My New Name...

Kefakom Ya Shabab,

It sounds like everyone is off to a truly exciting summer. To Mia my deepest condolences on the unfortunate turn of events in Bosnia. I can't imagine how stressful, terrifying, and unsettling it must be to have to make impromptu escape plans from a foreign country. I am truly glad to hear that you made it back safe and sound though and are now greeted with the endless possibilities of an unemployed summer. If you decide against taking the Canterbury-esque cosplay job, why would you, and have some money to throw around, I highly suggest coming to beautiful Amman, Jordan.

In my week here I have learned many things. Such as:

• Just as it does at Amherst, the weekend starts on Thursday and ends on Sunday.
• If you are a man you must always sit in the front seat of the cab, so as not to make the driver appear as if he is beneath you.
• You can get an amazing meal for under 2 JD (roughly 3 USD). Any place that charges higher than that is for the wealthy or tourists.
• You can say no either by saying "la" or  by clicking your tongue. This is especially important when voicing disappointment at overpriced cab fares by slimy cab drivers.
• After 11pm all cab drivers turn in to F***KING thieves!!!!!!!
• Milk with Banana is the single best non-alcoholic drink that has ever passed through my lips.
• Kunafah is the single best food that has ever entered my mouth.
• Two years of Amherst College Arabic does not prepare you for the advanced intermediate level of the CLS program. Spending extra hours learning grammar you should have learned long before is not fun.
• It turns out I function better on an average of 4 hours of sleep a night, 3 cups of coffee, bread and cheese for breakfast, and a falafeel sandwich for lunch.
• Hookah/Shisha in the Jordanian dialect is called "Argeelah."
• Jordanian drivers are worse than Maryland drivers but only by a little bit.
• Amman is an amazing city full of great people, great culture, and great food. I am truly excited to call this city my home for the next six months.

This short list should help you all form an impression of what my time here so far has been like. Despite the thieving cab drivers, ridiculously reckless driving, and the late late nights of Arabic homework Amman is amazing! Along with studying and learning the dialect here, I have begun to form a Jordanian personality as well. For instance, after a joke about him teaching us how to pick up women in Jordan, my Jordanian dialect teacher gave me the nickname نسونجي (niswaann-jee)  which means "womanizer"... I have done nothing to warrant this nickname but it continues to stick in all of my classes and among my peers in the program.
The program itself is really intense and it's only going to get more so. Hopefully six months of intensive Arabic will do the trick. I am thoroughly enjoying the weekend thus far. Tonight, I went a great restaurant on shariyat rainbow (Rainbow St.), a Franco-Arab film festival screening of the film "microphone", and several argeelah cafes.

That is all that life is right now for me studying, working, and going out and seeing the town. I will begin to post pictures soon I promise. I miss all of you so much! I hope all in your lives is well!
مع سلامة
-جوش

P.S. How is Thursday? It's Friday here already. I'm on that future stuff!