Day 3: This is Why We Brought Our Students Here

Student and Chaperone Reflections on Day 3:

Morning briefing on the roof of our hotel, Zaman Ya Zaman.
Note the Roman Amphitheater in the background left.

Mr Kroch & Ms Pistolessi: 

When we got back from Jordan last summer, we were excited by everything we had seen, done, and eaten. But the most meaningful parts of the trip were the people I interacted with and feel lucky to now be able to call friends. Today, many of the students made connections of their own, and I hope this will be one of the more impactful parts of the trip for them too.

We went to the University of Jordan, where Mohammad had studied and had arranged for us to meet some of his friends. He introduced us to the dean of the Faculty of Art, Diala, who was both hilarious and welcoming. The art school was having a day of exhibitions and performances to celebrate the King’s birthday, so Diala whisked us from a concert of traditional music to an interpretive arts performance to a short play. At the play, Alli struck up a conversation with a student who was curious about who we were. Later, she would see the same girl around campus (what are the odds in a school of 45,000 people?!) and they exchanged contact information. They then took us to a performance by a military band, and Mohammad introduced us to a family friend, Batol. Niy and Alli were deep in conversation with her as we walked to our next meeting. Diala took us into the sculpture building, where we saw works about to be entered in a competition, as well as students in the middle of their work. Niy didn’t hesitate to walk up to students and start talking to them, and others started to follow suit.

A student sharing her work with Katherine, Alli and Niy.

Matteo’s friend Raya joined us for an amazing lunch at a Yemeni restaurant that more than lived up to the hype, and then the students were given an hour to explore the university in groups, with the challenge to take pictures of 3 specific places on campus, as well as our meeting point. To do this they had to talk to people at the university, and in many cases use a lot of creativity. Chanjoo, Katherine, Alina and Jean took a picture of Chanjoo with a milk chocolate bar when they couldn’t find the “milk bar” they were supposed to find, only to learn later that Chanjoo was standing in front of the very building they had been looking for! Katherine later said that this experience made her feel empowered. She explained that being able to find her way around a college campus and interact with students on her own gave her the confidence to feel like she can do even more things on her own in a foreign country.

Later in the evening we headed back to Jadal Center for a dabkeh lesson- what a workout! None of us were as light on our feet as our instructors, but we certainly tried! Look for a video to check out everyone’s skills, which may make an appearance at prom!

Dabkeh lessons! 

Often, I find myself repeating a phrase: this is why we brought our students here. When Katherine tells the group that she feels empowered by this trip. When Alli strikes up a conversation with 3 art students at the university. When Youssef and Mohammad playfully argue about which dish is better: Egyptian Koshary or Jordanian Mansaf. When Niy tells me she has a goal to make a new friend today and later excitedly shares that she made multiple new ones. When I see the look on Avery’s face when he realizes he’s not just looking at a replica of a fighter jet, but at the memorial to the Jordanian pilot who was killed by ISIS. When Matteo gets to meet an old friend from a summer program at Yale, who just so happens to live in Amman. When Chanjoo and Dawit thoughtfully reflect on how welcoming Jordanians have been to our entire group, and what that means about Jordanian culture. When Jean leads the group to the Jadal center without help from any of the adults. When Alina doesn’t just learn dabkeh, she crushes it.

There’s too many moments like these to catalogue, and that brings the phrase into my mind once more. This is why we brought students here.


Reposts from the Where There Be Dragons Yak Board:

Matteo C '19:
Marhaba everyone! Ismi Matteo, a senior at Watkinson, currently on the Jordan trip. It was about 2 years ago that Avery and I proposed a trip to the Middle East, and it’s surreal to be writing this right now looking through the window of our hotel in Amman, and also a little shameful that it has taken me this long to post. For a little background, I’m currently in the Global Studies program at Watkinson, and my favorite subjects in school are math, history, and philosophy. I’ve been taking Arabic for the past few months at the University of Hartford, but as my professor puts it, currently understand at about a 1 on a scale of 1-5.

Another culinary delight in Jordan- Yemeni food.  

We got in to Queen Alia airport Saturday afternoon, and I was quick to start having new experiences; Mohammed handed me a banana, and not wanting to be rude, I ate it. This was the first banana I have ever eaten in my entire life. No exaggeration. I’ve also had some excellent hummus, fresh falafel, and chicken so good it lured Avery away from vegetarianism.

Yesterday we had the chance to visit the Collateral Repair Project, an American NGO that helps refugees in Jordan. The people they help have been displaced by conflict, primarily the Iraq War and the Syrian Civil War. We met a man who had been in the Iraqi army (service in Iraq was compulsory) and was later displaced by the war. His wife and children were able to make it to Canada, but due to his military service, he was blacklisted and unable to get a visa under the same program. He now has a 2 year old daughter whom he has never met. At one point he was asked what he studied in university. His response? Interior Design. Somehow such a normal answer made his situation seem even more challenged.

Today was a change of pace. We walked around the University of Jordan and were whisked into different classrooms and treated to musical performances, an interpretive dance show, and a short play. Later on I was able to catch up with my friend Raya whom I met last summer and lives in Amman. She, Avery, and I walked around the campus, even at one point winding up in the food sciences department laboratory after the trip leaders told us to find a ‘milk bar’. I was also subject to some aggressive friendliness, when one student pointed to me and began telling me how he loved the English language, and began complimenting my clothes before friending me on Facebook. Day 3 in Jordan has been interesting to say the least. From here on out, we’re off to a Dabke lesson, and dinner.

-Salam!

Enjoying a well-deserved meal after our dabkeh lesson. Matteo wants to start a new workout method called P90 dabkeh. He might be onto something...we were exhausted by the end!

Avery S '19 & Dawit T '20:
Greetings from Amman!

We started out the day running across the busy street in front of our hotel, jumping into cabs bound for the University of Jordan. Upon arrival, we were whisked into a theater, where we watched a concert put on by the University’s music department. Today, the arts department had programming to celebrate King Abdullah’s birthday, which was last month. Afterwards, we watched interpretive dance and theatrical performances by students focusing in each of those disciplines.

Later, three of the professors drove us to the north end of campus, where we saw a marching band, also playing to honor King Abdullah. We started in on a self-guided tour of the campus, which caters to a shocking 45,000 students. Along the way, we passed the fighter jet flown by the Jordanian pilot who was set on fire by ISIS militants. Seeing this incident, which prompted Jordan’s involvement in the Syrian Civil War, immortalized in the center of campus was incredible. A professor, Tiala, brought us to the sculpture department of the University. There, we were able to see the work of some of her students. We met people who majored in different art forms, and talked to them about where they get their inspiration.

At the memorial to the Jordanian pilot.

Afterwards, we crossed the street to a Yemeni restaurant where we were joined by Batool, who majors in painting at the University and Matteo’s friend Rhea. The food was delicious and we especially enjoyed the Yemeni bread. We then split up into three groups were given an hour to tour the University. We had to find three things at the University, a statue of a dinosaur, the milk bar, and the language center. After this we then took cabs back to our hotel were we had time to reflect on the trip so far.

Tonight we are going out to eat, and learning a traditional Arabic dance called Dabkeh.

Theater performance at the University of Jordan

Dance performance at the University of Jordan 

At the University of Jordan

Watching the Military Band

Music performance at the University of Jordan