04.10.2010 Not much time left, it seems
This morning I came to realize how little time I had left to spend in Jordan. Only less than three more weeks! Time really has flown by and now that I completely settled here, figured things out and started to explore the city, it's hard to believe that the end of my stay is approaching. But this is not the time to look back on my stay here, yet.
The week started out nicely with a three day weekend- we got an extra day of because of the German national holiday. As always, my plans to go see places didn't quite work out so well, we (the other interns and I) simply were too lazy. Amman is so nice and there is so much to do that it's hard to find a reason to leave the city. So, I spent the entire weekend in the city and chilled out by the pool at a hotel in our neighborhood. It's still incredibly hot here, 30 degrees in October seems crazy to me, and swimming in the cold water was good way to cool down a bit. It was quite a fine time visiting friends all over the city, eating fruit salad (instead of ice cream) and just enjoying the time here. I was really relaxed and ready for the event of the weekend....
The TOTEN HOSEN concert!
They actually had come to play here, in Amman, on the occasion of the reunification. The concert was great and we spent a great deal jumping around and watched the Jordanian students stage dive. A fantastic night!
This upcoming week I have only three work days left and a lot to do before I can leave the country for the weekend to renew my visa for the last time.
27.09.2010 News from Jordan
I decided to keep writing here in English, so that the fam in the states will be able to read about what's going on, too.
What's happened since I have last written a post? A lot actually. My uncle came over and I had a chance to revisit some of the most beautiful and stunning sights in Jordan- Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea... Going there again for the second time was very nice because I had the opportunity to just sit and watch and really absorb the particular feel of a place- not seeing it through the lens of my camera taking pictures like a maniac.
Maybe this calls for revisiting places, after all, even though that's usually not my traveling policy, so to speak.
Before my uncle came, the fasting month of Ramadan ended on the holiday of Eid-al-Fitr- I've been told that Ramadan is about the equivalent of the 4 weeks of advent waiting until Christmas comes around which corresponds to Eid, that particular occasion when you stuff your face together with all your relatives. Seems like a very familiar and time-tested concept to me. Ramadan was quite different from my imagination- people didn't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, but as soon as the sun had set, it was time for Iftar, the meal when you break the fast. The streets were really empty around then and you could walk on the motorways in the inner city without any problems. That particular half hour before Iftar was a traffic nightmare, though, with hangry (hungry+angry) people trying to get home in time to EAT.
Luckily, the excitement of Ramadan has waned down a bit and things have gone back to normal with food being available in the streets and drinking (water) publicly not being a crime (!).
For Eid, a 4 day holiday, I visited Damascus and Beirut, the two other capitals in the area and was taken aback by the oriental beauty of the former and the defiant joie de vivre of the latter. The party is a good one in Beirut and it seems like everybody is literally partying like there's no tomorrow, as, actually, civil war can break out again just tomorrow morning.
Being in Beirut, seeing the shell-shocked houses that are all but hidden and at the same time experiencing this intense willingness to live on, was one of the most intense experiences I have had here so far.
I will try to upload some pictures and see to updating this a bit more frequently.
This morning I came to realize how little time I had left to spend in Jordan. Only less than three more weeks! Time really has flown by and now that I completely settled here, figured things out and started to explore the city, it's hard to believe that the end of my stay is approaching. But this is not the time to look back on my stay here, yet.
The week started out nicely with a three day weekend- we got an extra day of because of the German national holiday. As always, my plans to go see places didn't quite work out so well, we (the other interns and I) simply were too lazy. Amman is so nice and there is so much to do that it's hard to find a reason to leave the city. So, I spent the entire weekend in the city and chilled out by the pool at a hotel in our neighborhood. It's still incredibly hot here, 30 degrees in October seems crazy to me, and swimming in the cold water was good way to cool down a bit. It was quite a fine time visiting friends all over the city, eating fruit salad (instead of ice cream) and just enjoying the time here. I was really relaxed and ready for the event of the weekend....
The TOTEN HOSEN concert!
They actually had come to play here, in Amman, on the occasion of the reunification. The concert was great and we spent a great deal jumping around and watched the Jordanian students stage dive. A fantastic night!
This upcoming week I have only three work days left and a lot to do before I can leave the country for the weekend to renew my visa for the last time.
27.09.2010 News from Jordan
I decided to keep writing here in English, so that the fam in the states will be able to read about what's going on, too.
What's happened since I have last written a post? A lot actually. My uncle came over and I had a chance to revisit some of the most beautiful and stunning sights in Jordan- Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea... Going there again for the second time was very nice because I had the opportunity to just sit and watch and really absorb the particular feel of a place- not seeing it through the lens of my camera taking pictures like a maniac.
Maybe this calls for revisiting places, after all, even though that's usually not my traveling policy, so to speak.
Before my uncle came, the fasting month of Ramadan ended on the holiday of Eid-al-Fitr- I've been told that Ramadan is about the equivalent of the 4 weeks of advent waiting until Christmas comes around which corresponds to Eid, that particular occasion when you stuff your face together with all your relatives. Seems like a very familiar and time-tested concept to me. Ramadan was quite different from my imagination- people didn't eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, but as soon as the sun had set, it was time for Iftar, the meal when you break the fast. The streets were really empty around then and you could walk on the motorways in the inner city without any problems. That particular half hour before Iftar was a traffic nightmare, though, with hangry (hungry+angry) people trying to get home in time to EAT.
