Q1. Just wondering if you can keep up with American Football?
Q2. What sports do you guys have in Jordan?
A1. I love the Vikings and today I am so thrilled to hear that Randy Moss will be returning to play with Bret Favre! Interestingly, I use to live in WI where Favre use to play...at that time I hated Brett Favre because I was a Viking fan from Minnesota and that's what I am suppose to do :-) Now that he is a Vike...I love Brett Favre (in your Face all my WI friends...ha...had to throw that at my wonderful friends in WI, who understand me)! So I am so looking forward to Brett and Moss playing together! It pretty much Rocks! Now, I just hope I get to actually watch some of the games this year. We have satellite TV and we can watch football....depending on what team they are broadcasting....sadly, it is not always the Vikings. Also, as the games are shown live, we watch them live here. This means that if it is a Monday night game, we would have to start watching around 300am! So yes, we stay up to date with how the team is doing, but unfortunately, we don't always get to watch the game.
A2. Soccer or Football, as the rest of the world calls it, is The Game in Jordan. I don't know anything about Soccer and when the World Cup was going on, I had no idea what was all the hype about...ha!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Mike Lash
Q1: Do you have more rights as an American woman living in Jordan than other Muslim women?
Q2: Do you think Jordan will ever really make a moves towards democracy?
First of all, thank you Mike for your wonderful questions! I will answer them honestly and I hope that you understand that many people read my blog and therefore they read these answers to your question-I am happy for that. I use this medium (my blog) as a place of educating people about Islam and the Middle East/Jordan, as it is so wrongly understood in other parts of the world. I hope that you find my answers educational and insightful! Thank you again, Mike, for your great questions!
A1: As an American women living in Jordan I do not get any more rights than any other woman living in Jordan. That's because anywhere in the world, whether you are living there or visiting there, you fall under the laws of their land. Now that being said, of course there is an American Embassy available if one ever needs help from a legal situation; however, over all you live the laws of the land.
In Jordan, women have the same rights of a Jordanian men, it doesn't matter the religion. Women in Jordan have rights to education, work, property, children, and anything else that a man has right to. It is a misconception in the world and in the United States that Muslim women are not granted certain rights. In countries where Muslim women are not allowed particular rights it is do to cultural norms and laws, not by Islamic Laws. Islam grants women the right to own property, to work, to her money, to her children, to education, to vote, etc. All these rights were given to the women 1400 years ago when Islam became a religion.
For more info on the Rights Islam gave women check out this website:
http://www.themuslimwoman.com/herrights/womensrights.htm
A2: Jordan is a Kingdom as you know. There are no elections for His Excellency, King Abdullah. It is his job to be King until he dies or appoints thrown to someone else. However, Jordan does hold elections for Parliament. In fact they will be holding the elections in November. Is this a move towards democracy?! It depends on your definition of democracy. There are many democratic thoughts and practices in Jordan; however, the King is the King and I doubt there will be any changes regarding this issue. Really, a Kingdom, in my opinion, is not a bad thing-if you have the right King. The Jordanian King Abdullah, is a well respected man in the Arab, Muslim and Western communities. He is doing wonderful things for Jordan and it's people. I would prefer him to some of the recent presidents we have elected. All in all, what works for one country may or may not work for another. I don't think it is appropriate nor applicable to think that because it works for one it will work for all. Jordan is a Kingdom that holds elections and that's what works for them.
Q2: Do you think Jordan will ever really make a moves towards democracy?
First of all, thank you Mike for your wonderful questions! I will answer them honestly and I hope that you understand that many people read my blog and therefore they read these answers to your question-I am happy for that. I use this medium (my blog) as a place of educating people about Islam and the Middle East/Jordan, as it is so wrongly understood in other parts of the world. I hope that you find my answers educational and insightful! Thank you again, Mike, for your great questions!
A1: As an American women living in Jordan I do not get any more rights than any other woman living in Jordan. That's because anywhere in the world, whether you are living there or visiting there, you fall under the laws of their land. Now that being said, of course there is an American Embassy available if one ever needs help from a legal situation; however, over all you live the laws of the land.
In Jordan, women have the same rights of a Jordanian men, it doesn't matter the religion. Women in Jordan have rights to education, work, property, children, and anything else that a man has right to. It is a misconception in the world and in the United States that Muslim women are not granted certain rights. In countries where Muslim women are not allowed particular rights it is do to cultural norms and laws, not by Islamic Laws. Islam grants women the right to own property, to work, to her money, to her children, to education, to vote, etc. All these rights were given to the women 1400 years ago when Islam became a religion.
