Friday, October 8, 2010

Jordan

Q. What are some of the major recreational outlets/hobbies of people in Jordan, and is it that much different from recreational interests of America?

A. My husband says, "Fishing in the Dead Sea"...LOL, there are no fish in the Dead Sea and this is a good comparison as there are little recreational outlets in Jordan! Seriously though, the most common interest here is spending time with family. The Jordanian families are always getting together, all days of the week. They eat supper together, smoke hookah, eat sweets, drink tea and coffee, let the kids play as the adults talk. During the Spring, Summer and Fall, weekends are for grilling. The Jordanian families grill kabobs, meat, and veggies everywhere from their garden (backyard), parks, and the kids of busy highways. Going to weddings and funerals are a big deal also. Jordanians have huge immediate families, in addition they include people like the children's' children of a distant cousin as part of their family! Therefore, someone is always getting married or dying. There are activities for around 3-5 days for every wedding and every funeral, and everyone is expected to attend at least part of these activities.

Outside of the family get together, Jordanians like to spend time in the pool, on the soccer field, at the playground, playing cards, and in the malls. Unfortunately, there are not very many people interested in recreational activities. There are the few who do hunt, cycling, hiking, rock climbing, and other activities among these lines. There are also centers in Amman for your children to get in activities such as Soccer, martial arts, biking, gymnastics, etc; however, they are usually expensive and therefore not widely used. Even within the school system here, not really an extraciricular activities for the kids...as school is for studying academics here in Jordan.

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