Luckily, the excitement of Ramadan has waned down a bit and things have gone back to normal with food being available in the streets and drinking (water) publicly not being a crime (!).
For Eid, a 4 day holiday, I visited Damascus and Beirut, the two other capitals in the area and was taken aback by the oriental beauty of the former and the defiant joie de vivre of the latter. The party is a good one in Beirut and it seems like everybody is literally partying like there's no tomorrow, as, actually, civil war can break out again just tomorrow morning.
Being in Beirut, seeing the shell-shocked houses that are all but hidden and at the same time experiencing this intense willingness to live on, was one of the most intense experiences I have had here so far.
I will try to upload some pictures and see to updating this a bit more frequently.
Ein erstes Lebenszeichen
Mittlerweile bin ich schon seit über 2 Wochen in Jordanien und habe schon einige schöne Tage hinter mir.
Aber hier ein kleine Zusammenfassung der letzten Tage:
Simon und ich sind zu Beginn eine Woche im Land herumgereist, nachdem wir noch einen kleinen Zwischenstopp in Istanbul eingelegt haben. Unsere erste Station war Amman, die chaotische und wundervoll orientalische Hauptstadt Jordaniens, in der wir ein wenig in das arabische Leben eingetaucht sind und uns an das Klima hier gewöhnt haben.
Die Gebetsrufe hört man nach ein paar wenigen Tagen übrigens schon gar nicht mehr, vielmehr ist das nur gut für das Flair, man fühlt sich wie in einem der neueren Agentenfilme.
Nach dem ersten Puffertag haben wir uns ein Auto geschnappt und sind durch die Wüste Richtung Süden nach Petra gedüst. Irgendwann die Tage werd ich auch mal ein paar Bilder hochladen, ich muss sie nur noch finden.
Außerdem haben wir mit einem Jeep die Wüste erkundet, sind im Toten Meer geschwommen und es uns sonst noch gut gehen lassen.
Was mich vor allem sehr beeindruckt hat, ist die Gastfreundschaft der Menschen hier. Alle, vom Taxifahrer über den Beduinen bis zum Autobahnpolizisten sind ausnehmend freundlich und aufgeschlossen. Vor allem heißt das, dass es hier nicht gefährlich ist, die größte Gefahr ist eher, dass man einen Taxifahrer erwischt, der die dynastische Geschichte des Königshauses hier in Echtzeit widergibt. Ganz ehrlich!
Nach der ersten schönen Reisewoche, die ich hier nur ganz kurz widergebe, begann mein Praktikum bei der FES. Bisher gefällt es mir sehr gut, meine Kollegen sind sehr nett und ich beschäftige mich sehr intensiv mit der Politik hier.
In den nächsten Tagen gibts mehr Informationen, heute ist es schon ziemlich spät bei uns und ich werde jetzt ins Bett gehen.
Aber hier ein kleine Zusammenfassung der letzten Tage:
Simon und ich sind zu Beginn eine Woche im Land herumgereist, nachdem wir noch einen kleinen Zwischenstopp in Istanbul eingelegt haben. Unsere erste Station war Amman, die chaotische und wundervoll orientalische Hauptstadt Jordaniens, in der wir ein wenig in das arabische Leben eingetaucht sind und uns an das Klima hier gewöhnt haben.
Die Gebetsrufe hört man nach ein paar wenigen Tagen übrigens schon gar nicht mehr, vielmehr ist das nur gut für das Flair, man fühlt sich wie in einem der neueren Agentenfilme.
Nach dem ersten Puffertag haben wir uns ein Auto geschnappt und sind durch die Wüste Richtung Süden nach Petra gedüst. Irgendwann die Tage werd ich auch mal ein paar Bilder hochladen, ich muss sie nur noch finden.
Außerdem haben wir mit einem Jeep die Wüste erkundet, sind im Toten Meer geschwommen und es uns sonst noch gut gehen lassen.
Was mich vor allem sehr beeindruckt hat, ist die Gastfreundschaft der Menschen hier. Alle, vom Taxifahrer über den Beduinen bis zum Autobahnpolizisten sind ausnehmend freundlich und aufgeschlossen. Vor allem heißt das, dass es hier nicht gefährlich ist, die größte Gefahr ist eher, dass man einen Taxifahrer erwischt, der die dynastische Geschichte des Königshauses hier in Echtzeit widergibt. Ganz ehrlich!
Nach der ersten schönen Reisewoche, die ich hier nur ganz kurz widergebe, begann mein Praktikum bei der FES. Bisher gefällt es mir sehr gut, meine Kollegen sind sehr nett und ich beschäftige mich sehr intensiv mit der Politik hier.
In den nächsten Tagen gibts mehr Informationen, heute ist es schon ziemlich spät bei uns und ich werde jetzt ins Bett gehen.