Tag: Amber Herrle

By amberherrle

Differences between the UAE and Jordan

Food

From my experience there, Emirati food is vastly different than the food that you'll find in the Levant and Jordan. For example, I ate about 10 different types of breads while at the Prince's house that were all "traditional Emirati". In Jordan, you're hard pressed to find something outside of pita and pita with thyme on it.

Dress

As I mentioned in my last post, the dress varies from emirate to emirate but notable one of the biggest differences in Gulf attire is that men wear Kandoras which are long white robes that tend to have a tassel towards the collar. This tassel has interesting cultural roots - it was originally used be nomadic peoples to swish away the bad smells that came from camels when they were riding from place to place. The men would dip the tassle in perfume and then when they needed to get camel-smell away, they would simply wave the tassel in front of their face.

From what I saw, abayas and hijab were more common among women in the UAE than in Jordan. While Dubai is clearly the outlier, in the other emirates most women were hijab and many women wore abayas with hijab. Abayas are beautiful black shear robes that you wear over other clothing. Typically, abayas will have intricate designs and patterns on them.

Things to do in Dubai

As the commercial capital of the UAE and potentially the world, there's a slim chance that you've never heard of it. The souring skyscrapers and beaches make Dubai a perfect destination for tourists and great home for international headquarters. Here's what I did in Dubai and what I loved about my time there.

...continue reading "The UAE: continued"

By amberherrle

SIT programs provide students with educational excursions relevant to the topic of their study abroad program. Our educational excursion is a trip to the United Arab Emirates. As a Middle East Studies major, I've learned a lot about the unique state and I was extremely excited to come here. To be fair - I wasn't expecting much but was looking forward to seeing everything I learned in my classes in real life. The United Arab Emirates has surpassed my expectations on so many levels and I am so happy to be here.

A little bit of history/context about the emirates: The United Arab Emirates consists of 7 Emirates which came together in 1971. Each Emirate has a strong national identity, a royal family and a variety of laws and traditions that separate it from the others. For instance, while drinking alcohol might be legal and a commonplace in Dubai, alcohol is illegal in Sharjah. Further, the age of legal consumption varies from emirate to emirate.

Another example is the style of dress - the traditional garb varies from Emirate to emirate. While these two examples are extremely simple and relatively small, it gives you an idea of the range in differences between the emirates. Interestingly, when Emiratis introduce themselves, they are known for introducing themselves as "state-ian, Emirati", rather than "Emirati, from X state". This small tidbit of knowledge provides great context into national identity in the UAE.

One of the best parts about SIT in Jordan is that the program has a variety of connections throughout the country. These connections mean that our lectures are given by former minsters and heads of state and here in the UAE we were hosted by the sheikh (like a prince) for a few days. The Sheikh is a part of the royal family of Ajman, an emirate about 50 minutes from Dubai.

...continue reading "Sleeping at the Palace"

By amberherrle

Last Thursday my program took us on an excursion and our first stop was the baptism site. A mere one hour drive from Amman, just along the Jordan river, you can visit the spot where archeologists and theologists believe that Jesus was baptized. Walking to the site, you walk down a trail that, as so many of these college-educated young people put it "really feels like all the stuff you read in the bible". Yes, it does.

The Jordan river today looks different than the Jordan river that Jesus was baptized in; the baptism site is about a 10 minute walk from the river.

The baptism site was newly excavated to reveal an intricate pool and water system from 1 AD (yes, you read that right.). Most interesting to me was that almost every Christian denomination was constructing or has constructed a church in this area of the Jordan valley. A 360 picture taken from the Baptism site would reveal a Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Catholic, Baptist, and a Presbyterian church. It was pretty amazing to think of what Christmas Eve must look and sound like from this sacred place.

Walking away from the Baptism Site, you'll arrive at the Jordan River. I had expected a vast and strong river but the Jordan River at the point closest to the baptism site is a mere 20 feet wide.

This came as a surprise to me - we were on the Jordanian side of the river and the opposite side revealed the West Bank, just a quick breast-stroke away (don't worry mom and dad, I didn't try it). I struggled to understand the political and social implications of my presence in this sacred spot. In the picture above, you can see the infrastructural differences on the sides. On the Jordanian side, a noninvasive dock lets you dip your feet into the Jordanian water or relax on the wood benches a few feet away. On the other side, an expansive and elaborate tourism office sits with a series of steps to get into the river.

