Sale el Sol… Sunrise. Allora. My last night not only in Roma, Italia, but also in Europe. In a few hours, I will be on my way to the airport to fly to the US after a year abroad… I was doing great all day today. I went with Padre Al and Byran (another student here in Roma) to several churches and other places in Roma, several of which I had never been to. Then we met up with two amazing young gentleman: my friend Massimo and his best friend Alessandro. We had a wonderful dinner full of great conversations (all in Italiano), wonderful wine courtesy of Italia, and the best company in the city of Roma.

Then it hit me… I am leaving, truly leaving in a few short hours to return to Chicago and the US. It doesn’t seem real, or that this is possible. Where did this year go? Has everything I have done been real? How blessed and lucky I am to have seen what I have seen, done what I have done, and met the people I have met. From Germany to Poland to Denmark to Spain to Italy to Greece, I have met and made friends. While we will still keep in touch and will see each other again some day, it is just hard to think that we don’t know when or how… And that is what is hard about leaving.

I have come to love these countries, the friends I have made- my family here. I am excited to be going back to see my family there and my friends, but the idea of living in the US is unfathomable. It just is too foreign. Or the idea of people only speaking English. This is one of the few times today I have used English, and it is still odd to me.

With the end of dinner, Massimo and Alessandro took their leave to head home, and we took ours. It has been a perfect night-the weather has been warm, but not hot, nor cold. Perfect. We walked along the river from near Via del Corso to the Vatican. My last monument of Europe. Fitting no? It was there that I lost it and began bawling. I kept it together when we parted from Massimo, even if I was chocking up, but I kept it together. Then there was just something about the Vatican that just caused it all to collapse. So many memories, so many emotions… Dreams, wishes, desires… all in one moment. After the Vatican we walked to Old Bridge, which was my first Gelato in Roma, and now my last. Then it was back home where now I am going to finish packing the last few items, and then try to sleep a bit before the sunrise.

So, thank you, to all of my friends, from all over the world, who have made this year wonderful and the best year of my life. Danke. Grazie. Gracias. I wish I knew how to thank you properly, but for some things, all languages fall silent…

Always,

Joel

From day dreaming about how my time would go in France…

To actually wandering around Aix En Provence aujourd’hui et heir (today and yesterday)! I’ve seen so much in such a short time, yet I know there is much more to come.

A lovely little fountain

I’m not sure why this little sheep was in the street, mais it is tres cute, non?

A refreshing citronade for my wandering!

One of many little fountains around the city centre

Desalina (the other homestay adventurer!) was deciding which cartes postales to send home!

The Monoprix: Don’t you wish the shopping malls in the states where this pretty?

One of many rues in Aix En Provence!

Une petite collation

La Rotonde (one of the bigger fontaines)

“The Rotunda was erected in 1860. Surmounting this monumental fountain are three statues representing Justice (facing Aix-en-Provence), Agriculture (facing Marseille), and the Arts (facing Avignon).”

Cours Mirabeau

The main street in central Aix en provence; this is where many different fontaines are located.

In this passage way Mme. Ecgre said the best crepes are located! I tried a banana nuttella one and it was divine! Next time I go there I’ll take a photo of one before I eat it all up.

The cutest little carrousel!

Walking along another rue

A fancy dinner after a long few days!

Now…is it tartar tuna or tongue? No worries it is thon (tuna)!

There are several things one should consider when asked to write a blog about their travels/studying. First, your not going to have access to the internet as much as you think. Second, your not going to have time to sit down and mess around on the computer. Thirdly, your not going to want to deal with the horrible internet and you just dont want to sit on a computer. Alas, I took time out from my busy schedule of 4 hours a day of classroom arabic and then subsequent cafe studying to write.

Im moved into a flat in Hamra Beirut just south of campus, directly in between LAU and AUB. Beirut is gorgeous both in climate, architecture, and people. I think this is the southern California of the middle-east. Fellow students are from all over the world including England, Germany, Slovakia, and an array of kids from the states. We even have one famous student, I will not write his name, but all I can say is Narnia.

Im a little tense, being a security student with all of this Hezbollah unrest. Fireworks were going off two nights ago and I literally sprinted out of bed to see what was exploding. For those who have not been following, the Shia political/social/religious/military/terrorist organization? was indicted for the assassination of former president Rafiki Hariri. Nothing has happened so far, but this region of the world tends to be rather unpredictable.

