There have been demonstrations in Madaba and Amman this past week and some of the roads leading away from the school have been blocked. The demonstrations are peaceful and don't seem to be political, but rather tribal and/or land conflicts. One less-reliable news source reported a car of gunman on Airport Road. The report was entirely in Arabic so I couldn't read it thoroughly, but my Jordanian friend seemed to think it was exaggerated and inaccurate. I heard from one person that the protests were just about jurisdiction of city rights between Amman and Madaba; some people living in Madaba were enjoying the privilege of an Amman address (or something equivalent) (investors were more willing to invest in businesses affiliated with Amman). I've also heard the protests are due to a "tribal clash" between the two major families of Madaba, and could be incited by a slight personal insult between two family members and happens all the time. In summary, I'm not really sure why there are protests but it seems harmless. Some of the teachers that live in Amman got stuck at the school for a couple hours and had to drive home a different way. Not a big deal.
Last night I went to Amman to walk through Souk Jara, an outdoor market, before it shuts down for the winter. I also had some great street felafel. Today I went to the Embassy Bazaar near Amman, a great festival celebrating countries all over the world. Each embassy sets up a table with crafts and foods and drinks. It was lovely to see people from so many countries gathered in one place. In all, there were probably more than 100 countries represented. Unfortunately, there was no Colombian table, although I asked the Peruvians about the Colombians and they said there is a Colombian embassy just no table today. Maybe if I'm here next year, I'll help organize a Colombian table. A fellow teacher, Charlie, and I had a great time sampling food and looking at all the crafts and displays and we even got to see a performance of traditional Jordanian Bedouin dance called dabka. I've included a video below; the dance is repetitive, but there are some exciting moments (like when I almost get whacked by the sword). Also, you can hear me laughing out of excitement at certain points. Shout-out to Nicole: the bagpipes are the Jordanian national instrument!
Last night I went to Amman to walk through Souk Jara, an outdoor market, before it shuts down for the winter. I also had some great street felafel. Today I went to the Embassy Bazaar near Amman, a great festival celebrating countries all over the world. Each embassy sets up a table with crafts and foods and drinks. It was lovely to see people from so many countries gathered in one place. In all, there were probably more than 100 countries represented. Unfortunately, there was no Colombian table, although I asked the Peruvians about the Colombians and they said there is a Colombian embassy just no table today. Maybe if I'm here next year, I'll help organize a Colombian table. A fellow teacher, Charlie, and I had a great time sampling food and looking at all the crafts and displays and we even got to see a performance of traditional Jordanian Bedouin dance called dabka. I've included a video below; the dance is repetitive, but there are some exciting moments (like when I almost get whacked by the sword). Also, you can hear me laughing out of excitement at certain points. Shout-out to Nicole: the bagpipes are the Jordanian national instrument!
This video took FOREVER to load, but here it is.
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