Reflecting on My Years at UJ – Part I

By the time I woke up from my ‘nap’ at 11:00 PM, my parents and sisters were getting ready to go to sleep. Nothing weird, it’s a sight that has become familiar in the house this past week as I’m working in the final stage before submitting my graduation project documentation on Monday, and doing the presentation less than a week later!

This semester has gone by so fast, and it’s been very different and interesting. Although come to think of it, every semester during the past four and a half years has been a unique experience one way or another.

The first semester was just an exploration of university life and the engineering faculty; I spent a lot of time just socializing in ‘square el 3uloum’, and one semester of that was definitely more than enough. During that semester I used to see fliers and posters for the Media and Press Club (MPC), but always felt that it was still a bit early to get involved.

My first experience with student activities came when I spotted an ad towards the end of the semester announcing a Journalism Skills course organized by MPC. It got me very excited and I convinced one of my friends to sign up with me. It was a great three-day intensive course given by Mr Yahya Shuqair, then editor of local news at Al Arab Al Yawm. During that course, I got to meet the amazing team of students running the club, and I knew right away that I wanted to get active and start working with them. One of the interesting things was that this group, which had established the club in 2002, consisted mostly of Electrical Engineering students and this inspired me even more. Joining the activities committee, I got to participate in planning and carrying out three major events, one of which was a Student Cultural Week with a book fair and open seminars and discussions with guest speakers from the local media and journalism scene. I was learning a lot along the way. Akram, the club founder and president, was always so full of energy, creative ideas, and passion for this work. Along with a great group on the administrative board; Reem, Ibrahim, Ashraf, and Ramadan… they set a brilliant example of active student involvement.

Most of them graduated before I finished my second year, and for the most part, we lost touch. But this is a wonderfully small world; the other day, I got an email from someone who arrived at my blog by coincidence after a search for some photo on flickr… and it was no other than Akram, who is currently getting his PhD at the University of Leeds. Isn’t the blogosphere amazing? Oh… and he has recently set up a blog

It saddens me to say that we didn’t carry on the legacy of MPC, for different reasons that I don’t feel like going into right now. But it had set the sparkle for many later experiences in student involvement and youth work that have made my university years a very special journey of learning and personal growth. I will try to reflect on that and share it over the coming days and weeks, as the countdown has started and the end of this chapter is fast approaching. I don’t mean to get melodramatic here, but it’s a small attempt to document and share experiences of what has been a roller-coaster ride, where my mind got stretched, my eyes were opened, and my life was turned upside down.

… to be continued

World Youth Peace Summit in Jordan

I came across this by chance and found it very interesting so I thought I’d share

From September 11 to 15, 2006, youth leaders from all the nations of the world will assemble at the Dead Sea in Jordan for the World Youth Peace Summit. The Historic gathering – under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II – will recognize the importance of this date, and in partnership with Chat the Planet will include a live link between ‘ground zero’ in New York City and the Summit in Jordan. Chat the Planet is a new vision of how television, the Internet, and a network of global partnerships can create compelling television programming, and a vibrant global community of youth conversation and a culture of civic engagement.

At the Summit young leaders will assess global challenges, working amongst themselves and with international mentors to develop new and innovative solutions that ensure a just and peaceful global future. Delegates will be young leaders representing all regions of the world and a wide range of professional sectors, in an effort to produce a broad-based network of youth working for positive change.

More from the WYPS Official Website

Online application is now open. Give it a try if you’re interested are you are:

Between the ages of 15-35 years at time of nomination.
Excel in your field of work or area of interest.
A representative for you community, organization and/or networks on various levels
Good communication and interpersonal skills, ability to solve problems, adaptability and flexibility in dealing with challenges.
A motivated individual, who aspires to improve the lives of others and the world through your actions and work – professionally, locally, nationally, regionally or internationally.
Represent the best youth have to offer in solving the problems of the world.
Culturally aware and sensitive to the aspirations of youth around the world.
Uphold the principles of the World Youth Peace Summit and its parent bodies of the Millennium World Peace Summit – World Council of Religious Leaders in the respect for all human life regardless of creed, race, nationality, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or political affiliation .

