So today was the first day of work... for everyone else. Thus, I ended up having most of the day to myself. I was semi-productive in the morning: working out, etc. Then I set off to wander and explore the area around me. I headed down a street I hadn't been to yet, and after meandering for a while, stopped to ask a random man where the best shawarma was in the area. He pointed me to a nearby butcher shop, where I purchased and devoured a beautifully delicious shawarma. Mmmmmm. Afterwards, I wandered some more!
I've been looking for a good reference book for Jordanian Arabic (at BYU we study mostly Egyptian) and so I stepped into a bookstore to browse. I didn't find the book, but I did end up chatting with the storekeeper for about an hour. His English was OK enough that I could throw in some English words when I couldn't find an Arabic one. He complimented me a lot on my Arabic, although he was just being polite. When other people would come into the store, he would show me off: "Look! This American can speak Arabic!" They'd greet me, I'd reply, and then they'd look up at him, nodding, chuckling, and smiling. We covered a lot of topics; he loves geography so he grilled me about where I live, where I go to school, and had me show him on his US map. We talked about religion, with him explaining Islam and me explaining (as best as I could in Arabic) my faith. He showed me a BEAUTIFUL copy of the Qur'an. It's the English translation that was made by the Saudi University, and has the English and Arabic side by side. I'm going to go back to buy it tomorrow! Not only is it beautifully made, but I think it'll be a great tool in learning Arabic.
So I'm in Amman for a few more days. I just found out that I'll be headed out to my totally rockin' bedouin village on Wednesday. So, that gives me three more days to wander! As always, we spent the evening with our awesome neighbors, watching the Real Madrid vs. Villarreal soccer (ahem, football) game. Since arriving in Amman, I think I've at least doubled, if not tripled, the amount of soccer that I've watched in my lifetime. And guess what, I'm beginning to thoroughly enjoy watching soccer! Who would've thunk?
Well, I'll keep you apprised of tomorrow's wanderings. For now, ma'asalama!
يرمي
I've been looking for a good reference book for Jordanian Arabic (at BYU we study mostly Egyptian) and so I stepped into a bookstore to browse. I didn't find the book, but I did end up chatting with the storekeeper for about an hour. His English was OK enough that I could throw in some English words when I couldn't find an Arabic one. He complimented me a lot on my Arabic, although he was just being polite. When other people would come into the store, he would show me off: "Look! This American can speak Arabic!" They'd greet me, I'd reply, and then they'd look up at him, nodding, chuckling, and smiling. We covered a lot of topics; he loves geography so he grilled me about where I live, where I go to school, and had me show him on his US map. We talked about religion, with him explaining Islam and me explaining (as best as I could in Arabic) my faith. He showed me a BEAUTIFUL copy of the Qur'an. It's the English translation that was made by the Saudi University, and has the English and Arabic side by side. I'm going to go back to buy it tomorrow! Not only is it beautifully made, but I think it'll be a great tool in learning Arabic.
So I'm in Amman for a few more days. I just found out that I'll be headed out to my totally rockin' bedouin village on Wednesday. So, that gives me three more days to wander! As always, we spent the evening with our awesome neighbors, watching the Real Madrid vs. Villarreal soccer (ahem, football) game. Since arriving in Amman, I think I've at least doubled, if not tripled, the amount of soccer that I've watched in my lifetime. And guess what, I'm beginning to thoroughly enjoy watching soccer! Who would've thunk?
Well, I'll keep you apprised of tomorrow's wanderings. For now, ma'asalama!
يرمي
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