For more info on the Rights Islam gave women check out this website:
http://www.themuslimwoman.com/herrights/womensrights.htm
A2: Jordan is a Kingdom as you know. There are no elections for His Excellency, King Abdullah. It is his job to be King until he dies or appoints thrown to someone else. However, Jordan does hold elections for Parliament. In fact they will be holding the elections in November. Is this a move towards democracy?! It depends on your definition of democracy. There are many democratic thoughts and practices in Jordan; however, the King is the King and I doubt there will be any changes regarding this issue. Really, a Kingdom, in my opinion, is not a bad thing-if you have the right King. The Jordanian King Abdullah, is a well respected man in the Arab, Muslim and Western communities. He is doing wonderful things for Jordan and it's people. I would prefer him to some of the recent presidents we have elected. All in all, what works for one country may or may not work for another. I don't think it is appropriate nor applicable to think that because it works for one it will work for all. Jordan is a Kingdom that holds elections and that's what works for them.
Hillary
Q: I was wondering, what has been the hardest thing/transition been for you while in Jordan?
A: The hardest thing for me is the lack on understanding and speaking Arabic. Many years ago, I took Arabic at the University, so thankfully I do understand and speak at a basic level. However, being that I don't completely understand and speak the language, I miss out on many opportunities. I miss out on family conversation and communication. I also find it very difficult at work. Even though everyone I work with speak English fluently, I miss out on many learning opportunities and interactions as they discuss topics among themselves. At first, It was also was nervous leaving the house-I thought I would have a difficult time if I got lost driving; however, I have overcome that fear as I now know my way around Amman, I know I can communicate at basic Arabic, and nearly everyone in Amman speak English at some level.
I also miss the outdoors that I enjoyed so much back in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Amman, there are very few walking trails or parks to enjoy the outdoors. There are not many trees and not any lakes, which is difficult for me because I love both of them so much.
Last, but not least, my family. I miss my family and friends. Especially now, as my younger sister is pregnant with her first baby! I am so happy for her and it's so difficult to be far away....especially knowing that I won't meet her little one until she is at least a few months old.
But Alhumdillah (Thank God), we all have our health and each other. No matter the distance, we are a close family and we can communicate with modern technologies. The trees and lakes, I will enjoy during my summer vacations back home. And I am learning the language as I am engrossed in it everyday.
A: The hardest thing for me is the lack on understanding and speaking Arabic. Many years ago, I took Arabic at the University, so thankfully I do understand and speak at a basic level. However, being that I don't completely understand and speak the language, I miss out on many opportunities. I miss out on family conversation and communication. I also find it very difficult at work. Even though everyone I work with speak English fluently, I miss out on many learning opportunities and interactions as they discuss topics among themselves. At first, It was also was nervous leaving the house-I thought I would have a difficult time if I got lost driving; however, I have overcome that fear as I now know my way around Amman, I know I can communicate at basic Arabic, and nearly everyone in Amman speak English at some level.
I also miss the outdoors that I enjoyed so much back in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Amman, there are very few walking trails or parks to enjoy the outdoors. There are not many trees and not any lakes, which is difficult for me because I love both of them so much.
Last, but not least, my family. I miss my family and friends. Especially now, as my younger sister is pregnant with her first baby! I am so happy for her and it's so difficult to be far away....especially knowing that I won't meet her little one until she is at least a few months old.
But Alhumdillah (Thank God), we all have our health and each other. No matter the distance, we are a close family and we can communicate with modern technologies. The trees and lakes, I will enjoy during my summer vacations back home. And I am learning the language as I am engrossed in it everyday.
New Blog for Betsy Kelley's Q and A
Hello to Ms. Kelley's Geography class! I developed a new blog just for you! I wanted a place to keep your questions and answers organized for you, for Ms. Kelley, and for me. I tried a few different things on my Stories from Jordan Blog and none of them worked the way I had hoped. I opted for a blog just for your questions and answers, linked to and from my Stories from Jordan Blog!!
You can ask questions on either site. I will then title each new blog post with one of your questions and answer each question, individually, on this Blog.
I will answer your questions a couple of times a week. (Note: I have already received two questions and I will answer those in the next few days as I get more questions in!)
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
You can ask questions on either site. I will then title each new blog post with one of your questions and answer each question, individually, on this Blog.
I will answer your questions a couple of times a week. (Note: I have already received two questions and I will answer those in the next few days as I get more questions in!)
I am looking forward to hearing from you!
Hello to Betsy Kelley's Geography Class!
Hello to Ms. Betsy Kelley and her Geography class! Welcome to my blog!!To all other readers, let me update you.Who is Betsy Kelley? Ms. Kelley is a Geography teacher in Sheridan, Wyoming. This coming week Ms. Kelley will be teaching her students about the Middle East. As she did last year, Ms. Betsy will be asking her Geography class to tune into my blog. I will be excepting questions and comments from her students. Questions could be about my experiences abroad, the Middle East, Jordan, Islam, culture, or any topic of their choosing (and dependant on her assignment instructions).For her students to ask questions or put comments. Please write your questions in the Reader Comment section on the right side of my blog or attach a comment to this blog entry. If you have comments about any of my blog entries, please feel free to attach them to the blog entry you are commenting on, or you can write them in the Reader Comment section on the right side of my blog!Looking forward to hearing from all of you in Ms. Kelley's class!
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