Check out the fully-deailed brochure.

A Blogging Community

9:30 AM

I started writing this post at 4:49 AM, it just felt that since I stole those extra hours out of my sleep then I should seize the opportunity to blog… but then after a while of trying to process the thoughts and put it all together, I gave up and decided to go to bed! I was thinking about what Laith said; why do we humans need sleep? This was an interesting point brought up at the meet-up yesterday, and it was worth remarking that most JP bloggers feel that once you enter the blogosphere, whether as a reader or writer, it’s natural to give up on some of the regular sleeping hours and become a night person.

So what else do we as bloggers have in common? What is it that makes this very diverse group of people want to have these meet-ups and become part of a community?

Last month Roba wrote a great thoughtful post on this, and at the time, we had some ’serious’ issues on the table, like anonymity, and growth of Jordan Planet. This time though, the meeting had a lot of first-timers, and we had decided not to have an agenda but to let it flow informally and to give people the chance to just have fun and get to know each other.

When we went through a quick round of introductions, it was very interesting to note the different reasons people started blogging… and as Roba observed, it was even more interesting to spot the different pattern of answers between the males and the females; most females started blogging because they felt they had opinions they wanted to share and that they wanted to get their voice heard, most males said they just wanted to experiment with it. I couldn’t help but note that no one said the main reason they started it was to be part of the Jordan Planet community for example… although reading blogs is almost always a factor in getting a person to start one, but the ‘community’ element is a result that steps in later.

So yesterday, I sat there with this group of people, some of whom I have to come to consider dear friends over the past few months, others whose company I really enjoy and look forward to every time, some who felt like such good friends even though we hadn’t met face to face before, and others whom I was getting to know for the first time. The conversations were incredibly rich, diverse, and thought-provoking. We talked about what we do. We talked about citizen journalism, and the monitoring of media. We talked about Democracy, about socialism… We talked about internet technology, about blogs, blogging, and open content. We shared personal experiences. Some talked about design and others talked about films. There were many other conversations all around the table I couldn’t keep up with. Then when the group grew smaller, we all got into one very interesting discussion about capitalism, opportunities in Jordan, gated communities, and education… the big question was how do we instigate real change in the culture of education that would bring about the change we need to see in society? That is a question for a separate post. Actually all the issues raised deserve a good amount of blogging… after I submit the graduation project perhaps

But the question lurking in my mind right now is; what is Jordan Planet to me? What is Jordan Planet to its citizens? Why do I attend the meet-ups? What do we do when we come to a point of needing to reserve a stadium to accommodate the large attendance of the meet-ups, as Ahmad commented?

So, what is Jordan Planet to you?

Please share your thoughts…

More on the meet-up:
Roba, Abeer, Khalidah, Jad, Nasim

Heritage and Culture a la Rainbow

Call it writers block, call it last-two-weeks-before-graduation-project-submission-deadline syndrome… whatever it is, I know I haven’t been blogging as much as I would like to lately. There are so many thoughts on my mind that I want to share, but every time I sat down to write in the past few days the introduction would sound like a lot of whining and venting about all the things pressuring me and stressing me out… until yesterday…

I realized that walking up Rainbow Street is therapeutic for me. It has a way of making me feel so peaceful and goofy happy. I was walking back up the street yesterday, noticing little details of the beautiful old houses and enjoying the perfect weather, when I slowed down next to “Bawwabet Al-Sharq” Handcrafts shop… and right then, the door opens and a head peaks out looking at me from across the street, and it turns out to be one of my dear classmates from school whom I hadn’t ran into for almost two years!! It was such a lovely surprise seeing her… it turned out she’s been handling the place since her sister, who established it, moved to England. I went in and we sat talking and catching up on each other’s news and stories. A few minutes later a friend of my sister’s came in; a nice coincidence that assures the typical Ammani character of the day. It was such a pleasure to walk around the shop and admire the hand-embroidered cushions and scarves and bags. I am just so in love with these things. When I told my project partners that I want to wear a traditional dress instead of a suit for our final presentation, they were adamant in their insistence that it’s inappropriate. Is it?? With a vote of three to one there wasn’t much I could say, we are one lovely team… but I really want to invest in one of those dresses, they are gorgeous.

