Near kidnapping and theivery

I meant to write about this about two weeks ago, but I forgot. December 1st was my last Saturday in Jordan, in some ways it was rather depressing. Anyway, on Facebook, I have alluded to the adventure I had, and will now narrate it, in detail.

At the beginning of the semester, Lucy and I met this girl, Isra. We became friends and saw her during the semester. Lucy saw her more than I did, but we did hang out a little. Anyway, Isra is from Jerash, but she's a student at the University (right by our apartments), and she invited us to visit her and her family in Jerash for dinner. We had originally planned to go on November 17th. However, the protests regarding the lifting of subsidies here in Jordan happened, and Gaza and Israel had their little incident, so we spent hte weekend under house arrest. After re-planning, we realized that the only available day was our last Saturday in Amman. So, Lucy and I and our friend Michael (since we would get back late, we had to have a guy with us) went up to Jerash. 

Isra is Palestinian, and she lives in a refugee camp in Jerash. The image you get is of UNICEF tents, like the Syrian refugee camps, but, because the Palestinians have been here so long, their "camp", is more of a small town.

Anyway, Lucy, Michael and I go to Jerash and then catch a bus to the camp and meet Isra there. When we got on the bus, everyone stared at us. Several times we had people ask us if we knew where the bus was going. I felt awkward and out of place, like I was being gawked at. I hadn't felt that uncomfortable since the beginning of the semester.

Isra found us, and we all went back to her house. We had a traditional Palestinian "feast", which was delicious. I'm surprised that I haven't gained 10 pounds while I've been here, since the people feed you until you're full, and then feed you some more.

Getting back to Amman was the adventure. We got a ride back to Jerash bus station from a guy from Isra's camp. He said he was her relative, but she didn't recognize him. We get to the bus station, and the guy who gave us a ride gets out to go negotiate the price with a taxi driver. He comes back and tells us that the driver wants 3 JD from each of us (which is twice the normal fare). When we say 'no', the taxi driver and the guy who brought us to the bus station start getting upset and yelling. At this point, Isra says we should just find someone driving by who is heading towards Amman and ask if we can get a ride with them.

Luckily, we quickly found a car who was willing to take us to Amman, they asked for 1.25 JD from each of us. So, Isra begins putting her stuff in the trunk, when the guy who drove us comes and tries to take Isra's stuff. He also grabs Michael and starts trying to drag him off back towards the van. The guy is yelling "I am your relative. You are my responsibility, I have wasta (meaning social connections)". Then the taxi driver comes over and is getting mad too, then other taxi drivers come as well, and you can feel the tension rising and it was getting close to coming to blows. While Isra is busy trying to fight the guy who drove us, off, the police drive by, see what's going on, and begin yelling at us with their megaphone. Things then clear up, and the four of us cram into the backseat of a car. It was rather entertaining, since we were trying to fit four of us in the back (which was designed for 3), because the driver and passenger seats were filled. We all got very cozy and close with each other. Lucy and Isra were pretty squashed together, and then I was bext to Lucy, with Michael on my other side. Michael ended up with one arm around me, half sitting on my side. But, thankfully, the drive is only about 30-40 minutes, so it wasn't too long. It was quite the adventure, and a great way to end my last Saturday. 

Nutella special

My "To Do List" just keeps getting longer and my time here is getting shorter. It is a little frightening to think that in 3 days, I'll be heading to one of the most controversial countries in the world, but it is a little exciting at the same time. No, who am I kidding, it is a lot exciting. With the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel, things are looking better for our trip. Hopefully the main roads will be open (the US Embassy had closed them to US travelers) so we can go everywhere Dil has planned for us to go.

I finished my hardest (and one of the most important) test yesterday. I still have two more, but I don't think they'll be as bad as the others. That is very, very exciting to me. 

I was in Jerash over the weekend and I saw this sign

There is a restaurant here called "Fruit Salad". Its name is pretty self explanatory. Anyway, pretty much everyone in my program has been there and has raved about the "Nutella Special". Well, prior to last night, I had never gone. So, I went with my friends Josh, Paul, and Lindsay. In the taxi ride, Paul said "This may be the last time you ever eat Fruit Salad". Then Josh said, "Chelsea's never been, so this will be her first and last time".  Josh egged me into getting the "Nutella Special". Special, just refers to the size, so it is huge. This is the "Nutella Special"

It is chocolate ice cream with thick Arabic cream (it's like cream but heavier and has a granular consistency), bananas, kiwis, strawberries, mangoes, watermelon, persimmons, grapes, pomegranates, almonds, cashews, honey, twix bars, and nutella, all in a huge bowl. It was a giant bowl of yummy deliciousness 

I ate almost the entire thing on my own. There was some of the cream with nutella mixed in it and a slice of mango left.

Well, that's all I've got for now. 

Good-byes in Irbid

Yesterday was our last Friday in Amman. Shocking,  I know. It is hard to believe that next week I won't be going up to Irbid for church and see all the wonderful people up there. We sang "God be With You Till We Meet Again", and it was a good thing that I was playing piano, since I was getting choked up just playing the hymn, I know that if I had been singing, I would've been in tears by the end. 

The sisters in Relief Society

We rode a bus back to Amman, and we saw this 'Danger" sign

The people there truly are amazing. Getting to see them every week was such a blessing for me. I am going to miss them a lot. The weekly trip up to Irbid really helped me make it through some rough patches, and all those wonderful ladies will always have a special place in my heart.