I have no pictures to upload becauseeeeee, surprise the internet here cant handle the upload. I have however taken pictures of the literally hundreds of cats that sleep/eat/fornicate outside of my apartment at all hours of the night.

 Desalina and I have been walking around the Cours Mirabeau these past few nights, and these are some of the lovely sights we get to see on each promenade!

C’est moi!

Regardez closely!

Another lovely benefit about being in France:

Harry Potter comes out on the 13 of Juillet!

 C’est belle non? 

 

Im still catching up on sleep and electrolytes from Americas birthday party. I can neither confirm nor deny that I started a “USA!!USA!!USA!!” chant at the hardrock Beirut. My original plan to go the US embassy party failed due to a lack of planning and time. Shwey embassy. Irregardless me and the rest of the crew represented America right at all you can drink and eat chicken wings at the hardrock. I seriously think hardrock is going to rethink that promotion.

Heres an interesting link to a bunch of pictures and stories of embassy parties worldwide. http://diplopundit.blogspot.com/2011/07/4th-of-july-us-embassy-celebration.html

Heres a video about tabbouleh

Heres a link to some useful background reading of the Hariri investigation

What To Read On the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Heres a picture of a Beirut sunset

Apres cours (after class) on Mardi and Mercredi our class took a few field trips…

The first mini adventure was to the Parc Jourdan in Aix, where we played a traditional french game called petanque:

In a very simple explanation of the game of petanque, a small “jack” (a small wooden ball usually) is thrown away from three players. The players, with two metal boules each, then take turns to try and throw their boule closest to the jack.

 The boule closest to the jack receives the most points and after a few rounds the individual who has the most points, wins the game!  

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The second adventure on Wednesday started with a 30+ minute bus ride…

Where we saw the lovely french country side

and random homes, on the drive to…

La Plage!

 

 

We awoke bright and early so that we could depart at 8am sharp; away from Aix we traveled!  

We walked by many different sights

From historical to modern

We wandered through the Roman Amphitheatre where gladiators and bull fights historically took place…then it was off to the Ancient Roman Theater for plays, musicals and modern concerts.

Though the Roman Amphitheatre in particular provided great opportunities for photos!

Yet the Roman Theater provided an awesome obstacle course of architectural relics!

Taking a much needed break from the heat, we descended into the earth to visit un cryptoportique; which is basically an ancient Roman cellar. But boy was I freaked out by the different shadows!

And at the very last minute, after souvenir shopping and eating my way through the never-ending market, I quickly shot an adorable photo for Desalina!

…but before we could leave Arles entirely, we had to make one more stop: To the Musée départemental Arles antique! 

  There are a lot of places in France that you can enjoy. But one city that is a particular point of interest to visit is: Marseille!

Keeping in mind the meandering gypsies and multitudes of people, I quickly shot images of some of my favorite sites.

 

 

Only in contemporary Marseille would you find new art mixed with the old!

 After a long walk back to the Gare de Marseille Saint Charles I boarded my train and snapped one last photo of my simple yet splendid souvenirs!

In short: it’s too complicated, and it’s too cultural.

There is a lot of harping and speculation in the U.S. about women’s rights in the Middle East. Unfortunately, we tend to categorize the private sector (female) Muslim life as an equality issue and not as a cultural divide.*

For me–an American-born 21-year-old college student with one half-brother; a gym-employee who goes to work in shorts and a t-shirt, has a boyfriend, enjoys hobbies such as jogging outside, exploring large cities, meeting new people and an occasional glass of wine–private sector life can be very difficult.

And everything I read in preparation for the life-style here went out the window as soon as I started living it.

In Jordan, women operate largely inside the home. But that’s not necessarily because they have to. Here, women can run errands, go to coffee with friends, shop around in the mall–it’s just better, from a cultural standpoint, if they’re not alone.

“Not alone” means being accompanied by a man or a woman. In Jordan, women travel mostly in groups, and aren’t required to be accompanied by a brother or husband.

Group travel, for women, is not a religious construction: it’s a cultural difference. Privacy is just not valued in Arab societies. In the house, everyone eats together, sits together; there’s no assumption that a closed door is closed for privacy. In four weeks of living here, I haven’t seen one person walking around Jordan with earphones in. It’s a very social culture with a huge emphasis on hospitality and the familial network.