I left the place with plans for a class reunion or gathering in the near future, and I went on with my walk up the street, to pause again at a sign that drew my attention…

It always makes me very excited and happy to see a new bookshop opening in town. I went in, and- believe it or not- I saw another friend from university whom I hadn’t seen in quite a while. The pleasure of scanning the bookshelves and admiring their collection was only surpassed by the great news that part of the bookstore will be turned into a café. They expect to have it ready by the end of the January, and people will be able to sit on the couches and sip a coffee while flipping through a book, an idea I always felt was missing in Amman. Here’s another reason to adore Rainbow Street

Did you know that a taxi ride from the first circle to the 8th, at noon, would take around 18 minutes and cost around 1.47 JD? Just wait till they’re done with the tunnel at the intersection of the 4th… it would probably take no more than 10 minutes then to go from one end of Amman to the other.

To top things off, work was very nice. As I was heading out to go home at 5:00 PM, it was just starting to rain and I decided to walk a bit before taking a cab. Walking is amazing because it gets you to notice and stop at things that you might miss while in a car. I came across this very interesting place called “House of Heritage” (in King Hussein Medical Center Street), and decided to go in for a look…

Here is what I found

If anyone has an idea what this last object is, please share.

(click on the pics to enlarge)

Contemplating the Season

I had spent three hours in front of the computer with no internet connection to keep the distractions away and write. I had so many thoughts that I’ve been wanting to articulate all week… but then in those hours, sitting with my back against the heat radiator, I started four different documents and stopped in the middle of each, not knowing what it is exactly I’m trying to say!

I absolutely loved today’s rain, I loved its smell and I loved the sight of the big raindrops splashing on the wind shield as I was driving back home. This is not to say that I wasn’t totally in love with the fabulous spring weather of these past weeks… but Jordan is thirsty for rain, and it’s so beautiful when it first comes!

Yesterday we set up the Christmas tree, and this is a very special family tradition, where my parents don’t mind the loud music, and my sisters, brother and I sing and dance to our hearts’ joy like no one is watching. My good friend Christine from the youth camp in Northern Ireland is here in Amman for a couple pf months, and she joined us in that very fun evening. Rania played the piano, Sally played the Clarinet, and Lara sang with her lovely voice. Then we all sat around the table talking about all sorts of topics imaginable; from stem cell research to rituals in Japan to family stories… we had a brilliant time!

Looking at the beautiful tree yesterday, I remembered the previous one we had, which was so meager compared to this, but with which we had grown up before we went and bought this one. I just started thinking about how my attitude towards things has changed recently – is it a regular characteristic of the 20’something phase to become so anti-consumerism and so disturbed by the pure commercialism of everything? When I was younger I was always on the lookout for the few signs of Christmas ’spirit’ in Amman… I would be happy at any sight of decorations at malls and big stores, and all the Christmas related items you can buy. I found university to be depressing around Christmas time because we’d barely get any feeling of the season compared to our school days. But it’s just recently that it hit me; I don’t need to see everything painted red and green to feel the spirit of this occasion…it’s not songs about mistletoe and reindeers that represent the meaning of Christmas, and we should stop whining about not having our long winter break at this time of the year in order to enjoy it.

Now I don’t mean to say that I do not enjoy the traditional carols and the little symbols and festive signs… I do love our Christmas tree, and I love all the hand-made cushions and embroideries with which mom decorates the house. I have very sweet memories of our childhood when my dad would take us for a drive down Wadi Saqra Street to see the men dressed as Santa and get a small lollipop, or when we’d go to Safeway to have a family picture taken next to the Christmas tree. And while I’m at it, I remember the year there was a fire at Safeway – 1993, and it was pure coincidence that we had gone to take that photo a few hours earlier than we normally do… early enough to miss the fire!!

