Estrella

Reflections from My Time in Italy As I write this memento on my trip back to the States, I don’t leave Italy with any regrets because I lived. No, I didn’t visit every small town on the weekends or travel to Brussels or Geneva for fun, but I can say I became integrated into the local thread of Bologna. I entered Italy knowing zero Italian to speaking Italian every day with my italiana roommate. And I could understand between 60 to 70 percent depending on the context and accent. I had an Italian boyfriend and became exposed to the culture of love. We visited the palazzi , danced in the streets and drank classic red wine in Eataly and local bars on Saturday nights. There is no better life than the one the Italians live. Yes, it was hard adjusting to European culture those first two months. I didn’t know the language, I had to commute via cycling (which was frightening among the taxis, motorinos , and other cyclists), and I broke my foot. And let’s not even mention the devast...

Returning from Jordan, there was not much time for jetlag to take its toll on my body or to reflect at long hours on my first introduction to the Middle East or to consider the effects of culture shock.   I was jolted back into American society, which pop music, pop culture, English as a first language, and many more options for how to spend my hours.   It was good to be home, but the day-to-day experiences were vastly different from how I spent my past days in Jordan. Culture shock was bound to hit me, but I didn’t think it would be so delayed.   Getting off the plane nearly a week ago in my hometown, I thought I would be culture shocked in that moment to see so much green land, but it felt more like a homecoming.   Eating out several times already was bound to make me question what American society is doing to its people, but it didn’t.   I was out and about with my dad, driving down one of the longest roads in St. Louis, Manchester Ro...

“To weave was to write, and to write was to be understood.”  These are the key words from Holly Payne’s novel The Virgin’s Knot , which revolves around one woman’s gift to weave and inspire others; yet, she struggles with this gift, hoping it could eventually lead her away to freedom.  It is my desire that my words inspire others as well as free me through expression; something that The Virgin’s Knot Turkish protagonist, Nurdane, could not do. I recently returned from the Middle East, specifically Amman, Jordan, and part of my heart now lies in its deserts and open, rolling hills.  Jordan was not my first destination for a study abroad experience, but I am so glad that I did travel there despite previous reservations and preferences for other countries.  Because of a university scholarship tied to my study abroad experience, I was designated to blog for my school’s study abroad website, and that is how I found my voice through words. Writing has be...

Tomorrow, I will leave Jordan and the Middle East, but insha’Allah (God-willing) - not forever.   I have developed so many friendships and bonds with people from my program as well as with my host family.   Life will not be the same without returning home every day to see my two host sisters’ lovely faces or entering my host family's home to find a large hot bowl of ‘maglooba’ (a Jordanian rice dish with chicken) waiting for me. Although I leave Jordan with many souvenirs, I feel that I am lacking one intangible aspect of my trip that I wish I had better cultivated while here: more relationships with Jordanians.   In the Middle East, it is very hard at times to talk to natives, especially if you are female.   It is a cultural taboo to talk to men other than your relatives, and Jordanian women are usually not as open to talking to foreigners, except the few liberal Jordanian women.   When I do return to Jordan, I hope that I can work or...

It's dusk in Jordan, and the young boys are out in the street with a football, kicking it around.   You catch one as he the moves the ball in and about his feet effortlessly, taunting his opponents to take it from him.   You go up to his father and ask a very important question: "Which is better: Barcelona or Real Madrid?"   He responds, "Barcelona, of course."   This is the language that all common men speak in this country - in this region - in this world when they can't speak any other common language: the international language of football. I live with a host family in which the father is the goalie coach for the number one football team in Jordan: Al-Wehdat.   Football was his childhood and is his adulthood, and it will be his future.   If there is something that brings all men together in the Middle East, it's football.   My host dad is also the head coach for one of the police department divisions in Jordan, so he gets t...

She walks by, and the men on their cigarette break jeer at her.   "Hey beautiful!"   "Hey sexy!" they say.   The hissing sounds made to call cats are now for her.   Yet, she giggles to herself, making the men continue their calls and words out to her.   " ايش عسل " (Iesha assel!) which means "Hey honey!"   She wears skinny jeans, a long sleeved shirt and some makeup – nothing really revealing – even if she does not wear the hejaab (head scarf) .   Another girl is behind her and passes the same men.   The men begin their jeering at her, calling her inappropriate names.   They say her eyes are beautiful, observing that her mascara highlights their color.   What is she wearing?   An all black robe, a hejaab (head scarf) and a nekaab which covers here entire face except her eyes left open to the public.   Different appearances, yet same treatment from the men on the street.   Welcome to the streets of ...

Last week, I spent seven days in Istanbul, Turkey with my dad.   For a moment, I thought I was in Western Europe, and I was literally on the European continental side most of the time while I was there.   Yet, the tall, winding minarets of the mosques reminiscent from the Ottoman Empire and its magnanimity reminded me that this place – Turkey – was different from Western Europe, most assuredly because of it’s dominant religion – Islam.   We met Muslim Turks that drank wine as well who prayed daily.   This behavior can also be found in other Islamic culture states, but it seemed to be more accepted in this state.   Turkey is 98% Muslim, but they are also very nationalist and proud of their Ottoman history and former President Ataturk's achievements in secularizing the nation. This new culture wasn't Middle Eastern culture but not Western culture either.   That's the beauty of engaging and encountering a new culture – it changes y...

Recently, I visited Istanbul, Turkey, and I committed a cultural faux pas of extending my hand to a Muslim man before he extended his hand to me.  I was with my dad in a carpet shop, browsing as a tourist, and I became so comfortable to extend my hand to shake one of the shop owners’ hands after he shook my dad’s hand to be confronted by the comment, “I can’t.  I pray.”  I understood completely why he did not shake my hand, but of all places for this to happen, I did not expect it to be in Turkey. This cultural faux pas was not a major cultural faux pas, but it took me aback, especially in such a secular country like Turkey.  I had been living in Jordan for the past three months, and I had been such on guard and a cultural awareness of appropriate and haraam (forbidden) customs in the country and religion.  Yet, when I became a tourist, I seemed to forget cultural mannerisms in a new country especially which was contributed to the fact that I did n...

Skin color has another meaning in Jordanian society.   Jordanians identify others by their ethnicity rather than the color of their skin.   When people look at me in Jordan, they think, “She’s American” because of my cultural mannerisms.   But when Jordanians see another dark-skinned person in a servant-like role like hospitality, they assume that the person could either be Sudanese or Ethiopian, whom are both known for their hospitality skills in the Hashemite kingdom.   Even though there are Arabs working in roles like construction, an Egyptian is not the same as a Jordanian.   Actually, Jordanians frown down upon Egyptians because of certain prejudices that Egyptians do not work as hard and are devious.   Yet, Egyptians and Jordanians are both Arabs.   The tension is between ethnicities, not so much skin color. If an American sees a person of color serving those with lighter skin, one may think in this age, “Oh, that’s so pr...