DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

September 1, 2012


I've been settling into Amman for the past three days. When I first got here I didn't have anything! No phone, no sense of the city, no experience...but it was a fun adventure finding the random hotel for the first night. 

 

Now I have moved into my apartment in a neighbohood near the university called Dahiyat Arrasheed. It's a lovely apartment and a very quiet/calm neighborhood in general. The drawback is that it is a bit far from some of the other areas of Amman that are quite nice to go out in -- areas with nice walking areas or cafés, restaurants. 

 

Like many cities, Amman can be divided into "East Amman" and "West Amman" -- almost all foreigners live in West Amman, which true to its name feels VERY Westernized. While I found that my taxi driver from the airport only spoke to me in Arabic, once I settled into West Amman, I've found that nearly everyone speaks English here -- and many people speak English VERY well. 

 

There are parts of the city that seem to cater to the larger development professional community here (i.e. Abdoun) and in these areas, you find that Jordanians' English is impeccable. I realize that part of this mastery of English is not only because of good schooling (such as private bilingual schools) but also because many Jordanians -- and particularly those of Palestinian descent -- have relatives living in the English-speaking world. For example, one evening this weekend I was invited to a restaurant called "Fatty Dabs Burger Shack", whose owner lived in Chicago and learned the art of burger-making in Chicago. The burgers are top notch so I here (I'm actually a vegetarian -- but my cheese sandwich was cheese, grilled mushrooms and onions and arugala. It was very good -- needless to say. 

 

This restaurant is filled with expats and also many Jordanians who seem to spend their time abroad, or at least parts of their lives abroad. 

 

Although my research is more interested in the youth who do not come from as advantaged backgrounds, it is clear to me that West Amman is very much part of this "global city" culture -- where you can find Starbucks and H&M and any brand you want (soy milk, etc)...and feel almost right as at home as in America. In fact, I realized that if one spent most of their time in West Amman, it would be incredibly difficult to learn Arabic! I also have had the chance to meet people who have lived in Amman for years and still not learned much Arabic because there is no need -- the English is so well developed. 

 

English is certainly a double-edged sword for academics in the US -- while it certainly gives us an advantage in our own academic work (publishing/writing, etc) -- there are many places in the world where English is so ubiquitous, it is hard to have a chance to practice other languages. 

 

Of course, under the surface, most Jordanians, even those in West Amman are not really fluent in English, and there are always opportunities to find people to speak Arabic with. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.