Since we were kids, there would be someone who’d dress as Santa, and come knocking at our door on Christmas eve with the presents that mom had bought. For a long time, there was always someone in the house young enough to believe that Santa was real, so it was always loads of fun. The year my parents told Laith the truth about it was very sad for me because it signified the end of this tradition.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that the atmosphere of this season – the music and decorations and presents – is a lovely thing to enjoy, as long as it does not turn into the CORE thing. It’s like you’re throwing someone special a birthday party and you forget to invite him, or you go to a birthday party to celebrate and enjoy even though you don’t know the birthday person! It’s sad!

So personally, I am not lamenting the fact that I have to submit my graduation project documentation right after Christmas, or that I do not have any time to go shopping! I will not let Hollywood set the standards of how our Christmas celebrations should be. I will enjoy our little family traditions, the beautiful tree we set together, and mom’s exquisite cooking and baking

I thank the Lord for the true meaning of this season, and for being blessed with my sisters, my brother, my mom and dad and entire family… for my amazing friends, and for the Jordan I absolutely adore.

Stop the Water Wasters!!

I was walking home, and I stopped at the sight of a man washing a car with a hose, splashing the water generously, and creating a little stream running down the street, under the supervision of the car owner, who was just standing next to him and telling him not to miss a spot!

He saw me standing there with a dropped jaw and a raised eye-brow, and he gave a cheesy smile…

- Mish 7aram 3alaik? (something in the line of; how could you be doing this?)
- What? (with more of that stupid smile)
- Washing the car with a hose like that…
- Well, the car needed washing you know!!
- Tayyeb can’t you use a mop and a bucket instead of a hose?! Look at the water streaming down!!
- Oh… it’s ok we’re almost done!!

Oh! That solved it then… silly me!

Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!! If people cannot be responsible and conscientious by themselves, then the law should step in and force them!! Is there a regulation to impose a fine on anyone washing their car with a water hose?! Well, there should be… and I would have no problem reporting the plate number of any car I see being pampered so irresponsibly!
Otherwise, this is what the future looks like…

And while we’re at it, memorize this number 06-5679141, and give them a call anytime you spot a broken or leaking water pipe (even if it’s not your own!). They do show up and take care of it (albeit three hours later sometimes, but they do show up )

The Best Fruit Cocktail in Town :)

Regardless of whether or not you’re a huge advocate of healthy food, you just gotta love Lebnani Snack! Not only do they have the best all-natural fruit cocktail with slices, but they’ve got every possible option of fruit juice; cut, sqweezed, and blended right in front of you! Add to that their very reasonable prices, and the fact that there’s a branch in every corner of Amman… how can anyone miss it?!

I was on my way home from work yesterday, and the weather was just too beautiful to take a cab! So I decided to walk, and as I found myself passing by the mall, I couldn’t resist the temptation to go in and grab a fresh Kiwi juice, or a cocktail of avogado with milk and honey

Olives Olives

This entry was started on Friday November 11th, but for some reason remained in a doc file until I spotted it today in my “blog” folder! I can’t believe I got too busy and forgot to post it!! But well, old news or not, it just means too much to me to be relegated to the confines of my hard drive until it crashes and the bits and bytes vanish into obscurity. (I don’t know what’s with me but waking up at 5:00 AM on a Friday might have something to do with it )

As painful as everything is, and as shaken as we all are… to me today embodied very beautifully how life is stronger, and gave me a strange feeling of belonging.

My eyes ached from the long hours spent in front of TV and the internet yesterday… so when my dad said we want to go to the farm to harvest the olives, I felt it would be a good break and a chance to clear my mind and spent some time with the family. The weather was perfect, sunny but fresh… I had been looking forward to this family activity for quite a while, and had always envisioned turning it into a festive picnic, but not today! The mood was far from festive, yet it was amazingly peaceful…

Sally (miniwheels_5) and I wasted no time in immersing ourselves in the olive picking process with dad and my aunt. Laith and his friend joined us a little later, while mom was preparing a delicious magloubeh for lunch My aunt was telling us about their childhood and their memories of the olive season.

I had no idea how three hours had passed. Mom had to call four or five times before we agreed to stop and go in for lunch.