Jordanian culture sometimes lends itself to America’s idea of subservience. But in Jordan, the negative connotation of “subservience” is absent: it’s respect. You give your chair up for your older brother the way children should for their grandparents.

Women are not supposed to look men in the eyes for extended periods of time. Likewise, men aren’t supposed to stare at women in the eyes. The reason? It’s impolite to stare.

The public space is male-dominated, but public space only means so much. Walking around alone, being a street vendor, taxi driver, etc. are all public-arena jobs, but they are surrounded by the women who utilize and aid them in the work-force. women have jobs in the public space, it’s just not as prevalent.

In the private space of the house, women relax. It’s nowhere near the dim abyss of lonely housecleaning and cooking some tend to think of as the private sector. This is the space for women to take off their hijab, gossip about their day, spend time with their relatives after a day of work.

The size of the family here keeps the internal space very busy. The women (as well as the men, when they’re present) are constantly shifting between sitting and drinking tea or coffee, playing with the children (who are raised by everyone in the family), talking with family members, watching the news or Turkish soap operas, and just enjoying themselves in the company of relatives.

For me, however, this lifestyle means giving up many of my hobbies (which are largely of western creation) to sit with the women, gorge myself on tea–snack, talk, play. But after four weeks of being surrounded by the company of my host-family, more than five minutes of alone-time is beginning to feel largely unnecessary and strange.

And I think I’m starting to get it.

*This is not to say that there’s never an issue with women’s rights. Please note that I am writing this from the urban center of a largely forward-moving levantine nation.

20 hours after the July 15 protests in Amman, there is a calm over the city.

At 11am, only about half of the regular street vendors have set up shop along the main roads. Traffic has lessened; the drivers are silent. Even my house, on weekends always filled to the brim with family who spend the night to enjoy the next day’s lunch together, is empty.

But what has been neglected in American news coverage of the protests in Amman is that yesterday morning, everyone knew what was coming.

Since the first uprisings of the past year, Jordan has largely abstained from making front-page news as a hotbed of revolution and change. This is because Jordan–unlike Tunisia or Egypt or Libya–has it pretty good.

Jordanians are allowed to protest freely as long as they are peaceful. The homeless population doesn’t seem to be extensive. They have some of the best medical facilities currently operating in the so-called “third world.” Jordan, arguably, boasts a better public school system than America.

But as always, there are problems that can’t be ignored. In the Middle East and throughout most of the world, food prices are skyrocketing. The (lack of) water situation in Jordan, while surrounded by many projects to

boost it’s capacity, seems dire. The Jordanian government–which was dissolved and remade two months ago–has achieved from it’s outset a blanket of ill-repute.

Which is what these protests are mostly about. But let’s be clear: most Jordanians love the King. Of course this doesn’t account for everyone, but the vast majority of Jordanians will bow to King Abdullah but spit at his new parliament, which seems to have become a mere “reorganizing” of the old parliament.

Every Friday groups of peaceful protesters–usually about 15-20 people–gather downtown. This has been ritual since the so-called “Arab Spring.” They call for reform of parliament and the lowering of food prices. With Ramadan right around the corner, this is particularly sensitive.

This past week, a group of pro-government protesters told the press they would assemble on Friday after noon prayer–the same time as the anti-government protesters.

Word spread through the people as early as Wednesday that violence may occur during yesterday’s protests. By Thursday night, the Jordanian government issued a statement saying peaceful protests were acceptable as always, but they would not tolerate violence in the protests.

Friday morning, the government struck a deal with the Gendamerie (the civilian military) to protect the protesters that afternoon. At 2:45, the anti-government protesters were merely 15-20 people with signs wandering around downtown.

Over the hours, that number grew dramatically but not exponentially. When the Gendamerie intervened, people were hurt, one possibly killed–the numbers vary in every outlet. But since a major protest that left 100 injured in March–which many Jordanians brush off and all but deny–there have been no real clashes with police.

The calm felt today is an unsure indicator whether violence from the government’s payroll will prompt a resurgence in protest numbers. Whether there is a real and substantial push for change in Jordan is hard to grasp. So far, no coverage of the protests has been shown on Jordanian news and only minimal reporting in The Jordan Times and other newspaper outlets.

If things begin to escalate, I will post as soon as possible.