Estrella

One of my favorite rooms in my mother’s house is what you would call “the yellow room” or the dining room.   It may seem small or tacky for those who prefer cream wallpapers, but the bright yellow color hits you with a jolt of energy, and my sister’s Pollock-inspired paintings and the unique dish arrangement on the table tell you that this displays an artist’s imagination in interior design.   This room has the most energy in the house, even though it lacks sunlight during some hours of the day.   The fluorescent light at the top, when turned on, initiates a new happiness into the room.   When I go to turn on the light, I can almost hear the laughs from past Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners shared in that room.   It’s a certain intangible vibrancy that leaves an imprint on the person who played party to an occasion there.   The yellow room reminded me of good times and beckoned me to dance.   How can so much color inspire such movement in...

“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...

Dumpster diving.   Begging.   It’s all here in Jordanian society.   But I don’t see anyone going really going hungry because of the family and tribal system in Jordan.   Jordanians are the richest people on Earth in terms of always having someone to depend on and to look for strength and community; they are never forsaken by faith or by family.   Being a tribal society, there is always someone in Jordan to help someone else from the same tribe.   It is in the hospitable nature that Jordanians help each other and treat other with kindness before everything else fails. I live in West Amman, which is where privileged, rich Jordanians and the upper middle class live.   Just reminding myself of this reality makes me realize that there still is poverty in East Amman and unfortunate situations.   I have not personally traveled to East Amman, but you can only imagine that there are some who don’t have basic internet in their homes...

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...