Hey everyone! I met my host family and they are wonderful!
While students back at the University of Richmond are gaining sorority sisters and fraternity brothers to complete their families, I have gained three new sisters and two new parents. My sisters are 6,7, and 17 years old. The night I was welcomed into their home, I did not know what to say or do. I started out by giving my host mom Rana the gifts I brought for her and her family. She was very excited and added the refrigerator magnet that I gave her to her collection. For students going abroad, you should always bring your host family a gift to thank them for their generosity and to share with them a part of your life. My host family is originally from Iraq and I recently discovered that my host mom is an amazing cook. In the morning, I start my day with pita, labneh, and cucumbers. For lunch, I consume some form of rice and meat. Usually, my lunch is leftovers from the night before and in the evening, I eat dinner with the girls if I am not out late studying.
Uno with Judi
My favorite thing I do is go to family dinner on Thursday evenings. In Jordan, Friday is like the American Sunday. It is set aside as a religious day and most families will gather together and share a lunch after Friday prayer. Instead of Friday lunch, my host family goes to dinner at my host father’s mother’s house. We call her Mama Shireen. These gatherings usually equate to 10-12 people over for dinner. We hang out, eat, drink coffee and catch up. The last time I was over my younger sisters pulled me into a room and challenged my roommate and I to a singing competition where we belted out Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber songs. This was followed by a pillow fight where I had to defend myself against three rambunctious seven-year old girls. Considering the odds were not in my favor, I lost.
In all honesty, something that I have noticed in Amman is family is very important to a different extent than in America. Here in Amman, there is no emphasis on the individual. You are always part of a unit or team for lack of a better word. For example, students in the U.S. will leave home at 18 to go off to college or begin their lives, but here most young adults remain at home until marriage and even the concept of marriage is partially a family matter. For example, you would not propose to a woman here without asking her father for permission. Additionally, family is not limited here to the people who live in your house. There are no boundaries between the extended family and the immediate. Sometimes when friends great each other they call the other “my sister” or “my brother”. This is a result of the nature of Jordanian people and the Arabic language.
Kadi the Fashionista
Because of my family and roommate, I really feel at home here in Amman. There are days and moments that feel foreign and strange to me, but with the support of my host family, I am practicing Arabic, learning about Jordanian culture, and finding family.
urtravelogues.com 