I’m not going to lie and say that we spent the entire day working… what we had was probably just a taste of this lovely tradition, but it meant so much to me! Later in the evening I went with dad to the olive mill in Madaba where they make the oil, but it was so crowded that it would’ve been impossible to get a turn that night! So many people were standing there, with small pick-up trucks, and sacs of olives lined up waiting to be milled and processed. So we just left and my cousin told dad that he’d try again for him tomorrow.

Now I remember why I paused while I writing; I had too many thoughts and I figured I’d come back later when I’m in a better mood to articulate them. Ah procrastination!! I don’t think it’s right to finish it now though… it’s been almost a month! (Scary how time flies… in exactly one month I’ll be doing the presentation of my graduation project!)

Did I tell you that olive oil with mixed thyme is one of my favorite things? Well, olive oil is such an essential ingredient in any Jordanian family’s annual supply… they don’t buy it in the bottle, they buy it in the gallon. Some grow their own supply, and some turn it into a family business.

Jordan is the 8th olive oil producing country in the world; its extra Virgin Olive oil is well known for its very distinct aroma of ripen olives. [read more]

I’ll just leave you with these interesting facts about olive oil, and some pictures from our olive harvesting day (that’s my sister sally in the first two, and then my little bro and his friend)… the last picture is slightly irrelevant, but I loved the sight of the “mandalina” tree, and couldn’t resist posting it

Downtown again :)

A comment on one of Ahmad’s recent posts about a walk in downtown Amman coincided with some observations and thoughts I’ve been having lately about the issue.

Well, what IS the issue?

You see, as a child, my mom used to go downtown every now and then to shop for specific items at Souq Mango, Souq El Bukhariyyeh, or some other little place. My sisters and I used to accompany her sometimes, but it was not a pleasant experience for me. Being the picky little girl that I was, I hated the “serveece” (service cab) ride, I hated the few stares and catcalls and comments, and I didn’t like the ‘unfashionable’ atmosphere. I even felt angry when I saw tourists there because I wanted them to see the ‘modern’ Amman instead! Yes yes typical Shmeisani Kid ;p Now I have no idea how this silly attitude completely changed, and how I came to fall in love with downtown and everything related to it.

While I used to think this part of town was not exactly the best place for a young girl to walk, I realized that it’s the total opposite. You might get some catcalls and stares, you might get boys following you and making stupid comments, but they are all harmless, and the streets are all crowded so that no one would dare annoy you too much… just like Hala said “u will find protection, if anyone bugs u will find tens to help u and treat u like a daughter or a sister“

Seriously, you could sit at Balat Al-Rasheed for a cup of tea or coffee, and no one would make you feel the least bit uncomfortable; they would all be busy playing chess or “tawlet Zaher” or reading a newspaper… and you’d enjoy the perfect view from the old balcony. I admit though that Hashem is a wee bit “off limits”; I go buy my falafel sandwich and then find someplace else to sit and eat ;p

It’s not all roses of course. The other day I was in Jabal Amman and wanted to go back to university. I thought I could rely on my memory to walk down from Rainbow street to the spot downtown where you take “serveece el Abdali”. Well, I was mistaken, I must’ve taken a wrong turn and found myself in an unfamiliar street, and so I kept on walking and walking. Unfortunately, I happened to be wearing a red slim shirt… not having known that I would be walking downtown! What this did was increase the number of comments I got, and as it was getting dark, and I was in a hurry, walking by myself at a fast pace to avoid giving an impression that I was lost, I felt uncomfortable! This was actually stupid on my part, because I could’ve asked anyone for help on directions. I walked (at a quick pace) for 45 minutes!!! Eventually I ended up taking a cab to Abdali to take the bus to uni. It was ironic how so relieved I felt to be at Abdali.

That day I wanted to write about how horrible it is to have grown up in an extremely sheltered environment, in a bubble… I wanted to write that perhaps, no matter how much I liked to think otherwise, our streets are an uncomfortable place for young women, especially with uncovered heads and, well, red clothing!!