...continue reading "The Dead Sea"

By amberherrle

I wanted to take some time to provide a list of resources for Arabic learners that I can go back to the first time and also hopefully provide you with some free tools to use while you're on campus learning Arabic or preparing to go abroad.

Arabic is so tough. One of my professor's who is by all means, fluent in Arabic said it best "Can I have conversations in Arabic? Yes. Can I read the newspaper in Arabic? Yes. Do I feel comfortable doing either of those things? No." Feeling comfortable speaking Arabic is equally as tough as learning the language. For me, it's tough to feel comfortable in Arabic because Arabic is so far from English. The idioms lack English translations, the verb forms similarly don't always have English translations or anything close to a translation so it can be hard for me to find my footing in this language. Nevertheless - Arabic is a spectacular language and my dedication for the language has only increased since arriving in Jordan.

Language Resources (or: "beyond Al Kitaab!")
Virtual Language Exchange Partners - Having a language exchange partner is a great way to train your ear. This is especially important in Arabic as what you hear on the news (and in Arabic class) is very different than what you hear in someone's home or on the street. A great place to start is italki.com

American Embassy's in country - In Amman there is a great language exchange once a week. Contact the American embassy if you are in an Arabic speaking country and see if they put on a language exchange program.

...continue reading "Beyond Al Kitaab"

By amberherrle

Welcome back! I've been in Amman for just about a week now and things are going swimmingly. I never truly expected the Arabic spoken here to be so vastly different than what I've learned in class but alas - here I am trying to understand someone asking me if I ate breakfast and I'm responding with "No, I didn't read the newspaper this morning". Arabic is tough.

I thought I could take some time to talk about traditional Jordanian food. Coming to Jordan, all anyone had told me was to prepare myself for shawarma and falafel - totally true. Some of the most famous restaurants in Amman are just shawarma booths on the side of the road. But, there is so much more to Jordanian food than just hummus and falafel.

We'll start with pita - the staple to Jordanian cuisine. In Egypt, pita is so integral to every dish that the word in Egyptian dialect for pita is "life". While the Jordanians don't take up this spoken servitude towards the staple, I haven't had a meal without it. Pita is used as the medium through which you eat everything else - potato salad? Pita. Hummus? Pitta. Ground beef? Pita. In eating all of these dishes you'll tear off a piece of your pita, dish the pita into the central dish (being sure to only take from your side of the dish) and wala - you're eating just like a Jordanian.

Ask any Jordanian what some traditional Jordanian dishes are and you might be in for a long talk about pan Arabism and how traditional Jordanian dishes don't actually exist. But some of the favorites here are:

...continue reading "Traditional Foods"

By amberherrle

I leave for Jordan in just a few days - as excited as I am there are still so many errands I need to get done before I leave. I just returned from a 3 week road trip in South Africa so with jetlag + moving to another country this week is a little crazy. In an effort to help myself and help anyone studying abroad in the future - here's what I'm packing.

When I found out I was going to Jordan, I searched far and wide for a comprehensive packing list of what to wear/bring with me and I couldn't find one. This list is a combination of what I've found online + what I've found to be useful in my other travels. I hope someone else finds it useful too! I will be rewriting this list later to see what I wish I had brought with me.

1. Backpack - having the right pack can make or break your trip (and potentially your sanity when you are a hostel dweller). I have an Osprey Farpoint 55L. For me, 55 liters is just enough to hold what I want and not too big as to overpack. I find that no matter how big a piece of luggage is, I always manage to fill it up. Osprey has a lifetime warranty which is great. The bag is perfect because it has a detachable daypack and can be zipped up into a duffel.
2. A pack inside a pack - when I move abroad I always bring a large duffel tucked into my bag so that I can buy items abroad to bring home. This takes up a lot of room on the way there but is always worth it when I want to bring gifts back. Also, my style has always changed abroad so it's nice to have room to bring back new clothes.
3. Camera - GoPro + CLEARED STORAGE ON MY iPHONE. In all caps to emphasize that it's worth it.

...continue reading "Packing for Amman"