Wust El-Balad

I have been listening to Wust El-Balad's music non-stop since Mubarak resigned on Friday.  Wust El-Balad is arguably Egypt's most famous musical act and I was fortunate enough to see them perform during a weekend trip to Cairo last summer.  They are amazingly fun to watch on stage and have perhaps the most versatile repertoire of any other band I know.  The following song in particular keeps playing on repeat in my head because it is just so darn applicable to what is happening in Egypt right now.

The best English translation (combined from a couple websites with my own edits) that I can come up with is:
The morning sun will come to me, will sing and wake me
A song of life and hope I've never heard before
With the first yearning I'll be calm and see many things I've never seen before
A bird with wings of silk will fly and fly above
Telling me of legends I've never heard before
With the first yearning I'll be calm and see many things I've never seen before
With the first yearning I'll be calm and see many things I've never seen before
The universe will smile again and the light will wait for me
Laugh at last, my time, for I've known happiness. 

This weekend was devoted to exploring Amman, including it's own wust el-balad (which means "downtown" in Arabic).  Thursday afternoon, my fellow CIEE students Lura (who also lives with my host aunt!) and Tad and I explored Rainbow Street, which is a beautiful cobblestone street with lots of restaurants and shops.  We got caught in a surprise downpour and took shelter in a random cafe that ended up being an amazing find.  While a little on the expensive side, it was absolutely charming and had the best view of the city.

Lura at the cafe on Rainbow Street
(If you look closely, you can just make out the Citadel through the fog over her shoulder.)

Later that night, my next door neighbor Erin (who is doing the full academic year program) took us to the grand opening of a new restaurant called "Tube" where her Jordanian friend's friend is the chef.  Besides City Mall, it was the most Western place I've been since I got here (the menu included fettuccine alfredo and apple pie), but it was interesting to see where Amman's hip elite hang out. 

Friday, Erin took us to check out the weekly Friday Market downtown, which is basically a city block-sized outdoor Goodwill plus a farmers market on steroids.  I didn't buy anything, but it was really cool to walk around and observe.  Afterward, we went to Hashem's, a famous falafel shop, where I had the most delicious falafel, hummus, baba ghanoush, and pita that I've had so far plus tasted my first chai binana (tea with mint leaves)--my new beverage of choice.  Then, I spent Saturday at a program-sponsored all-day event to meet our peer tutors (Jordanian students who have agreed to help the American students practice their conversation skills).

Ola (my peer tutor) and I

She seems very nice and today (Sunday) I had lunch with her and a few of her friends in between classes at the University (remember, Jordan is a Muslim country, so weekends are Friday and Saturday!).  They were very welcoming and spoke in a mixture of English and Arabic so that I could understand all of their gossip.  :)

This coming week should be full of adventures.  Not only is it the first real week of classes now that the placement tests and add/drop are over, but we have the day off on Tuesday for the Prophet's Birthday and a day trip to Jerash is in the works.  Then, Friday is a trip to the Dead Sea with a group called Cycling Jordan to bike around the farms there (my dad will be especially happy about that one) and Saturday is a community service day at a local school in Amman.  But for now, yallah bye!