Cafe Rabiah

Day 4

Hmm, once again I find myself in our favorite internet cafe maqha al-rabiah. The coffee is good and the wireless is free, so it is a favorite haunt of students in the program. On the third floor of a building of shops along the Irbid version of "The Corner," its wicker deck furniture (indoors), huge fish tanks, and elevated veiw of the bustle of nearby streets makes it an eclectic but comfortable spot. The per capita presence of internet cafes in Irbid rivals that of restaurants in Charlottesville by the way.

The weather has been beautiful. For those that might have imagined me roasting in desert heat, I am sorry to dissapoint (although I will reserve judgment until the summer here peaks in July). Highs are in the 80s but it is a dry heat with less than 20% humidity all the time. In the evenings it is pleasant in the low 70s / high 60s, and blankets are needed at night when it dips into the low 50s, surprisingly.

As a result--hoping to get back to running soon, maybe tonight. Shorts are fine on the track, but I am afraid around town I will be stuck with a t-shirt and some tracksters. Ugh. Just give them a few months next year to get used to my upper-leg...

Among the tulab lots of reviewing is going on before a placement test tomorrow. For my part, I just prefer to read the paper everyday. It is a quick way to pick up vocab and improve reading skills, plus keep abreast of the ridiculousness of Middle Eastern news stories at the moment. My roomate--Harvard student who took a year off to study in Cairo last year--and I also enjoy our two satellite Arabic news channels--the only TV we get. A few students managed to unlock about 200 more though so anytime we want to watch some American cinema with Arabic subtitles, Monsters Ball, Unfaithful, and Hollywood et al are close by. But not too close by, which is probably for the best.

Anyway, although all this news gets repetitive after a while, and I know about 15 different words for bombings, shootings, and death. I guess I should get used to it, considering the recurrence of such macabre themes in the news here that I will be digesting as part of the research project starting in the fall.

The group here, about 33 students or so is pretty varied in age (with some grad students and a couple married students) and ability level. Outings to shops and to restaurants are still awkwardly and unnecessarily large, as people having quite split into clicks yet.

My 'ammiyyah (spoken dialect Arabic)--not taught at the university level--is improving day by day. Now I don't sound like as much of a formal newscaster when trying to order some falaafel at a restaurant.

Just really got the blog working today, so sorry about a backlog of posts. Also, I plan on adding some links and pics here soon...