Coincidentally, two days later, a group of friends and I decided to take an Irish professor who was a guest at a conference for a quick tour of Amman before she left. We went up to the citadel, gave her a perfect view of old Amman at night, and then enjoyed a very pleasant walk downtown. She was amazed at how relaxed, friendly, and helpful people are in Jordan. One of my good friends was telling me that this was the first time in so many years that she goes to El-Balad!! She was actually the one acting like a tourist, and she was surprised at how enjoyable it was. I told her I have to give her a proper tour one day so that she wouldn’t be such an embarrassment ;p

On a different but not irrelevant note, I have to tell you there’s something I really like about the bus complex or transportation centers or whatever the proper translation is… like the one in Abdali or Irbid. It’s just buzzing with life and movement, and those little kiosks and small carts selling “ka3ek” or nuts or sandwiches are great! Here are a few pictures I took last time I was there… I asked the guy with the cart for permission to take some pics, and he was hesitant at first, asking why I wanted them… I told him I like taking pictures of authentic Ammani characteristics and that I post them on the internet, so two guys come up to me and say: “We are authentic Amman characteristics, take our picture!”

Well, they indeed are

Enjoy… (click to enlarge)

Better Safe than Sorry???

The other day I was driving peacefully back home at around 8:30 PM, and I had the windows fully rolled down to enjoy the gorgeous fresh evening breeze. I stopped at a traffic light and this boy in his early teens with a pack of chewing gum started walking between cars trying to sell. When he saw me reaching for my purse to look for change he approached, and stood there by the passenger window…

– “I have to warn you,” he said, “the guys who sell gum at the Sweifieh traffic light are bad, watch out from them.”

I smiled, remembering the kids at university, Qusai, Odai, et al. (who by the way have a cousin called Saddam) as each one comes to me telling me not to buy from the other because “he’s bad” or “he hit me”.

-”So you don’t get along with them?” I said.
-”No it’s not that, I’m just telling you to be careful from them. For example look how easy it is to snatch your cell phone that’s lying here.”

I glanced immediately at the passenger seat and almost picked up my phone that was lying so close to the open window but then stopped.

– “You should see their abdomens,” he said, “all scarred from knife fights”

He took his change and turned to walk away saying “I felt I should warn you, because you’re driving around with your windows open”.

…

My cousin who lives in the states sent me an email forward the other day. Now I don’t usually open those, especially when they’re from friends who have nothing better to do than pass on chain emails. But my cousin rarely sends any, so I opened it, and it turned out to be a bunch of tips for women’s safety… because – as it said – “It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in”. It was stuff about what you can do when you’re abducted, when you’re mugged, when you’re in a parking lot… etc. While reading I was just thinking I’m very thankful that Amman is much safer than so many other places in this regard! One line was very disturbing though, “Better safe than sorry, and better paranoid than dead.”

I just hated it… I know most people would think this is the normal regular thing to keep in mind, but I hate living life this way!

When I was younger, my parents didn’t allow us to ride taxis… and they told us all sorts of stories that happened to young girls and women who were taking a cab. Interestingly, when I started university, this rule no longer applied! However I still try to avoid getting in a cab if I have no clue about the general directions I’m taking…

I don’t know what it is I’m trying to say… honestly!

When I was at Corrymeela, one of the things I loved the most was that you don’t get keys for your room or for any drawers… because one of the community values was trust. It was amazing how quickly everyone became at ease with this principle. Eventually I would leave my digital camera anywhere, and not even flinch. I could forget my purse in any room or any hall, and not have to worry about rushing back to find it. And it’s not like there’s a way of ensuring the kind of people who go to Corrymeela, but no matter the background, environment, or mentality they come from, the spirit of that place has a way of embracing everyone and sneaking into them.

I know the world is not like that… I know we have to be increasingly careful everywhere, but can I just say I HATE IT!! Again, I know Amman is much safer than so many other capitals around the world, and I pray to God it remains this way. I am planning on taking a good self-defense course though, to know how to use my elbow and knuckles when needed. Meanwhile, I will continue to drive with my windows rolled open (though I might just keep my bag and phone out of reach), I will continue to take cabs and chat to the drivers, and my principle of treating people will remain “trust until proven untrustworthy”… well, for the most part!! I hope life experiences won’t force me to change!