isn't even the whole story.  When one of my co-workers returned from teaching English in the Middle East, I was convinced that I would do the same.

Almost one year ago I enrolled myself in a hands on TOEFL/TEFL/TESOL course in order to enhance my skills as an English language instructor and the only place in the entire world I wanted to teach and live was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  After all, what western woman wouldn't want to live in a Kingdom??  It didn't take long before I had secured a job in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia.  At that moment I became serious about wanting to begin decoding the language.

I remember sitting in my kitchen on a January snow day in Oklahoma watching online videos like this one over and over and over again.  I began asking my students at school common greetings and soon I was meeting weekly with one or two of the generous Saudi's at school who were kind enough to tolerate my awful pronunciation and correct my handwriting mistakes.  If I were going to teach in Saudi, I needed to know the very basics.

Wadi-Rum and the desert

However, sometimes things don't work out exactly the way you plan them.  After further researching my visa arrangements in Saudi and receiving mixed messages from family and friends I soon became disheartened by the idea of committing myself to a full year in near isolation and I ultimately declined the offer.

I felt so deflated for the period of time surrounding my decision.  Things usually worked out smoothly and I suddenly found myself at what felt like an intersection without any prominent road signs, but too many road blocks. I took the opportunity to spend time with friends, meet my new nephew and work towards resuming plans to experience the Middle East. 

I set out to find an Arabic language school where I could study for a short time and test out the living arrangements before committing myself to an extended period.  I felt optimistic and fortunate when I stumbled upon Ahlan-World and my questions were answered promptly and professionally.  I took the plunge and signed up for 7 weeks of classes and accommodation in Amman.  With a population of over 4 million people, many of whom are refugees from war torn surrounding countries such as Palestine, Syria and Iraq, Amman can offer a stable economy and slightly more westernized style of living in comparison to neighboring Islamic countries.

For these reasons, the city built on seven hills in 13th Century BC by the Ammonites, attracts tourists and expats (like myself) who seek to study or work in the Middle East as well as provides a "home" away from home for those who were forced out of their own countries, seeking safety and asylum (like some of my friends and teachers at the school).

Rubbed with dirt as red as Oklahoma's

When I was 24 years old, I moved to West Africa, where the culture was rich, yet the living conditions were stark opposite.  Exposure to Islam and the Arabic prayer calls every day for over two years, in addition to living in one of the poorest and least educated parts of the world gave me the compassion, empathy and patience to branch outside of the comfort zone in which many choose to stay.

Sometimes you feel most like an outsider when you are closest to your home.

My life here in Amman is simple, yet rich.  I have language classes Sunday-Thursday for three hours a day.  I spend the rest of the day studying or sight seeing and visiting with my roommates, students from the school or meeting friends of friends.  The weekends have been busy seeing ancient places like Petra, Wadi-Rum and Aqaba.  I am fortunate to live in a nice and artsy-district called Jabal Al-Weibdeh that is a five minute walk from school, cafes, shops and anything I could possibly need.

Arabic is hard.  It's beautiful and complicated and I have only skimmed the surface of something like the buoyant Dead Sea.  It will take years to master and I know my departure date of December 20th will come too soon.

Setting sun in the desert

In the mean time, I feel safe and happy and couldn't imagine being anywhere else in the whole wide world; a student once again, at Ahlan-World.

Write Timing

Timing is everything.

Today it is time to write.  I haven't written on this page for nearly a year.  It's an ebb and flow of introversion and extroversion and putting thoughts out into the world via spoken or written language, music, theater, artistic expression or stark silence.  Living life in the present is the best present one can give to oneself.

At times, life simply makes decisions for you, no matter how many decisions you attempt to make on your own.

After many months of searching, I finally feel like life and I are making mutual decisions again.

Beginning this November, I'm off to formally study Arabic in Amman, Jordan for two months.  I hope this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship with this beautiful country I have only read about.

I am re-vamping the writing so that I may share bits and pieces of a Middle East that we don't see or hear about enough in the news today.  There is still peaceful and educational life happening outside of bombings and beheadings and blitzes blown up all over our news feeds, although it's undeniable that those are existing too.

Thank you to all those who can support my decision to journey to non-traditional locations and engage in cultural and educational excursions.  The decision to study in the Middle East has been a long time coming and it's something that can't just be shrugged off.

There is more to this story, but for now here are some stock photos until I can post some of my own:

Dead Sea

Petra

Amman