مش مشكلة Mish Mosgheela

مرحبا  ! (pronounced Marhabban) Greetings from the student center at the University of Jordan! We get free wireless internet here, and it is a really great place to hang out after our day of classes. We had our first الفصحى (Foshha) class today -- Foshha means "formal" Arabic. My teacher, Neezar, is absolutely incredible. He is very animated; anytime that we want to know the meaning of an Arabic word, he acts it out and makes us guess the meaning in English...like a sharades game haha. He is an excellent instructor, and there are only three other students in my class; I am definitley going to love being able to focus on just Arabic for a change. Tomorrow, we start our عامية (ayymeea) class, which will teach us how to say words and phrases in the Jordanian dialect. I am really looking forward to this class because I have never learned any aymeea before, and it will allow us to communicate MUCH better with the Jordanians here.

One of the phrases that we have learned in ayymea so far is مش مشكلة (mish moosgheela). It means no worries or no problem. For example, one of the store owners told me mish mosgheela when I bumped into a picture frame. We have also learned how to instruct taxi drivers and order food. After we were taught these phrases, we were sent out into Amman to fend for ourselves. Three other students and I went to a place called Hashem, which claims to be the oldest falafel place..ever. The King has even stopped by to enjoy the delicious falafel and hummous there. I loved talking to the taxi driver and the waiter in their local language!

I am definitely still adjusting to living without the conviences of America in the apartment. There is no flushing toilet paper (and toilet paper is not available in public restrooms), we have to turn on a switch an hour before we want hot water, and there is no dryer or dishwasher. However, the apartments are HUGE and we have three balconies. In the evenings when the temperature becomes cool, it is so nice to just sit out on the balcony with the other kids on the program and enjoy the weather.

Another thing to get used to is the Call to Prayer, which resonates from the mosque two blocks from our apartment. The Call to Prayer is a beautiful sound -- a holy man sings to the surrounding area, informing them that it is time to pray. This happens at different times throughout the day, including 3:30 AM. Because the mosque is so close, it sounds like the Call to Prayer is being sung through a bull horn into my ear. I am slowly accepting the fact that I will be woken up for fifteen to twenty minutes every night haha.

Even though there is still a lot to grow accustomed to here, I could not be happier with these past few days.