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I thought I would start off my posts about Amman, Jordan with something a bit lighthearted and fun. This post is not a serious one, and includes generalizations of both where I am living now and where I have grown up.
Here goes. A post about how similar Amman, Jordan is to upstate South Carolina.
1. Sweet tea.
Sweet tea is a staple of the South in America, and tea with a lot of sugar is more than fairly common around here. In fact, soda choices are similar between Amman and upstate SC, as well. You'd be hard pressed to find a Perrier or even a Canada Dry (or something similar) in either area, and Mirinda/Miranda (a popular drink in Amman) tastes like an even better version of Orange Crush or Fanta.
There has not been a single time I have gone to a restaurant where tea with sugar was not offered, and it reminds me of places like McAllister's Deli or even McDonald's and their $1 sweet tea (which, interestingly enough, is NOT served at any McDonald's I have seen in Jordan). Tea is an important part of most days here in Amman. Just as South Carolinians may sit around and chat while drinking sweet tea to beat the heat, many Jordanians socialize over sweetened tea, too (though a lot of times in cafes or standing on the sidewalk). There are two main differences here, though: South Carolina has absurd portions compared to Amman's tiny cups and Jordanians drink hot tea, not iced.
2. Hospitality.
In the South, we call this "Southern hospitality", but it's easily translated into Jordanian amiyya, too. (Amiyya is the word for colloquial or spoken Arabic, not the rigid, ultra-constructed Modern Standard Arabic I'm learning to read and write in school.) There is almost a running joke about Jordanians finishing conversations with non-Jordanians with the phrase "Welcome to Jordan!", usually hanging on both the "l" in "Welcome" and the "r" in "Jordan". In the same way that one would greet neighbors in the Upstate or make conversation at a cash register, I've had a lot of similar experiences here in Amman. Whether it's saying "Salaamu alekum" to a security guard and immediately hearing his response of "Wa alekum as-salaam", or asking a taxi driver how he's doing and being met with a beaming smile and an offer of some Turkish/Arab coffee, I've found that almost everyone I have come across is extremely welcoming. (There are obviously exceptions and a lot of my colleagues and I have had some bad experiences - my being a male gives me a certain amount of privilege socially, especially with cab drivers and security guards.)
There is also this interesting way of being polite about being a little mean that Amman and South Carolina share. There's this phrase I've heard from grandmothers and aunts for years in South Carolina which is used to say that someone is either not the brightest or made a dumb mistake. The phrase I've heard so often (almost always without the party in question present) is "Aw, bless his heart...". It's a really friendly way of getting across that the speaker is trying to respectfully judge the subject. In Jordan, you don't tell people to "get lost" or "beat it" or to do things to themselves instead of bother you. Instead, you tell them "May God keep you", and with a specific tone, most people get the message immediately.
There is almost an overbearing desire to be welcoming in both South Carolina and Jordan. A Southerner is often almost TOO intense when asking if there is anything he or she can do for a friend or a family member. Countless times I have heard "are you sure you don't want some?" or heard myself ask "are you sure you don't want me to help on that?". In Jordan, there are no "guests of honor", because everyone is a guest of honor. A group of Davidson students and I got to eat dinner at a Jordanian director's house a week or so ago, and he was so thrilled to have us over. He made sure we got dozens of pictures and wanted to do all kinds of fun poses. There have been a number of times when we have had guests over for dinner parties at the house in Greenville, only to end up staying talking and eating until late in the night. I've found that once I'm invited somewhere in either place, it means something. That invitation is a big deal, and the hospitality I've received inside the walls of a home or cafe is truly remarkable.
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| The Davidson crew visiting a Jordanian director - thumbs up was his idea |
3. Fried/Hearty Foods.
The South is known for its "comfort food", and though it may not be good for my heart or the scale in my bathroom, it is incredibly good for the soul. (Or at least that's what I tell myself.) Fried chicken, sausage, and mashed potatoes are just a few of the favorites around the area I'm from. While Jordan isn't known for mashed potatoes or even sausage, but fried chicken is easy enough. There is a Texas Chicken nearby (a Church's Chicken, but with a different word).
I did try the McDonald's in the nearby mall yesterday, since I knew I would be leaving Jordan and hadn't had McDonald's yet (and it's everywhere...!). It tasted almost exactly the same as an American McDonald's, as far as I remember, though everything tasted extremely salty.
4. Religion.
I've grown up in what is to be considered the buckle of the Bible Belt in the States, so I know a thing or two about very religious areas, at least Christian areas. They say you can't go two blocks without running across a church, and that's very similar to how it is in Amman with masaajid (mosques). There are masaajid everywhere and they are a really important part of life for many Jordanians in Amman.
I stayed in Jordan throughout Ramadan this year. This was not at all my first Ramadan or my first time fasting throughout Ramadan (I believe this was my 6th Ramadan, actually), but it was my first Ramadan in a largely Muslim community. Most years I have been the only one I know doing Ramadan and it has been a very personal experience. I've dealt with friends getting mad at me for not being able to go to dinner at 5pm with everyone else or for not being able to schedule time for a coffee some afternoon. Last summer, I even worked for a Christian organization (founded by a Catholic and currently run by one, too). This organization is Bread for the World, an organization that deals with advocacy over hunger issues worldwide. I was really lucky to work for them, and I'm excited to see what work they have done.
The differences between Ramadan in South Carolina, Ramadan working at a Christian organization, and Ramadan in the Middle East are huge. I almost always had to explain what Ramadan was or why I was fasting for those back home, and almost always was asked "When did you become a Muslim?". At Bread, I found a ton of support from my coworkers and was surprised at how applauded I was for observing, especially working at an organization for a faith absolutely separate from Islam. In Jordan, though, everyone is fasting. No one eats during the day, and everyone celebrates at Iftar in large groups at restaurants. Restaurants get new menus specifically for Ramadan and sweet shops go into overdrive. It's a celebratory time with family and friends but also a time to care about everyone else.
I suppose the practice of Ramadan is similar to the way that the "Holidays" in South Carolina are celebrated, just with fasting during the day and more praying. Everyone gathers with family or with friends, feasts a ton (I'm looking at you, Thanksgiving through New Year's). Everyone is in a giving mood and simultaneously examines just how fortunate they are to be where they are. It's a special time for all, and I'm very glad to have experienced the holidays in SC as well as Ramadan in Jordan.
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Anyway, there is plenty more I could add to this list, and in no way is this to be considered exhaustive. I only want to point out how similar our two cultures are. Everyone always thinks that the US and the Middle East are so different, and I've been pleasantly surprised to find the similarities between the two areas I have lived in.
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